What is information asymmetry?
That day, in Ian Thorpe's law office, Mr. White signed the share transfer agreement.
As he set down the pen, he looked at Pierre and said with restrained formality:
"Mr. Pierre, it's done. The North Borneo Company is yours now.
I hope, under your stewardship, the territory may one day flourish again."
As he said it, a strange and almost mischievous thought flickered through his mind — a hint of schadenfreude.
Why would I feel that way? he thought.
I'm drawing a pension from the man.
Pierre smiled, his voice warm but firm.
"Naturally, Mr. White. When the war ends, you're welcome to visit North Borneo as my guest."
He signed the contract without hesitation.
A glowing screen appeared:
[User has leveraged information asymmetry to acquire 48% of the North Borneo Company. Experience points: +1000]
A company worth millions of pounds — even in its current state, easily several million — and all he got was 1000 experience points?
Then again, the logic was clear.
North Borneo was still under Japanese occupation.
At present, it was a liability, not an asset.
Whether it would become a kingdom or a coffin remained to be seen.
So, the path to becoming a warlord still has a long way to go...
Opportunities favor the prepared.
And to seize them, one must first accumulate firepower — wealth, influence, capability.
Ambition without the strength to support it is just noise.
If he truly wanted to become a petit roi
Which meant... he still had to haul goods by hand, one shipment at a time.
The warehouse was packed tight.
Car after car had been wedged in like puzzle pieces.
But even now, he spotted a few slivers of space that could still fit more.
And Pierre never wasted space.
No new cars available? Fine. Second-hand ones would do.
In wartime America, used cars often sold for more than new ones.
What was the biggest change war had brought?
Inflation. Shortages.
People selling off anything they didn't absolutely need.
And among all those surplus goods, nothing had lost value faster than cars.
With petrol rationed to four gallons a month — not even enough to drive a hundred kilometers — most private cars had become dead weight.
Even taxi companies were downsizing their fleets.
They had no choice but to sell — even at cut-rate prices.
And someone had to buy.
"1938 Cadillac V8 — the finest luxury vehicle in the world. Yours for just £120!"
"Chrysler Airflow — £100 and it's yours! No tricks, no traps!"
The moment Pierre stepped into the second-hand lot, he was greeted by a sea of advertisements — and a forest of vehicles.
There were British cars, German, French...
but most were American.
Before the war, the U.S. was the world's largest car manufacturer, after all.
He walked up to a Ford and bent down to examine it.
Before he could get a good look, an elderly salesman with a full head of white hair shuffled over eagerly.
"Sir, that's a 1936 Ford Model 48.
A fine machine, truly."
As he spoke, the man popped the hood.
"See here? V8 engine. Plenty of power, excellent reliability—"
Pierre nodded distractedly.
He was about to go through the motions when—
A system prompt flashed in his vision:
[Specialization skill available. Activate?]
A new skill? Absolutely.
[Skill: Automotive Engineering. Learn now?]
Automotive engineering?
Now that was interesting.
He accepted immediately — and knowledge surged into his mind like a dam breaking.
[Skill "Automotive Engineering" acquired.]
Suddenly, the Ford Model 48 before him was no longer just metal and rubber.
It was a schematic made real — a gateway into his new field of expertise.
He could see it all: engine dynamics, torque output, tire wear, fuel intake ratios, gearbox layouts.
Every component and subsystem now made intuitive sense.
Where once he had been an amateur, now he felt like a trained automotive engineer — overnight.
I've gone from a liberal arts student to a mechanical engineer?
This system really was something else.
As he examined the engine, the interface displayed a live 3D model overlay — a full structural readout of the engine block and all its components.
He could visualize the internals in motion, spot weaknesses, optimize design.
This system... was powerful.
Far beyond what he'd imagined.
Still, he didn't linger.
The Ford 48 was a basic mass-market vehicle — barely better than a Model T.
And space was precious. He wasn't about to waste cargo capacity on cheap cars.
By the time he left the lot, Pierre had secured several Cadillacs and Chryslers — some of the most sought-after American luxury models of the day.
The following days passed in relative comfort.
During the day, he strolled around London.
At night, he entertained himself with Stana's long, statuesque legs — and occasionally reviewed the modest profits from the stockings she'd sold during her tea parties.
But it was a pleasant diversion.
Not everything was so idyllic, though.
Just before his planned return to the United States, London was bombed again.
This time, a bomb landed on the very street where he lived.
When he emerged from the air raid shelter, the street was in ruins.
A crater had been blasted in the center of the road.
Shards of glass and chunks of masonry lay scattered everywhere.
Looking at the wreckage, Pierre's urge to leave London intensified.
"Too dangerous," he muttered.
Self-preservation is a powerful instinct.
And for a man who planned to become a power player in the postwar world, he couldn't afford to die under some stray German bomb.
The next morning, Pierre made his way to the Thames-side airstrip.
Just like last time, the "ticket" cost £500.
But unlike before, the crew now greeted him warmly.
They all remembered him.
No one asked why he was flying to the U.S. again.
if a man was paying that kind of money twice,
he must be making even more.
Twenty-six hours later, he landed in New York.
This time, he had a base of operations.
The company had rented a commercial building in Brooklyn — a red-brick warehouse.
The second floor, built into the rafters at one end, served as his office.
Through the windows, he could see the Brooklyn Bridge.
When he arrived, the office was empty.
Striding to the desk, he spotted a report sitting neatly on the surface — along with a handwritten note.
I've completed the market survey.
This report contains the product information you asked for.
Zhu's office was right next door.
Even though the company wasn't fully operational yet, he'd been gathering data nonstop.
Pierre flipped open the report.
Immediately, he knew he'd made the right choice hiring the man.
The report was detailed and precise — pricing and demand for consumer goods across New York and the surrounding states.
Some pages even included newspaper clippings as references.
There wasn't a single wasted word.
The executive summary was short but sharp:
"Tires and petrol are in critical shortage — every household wants them.
But the most in-demand consumer good is..."