The western perimeter hummed with energy.
Kai had merged the outermost land strip into a Tier 5 Adaptive Barrier Field — not metal, not electricity, but living terrain tuned to react to intent. Step on it without permission, and it pushed back. Not with force.
With fear.
It read the invader's nervous system and gave them what they were most afraid of — not illusion. Bio-feedback. Merge-induced.
MergeCore called it: Emotional Repulsion Defense Layer.
Inside the core fields, Kai didn't notice the barrier trigger once.
He was busy with his next expansion.
"Start the merge sequence on dairy," Kai said.
MergeCore acknowledged:
"Merging Tier 3 Cows with Tier 3 Milk Production Line. Result: Tier 4 Dairy Infrastructure. Pasteurization now built into udder extraction. Zero contamination risk. Shelf life: 6x longer."
Kai nodded. "Good."
"Cattle mood enhancement field also installed. Hormone levels stabilized. Output increasing 14%."
"Good. Merge the barns."
"Specify."
"All of them."
[MERGE: 12 Barn Units + Tier 3 Composite Steel + AutoSanitize AI]
= Tier 4 MergeBarn Complex – Temperature-regulated, anti-disease, with waste-to-fuel conversion floor.]
By noon, the new barns were glowing.
He fed cows, not with machines, but with merged silage — engineered for digestion speed, taste, and muscular density. These cows weren't just fat.
They were premium-built, stress-free muscle.
Meanwhile, at the MergeMarket Website, the numbers were exploding.
MergeMilk (Tier 4): SOLD OUT
MergeEggs: 3-hour wait list
MergeLettuce Crates: Only available through monthly subscription
MergeTobacco: 1st in pre-orders for luxury cigars
Kai didn't post updates.
He didn't do press.
He just let the product speak.
That night, a meeting started in a D.C. subcommittee.
No cameras. No media.
Just quiet voices.
"This farm is creating biological monopolies. What happens when he controls 90% of the elite supply chains?"
"We need a response protocol."
"You want to threaten him? With what—corn subsidies?"
Silence.
Until one older man leaned forward.
"No… We buy in. Quietly. Through proxies. Get shares in the freight lines, the data centers. If we can't beat him—"
"—we merge with him."
Kai, back on the farm, didn't know.
Or maybe he did.
He had just merged another full zone: Tier 6 Soil Grid. And he stood barefoot in the field, letting the ground pulse.
"Merge everything under this sky," he whispered.
Profit Summary
MergeMilk Launch Sales: +$2,300,000
MergeEggs + Lettuce Subscriptions: +$1,250,000
MergeTobacco Orders: +$1,900,000
Private BioContract: +$500,000
Expenses:
MergeBarn Construction: –$1,000,000
Tier 6 Soil Zone: –$3,200,000
Dairy Line Upgrades: –$600,000
Net Profit: $1,150,000
Kai's Total Net Worth: $800,373,000