010. Sappers here, enjoying our cover!

Huu watched with almost rapturous satisfaction.

Every single second, there was rockcrete pouring into the ground.

Every single second, there were profits pouring into a never-ending pit.

It was glorious beyond reckoning.

Just doing the basic mathematics was enough to tell Huu that he had a true money sink on his hands.

41 hexes long, 20 wide, 10 levels high. Calculating a CF of 150 to ensure maximum armour. High/Low Ceilings, Environmental Sealing, Fortress construction...

At the bare minimum it added up to 405,900,000,000 C-Bills. Or in other words, 405.9 Billion C-Bills to pay for it.

For one, single, section of the structure. To build the underground component was to multiply it by 5, in other words, 2029.5 Billion C-Bills. A full Castle Eggers? Eight sections? The numbers were too big for him to even compute.

He was almost euphoric at the thought.

Imagine... losing that much money to a hole in the ground?

Imagine just how... glorious it was.

Huu shivered.

As it was now, they could only build the first level, money was still coming in from the profits, but the more he asked the construction crews to do... the more money they would lose.

The more workers there were, the more wages and benefits he had to pay out. The more workers, the more materials they would use, a perfect, never-ending cycle of losses.

Truly, it was the most glorious of options.

The first level, was 41 (long) x 20 (wide) x 10 (levels high) x 20,000 (fortress cost) x 150x1 (CF x levels) x 1.5 (environmental sealing) x 1.1 (high/low ceilings) C-Bills. Or 40.590 Billion C-Bills.

They couldn't even build that. He chortled, truly from small things big things grow!

They were building each part of the structure one at a time. Starting with the residential areas so that the workers would have a place to sleep. In the two months that he had started this, there were already supermarkets, gyms, a small doctor's office and more setting themselves up in the vacant commercial lots that had been made available. Unfinished by the standards of a fortress but, more than enough for a business or civilian to live and work in.

Huu was a little irritated about that, actually. Why the hell were they being occupied? Why did people want to be out here at all?

If they were here, why was his home town of Perth's CBD so bloody empty? This didn't make any sense!

But! But he had to take a breath, sit back, and relax.

Things would sort themselves out.

Not like his current annoyance on the eve of the System cycle turning over.

Behind him was a rather large impromptu series of structures. Dozens of tents had been constructed, the kind that were basically cargo containers, but purpose built for housing. The workers who couldn't find accommodation inside the already completed sections, were instead finding temporary homes in the structures that Bek had funded.

The machinists had worked hard to construct them in time for the rush of employees and their dependants coming in from all over the planet.

Their presence wasn't the issue. It was the fact that there were many people there that wanted to be here. The temporary housing being a representation of just how many people wanted to be here in the first place.

Why!?

What was so good about this?

Every wealthy Lyran household had two cars. Two.

Why did they want to move somewhere with literally zero cars?

He couldn't understand it, didn't this fly in the face of everything that the Lyran Commonwealth stood for?

Two cars in one's garage, a suburban home?

He felt, sometimes, like tearing his hair out.

People just did not make sense.

But!

But, he had made losses. Real losses, insane losses, truly, great, amazing losses.

Looking at his loss counter in the bottom right of his vision, Huu couldn't help but smile.

It had been some twists, some turns, unexpected profits, scrambling to make losses, yet. Here he was, ready to make losses. 130,029 kroner of losses.

He couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen, he had completed the optional objective.

What would be the reward?

Oooooh.

++ System Settlement. Cycle 1. June 2990. ++

++ Initial Funds = 200,000. Profits = 0. Losses = 130,029. ++

++ Initiating conversion. 130,029 losses to 13,002.90 personal wealth. ++

Huu fist pumped. Yaaaaaas.

++ Assessing objectives. Optional Objective complete. Assigning Rewards. ++

He tensed to the confusion of the workers that had been watching his antics over the last five minutes.

++ Host may have one project continue past cycle without infringing on System rules ++

He paused.

What?

Wasn't that... wait. No... no...

++ New Cycle Initiated. Starting funds 213,002 (Initial + Loss Conversion). Cycle Period 3 months. ++

Okay, that wasn't so bad. But the brick was still falling out of the sky and he could feel its shadow on his face.

++ New Rules: Host may not have any businesses continue unfinished past Cycle end. ++

++ New Rules: Failure to achieve a loss or comply with rules will result in Host taking a physical holiday off-planet. ++

What the fuck system? Are you trying to kill me?

He really wanted to ask the system where its address was, so he could send a bomb, leaving Blackjack III was going to kill him with his immune system being the way it was. Just leaving the city was enough to send him to the hospital.

This is murder System!

++ System is not a human. Human laws do not apply to the System. ++

He fought the urge to swear.

++ New Objective: Start a media division. All True Tycoons are able to shape public opinion through truthful depictions of their lives. Follow in their footsteps today! ++

That wasn't so bad.

++ New Objective: Defend thyself. True Tycoons are the object of envy. Their benevolence causes them to run against governments. All true Tycoons must be prepared to fight off hostile government forces. Establish a military force and follow in their footsteps today! This force must take contracts to prove their worth as a True Tycoon's defenders. ++

++ Optional Objective: Lose 20 kilograms. True Tycoons look after their health. Dying of a heart attack early will be an embarrassment to True Tycoons everywhere. ++

He glared at the system.

Well, fuck you and your bloated rules as well System!

There was a sense of smugness that was returned, blowing across his face. He could practically hear the ha ha ha ha.

Right.

The big question, he had to construct two companies out of nowhere, and he had to finish the construction of Castle Eggers. Only one of which could be continued past three months.

It was rather obvious that he had to use Castle Eggers as the continuation, it being completed, even just the first section, in three months was a joke. Hell, even just having the first level complete in three months was a joke, especially with the maglev trains coming from off-world.

There was the slight issue of needing to get the first section finished and finding the funding for it. Having a free business to run past the cycle end would be extremely useful in giving himself some leeway.

The other two should be really easy though, he wasn't worried.

Not one bit.

A media company? Pschaw, just take some old crappy music from Terra and re-release them. His parents in his first life had listened to them, that was how old they were, Every Time We Touch, Moonlight Shadow, Down Under. The old songs that 96.1fm, the old people's radio station played. Even then, they were only played on request.

Put it out now, and only the geriatrics would want to have a listen.

As for the defences. Mother had been... telling him, in rather firm terms, that he needed to be concerned for his safety. Hiring ex-militia and arming them with the guns he Eggers Armaments was producing would be enough to fulfil that requirement. Sending them off-world might need a bit more thinking... but he would think of something.

Ha.

Everything was coming up roses!