Insomniac Player

Damien did not answer the budget question immediately.

"First tell me whether corn is wrong."

Jeremy Choo studied him through the projection. "That depends on what you are trying to achieve."

"Secure the crop most likely to become valuable after a summer locust attack."

"Valuable, necessary, or profitable?"

"All three."

"Those are not automatically the same crop."

Jeremy expanded a global agricultural display between them. Earth-69 turned slowly above the lounge table. Green bands marked farmland. Yellow lights represented storage centers, blue lines represented freight routes, and red circles identified regions already suffering from ordinary seasonal shortages.

John attempted to enlarge one of the numbers with his fingers. The projection ignored him because he was not the meeting host.

"Rude," he said.

Jeremy granted him viewer controls.

"Better."

The stock agent separated the world’s crops into categories. Rice dominated direct human consumption across many regions. Wheat remained essential for bread and long-term government reserves. Several system-created grains produced more nutrition per field than either, but their seeds were restricted to particular climates and required agricultural classes to remain stable.

Corn touched almost everything.

Jeremy highlighted it.

Food manufacturers used it for meal packs, flour, starch, oil, sweeteners, and preserved rations. Livestock operations consumed enormous quantities as feed. Alchemical factories processed it into binding agents. Fuel refiners purchased lower-grade stock for ethanol blends used by older machinery and isolated regions where system energy networks remained unreliable.

"If corn disappears," Jeremy said, "people do not only lose corn. Meat and dairy costs rise because feed becomes scarce. Processed food production slows. Industrial buyers compete with governments. Manufacturers then purchase substitute grains, pushing those prices upward as well."

Damien looked at the map. "So corn pulls the others with it."

"Eventually. Wheat and rice may become more politically sensitive, but corn produces the wider chain reaction."

John pointed toward the summer crop zones. "And the locusts arrive before harvest."

"If the interpretation is correct." Jeremy enlarged the northern farming regions. "A significant portion of the current crop is still in fields. Those fields appear in projected supply, which makes current reserves look safer than they are. Destroy the coming harvest and the market loses food that traders have already included in future contracts."

"Then buy the future contracts," John said.

Jeremy shook his head. "If the crop is eaten before harvest, many contracts settle through failure clauses. We would own promises to deliver corn that no longer exists."

Damien understood. "Buy corn that already exists."

"Dried stock in silos, merchant inventories, feed reserves offered for sale, and shipments already moving. Physical ownership is confirmed by system appraisal. Nothing dependent on the next harvest."

That distinction would have cost them millions if Damien had searched alone.

Hiring the argumentative profile had been a good decision.

Jeremy shifted the display to storage data. "Dry corn stores well when moisture and pests are controlled. Ordinary warehouses are insufficient for a large operation. We need grain silos, preservation arrays, climate-regulation skills, or sealed inventory space. Buying random buildings because they are called warehouses will leave you with expensive rooms full of rot."

"You make investment sound cheerful," John said.

"My clients prefer honest losses before purchase to surprising losses after it."

"I like him," Damien said.

"He has not asked you for money yet."

Jeremy ignored them. "Concentrating entirely on corn remains risky. The riddle may point to grain in general. The event may strike only certain climates. The system may distribute emergency food as part of the patch. New agricultural classes could restore fields within days."

"Or the locusts may eat monsters instead," John offered.

"That would be useful," Damien said.

"And disappointing," Naked Nun would have added if she were present.

Jeremy opened a risk table.

➤[Scenario A: No agricultural disaster.] Prices would remain stable or fall after harvest. Storage and transaction costs would result in significant losses.

➤[Scenario B: Regional crop destruction.] Nearby grain prices would rise, but long-distance supply could limit profit.

➤[Scenario C: Global locust-class event.] Existing reserves would become critical. Corn would likely experience the broadest secondary demand.

➤[Scenario D: System emergency compensation.] The market outcome is unpredictable.

"Your prophecy supports Scenario C," Jeremy said. "It does not eliminate the others."

Damien read the probabilities. Jeremy had refused to assign percentages without more evidence.

"Corn remains the best single crop," he said.

"Yes."

"Then corn."

"You listened to ten minutes of risk explanation and selected the same plan."

"I wanted to know whether the plan was ignorant."

"It is informed and dangerous."

"Better."

John laughed.

Jeremy did not. His attention moved to the purchase window. "A buy of sufficient size will move the market. Sellers watch volume. Other stock agents possess skills that detect unusual demand. If we place direct orders under one name, prices may climb before we acquire ten percent of the target."

"What do you recommend?" Damien asked.

"Distributed acquisition. Different contract sizes, regions, and delivery dates. Some purchases through merchant exchanges, some directly from farms holding last season’s stock, some from manufacturers carrying excess feed inventory. We secure storage first or simultaneously; otherwise sellers will know the buyer lacks capacity and charge for delay."

"Can you do that in two days?"

"Not alone."

"Your profile says managed acquisition."

"It means I coordinate certified subcontractors under my Class contract. Appraisers, warehouse inspectors, transport planners, and local buyers. They see their part of the operation. I see the whole."

That resembled Imran’s plan for government reserves: distributed knowledge, no single exposed map.

"Do it," Damien said.

Jeremy raised one hand. "We still have not discussed your resale restrictions."

John leaned forward. "Restrictions?"

"If the disaster occurs, controlling food creates choices. Some clients instruct me to withhold stock until prices reach a target. Others sign government priority agreements. I need your instructions before I accept the contract."

Damien looked at the projected fields.

He wanted strength. Money could buy equipment, information, treatment, and time. One hundred million invested before a disaster could become several times more.

It could also become a weapon pointed at hungry people.

Imran’s warning returned to him.

"We don’t create scarcity," Damien said. "No destroying stock, blocking other sellers, or keeping warehouses closed only to force prices higher. Hospitals, orphanages, and emergency agencies receive priority if supplies become critical."

John’s expression softened, though his voice remained practical. "At cost?"

Damien considered it. "Acquisition cost plus transport and operating expenses for emergency allocations. Other sales can follow the market within legal limits."

Jeremy entered the instruction into the proposed contract. "Then you can still profit without being the reason someone cannot eat."

"That is the intention."

"Good. I have declined clients for less."

"That explains why you were available," John said.

For the first time, Jeremy smiled slightly. "I was available because my previous client wanted me to corner the healing-potion market during an epidemic. I terminated the contract."

Damien looked at the 4.8 rating again.

The negative reviews made more sense.

"Warehouses," he said. "Secure as many suitable ones as possible. Existing dry corn. No unharvested promises. Distributed purchases. Emergency priority clause."

Jeremy recorded each requirement.

"Now," he said, "I need the number. The plan for one million gold is very different from the plan for ten million."

Damien looked at John again.

John slowly leaned back in his chair.

"You are enjoying this part," he said.

"A little."

Jeremy folded his hands. "What is the maximum budget?"

Damien answered without changing his expression.

"One hundred million gold coins."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!