"Power isn't built," Riven said, adjusting the glowing core of the console."It's exchanged."
He stood at the top of Nation Zero's Hubspire, watching the Symbiotech city evolve below.
Citizens were trading food, repairs, code, and custom Echo enhancements. But they still used credits… old-world money. Fragile. Traceable. Controllable.
"It's time to cut the last cord," Riven muttered.
That's when he unveiled it.
ECHO COINA currency not mined—but earned through creation.
Write code. Build structures. Contribute blueprints.You gain value.
Exploit? Hoard? Parasitize the system?
You earn nothing.
Ash stared at the code matrix.
"You gamified creativity."
"I made productivity sovereign," Riven replied."No more central banks. No stock markets. No bribes. Just input and outcome."
The world lost its mind.
Stock markets dipped 3% within hours
Major Builder Corps issued warnings
Underground devs flooded Nation Zero to get verified for Echo Coin generation
And then came the threat.
A message from one of the Big Three corps:
"You're destabilizing everything. Cash flow, trade law, data structure. Pull this currency down—Or we'll pull you down with it."
Riven smiled.
"You want control. I want contribution.Let's see which one scales faster."