Chapter 4: The Scorpion's Sting

The quest completion notification faded, but the sense of clarity it left behind was as sharp as cut glass. Leo sat bathed in the glow of his laptop, the quiet hum of the machine a counterpoint to the racing of his own thoughts. In the next room, his children slept, blissfully unaware that their father was teetering on the edge of sanity, guided by a ghostly interface only he could see.

[Rewards Processed: 200 EXP, 50 SP, 1 Attribute Point] [Level Up! Level 1 -> Level 2] [New Skill Unlocked: [Intuition - Lvl 1]]

Another window appeared, prompting him to allocate his new attribute point. He didn’t hesitate. He mentally selected ‘Analysis,’ and the number next to it ticked up from 8 to 9. The world didn’t change, but he felt a subtle shift in his perception, as if a layer of fog had been lifted from his mind. The complex data streams from his earlier scan on KingMidas75 now seemed simpler, their patterns more obvious.

His gaze fell upon the auction for the box of vintage computer junk. It was the perfect weapon. A trojan horse built of corroded silicon and outdated plastic. His last attack, the one on the scooter, had been a wild, angry swing in the dark. This would be different. This would be surgical.

A new notification slid into his view, sleek and blue.

[New Strategy Available: The Scorpion's Sting]

• Description: A technique designed to exploit automated bidding systems by creating a false bidding war, manipulating the target bot into bidding against a phantom competitor and drastically inflating the final price.
• Requirement: [Analysis: 9+], Two active bidding accounts.
• Execution Success Chance: 85%

Two accounts. Of course. His attack on the scooter had been a two-player game: him versus the bot. The Scorpion’s Sting was a three-player game, with him controlling two of the players. It was elegant. It was vicious. He loved it.

Creating a new account on Aura Auctions was easy, but he knew better than to do it from his own IP address. That was amateur hour. Even a mediocre system would flag two accounts from the same location bidding on the same low-value items. He spent ten of his new System Points on a one-month subscription to a high-end VPN, the purchase confirmed with a simple mental command and a soft chime.

He routed his connection through a server in Estonia, created a fresh email, and registered a new user: Junker_Joe123. The name was perfect—anonymous, unassuming, exactly the kind of person who might be interested in a box of old electronics.

The auction for the "Vintage Lot" had twelve hours left. The current bid was a measly $15. KingMidas75 hadn’t shown up yet; the bot was likely programmed to ignore auctions until their final hours to avoid tipping off other bidders. Leo waited, his patience a newfound weapon. He spent the time studying the System, exploring the greyed-out skills in his tree, his mind alight with possibilities.

With one hour left on the timer, the beast arrived.

A notification from the System flared in his vision: [Target Detected].

He watched the bid list. A new bid appeared: $20, from some random user. An instant later, it was obsolete.

[New Bid: $20.25 by KingMidas75]

The 25-cent increment. The bot’s signature for low-value items. Leo’s lips curled into a grim smile. The scorpion was in the bottle.

He took a deep breath, his fingers poised over the keyboard. It was time to dance. Using his main account, LVance, he placed a bid of $50.

The response was immediate. [New Bid: $50.25 by KingMidas75]

Good. The bot had registered him as the primary competitor. Now, for the venom. He switched over to his VPN-protected browser, logged in as Junker_Joe123, and placed a bid of $55.

The page refreshed. The bot, as expected, did not hesitate. Its logic was simple: beat the highest bidder.

[New Bid: $55.25 by KingMidas75]

Leo let out a quiet, triumphant laugh. It was working. The bot had no concept of collusion. It just saw two different users driving up the price. It couldn’t see that both users were the same man, sitting in a dimly lit apartment, orchestrating its downfall.

He began to escalate.

LVance: $100. KingMidas75: $100.75.

Junker_Joe123: $110. KingMidas75: $110.75.

The price, which should have stalled out around thirty dollars, was now soaring past a hundred. Every bid from the bot was a small victory, a confirmation of the flaw in its code. This wasn’t about the money anymore. It was about proving he could dismantle this arrogant, faceless empire, one overpriced piece of junk at a time.

The System’s interface provided him with a constant stream of information.

[Target’s Emotional State: N/A (Automated)] [Target’s Logic Loop: Engaged] [Estimated Bid Ceiling: $1,150]

The number made Leo’s eyes widen. Over a thousand dollars. The bot’s master had programmed it with such confidence, with such arrogance, that he had set its maximum bid for this garbage at over a grand. He had handed Leo the hammer to shatter his own piggy bank.

With ten minutes left, the price was at $450. Leo was playing the bot like a fiddle. He’d have LVance jump the bid by fifty, then have Junker_Joe123 raise it by a mere ten, creating an illusion of a frantic, multi-sided war. The bot dutifully, stupidly, countered every single move.

$600. $600.75.

$700. $700.75.

His heart was pounding, but it wasn't the panicked beat from the night of the scooter auction. This was the steady, powerful rhythm of a predator. His Composure stat might be low, but his Analysis stat was guiding him, keeping his actions cold and precise.

With sixty seconds left, the bid stood at $840. He pushed it one last time with Junker_Joe123. A nice, round number. $900.

The screen flashed.

[New Bid: $900.75 by KingMidas75]

It was time to pull the sting.

With thirty seconds remaining, Leo closed the browser window for Junker_Joe123. He let his own account, LVance, go silent. He simply leaned back in his chair and watched the clock tick down.

20… 19… 18…

The bid list was static. The phantom competitors had vanished. The bot, with no one left to outbid, fell silent, its purpose fulfilled.

10… 9… 8…

Leo held his breath, a grin spreading across his face.

3… 2… 1…

[Auction Ended. Winner: KingMidas75] [Winning Bid: $900.75]

The number was obscene. It was beautiful. He had just forced his faceless enemy to pay nearly a thousand dollars for a box of literal trash. A wave of vindication washed over him, so potent it almost made him dizzy.

A cascade of notifications filled his vision.

[Strategy ‘The Scorpion’s Sting’ Successful!] [Quest Complete: Bleed the Enemy] [Rewards: 500 EXP, 150 SP, +1 Composure]

He had done it. It wasn’t a fluke. The System was real, and his anger had been forged into a weapon. He had lost the first battle for the Jeep, but he had just won the second engagement decisively. Flushed with success, he stared at his newly acquired System Points, a thought already forming in his mind. This was good, but it wasn't enough. He needed more information. He needed to know who this "King" really was.

He opened his skill tree, the 150 SP glowing like a small fortune. It was time to upgrade his analysis. It was time to find out who was really behind the crown.