I. The Predicament of a Pawn
The email from Devraj Nanda was not a request; it was a command.
Subject: Consultation Required.Body:Mr. Shastri, the 'link' you referenced has been severed. Swiftly. This demonstrates a certain level of foresight I find... rare. My firm requires that foresight. Be at the Nanda Industries tower on Nariman Point tomorrow at 11:00 AM sharp. My executive assistant, Ms. Deshmukh, will greet you. Do not be late. Do not bring anyone. Your fee will be discussed only upon satisfactory performance.
The email was stark, arrogant, and devoid of the niceties reserved for equals. It was the summons of a predator to a smaller, interesting prey. Agastya's stomach tightened, but the fear was overshadowed by the humming, cold confidence of his new Advanced Negotiation (Level 1) skill. He wasn't just walking into an office; he was walking into a test.
[TASK RATING: EXTREME RISK. HOST IS ENCOUNTERING PRIMARY ANTAGONIST. DEPLOYMENT OF NEW SKILL AND ASSET IS CRITICAL FOR SURVIVAL.]
Agastya spent the evening studying Devraj Nanda. Using his Basic Financial Acumen, he dissected Nanda Industries' public filings. The System confirmed what he suspected: Nanda was a master of corporate leverage and regulatory arbitrage. His empire was built on a foundation of political influence and veiled illegal financing, much like the one that used Rana Kadam.
Agastya knew Nanda would be testing him for two things:
His Source: How did a ghost nobody acquire such precise, high-level information?
His Utility: Was he a dangerous threat to be eliminated, or a unique tool to be acquired?
Agastya had to convince Nanda of the latter, without ever revealing the SGMS.
II. The Suit and the System Upgrade
Before facing a titan, Agastya needed to look the part. He used his remaining funds to purchase a single, high-quality, impeccably tailored suit from a boutique in Lower Parel. The expense was astronomical, wiping out the last of his remaining cash, but the System approved.
[STATUS ACQUISITION: VISUALS. NEGATIVE NET WORTH IS TEMPORARY. STATUS IS PERMANENT.]
As he dressed the next morning, the System flashed a brief, surprising notification:
[SKILL ACTIVATION: NEGOTIATION SUITE]
Pre-Negotiation Protocol Initiated.Skill: Advanced Negotiation (Level 1) Sub-Skill Unlocked: Micro-Expression Reading.Effect: Allows the Host to instantly analyze subtle shifts in facial muscles, voice modulation, and body language to deduce emotional states and hidden intentions.Duration: 3 Hours.
The world suddenly sharpened. As Agastya looked in the mirror, his reflection seemed to hold an unnatural clarity. He wasn't just seeing his face; he was seeing the subtle twitch near his left eye when he was stressed, the slight flare of his nostrils when he was angry. The skill was terrifying—a permanent lie detector inside his mind.
He arrived at the Nanda Industries Corporate Tower precisely at 11:00 AM. The building was a monolith of reflective glass and steel, a temple to corporate power.
He was met by Aditi Deshmukh.
III. The Introduction: Aditi Deshmukh
Aditi Deshmukh was the antithesis of the gaudy excess of the Nanda Tower. She was dressed in a sharp, elegant ivory power suit, her demeanor a perfect blend of efficiency and understated authority. Agastya immediately activated his Micro-Expression Reading skill.
Her face, when she greeted him, was polite—but her lips were slightly compressed, and her eyes held a spark of intense, clinical curiosity mixed with a flicker of impatience. She is highly capable, fiercely protective of Nanda's time, and deeply skeptical of me, Agastya deduced instantly.
"Mr. Shastri," she said, her voice crisp and measured in Marathi. "I am Ms. Deshmukh. I am authorized to conduct the preliminary evaluation."
Agastya offered a confident smile. "Ms. Deshmukh. I prefer to speak only to the Principal regarding principal risks."
He watched her eyes. A subtle shift—a flicker of respect. She was used to nervous aspirants.
"Mr. Nanda is... occupied. We're on a very tight schedule," she pressed, her eyebrows raising slightly. She is testing my confidence, trying to make me blink.
Agastya leaned in, his voice dropping to a measured, almost conspiratorial tone. "The risk Mr. Nanda faces is not confined to a schedule. It is active and immediate. Tell Mr. Nanda that the problem of Mumbai Realty Holdings is about to become public knowledge unless he speaks to the only person who can manage the narrative."
He saw the flicker of surprise this time, a definite micro-movement of her jaw muscles. He had used the exact piece of information that Nanda had tried to silence.
Aditi's professionalism took over. "Wait here."
She returned thirty seconds later. The impatience was gone, replaced by grudging seriousness. "He will see you now."
IV. The Chess Game with the Vulture
Devraj Nanda's office was a panoramic corner suite that offered a breathtaking, god-like view of the Arabian Sea. Nanda himself was a man in his late 50s, impeccably dressed, with a silver mane and the perpetually assessing eyes of an apex predator. He did not rise when Agastya entered.
"Agastya Shastri," Nanda said, his voice a low, cultured baritone. "The man who sends anonymous emails about my... operational inefficiencies." He gestured toward a chair. "Sit. Let's skip the pleasantries. How did you know about the UPI trace back to Mumbai Realty Holdings? And who is your principal?"
Agastya sat, crossing one leg over the other, maintaining a relaxed posture that belied the fire in his gut.
"Mr. Nanda," Agastya began, employing his skill. He saw the slight tightening around Nanda's eyes—the sign of a man guarding a critical piece of information. "My principal is my own intelligence. And the answer to your first question is simply: I saw the code."
Nanda raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Code? You mean the digital trail?"
