Although Lu Ziqiao didn't know exactly what the iPartment-Snap (Liba-Flash) was, the casual burst of murderous intent Hu Yifei released when she said it was more than enough to let him know this was no simple technique. On the surface, Ziqiao nodded frantically in compliance, but internally, his processors were already calculating a rapid evacuation protocol the exact millisecond their lease expired.
He was drowning in intense tactical regret. Why the hell hadn't he run a comprehensive data check on this complex before signing the ledger? Had his systems verified earlier that the baseline rent here was so astronomically high, he would have never partnered with Chen Meijia to run a fraudulent couple script.
Watching Ziqiao flee the sector as if his firewalls were failing, Ren turned to Hu Yifei with a grin. "Yifei, you completely scrambled that kid's system parameters!"
"Hmph! Triggering a panic loop in his code is irrelevant," Hu Yifei declared fiercely. "As long as it deters his profile from running unauthorized flirting scripts in the future, deploying a localized threat matrix once a day is entirely worth the operational energy!"
Ren shook his head silently. At this chronological coordinate, neither Lu Ziqiao nor Chen Meijia harbored any genuine affection metrics for one another. Ziqiao was entirely volatile, always running a scanning loop to spot alternative targets while his current bowl was full. Meijia, though operating at a low cognitive baseline, harbored a deeply embedded grid of historical resentment toward Ziqiao, making a romantic alignment impossible. They were strictly here to exploit the fifty percent rent reduction and free utilities. True love? That concept wasn't even coded into their current matrix.
The two settled back onto the lounge sofa. Ren smoothly adjusted a plush cushion to optimize Yifei's seating comfort. Having grown somewhat accustomed to his micro-interactions, Yifei didn't execute a rejection protocol, letting the adjustment slide.
Crossing her legs, she murmured, "Why would Meijia and Ziqiao execute a simultaneous infidelity protocol? Have their systems completely failed to calculate how complex it is to find a compatible network alignment? How could their programming collapse so fast?"
Hearing her query, Ren found himself at a loss for how to break down the variables for her. If he bypassed their cover and explicitly told her that the two were merely low-level scammers who had never initialized a romantic script from day one, her fierce sense of justice would demand an absolute confrontation. Since she had acted as the chief witness to their entire union, realizing her intellect had been played like a basic algorithm would likely result in her systematically dismantling the entire structural framing of the building.
Glancing at the glass bottle in her hand, which was visibly warping under her localized finger pressure, Ren calculated that such a macro-scale disaster was a highly probable scenario. How the hell did Hu Yifei build her physical combat attributes to such an absurdly high tier? Ren wondered. He had consistently executed physical training protocols over the last two decades, yet his raw output didn't even scale to half her baseline.
Sigh, think of me—a grand transmigrator who didn't even manifest a single Gold Finger. Forget a supreme immortal cultivation system; I didn't even log an urban trillionaire system. Every single asset my profile controls today was clawed out through my own relentless, manual grinding over the yearsSigh A dark, grueling trajectory...
As his thoughts were drifting into systemic complaints, a highly familiar profile entered his visual array.
"Zhang Wei!" Ren reflexively blurted out.
A short distance away, the figure halted, his system tracking the auditory input as he turned toward their coordinates. Pointing a finger at his own chest, the man looked entirely bewildered.
"Are your vocal systems routing a query to my profile?" Zhang Wei asked blankly.
Ren pulled his cognitive functions back online, rapidly standing up to smooth over the interaction. "Apologies, brother! For some unverified reason, my processors just experienced a sudden, overwhelming urge to shout those exact syllables..."
Zhang Wei: The man possessing the absolute highest tier of internal fortitude in the entire iPartment universe!
Possessing fortitude didn't imply his baseline operations were flawless; it meant he was infinitely prepared to deploy! When a crisis cleared terminal, the man genuinely charged the front lines! In his initial debut scene in the canon timeline, Ziqiao had recruited him specifically to handle Hu Yifei—and more importantly, his social engineering script had nearly breached her defensive firewalls completely. In his secondary arc, Ziqiao's chaotic actions had caused him to completely miss his own wedding terminal. Though that marriage arrangement was a tragic data anomaly from the start, Ziqiao's intervention was the direct cause of his failure to arrive.
Zhang Wei sat down beside them, a warm, straightforward smile on his face. "I didn't expect to run into someone across this lounge who could pull my specific identification data out of thin air. Hello! My profile is registered as Zhang Wei. How should I catalog your names?"
"Huh? Your identification parameters actually resolve to Zhang Wei?" Hu Yifei looked completely dazed. A completely random vocal shout from Ren, and an exact matching character responds?
Zhang Wei laughed. "Yes. Though the design parameters of the name are somewhat generic across the population database, it is indeed my primary label."
