Re: Life - Business Technology

by Stayrr

From middle-class to running the most valuable corporation on Earth, based in Austin, Texas. Join a tired yet talented 23-year-old man working in the IT industry during the pandemic, who suddenly received the chance to relive his life a decade in the past (2011). Join Vince Dalton to pursue prosperity and fulfillment for himself, his sick mother, and friends. Money and power will n

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From middle-class to running the most valuable corporation on Earth, based in Austin, Texas. Join a tired yet talented 23-year-old man working in the IT industry during the pandemic, who suddenly received the chance to relive his life a decade in the past (2011). Join Vince Dalton to pursue prosperity and fulfillment for himself, his sick mother, and friends. Money and power will not be obstacles; learned technical skills and future knowledge will prevail, not even hidden organizations and aliens can stop him!

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Re: Life - Business Technology #Chapter 1 - Prologue - Read Re: Life - Business Technology Chapter 1 - Prologue Online - All Page - Novel Bin

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It was near midnight, yet a bright light continued to glow towards a face with tired eyes.

How did my life end up like this? Thought the young man named Vince Dalton wearily. He had been ordered to undertake an essential task due to recent mistakes by his upper management.

Wrong budget estimations and impossible deadlines were the excuses provided to him. But, yet again, the success of his department's project falls into his lap as the technical lead.

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[What an honor!] he sarcastically thought.

Vince Dalton has been working for this software and network infrastructure consultation firm for a few years now.

There was plenty of hope and determination in his heart after graduating from university at the age of 20, especially the guaranteed spot in this current company following a successful summer internship he participated in during his senior year.

Three years have gone had passed. Most past worries such as stable jobs and income were close to gone yet were replaced with emptiness and exhaustion.

[Life was no walk-in-the-park when I had to work a minimum wage job while pursuing a degree in both business and IT, and yet I felt more alive then than I do now.] Vince pondered.

It was the rush of learning new skills and meeting new people that he remembered fondly. Then, year after year, working at a new company with more and more responsibilities gave him an environment where he could thrive.

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The increasing pay was good, but it didn't dent the massive debt he accrued to finance schooling, but some pocket money was welcome.

[I still remember the first time I ever built a computer of my personal desktop configuration. Months I endured saving money from performing menial jobs around our neighborhood to afford the basic components of a desktop computer.] He reminisced.

The computer itself was for selfish purposes, such as playing online games with friends to escape the monotony of school. Still, that initial exposure to computer technology paved the way for his current skills and livelihood.

"If I have the chance to go about my life differently and excitingly, I would gladly give my current life up to ensure I won't stagnate as I was now. A life of fulfillment and progress is what I want instead of bailing out my department with blood, sweat, and tears over and over again. I swear it." He suddenly said out loud.

[I'm going crazy. Good thing I'm the only one at the office tonight.] Vince thought embarrassingly.

Suddenly, his computer screen became so blindingly bright that he had to shut his eyes. He found himself still sitting down in front of a computer screen the next moment, but he found it to be different.

Vince looked around and saw a mid-tower desktop computer that seemed recently built to his left.

The project he was working on was gone and replaced with a browser on the YouTube homepage. He glanced at the bottom right corner of his Windows operating system and stood up from surprise.

["It's 2011?!"] he exclaimed in shock.

EDITED

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Vince Dalton was startled, to say the least. He felt like it was a dream, yet his surroundings were all too real.

[Did I time travel ten years in the past? I'm not in my regular body and instead inside a 13-year-old version of myself. If not time travel, maybe reincarnation?] he pondered as he wracked his mind to understand what was happening.

Vince looked into a mirror behind a closet and was stunned to see himself again as a young boy. His features were still mostly the same, with black hair and a not so muscular build. Skinny fat could be a better term to describe himself but not ugly by a decent margin.

The sound of knocking brought Vince back to his senses and opened the door to welcome what he expected to be his mother, the only other person who lived in this tiny home. "Need anything, mom?" he nervously asked as he was still trying to gather himself.

Her name was Leah Dalton, and she had the same black hair as Vince. She was beautiful, but the frailty took away from it. The sight of his mother invoked sad memories of the times he spent with her as her sickness had gotten worse and worse until she passed a month before high school graduation.

Money was never in abundance in their home, but Leah worked hard every day to provide for the son she loved so very much. She had been widowed only a few years into her marriage; all the odds seemed to stack against her. In comparison, Vince's gripes in life were much less burdensome than what his mother had to struggle with.

By instinct, Vince hugged his mother Leah softly while holding back tears from coming. He was so happy to see her that the unexpected reincarnation plus time travel was currently of little importance. Leah was surprised by her son's reaction but accepted the hug without question with a big smile on her face.

"Did building your new computer make you this happy? I'm so proud of you for working hard around town and saving money. I would have preferred to give you one as a gift for your good grades, but you understand our situation. You are a smart boy, and I'm lucky to have a son like you." she said with love and care.

"I'm the one who should be thankful to have a mom that's as awesome as you!" he replied with all honesty and gratitude. "Look, mom! I just finished configuring the desktop computer after assembling it an hour earlier. It was my first time, so it took me a while, but the operating system is already installed and in working condition." he said proudly.

"Great job, Vince!" she replied, but she didn't understand the specifics of computers and electronic devices in general but knew how difficult it could be for a kid like Vince to do.

"Alright, I'll go and make some dinner and let you have some fun with that computer of yours but remember that bad grades will force me to confiscate this from you, do you understand?" she said sternly. "Of course, mom. I'd never let you down," he replied.

She walked away towards the kitchen and left Vince to his enjoyment. This interaction lit the fire in his heart and brought him purpose. He remembered his thoughts before suddenly being reincarnated ten years in his past. Finally, it became clear to him.

Vince would pour the need for excitement and fulfillment in his life towards his mother's salvation and their family's prosperity. A new path has been made available to him, and he was now determined to uphold his promise.

He sat back down in front of his desk with plenty of thoughts and ideas whirling in his mind—a few deep breaths taken to calm himself down.

[It looks like only a web browser and the regular windows applications are currently installed, so I better install some valuable tools.] he thought.

Vince opened a new tab on the web browser. He searched for a particular free application named PatchMyPC and was able to find the installer after a few clicks.

[Wow! This application always made fresh operating system configurations much easier to perform. Lucky that the first version just came out a few months ago.] he thought.

Vince went ahead and installed all the software he learned how to use and apply at university and the workplace.

[Install a source code editor such as Eclipse IDE, Github desktop, CodePen, and other full-stack development software, which may take a while to download.] Vince thought.

In his previous life, the first thing he would have downloaded and installed was a PC video game program called Steam to connect and play video games with friends, and so he went ahead and queued it up last for completeness.

[I better prepare myself for the days to come, especially if I'm to achieve what I've set out to do with this second chance given to me.] he thought.

After an hour, he ate dinner with Leah and was delighted to share a meal with her again.

They talked and laughed throughout, and it gave made him feel pure joy and the eagerness to fulfill his promises.

He turned the computer off after all the software tools had been downloaded and installed.

There was still class tomorrow and a good night's rest was a welcome idea considering the consecutive all-nighters he had to pull in an attempt to finish that cursed project, yet now it seems it was a blessing in disguise.

EDITED

Vince woke up the following day and found himself still in his small room with a look of relief.

[That could have been a dream if I woke up in the office, but thankfully I wasn't propelled back to the future.] he thought.

Some change of clothes after a quick shower was his priority for the time being.

His daily life would be drastically different now. It was challenging to remember how he would usually live as a 13-year old, but it would be only a matter of time to accustom himself to high school life.

He would have to attend school as expected, but his ambitions grew overnight after confirming his situation, and money was the resource he lacked the most currently.

Menial labor would not cut it, and there were few employment options for a minor like him. The classes wouldn't be a problem, and Vince was sure he would do decently.

[I can focus on finding and creating business opportunities for myself to gain the capital I need for my mother's experimental treatment expenses and future ventures.] He pondered.

On the bus to school, he found the usual seat he used and a friend he had not spoken to for a long time next to it. After graduating, keeping in touch with his high school friends and acquaintances was sadly too tricky for Vince, who worked so far away.

He was swamped and engrossed in university and part-time work that Vince neglected his friendships, and he realized this was a chance to rid himself of that regret.

"Hey, Kyle, are you still playing that mobile game? Jet-Pack Joyride, right?" Vince asked.

"Yeah. I'm still trying to get the golden piggy pack. That shit is so expensive. It might take me a few more days to grind. What's up with you?" Kyle asked.

"I just finished building my desktop computer yesterday. It took me months of working simple jobs, but it was so worth it." Vince replied.

"Whoa! You built it with separate components?" Kyle asked. "A few youtube tutorials and some documentation helped, but yes, I built it with off-the-shelf parts," he replied proudly.

"That's awesome, Vince! I didn't know you were into computers like that. I admit. That seems much cooler than getting a golden piggy pack on Jet-Pack Joyride." Kyle said with a depressed sigh.

"Creating something that works does feel satisfying. If you ever attempt it, let me know, and I'd gladly help." Vince replied honestly.

"I'll take you up on that offer in the future. Thank you." Kyle replied while closing the game on his phone and keeping it in his pocket.

Kyle was a bright kid with a bit of ADHD and was always kind to Vince throughout high school. He got distracted quite quickly but was a force to be reckoned with when he put his mind to something.

Kyle was interested in what Vince would share regarding his new computer as PC gaming was one of his favorite pastimes like many other kids his age, including Vince.

"I'll be able to play some Team Fortress 2 and Counter-Strike with you guys now with much better frame rates and do other things like developing software like video games and websites.", Vince mentioned.

"I knew you would play some online games with us but developing websites? When did you ever get ideas like that?" Kyle asked.

[It does sound out of left field showing interest in something like creating programs and applications, considering I didn't decide on my career path until later in senior year. Better make an excuse fast] Vince thought.

"I found some tutorials online while I was building my computer yesterday, and they piqued my interest. So I bookmarked them, but I haven't done any major developing yet." Vince replied.

"You'll get a leg up on us when the new school year starts. HTML will be one of our classes next year. So I'll have to lean on you when the going gets tough." Kyle said.

"I'll help as much as I can, Kyle. Don't worry." Vince replied.

The bus stopped in front of South Main High School. All the students started to get off the bus and start their school day. Vince went directly to his class after saying goodbye to Kyle.

They were neighbors but didn't share homeroom. Kyle looked at Vince as he was walking away.

[Whatever Vince is doing seems more interesting than just playing video games in my free time] Kyle pondered while walking towards his locker.

It took Vince a few minutes to find his homeroom before sitting near the door. He then prepared himself for his first day back in high school.

A woman in her late twenties walked into the room named Taylor Miller, or Ms. Miller as we called her. She was a brilliant and kind middle school math teacher who facilitated Vince's homeroom.

[She balanced kindness and strictness, and I always respected her professionalism.] Vince thought.

"We will be counting attendance in a minute." Ms. Miller said in a sweet yet commanding tone.

Taylor took attendance, and the classes after were the usual. Vince found himself in the cafeteria during the lunch break and sat at the usual spot after getting his food. Soon Kyle and a familiar girl sat around him.

Her name was Jessica, and she was part of their friend group.

"Where are the others?" Vince asked.

"I saw them behind us at the line. They should be here soon." Kyle replied.

"Jessica, ask Vince what he did yesterday," Kyle said excitedly.

Vince retold his experience of building the new computer to Jessica casually.

"Don't get too full of yourself by building a computer. I can probably do it too if I followed those tutorials you mentioned." She said jokingly.

"I believe you, Jessica, I know you're smart, and I wouldn't let such a thing affect my ego.", Vince replied with his banter.

Both laughed out loud while Vince reminisced about the simple days he experienced during middle and high school.

Two other people sat around them. One was a boy named Rick and the second, a girl named Sarah. They all greeted each other and started eating.

They spent some time chatting amongst each other while eating lunch. The group parted ways after, and Vince found himself taking the day easy.

He boarded the bus with Kyle on the way back home and received some rather rigorous inquiries from Kyle regarding software development which surprised him.

[I didn't expect this from Kyle. But I need allies, so I might as well get him on my side.] Vince pondered.

He ate dinner with his mother and found himself even more determined each time he spent with her. A new day awaits, but Vince knows his plans for the future will have to be set in motion soon.

EDITED

The first weekend of Vince's reincarnation arrived, and he decided to invite Kyle to his home.

He asked Kyle to bring his laptop, but Kyle already had that in mind; probably to play some online game.

After eating breakfast, Kyle entered through the front door with an excited smile on his face.

Vince assumed he was hyped to play some video games but was surprised to see him more interested in his new computer.

"How many components did you need to build this thing. It's a fair larger than the desktop computers I normally see." Kyle asked inquisitively.

"The case or chassis will dictate how large a computer will be. A larger chassis like this will allow more and larger components. A motherboard will follow the standard of the case itself. This one uses the ATX standard and a decent current-generation Intel Core i5 processor.

Two other vital components are needed to start the machine and enable access to the software programs within the components. These two are the RAM sticks, 16 GB in total. And finally, the power supply for obvious reasons." Vince explained nonchalantly.

Kyle was amazed by the detailed explanation presented to him.

"How do you know so much about computers? This was your first time building a computer, right?" Kyle asked.

"I studied the components before I bought them while saving up the money. You can also say I watch too much Linus Tech Tips on YouTube." Vince jokingly replied.

Vince knew he was heavily invested in learning more about this topic based on Kyle's look in his eyes.

"What are all these applications I see on your desktop. I can recognize Steam and Chrome, but the others I haven't seen yet." Kyle asked in excitement.

Vince explained each application for about an hour, and Kyle was still on the edge of his seat.

[He's so excited about this; it's offputting.] Vince thought.

"You mentioned that one can use the Eclipse program to write programs and games. Is it hard to make games?" Kyle asked.

"It's tough to make games like Skyrim that's coming out soon. It takes hundreds, if not thousands, of collaborators for something like that, but there are exceptions like a straightforward game on mobile. One skilled person can a make a game, but of course, more people will reduce the development time." Vince replied.

"Have you learned anything like creating mobile games with those YouTube tutorials you bookmarked the other day?" Kyle asked. "You can say that," Vince replied with a smile.

"How about this? We can skip the gaming for today, and I can show you some of the things I've learned." Vince asked.

"Please! Yes, please!" Kyle said as he nodded with vigor.

Vince opened Eclipse IDE and wrote some lines as a force of habit. He wanted to show Kyle the basics of mobile game development and had the perfect example project to start. Flappy Bird.

It's a throwback to a time when going viral was still a novelty. Many aspiring game developers start their journey by writing a clone of Flappy Bird.

It was an infamous game that went viral a few months after its release. It was a relatively simple game with only one input, touching the screen.

Millions of people played the game, but it never reached the peak it had the potential to achieve because the developer took it down the App Store due to personal concerns.

Vince explained what the code he wrote meant, primarily as a template with certain functions related to how Flappy Bird played.

"See this line right here? It controls the object based on input from the user. I'll make this object jump and hover similar to how Jet-Pack Joyride works but with fewer frills, of course." Vince said.

He explained the parameters and the other lines of code they were working on designing. Then, Vince decided to change the static object mesh and downloaded a chicken image file and stuff like fences and ceiling beams.

He organized them all within the project folder and imported them into Eclipse. The sample project turned from barebones to looking like a video game people would play during their downtime. Kyle was amazed again by what Vince created in a matter of hours.

[It would be so epic to make my own game with my ideas. I should start reading and watching those tutorials soon to create games quick and easy.] Kyle thought.

Vince finished the game he called 'Wingin' Chicken' a few moments later. It was a game that worked exactly like Flappy Bird.

The objective was to maintain the chicken's flight using the mobile device's touchpad.

The chicken needed to avoid fences on the ground and other impediments. It gets harder and harder with more speed and obstacles until the chicken dies.

Vince programmed it so that after 1 hour of flight time (which is an absurd amount of time), the chicken will spontaneously combust with a stormtrooper death sound effect.

The sound effect would be the only easter egg Vince would include in the final version.

Kyle played it for a bit on the simulated mobile screen on my computer and was having a blast.

[It seems it wasn't the game itself that made him like this but the idea that we created it together just in the past few hours.] Vince thought.

He told Kyle the game would be uploaded to the iOS App Store and the Android Play Store eventually after a few crucial changes needed to be made. Kyle wondered what other features would be added to the game, but Vince reassured him that the gameplay would stay true to what they've created.

Vince bade farewell to Kyle as the day was starting to darken. Kyle was amped up after gathering all the resources recommended to him by Vince that he will no doubt excitedly study.

[This strategy is perfect. How did I not think of this sooner? Using platforms as a service like the App Store is the best option I have currently. They provide the hardware infrastructure, and I create the quality product. I only have to add features like personal accounts via social media accounts and a leaderboard. A cash shop would be amazing, but that would entail a bunch of red tape I couldn't deal with at the moment.] So Vince thought after spending some time with Leah.

He spent the entirety of the next day finalizing the game, and Vince uploaded it for review. It was already available to download the very next day.

EDITED

[I don't expect to see Wingin' Chicken atop the download charts anytime soon. I'm just glad to be somewhat productive in my first week of whatever it was that brought me back ten years into my past.] So Vince thought as he was getting on the bus.

He sat down next to Kyle like usual and told him about the recent publication of Wingin' Chicken on the various mobile platforms.

"I was surprised that the review process didn't take too long," Vince said. Then, he offered his mobile phone to Kyle to test out version 1.0 and asked what he thought about the final product.

"I can make an account now? There's a leaderboard too? It looks like the top 100 scores have already been set." Kyle mentioned.

[It seems plenty of people are already playing it though it's only been a few hours since it was released to the public.] Vince thought.

"These ads are kinda annoying," Kyle said with a disappointed look.

"I placed them at the borders to avoid blocking the view of the game," Vince replied.

[Ads are currently the only way to make money off this game with little hassle.] Vince thought.

"Don't worry. If you like it that much, I can grant your account full access to the game without ads. Are you happy?" Vince asked.

"You can do that? Yes, please." Kyle replied.

"It's one of the reasons why I added the personal account system in the game. I plan to sell a premium version through the personal accounts system in the future. I can explain how I did it and the features it provides when we have time later at lunch." Vince stated.

His friend continued to play the game amusingly with an odd fire in his eyes.

[I'll definitely be able to create games in the future. The all too familiar feeling is in the back of my mind, nudging me to achieve this goal. I'm so lucky to have an accommodating friend like Vince who's patient enough to teach me.] Kyle pondered.

Vince attended homeroom again, but he noticed Ms. Miller was a bit off today. She did everything as usual, but her face was slightly sadder than her typical stern look.

He noted that as he left the room and went on his day like always. The cafeteria was busier than usual. Students using their phones during lunchtime wasn't rare, yet many more were engaged and focused on their phone screens.

While waiting in line for food, he overheard a group of students from further back the line discussing a new mobile game that had just been released.

[The middle schooler mentioned finding the game on the Facebook recommended tab, so I guess utilizing the social media APIs in the game was noticed by an algorithm and actively recommended my game on Facebook. I think it would be a win for them if all games actively included the Facebook platform as an option for more exposure] So Vince thought.

