Urban System in America-Chapter 85 - 84: War. Greed. Power

This kid had something.

Before, it was just a guess, but now it was verified—he was indeed someone gifted.

After a few minutes, he felt better, and they all headed back.

On the way, he grabbed a hearty breakfast at a nearby diner, as he didn’t have the strength to make one himself anymore.

Scrambled eggs, avocado toast, oatmeal with berries, and a protein smoothie—fuel for the day’s plans.

Returning to his house, he went straight to the showers and treated himself to a long alternating hot and cold shower, to wash away sweat and exhaustion and let the water massage away his soreness.

He even took a few extra minutes to shave and apply some basic skincare—a small self-discipline habit he’d picked up recently.

Throwing on casual loungewear—soft cotton pants, a breathable tee, and his favorite pair of soft house shoes.

Finally, he brewed himself a strong cup of coffee.

Standing by the window, mug in hand, he watched the city slowly come to life.

Birds chirped distantly, a few cars rumbled down the street and people marching forward like clockwork ants.

He felt... calm, relaxed, and most importantly, ready.

With coffee in hand, he sat down at his desk, his computer humming quietly.

The real work was about to begin.

—

Sunlight sliced in through the half-drawn curtains, painting warm golden stripes across the floor.

The steam rising from his mug curled lazily in the cool morning air.

He leaned back in his chair, fingers drumming lightly on the desk, and opened his backtesting software.

Today, he would go deeper than ever before.

He pulled up historical data from different sectors: tech, energy, biotech, manufacturing.

One by one, he ran simulations on potential strategies, testing ideas, examining how they would have fared in the chaos of real market events — stripping each event to the bone, searching for the hidden why, and simulating hypothetical trades based on historical data.

Click. Scroll. Adjust. Simulate.

Notes sprawled across the desk, making margin comments, jotting down "what if" scenarios.

Every possibility had to be accounted for.

Every edge had to be sharpened.

Hours slipped by in silence, broken only by the occasional sip of cooling coffee.

At one point, his phone buzzed—a message from a friend inviting him to hang out. But he chose to ignore it.

Now wasn’t the time for stuff like that.

Around 4 PM, when he felt that he couldn’t go any longer, he took a break, leaning back with a sigh. As he removed the Aeon glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. And as usual, his brain buzzed from the intense mental effort, even though it had gotten better since he took the endurance potion yesterday. but even so, the effort gnawed at the edges of his mind.

Still, he had achieved some pretty solid progress.

But the deeper he delved, the more he realized that textbook strategies could only get him so far.

The real battlefield demanded something more—intuition, gut feeling, and insider awareness.

Just as he was mulling it over, he remembered something he stumbled upon last night:

a mysterious online chat group hidden behind multiple layers of invitation and vetting.

It wasn’t a "market manipulation" group.

Rather, it was a private forum where high-level traders, fund managers, and economic analysts casually shared tips, analyses, rumors, and whispers from the industry.

A true insider lounge.

Neutral territory.

He hesitated for a moment, then quietly logged into the encrypted forum.

He moved carefully, just reading, not posting.

New updates flooded the dashboard. Traders, analysts, and fund managers casually dropped insights into energy shipment disruptions, whispered about rumors of corporate layoffs, and analyzed the week’s shifting bond yields.

Veteran traders discussed potential bond yield shifts due to upcoming elections.

An energy sector analyst hinted at an unusual pattern in oil shipments.

A tech fund manager casually mentioned internal layoffs at a major startup—long before any news outlets picked it up.

Another veteran trader broke down an old strategy they had used successfully during a flash crash years ago, complete with annotated charts and psychological notes.

Every thread was a silent conversation with mentors he would never meet.

Every comment was a battle-scarred story told by survivors of the market’s endless wars.

Rex’s eyes sharpened. He took careful notes, highlighting tips and tricks that most outsiders could only dream of glimpsing.

Whenever he stumbled onto a thread filled with old battle stories or strategy breakdowns, he read through it slowly, savoring every detail.

Each log was like a mini-masterclass in high-level trading psychology.

Mistakes. Victories. Regrets. Warnings.

And Rex was determined to learn from all of it, without paying the tuition cost of personal failure.

A slow smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

This wasn’t just data anymore.

This was raw signal.

He realized if he monitored this channel wisely, he could gain an unbelievable edge—getting whispers of major movements hours, sometimes days, before the general public.

This forum, he realized, could become one of his greatest hidden weapons.

—

As dusk rolled in, painting the skyline in deep purples and oranges, Rex leaned back, rubbing his eyes, a slow, satisfied smile playing on his lips.

He had learned a lot today—and not from books.

From experience.

From instinct.

Grumble.

Suddenly, the sound of his stomach grumbling woke him from his reverie.

Glancing at the time, he realized that it was already quite late, and he hadn’t had anything other than breakfast today.

Standing up, he stretched his sore body until his joints cracked

Getting down, he saw that Victor and Kaelan were watching the news in the living room.

Seeing him, they were about to get up, but he casually waved his hand and motioned for them to stay seated.

Sitting down, he rubbed his stiff neck and saw that it was news about a civil war tearing through an African country.

Gunfire, smoke, blood, broken buildings and the hollowed-out faces of refugees.

Yeah, wars weren’t uncommon in this world either, it’s just that they were less prevalent compared to his previous world, as the United Nations would intervene if it got too big.

As for small conflicts like this, it would just open one eye and close the other.

Seeing the war-torn scenes, he couldn’t help but sigh, the images prickling something heavy inside him.

The world may be different but Human nature hasn’t changed.

War. Greed. Power.

Confronted with boundless resources, humanity’s greed and brutality rise, and become more and more unrestrained and insatiable.

Humans are an inherently greedy species.

Modern morals, laws, and regulations may have dulled the edges of that greed — but only for the masses.

And the rich?

The powerful?

They still live a life of indulgence and entitlement.

The strong still fed on the weak.

The cunning still ruled the fools.

And they often manipulate these very laws and principles to maintain their control, enjoying privileges and luxuries at the expense of those less fortunate, perpetuating inequality and suffering in the shadows of their grandeur.

And if he wanted to survive — no, thrive — in this world, he couldn’t play by the rules

He had to master the real game — the one played in shadows.

Because with the system, he knew that it was just a matter of time when he’ll enter the eyes of rulers of this world.

And the real game would begin.

(End of Chapter)