Arthur sat in the flickering shadows of his apartment, the blue light of his phone illuminating a face that had aged ten years in two. ¥96,000,000,000. The number was no longer money; it was a gravitational force, a black hole that pulled success out of every disaster he engineered.
[The Providence Mandate: Level 9]
Current Investment Capital: ¥96,000,000,000
Personal Salary: ¥5,000 (He had recently learned to cutting his own hair with office scissors).
The Goal: If he loses this, the rebate will be ¥192,000,000,000.
"The problem," Arthur croaked, "is that I keep building things that do something. If it moves, it makes energy. If it breathes, it makes art. To lose ninety-six billion, I must build the ultimate monument to nothingness."
The Plan: "The Billion-Year Vault"
Arthur summoned Captain Li to the most geologically stable, desolate plateau in the remote corner of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
"Captain," Arthur said, pointing at a granite mountain. "We are going to dig. I want a vault three kilometers deep. I want it lined with lead, titanium, and layers of synthetic sapphire. Inside, we will place a single digital drive containing the world's most boring data: the daily weather reports of the last century."
Captain Li tilted his head. "A backup of history, Young Master?"
"No! A time capsule that cannot be opened. I want the entrance sealed with a mechanism that won't trigger for one billion years. To guard this 'nothingness,' we will build a fortress on top. We will hire 10,000 'Guardians of Time,' providing them with luxury barracks, gourmet food, and a multi-generational education system for their families. We will pay for a private satellite network just to monitor the mountain's temperature. We are spending ninety-six billion yuan to protect a secret that doesn't matter, in a box that won't open."
Arthur's heart pounded with a desperate joy. No research, no products, no tourism, no energy. Just a hole in the ground and 10,000 people living for free. This is it. This is the end of the line.
Point of View: Captain Li (The Eternal Sentinel)
Captain Li stood on the frigid, wind-swept peak, watching the diamond-tipped drills bite into the ancient stone. He wore a thermal suit that cost more than a luxury sedan.
The Young Master is a philosopher of the Infinite, Li thought, a tear freezing on his cheek. He realizes that our civilization is fleeting. He is spending ninety-six billion yuan not for us, but for the creatures that will walk the Earth after the sun has cooled. He is providing for 10,000 families, giving them a purpose beyond the greed of the modern world. He is building the 'Ark of Memory.'
"Reinforce the sapphire casing!" Li commanded. "We are guarding the dignity of the human race! The Young Master wants this to outlast the stars!"
Point of View: Lin Xia (The Guardian of the Flame)
Lin Xia stood in the center of the construction site, looking at the 10,000 workers and their families. They were happy. They were safe. They were living in a community of absolute peace, funded by a man they called a god.
Arthur, you've built a 'Seed of Civilization' in the wilderness, she thought, her heart overflowing. But you've underestimated the value of 'Forever'.
She didn't call the tech firms. She called the global insurance industry, the world's national archives, and the seed-vault foundations of every continent.
"Hello? You've heard of the 'Billion-Year Vault'? It is the most secure location in the history of the solar system. My partner has built it for 'nothing,' but if your governments want to store their most precious genetic sequences, their national constitutions, and their cultural masterpieces in the 'Free Space' around the central vault, you will pay a 'Continuity Tax' equal to 0.5% of your nation's GDP."
The Result: The Cost of Forever
Eight months later, Arthur was sitting in his kitchen, staring at a small leak in his ceiling he couldn't afford to fix. He opened the system, his hands trembling.
[Ding!]
[Project: The Billion-Year Vault]
Status: THE CENTRAL BANK OF HUMANITY.
The "Flaw": The "Continuity Tax" was so popular that it became a global treaty. Every nation on Earth began pouring money into the vault's trust fund to ensure their "cultural survival."
The "Accident": The drilling process revealed a massive, underground reservoir of Helium-3, a rare isotope essential for future fusion power. The "Guardians of Time" became the owners of the world's most valuable fuel source.
Outcome: ¥150,000,000,000 profit donated to "Global Peacekeeping & Post-Scarcity Research."
Penalty: Next Project Capital: ¥192,000,000,000. Arthur's Salary: ¥5,000.
Arthur let out a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a sob. One hundred and ninety-two billion. He had accidentally become the landlord of human history and the king of the future energy market.
Lin Xia walked in, holding a simple, handmade wool sweater she had knitted for him. "Arthur, the UN has renamed the mountain 'Mount Chen.' They say you've given humanity its first insurance policy against extinction."
Arthur looked at the sweater. It was warm. It was real. "Xia," he whispered, "I just wanted to be a failure. Why is it so hard to lose?"
She sat beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Because, my love, when you try to lose for the sake of others, the world refuses to let you fall."
Arthur stared at the screen. ¥192,000,000,000. "Fine," Arthur said, his eyes flashing with a new, wild idea. "If the Earth won't let me be poor... then I'll spend the next two hundred billion on The Global Reset—I will buy every single debt of every poor person on the planet and vanish them."