Let me tell a heart-wrenching metaphor: The pigs in the pigsty enjoy clean feed and a comfortable environment, yet forget that the butcher's gentleness has never been compassion—it's just to raise fatter meat. The reality is even harsher: Most people build their lives with 99% effort, yet cannot escape the fate of being harvested by the 1% rule. From labor to youth, from wealth to emotion, the 'harvesting rules' of this world are hidden in three secret logics.

I. The harvesting technique wrapped in 'moral sugar coating': When effort becomes self-PUA

There’s an ironic scene: When the donkey struggles to turn the mill, the master praises it, 'Without you, we can only eat coarse grains', the donkey runs even harder after hearing this. But at the dinner table late at night, the master educates the child: 'Don't be like that stupid donkey, trapped in the mill for a lifetime.'

In the workplace, emotions, and social interactions, there are always people painting a picture for you with 'sentiment', 'responsibility', and 'dedication':

- The boss says 'overtime is growth', yet turns your labor results into his villa down payment;

- Shouting 'band together for wealth', using kinship to extort your family fortune;

- Emotional manipulators say 'it's for your good', yet make you gradually lose yourself in the process of giving.

The truth: All 'calls for contribution' that do not discuss equivalent exchange are using cheap flattery to take away your most precious resources. Don't let 'self-touching effort' become the fertilizer for others' harvesting.

II. The jungle law of unequal power: The weak cannot escape the fate of being devoured

The food chain in society has always been cruel: big fish eat small fish, small fish nibble on shrimp. When you place your survival in a specific 'dependence', it is equivalent to stretching your neck out for the sickle—

- When relying on a company, you think the 'iron rice bowl' is stable, yet forget that the layoff list never takes feelings into account;

- When relying on a specific person, you exchange your youth for 'sense of security', yet may end up with nothing when the other person changes their heart;

- When relying on a certain platform, you stay up late creating content for traffic, yet find that the algorithm can leave you empty-handed at any moment.

Breaking point: Real safety comes from 'not being dependent'. Anchor yourself in mission and goals, rather than specific people and environments—just like wild grass does not rely on a specific soil, it can still regenerate in the cracks of stones after being crushed.

III. Deadly traps in cognitive blind spots: When desire outruns wisdom, the sickle is sharpening its blade

The core reason many people get harvested is that they look at the world with greedy eyes but make decisions with a shallow brain:

- Seeing 'low investment high return' financial ads, you forget the common sense of 'you aim for interest, he aims for the principal';

- Being obsessed with 'crash courses' and 'networking classes', thinking that spending money can buy a shortcut to success, yet unaware that real cognitive upgrades never have shortcuts;

- Following the trend of speculative trading in cryptocurrencies and stocks, blindly entering the market because you see others making money, yet not understanding the capital game behind the K-line chart.

Warning: All 'opportunities' that make your heart race have a price marked behind them. When something seems too perfect to be true, like 'zero risk to get rich' or 'easy money secrets', it is essentially a pit dug with desire.

Finally, I want to say:

The tragedy of retail investors is never due to 'not working hard enough', but rather running desperately within the rules set by others. To avoid being harvested, first learn to tear off three kinds of disguises:

- Don't believe in 'sentiment above all', only talk about the clear equivalent exchange;

- Don't seek a 'safe haven', live your life as a ship that can withstand storms;

- Don't let desire cloud your judgment, spend 50% of your energy researching 'risks' before making a decision.

This world is never short of sickles, but at least you can choose—not to be the donkey deceived by flattery.