"The game is so simple, but that's why it's fun. Look, I'm already within the top 50 of the leaderboard!" the girl declared.

"It's fun, I admit, but these damn ads are too much. It defeats the purpose of buying a mobile phone with a larger display if the ads consume half the real estate." the boy replied.

[Is the ad thing is really a big problem? I bet I could generate more revenue from the amount of ad screen time than selling the game itself by the nominal going rate nowadays, which would be around $5. Though I'm not too much of a greedy person, I need the capital for my future expenditures, and I'll not let this golden egg turn into a silver egg suddenly.] Vince thought.

He would need to read the reviews and process all the constructive ones before introducing a new version.

He found Kyle, Jessica, Rick, and Sarah already at the table eating while talking in between.

Vince sat at the table, and three of them gazed at him with curiosity. Sarah was the first one to ask him about Wingin' Chicken. Kyle provided a surface-level explanation when he first brought it up with them, but he suggested asking Vince instead.

They asked questions one by one, and he answered them concisely. Jessica showed interest in the technical side similar to Kyle. Still, Rick and Sarah were interested in the game's aesthetic, like the continuously looping barn background where the chicken was trapped.

Vince knew that they both shared a passion for the arts and would often join art competitions to try and defeat each other.

They would beat all the other participants, though, that's for sure.

Soon, most people at school would learn that one particular middle school student made the game people were playing crazily. But, of course, this information would come by boasts from his dear friends.

On his way back to the bus, Vince saw a group of senior high school students walking towards him. Rugged was the word to describe their group, but the student leading them was even more ridiculous.

The kid looked like Mike Tyson on fight day with similarly short hair to boot. He clearly wanted to speak to Vince, and he complied without question or doubt. Maybe a bit of fear in there.

"Hey, You Vince Dalton?" the big guy asked.

"Yes, I am. Glad to meet you. May I know your name?" Vince replied. "Tom Fury. I don't want to waste time. Did you make this game? Wingin' Chicken?" Tom asked. Tom seemed like an amiable person, so Vince replied with honesty.

"Yes, I did. Do you like it, Tom?" Vince inquired.

"Like it? Like it?! I love it! This game is simple and doesn't waste too much time playing. So, after a few attempts here and there, I am off to doing my reps. But I do have some issues with it. My hands and fingers are so large that I would accidentally touch the ads and the game pauses until I close them manually." Tom declared.

"I'm glad you like my game, Tom. This game connected us when there was practically no chance of us ever meeting each other, and because of this sentiment, I'll grant you access to an ad-free version of the game as soon as I'm able. No one that has downloaded the game has access to the ad-free version yet, and you'll be the first." Vince exclaimed with confidence.

[Having a massive guy like Tom as an ally would only be beneficial to me.] Vince thought.

Tom looked at him and looked at his friends behind him. Then, Tom suddenly had a huge smile on his face and said, "This is a true brother! Right guys?"

"Hell yeah!" the others replied loudly.

"These are my account details and my contact info as well. Let me know if you plan on getting in better shape. We train well at my family's gym. You're welcome whenever.", Tom said before leaving with his crew.

[What an eventful day] Vince thought.

EDITED

Vince spent the rest of his day on homework and updating Wingin' Chicken. He granted premium access to all his friend's accounts via the platform APIs. While he was working on the game, he noticed the top post on the Reddit homepage was about Wingin' Chicken.

Most of the comments were memes you would typically see on Facebook and Twitter. It seems like the game is already making its' rounds across social media platforms.

[It will take more than a month for any revenue to be paid out but I should start looking for some legal counsel to protect my golden egg.] Vince thought.

His experience leading a vital team in his previous life demanded more than just technical and social skills. He was well aware of the need to conform to government standards and following protocol especially when revenue is at stake. Luckily his mother worked as a secretary at a medium-sized law firm.

She performed secretarial duties for one of the senior partners. I will bring it up during dinner. Hopefully, mom can connect me to one of the higher-ups because I would require more billable hours in the future for other, bigger projects I have in mind. I would have to bring out my charismatic side to distract from the fact I'm but a 13-year old kid. Vince pondered.

After dinner, he brought the subject up to his mother. "Mom, I have something important to ask you about legal advice." "Ask away, dear" she replied curiously.

"Kyle and I created this mobile game last weekend instead of playing online games. I polished it before publishing it on the mobile app stores. The game is already within the top 10 most downloaded apps and revenue will be paid out a month from now. It's a lot of money, mom." he said as he handed her a mobile device to play the game for a while.

"So this is what you've been up to with that new computer of yours. I'm so proud of you for being so creative. A lot of money, you say? How much is a lot?" she asked. Leah did not know the revenue potential of popular apps so she assumed it would be a few hundred dollars at most but she was still very happy for her son. "Around $50,000, mom" he added.

She was surprised the game could make that much money. It was about the same as her own income per year. "That IS a lot of money, son. I understand now why you would need some legal counsel." Leah said. [She learned the basics of law from working at the law firm for years now. The taxes alone would be a headache, she thought. "Mom, that it is $50,000 per day" he added.

She was stunned to hear about the new piece of information added by Vince. "I'll talk to my boss about this new venture of yours. It seems you would need a lawyer on retainer for something as profitable as this" she said after running out of words to say due to shock.

[They lived in a decent neighborhood and yet she knew no one that made $1.5 million a month. Even the top lawyers at the law firm she worked at didn't make that kind of money. The original creator of Flappy Bird averaged that amount of revenue every day until it was removed from the app store] Vince thought.

[Money not yet earned cannot be spent. I will have to wait until the money reaches me before I can tell mom she will not have to worry about her medical bills anymore.] Vince thought.

He went about his week as a student would normally do and it took only a few days for Wingin' Chicken to reach the top 1 on the most downloaded lists.

It took months before the original Flappy Bird went viral but the added exposure from social media outlets did wonders for its current popularity.

[I'll add the cash shop once an agreement has been made with the lawyers] he thought.

Sarah and Rick showed him some of their artwork such as a different background and unique chicken avatars. Vince suggested Sarah and Rick dabble in VFX and 3D modeling.

They showed interest in learning new art forms but they didn't have the necessary hardware to learn on. Graphics-accelerated programs like Autodesk Maya required powerful graphics cards to drive and operate smoothly.

Even Vince's new computer doesn't have a graphics card yet. Tutorials and documentation were the only current option for both his friends.

Jessica was trying to catch up with Vince and Kyle in programming.

She was making great progress since we talked about programming during lunch break a week ago considering she hasn't asked Vince for advice other than a few exceptions.

It was the weekend when a lady that looked like a lawyer walked into their small house wearing professional attire. Leah introduced Vince to Marcia Kemp, attorney-at-law. Ms. Kemp for short.

She looked like a fine lady in her early thirties and had an inquisitive look when they shook hands.

"Your mother told me about that game you made with your friend. Wingin' Chicken if a recall correctly. The services of myself and the firm are very expensive. You haven't made any money yet from your game but I looked into it a few days ago when your mother mentioned it to me.

The partners at the law firm are experienced in dealing with emerging markets like this and are willing to represent you for no cost until we see your first payout.

We can negotiate the new terms after the initial payment. I already discussed this with your mother and she knows my terms are favorable. There is no need to waste money on a venture that may or may not pay handsomely. I assume you agree?" Ms. Kemp asked softly.

"Where do we sign?" he asked excitedly. Ms. Kemp opened her leather document case, procured a few sheets of paper from within, and placed them on the table.

It stated the initial terms of his new business that will be set up and represented by the Lewis-Jacobs law firm. The business name was blank and assumed it was his decision to name the business. He wrote Future Technologies on the blank space and signed his name at the bottom. His mother co-signed the document as his legal guardian.

His mother provided access to a new bank account set up for this business to Ms. Kemp. The law firm worked closely with a fairly large accounting firm which was part of the deal. "Ms. Kemp, Thank you for giving us this opportunity, free of charge. Your firm won't regret it!", Vince declared. "You better hope so" she replied with a smile.

"Ms. Kemp, I would like to add more monetization in the game. I assume your team will be able to handle all the necessary procedures?" Vince asked.

"You've thought this out thoroughly. I'm surprised you're aware of these small intricacies in business. Of course, more potential revenue is welcome. You will have to update our team on the following patches you plan on pushing. This is a business email address you can send the information to.

You're a talented kid and I would assume you have more products in mind for the future. Let us discuss this at a later time." she replied. Leah and Vince bade their farewells before Ms. Kemp left to enjoy the rest of her Saturday.

[Things are shaping up now] Vince thought.

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Vince can take advantage of his years of experience honing his software development and hardware infrastructure craft, but his very eager friends do not have the same luxury.

Kyle and Jessica were free to explore the basics of programming using their regular school-issued laptops. Still, Rick and Sarah struggle to practice 3D modeling and visual effects on Blender without hardware.

They were excited when Vince recommended Blender, a free and open-source 3D graphics toolset. But, unfortunately, performance on the laptops was less than ideal. Even Vince's computer didn't have a graphics card to facilitate the 3D processing.

[I need some cash to support my friends quickly. Waiting for the first payout a month from now will be too long, and I want them to succeed based on their motivation. The addition of regular microtransactions in Wingin' Chicken will eventually come, but that doesn't fix my cash flow issues currently] he thought.

Vince sank deeply in thought, attempting to figure out a solution.

He was in his element and knew an idea would pop up sooner than later. Then he was compelled to open a new tab in the browser, and Google searched for coin Market.

Vince remembered that the first cryptocurrency exchange should have gone live in 2010 and planned to open an account. However, he was surprised to find how easy setting up an account on the platform was, probably because coin was still in its infancy stage.

The price of coin currently in 2011 was hovering around $1 = 1 BTC. An incredibly low exchange rate compared to its value in 2021 averaged $55,000 = 1 BTC with some intense volatility.

After installation, Vince downloaded the current version of the coin SDK (software developer kit) and immediately created his own personal coin wallet.

He knew the safest way to store coin was to save them within the blockchain itself and not trust the public cryptocurrency exchanges.

He connected his Satoshi wallet to the coin Market Exchange with a separate key and stored the primary key (a string of numbers and letters) within a flash drive as a document file.

Vince will store the flash drive in his mom's safe with a printed version in case the document file becomes corrupted.

Vince worked on adding the cash shop to Wingin' Chicken which was technically challenging but not impossible. He used the Satoshi wallet deposit key as the account that will accept the payment and wrote the additional scripts to ensure the validation of the payment process.

He opted to use a subscription model like World of Warcraft for the premium access payment structure.

An account can avail premium status that removes all ads and provides 50% more coins earned while playing to allow users to buy the in-game items.

These coins can also be bought using coin and are perfect for consumer whales that love buying all the available upgrades and in-game items with real money.

coin was technically a commodity instead of currency; therefore, it was not protected and scrutinized like dollars and securities were.

Cryptocurrency hasn't made a big splash yet, and the latest news of a person buying something with coin was for two Papa John's pizzas for 10,000 BTC.

Nobody cared enough yet, and this was the perfect opportunity to make some quick cash by selling some BTC on the coin Market Exchange and hoarding most of it for use in the future.

[This update will be huge, and though I am pretty good, it may take a week to finalize version 1.1 of Wingin' Chicken] he thought.

It took him two days to finish the update, surprisingly. After that, Sarah and Rick provided more work to add to the cash shop and even designed the new menus, which freed Vince to focus on the payment processing implementation.

He appreciated his friends' work and assured them they would be compensated handsomely, which surprised them.

[Based on their reaction, it seems they only want their art to be used and admired by people and players.] So Vince pondered while working on the update.

This mobile game will expose millions of people to their art and be proud of it. They will still get compensation, though, and the same with Kyle.

[Jessica has been too busy with her own personal project and hadn't helped much with Wingin' Chicken. I wonder what it would be] he thought.

The update was submitted on Tuesday night for review and would most likely take a day or two.

The game now had a premium subscription for only 2 BTC per month. In addition, players can buy all the upgrades for a total of 100 BTC worth of in-game coins.

Many new avatars and backgrounds were made available. Vince didn't expect the game to be prevalent forever, but the past week's popularity was enough to get started.

Kyle mentioned creating a simple game during his free time to Vince on the way to school after thanking him for the free account upgrade in Wingin' Chicken. It was mostly for bragging rights because I added a unique frame around his avatar.

Vince did the same for his other friends, including Tom. Unfortunately, the update just went live when Vince woke up for school, so most people haven't had the chance to buy the in-game items yet.

He currently has millions of users and is estimated to make at least a few hundred thousand BTC by the end month.

The new premium subscription will reduce the ad revenue by a large margin. Still, it was worth it especially considering Vince won't have to pay taxes for the entire sum of coin he collects. Only the transactions on the Exchange will be subject to taxation when the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) decides to knock on Vince's door.

[The ad money will still be handy for liquidity and the considerable expenses my new business incurs such as legal fees] he thought.

Vince notified Ms. Kemp of the changes, including the coin functionality.

He asked her team to check the legal ramifications of this addition to the app, but he knew it was technically bartering instead of a typical transaction.

It was a regular day at the coin Market Exchange headquarters led by its' creator, DWDollar. It was a relatively small team of five people working out of a Silicon Valley house in the suburbs.

The exchange didn't facilitate too many transactions to be busy often, but suddenly their website went down. The lead security manager of the team was stunned. He was frantically checking the various real-time logging tools available to him.

[It didn't go down because of a DDOS attack (direct denial of service) because there are too many unique IP addresses attempting to connect to the website. It seems like the sheer amount of users connecting was the cause of this] he thought.

"Boss, we need more servers to facilitate all this web traffic," he said to DWDollar.

"It's going to be expensive, but I believe we'll make more money than ever before," Dollar replied confidently.

"How can you be so sure, boss?" the security lead asked.

"I was just on Reddit before the site went down. The top post is about that popular game Wingin' Chicken adding a cash shop. But, fortunately for us, the game only accepts coin instead of the typical payment methods." he replied with a grin.

The company reached out to local service providers to improve their networking capabilities. It took about an hour for the website to go live again, but it can now handle all the incoming requests from avid mobile gamers.

EDITED

Chapter 8 - Cash Money

Vince was the first to get lunch and sat down at the usual table. Jessica arrived a few moments later and had a vibrant aura around her.

"Vince, I just finished a project I've been working on the past two weeks," she said.

"Alright, do you mind showing me what you've been up to?" he replied.

She sent a hyperlink to him via MMS and sat down to eat her food without further explanation. Vince clicked on the link and directed him to a nicely crafted and designed website with stock images.

[Jessica must have spent plenty of time learning about CSS to design a website that looks as good as this one. It even looks nice on mobile, which takes double the effort.] He thought.

"This website is well thought out and functional. The stock images fit well, and the website itself is responsive.", Vince commented.

"It's hosted on GitHub pages right now as it's only a prototype and mainly for practice, but I still have to learn how to deploy the website effectively when I do decide to publish.", she stated.

"This is amazing work for the amount of time you've spent. I can give you something to work on for fair compensation if you're interested.", Vince proposed.

"You would be paying me to create a website?" she asked with an unbelieving look.

"You might not believe me, but I signed a deal to create a company with a law firm that would represent my interests. My mother worked at Lewis-Jacobs as a secretary and connected me with one of the senior partners.

I'll be offering the same thing to the others for the work they've put in Wingin' Chicken, the first of many products that Future Technologies will create." he declared.

"If that's the case, then I'll accept.", she replied with excitement.

The others arrived, and Vince mentioned the same offer to them.

They were all surprised and decided to ask their parents for permission.

Tom arrived with his friends to thank Vince for the special access he was granted on Wingin' Chicken and reminded him to stop by his family's gym.

Vince returned home and immediately checked his satoshi wallet balance and found around 2.5 million BTC.

[It seems like a large portion of players decided to pay for premium access considering it cost only $2 or even less depending on listing prices] he thought. He then checked the exchange chart out of curiosity and found that coin rose to $2 = 1 BTC.

The price of coin doubled overnight and looked to continue rising.

[I should have expected a rise in coin prices, but I wouldn't have been able to take advantage without liquid capital, anyways.] Vince pondered

He listed only 100,000 BTC to be sold on the exchange and quickly received $200,000 in his account. He notified Ms. Kemp regarding the newly acquired cash he wanted to withdraw.

Vince mentioned paying for the current billable hours the law firm spent setting up his business with the cash and kindly instructed for a smooth withdrawal from the business bank account. The law firm will have to deal with any procedures required to procure the cash.

Vince received a reply with the business bank account information an hour later.

[Good thing school ends before typical work hours] he thought.

He logged into the bank portal and found an available balance of $150,000. This law firm is expensive. It cost $50,000 already. A receipt showed bills from Lewis-Jacobs and the accounting firm that handles Vince's accounts, the local Deloitte branch in Austin, Texas.

Vince replied with a message of gratitude and mentioned his plans to employ his friends who have helped develop Wingin' Chicken.

Ms. Kemp's secretary replied with a confirmation.

The paperwork was being prepared for signing. Vince ate dinner with Leah and talked about undergoing experimental treatment for her condition. He reassured her that cost would not be an issue in the future. Unfortunately, they cannot afford the entirety of the treatment right now, but Vince was confident they will eventually.

He could also sell some coin if they required more liquid cash.

"Thank you, my boy. I'll be strong and endure the treatment to watch you grow up and achieve more success.", she said lovingly.

Vince spent the rest of the night doing homework and playing online games with his buddies. Further plans can wait until tomorrow.

[Today is a good day worthy of relaxation] he thought.

Most of the student body knew who the mastermind of the new viral game was. Of course, Vince didn't become super popular or anything, but he did gain the respect of his peers.

His homeroom teacher approached him before heading to his first class. "Vince, I heard you made that game everybody is playing. My 5-year old son loves it and shows me his top scores all the time.", she said.

"I'm glad your son likes it, Ms. Miller.", he replied.

"My son means the world to me, and seeing him happy makes me happy." she declared.

"Please give me your son's account details, and I'll grant him premium access and all the in-game items when you have the time.", he said.

Ms. Miller happily accepted the friendly gesture.

Her son used her account to play Wingin' Chicken and gave him her email address. They parted ways, and Vince continued on his day.

He discussed the employment proposal with his friends during their lunch break. Vince gave them Ms. Kemp's office contact details for their parents.

He started formulating some short-term projects they would work on as soon as he got home. But, first, he ordered a complete set of production-grade computer components and peripherals like multiple displays to enhance his friends' productivity.

He didn't skimp on any of the components, including the latest Nvidia Quadro graphics cards.

[Sarah and Rick will love this] he thought.

Vince waited until the end of the week for everything to be delivered to each of his friends' houses.

He spent the entire weekend building and configuring each setup while taking the time to teach his friends his PC building process.

The following week, The school's principal summoned Vince to discuss his recent success with the viral mobile game that people have recently been playing.

"Vince Dalton, you are needed at the principal's office now." the school speakers blurted twice.

Ms. Miller dismissed her student from class and allowed Vince to move towards the principal's office.

"Good day, Principal Keaton. What can I do for you?" Vince stated after entering the room.

