Chapter 14: New Items & New Ideas
After completing his tasks downstairs—assigning duties, laying out development roadmaps, and restructuring a near-defunct film studio into a potential powerhouse—Vikram finally made his way up to the top floor.
The fifth floor had already been cleaned and reorganized according to the request he had placed earlier that morning. Even though it had not been used recently, Vikram had specific plans for this private space—part office, part command center, and part rest chamber when needed.
His limbs were heavy, evidence of the constant travel and high-intensity decisions from the past week—moving from Gorakhpur to Bengaluru to Mumbai, acquiring a high-value studio, assigning his robotic aides to cinema acquisition, and reformatting an entire regional industry.
As soon as he entered the tastefully restored apartment suite, with its newly wiped floors and dusted wooden furnishings, his System activated in his mind—clear, emotionless, and timely, as always.
> [New items are now available in the System Mall. Items launched today will remain at 1% of their original price for the next hour. After this, they will return to retail value.]
Vikram's fatigue seemed to dissolve with the announcement.
He immediately activated his System Shop interface—his senses enveloped in the subtle hum of data screens and category panels. Each file opened with remarkable speed, revealing futuristic files, streamlined utility weapons, surveillance tools, biological enhancements, and rare artifacts.
His eyes locked onto three newly listed, high-tier entries—but discounted, for now, to near giveaway prices:
1. Supernatural Vajra Body
> Grants defense comparable to diamond under high-caliber impact, reduces physical damage to near-zero. Enhances stamina regeneration and physical recovery rate by 1,000 times. Extends biological lifespan to approximately 200 human years.
Discounted Cost: 400 GP
Original Cost: 40,000 GP
2. Memory Manipulation Skill Module
> Allows host to read, edit, or implant memories in any human brain via direct contact. Full control over memory function—affects loyalty, emotion, behavioral programming, or complete personality redirection.
Discounted Cost: 600 GP
Original Cost: 60,000 GP
3. JS-1 Generation Bee Swarm (Smart Micro-Drones)
> 100 nanotechnology bee-sized drones. 1 millimeter each. Appear identical to biological bees. Solar powered. Flight-to-host cognition link via spiritual AI contract. Each drone contains lethal neurotoxin dose. Highly mobile, stealth-capable, and immune to EMP disruption.
Discounted Cost: 300 GP
Original Cost: 30,000 GP
Available Gamer Points: 2,800 GP
Total Cost of Three Items: 1,300 GP
Without hesitation, Vikram confirmed the purchase.
The moment the transactions completed, a sudden wave of heat surged through his chest and spine. Energy spread rapidly through every nerve and muscle fiber. His fatigue evaporated in an instant, replaced by a bubbling clarity and focused strength that pulsed beneath his skin like awake lightning.
He stood straighter. His breath slowed to complete calm. It was working.
His body had fully integrated the Supernatural Vajra Physique. On the surface, his skin remained soft to the touch. To the eye, he looked no different. But when he applied pressure—pulling, twisting, even stabbing himself lightly with a dagger from the System space—his defense held perfectly. The blade could no longer enter his body.
His skin felt like flesh but absorbed force like forged carbon steel.
He was now untouchable by conventional weapons—not just resistant, but effectively immune. A soldier, spy, executive, and tactician—all housed within a living fortress.
Yet he knew enhanced recovery, no matter how fast, required fuel. Calories. Water. Electrolytes. If overused, his body would still require replenishment—no system bypasses biology forever. At least, not yet.
Next, he activated the Memory Manipulation skill.
He touched Priya Verma—his newly promoted operations lead—on the forehead. The transfer was seamless. A tether of control entered her neural core. Using measured steps, Vikram rewrote her inner framework.
Now, in her memory, Vikram was not only her employer—but her protector, her guiding mind, her life's lodestar. She would see him as the ultimate sovereign in her life's cosmos. Her loyalty would become absolute. Her sacrifice, if asked, unquestioned.
When she opened her eyes, there was no audible change in tone—just a calm, glass-clear gaze of devotion. She addressed him as "Master," prepared to fulfill every instruction with unshakable resolve.
Finally, he opened a small box that had appeared in his System Inventory. It was no larger than a school lunch tin—but inside, 100 hyper-miniaturized bee drones buzzed faintly. Not from wings—there were no mechanical parts—but energy and the most important part is that it can fly at the average speed of 10 Mach and max. speed could even reach 24 Mach for a short period of time.
