The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the packed earth between the rows of dilapidated wooden dormitories. The air was still chilly, carrying the sounds of distant training shouts and the occasional harsh reprimand from an Outer Sect instructor. Kai moved with a purpose that felt alien in this weak, undernourished body. Every step sent jarring reminders of the previous owner's injuries, a dull throb in his ribs complementing the emptiness in his stomach.

  His own memories provided the general layout of the Outer Sect, a sprawling, messy collection of identical, poorly maintained buildings. The previous Kai’s memories pinpointed the likely location of Lin Fan – behind the disused woodshed near the western edge of the complex. It was a common refuge for the bullied and downtrodden, a place to lick wounds, both physical and metaphorical, away from prying eyes.

  As Kai rounded the corner of the shed, the sounds of pained groans confirmed he was in the right place. Lin Fan was huddled against the rough wooden wall, clutching his left arm tightly. His cheap grey disciple robes were torn at the shoulder, revealing angry red welts and a sluggishly bleeding gash just below the elbow. His face, pale and beaded with sweat, was contorted in pain. He looked about fourteen, even smaller and thinner than Kai’s current form. Classic victim material.

  Seeing Kai approach, Lin Fan flinched, instinctively trying to curl into himself, eyes wide with fear. "Go away!" he rasped, his voice tight with pain. "I don't have anything left for Zhang Long, tell him!"

  Kai held up his hands slowly, trying to project an aura of harmlessness he definitely didn't feel inside. "Easy, Lin Fan. It's me, Kai. Zhang Long isn't here. I… I heard you were hurt."

  Lin Fan eyed him with suspicion. Kai was known for being just as weak, just as much of a target. Why would he approach? "What do you want?"

  This was it. The pitch. Kai accessed the system interface hovering in his vision. The offer was still pending.

  "I might have something that can help," Kai said, keeping his voice low and steady. He pointed vaguely towards Lin Fan's injured arm. "Looks bad. Hard to train or do chores like that, right? Might get infected."

  Lin Fan grimaced, the mention of chores striking a nerve. Falling behind on mandated sect labor meant punishment, often loss of meager food rations. "What can you do?" The skepticism was thick.

  "I stumbled upon something… unique," Kai began, choosing his words carefully, remembering the flavour text he’d concocted. "A… Miracle Recovery Noodle cup. It's infused with special essences. Warms you from the inside, helps Qi circulate, speeds up healing."

  Lin Fan stared at him as if he’d grown a second head. "Noodles? For healing? Are you crazy, Kai? Did Zhang Long hit your head harder than usual?"

  "Look," Kai pressed, feeling a bead of sweat trickle down his own temple. "I know it sounds strange. But I felt… different after trying something similar. Stronger. What have you got to lose? The pain must be bad." He paused, then added the crucial part, "It only costs one low-grade spirit stone fragment."

  Lin Fan’s eyes widened slightly at the mention of cost, then narrowed again. A fragment was precious. It represented days of meager earnings from chores or the potential reward for some minor sect task. But the throbbing pain in his arm and ribs, the fear of infection, and the sheer desperation were potent motivators. He looked at his bleeding arm, then back at Kai's earnest, perhaps slightly unhinged, face.

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  "One fragment… for noodles?" he asked, disbelief warring with a sliver of desperate hope. "You guarantee it works?"

  "I guarantee you'll feel better," Kai said, hedging slightly but projecting confidence. "Warmer, more energy. It aids recovery." Please let the placebo effect and basic calories do their job, he prayed internally.

  Lin Fan hesitated for a long moment, weighing the fragment against his current misery. Finally, with a grimace that was part pain, part resignation, he slowly reached into a hidden pocket inside his robe and produced a tiny, dull grey shard of crystalline material – a low-grade spirit stone fragment, likely his entire fortune. He held it out with a trembling hand. "Fine. But if this is a trick, Kai…"

  Kai carefully took the fragment. It felt cool and slightly rough to the touch. As his fingers closed around it, a prompt flashed on the system screen.