"Welcome, Vince. Please take a seat. I've heard from the teachers and students about your personal software project. I congratulate you for your early success, and our school is honored to have such a young, enterprising, and diligent student like yourself." Keaton stated kindly.

"Thank you for the praise, Mr. Keaton," Vince replied plainly, trying not to raise any suspicions.

"Though I do wonder how you were able to develop such a popular game like Wingin' Chicken. You won't be attending the computer science classes until next year if I recall." Mr. Keaton said curiously.

Vince started sweating a little bit because of nervousness and thought of an excuse on the spot.

"That's true, but I've been interested in technology development ever since I decided to buy my first computer. I spent hundreds of hours doing research and reading online about the things I could do if I had access to a computer." Vince replied anxiously.

"Oh really? Could you share some of the resources you've learned from so that we could apply them to your peers here at South Main?" Mr. Keaton asked.

"What got me started with my advanced studies was a fascinating and information-heavy lecture series on YouTube called CS50, created by the Harvard Computer Science professors. It has everything a student needs to start their journeys in IT, such as general modern tech concepts and specific courses like Python and Java programming." Vince explained.

"I didn't know Harvard provided free classes online. I'll do my research and check if CS50 would be a good addition to our curriculum." Mr. Keaton stated.

"Their YouTube channel is very new and only started early this year. But, of course, I also read books and journals as complimentary sources for my studies." Vince commented.

"I'm glad a student of ours has taken it upon themselves to improve in their areas of interest. I've been contemplating about having you speak in front of the student body about your early successes in mobile app development." Mr. Keaton stated.

"I don't think that's necessary, Mr. Keaton. I believe that my peers who are interested in IT won't need someone talking on stage to persuade them to learn. So instead, I suggest the school integrate the study resources I mentioned to allow those curious to dip their toes in Computer Science. That should be enough, in my opinion." Vince explained.

"I can see why you're successful at such a young age. Even the way you talk is much different than kids your age. You can go back to class now. Thank you for the recommendations, Vince." Mr. Keaton stated before dismissing one of the best students of his school.

EDITED (500 words)

Close to a month has passed since Vince's reincarnation. He happily got most of his friends interested in pursuing different aspects of modern creativity and found some recent success with his first mobile game.

He has more people working for him now, but we are all still students and have other obligations to uphold. Homework and attending classes took a big bulk of his available time, but he did have the advantage of prior experience and education.

The crew was delighted to use their new workstations provided by the company as an expense. The others were going the receive their first round of compensation precisely a month after the company's creation, and they were all excited for some pocket money.

[The smile they'll make when they get the first paycheck will be ear-to-ear for sure] he thought.

He got on the bus and found Kyle reading something on his laptop. "What are you reading?" he asked.

"I've been learning Unreal Engine 3 while waiting on the new computers and already started with an idea. These are the Epic Games website documentation about the functions of the new game I have in mind." Kyle replied.

"What's the basic concept of this new game you're creating on Unreal Engine 3?" Vince asked curiously.

"It's a reverse tower defense game that plays in real-time. You can build defenses and unit production facilities like in Age of Empires, but upgrades' wait time gets longer and longer. This feature is part of the game's progression, and I want it to be slow but rewarding. You can attack other people's bases with your units while the defending base uses all the traps and defenses that other players had set up. I'm finding the most difficult part to be the persistence of the game world itself, and that's what I'm reading about right now.", he replied.

[This is an upper-level problem regarding online multiplayer networking. It's a great idea, though, and it reminds me of a game called Clash of Clans that was hugely popular. It came out in 2013, but there's no harm if something similar came out earlier] he thought.

"I'll do my best to help you with this project. I see great potential in your idea, and our team will definitely bring it to life!" Vince declared.

Kyle was thankful for the support and found even more satisfaction in spending time studying a new software toolset for a week.

"We'll discuss this with the others at lunch.", Vince said as they were getting off the bus.

The group met up during lunch break after the first few periods. Each of them expressed gratitude again for the new workstations.

"We're part of the same company now after you and your parents signed the contracts from Jacob-Lewis. So you don't have to thank me every time because you guys earned it. Compensation or otherwise.", Vince said as he channeled his inner department leader.

"Please focus on your grades first and our projects second. Our working time is currently limited, but this will change in the future.", Vince stated thoughtfully.

"We get it. We get it. I took this job as a challenge because school is too easy for me.", Jessica declared.

The others seem to agree with her sentiment.

"Alright, I trust you guys. Hey Kyle, share some of those ideas we talked about earlier.", Vince said.

They talked about the new project and divided some work between them. Vince will support each of them the best he can but primarily deal with Jessica and Kyle.

Sarah and Rick will handle the art and aesthetic design for the most part. He notified them about their payday next week after the discussion and went separate ways. Things are going smoothly, and they also have a new project to spend time on.

[This was the satisfaction I've been missing for years] Vince thought to himself.

Vince was oblivious to a meeting happening hundreds of miles away in Cupertino that could potentially derail all his plans and recent work.

Tim Cook was in a meeting with other Apple upper management in a beautifully designed headquarters. Steve Jobs was currently resting at home due to his illness and did not participate in monthly meetings.

"Our user base and App store downloads spiked the past month. However, we found that it's mainly due to a new mobile game that was released three weeks ago called Wingin' Chicken.", Cook was told by one of the managers.

"Good news is always welcome. How many unique downloads has it gotten?" Tim Cook asked.

"Most users who own the latest models of iPhones have downloaded it at least, and the concurrent player count is around 25 million users and still climbing.", he replied.

"That's an awful lot of people. So I would assume the ad revenue alone would be worth millions of dollars.", Cook added.

"Yes, Mr. Cook. The projected payout for ad revenue will be about $5 million next month.", the manager replied.

"This game has become the most popular app on the App Store. I would also assume we are making millions of dollars from microtransactions, right? You haven't said anything about our app store revenue from this game." Cook asked dominatingly.

"The game does have microtransactions, but it only accepts a cryptocurrency called coin to purchase. I think the developers are trying to avoid the 30% cut we impose on all our apps." the manager said with a bit of nervousness.

"Then why is it on the App Store?! We reviewed the game and still published it. So someone is getting fired for this!" Tim Cook shouted angrily.

"The developer had not technically broken any App Store guidelines, and the already huge user base was the reason why it's still on the App Store." the manager replied.

"Take the game down as soon as possible and sue the developers for trying to circumvent our guidelines! I don't care if it was bartering or whatever. Sue them and set an example so that no one tries this ever again." Tim Cook declared. The meeting was dismissed, and the manager informed the Apple legal team of their new task.

EDITED

Vince woke up to prepare for school and instinctively checked the front page of Reddit. The top post was created by a person who recently bought the new iPhone and wanted to download Wingin' Chicken but couldn't find it on the App Store.

The language used was pure rage and abuse, and many other Reddit users commented and upvoted it.

"Apple most likely removed it because of the microtransactions in the game. Apple can't make money from the game as it is now.", a clever Redditor commented.

"Apple is just as greedy as always. I heard a 13-year old student made this game. Imagine bullying a kid as a multi-billion dollar company.", another Redditor commented.

Both of these sentiments were also upvoted as high as the original post.

[This isn't good. I can't even log in to the game even though I have the latest version installed. I'll have to ask Jessica to help me create a website to import the video game and provide access to all the users who play for free or not] he thought.

Vince checked his email and found a message from Lewis-Jacobs regarding a lawsuit Apple is pursuing against Future Technologies.

He replied, saying to fight the suit the best they can and estimate how much it would cost to win it.

Vince asked the law firm to announce the game will be available on browsers soon, and users will not lose any progress on their account, including what users paid for already.

[This will derail the production of our new game but not too much] he thought.

Mobile was a huge market for his games and would require cooperation from Apple and Google for more ambitious projects like their upcoming game. He discussed the issue with his team during lunch that same day. "Jessica, I'll need your help designing different aspects of the website for Wingin' Chicken. You can use your current work as a base to start with.", Vince said.

"I'm mostly done with the layout, but I'll need some help with the server hosting. Millions of people will want to continue playing the game, and I don't know where to start regarding that problem.", Jessica replied.

"Understood. In the meantime, collaborate with Sarah and Rick. They're currently working on interface art for the mobile game, but we can use those assets to beautify the website.", Vince said.

Lewis-Jacobs issued a public announcement regarding the status of the current most popular game. People upvoted the post and commented on agreements about the countersuit they will be fighting against Apple.

"This poor kid will have to spend the time porting his game on the browser instead of enjoying student life.", a commenter wrote.

"Thank god, I won't have to buy everything in the game again.", another Redditor added.

Vince received an email about the initial cost of fighting the lawsuit. It was a cool $10,000,000. It was the cost of fighting one of the largest multinational corporations on Earth.

[It's not too bad, I suppose. Before I reincarnated, some consultation contracts we had were worth around the same amount. Professionals are expensive, that's for sure] he thought.

His mother was worried as she was notified by Ms. Kemp about it during work but was reassured by Vince that they had enough funds to win the suit.

Leah had faith in her son and chose to believe him.

"Mom, you don't have to work anymore. I want you to focus on recovering from your treatments.", he said. Leah reluctantly agreed for now. After dinner, Vince checked his satoshi wallet balance and found 5 million BTC waiting there.

The exchange listing price was much higher compared to the last time he cashed out some coin. It was currently $5 = 1 BTC. Exchanging his coin right now will be painful considering how much the value of coin will grow in the future, but he needs the funds right now and cannot avoid it.

He spread out selling a total of 4 million BTC to avoid upsetting the market too much for a dollar total of $20 million. So half will go to Lewis-Jacobs, and the rest will be some spending money for himself and the crew.

Vince sent an email to Lewis-Jacobs notifying them about the withdrawal. The firm will process the cash with Deloitte like before, but they would subtract their fees and the taxes to be paid.

[coin was not a recognized currency yet, but any dollar earnings will always have some kind of tax associated with it. I trust Deloitte to perform its due diligence on this reasonably large withdrawal, he thought.

The lawsuit was massive and received national news attention for the next week.

Vince didn't take the lawsuit too seriously and worked on the browser port of Wingin' Chicken with Jessica. He had already set up an accessible data storage server for his team to share resources and collaborate more efficiently. Additionally, Vince utilized cloud technology to host the website.

Microsoft Azure provided a utility-based charging system and can easily be expanded or reduced depending on the current network traffic experienced at any point in time.

The working version was released a week after the App Store removed the game. Apple users can now access the game on their devices but only using a browser.

Thanks to its simplicity, the game itself ran well, and users were happy to play it again. Fortunately, the lawsuit was swinging in their favor. The judge even ordered the accrued advertisement revenue to be paid out to Future Technologies while the case was still active.

Apple begrudgingly released the funds, and Vince's business account grew by $5 million after taxes and fees. He asked for the ad revenue to be split between the five members of Future Technologies for their initial paycheck.

[My friends deserve a payday after spending so much time improving their skills and contributing to Future Tech's projects since the beginning.] Vince pondered.

The parents were dumbfounded when they received the check from a courier sent by Lewis-Jacobs to ensure the right people received them.

"It's like we won the lottery!" one of the parents shouted in their home. The parents opted to use Deloitte, as suggested by Lewis-Jacobs, to manage their kids' accounts because it was the safest way to avoid any potential issues.

EDITED

The team was working on the new project enthusiastically after learning about their income recently. However, this was only temporary, and the team would get to earn a lot more later on after the lawsuits concluded.

Some upperclassmen approached Vince during lunch break, asking for an opportunity to make some money like his friends.

They mainly were seniors already accepted by good universities to pursue computer science or computer engineering degrees. The others were inexperienced and lacked the knowledge his team required in developing their new game.

A few aspiring 3D artists also provided proof of work, such as a design portfolio. Vince took their contact information before continuing to eat lunch.

[I guess a bunch of kids making a million dollars all of a sudden garners peoples' attention] he thought.

Of course, it shouldn't have been a surprise considering how popular their first game was, but he assumed young people didn't often think too deeply about this sort of thing.

He contacted three programmers and two artists and offered a complete workstation worth $20,000 as an upfront payment for their services. In addition, Vince would reserve the right to remove them from his employment within the next six months without repercussions as a probationary period.

Anywho pass the probationary period will then be offered employment.

These students were older than Vince and had fewer restrictions, yet they're still senior high school students. The five of them immediately accepted the offer.

The workstation was a massive boon for all of them, considering it an investment towards their future career. The recruits would not be disappointed if they failed the probationary period.

He contacted Lewis-Jacobs to prepare the employment documents detailing the spoken agreement he discussed with the new employees. Finally, he ordered the equipment and directed them to the appropriate addresses before logging on to coin Market Exchange.

[coin is getting too expensive. People will stop buying premium accounts status and cash shop coins sooner than later. There are no quick alternatives for a convenient payment and exchange process for cash and coin. I'll have to develop a payment system that can bill a specific dollar amount worth of coin at the current going price of BTC in the market] he thought.

Vince's idea was complicated, especially considering all the other foreign currencies involved with a global mobile game like Wingin' Chicken and the upcoming new game.

Vince took some time to think about a solution and found it right in front of him. coin Market Exchange facilitates all the transactions of coin as the only cryptocurrency exchange in the world.

[It's best to partner up or acquire them as my stopgap solution, though it may be difficult. The coin Market Exchange is doing well for itself these days and would require more effort and persuasion] Vince thought.

DWDollar has been living these past few weeks hectically. His business was booming, and his coin savings were shooting up in value though he didn't own much of it in the first place.

It costs a fortune to maintain and grow coin Market, and he thought they were going out of business within the year if they couldn't get an angel investor to bail them out.

[All these millions of transactions are already close to the limit for my small company. We're making a decent amount of money from transaction fees, but expansion will cost millions I don't have] DWDollar thought.

coin Market only takes 0.25% of the value of the transaction as a fee.

This rate was fair for an exchange comparable to modern currency exchanges in 2021 but didn't provide enough revenue to catch up with demand and the stress on their network. Moreover, DWDollar was distressed about the company's future in his office.

He checked his email like usual and found one from Lewis-Jacobs.

[I remember reading about this law firm on the news. They represent Future Technologies, a company I should thank them for my current predicament.] he thought begrudgingly.

It was an invitation to their offices in Austin, Texas, to negotiate a potential deal with Future Technologies. They insisted that he travel there for which total costs would be paid for and allowed two other coin Market executives to join.

[The business has stabilized the past week, and I cannot pass up an opportunity like this] he thought.

So DWDollar chose two of the highest-ranking employees they had and booked the highest-class plane tickets and rooms in a five-star hotel.

They enjoyed their free travel to Austin and met with a junior partner from Lewis-Jacobs at the airport.

The junior partner provided information regarding the scheduled meeting time. They were free to do as they wished before then, and a driver would be ready to bring them to the offices.

"I appreciate the gesture of goodwill by sending a lawyer to welcome us. I forget that I am a CEO sometimes.", DWDollar said.

"Yeah, boss. It seems like this meeting is important. We should bring our A-game during the negotiation, whatever we're negotiating for.", the security lead named Chen suggested.

The three of them agreed and enjoyed the amenities before the allotted meeting time. They ate lobster, caviar, and other expensive foods in delight.

[Now, this is how life should be. Why can't it always be this fun and carefree?] Dollar thought.

A vehicle was ready to bring them over to the law firm around 4 pm, and it arrived at the law firm headquarters after 30 minutes.

The group was welcomed by Ms. Marcia Kemp and directed into one of the best conference rooms the building offered.

"Please take a seat while we wait for the others. Let me introduce myself. My name is Marcia Kemp, a senior partner here at Lewis-Jacobs. I'm glad to meet the three of you.", Ms. Kemp said confidently.

The leadership of coin Market replied in kind with their introductions.

"I assumed your law firm would have been too busy with the lawsuits everyone keeps talking about on the news.", Dollar mentioned.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss it in detail, but I can assure you that our side will win both cases in a few weeks' time." Ms. Kemp replied.

After a few minutes of waiting, the junior partner they met the day before walked into the conference room with a 13-year-old boy.

It seemed rather odd to see a kid wearing a full tailored suit.

[I assumed the kid developer would be more like a nerd. This kid exudes much more confidence than most IT professionals I know.] Dollar thought.

All of them took the time to shake hands and introduced each other.

"Good day, gentlemen. My name is Vince Dalton, the lead developer of Future Technologies. I've invited you here to negotiate a deal between my company and coin Market. As industry leaders in the cryptocurrency market, you guys know how difficult it can be to process crypto payments and traditional bank charges. The price of coin is booming and becoming more volatile. As a result, it's getting harder and more expensive for my users to buy in-game coins with BTC and will eventually cripple the game's revenue potential. I cannot let this happen with both my old game and new projects I have planned in the future.", Vince said.

He wasted no time with pleasantries and cut straight to the chase.

"That all makes sense, but what does coin Market have to do with this?" DWDollar asked.

"That is what we will be negotiating mainly. How should I call you? DW or Dollar?" Vince asked.

"Dollar is fine. I admit that we are the largest cryptocurrency exchange at the moment but expanding our product line is too much for coin Market right now." Dollar replied.

[This guy is going to play hardball, it seems. I don't want to waste too much time, but I need coin Market's cooperation for my plans to work.] Vince thought.

"I'll share some ideas regarding a coin payment portal I want your help developing. This concept will be the main payment processor for our current and future products.", Vince said. They talked about the idea for hours, and the lawyers only got involved towards the end of the conversation to attempt closing the deal.

"This is a brilliant vision, and it seems feasible. The revenue potential is fairly high. I know some people who are working on the e-commerce platforms of popular banks and large retailers. It will be costly but doable. If we do start working on this project, we'll need at least $25 million as a starting budget." Dollar proposed.

"Alright, I will offer you $25 million for the first year of development and another $25 million to work for me. I want to buy your exchange. You will retain your positions but will have Future Technologies as the parent company and access to more of my available capital", the boy business owner declared.

The three coin Market guys were stunned to hear the offer to buy the company. Cryptocurrency was still at its infancy stage, and only a handful of investors believed in the technology. The blockchain has its' flaws but is a viable option for online payments.

"I'll have to think about this first. Do you mind if you can give me a day to process all this information?" Dollar asked.

"Feel free to enjoy the rest of your stay here in Austin. Please talk to Ms. Kemp when you've decided. Unfortunately, I have to leave soon, but it was a pleasure to discuss business with all of you." Vince said with gratitude.

Vince left the office heading home while Dollar and his crew were thinking deeply in the conference room.

Ms. Kemp gave them some space and time to make a decision. Then, a few hours into enjoying the five-star hotel, Dollar called Ms. Kemp to prepare the necessary documents.

He decided to sell his business to a boy, yet he felt, in his heart, this would be the best decision for his company.

[This luxurious life is too hard to pass on, too.] So Dollar thought as he was drinking champagne by the pool with a few young women.

EDITED

[This suit looks pretty nice on me. I always wanted to dress like Harvey Specter from the TV show. Hopefully, my presentation was effective. Unfortunately, though, I couldn't spend too much time with negotiations. I'm paying the law firm to deal with most of the process, which frees a lot of time for school work and the development of our new game] Vince thought.