"No," Agastya replied, maintaining steady eye contact. "I mean the code of acquisition. You, Mr. Nanda, are efficient. You eliminate problems. Rana Kadam was an emotional problem linked to an archaic, messy system. But Rana was just a symptom. The real illness is your over-reliance on analog solutions in a digital economy."
Agastya leaned forward, his voice dropping slightly, using the psychological leverage the System advised. "Your greatest risk isn't the ED; it's the invisible data you leave behind. That data—the sloppy UPI routing, the weak encryption keys on the Realty server—that is the code I saw. It reveals a structural weakness that will eventually bring down your entire operation."
Nanda stared at him for a long moment. Agastya noticed the slight, almost invisible tremor in Nanda's left hand—a sign of genuine, suppressed concern. He is convinced I have a network, not a System.
"You speak of structural weakness, Mr. Shastri, but you come from a structure built on debt and poverty," Nanda countered, a dangerous smirk on his lips. "Why should I believe you are anything more than a scared man who found a lucky piece of evidence?"
"Because," Agastya countered, meeting the challenge directly, "a scared man would have tried to blackmail you. I sent you an advisory, demonstrating the threat and proving my capability to solve it. I traded information for a seat at your table. And as for my origin—I know what it's like to fight for survival. I know how to make impossible gains from minimal resources. You need that hunger, Mr. Nanda, working for you."
Nanda laughed—a short, humourless bark. "You're selling ambition. I buy results. What is the next immediate risk to Nanda Industries, and what is your plan to mitigate it, without knowing anything about my current operations?"
V. The Universal Access Card Gambit
This was the final test. Agastya had no data on Nanda's current projects. But he had the Universal Access Card.
[HOST IS REQUIRED TO UTILIZE ASSET: UNIVERSAL ACCESS CARD. TARGET DATABASE: NANDA INDUSTRIES' REAL-TIME LEGAL/REGULATORY FILINGS.]
Agastya pulled out his phone, placing it face up on the table, seemingly checking a text message. He didn't look at the screen. The System's interface, invisible to Nanda, activated the Universal Access Card.
[ASSET ACTIVATED. TARGET ACQUIRED. INJECTING DATA STREAM.]
A wave of complex regulatory information instantly flooded Agastya's mind—the real-time status of Nanda's most pressing legal cases.
"Your most immediate risk," Agastya stated, looking Nanda directly in the eye, "is Project Garuda."
Nanda's expression finally shattered. His tremor stopped, replaced by rigid stillness. Project Garuda was Nanda Industries' highly sensitive, multi-billion-rupee land acquisition and infrastructure project, currently stalled due to a regulatory hurdle. No one outside Nanda's inner circle was supposed to know its code name.
"The regulatory clearance from the Mumbai Civic Authority (MCA) on the land transfer documentation is about to be denied, not because of legal defect, but due to a missing signature from a retired Municipal Commissioner—a failure of analogue communication," Agastya rattled off, citing the exact file number and the commissioner's name, which he'd just mentally acquired. "This denial will cost you ₹500 Crores in penalties. Your lawyers are still arguing the regulatory technicality. They're missing the political and bureaucratic weakness."
Agastya leaned back, satisfied. Nanda was visibly shaken.
"My proposal, Mr. Nanda, is simple. You don't hire me as a consultant. You hire Niyati Solutions as your exclusive Risk Arbitrage partner. I solve the Project Garuda crisis in 48 hours, and you pay me a minimum fee of ₹50 Lakhs."
Nanda stared at the young man who had just dismantled his security protocols and exposed his biggest secret in less than ten minutes.
"₹50 Lakhs... A rich price for an unknown quantity," Nanda finally said, regaining his composure. "You are bold, Mr. Shastri. But I don't pay for ambition. I pay for loyalty. What makes you loyal?"
"My loyalty is to the solution, Mr. Nanda," Agastya said, a glint in his eye. "But to ensure my loyalty remains... focused on your success, I require a non-negotiable term: my new firm, Niyati Solutions, must have its office moved to the Nanda Tower, Level 50. I need to be in the engine room."
Agastya's Advanced Negotiation skill told him the demand was outrageous but perfectly calculated. It was a power move that Nanda would recognize and respect.
Devraj Nanda smiled—a terrifying, genuine smile this time. "Welcome to the game, Agastya Shastri. You have 48 hours to bring me that signature. Aditi will prepare the contract."
Agastya stood. "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Nanda."
He turned and walked out, the adrenaline crashing down, leaving a profound sense of exhaustion and triumph. He had faced the Vulture and walked away not just alive, but with a contract for ₹50 Lakhs and an office in the heart of the empire.
As he exited the tower, he saw Aditi Deshmukh waiting for him. She held out a sleek, black business card.
"My personal number, Mr. Shastri," she said, her voice softer this time, a complex mix of professional admiration and veiled curiosity. "You are now involved in things that can't be unlearned. I suggest you rely on me for navigation. And a warning: Devraj Nanda doesn't have partners. He only has assets."
Agastya took the card. "Then I suppose I'll have to become the asset he can't afford to lose."
He glanced at the System screen, a new task already queuing.
[TASK 003: THE ARBITRAGE OF POWER. PRIMARY GOAL: ACQUIRE RETIRED COMMISSIONER'S SIGNATURE (PROJECT GARUDA). DEADLINE: 48 HOURS. NEW ASSET: LUXURY VEHICLE ACQUISITION UNLOCKED.]
Agastya had ₹0.00 in his bank account, the most powerful business address in Mumbai, and 48 hours to pull off a political miracle. His life of fighting for survival was officially over. His life of fighting for dominance had just begun.