Chapter 2 — The Scroll and the Wallet
That day, near the Indo-Pakistani border, a tactical nuke detonated with a blinding flash. A mushroom cloud of ash and debris clawed at the sky, its shockwave brutally severing the most fragile tethers of civilization.
Two days later, a black, radioactive rain fell like poison across Europe. Fear, an invisible ash, blanketed the continent. Financial markets froze solid, as if a nuclear winter had descended in an instant. People scrambled, hoarding bottled water; prices for gas masks and potassium iodide tablets skyrocketed. Cities transformed into scenes of pandemonium, a desperate fight for survival. Global stock indices plummeted relentlessly, yet one solitary stock, as if mocking all this despair, defied gravity, soaring to its upper limit with impossible speed, emitting a bizarre light amidst the market's desolation.
"N-Qatar CleanWater Technologies."
Forty-eight hours before the flash, in his subterranean bunker in Paris, Kai was hunched before his 'Revelation Computation Unit,' wrestling with the deluge of data flooding his holographic screens. His AI, Micah, was sifting through the chaotic whispers of geopolitical tensions, the hidden movements buried in military vectors, and the shadowy signals leaking from encrypted Babel-linked communications. Kai's fingers danced over the holographic interface, a blur of motion. His bloodshot eyes, like those of a nocturnal predator stalking its prey, darted through the ocean of data, hunting for that single, elusive strand of truth.
Micah: "Master Kai, the final simulation results are in. Military tension levels at the Indo-Pakistani border have currently surpassed the critical threshold at 93.7%. Probability of a localized nuclear conflict within forty-eight hours has been revised upwards to 91.2%. Anomalous high-volume trading has already been detected in key derivative products linked to 'Babel'. Is this the advent of another 'Red Horse,' or an elaborate feint they've designed? Which 'revelation' will you heed this time, Master?"
Kai remained unfazed by Micah's provocative question. His gaze was fixed simultaneously on a passage from the Book of Revelation displayed on his 'Chirographic Interface' – 'When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come and see." Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.' – real-time satellite imagery of the Middle East, and the proprietary water purification patent data of 'N-Qatar CleanWater Technologies,' a fledgling company operating out of a desert expanse.
Micah's algorithms still couldn't definitively establish a direct causal link between this small enterprise and the imminent nuclear threat. But in Kai's mind, all the puzzle pieces were already falling into place, forming a chillingly exhilarating picture. It was a certainty that transcended prediction, as undeniable and breathtaking as an aurora igniting a dark night sky.
"War… and the only spring to purify the waters of death," Kai murmured, his heart beginning to pound fiercely. This was a gamble. But his inner compass, the one ringing from the depths of his soul, pointed in only one direction.
"Micah, N-Qatar CleanWater Technologies. Execute a full buy at the current market price, immediately. We concentrate all our 'ammunition' here. Leverage (a financial technique of using borrowed capital for an investment, which can magnify both profits and losses)… to the absolute maximum."
Micah: "Master, based on my comprehensive analysis of the company's fundamentals and current market valuation, this investment is… unequivocally a suicidal act. The probability of success is 17.8%, versus an 82.2% chance of catastrophic failure. Are you truly… going 'all-in' on this single hand? The miracle in the Libyan desert was, by definition, a miracle. It may not occur twice."
A cold, confident smile played on Kai's lips. His eyes shone like those of a poker champion who had read every tell, every card. "Data isn't everything, Micah, as you well know. Sometimes the most certain prophecies reveal themselves in the most insane wagers. And… the stake in this game isn't mere money. This is my second warning shot to those arrogant Nephilim, and it's about protecting the smallest seed of hope that might yet bloom from the despair they create."
The moment his finger pressed the 'buy' button on the hologram screen, all the numbers on the display seemed to writhe with a life of their own. The company's entire 14.7% stake was thus acquired by the still-nameless youth, Kai, exactly one day before the nuke detonated, with everything he had.
When the world moved as he had predicted – no, as he had designed – people reacted with stunned disbelief. "How did he know? Who told him?" Only Kai knew the truth of that answer.
AI Micah reported additional analysis results in Kai's bunker, with a voice that was as always emotionless, yet seemed to pierce through everything. In that voice, however faint, there seemed to be a ripple of wonder and surprise.
Micah: "…Master Kai, your foresight has once again defied all potential calculation errors in my systems and been proven true in reality. The prophecy in Revelation 6:5-8 has been fulfilled without error. The Red Horse, which is war, has called forth the Black Horse and the Pale Horse, and the value of currently contaminated water is rising as the new 'black gold,' surpassing all safe assets. This is an unprecedented situation where the most basic prerequisite for survival is globally threatened.'"
That night, Kai alternated between gazing at the digital copy of the Bible displayed on his 'Revelation Computation Unit' screen and the data visualization materials he had personally input and analyzed – the network graph he had drawn on his unique 'Chirographic Interface,' a complex web where the shapes of the Four Horsemen seemed strangely intertwined with modern disaster indicators. He read the patterns: The White Horse, representing deception and false peace sown by Babel... The Red Horse, pulsing with the geopolitical conflicts they induced... The Black Horse, a dark stain signifying famine, contamination, and disorder... The Pale Horse, a spectral rider of epidemic, bringing bioterrorism and collapse...
And below that, a small note he had personally typed. 'Fear creates the most reliable demand. In the wake of the Grim Reaper, only the desperate wallets of the survivors open. And that money becomes the fertilizer for sowing even greater seeds of evil.'
USD 4,800,000.73 His initial investment was only $32,000. He had achieved a 150-fold return in 27 hours. The moment those numbers appeared on his retinal display, Kai's heart gave a short, intense beat. The thrill of victory, the dizzying exhilaration felt only by one who had woven the world to his will.
When people spoke of "miracle," he swallowed the word carefully. That convenient word, miracle, often too easily erased the desperate human effort – the all-night analysis, the lonely decisions – that lay beneath. Before his eyes, more than the 150-fold return, flickered the possibility of yet another tragedy that couldn't be prevented even with that money, the lingering images of lives that couldn't be saved. Were these cold numbers a blessing, or the yoke of a heavier responsibility? This was not mere money. It was another torch to light the way in the darkness, the sharpest arrowhead for the next battle.
His astonishing predictions and successive successes rapidly struck the global financial world. Following the mythical return in the desert, this investment in a water purification company amidst the Indo-Pakistani nuclear crisis earned him a new moniker. The one who creates opportunities no one sees in the midst of desperate fear, who builds new kingdoms of wealth upon the ashes of ruin. People, with reverence and a touch of fear, began to call him 'Kingdom Builder.' Of course, even amidst this storm of fame, his true name and identity remained thoroughly veiled.
And simultaneously, a single anonymous message arrived via the encrypted network.
From: E.M.
"After the Black Horse, comes the Pale Horse.
Kingdom Builder, where is next?"
Kai thought for a long time, then replied briefly.
"Jerusalem."