Vince took some time to roughly update the Wingin' Chicken cash shop prices to match the current BTC going price on the market exchange.

[This stopgap was a temporary solution for the payment processing issue. If the negotiations work out, all my future products will provide native payment processing and cryptocurrency exchange. The ease of use will attract more user spending. Utilizing cryptocurrency can also help streamline a community market where users trade digital goods amongst one another. We should be able to start creating a barebones community market prototype soon. The coin Market guys will help accelerate its' development when we reach an agreement] Vince thought.

After working for a few hours, Vince checked his email and found one from Lewis-Jacobs stating the agreement from DWDollar and coin Market.

Someone arrived at the house to receive signatures from him and Leah which completed the transaction. Vince had a week to provide the $50 million stated on the contract.

He checked his satoshi wallet and found it didn't increase by much from the last time he checked, probably due to the increasing price of BTC, but the changes made to the cash shop prices convinced some users to spend money on the game again.

[I'll be losing plenty of coin in constantly adjusting the cash shop prices to meet market prices. So I need to get the payment portal up and running soon, even with fewer features] he thought.

He decided to sell 3 million BTC from his savings of 10 million BTC for around $11 each, spreading the transactions out like usual.

Lewis-Jacobs handled the withdrawal and left him with $30 million of liquidity after the firm used the rest to pay for fees, taxes, and the acquisition of coin Market.

The good news about the lawsuit was also included in the email stating that the U.S government cared more about the anti-trust and monopolistic behavior Apple was showing and will most likely settle out of court within the month.

[That was fast. It would usually take years for a lawsuit like this to conclude. So it seems Apple doesn't have as much political pull that it had in my past life] he thought.

Google showed interest in pursuing the same lawsuit against Future Tech but thought wiser of it based on how things were going. Android users were the least affected and didn't care at all.

He replied with a few instructions stating his need for a networking infrastructure contractor and the assistance of Epic Games for technical and development support for Unreal Engine 3 and Future Tech's upcoming game.

Lewis-Jacobs scheduled a video meeting between Tim Sweeney and Vince Dalton a few hours later.

"Thank you for accepting to meet with me, Mr. Sweeney. I admire your company's work, and it's a pleasure to speak with you finally." Vince stated respectfully over Skype.

The 40-year-old Caucasian-American man on the other end replied with a modest and soft-sounding tone.

"I was surprised to hear from my secretary about a potential deal you wanted to negotiate. My company would usually reach out via my project managers, but you, Vince Dalton, interest me the most. Your success with the simple mobile game you developed has made the rounds in our offices. It's always the young that dominate the video game industry. No matter what the suits in the boardrooms of Activision or EA say." Tim stated curiously.

[The guy talks like a sesame street character but is straightforward, for sure. It seems strange for a small dev like me to ask a behemoth like Epic Games to help develop my new IP.] Vince pondered.

"Thank you for the praise, Mr. Sweeney. I agree that the young developers drive the industry forward for their time like yourself and John Carmack. I hope that the team and I can live up to your expectations." Vince replied graciously.

"Not a lot of people would think to integrate such a novel technology like cryptocurrency into their video game. So what's the new idea you've been cooking up that requires Epic Games' assistance?" Tim Sweeney asked inquisitively.

After a few hours of discussing Vince's vision of his new and radical game idea over Skype, the young business owner, and the video game industry behemoth worked out an initial partnership plan in developing War Online.

The game itself would start small in scope, but Vince's team and Epic Games would gradually add more features to keep existing players engaged with the content.

Vince had to pay a flat fee for Epic Game's development services and the license to use Unreal Engine 3, including all engine updates.

A month passed as everyone involved in his business worked towards the final production stages of both the new game called War Online and the native payment processor.

coin income from Wingin' Chicken was slowly fading along with its' popularity on most platforms. Therefore, a new product will have to be released to increase revenue continuously.

DWDollar contacted Vince regarding integrating the new payment portal with Wingin' Chicken and War Online.

Vince emailed back, saying that both will be developed and released simultaneously. Kyle already notified him that War Online was ready to be released in a few days after the network infrastructure contractors finished work on their end.

[It was expensive to pay for networking services, but $10 million is a drop in the bucket compared to how popular he knew War Online would become.] Vince thought.

War Online was much different for Clash of Clans after its development. First, there was more of an MMORPG aspect than just attacking other people's bases.

Second, the game featured a mainline quest written by one of the high school seniors Vince recruited a month ago with an incredible talent in writing. The game evolved with more people involved in its development, such as the Epic Games consultants.

Kyle and Sarah focused on the cash shop item designs while the other artist finished the base game art using assets like materials instances and static meshes provided by Epic.

The three programmers scripted the game with the help of Vince while Kyle worked with Epic Games to ensure cross-platform functionality would work as intended.

It cost $5 million for Epic Game's consultation, which was already negotiated heavily by Lewis-Jacobs.

Epic provided Future Technologies with a cross-platform plugin to enable the 3D gameplay on most devices that support standard graphics APIs. As a result, War Online's visual fidelity can be customized for the device and platform being played.

The release will go live for Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS now that the lawsuit has concluded. Apple had to pay $10 million worth of ad revenue reparations for removing the game from the App Store.

The judge declared that Apple couldn't force developers to solely use the App Store payment processor and allowed third-party payment portals for use. However, Future Technologies still had to pay a fee to enable their games on the App Store and negotiated a flat cost of $5 million per month.

Vince decided not to publish Wingin' Chicken on the App Store and only published War Online on the money-grabbing platform.

Lewis-Jacobs signed the same deal with Google to cover their bases before War Online's release.

The government inquired about Future Technologies' coin earnings and could not find any faults in handling capital gains.

Deloitte treated his outgoing coin transactions like how they would for gold and other commodities as coin was not yet a recognized currency, saving Vince millions in taxes.

Vince attended homeroom like always but was rather tired because of the recent Future Tech projects.

The teacher today was a replacement rather than Ms. Miller.

[I wonder if anything happened to Ms. Miller. She was always stern yet cared for her student's education. Her math classes were fun compared to other teachers and always gave me advice in my past life.] Vince thought.

The group met up during lunch and talked about the release of War Online.

"The Future Technologies main website is ready to be deployed. Also, the guys at coin Market were a huge help in teaching me more advanced techniques with user base governance on HTML.", Jessica said.

"Sarah and I finished with the first collection of cash shop items and ready for the next project.", Rick added.

"War Online is looking so good right now. I'm hyped for its release. Those Epic Games guys are geniuses, Vince. It was inspiring learning from them this past month, especially Mr. Sweeney!" Kyle declared.

"You guys have done great work. However, I'll give you and our upperclassmen a month off after War Online's release. Exams are coming up, and you'll need some time for rest and review.", Vince stated.

[War Online might be the most ambitious project I have led myself. I've been involved in larger projects, but this was different. This project will be released under my own company.] Vince thought proudly.

EDITED

Vince scheduled a meeting with Dollar and Lewis-Jacobs via video conference call to discuss the nearing release of War Online and their proprietary payment processing system as soon as he got home from school.

[It would be nice to have a headquarters, but that would be too expensive an expenditure right now.] he thought.

The meeting started, and Dollar was the first to speak.

"The new exchange payment portal has been developed with the help of the networking infrastructure contractors and some of my contacts in the emerging e-commerce market here in Silicon Valley.", Dollar declared.

The new portal is called 'BitCash' and works similarly to traditional online banking. It uses the automated clearing house systems administered by the U.S Federal Reserve and other foreign ACHs to accept traditional debit transfers while facilitating the exchange of crypto and fiat currency.

Users will only have to input their bank details once.

After that, the portal would automatically exchange their local currency to coin from whatever program Future Tech implemented the Bitcash Portal.

There would be fees the users would have to pay but would be kept to a minimum.

[I'm betting on revenue from the sheer number of transactions. All the digital goods from the cash shop can only be bought with coin but are priced in dollar amounts instead. This setup will make it easier for users to purchase items without worrying about coin prices all the time.] Vince thought.

War Online would take advantage of using coin for its' in-game market economy. Players will have access to use a similar service like the Steam community market but solely using coin.

Bitcash would also be integrated within the in-game market service for ease of use.

Vince decided not to advertise the game and allowed his new product to grow naturally and gain exposure from social media, saving him millions of potential marketing expenses.

Vince requested access to coin Market's customer service provider to support War Online in the meantime.

After the meeting, Future Tech sent the game for review on the App Store and Play Store. The Windows and Linux versions went live earlier due to fewer barriers to entry.

A random avid gamer was scrolling through Reddit and found a new post that wasn't upvoted to the top yet. It was about a new online game from Future Technologies.

The poster described the game as more of a core video game than a simple mobile game, though War Online would be available on most platforms soon. Nevertheless, the avid gamer decided to try the game out instead of reading the entire post.

He found the hyperlink at the bottom of the post and was redirected to a clean and responsive website. The website stated that War Online was a cross-platform game, and users can play on any valid device with the same account.

He chose to download the Windows Installer instead of playing it on the browser, assuming the performance and graphical fidelity would be better.

The game was free for a month and would cost $15/month after that but in BTC instead of dollars.

He made his character with the game's few character creation options, which would gradually be updated by Future Tech and Epic Games devs.

His character was dropped on a plot of land and could control aspects of his in-game property to work on his base. However, after building his level 1 base for a while, he decided to venture out into the wilderness.

It would take a few minutes for all his basic units to be produced in the base and took the extra time questing.

The map zoomed out, showing a map of the earth and a small icon where his character was.

He could move around the large map and perform quests from random NPC bases around him. A player can build their reputation in neighboring NPC bases to eventually ally with them or plunder them with his units.

These NPC bases were powerful and could only be raided by higher-level players.

Questing provided rewards to make the player's character stronger or upgrade their base using rare resources.

He observed that all the non-resource items could be traded or auctioned in the integrated marketplace for coin because they were all unique digital goods with a blockchain ID associated with them similar to NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

He suddenly realized that playing this game could pay out real money when he exchanged the coin accepted from the market for cash using the portal.

The original Reddit post mentioned this feature, but he didn't read the entire thing.

After only a few hours, that same post is now the top post on Reddit. The game's mobile versions were released the following day that ballooned the already large player base of Windows desktop users.

The game was an overnight success for opposite reasons compared to Wingin' Chicken.

War Online provided fleshed-out gameplay with plenty of new features such as a persistent game world, cross-platform, and a groundbreaking digital crypto market.

You can team up with your friends and play together to level up and progress faster, called Alliances.

The combat system used by the produced units was primarily AI-controlled, but the main character had a skill tree that varies its' gameplay. Most users were more enthralled with controlling their main characters than the puny AI units.

Vince started playing the game as he enjoyed playing video games and had some free time.

[Combat in this game feels so smooth and visceral. The support from Epic Games proved to be the right choice. PC is the most fun method to play this game, but the controller and touchpads won't be too bad. Vince thought. Users played War Online with a top-down view or the isometric view.

Players can control the camera freely within the area, like when raiding a base with their army or moving around their base.

The skill tree wasn't too diverse, and the offensive and defensive skills were based on the weapon type and skill traits unlocked.

[So there's a lot more potential in this game than I initially thought.] Vince pondered.

The game contained the standard social features like adding friends and talking in chat. Vince wanted users to connect their accounts to any social media platform easily and had some new features like remote viewing.

Friends can watch other people play on their game client if the user approves.

Remote view mode cloned the display and presented it to the remote viewer's client as a clean video stream.

Players can also stream their gameplay to Twitch, Facebook, or Youtube utilizing the same technology as remote view, assuming they have enough bandwidth to support the feature.

Mobile Wi-Fi is barely able to stream while gaming, so only players will use this feature mainly through computer desktop players on Windows, Linux, and Mac.

The live player count at the bottom-right of the display currently had more than 100,000 and climbing.

Future Tech delivered advertisement banners to players with free accounts, but players can avail of the 1-month premium access for free courtesy of Future Technologies.

Vince closed the game without worry because the game world was completely persistent and decided to turn in for the night.

[I'll have more time this upcoming month and be able to do things other than development and mentoring my team. I should head to Tom's gym after class to get some workouts in and learn kickboxing.] Vince thought before falling asleep.

EDITED

Vince helped his mom buy groceries like they usually do every week and ran into Ms. Miller around the produce aisle.

[She looks a bit too distraught for a person choosing vegetables. She hasn't been teaching at school for a week now. I don't want to intrude by maybe I can help with whatever is bothering her.] Vince thought.

Vince told his mother he would talk with his homeroom teacher an aisle over and walked towards Ms. Miller.

They shared greetings, and Vince asked why she hadn't been teaching recently.

"You seem like a nice kid, and you know a bit about my son. I mentioned him to you a month or two ago. Unfortunately, his dad took him a week ago, and I haven't seen him since. I'll be filing for divorce to try and get my son back, but I'm afraid his father has too many connections for that to happen. I'm sorry for burdening you with my personal issues; I haven't talked to anyone about this yet and wanted to get it off my chest." Ms. Miller said apologetically.

"Thank you for sharing, and you don't have to be sorry. Here is the contact info for the law firm that I keep on retainer. They should be able to help you get your son back." Vince stated warmly.

[It's the least I can do. I've been so lucky since getting sent back ten years in the past. So I might as well help people who have treated me well during both my lives.] Vince thought.

Ms. Miller took the business card from Vince and asked, "This law firm looks expensive. I probably can't afford them."

"Give them your information, and they'll handle it from there. I'll foot the bill. I'm sure the other students would like to get our brilliant math teacher back." Vince declared.

Ms. Miller responded with gratefulness, and she looked much happier than before. They bade farewells, and he finished buying groceries with Leah.

Vince trained with Tom for a few hours at his family gym near Downtown Austin.

"Hey, Tom. Have you checked out our new game called War Online?" Vince asked.

"Yes, I did. But I prefer Wingin' Chicken cause the combat gameplay is too complicated for me. I can also beat people in competitions and spars anyway, so it's not that appealing." Tom replied.

[True. It does sound more fun to beat people in competitions rather than randoms. I share the same sentiment as a fan of sports and e-sports.

Now that I think about it, War Online turned out to have a relatively tight combat system. The players' main characters fighting other main characters should probably make for compelling gameplay.

I remember League of Legends and DotA 2 were hugely popular around this time in history. I'll explore the potential of War Online after getting home.] Vince thought.

Vince focused on transactional revenue using cash shops, payment processing, and designing the game with his crew setting aside other entertainment types.

Game development was never his forte, but he and his team created War Online using personal resources he never had, like liquid capital.

Collaborating with other companies did also help a ton. It took a lot of his time, but he was now free to delve into more subjects.

War Online is available around the world but only in the English language. This situation wasn't a problem with Wingin' Chicken, but War Online is more complex with skills, traits, and questing, which required translations.

Plenty of foreigners still play the game but with the help of good-hearted gamers translating for them in the local chat.

Vince decided to fix this localization issue first before expanding on the game.

Wingin' Chicken's ad revenue for that month was only $10 million from all platforms except the App Store. Future Tech paid $5 million to Google for the negotiated platform fee, leaving Vince with around $3 million after fees and taxes.

The accounting firm kept a portion of the money for tax season arriving in a few months, reducing Vince's available liquid capital further.

His employees, including coin Market people and the student part-timers, could update their contracts after the lawsuits concluded.

They would be paid $1 million annually and reviewed for a raise every year. Additionally, the contract stated that all of the revenue from Wingin' Chicken, War online, and Bitcash was controlled by Vince and his legal guardian, including the significant number of BTC, already accumulated.

All the innovations gained from future insight were all provided by Vince. But, unfortunately, this dilemma left him no choice, and he had to control his employees as such even though it pained him.

[My friends shouldn't mind. They understand how much I've helped in their recent growth. They would be paid a total of $2 million this year. Not bad for part-time work compared to minimum wage] Vince thought.

He checked his satoshi wallet, found it had grown since the last time he checked, now at 12 million BTC.

[I would never want to sell any coin unless I had to, but I need some cash to spend on the localization and new arena mode we've been conceptualizing. Investing in another company will not be an option anytime soon. I already sold a ton of coin to acquire Dollar and his company.] Vince thought.

Vince decided to add a traditional currency option for the cash shop items in both games to get more non-coin revenue other than from advertisements.

He tasked the coin Market division to update BitCash with these thoughts in mind. This decision will reduce Future Tech's overall coin revenue but would still slowly gain more from the daily activity of BitCash users.

Dollar replied with a confirmation and asked Vince for funding to expand their networking and service systems. Vince replied with approval for $10 million in funding for the project.

Lewis-Jacobs provided Future Technologies with two dedicated junior partners at the law firm to handle tasks like releasing funds to his employees.

Marcia Kemp told him that his company was one of the firms' largest clients in billable hours and fees and was happy to serve his interests. However, the funding left him with only $8 million liquidity, and he still had to pay for localization and development contracts.

Vince sent another request to David Henderson, one of the junior partners, to find some options for both of those new projects and negotiate a fair deal.

David replied a few minutes later. Any new additions to the game will have to wait until suitable contractors are available.

[I may have to start recruiting people to the company directly instead of paying for help all the time.] he thought.

As usual, Vince enjoyed the rest of his time, spending time with his friends and training with Tom during off times.

One night, he noticed a creaking noise from outside the house as he was heading to bed. The window suddenly opened and a masked person mantled into his room like a professional thief.

The masked man took out a knife and approached Vince slowly.

[Oh my god! Someone's trying to kill me!] he thought while his heart was racing.

EDITED

Tom taught Vince some BJJ, kickboxing, and self-defense during their training sessions over the past month. As a result, Vince instinctively stood up from his bed quickly while picking up his pillow.

[I remember that using random objects around would increase my chance of survival. Of course, a blunt object like a lampstand would be better, but a pillow is my only option right now.] Vince thought in a split second.

The attacker abruptly lunged at Vince with a military knife. Vince caught the knife stab with the pillow he held and was able to trap the blade as it pierced through.

The attacker had to let go of the knife, and Vince took that opportunity and performed a basic single-leg takedown technique he learned recently, dropping the masked man on his back.

Vince stood back up with explosive force and was ready to fight till death but was surprised to find the man unconscious.

[I wouldn't have stood a chance fighting this guy straight up, but he knocked his head on the ground, luckily.] Vince pondered while catching his breath.

Vince found some zip ties he used to cable manage the company computer setups and tied both the hands and feet of the attacker together.

[I'll add more zip ties to be safe] Vince thought while tying the assailant up like a sushi roll.

Vince immediately called the police, and they arrived 15 minutes later before the attacker woke up.

The lead police officer assured him that the police would detain his attacker while contacting his lawyers when they got back to the station.

Leah was worried about their safety after seeing her son go through a traumatic assault meant to kill and talked to Vince about the situation.

"Mom, I'm glad you're safe, but you don't have to worry. You should thank Tom and his family for teaching and training me. I'll be hiring a security team soon." Vince replied reassuringly.

[I could have died tonight. My safety is essential, but mom would have been left with nothing if I had died and wouldn't have had the resources to continue her treatment. Security in any IT application has always been a priority, but security for my life? I could never gain the threat of murder in my past life.]

