The morning after the full-farm merge, Kai noticed it immediately.
His Merge Tablet — normally just a control panel — had morphed.
A glowing new tab pulsed at the top of the screen:
Merge Operations Center [Unlocked]
He tapped it.
The interface exploded with metrics:
Real-time egg flow
Crop growth % across the Titan Field
Tobacco potency index
Animal mood tracking
Soil health projections
Merge cooldown timers
And one thing more…
Territory Control: 1.5 Acres (13% of Local Claim Grid)
Expand Territory?
Requires: Merge Beacon Construction
Materials: Merge Wood x12, Iron x4, Soil Core x1
Energy Cost: 3 Units
Grant: +1 Acre
Sync Rate Bonus: +5%
Passive Aura: "Merge Pulse" - Boosts all nearby merge yields
Kai narrowed his eyes.
"They really want me to claim it."
He stepped out of the Merge Shed and looked east — toward the uncultivated woodland behind the coop valley.
"Alright. Let's go get it."
He scavenged Merge Wood from dismantled coops, harvested Iron from buried piping, and extracted a Soil Core by merging two enriched compost pits.
Blueprints were simple:
• Base: Iron square
• Shaft: Merge Wood spire
• Core: Buried soil node
• Top: Merge Crystal socket (from spare seed catalyst)
He built it by hand — no machines, just hammer, breath, and rhythm.
By sunset, the Merge Beacon stood 10 feet tall and glowing.
He tapped the tablet.
✅ ACTIVATE
MERGE BEACON ONLINE
New Territory Claimed: +1 Acre (East Ridge)
Sync Aura Deployed:
– Growth +10%
– Egg Laying Efficiency +5%
– Merge Cooldown Reduction: -8%
Merge Field Expanded to 2.5 Acres
New Plot Available: "Ridge 4"
Unlock Opportunity:
– Construct Mega-Hatchery
– Auto-incubation + Bloodline Filtering
– Link to Crownflame for Trait Inheritance
Kai stared at the last line.
"Mega-hatchery…"
He started designing immediately.
MEGA-HATCHERY: "CROWN NEST" (Phase 1)
Core Specs:
Linked directly to Crownflame's trait panel
Passive Heat Circulation (no fuel required)
Genetic Merge Optimizer
Crate-ready egg chute
Bio-fence: Keeps out wildlife, pests, and unapproved personnel
Rooftop coop garden for morale of hens
Requirements:
Merge Wood x30
Blacksteel Hinges x4
Merge Bricks x60
Energy Units: 5
Timeline: 6 days
Kai checked inventory.
Short on Merge Brick.
He activated soil compression merge mode and pulled materials from the old coop trenches.
MERGE 12 Mud + 4 Clay + 2 Compost → 1 Merge Brick
Did it 60 times by sundown.
His hands bled. His knees cracked.
But by nightfall, the foundation was set.
Kai moved Crownflame to the Ridge 4 coop.
As soon as she stepped onto the new ground, the system pulsed:
Bloodline Syncing Initiated
Crownflame's Traits Available:
– Aura Sync
– Prime Egg Production
– Accelerated Maturity
Legacy Sync Available: Boosted hatch traits for all future birds incubated under her aura.
He stood back and watched the other Apex Layers line up behind her without a single push or peck.
No aggression. No dominance fights.
Just order.
"You ain't just the queen. You're the heart."
A Merge Farming subreddit posted drone footage of the Crown Nest under construction.
The comment section blew up.
"What kind of layout is this?"
"That's not traditional agco infrastructure."
"No power lines. No cooling fans. Is that passive heat?"
"I heard this guy uses chickens that lay 4 eggs a day."
Even the seed investors called.
"You're scaling too fast. You need oversight."
Kai hung up.
He didn't want oversight.
He wanted output.
Kai released a new egg tier:
Crown Pack
3 Prime Eggs (Crownflame-bloodline only)
1 Blackleaf cigar
Merge Crate Shell (reusable, scent-sealed)
Price: $110
Waitlist: 83 customers within 48 hours
Each egg now had a random body buff when eaten.
Strength. Focus. Sleep depth.
Some buyers claimed better dreams after eating one.
Kai didn't respond.
He just checked the stats and kept building.
Merge Ops Center Summary – Week 1
Total Chickens: 93 (Post-merge optimized)
New Coops Online: 3
Titan Field: Full Sync
Tobacco Beds: 60
Blackleaf Tier-2 Merges: 12
Merge Beacon Online: 1
Crown Nest Status: 60% complete
Merge Energy Remaining: 4 Units
Passive Income (Crates Only): $36,800
Total Orders In Process: 211
Sync Rating: ★★★★☆
He stood on the rise behind the new ridge at dawn, watching Crownflame stand over her nest.
He lit a rolled Blackleaf.
Breathed in.
"I ain't feeding the system."
"I'm building the system."