  [Payment Offered: 1 Low-Grade Spirit Stone Fragment.]

  [Confirm Transaction for 'Miracle Recovery Noodles (Trial Size)'?]

  Confirm! Kai mentally screamed.

  The spirit stone fragment in his hand vanished instantly. At the same moment, the system interface updated.

  [Transaction Confirmed!]

  [Payment Received: 1 Low-Grade Spirit Stone Fragment. Deposited to System Balance.]

  [System Processing Order… Sourcing Item: Instant Recovery Noodles (Spicy Beef Flavor)...]

  [Materializing Item…]

  In Kai's outstretched hands, empty just a second ago, a brightly colored, plastic-wrapped cup noodle container materialized out of thin air with a faint shimmer. Steam was already beginning to rise from the lid, carrying the distinct, savory, and slightly spicy aroma of artificial beef flavoring and MSG. It felt warm, almost hot, to the touch.

  Lin Fan gasped, his eyes bulging. He scrambled back a step, staring at the cup as if it were a venomous snake. "Wh-what was that? Where did it come from?"

  "Secret method," Kai said quickly, trying to appear nonchalant despite his own thundering heart. The system worked. It actually worked! He peeled back the lid, revealing the noodles soaking in steaming, reddish-brown broth. A flimsy plastic fork was attached to the side. "Here. Eat it while it's hot. That's when the essence is strongest."

  Hesitantly, Lin Fan took the cup. The warmth seeped into his chilled hands, and the unfamiliar, yet strangely enticing, aroma filled his nostrils. He was still terrified, but the tangible heat and smell were oddly comforting. He poked at the noodles with the fork, then took a tentative bite.

  His eyes widened further. The saltiness, the spiciness, the unfamiliar but satisfying texture of the noodles, the sheer warmth spreading through his mouth and down his throat – it was unlike anything he had ever tasted. In a world where outer disciple food was often bland, watery congee or stale buns, this was a flavor explosion.

  More importantly, the hot broth and carbohydrates hit his empty stomach and chilled body like a miniature furnace. The warmth spread outwards, loosening the tightness in his chest, making the throbbing in his arm seem less immediate. A genuine, albeit minor, physical boost from calories and heat, perhaps subtly amplified by a wisp of system energy during the materialization process, flowed through him. The placebo effect, fueled by the 'miracle' appearance and Kai's pitch, likely did the rest.

  Lin Fan devoured the noodles with surprising speed, slurping down the broth until the cup was empty. He let out a long sigh, a flush returning to his pale cheeks. He looked down at his arm. The bleeding seemed to have lessened slightly, and the sharpest edge of the pain had dulled. He could still feel the injury, but it wasn't the all-consuming agony it had been moments before.

  "I… I feel warmer," Lin Fan stammered, looking at Kai with a mixture of awe and confusion. "The pain… it's less sharp. How?"

  Before Kai could answer, another chime sounded in his mind.

  [Sale Complete!]

  [Product: Miracle Recovery Noodles (Trial Size)]

  [Customer: Lin Fan]

  [Rating: ★★★★☆ (Customer perceived noticeable positive effect, intrigued by origin)]

  [Earnings: 1 System Point. 1 Low-Grade Spirit Stone Fragment (already deposited).]

  [System Points Balance: 1]

  As the notification faded, Kai felt a tiny, almost imperceptible surge of pure, warm energy flow from nowhere, integrating seamlessly into his body. It wasn't much, barely a trickle, but it felt fundamentally different from the ambient spiritual energy of the world. It felt like… potential.

  "See?" Kai said, managing a small smile. "Told you it was special." He looked at Lin Fan, then at the system interface only he could see. One point. One fragment. It wasn't much, but it was a start. It was proof.

  He wasn't completely hopeless anymore. He had a system. And his first customer seemed cautiously satisfied. The Universal Drop-shipping System was online.