Rain tapped steady against the tin roof as Kai leaned over the table in his shed, eyes scanning the day's reports.
Crate orders up.
Egg weight rising.
Lettuce quality stable.
Seed production beyond capacity.
Everything should've felt solid.
But a white envelope on the table said otherwise.
No name. No return address.
Inside, a stamped notice:
State Agricultural Oversight Board — Notice of Inspection
"Due to increased visibility and unverified crop performance, your operation has been selected for evaluation. Field team will arrive within 72 hours."
Kai set it down slow.
"Now they're watching."
He stood, grabbed his coat, and stepped into the rain. His boots hit mud, but his path was clean.
By morning, he had a checklist:
Pre-Inspection Prep
Coop scrubbed.
Hatchery sealed.
Merge tablet hidden in lockbox under the office floor.
Crates relabeled "organic."
Lettuce beds mesh-netted.
Feed area closed.
He wasn't scared.
He was preparing for a performance.
"They ain't looking for truth. They're looking for a reason."
That afternoon, a black SUV rolled up the road.
Three officials stepped out — government IDs, boots too clean for dirt.
They asked questions, took samples, raised eyebrows.
One stopped in front of the lettuce rows and ran a finger across a head of Verdant Titan.
"These look… engineered."
Kai didn't flinch.
"They're grown right."
After the visit, just before sundown, a sleek silver sedan pulled into the gravel lot.
A different type of visitor stepped out — no clipboard, no badge.
Just a pressed black suit and a thin silver briefcase.
"Mr. Kai," he said, "I represent a private group interested in agricultural innovation."
Kai didn't speak.
The man opened the case. Inside: Contracts. Clean. Thick.
"We don't want the farm. We want the seed. Specifically, your G1 Merge Lettuce Line. We've tracked the shelf life, nutrient profile, and performance. You're sitting on a nutritional revolution."
"We're offering $2.5 million for a regional distribution license — Southeast territory. You maintain brand, identity, and limited oversight."
Kai said nothing for a long second. Then:
"Terms?"
"You keep the master formula. We get exclusive rights to distribute your merged seed through our vendors. You're still the source. We handle the expansion."
Kai sat in silence, eyeing the contract.
"Two-point-five… just to let them resell my genetics?"
The Merge System pulsed in his mind:
Seed Rights Sale – Tiered Option Available
• Maintain ownership
• License access
• Region-locked
• Tiered renewals
• Merge Control remains yours
It wasn't selling out.
It was selling smart.
Kai took the pen, flipped to the terms page, and crossed out two lines.
"You don't touch my process. You don't touch my name."
The man nodded.
"Deal."
Kai signed.
$2.5 million.
Deposited within 24 hours. Locked.
Enough to finish the Merge Shed, upgrade every coop, and run the entire farm without outside feed for the next five years.
Later that night, he stood in the new Merge Shed frame — steel walls echoing with potential.
The Merge Table sat in the center, humming softly.
Merge Table V2 – Active
New Category: Grail Merge Path – Animal Sync + Seed Mutation
He opened the interface.
Selected one Titan Bed.
Selected one bottle of nutrient waste from the hens.
Merge Active.
Result: Fertility Boosted Lettuce
Trait: Enhanced Seed Density
Trait: Passive Chicken Growth Stimulant
He bottled the first batch.
"I'll license that next."
By sunrise, 32 new crates had been ordered — seed-only boxes.
His new buyers?
Farms that had rejected him last month.
Now paying premium to grow his crops.
He pulled up his dashboard.
Merge Grown Income – Week Close
Crate Orders: $5,830
Seed Sales (Direct): $18,000
Seed Licensing Deal: $2.5M (One-time + residual % per quarter)
Status: Banked. Secure. Untouchable.
That night, the Merge System buzzed.
Title Earned: Merge Capitalist
Trait Unlocked:
– Passive Intuition: Detects market gaps
– Merge Contract Detection: Alerts if terms breached
– Cross-Market Licensing Opened
Kai leaned back in his chair, rain still hitting the roof above.
"They think I sold them power."
"I just sold them the keys to a door I already walked through."