[Sterling Manor - Europe]
Duke Sterling sat in his library, coughing blood into a handkerchief. His face was pale. The cancer was eating him alive.
The door opened. Viper, the mercenary leader, stumbled in. He was covered in dirt and looked terrified.
"Viper?" The Duke wheezed. "Do you have the water?"
"No... no, Your Grace," Viper stammered, falling to his knees. "We failed. The target... he is a monster. He wiped out my squad in sixty seconds."
"What?!" The Duke smashed his tea cup. "You useless incompetence! Who is he?!"
"He said..." Viper swallowed hard. "He said to tell you he is coming for your diamonds."
The Duke froze. Then, he started laughing. A raspy, dry laugh.
"My diamonds?" The Duke sneered. "Does he think he can fight the Sterling Family in the diamond market? We own 80% of the world's mines! We control the supply! We set the price! He is just a child with a lucky bank account."
The Duke waved his hand. "Get out. And tell my brokers to prepare for a price hike. We will squeeze the market to pay for my treatment."
[Meanwhile: Dragon Bay Villa]
Alex sat in his office, looking at the holographic screen of the System Shop.
"System," Alex said. "Show me Industrial Tools."
[System Shop - Level 3]
Perfect Oil Drilling Rig: 50,000 TP.
Star-Grade Diamond Synthesizer: Creates flawless, natural-structure diamonds from carbon in the air. Production Rate: 100kg per hour. Cost: 80,000 TP.
Alex smiled. "Eighty thousand. Expensive. But worth it."
[Current Tycoon Points: 90,500.]
"Purchase," Alex ordered.
[Purchase Successful! Deducting 80,000 TP.] [Star-Grade Diamond Synthesizer delivered to Warehouse 1.]
Alex picked up his phone and called the Global News Network.
"This is Alex," he said. "The owner of Dragon Capital. I have a press release. Broadcast it live."
[One Hour Later]
Every TV screen in the world interrupted its broadcast.
BREAKING NEWS: DIAMOND MARKET CRASH?
Alex appeared on the screen, sitting in his villa. He held a diamond the size of a golf ball. It was perfect, sparkling with a blue hue.
"People of the world," Alex said calmly. "For too long, the price of diamonds has been artificially inflated by greedy monopolies like the Sterling Family."
He tossed the massive diamond in the air and caught it.
"Today, Dragon Capital is launching a new line of jewelry. We call it 'Freedom Stones'."
Alex leaned into the camera.
"This 10-carat Flawless Blue Diamond? We are selling it for $50."
The world went insane. Websites crashed. Phones rang off the hook.
"And," Alex added, "We have an infinite supply. Effective immediately, diamonds are no longer rare. They are just shiny rocks."
[Sterling Manor]
The Duke was watching the TV. His mouth was open.
"Fifty dollars?" The Duke whispered. "That's... that's below the cost of mining! He's insane! He's destroying the value!"
His phone started ringing. It was his Chief Broker.
"Your Grace! The market has collapsed! De Beers, Tiffany, everyone is panic selling! The price of diamonds has dropped 99.9% in ten minutes! Your inventory... it's worthless! Your mines are worthless!"
"No!" The Duke screamed, clutching his chest. "Stop him! Buy his stock!"
"We can't!" The Broker cried. "He has too much! He's flooding the market! Your Grace, the banks are calling... your assets are leveraged against your diamond stock. You are bankrupt. You have nothing."
The phone slipped from the Duke's hand.
Bankrupt. In ten minutes.
He looked at the TV. Alex was still smiling.
"Duke Sterling," Alex said through the screen, as if looking right at him. "I told you. I was coming for your diamonds. Now, they are just gravel."
The Duke fell to the floor, gasping for air. He had no money. He had no cure. He was going to die a pauper.
Unless...
He remembered the water. The Phoenix Spirit Water.
"Get... get the jet," the Duke wheezed to his butler. "We are going to Dragon Bay. I have to... I have to beg."