[My experience with these kinds of situations is severely lacking. That same person could have snuck into our house and stolen our family safe containing my satoshi wallet worth millions of coin] Vince thought worriedly.

[I will have to make some changes in securing my family's safety and assets.] he thought determinedly. So Vince contacted his lawyer David directly and tasked him with taking care of the assailant and finding more about the attack using private investigators.

He sent another text message to an accountant assigned to him by the accounting firm named Ralph about securing a safe place for his significant assets like the satoshi wallet, preferably a service provided by Swiss banks.

[I know I should rest after that attack, but the adrenaline is still pumping, and I should channel it into something productive.] he thought. So Vince started working on a new project designing security measures for the withdrawal and deposit functions of satoshi wallets and even contacted DWDollar late in the night requesting support from his team.

His accountant, Ralph, replied with some Swiss bank recommendations and financial reports for his personal and business accounts that have been the norm since the recent lawsuit win.

His small sole proprietorship called Future Technologies has made quite the splash these past few months, especially after including his new products, BitCash and War Online.

Wingin' Chicken hype is dying down, but there was some revenue from ads and players who initially avoided paying with coin but could now pay with debit bank accounts.

BitCash was in its second phase of development in Silicon Valley and proceeding steadily. A new addition to the service will be released soon featuring Bitcash, an altcoin native only to BitCash that customers can buy from convenience stores like you would purchase Target or IKEA gift cards.

Users can utilize Bitcash to purchase BTC from the market and seamlessly transfer crypto to other BitCash users.

The value of 1 Bitcash was 1 dollar before fees and taxes and would remain that way to provide users a more stable way to purchase items within the BitCash ecosystem.

Vince suggested this idea to the BitCash department and instructed them to create a working version soon and provide the budget they would require.

Ease of use was Vince's mantra in developing anything, though the minting process was kept confidential from the public, unlike most Altcoins in the market currently or in the future.

He wanted to foster the consumer-first mentality in the mind of all of his contract employees and believed this strategy would pay off soon.

The financial reports stated a net profit of $50 million from BitCash, War Online, and Wingin' Chicken.

He replied to Ralph requesting $10 million transferred to his personal account and sent the remaining liquid funds to Future Tech.

Vince preferred separating his liquid cash between the two for convenience. Next, he browsed the online real-estate listings to find a new place to live, but none were to his liking, and he worried about security.

[Even though all these houses are in nice areas, it doesn't mean whoever wants me dead will stand back off all of a sudden] he thought.

Vince decided to abstain from buying a new home before setting up security for his family and his assets' safety.

Vince didn't want to worry his friends but took some time to call Tom to thank him for his training and to inquire about security.

They talked for a bit, and Tom was glad nothing terrible happened to Vince.

He then asked Tom if he knew any security or military personnel that could be trusted who may have trained at his familys' gym.

"Of course! Plenty of them train and get their belt promotions from my dad. So many of those guys love Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and my dad is one of the best in the city.", Tom replied proudly.

"Do you mind asking your dad to set me up with a reliable group of veterans and private military contractors? Around five men would suffice. They would be paid handsomely for trustworthiness, loyalty, and skill. The annual contract will start at $200,000 and is negotiable based on ability." Vince requested sincerely.

Tom was surprised by the amount of money Vince was willing to pay and quickly remembered that Vince was getting filthy rich off his products.

"No problem. My dad will be busy tomorrow but should be able to call his students after teaching in the gym.", Tom replied.

Both bade farewell, and Vince ended the phone call. He messaged his friends, stating that he wasn't attending school for the time being and to enjoy their vacation from part-time work.

Vince was finally able to sleep under the protection of two police squad cars outside his home.

He woke up the next day and found different police officers outside his home.

[They could be acting as officers and would kill him the moment he stepped out of his home. But, of course, I'm just being paranoid, and they're probably just the day-shift cops.] Vince thought anxiously.

David knocked on the front door and was welcomed by Leah. David wanted to update the family regarding the investigation, but they haven't found anything yet.

David asked Leah and Vince if they needed anything; Vince asked David to find a reputable staff manager to assess his current and future contract employees.

David took note of the request, bade them farewell, and left.

Vince received a call from Tom informing him about meeting the potential security team. His father discussed Vince's request with his veteran students and scheduled a meeting later that day.

Vince asked one of the police officers to escort him to the meeting in a few hours and spent some type working with the BitCash team instead of worrying and being paranoid. Then, Vince and Leah left to meet Tom at the gym with two police escorts later that day.

The chief of police paid great attention to his safety after learning Vince was the kid who created a game his grandkids loved and a local viral personality in Austin.

He assumed that the assassination attempt was financially motivated and sent his best officers to protect Vince's family.

[I should thank the chief when I get the chance] Vince pondered while the police squad escorted him around downtown.

EDITED

Lewis-Jacobs dispatched David to assist Vince with negotiating with the security forces at the gym. They met up at the lobby before proceeding to the gym's office.

Tom introduced his fellow students to him, men twice their age, around 30s years old.

Price, one of the five candidates, expanded further on his field experience extending from live combat, unlike the others.

The African-American man in his mid-30s decided to explain his military background in detail.

"I have field security qualifications earned from USSOC and spent my last tour securing and setting up telecommunications for field outposts utilizing military cybersecurity protocols. Frankly, my master's degree in cybersecurity isn't all for show.", Price stated proudly.

Vince tested him in cybersecurity practices and techniques on the spot and passed with flying colors.

"I would assume you have experience in leading teams. Therefore, I'll promote you to head of my security department based on your qualifications and shall be compensated twice the typical market annual salary." Vince offered.

[This guy is the real deal. He looks far from a cybersecurity nerd and more like a human tank, but he knows his stuff] Vince thought. So David produced contracts for all five of them to sign, and Price started creating a rotating schedule for the four others protecting Leah and Vince.

"Price, I'll need your help and opinions with buying my new home. Any equipment that civilians can procure will be made available. Lewis-Jacobs can provide more than enough funds, and our safety is the top priority.", Vince requested.

Vince instructed the other four to get ready that same day and provided them with funds to buy modified suits with body armor and their choice of weaponry.

They left and returned a few hours later, looking like high-class bodyguards.

[It seems like they spared no expense and were able to procure some P90 sub-machine guns and Colt 1911s as sidearms. Price was SF, and it makes sense that their group was well connected to the others in the military and small-arms world.] Vince pondered.

He never really interacted with military personnel and only met a U.S major once when his consultation company in the past secured a bid for a U.S defense contract.

After talking to Price the past few hours, Vince realized the guy was a cybersecurity chad.

[This guy could have easily led the security department in my old company.] Vince thought.

After browsing the available options, Price suggested a home located at the corner of a nice-looking neighborhood.

The gated entrance to the walled estate provided extra security and was listed for $5 million after fees.

After bidding farewell and thanks to Tom and his father, Vince instructed David to purchase the home and left with Price and the two other bodyguards.

Vince offered them a sponsorship deal for their gym as a sign of thanks for connecting him with Price and the others and was glad to accept.

"Mom, you won't have to pack any of our things yourself, but please sort the important belongings we don't want to leave.", Vince said.

"I feel more secure now with Price and the others around. They seem trustworthy and capable. I'll go ahead and do what you asked then.", Leah replied.

They moved in the next day and tasked Price with securing their new home. Price suggested constructing an underground level to store all the vital security equipment, and Vince approved immediately.

Construction started the same day and is projected to be finished by the end of the month. Price utilized one of the many rooms to store the equipment he ordered for the meantime.

Vince was allowed one bodyguard to shadow him at school due to the recent attack. He bought a car because there weren't any school buses that usually stopped near his new home.

[It's exciting to shop for a new car. I'm used to driving cheap vehicles, but I can't drive anyway, so might as well get a functional one] he thought. So Vince decided to order an armored Klassen Rolls-Royce sparing no expense for around $1 million.

It arrived a week later, and Vince decided to finish the school year before starting homeschool.

David came by the villa to update Vince with the investigation and confirmed the perpetrator paid the assailant to assassinate Vince. They haven't found the employer yet, though.

Lewis-Jacobs located a few staff manager candidates with excellent qualifications and decided to hire the one that recently left Microsoft after hearing about a job opening at Future Tech.

"I want him to move to Austin as soon as possible after signing the contract.", Vince instructed his legal counsel.

David understood and left home as Vince continued working with BitCash on the updates.

A week later, David introduced him to the new staff manager, Hudson.

The human resource veteran was a caucasian-American man in his mid-40s, fresh off the plane from Silicon Valley.

David also mentioned finalizing negotiations with an old and reputable Swiss bank in securing Vince's assets.

"Hudson, I'll be tasking you in assessing my current contractors and employees at Future Tech while I'm gone. I'll fly to Switzerland tomorrow with Price and David to sign the contract. You can skip over Dollar for now because he'll also be joining us Switzerland." Vince instructed.

David and Hudson left while Vince was contacting Dollar regarding the final version of the coin Bank system they've been developing. He tasked Dollar and a few technicians from Bitcash to fly to Switzerland immediately to help Vince with the installation.

Vince packed his luggage and kept the pen drive containing the primary key to his satoshi wallet in a secure briefcase cuffed to himself.

Their group looked rather odd to regular flyers at the airport. Men in tailored suits walked with a teenage kid like he was the boss or something.

They boarded the direct flight to Switzerland that would take 12 hours usually.

[I never thought that first-class seats were this comfortable. Well, I could never have afforded it in my past life anyway, so how would I know.] Vince thought.

The group went directly to the bank after landing in Zurich and met the bank manager. The bank manager wanted to know how valuable the assets Vince wanted to store so the bank could accommodate their group better.

"I asked some of my employees to help you secure my assets using a newly developed technology called the coin Bank. Most of my liquid cash gets spent in expenditures and expansion costs, but my most valuable assets are related to coin." Vince stated.

"I'm familiar with coin. If I recall, it's a type of cryptocurrency." the bank manager replied.

"You'll be able to see the value of my account once my employees finish installing the coin Bank. I will require a room in your vault with an accessible internet connection and ample cooling. My company will pay for the upgrade expenses, so don't worry." Vince stated plainly.

"Fair enough, I'll have someone notify you when the space is ready in the vault." the bank manager replied.

The Bitcash department and Vince designed the coin Bank, balancing security with accessibility, allowing potential users to experience a completely digital banking alternative.

Vince's main coin wallet will be the most protected and require two separate keys that regenerate every hour. One was with Vince and the other with the bank manager.

Some of the wallet tiers within the coin Bank can be accessed by the Bitcash team, while most of the coin revenue slowly filtered towards the most secure layer after a few blockchain cycles.

It took Vince and his team a few days to install the system in the vault and ensure its security before going live.

Vince and the bank manager tested their keys and successfully accessed the most secure tier that contained more than 10 million BTC.

DWDollar was surprised to see so much coin in one wallet, and he would probably never have the chance to see the balance again anytime soon.

Even the bank manager was startled and understood why the teenage kid was keen on securing his satoshi wallet in such a complicated way.

Vince would start paying the bank next month, including the expenses for constructing a separate area in the vault.

[I'll have Price check on the cybersecurity status of the coin Bank shortly after we get home.] Vince thought.

They bade farewells, and all flew back to the U.S a day after.

EDITED

Hudson met with Vince after arriving in Austin to report on his company contractors' performance. Hudson suggested lowering the annual salary of his first few collaborators.

Vince denied the request as he wanted to reward the first few people who started his business, including Dollar and the coin Market crew.

Instead, Vince gave Hudson authority to assess the value of new contractors and sub-contracted companies he works with from now on and represented Vince in negotiating pay in the future.

Vince tasked Hudson to restructure Future Technologies starting with the creation of Future Studios that would deal mainly with the development of War Online and other entertainment products similar to how Vince treated Bitcash.

It would contain his friends and upper-level students as co-founders and add staff from other companies that collaborated in the development of War Online that were willing to dedicate their time fully to Future Studios.

Currently, Vince employs a few more than 100 direct contractors with an estimated $25 million a year in salary expenses. So he assigned a quarter of the database specialists to join BitCash while the rest would work for Future Studios.

Hudson left the villa to perform the instructed tasks. Then Vince continued working remotely with BitCash and Future Studios on various projects before catching up on homework.

Another month passed, with Future Tech projects and collaborative efforts were in full swing. David stopped by to update Vince regarding the investigation.

A man with many connections paid for the attempt on his life. It took a while to pinpoint his exact identity and find out it was Ms. Miller's ex-husband. He was angry about losing custody of their son and found out Vince connected Ms. Miller with Lewis-Jacobs.

He knew that Lewis-Jacobs would have dropped the suit if the person paying for the lawyers had died and hired a professional to do the dirty work.

David then mentioned something about Price helping them with the investigation by tracing network logs from the assailants' computer.

Vince thanked David and Price before instructing him to pursue legal action against the ex-husband.

David replied, saying Lewis-Jacobs had already filed the complaint and worked with the police and district courts.

[It puts my mind at ease knowing the person who has it out for me would be behind bars soon.] Vince thought.

War Online had been hugely popular the past few months, and Ralph projected revenue to double soon.

Future Studios added minor updates to their cross-platform MMO Hybrid, such as 10-player raids against sprawling bases and more PVP options (player versus player) like fighting other players during base raids. Still, the team also improved the AI for AFK players (away from keyboard).

High-leveled players can choose to participate in the recently added battlegrounds to fight other online players without an army for support, solely focusing on their main character's stats, equipment, and micro-controlling expertise.

Winning gave rewards to outstanding users in the form of resources for their base and high-tier equipment for their player characters. Hardcore players would then sell equipment they didn't need on the BitCash market in exchange for coin or Bitcash.

Some of these players were making a good amount of money from just playing the game, and large guilds and alliances started forming to further their success and income.

The arena 1.0 version will be released soon, allowing players to PVP without needing high-tier gear. After remembering how enjoyable watching esports in his past life like DotA 2, Quake, and CSGO, Vince proposed the idea of an esports game made for War Online.

The focus of the arena mode was to provide a level and balanced playing field for players seeking a more competitive way to PVP rather than the war in the battlegrounds for loot.

After the inclusion of the arena, War Online would be able to cater to many different types of gamers, from very casual to hardcore and professionals.

[BitCash is doing quite well right now. It's even promoting more players in engaging with the market. The games are profitable, but I would bet BitCash would be earning more in the long run.] So Vince pondered while taking a shower in the master bedroom.

So far, the only way to use coin to buy products outside the BitCash ecosystem like War Online and Wingin' Chicken would be to sell it for regular cash through the BitCash Portal. But, unfortunately, users would have to wait plenty of time with this process.

[I need to find a way to add more products that use the BitCash system. For example, I can create more games to sell even more digital goods, but it takes too much development time. How about using other companies to utilize BitCash? Like being able to pay for groceries at Walmart using the Bitcash altcoin. That can work!] Vince thought while changing his clothes for the day.

He understood that manufacturing physical goods was only feasible if outsourced to foreign nations. Still, Vince decided to push his advantage in this new life and invest in AI-manufacturing, like the norm in production powerhouses like China and the USA, in 2021.

Vince called Hudson and tasked Hudson to recruit experienced engineers specializing in artificial intelligence. A group of ten would be a good start for Future Tech's new project. Next, Vince held a meeting with BitCash via video conference outlining his plans for the new BitCash update.

"Right now, the amount of coin Market transactions eclipses what it was before the release of both my games that utilize coin as its' main digital currency. So, therefore, I want to expand Bitcash and the BitCash Portal to all consumers, digital or not. Next, Dollar, I'll assign you to lead the BitCash team together with a promotion though you'll have to let some go to work on developing the hardware for this new venture.

I've decided to hire expert engineers to design our own artificial intelligence-driven manufacturing suite to reduce labor costs associated with manufacturing ultimately." Vince declared passionately.

"I'll need more people to work on the main BitCash Portal eventually now that you're taking some of them away." Dollar replied.

"You can work with Hudson to hire more staff. I permit you to form a sub-team under your current department you can fill with as many people you need." Vince responded reassuringly.

Hudson joined the video conference call midway through notifying Vince and Dollar regarding the ten new AI specialists.

Vince didn't care how much they would get paid and trusted Hudson that it was a fair deal. In addition, Future Tech provided recruits access to their secure repository to collaborate with the development as standard procedure.

After the hours-long video conference meeting, Vince decided to relax around his new mansion at Barton Creek.

Vince went to school and the gym for a week with his bodyguard and driver, spending most of his days on homework and designing the new products planned.

It was winter vacation, and most of his friends decided to travel abroad with their families.

Vince was glad his friends were enjoying their hard-earned income. However, he kept working while formulating ideas regarding the expansion of BitCash and decided to deal with the big players in e-commerce first while Future Tech's production team was developing the hardware solution to be manufactured.

The new project was called the BitCash wallet and would be the size of a traditional credit card. So even if the user had only a few cents in their debit bank account, users would only need enough Bitcash in their wallet.

The portal would automatically pay for the traditional transaction as an intermediary and deduct the Bitcash from the user's account.

Bitcash being equal to a dollar made the existing system a lot easier.

[Still, manufacturing will take a few months before users can receive one in the mail.] Vince pondered.

He tasked Ralph with opening accounts in major e-commerce payment portals like and AliPay.

At the same time, David helped Vince negotiate favorable terms with the big companies to integrate Bitcash in their payment networks.

A week later, an update to the BitCash Portal app notified users of using Bitcash to buy products online using and AliPay, including other smaller payment methods.

BitCash itself would back the transactions to avoid exploiting the service and protecting users. Many of the players were thrilled knowing they could buy stuff online without the hassle of selling Bitcash for coin and then selling the coin on the market before actually being able to buy things from third parties.

Fees were a bit expensive but were more than worth it for the convenience. The update shook the online community with viral posts on social media and videos from random people explaining how massive this change was.

Memes were flooding the internet about the viability of getting paid with Bitcash instead of real currency and utilizing Future Studios' video game to farm Bitcash. As a result, War Online became even more popular, with new players trying to hop on the bandwagon before it could leave them behind.

Guilds recruited skilled players in droves to monopolize the battlegrounds and their rewards, maximizing Bitcash profits for themselves.

A few War Online developers suggested providing players with free tools to create in-game game items during a creative meeting.

Future Studios would pay modders with Bitcash for approved designs, practically outsourcing plenty of work in the process.

Another recent news came as War Online players recently discovered crypto-backed (NFT) unique in-game items dropped from the 'God of War' raid wing in the middle of the battlegrounds. As a result, players would have to fight every other guild and alliance for a one-time chance in securing the raid access every 24 hours.

A few new items were floating around the market and sold for thousands of BTC and Bitcash. These essential items allowed players to gain an edge over other strong players within the battlegrounds to further their own goals and flaunt wealth at the same time.

EDITED

War Online: Arena was ready to be released after months of development, in partnership with Epic Games, and the result of Future Studio's continuous efforts.

The game mode concept was pretty simple, but Vince was very particular with latency responsiveness and server performance.

The localization team had already updated the game with 18 different language packs for users to choose from before the new major release.