The JS-1 drones were silent. Invisible unless observed closely. Capable of acting with hive logic or individual targeting. They fed from sunlight and could deploy anywhere on the globe via remote thought relay.
Following the spiritual-contract protocol, Vikram linked himself to them. A flash of light passed over his forehead—a pulse both psychic and symbolic.
Now, they were his senses. His assassins. His warning scouts.
With adrenaline now replaced by capability, Vikram expanded the impact of his Memory Manipulation skill—editing the minds of every department head and executive across his media holding company. Reports. Acting trainers. Editors. Distribution liaisons. Studio staff.
Loyalty was now inbuilt. Motivation purified.
The entire enterprise—formerly Tej Singh Films—was now rebranded under a newly registered shell:
DreamWorks Holdings Pvt. Ltd.
Its divisions:
- DreamWorks Studio (film, original content)
- Galaxy Cinemas (theatre and multiplex chains)
- DreamWorks Press (books, comics, newspapers)
- [Future project] DreamWorks Television (satellite and news distribution)
A pan-India cultural infrastructure operation was now being laid brick-by-brick voluntarily—and silently.
—
Seated in his quiet fifth-floor suite, Vikram studied the files again.
He had already given ₹1 crore to Priya for filming two projects—but began calculating that he'd need at least ₹2.5 crore to complete the works at the scale he envisioned. He would issue another ₹1.5 crore in strategic tranches, timed with production milestones.
These two scripts were not mere fiction. They were directly copied from a parallel timeline, in which similar stories had succeeded immensely in a 1970s India that had embraced patriotic cinema.
The first film was a gripping spy-action thriller about an Indian intelligence officer thwarting a major terror plot orchestrated against the nation—a bold, unapologetic story of heroism spanning Punjab, Kashmir, and Delhi.
The second was a light-hearted romantic comedy, filled with emotional nuance and timeless appeal. It struck universal chords without mocking Indian values.
Both films were pro-national—neither anti-anyone nor politically polarizing. Their purpose: to remind India what pride, honor, and love for country could look and feel like on screen.
He had also:
- Spent 200 GP acquiring top-tier filming equipment—light grids, voice-enhanced camera rigs, and advanced synchronous sound systems, all years ahead of local market quality.
Current System Balance: 1,300 GP
Additionally, using only 4–5 GP, he bought the copyrights to replicate the top 10 highest-earning Indian films released every year between 1971 and 1980. These were not simple remakes but future-tested scripts now free for adaptation.
He asked Mark 1 to register each under The Copyright Act of 1957, solidifying ironclad IP rights in the company's favor for decades.
—
Elsewhere, the wheels of justice continued to turn under his unseen command.
Mr. Bharat, his most ruthless AI agent, had executed a total of 70 politicians, thousands of corrupt officials—264 judges and more than 3,000 confirmed rapists and heinous criminals included.
Criminal activity across India had plunged by 60% in affected districts. Streets were safer. Dacoits had stopped robbing buses. Local police procedures—long paralyzed by red tape and bribery—slowly began aligning to protocol.
Fear had shifted loyalties.
Thanks to newly uncovered caches, Mr. Bharat had now collected more than ₹207 crore in unaccounted cash—stored meticulously within System Inventory. He had also seized vast stores of bullion, gold coins, bonded real estate deeds, Swiss bank account codes, and rare gems—yet to be processed.
Total Gamer Points: 3,200 GP, up from 1,300—earned through System-bound black market liquidations which were previously owned by those local gangs, criminals and politicians.
—
Now, with Memory Manipulation active, Vikram issued a new command.
Mr. Bharat was to cease lethal operations on politicians and government officials.
Instead, Vikram would rewire them with his "Memory Manipulation" skill.
Reform by manipulation was faster, more efficient, and ensured smoother governance transitions—especially as India's economic landscape still suffered from the License Raj: a brutal bureaucratic nightmare that disincentivized all entrepreneurial movement across the country.
From rubber band factories to national steel producers, red tape coiled like a snake across ambition. Filing forms for industrial approval required up to 50 bureaucratic signatures, each with its own demand for loyalty or bribes.
Now, Vikram would break the chain, one memory at a time.
By weaponizing loyalty and obedience at the bureaucratic brainstem, he would shape India's future economy—without creating martyrs or chaos.
He no longer needed to fight the system.
He would become the system.
And build an empire from its bones.
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