The morning fog over Hangzhou's streets hugged the sidewalks like a soft blanket. Pigeons scattered as the first rays of sunlight glanced off wet asphalt.
Chen Mo walked slowly, hands in his pockets, eyes scanning the surroundings as if calculating invisible variables. The university gate behind him buzzed with students, but none mattered. Only the data mattered.
[Emotion Evolution System Active]
Anger: 100%
Envy: 0%
Regret: 0%
Fear: 0%
Admiration: 0%
Warning: Emotional imbalance detected.
Chen Mo didn't react. Emotional imbalance wasn't a threat — it was raw fuel.
---
[Capital Authority Module]
Level: Lv1
Daily Quota: ¥500,000
Loss Protection: 50%
Single Project Limit: 40%
Unused authority expires in: 23:45:12
A cold, silent smile traced across his lips. Five hundred thousand yuan. Enough to plant the first seed.
---
He passed by Sweet Time Milk Tea again. The glass reflected his calm expression, utterly unreadable.
Inside, Zhang Rui's cousin, Wei Chen, was arguing with a delivery driver. Small mistakes, repeated delays — easy to exploit.
Chen Mo paused, noting micro-expressions: frustration, stress, subtle fear.
[Emotion Detected]
Source: Wei Chen
Emotion: Anxiety
Converted: +12 Regret Points
Regret points. High long-term evolution efficiency. Excellent.
---
Back at his apartment, Chen Mo opened his laptop. Multiple windows filled the screen.
Sweet Time Milk Tea — financial statements
Supplier records
Cash flow projections
Staff schedules
He didn't rush. He didn't panic. He analyzed. Patterns emerged. Weak links. Bottlenecks. Opportunities.
[System Tip]
Capital deployment can trigger emotional synergies.
The plan was simple: inject capital, stabilize the supply chain, let emotions build quietly. Regret, envy, and admiration — all would generate evolution energy over time.
---
Chen Mo typed a message:
"Li Sheng, Hangzhou Beverage Supply. Prioritize Sweet Time Milk Tea. Full discretion. Handle all delays. Max efficiency."
"Yes, sir," Li Sheng replied, his voice tinged with disbelief.
---
By afternoon, the first transfer was ready. Chen Mo sat in a corner cafe, watching the transaction confirm on his phone.
¥200,000 deployed.
Not a wave. Just a ripple. But it was a calculated ripple.
System pinged:
[Capital Authority Deployment Complete]
Projected Ripple Effect: 18–25% improvement in operational efficiency.
Chen Mo leaned back, breathing slowly. He didn't celebrate. That wasn't the point. Observation was. Data was. The world would bend around him without knowing.
---
As night fell, Sweet Time Milk Tea ran smoother. Orders fulfilled on time. Staff whispered about the sudden improvement, unaware of the invisible hand behind it.
Zhang Rui walked in, his casual arrogance still intact. He glanced at the stock room, his expression frozen for a brief moment.
"How…? It shouldn't be like this."
Chen Mo walked past silently. Calm. Observing. Calculating.
The first ripple had begun.
The legend didn't need noise. It only needed precision.
[Emotion Distribution]
Anger: 90%
Regret: 10%
Envy: 0%
Admiration: 0%
The system had noted it. Evolution points accumulated. The path forward was clear.