Vince decided to have David contact video streaming services like Twitch and YouTube to negotiate broadcasting rights for their new competitive mode.

Future Studios also signed a deal with existing esports leagues to host the event worth $10 million. Additionally, Future Studios posted an announcement on their website and Reddit regarding the upcoming update.

There would be a professional league for the new game mode with a prize purse of 5 million Bitcash with 1 million going to the winning team.

It was a 5v5 version of the battlegrounds with leaderboards and skill-based matchmaking, among other neat features.

The teams would also earn in-game rewards throughout the league that their main characters could use outside of the arena, like in the battlegrounds or raids.

The arena would showcase the best players in the game purely based on skill and understanding of the meta. People on social media were excited to see what the update offered after reading the announcements.

Online posts were going viral, and team recruitment was already underway. In addition, famous live streaming personalities online were given sponsorship deals to play and promote the new arena mode.

The update went live a day after the announcement, with the open qualifiers happening a week later. Gaming news outlets reported on War Online: Arena and the hype train grew further and further.

Established esports teams started practicing and creating video content to promote their organizations. Even popular gaming orgs from other games like COD and DotA expanded, focusing on War Online: Arena, based on all the buzz from the gaming media outlets.

Dollar contacted Vince via video conference call regarding expanding the BitCash network to support the millions of new users.

Vince gave Dollar's request approval and funding, and he started the expansion project immediately after.

"You should also expand the coin Bank. Contact some German, U.S, and Singaporean banks with the help of Ralph and David.", Vince replied before dismissing his BitCash executive.

"Hello, everybody! Welcome to Esports Daily. My name is Ashley and here with me today is the team captain of Prime Alliance, Fortis. Thank you for joining us in discussing War Online Arena and the professional league or APL, Fortis. Can you tell me how Prime Alliance is preparing for the open qualifiers?" Ashley asked over the microphone.

"As many active players know, the Prime Alliance professional team collaborates between five top guilds providing their best player to compete. Our fellow guildmates have been assisting the team with scrimmage matches and developing the meta. The team requires players to use varied weapons, skills, and traits to gain a strategic advantage over opponents, and we've been hard at work getting this right." Fortis replied as he acted professionally in front of the camera.

"Which teams do you think will be competing for the top seeds in the upcoming qualifiers?" Ashley asked curiously.

"Other than Prime Alliance, I feel like Blitz from Germany, Nimbus from China, and Blizzard from Russia will do the best among all the teams," Fortis replied.

The show continued for another hour before Vince decided to turn the live stream off. Vince checked the War Online user data and found close to 100 million concurrent players shattering all existing video game records.

[Localizing the game to Chinese, South Korean, Spanish, and Russian was the best decision. It seems like everybody is either practicing or grinding to gain glory for their guild, alliance, and country.] Vince thought.

The popularity of War Online stems from the cross-platform feature, but most professional players prefer playing on a desktop with a keyboard and mouse or controller. The touchscreen controls are decent but are considered not as good as other options by most players.

Vince then received financial reports from Ralph and decided to read them. Future Studios and BitCash raked in $200 million after expenses since he last checked, coming from various sources such as transactions fees and cash shop items sales in War Online.

[Having a diverse revenue portfolio is truly one of the best strategies in increasing profits.] So Vince pondered while counting Future Tech's hard-earned cash.

The percentage of revenue from the video games was slightly lower than transactions from online stores like eBay. Nevertheless, the business' combined total value is estimated to pass $1 billion by the end of the year.

Vince then tasked half of Future Studios to focus on further development, while the other half would support the Arena Professional League.

A week had passed, and the APL's opening ceremony went live on all the live streaming platforms. Future Studios subtitled the broadcast, and other markets like China enjoyed a localized broadcast allowing more people to enjoy the ceremony in their native language.

"Welcome to our grand opening ceremony for the Arena Pro League Season 1. There will be more than 10,000 teams fighting for the top 32 seeds to qualify for the playoffs. Future Studios will hold the live grand finals at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in three months. The first qualifying game we'll be watching is Prime Alliance versus God's Temple. Please listen to our game analysts while we wait for the match to start.", the show host said with confidence.

The game started 15 minutes later. Fortis, the team captain of Prime Alliance, chose to play with sword and shield, utilizing taunts and battle auras to support his team.

"Fortis is the best tank in North America. Watch him closely. It looks like he wants to start the team fight with his shield crush. Oh! He landed the bash hit directly on Drax, the main offensive player for God's Temple. That initiation is a colossal blunder for God's Temple, and it looks like all five of them will fall soon enough.", the shout caster said with vigor over the broadcast.

Prime Alliance won the best of three matches 2-0 and moved up the qualifying rankings. The competitive War Online community played thousands of league games, and Future Studios broadcasted only the most exciting matches involving popular teams live on Twitch and YouTube.

Following league matches were to be played every weekend until the top 32 solidifies their spot in the rankings.

Vince stopped watching after Prime Alliance played and continued working. He was used to working and collaborating with people via video conference calls, but the business had grown so large that it was getting more challenging to manage.

Vince decided to invest in an office space located in downtown Austin where all his employees could work. Vince instructed Ralph and David with this critical task during their daily meetings.

EDITED

Ralph and David started bidding on office buildings located in downtown Austin. Most of the bids started at $50 million, and they were able to purchase a recently vacated office space with an available occupancy of 8,000 employees.

Some of the local contractors collaborating with Future Studios decided to move into the building and paid fair rental fees in exchange.

The building's network infrastructure and all other necessary upgrades cost $25 million, and the total cost amounted to around $100 million.

Vince renamed the office building to "Future Tech Headquarters" and asked everyone involved in his projects to move in as soon as possible. In addition, Future Tech's partners like Epic Games and other contracted companies sent some personnel to work at the Future Tech building to collaborate on specific assignments.

It took a month for most people to move, including the BitCash team from Silicon Valley. Dollar bought a house in Vince's current neighborhood, and some others opted to live in apartments around the building downtown.

Some unused office space would be utilized for the AI manufacturing system when it eventually becomes available.

It was Christmas time, and Vince planned a big party at the office for everyone. His friends would arrive from their travels in a few days and would be able to attend the Christmas party.

Price added security personnel to man the Future Tech building. He was also heavily involved in designing and installing the new security systems while inspired by the Swiss bank security protocols and his military background. Unfortunately, the building was quite large, and Price had to recruit 100 more people for the security team.

Vince had the highest floor converted to a living space for himself to hang out and entertain guests as a bachelor pad.

The design was quite nice and modern looking, created by one of the game environment designers from Future Studios. The living space had a Cyberpunk 2077 vibe like the one Mayor Peralez lived in but bigger.

Christmas day came, and everyone enjoyed the parties thrown for each department. Then, Vince went around the building to greet his employees with a merry Christmas.

He entrusted Hudson to provide all of the employees a bonus appropriate for their position in the company that cost $20 million in total.

As a Christmas present, he recommended that all of his employees invest in coin by buying some before the value shoots up astronomically in ten years or start coin mining operations as a side gig. His employees took his words at heart, considering Vince's insight in building a successful business like Future Tech.

Vince had earned their respect a long time ago and was proud of their achievements as a company. He spent time with Leah, his friends, and their families at the newly furnished penthouse.

His mother and some other parents still couldn't believe how so much had changed for the better since Vince bought his first computer all those months ago.

They were slowly getting used to their new lifestyle and adapting to the needs of their talented children. Finally, Kyle, Jessica, Sarah, and Rick persuaded their parents to let them home school next year.

Some seniors graduating soon who worked for Future Tech decided to attend local universities instead of leaving the state, giving them time to work at the office part-time. It was convenient enough because Austin had the best universities in Texas.

A month passed, and it was the end of January 2012. The Arena Pro League was gaining more popularity, and rankings were already shaping up with Prime Alliance on top of the leaderboards.

The BitCash team had finished developing the Bitcash Wallet and would need to start manufacturing soon.

The engineering department was close to producing the AI manufacturing suite and was only waiting for a few components to arrive in February.

Hudson kept busy and recruited more engineers to maintain and support the manufacturing department for current and upcoming projects.

He also proposed restructuring Future Technologies as a corporation, and Vince instructed him to work with David and Ralph to finish the restructuring process without a hitch.

Due to the growing popularity of Future Tech, plenty of financial stock analysts has been theorizing how valuable the company would be in the public stock market.

Vince decided not to go public until the company had no choice and needed more funding he could not provide and steered away from the idea of an IPO.

Revenue was up yet again since last month, and the business is $250 million liquid currently.

Finally, the last of the required components arrived at the headquarters, and the engineers started building the first few AI manufacturing drones.

The drones varied in size and could manufacture all sorts of products provided raw materials were available.

Unfortunately, Future Tech could only utilize a few drones with the headquarters' current computing power as Vince didn't want to use the public cloud to power their proprietary AI.

Nevertheless, the AI drones started manufacturing Bitcash Wallets in batches, and Future Tech announced a pre-sale on the website and social media platforms.

The Bitcash wallet was an expensive piece of technology and would sell for $100 each. Customers could use the wallets at any store that accepts debit or credit cards.

It also came with an account contained within the customer sub-layer of the coin Banks located in plenty of countries worldwide.

Since installing the first one in Switzerland, Future Tech invested heavily in the coin Bank system.

Future Tech needed more computing power to deploy more drones soon. [It would be expensive to deal with semiconductor companies. Designing and engineering new microprocessors would be costly but could also be the next business venture.] Vince pondered.

So he called Hudson to recruit some experts in the semiconductor industry and asked him to throw money around if required.

The Bitcash wallet was selling like hotcakes, especially to War Online veterans. Wallet holders enjoyed privileges like lower transaction fees and a reward system. However, unlike buying coin, Bitcash required associating an account with the transaction.

Any violators of the user agreement can be pursued in court and would never regain access to BitCash or the coin Bank, which protected other users' and Future Tech's interests.

Future Technologies was now the biggest client in the Lewis-Jacobs portfolio, and some significant changes occurred at the law firm recently.

Ms. Kemp went through security at the headquarters and found herself meeting Vince at the penthouse living room.

"I would like to thank you for choosing our law firm when you started your business. Future Tech's success propelled my portfolio among all the partners, and Mr. Jacobs promoted me to name partner. As a result, the law firm is now called Kemp-Jacobs. I can't thank you enough, Vince." Marcia said before hugging him.

"I appreciate the kind words, but it's not a big deal. David and the entire law firm had been very accommodating. I wouldn't have found people as reliable as the ones Lewis-Jacobs recommended. Excuse me, Kemp-Jacobs.", Vince replied before Ms. Kemp looked for Leah to thank her as well.

EDITED

The engineering department requested Vince procure a few high-precision industrial CNC machines to manufacture more complex components the AI drones couldn't create yet.

Vince gave them approval and funding for the purchase. However, it would take a few weeks until the machines arrived from Germany.

Hudson was able to recruit around fifty semiconductor specialists for the engineering department.

[I don't know much in engineering, so I'll have to trust Hudson with his decision.] So Vince thought while familiarizing himself with the new employees.

He had the engineering department start designing the custom processors for the AI-driven drones as soon as they arrived.

Vince had to compromise and bought supercomputers from Japan and filled one of the basement floors, with ten units costing $20 million, including the installation.

These computers would serve the AI drones manufacturing Bitcash wallets, which sold out during pre-orders.

The Future Tech Headquarters slowly transformed into the most secure location in Austin, with newly manufactured flying security drones patrolling the area.

Price designed them to alert the central security system when the drone detected intruders in the building.

Vince focused on school work and learning from the Future Tech experts in different fields of study while managing the business from his penthouse office.

Vince had been involved in development less and less now that he had hundreds of employees.

[My true advantage is knowledge of the future, and not my skills and talents. I can do much more now with plenty of available capital. A far cry from when I just reincarnated.] Vince pondered while looking out his office window.

Vince took the elevator down one floor and greeted a pretty receptionist.

Future Tech provided the floor to David and his legal staff as their offices. "Good day, Mr. Dalton. May I know how I can help?" the receptionist asked.

"Good day, Stacy. You don't have to call me Mr. Dalton. Vince is fine. Is David in his office right now?" he asked.

"David just arrived an hour ago. I can show you to his office if you'd like, Vince," Stacy replied.

"Thanks but no need. I know that way." Vince declared before heading deeper into the law offices.

He walked into David's office to talk about some expansion ideas and strategies Vince knew worked from his knowledge of the future.

"I want Future Studios to be more involved with War Online and Arena Pro League. Policing our user agreement is a top priority. I don't want to see any cheating, match-fixing, or other violations. The game is doing well and is a huge cash cow for us. These issues can potentially destroy our game, and I'll hold your team responsible for this." Vince stated seriously.

"I understand, Vince. The team has already assigned a few community ambassadors heavily involved with the game on social media platforms like Reddit and YouTube. We'll deal with any problems within the community accordingly." David replied confidently.

"I trust in your decisions, David. However, I would suggest also forming a committee comprised of influential figures in the War Online community like someone from Daily Esports, for example." Vince instructed.

"Consider it done.", David replied positively.

Vince left the legal office floor and took the elevator another floor down towards the engineering offices.

Vince asked one of the engineers if they had settled in well and if their department still needed more equipment.

"We only need those CNC machines and plenty of materials, Vince. These AI drones are amazing. Once we get them upgraded, we'll be able to manufacture much more complex components." the lead engineer named Patel, an Indian-American AI specialist, replied.

"That's good to hear, Patel. But, don't be shy and ask Hudson or me for anything your department requires.", Vince declared.

Vince visited BitCash one floor below, speaking to Dollar for a few minutes before moving towards Future Studios another level down to check up on his friends.

Vince bought a cappuccino from a Starbucks that rented one of the ground-level spaces. He paid for the coffee with his Bitcash wallet, and the cashier took payment as she would typically do for other customers.

[It looks like people are getting used to seeing and using the new Bitcash wallets.] So Vince pondered while enjoying his espresso.

Vince then bought some food from Chipotle next to the Starbucks and returned to his penthouse office.

[I can afford a chef, but fast food is my jam. Force of habit, I suppose] Vince thought.

He spent some time reading and learning more about artificial intelligence while eating his tacos. In addition, he would watch the Arena Pro League during his downtime as a hobby.

More players had varying cosmetic armor and weapon skins because of the new loot boxes added to the game. Instead of buying items directly from the cash shop, players can purchase loot boxes that provide cosmetic items of different rarities.

Most were designs introduced by the community using the free modding tools released by Future Studios and Epic Games.

Loot boxes were cheaper for players who wanted a chance at a random item worth next to nothing or very expensive on the BitCash market, practically gambling.

Vince wanted to expand gameplay for casual players of War Online, thinking about adding features he loved in video games he loved.

[The game revolves around combat. War Online could be more appealing to a mass audience if more lifestyle gameplay options were available. For example, you could already build bases as a home for your main character, but what if you could design a house in-game to hang around with friends.] Vince thought.

He started writing down some suggestions for the new War Online update. Vince discussed it with the Future Studios staff after writing the initial draft.

"Vince, these ideas are amazing, but War Online's player base mainly enjoys combat gameplay. I suggest creating a new game instead of diluting War Online." Kyle stated.

Kyle was the junior executive at Future Studios, supported by Tim Sweeney and the rest of the game dev staff.

"You make a good point, Kyle. I feel like Future Studios should also appeal to casual players, though.", Vince replied,

Wingin' Chicken was a casual game, but it was too simple and had limited potential.

"Do we have enough developers to support War Online's development and create a new game from scratch?" Vince asked.

"Future Studios can halve its manpower and be able to start creating a new game but finishing it would be a different story.", Kyle replied.

"What if we update our War Online toolset with more functions to collaborate with users with art design for our new game?". Vince asked.

"That would help our design team, but the technical team will require more people eventually.", Kyle replied.

"I understand. Your team can start working on the new project. I'll talk to Hudson about adding more developers soon.", Vince instructed.

[It looks like stagnation will never be a problem for my business. I'm already fulfilling one of the promises I made before reincarnating.] Vince thought.

EDITED

Chapter 21 - End of the School Year

Ralph called Vince to schedule a meeting at the penthouse.

"Good day, Vince. Thanks for meeting with me. I wanted to talk to you regarding a business proposal." Ralph said respectfully.

"No worries. Tell me what you need, Ralph." Vince replied.

"I know you focus on the development and path of the business and not worry much about the company's financials. Future Tech has plenty of expenses like salaries, equipment, and raw materials but still holds so much cash we're wasting just piling up," Ralph explained.

"Get to the point, Ralph," Vince ordered.

"I propose creating a new department that invests part of our liquid cash in the stock markets.", Ralph replied.

"I agree with your sentiments. An investment entity would benefit Future Tech's portfolio in the long run. Do you need help from Dollar and the BitCash team?" Vince asked.

"Dollar is a talented crypto market dev and analyst, but the stock markets are different. So I need your approval to recruit market traders from a few Wall Street investment groups." Ralph said.

"Approved. You can talk to Hudson regarding the recruitment. When the team is ready, I'll allow half of our liquid cash fund to be invested. I'll also recommend some stocks and businesses worth investing in." Vince replied while thinking about the most successful businesses in his past life.

"Thank you for hearing me out. I won't disappoint you.", Ralph stated reverently.

The lead accountant left after the meeting, and Vince decided to return home for the weekend.

[I noticed some admiration in Ralph's tone. It does make sense he thinks so highly of me. I'm probably the most successful person under the age of 18. I should check how much cash the business has on hand, considering it got Ralph so worked up.] Vince thought.

Vince opened the latest financial reports from his secure email that itemized a total of $1.25 billion in liquid revenue, mostly from transactions fees on the BitCash network from players and regular users.

The new Bitcash wallets have all been pre-ordered as well. The coin Bank core layer contained around 20 Million BTC, and Vince also decided to sell a quarter of the amount on the coin Market.

There can only be 21 million BTC in existence, and most of the supply has already been mined by crypto prospectors due to the BitCash portal and how the transaction system was designed.

Vince wanted more BTC to circulate in the market instead of hoarding most of it. So he instructed BitCash to sell 5 million BTC slowly in the next month.

Kemp-Jacobs negotiated with the New York Stock Exchange and the SEC to eventually allow BitCash to sell options such as coin commodity futures. Perfect for the numerous crypto traders who have adopted Future Tech's new and ingenious finance process.

Financial vehicles like futures were heavily regulated and would require the government's cooperation, leaving Kemp-Jacobs with plenty of billable hours.

There were dozens of coin Banks worldwide serving the BitCash network and ready for the next update.

[This new feature should solidify coin's status in the global financial market.] Vince pondered profoundly.

Ralph, who suggested using their cash laying around, gave Vince another idea.

[Future Tech should start supporting charities and other programs to help society and the less fortunate. I've never been in a position to create a positive impact in my community until now.] Vince thought.

He met with David at the office and discussed the philanthropic idea. Then, of course, his legal counsel agreed and immediately worked to create a charity fund meant for organizations like Red Cross and United Way, among others.

Hudson learned about the new fund a few hours later and looked for Vince to suggest something similar.

"I heard from David we're supporting charities now. That's great, but I want to suggest another use for our funds.", Hudson stated in a serious tone.