Ren smoothly slid a beer bottle across the table to him, smiling. "I'm Ren Kurogane, and this premium beauty beside me is Hu Yifei." Yifei offered a polite nod. Ren continued, "Brother, our profiles share the Zhang surname; a five-hundred-year historical rollback would likely verify we belong to the same ancestral branch! By the way, what exact professional sector do you operate in?"
"Me? I am currently embedded within a legal firm!" Zhang Wei stated, his chest inflating with absolute pride.
"A legal firm? Your age parameters look remarkably young; I didn't expect you to have already secured a placement as a practicing attorney!" Yifei noted, surprise flaring across her features.
Seeing her positive metrics, Ren smiled, adding, "Incredible. A casual vocal prompt across a lounge, and we call down a high-tier legal asset? As expected of Shanghai's highly elite demographic density!"
Buoyed by their high-frequency feedback, Zhang Wei's smile grew even wider. "To be technically precise, my current status resolves strictly to a junior intern. My daily operational metrics are confined to running logistical errands, like manually burning data onto optical discs for the senior staff..."
"That still represents an elite baseline!" Ren said. "Based on your developmental track, you must have cleared your academic terminal just a few cycles ago?"
"Correct. I graduated from the university curriculum just last year," Zhang Wei smiled, before routing a query back. "By the way, do your profiles reside within this localized perimeter?"
Yifei nodded. "Yes, we are anchored right inside the iPartment complex. Why do you ask? Is your profile currently running a tracking loop to secure a lease?"
"Yes! The residential unit my system currently occupies has been flagged for immediate structural demolition. The landlord has already served me an absolute final eviction notice. Had that logistical crisis not cleared terminal, I wouldn't have logged a vacation request from the firm today to search for a new sector."
Hu Yifei's eyes darted as her processing mind devised a tactical play. A sharp smile touched her lips. "My network happens to have data on an immediate vacancy within a specific suite. Does your profile possess the interest to inspect it?"
Ren was completely bewildered, unable to calculate what kind of chaotic administrative play Yifei was attempting to run. Zhang Wei's eyes, however, flared with pure brilliance as he frantically questioned, "Query: are the financial requirements for the lease tracking at a high parameter?"
As a broke young man navigating the entry-level brackets, his cash reserves were severely restricted; consequently, the rent ledger was the absolute highest-priority variable across his processing system.
"You can completely lower your anxiety regarding the financial metrics. The suite operates on a four-room communal layout, and three slots have already been filled. No matter how the ledger scales, splitting it across that many profiles means the rent will bottom out to a highly affordable baseline!" Yifei laughed cheerfully.
Hearing the structural breakdown, Zhang Wei's internal metrics hit maximum satisfaction. He stated urgently, "The parameters are flawless! I shall immediately mobilize to pack my data assets and execute a total transit to move into the unit tonight!"
Deep within Zhang Wei's internal processing core: The heavens have finally stabilized my luck parameters! Tonight, my system is officially exempt from executing a high-risk manual navigation protocol to fight a homeless person for a public park bench!
"OK!" Yifei flashed a hand sign, but the very next second, Ren grabbed her arm and dragged her out of Zhang Wei's sensory perimeter.
"Apologies, Zhang Wei! Yifei and I need to run a quick tactical consultation! Keep your consumption loop active; the drink enters my personal account!"
Pulling Hu Yifei to a far corner of the lounge away from Zhang Wei, Ren asked with a highly cautious expression, "Yifei, what exact operational script are you running right now?"
Ren's internal systems were on maximum alert! In the original canon timeline, Zhang Wei had nearly managed to breach Yifei's defenses. Now, even though his own transmigration footprint had altered a sequence of variables, watching Yifei aggressively pitch a lease entry to Zhang Wei looked like she was actively scheming to draw him close! How could his internal protective walls not drop into a high-security lockdown?
Yifei, completely blind to Ren's romantic panic metrics, ordered him to lean down so she could whisper directly into his audio processor. "Are you dense? While our profiles temporarily neutralized Ziqiao's volatile flirting routines today, Meijia's sector remains a high-risk zone that cannot be underestimated! She is currently sharing a localized suite layout beneath the exact same structural roof as that international manga artist. Our systems can't run active 24/7 surveillance on their proximity. The millinent Ziqiao clears out of the apartment, those two will possess an open window to initialize an unauthorized connection script!"
The moment the technical breakdown cleared his firewall, Ren's processors instantly mapped out her entire strategy. Ah!
"So your intent is to inject a third independent tracking profile into their suite, forcing their connection loops to hit a permanent psychological boundary condition?"
