At sunset, atop a skyscraper, there was a beach that had no business being on a rooftop.
A man in beach shorts, with a round scar on his chest, folded his parasol, gathered his belongings, and headed toward a glass door.
He wore sunglasses, a strangely styled goatee, and a neatly combed, traditional business haircut.
"Let's see. This says our armor sales have slipped in a few areas over the past two days."
He casually tossed a projected screen onto the sofa beyond the door, sat down in an ergonomic office chair, and said:
"Sector VI of Era 71, Sector IX of Era 72... New sectors, too. We sold three Mark V Suitcase Armors?!"
"Sales on the online platform have fallen off a cliff. They're at zero now, and someone even requested a return and refund? That's just fantastic!"
"JARVIS, tell me what happened. Has a competitor to the Mark V Suitcase Armor appeared?"
[Sir, sales of the Mark V Suitcase Armor have not declined. It remains the bestselling product at its price point.]
"What do you mean?"
[Cheaper Mark V Suitcase Armors have appeared in those two sectors. They cost less than half our price.]
"Impossible. Even a cracked version of the original model couldn't be that cheap."
[In fact, they are selling an upgraded model, complete with enhancements from a magical system.]
[I purchased one in your name. Here are the test results.]
A virtual screen appeared, displaying a Mark V suitcase, annotated data on its deployed form, and, finally, the price: a glaring "998" beneath the armor...
"How is that possible?!" the man said in surprise. "I was the one who pushed down the prices of technology products in the first place!"
998 was effectively a thousand points. Consumer psychology just made it feel like nine hundred