Vince gave him a look of approval, and Hudson continued his pitch.

"I suggest funding vital research projects in universities around the world. We'll provide them with resources to complete their research in exchange for the use and application of their findings." Hudson proposed.

[This idea can also help with Future Tech's growing need for talent.] Vince thought.

"Your idea is approved. These researchers should be given a career opportunity in Future Tech as well, should they decide to work in the private sector." Vince replied sincerely.

"I'll see it done." Hudson happily stated.

[Future Tech hiring professionals straight from Future Tech-funded university programs is a sensible idea, for sure. My young boss certainly knows his stuff.] the 40-year old Caucasian-American staff manager pondered.

The high-precision CNC machines arrived, and all the AI drones were starting to be upgraded by the engineering and AI development team.

Patel and his engineering team estimated the microprocessor design to be ready for manufacturing within the next few months.

Vince attended school as he had been since winter vacation. The school year was almost over, and most students focused on final exams.

During one of the homeroom sessions, Ms. Miller announced that she would leave the school and start teaching at the University of Texas while continuing her math research.

Most of the students were bummed to lose a beloved teacher but were happy to see Ms. Miller smiling these days again.

After the class, Vince approached Ms. Miller to offer her research project funding from Future Tech.

"Thanks! I gladly accept the offer, Vince. Now that my ex-husband is in prison, I can pursue my professional goals again. He always held me back after we had our son." Ms. Miller replied.

"You're lucky that the university funding program of Future Tech got greenlit recently," Vince replied before leaving the class with his friends and colleagues, now.

Vince finished the school year with decent grades and was already getting ready for the Arena Pro League playoffs in L.A.

He invited all of his friends to attend the event with him, paid for by Future Studios. Of course, all of them brought their families as well.

At the FT Offices, Vince held a meeting with the Future Studios personnel joining him at the live playoffs for technical support.

"Is everything ready for the event? I want it to go as smoothly as possible. The Grand Finals is our first impression showing the world that the APL is a spectacle of a show." Vince asked seriously.

"The organizers and our liaisons have already set up the stage and equipment. In addition, Price will ensure security in and around the arena with his team." Kyle replied.

"Alright. We'll fly on chartered flights tomorrow morning. Everyone, rest well." Vince instructed.

"Understood." his directors replied in unison.

The following day, an entourage of people arrived at a private hangar to board the private jets that Vince rented for his guests and staff.

The planes arrived at noon while the passengers watched the bustling Californian city under a clear blue sky.

[The City of Lost Angels will be the birthplace of champions.] Vince pondered in excitement.

EDITED

Vince and his friends didn't have much to do as the bodyguards unloaded the luggage off the jets.

"I never would have imagined flying on a private plane before. It's the same for you guys, right?" Kyle said.

Jessica, Rick, and Sarah agreed with a look of pride and satisfaction on their faces.

Vince's friends understood that they held unique positions within Future Tech, working fewer hours than the rest of the company but always working hard to prove their worth.

"The Arena Pro League Finals will be your first public appearance. Do you feel worried or anything?" Price asked.

Unless Price was busy with his departmental duties, he still preferred guarding Vince whenever in public.

"I feel confident and excited. I hate to say it, but I'm rich now, and money can solve most of my problems." Vince replied honestly.

"Price, You do know that another bodyguard in the security team can accompany me. You're practically an executive in the company now.", Vince said.

"You gave me my biggest break outside the military community, Vince. You hired me to protect you at first, and I am proud to perform my duty, especially during an important occasion like the Finals." Price declared.

"Alright. Then I hope you can drive a dual-clutch seven-speed manual", Vince replied with a grin.

A local exotic car dealership parked an unusual yet fast-looking car next to a stretch limousine at the hangar.

"Is that a Koenigsegg Agera?" Price surprisingly asked.

"No, Price, it's the new Agera R that just came out this month. The first and only one in the States." Vince replied excitedly.

One of the Swedish Future Tech engineers Hudson recently hired was acquainted with Christian Von Koenigsegg.

Vince ordered an Agera R as soon as he learned about it from his staff manager. He was always a big fan of Koenigsegg vehicles because of the technological innovations anyone can find in their cars.

Koenigsegg was also interested in AI drone manufacturing and ordered one of the first batches that Future Tech would lease in the future.

"I'm going to love driving this. I can already feel it.", Price stated confidently.

"Just get in the car and drive, Price," Vince replied.

The group arrived at the hotel half an hour later. They enjoyed their luxury suites for a day before the grand opening ceremony the following day.

Future Studios provided the Arena Pro League playoff teams with rooms at the same hotel, including their travel expenses.

Vince wanted to make sure the professional players felt appreciated while competing for his new entertainment spectacle.

The organizers also prepared practice rooms for the teams at the hotel's multi-purpose halls.

The Grand Finals utterly sold out the Staples Center for the event. In addition, the live broadcasts for the qualifiers had been an enormous success on all the live stream platforms.

Future Studios decided to incorporate traditional broadcasts like ESPN on television for the playoffs and finals for more potential viewers.

There was too much buzz on the internet, and the giant sports entities were curious how the APL would pan out in viewership and engagement.

The finals will have 20,000 live audiences and an estimated 300 million viewers on all platforms. Sponsorships were fighting each other for a chance to be advertised on the broadcast.

Vince decided to advertise the companies like Epic and that have collaborated with Future Tech for a long time aside from promoting BitCash and the new AI manufacturing suite.

The APL was holding the semi-finals Saturday and the finals on Sunday,

Price drove the Agera R towards the red carpet, waiting for Vince and his friends at the Staples Center entrance.

Security operators drove the team limousines towards the back of the convoy on the way to the Staples Center.

Crowds surrounded the entrance and were cheering for their beloved professional players as the convoy came closer.

"Hey, Look at the sweet-looking car towards the front of the convoy. I wonder who's in it?" an audience member asked.

"I heard the owner of Future Tech and Future Studios will be at the opening ceremony. So it's probably him.", one of the companions replied.

Everyone familiar with Wingin' Chicken and War Online was aware of the teenage prodigy that created their beloved games. Still, civilians knew not much publicly about Vince Dalton.

The Agera R stopped at the entrance, and two people exited the vehicle after the two doors opened upwards.

One was a robust yet clever-looking man wearing a tailored suit.

The other was a young man wearing semi-casual attire and a few expensive accessories in his teens.

[I've had no chance to ball out like this in my past life, but better late than never.] Vince thought.

Vince gave a brief speech in the middle of the arena, hyping up the teams and viewers.

After the loud cheers from 20,000 fans, seven jets piloted by the Blue Angels performed an airshow above the stadium for the viewers watching outside the arena.

Future Studios treated viewers inside the arena to a drone airshow designed and implemented by Patel and his department.

LEDs covered the drones and danced in unison, forming images of War Online battles.

The show was Patel's idea to showcase their advanced AI technology after much investment from Future Tech.

After a few hours, the APL concluded the playoffs, and the finalists were decided.

Prime Alliance from North America versus Clear Sky from South Korea.

The Korean and local fans were ecstatic to watch the finals on Sunday.

Fortis performed two "BitCash Play of the Match" and was awarded a $10,000 cash prize for each. In contrast, Charlatan from Clear Sky performed one during the playoffs.

Vince's group spent some time enjoying the hotel's amenities while the finalists were preparing for the last match.

Fans highly anticipated the final match of the record-breaking season of a new esport. Whales placed enormous bets in Las Vegas, Macao, and other casino cities worldwide.

An intricate show depicting pro player characters fighting through the qualifiers and the playoffs served as an introduction for the finals. Then, both teams walked towards the two booths at the center of the arena.

The match started with Fortis performing his infamous [Shield Crush] from stealth provided by his team's support player character.

The opposing Clear Sky support was stunned and was about to die, but Charlatan performed [Blinding Cloud] to save his teammate.

Both teams fought a close series as they exchanged game wins, tit for tat.

The best of seven matches went the entire distance, and the intensity grew to a climax.

Prime Alliance's fortifications were crumbling against Clear Sky's assault.

Clear Sky was ferocious in their attempts to destroy Prime Alliance's core to win the game.

Prime Alliance took a final stand as Fortis controlled his domineering player character and led the defense.

Fortis initiated the last team fight and caught Charlatan off guard by flanking across the forest in the middle of the map.

He used [Divine Shout] and forcibly took aggro from the entire Clear Sky lineup.

Fortis sacrificed himself to give his teammate, HeavenlyLight, the chance to hit [Blackhole] on all their enemies.

Fortis died as [Blackhole] was cast. Yet, his team's offensive players were able to team wipe Clear Sky a few seconds later, essentially winning the game and the match.

The crowd erupted in cries and cheers as their local team won the APL Season 1. The game broadcasters were going insane, as were everybody else in the arena.

Vince awarded Prime Alliance 5 million Bitcash and a bonus of $1 million in cash for the spectacular comeback during the last game.

Future Studios awarded the rest of the other teams in the top 32 with portions of the 10 million Bitcash prize pot.

Future Studios also announced the formation of the Arena Pro League, as a series, instead of a one-time event.

Vince awarded the top 16 teams a franchise spot worth at least $10 million each for blazing the trail in War Online: Arena.

The team organizations within the top 16 were elated with this sudden news and were much happier than they were previously.

Vince was about to leave the venue until a familiar man he had never met before approached him.

"I didn't expect to meet you here, Mr. Musk.", Vince stated respectfully.

"It was a riveting final match, Vince. But, don't be so modest, and please call me Elon." the man replied.

"Price and I are getting something to eat. Care to join us?" Vince asked.

"Gladly," Elon replied.

EDITED

Elon suggested a fancy restaurant where they could eat and talk.

Price drove Vince in the Agera R and opted for valet parking.

The valet was terrified to park such an expensive car, but Vince didn't care much.

"This place offers excellent food and some privacy," Elon said.

The group spent some time getting to know each other while eating dinner.

[This guy is 100% what I expected. He's rather odd and is the same way he presents himself to the public as he is in private.] Vince thought.

"That Agera R is a beautiful piece of machinery but have you tried electric vehicles? The instant torque available to the driver is exhilarating." Elon declared.

"I've heard about Tesla and your roadster, but it's not my style. Instead, the EV technology itself is what interests me." Vince replied.

"Electric is the future. Oh, this reminds me of my business proposition." Elon said.

"I've heard of Future Tech's new autonomous construction and manufacturing drones called 'Hive Mind' and am interested in procuring some.

Elon explained SpaceX's future ambitious projects, such as reusable rockets.

[This could be to my advantage. Price had already proposed buying satellites for the BitCash network, but the available ones in orbit were outdated and useless.] Vince thought.

"I've done my market research and have concluded that Future Tech employs the best artificial intelligence developers and engineers in the entire world, and SpaceX also lacks the level of autonomy we require," Elon added.

"You're asking a lot from me, Elon. Artificial intelligence is a core business of Future Tech. I can't just share it without compensation." Vince said with a poker face.

"I can give you a 10% stake in SpaceX for the development of our rocket autonomy." Elon offered.

"This isn't enough. Our 'Hive Mind' will be able to manufacture your rockets more effectively without the constraints of traditional equipment.

It can also manufacture mass-produced vehicles for Tesla.

I've heard you've been planning to sell more Teslas to the general public. Hive Mind can help you deliver your product on schedule with the highest quality." Vince declared.

"You drive a hard bargain, Vince. I'll offer a 10% stake in SpaceX and Tesla, including discounts for future satellite launch missions." Elon replied.

"That sounds much better. Right, Price". Vince asked jokingly.

Price choked on his drink for a bit before nodding in confirmation.

"You can contact Ralph, the department head of our financial division, for further discussion," Vince said.

"You should stop by SpaceX tomorrow. I'll show you around the HQ," Elon offered.

"Sounds good. We'll see you tomorrow then." Vince replied.

They bade farewells after dinner and waited for the Agera R.

It was still in one piece, but the valet who drove it back was sweating profusely.

Random people took photos of the car and Vince as they were leaving.

Posts on the internet were popping up with taglines like "Future Tech X Tesla?!" with photos of Vince and Elon leaving the restaurant together.

Tesla stock soon started rising as the partnership hype went around the internet and newsrooms.

Vince, Price, and some bodyguards stayed in California while others returned to Austin.

He called Ralph to discuss Elon's partnership offer as the finance department would manage it under Ralph.

Future Tech Holdings have been slowly acquiring stock in major SP 500 companies.

Vince had written an investment plan outlining which companies to avoid and which ones to buy at a premium.

Amazon and Tesla will eventually shoot up in value, while car manufacturers like Volkswagen will decline due to business practice scandals.

An Agera R parked outside the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, LA.

Employees wondered if Elon bought a new car recently and thought he would never replace his Tesla for anything else.

Two unfamiliar people left the car and erased their initial thoughts.

Elon's secretary welcomed the two into the building and brought them to Musk's office.

"Good to see you both again. Welcome to my beloved SpaceX." Elon said with a huge smile.

[This guy is pretty happy today. Probably because of Tesla stock price rising from yesterday.]

"I'm not as knowledgeable in material science as in software and network engineering, but I'm rather excited to see rocket boosters and spacecraft up close," Vince replied.

Elon brought them both to a massive hangar. SpaceX stored multiple rocket boosters and spacecraft shells located in this hanger.

"This is the new Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft. The only reusable rocket in the world." Elon presented proudly.

"Impressive. How long is the manufacturing process for these spacecraft?" Vince asked.

"If building one from scratch, it would take around three months for an entire spacecraft," Elon replied.

Price gave a small chuckle after learning about the long manufacturing time.

"What's so funny, Price" Elon asked.

"It takes too long for SpaceX to produce its only product. The Hive Mind would take only a month to manufacture it at its current configuration but could probably do it within two weeks after the processor upgrade." Price replied.

"How are you so confident in the Hive Mind?" Elon asked.

"It may not look it, but I designed the cybersecurity protocols for the Hive Mind. So I have a deep understanding of its capabilities." Price confidently replied.

"If what you say is true, then I'll be happier regarding our future partnership.", Elon declared.

"This is the VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) testing area for the new landing system. Development has been slow, but it hasn't worked out for us and NASA yet."

"Falcon 9 and Dragon will require the level of autonomy that Hive Mind exhibits," Elon stated.

"Your team can contact Patel, the department head engineer for Hive Mind, and the engineering department. Your VTOL system will work flawlessly soon; I can assure you," Vince replied confidently.

Elon introduced Vince and Price to some executives and department heads at SpaceX while showing him some other areas.

"Does SpaceX currently produce satellites?" Vince asked.

"Not currently, but we've been planning to for a while now. Most of the satellites we'll be launching are made by Boeing or Lockheed Martin." Elon replied.

"Future Tech requires dozens of advanced satellite systems for the expansion of the BitCash and coin Bank network."

"I suggest collaborating in the development of new satellites to reduce cost buying them from third parties in the future."

"The Hive Mind will also manufacture them eventually at a discounted price." Vince offered.

"Sounds good to me," Elon replied.

They shook hands before bidding farewell.

[Space is the new frontier, I guess] Vince thought

Stats since last checked:

15 million BTC

$940 million in Future Tech

$4 million personally

300 employees

Three company contractors

Vince and Price flew back to Austin immediately after touring around SpaceX.

[Many things have changed over the weekend. First, the deal with Elon is enormous, and I'll need to check on the accounts for Future Tech's expansion soon.] Vince thought.

Vince took out a black laptop sporting a sleek design from his briefcase.

Jessica and the software team had been working on a Future Tech operating system planned for use within the business.

This laptop is a prototype, and Vince only uses it to review financial reports and access his coin bank account.

Rick and Sarah designed the interface after focusing on UX design instead of cash shop products since the release of War Online.

[Let's see if Ralph was able to follow through with my suggestions.] Vince thought.

Dollar had sold 5 million BTC in the past month for $5 billion.

The market price fluctuated around $1,000. Approximately 14 million BTC remained at the core layer of the coin bank.

Even though BitCash had mined all BTC through billions of transactions, mining coin was still profitable for small-time miners through compensation from the blockchain.

The blockchain distributes a portion of all the coin processed on one block to miners who assist the blockchain.

Dollar had purchased many large mining operations and converted them to Future Tech standards, adding to the existing geo Bitcash network.

BitCash had bought an aging satellite to store the core layer backup. It would be the first of many Future Tech satellites eventually.

[Advanced satellites will require custom processors and components to be designed from scratch.] Vince thought

[Good thing Ralph went ahead and splurged a bit of the newfound cash we had buying ARM for $2 billion.]

ARM is a UK-based semiconductor firm specializing in designing 'reduced instruction set computing' or RISC processors.

ARM's processors are mainly used in hardware applications like onboard computers for satellites.

[This is perfect. Ralph and David will get a raise for damn sure!] Vince exclaimed in thought.

[Kemp-Jacobs has outdone themselves pulling off that procurement. I bet the law firm made like $500 million from that deal alone.] Vince thought.

There were other smaller acquisitions like stocks in Amazon and Google.

The business was left with $2 billion liquidity until this month's revenue cleared.

The Tesla and SpaceX shares padded Future Tech Holdings even more after the negotiations with Elon.

Some research projects funded by Future Tech were interesting.

Ms. Miller's research project at UT focused on data models and algorithms to interpret information from neurons in the brain.

She focused her time on algorithmic research while her biochem colleagues worked on brain testing.

Future Tech provided funds and artificial intelligence support for the project.

Elon had been interested in this subject for years and started funding the project after learning about it from Vince.

[I remember Elon going crazy explaining the potential uses of neuron input for disabled individuals and other stuff. I replied, saying it would be insane to play video games in deep-dive.] Vince thought.

Elon was unimpressed but still found interest in Ms. Miller's project.

Though it would take a while, Vince imagined a virtual world built by a high-intelligence AI where players could live out their own fantasy life.

As soon as the private jet landed, Vince went directly home to see his mother before returning to Future Tech headquarters.

Vince met Patel to discuss the new semiconductor engineers and designers from ARM.

The bulk of their staff remained in the UK, but Future Tech needed some here at Austin.

"Vince, good to see you again. I want to introduce Morgan, the technical lead from ARM." Patel said.

Vince shook Morgan's hand and welcomed him and his team to Future Tech.

"I'm not an expert in semiconductors or artificial intelligence applications, but Future Tech has a simple strategy in developing the Hive Mind."

"We will upgrade the artificial intelligence with better processors until we reach intelligence levels enough for the AI to design new processors to upgrade itself again."

"This may be a slow process, but we will eventually reach stage 6 intelligence. I am confident in you guys.", Vince declared.

Patel and Morgan agreed and stated the first scheduled upgrade would be within the month.

It was summer vacation in 2012. Aside from work, Vince continued training at Tom's gym with Price and the other security personnel.

"Vince, The Pro League finals were insane. There were thousands of people watching live, and it was crazy!

I've always dreamed of fighting in front of an enormous crowd like that." Tom said.

"You're a great fighter, Tom. I'm confident you'll be able to reach your goals.", Vince replied reassuringly.

"Thanks, but it takes more than talent to succeed in the fight game. Promotions are picky with fighters and drive a hard bargain.", Tom replied.