"Exactly!" Yifei flashed a look that said finally, your system processed the variable. "Think about it—if we integrate another occupant into their communal ledger, their private operational space shrinks exponentially. Whatever chaotic actions they calculate, the internal friction and risk of being caught will force their systems into a permanent state of hesitation!"
With a sigh, she added, "Unfortunately, this represents the absolute peak tier of intervention our profiles can deploy. If even this boundary condition fails to restrict Meijia, it simply means her native alignment with Ziqiao has hit permanent desynchronization!"
"Relax, the synchronization between those two is incredibly deep," Ren laughed smoothly. "After all, their daily macros are saturated with high-intensity bickering and chaotic friction—the textbook definition of an absolute fated pair. If someone tries to code an argument stating they don't match, my system flatly rejects the data."
Yifei nodded slowly, before her internal processors caught a subtle shift in his tone. She cut a sideways look at Ren's features, a tiny, subtle smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
When the two returned to the counter, they found Zhang Wei already surrounded by a cluster of heavy suitcases, leaving them staring at his efficiency in absolute shock.
Zhang Wei quickly explained, "This represents the entirety of my physical database. It just so happens that my previous quarters were situated near these coordinates, so I executed a hyper-velocity loop to haul the assets over."
In reality, his suitcases had been sitting right outside the lounge restrooms the entire time...
"Excellent efficiency. We shall immediately guide your transit to inspect the quarters!"
Ren stepped up to wipe the lounge tab, and the trio returned to the residential complex. Pushing open the heavy door to Suite 3602, Ren provided a basic layout overview: "This is the suite matrix. The ledger currently registers three active occupants, two of whom operate as an integrated couple profile, granting them a fifty percent rent reduction and free utilities."
At that moment, Chen Meijia and Kamiki Sekiya were sitting in the central lounge area running a casual conversation macro. Seeing Ren and Yifei breach the perimeter, Meijia greeted them enthusiastically, "Ren! Yifei! What parameters brought your profiles to our sector? And what exact identity maps to this guest?" Her eyes locked onto Zhang Wei, running a rapid, curios diagnostic scan.
"Hello! My profile resolves to Zhang Wei. Moving forward, my system will be integrated into your communal roommate ledger!" Zhang Wei introduced himself.
"A new roommate?!" Meijia let out a high-decibel shriek of pure excitement. "Welcome, welcome! By the way, my label is Chen Meijia; just configure your directory to Meijia!"
Without waiting, Meijia seized Zhang Wei's heavy suitcases, taking command of the logistics as she led the way down the corridor. "There is exactly one vacant room unit left! Rest assured, the natural light parameters across all rooms in this suite scale to the exact same baseline; your system won't encounter any structural deficits."
Zhang Wei held zero requirements regarding environmental lighting; as long as the sector provided a functional sleeping surface, his system cleared it.
While Meijia was assisting Zhang Wei with his integration protocol, Ren turned his optics toward Kamiki—the supreme, premium scapegoat whom Ziqiao and Meijia had successfully defrauded into balancing their suite's financial deficit. Then again, when the upcoming housing scam hit the external market, a massive number of investors would face absolute financial liquidation. Kamiki's integration into this unit could be calculated as a blessing in disguise; he had been effectively rescued from one scammer by a pair of local grifters.
Kamiki nodded politely toward Ren. "Hello, Ren-kun!"
"Yeah, hello," Ren smiled smoothly, before a bold, high-yield concept suddenly flashed across his mind. He asked, "Kamiki, does your profile possess the interest to contract under my company to illustrate specialized manga?"
Kamiki's facial expressions hit a brief, momentary freeze. He rapidly recalled a data point Meijia had shared specifying that Ren operated as a professional scriptwriter, immediately concluding that the man was pitching a corporate assignment to adapt a manuscript. He offered a polite smile, executing a rejection protocol. "My current schedule is entirely consumed by the serialization of my native manga; my system cannot accommodate alternative contract loads for the time being."
"Understood. Apologies for the abrupt query," Ren waved it off carelessly, entirely unbothered. To his current wealth profile, every action he executed was driven purely by casual whim. After all, his massive allocations of Apple stock and Bitcoin tokens were more than enough to guarantee absolute, lifelong financial freedom; any alternative project was simply extra color data to enrich his trajectory. Oh, come to think of it, his massive monthly manuscript royalty distribution was scheduled to clear the terminal in a few days, providing another massive surge of liquid capital!
Hu Yifei subtly nudged Ren's side, whispering directly into his ear, "Your system is already trying to launch a manga division? Your video platform architecture hasn't even cleared its foundational traffic limits yet!"
"Zero panic! Every single piece sits firmly within my calculation matrix!" Ren smiled calmly.
"Huh?"
Ren offered a mysterious smirk, omitting any further technical breakdown.
Before long, Zhang Wei and Chen Meijia emerged from the inner corridor. Zhang Wei stated, "Massive thanks to your squad for resolving my housing crisis. To re-balance the favor ledger, I shall sponsor a communal dinner of Spicy Hot Pot (Malatang) for everyone tonight!"
"Oh ho! Excellent metrics!" Ren laughed. "Does your financial allocation permit the integration of an extra profile into the dinner party?"
"No problem at all!" Zhang Wei smiled, before lowering his voice to query in a soft whisper, "Does this extra character execute a high volume of food consumption?"
"No, his intake tracks strictly at a generic baseline!" Ren turned toward the exit. "I'll go mobilize him; his unit is anchored right next door."
Ren crossed the balcony walkway back into Suite 3601. Lu Zhanbo was still running a high-intensity monitoring routine on the short-video platform's backend data banks. Seeing Ren breach the room, he spun around with intense excitement. "Ren! Our platform's metric graph has been scaling upward all day! Based on current velocity, the absolute click-rate is on the verge of breaking past the hundred-thousand threshold!"
"A hundred thousand hits within a single day cycle?" Ren looked slightly surprised.
"Yes! An unverified user uploaded a sequence of short, self-compiled video clips featuring attractive women, and the target audience traffic immediately entered a hyper-velocity climb!"
"Oh?" Ren's eyes flared with brilliance. Finally, the target demographic had initialized a correct understanding of his platform's core hook!
He quickly pulled up the web interface to run a diagnostic, verifying that the primary landing feed was now completely saturated with videos of attractive women, rounded out by a few daily life diaries—though the data logs verified that the lifestyle diaries attracted virtually zero consumer traffic.
"Superb. The opening phase has cleared validation perfectly!" Ren smiled with maximum satisfaction, slapping Zhanbo's shoulder. "The video architecture is a long-term play; right now, execute a rapid sanitization protocol on your face. We are deploying to crash a premium feast!"
"A feast? Did a high-priority positive event clear the terminal?" Zhanbo asked, his curiosity spiked.
"Yifei successfully routed a fresh tenant into the adjacent suite's ledger, and the profile is sponsoring a communal dinner to celebrate. Is your system integrating into the deployment?"
"Integrating! Grant me a brief window, I'll clear staging immediately!"
Zhanbo executed a rapid wash routine at maximum efficiency before rushing out, joining Ren to cross over into the adjacent suite. Since Zeng Xiaoxian's late-night broadcasting shift required him to manage his sleep cycles, they omitted his profile from the deployment.
Once everyone converged in the adjacent unit and completed their introductory protocols, Zhang Wei guided the squad out to a local roadside food stall, gesturing magnificently. "Order at your absolute discretion! My account covers everything!"
Ren held zero elite biases regarding street food, instantly seizing a tray and methodically gathering skewers. Hu Yifei mirrored his movements flawlessly, while Chen Meijia—who possessed an advanced, expert-tier database regarding street dining—rapidly accumulated a towering plate of skewers, anchoring the meal with an extra portion of instant noodles. Kamiki looked upon the skewer array for the very first time; it tracked similarly to traditional Oden, but the aromatic profile was vastly more intense, triggering an immediate spike in his appetite metrics.
As the dining sequence got underway, Hu Yifei suddenly laughed. "Honestly, I find that a large group of comrades huddled around a rustic street stall like this yields a vastly more liberating and satisfying emotional output than independent-dining at a high-tier venue like Xiao Nan Guo!"
"What?! Your profile secretly executed a covert raid on Xiao Nan Guo behind my back?!" Ren turned a deeply shocked, deadpan gaze toward her, his face locked in a perfect I didn't expect your character to operate on such low-fidelity principles expression.
"Absolutely not! My system hasn't cleared a single entry to that venue since our communal dinner!" Yifei explained frantically. "I was merely accessing historical data logs from my memories!"
"Fair enough..." Ren shrugged. "Then again, if your system tracks a craving for high-tier culinary metrics in the future, I can just manually construct the dishes for the squad right at home. There's zero need to drain our capital at commercial restaurants."
"Mmm... highly logical. Your technical execution in the kitchen is remarkably advanced," Yifei nodded in affirmation. Over the last two days, the lunch macros for their suite had been completely handled by Ren; while it didn't completely match the technical finesse of a Xiao Nan Guo head chef, the performance metrics were incredibly close.
Gazing across the faces gathered around the table, Ren suddenly opened his data banks, tossing a high-yield seed into the conversation: "A decentralized digital token called Bitcoin has recently cleared initialization on the network. If your accounts possess any spare liquidity, I highly optimize a strategy to accumulate and hoard a block of them."