"Those are barely any issues to me. You practically saved my life, Tom. I'll gladly promote and sponsor you." Vince offered.

"You won't regret this, Vince. I'll be the UFC champ one day!" Tom exclaimed.

Vince tasked the Future Studios marketing department to find Tom his first professional fight.

Tom had to win many fights to gain the recognition of international fighting organizations.

Future Studios decided to book a local MMA fight in Las Vegas.

It was a minor organization with a so-so total viewership count, but Vince was willing to splash some cash to promote the fight.

The fight was scheduled to be a light-heavyweight bout imposing unified rules.

It was the international standard ruleset for MMA and used by top organizations.

Future Studios would help broadcast the event using the same process as the Pro League qualifiers.

The fight will take place in two months at the end of summer vacation.

Tom Fury versus Adrik Kulikov, the current light-heavyweight champion of the minor organization.

Future Studios booked a medium-sized entertainment hall at the MGM Hotel, with an option to upgrade if necessary.

[This fight will be interesting considering it's Tom's first fight. I've come to appreciate combat arms after my close brush with death. I hope Tom doesn't get too fazed from the promotions.] Vince thought.

Stats last time checked:

15 million BTC (currently trades at $1,000)

$2 Billion in Future Tech

$4 million personally

300 employees

Five company contractors

Dozens of investments under Future Tech Holdings

kevinarlt Electric_Jean GrandmasterYu Bountiful_Harvest

AkiraLight

Kane_6327

EDITED

Vince was busy working with Patel and the engineering team for the remaining summer vacation, providing support for the Hive Mind upgrade.

After Hudson expanded the material science division, Future Tech started experimenting with more exotic materials.

Materials like carbon nanotubes that were more efficient than traditional silicon in semiconductors have been in development in-house.

Laboratories typically produce carbon nanotubes in small quantities and are unused by major processor manufacturers like TSMC.

Morgan and Patel were able to apply the Hive Mind AI in upgrading equipment bought from Texas Instruments to produce carbon nanotubes in larger quantities.

This action voided the warranty of $100 million worth of fabrication equipment, but it was a drop in the bucket for Future Tech, fortunately.

The headquarters was divided into office space for the 800 employees living in Austin and systems/manufacturing/fabrication space.

"Vince, we'll be able to test the new processor designs incorporating carbon nanotubes soon. After testing, we'll estimate the manufacturing costs and compare prices to Intel and AMD." Morgan said.

"We'll be competing with some of the largest tech companies in the world in this business. Is there any potential operational risk?" Vince asked.

"Hudson and Patel calculated our potential business risk for the past few months and concluded the Hive Mind AI can meet the market expectations," Morgan replied confidently.

"Though we'll need an increase in budget for all the materials the Hive Mind will use," Patel interjected.

"I'll have Ralph set up the new budget for Hive Mind after our meeting," Vince replied.

"The least advanced technology applied in the drones are the batteries. The material science department will have to innovate soon to provide enough battery life and power as we upgrade the Hive Mind." Patel said.

"I suggest for our engineers to work with Tesla in advancing battery technology for to both our benefit," Vince instructed.

"I'll speak to Hudson about the collaboration," Patel replied.

"Alright, Price and I will be in Las Vegas for Tom's fight. Contact us if anything is needed." Vince declared.

A few days after the meeting, Vince and Price boarded a private jet Future Tech had rented. Tom was already in Las Vegas, training for the fight locally.

Vince and Price spent some time and money around Las Vegas, but as a minor, Vince couldn't do much anyway.

The Agera R was on a car hauler truck on the way to Austin, so Vince had to make do with a rented Ferrari 458 Italia from a local exotic car rental business.

The light heavyweight fight gained a decent amount of spectators based on ticket pre-sales advertised on BitCash and the Pro League Season 2 broadcasts.

The fight can be watched for free on all major platforms like ESPN or YouTube.

Vince and Price visited Tom during his last training sessions before the fight.

"How are you feeling, Tom. Did the promotion get you worried?" Vince asked jokingly.

"Nah, it's given me the opposite effect. I'm even more pumped up to show the world I'm the best fighter." Tom replied.

"Good. We'll see each other again after the fight." Vince said as he and Price left the Las Vegas gym.

The event was not as big as the Pro League Season 1 Finals but was massive, considering it was Tom's first fight.

The MGM hall was full of spectators interested in seeing how a fighter promoted by Future Studios would do.

The announcer introduced both fighters in the middle of the circular cage.

"In the red corner, the current light heavyweight champion, Adrik Kulikov!"

The local fans were cheering for the champ.

"In the blue corner, the challenger, Tom Fury!"

The rest of the crowd started cheering for Tom.

The referee stepped in between both fighters and confirmed they understood the rules.

Adrik Kulikov was a wrestling and grappling specialist and had won plenty of Sambo tournaments in Russia.

[Though Tom is a BJJ brown belt, it would be quite challenging to get the fight to the ground.] Vince thought.

"This Adrik guy looks though, but I've trained with Tom for a long time since he was in middle school. That kid has talent and skill." Price declared.

Vince and Price watched the fight from the VIP booth. So all the spectators could see them both in the hall.

The fight started, and Tom immediately threw a few probing strikes at Adrik.

Adrik was unfazed and returned some strikes at Tom.

Tom attempted a [double collar tie] and was able to grip Adrik's neck with both his hands and arms to break his posture.

Adrik was too experienced to be controlled by a [double collar tie] and instantly gripped one of Tom's arms using the [2 on 1] technique.

Tom understood his situation clearly and instantly let go of the [double collar tie] to protect his arm.

The fight continued for two rounds while exchanging punches and leg kicks.

Adrik led the fight with more significant strikes and left Tom on the back foot.

Vince had a worried look as he watched his friend struggling against an experienced fighter.

[Why do you look so worried, Vince? I can see what Tom is doing while Adrik is entirely unaware. Tom hasn't attempted a traditional takedown since the start of the fight.] Price commented.

Two minutes remained during the last round.

Adrik was confident in winning the fight by the judge's decision but looked visibly tired.

During a split-second of Adrik lowering his guard due to exhaustion, Tom took the chance and performed a beautiful [Imanari Roll] catching one of Adrik's legs.

Tom held on to the leg for dear life as he transitioned into a [leg entanglement].

Adrik couldn't get his leg free and was forced to the ground.

The referee stopped the fight as soon as Adrik tapped due to a [heel hook].

The crowd was stunned, watching Tom reverse the situation in less than a few seconds.

The announcer presented the belt to Tom as he announced the winner, and Tom thanked Future Studios and all the fans who came out and watched his first fight.

"That was an epic fight, Tom! Congratulations. You'll be receiving bout offers left and right after that performance." Vince said.

Price offered his congratulations to Tom before moving on to the after-party.

[Playing video games seems less exciting than fighting for real. I hope Ms. Miller's research succeeds soon so I can experience this in deep-dive VR.] Vince pondered.

Stats last time checked:

15 million BTC (currently trades at $1,000)

$2 Billion in Future Tech

800 employees (Future Studios, Hive Mind AI, ARM, BitCash, Future Security)

Five company collaborators

Dozens of investments under Future Tech Holdings

EDITED

War Online has been continually updated since its release many months ago.

Updates like beginner tutorials and the main story produced partly by the Hive Mind AI and viewer tools/features to keep Pro League fans engaged have been beneficial in its steady growth.

The Pro League cross-platform portal featured creators from different countries providing continuous online video content to fans worldwide.

Also, the fantasy league was a massive hit as it paid out Bitcash for winning.

Games like LoL, DotA 2, and Starcraft 2 weren't as popular as in Vince's previous life because players found them inferior in every way.

Regular users couldn't even play competing games on cross-platform.

Each Arena Pro League season would be around four months and occur twice a year.

The off-season would broadcast minor league teams vying for a top 32 spot to qualify for the APL.

Vince ensured that Future Studios would continually provide more content to their existing fanbase and foster more viewers steadily.

Advertising agencies have noticed quite a while ago that War Online catered to the most valuable demographic, young people aged 18-30.

Marketing studies found that brands exposed to potential consumers around that age were highly likely to buy their products.

Large organizations like Samsung and Sony fought for the last 16 franchise spots, and the lowest bid came out to be $200 million.

[Damn! People are high on War Online.] So Vince thought as he was reading a Future Studios report.

It was common to see random people walking around Austin wearing Prime Alliance jerseys or cosplayers dressing as their favorite player's main character.

[The esports scene in my previous life was niche at best. I would never have imagined War Online to be mainstream.] Vince thought.

Vince shouldn't have been surprised. War Online was chock full of game features yet to be explored by other video game developers in 2012.

Now that summer of 2012 was over; Future Tech had already upgraded the available drone manufacturing suites.

Future Tech sent Hive Mind version 2 suites to Koenigsegg, SpaceX, and Tesla.

Future Tech engineers were dispatched, including the equipment on rented cargo planes.

The engineers would support Future Tech's partners and continue developing the AI remotely.

Future Tech was only leasing out the Hive Mind and reserved the right to shut down the suites if necessary remotely.

Koenigsegg required assistance with developing their innovative 'Free Valve' system using the Hive Mind AI plus mastering the manufacturing process of their exotic vehicles and engines.

Christian Von Koenigsegg offerred 10% stake in Koenigsegg Autos after hearing about Vince's deal with Elon.

Tesla shared battery and photovoltaic systems technology with Future Tech, allowing the version 2 upgrade to include more efficient batteries for each drone.

Future Tech would also have to spend development efforts advancing the current technologies provided by Tesla.

The drones sported the new Future Tech microprocessors designed and developed using Hive Mind AI, simply called AIM.

Jessica had been hard at work creating a consumer-grade operating system that could fully utilize the AI-driven processing power from AIM with Patel and the engineering team.

Rick and Sarah continued their UX design success with the beautiful yet straightforward system interfaces.

While motherboard manufacturers conformed to AIM standards, Future Tech would sell products under its own electronics brand.

[Apple will regret giving me a headache. I wonder how many Apple users I can eventually convert.] Vince pondered.

"That was an exciting match to end the Asia conference finals. Congratulations to Clear Sky for achieving the top seed." one of the announcers said.

"Thank you for tuning in to [Pro League Arena Clash Sundays, but before we leave, Future Studios would like to give the viewers a sneak peek to the future of consumer electronics."

The audience was treated to a professionally directed commercial featuring the everyday use of new mobile phones, laptops, desktops, and tablets.

One of Vince's school seniors working at Future Studios directed the video commercial.

"Whoa! The phone looks so different. It's making my iPhone 4 look small." a viewer at a network cafe said to a friend next to him.

"You can get them in so many different colors too!" the girl at the cafe replied.

The product line was competitively priced compared to companies like Apple and Samsung.

The standards and innovative designs were inspired by popular products sold in 2021. These devices boast even more advanced features with the help of AIM processors and Hive Mind manufacturing.

Vince thought that a press conference was pointless and decided to send sets of Future Tech devices to major consumer technology outlets.

YouTube channels, tech magazines, and news channels received one of each to review.

"I don't know what to say, guys, but this laptop is just superior in every way. The screen quality, high refresh rate, premium build keyboard, and 10Gig ethernet are overkill. In addition, the Future Tech operating system can flawlessly run non-native Linux, Windows, and macOS applications."

"And this is only the first product I'm reviewing today." the Youtuber added excitedly.

"The benchmark says it all, folks. I have no idea what kind of voodoo magic Future Tech is working with, but all I can say is rest in peace, Intel and AMD." the reviewer solemnly said.

"Intense workloads like triple-A games on max settings don't increase the temperature much. In addition, the specifications state that the AIM processors consist of carbon nanotubes instead of silicon."

"This provides the device with much better performance and thermodynamic efficiency."

"The onboard AI will automatically optimize workloads for the user to utilize all the compute cores within the AIM processors completely." The reviewer added.

Pre-sales on the Future Tech website were ongoing, and the release was planned to be in a month.

Future Tech had bought a fabrication and manufacturing center outside of Austin in preparation for the product line release.

Hudson's team hired 3,000 employees of varying skills and specializations for this new venture.

Most of the manufacturing will be performed by the Hive Mind, but further development and support will take more staff.

Hudson had also implemented the incorporation restructuring with the help of Ralph and Kemp-Jacobs.

All employees were allowed to renew their contract as full employees with benefits and options provided by Future Tech.

Hudson heeded Vince's instructions, and the terms negotiated were better than the industry standards.

Kemp-Jacobs was able to get special exemptions for Vince and his school friends and were allowed to work in the business regularly, after much effort from the law firm.

Vince became the youngest CEO at 14 years old as articles from Forbes and Time Magazine were being shared around the internet.

Stats last time checked:

15 million BTC (currently trades at $1,000)

$2 Billion in Future Tech

3800 employees (Future Studios, Hive Mind AI, ARM, BitCash, Future Security)

Five company collaborators

Dozens of investments under Future Tech Holdings

EDITED

Jessica stopped by the penthouse to find Vince.

She wore casual attire like most Future Tech employees. People see her black hair and Asian features under an oversized beanie.

A futuristic sliding door made out of a peculiar material slid open for the young American-Korean lady as the security AI recognized Jessica.

The security AI had been developed by Price and his cybersecurity department in collaboration with Patel and the AI engineers.

The tiny cameras on the new Future Tech product line, such as the mobile phones and laptops, were embedded within the futuristic material used in upgrading the penthouse.

"Vince, you have a guest waiting in the living room. Should I serve some beverages to Jessica?" an AI assistant asked Vince.

"If you will, please. "Tell Jessica I'll be out shortly, Aiya," Vince replied.

Aiya was an AI bot assistant that Vince had been working on with the Hive Mind robotics division.

Vince named his humanoid assistant bot Aiya, rhyming with Leah, the name of his incredible mother.

Aiya's intelligence level could only perform simple tasks, limited by the processing power provided by AIM cores.

The humanoid bot could perform more complex tasks and calculations if connected to a local Hive Mind network.

Aiya was wearing a blue female butler suit designed by a talented artist in Future Studios.

The outfit itself looked otherwordly and incomparable to any clothing in 2012.

"Vince will be out in a moment, Jessica. Would you like something to eat while waiting?" Aiya asked.

"No need for food, Aiya, but thanks, though," Jessica replied.

Vince and Patel programmed the butler AI package to talk courteously, and it was only natural to reply to it in kind.

Vince arrived in the living room wearing semi-casual clothing but was similar in design to Aiya's.

It was black-themed instead of blue but still resonated with a futuristic vibe.

"You're looking fabulous today, Vince. What are you and Aiya wearing?" Jessica asked curiously.

"These are designs from the unreleased Future Tech fashion collection. It uses the new fabric that the material science division recently developed." Vince replied.

Jessica approached Vince to touch the fabric.

"Wow! It's so soft to the touch. Does it get cold when you go out at night?" Jessica asked.

"The material itself has an adaptive temperature function, but it only works where you wear it," Vince replied.

"I want a set of the collection, Vince! So unfair!" Jessica angrily said.

"Alright, Alright. You can meet up with Aiya later to get your measurements. Sheesh." Vince replied.

"What did you stop by for in the first place, though?" Vince asked.

"The War Online new expansion event is starting in a few hours. So we should gather the gang and play tonight." Jessica replied.

"I forgot the expansion release was tonight. Thanks for the reminder. Alright, let's head to the Future Tech LAN center on the 10th floor." Vince stated.

"Aiya, please get in touch with Kyle, Rick, and Sarah to meet us at the LAN center," Vince asked.

"Certainly," Aiya replied and then bowed.

Jessica and Vince took the private elevator from the penthouse to the 10th floor.

On the way, they were joined by Kyle, who also had access to the private elevator.

Kyle was also wearing typical casual attire, with his brown hair covered by a Prime Alliance cap.

Kyle's Hispanic features showed more as puberty kicked in, such as a burgeoning beard starting to grow.

"Hey, guys! Good seeing you both. You guys excited for the game event?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah! I deliberately ghosted the Future Studios story campaign meetings to enjoy the expansion at release." Vince replied.

"I like the drip, Vince. What's with the fabric?" Kyle asked.

"It's an unreleased Future Tech product. You'll get a set of the collection too, don't worry." Vince replied.

The three arrived at the Future Tech LAN center, where employees could relax and enjoy video games.

Rick and Sarah were already there raiding with their guild.

Rick was growing taller every day, and his blonde hair and typical caucasian features made him look like a runway model.

Sarah was similar as she was Rick's twin but boasted womanly features instead.

"Good to see you both taking work seriously." Vince sarcastically said.

"Shush! Stop talking. We almost have the boss dead to rights, but one mistake can wipe our ten-man squad." Sarah replied.

Rick didn't say anything and focused on tanking the boss.

Vince, Jessica, and Kyle chose a Future Tech gaming computer near Sarah and Rick.

They started logging in to War Online and setting up their main characters.

"Yes! That's how we do it! Fuck you, Bahamut! Eat shit!" Rick started shouting.

"Rick, look at this staff that dropped for me. It's legendary tier!" Sarah shouted in reply.

"That's so unfair. I only got an Epic tier weapon as a drop." Rick sadly replied.

"Let's group up before the event starts." Jessica declared.

Jessica invited each of them to a party in War Online.

The new expansion to War Online featured a new continent with different factions vying for control over it.

The expansion release event started, and all players who opted into the event were transported to an enormous city square.

It was medieval-themed but featured the unique aesthetic famously used by War Online.

"Welcome, brave champions! My name is Gilvantis, the emperor of this continent. I thank you all for heeding my call for brave warriors to purge these lands of my enemies and restore the empire to its former glory." the NPC said.

The expansion started with an intricate cut-scene that slowly integrated players into the new continent.

Future Studios designed the primary campaign with the assistance of the creative AI suite developed by Future Tech.

Vince and his friends enjoyed the opening event for a few hours, testing the new skills, traits, and weapons.

"This bandit champion is strong!" Jessica declared.

Rick was focused on tanking the boss while Sarah supported him with heals and buffs.

"Jessica, don't worry. I think our damage is enough to kill the boss before it phases again." Kyle replied.

Vince stayed out of the way and utilized the new rifle, doing tons of damage from afar.

[I've been busy with work for a while. It's good just to relax and have fun with the gang while catching up on life.] Vince thought.

Stats last time checked:

15 million BTC (currently trades at $1,000)

$2 Billion in Future Tech

3800 employees (Future Studios, Hive Mind AI, ARM, BitCash, Future Security)

Five company collaborators

Dozens of investments under Future Tech Holdings

(I decided to add more descriptive prose to the characters in-scene.. Please suggest more things I can work on to make this novel better. Thank you)

Report chapter Comments

Leah's experimental treatment had been surprisingly successful with the assistance of Future Tech.

She started taking more responsibilities within Future Tech, like managing and leading the charity fund and assistance programs.

Her office was situated near the legal department on the second-highest floor at the headquarters.

Vince stopped by her office to ask if she needed anything.

"It's good to see up and walking around again, mom. Do you need anything, maybe an AI butler bot?" Vince asked Leah.

"I don't need a butler bot, Vince. My secretarial skills haven't faded yet. I can handle things myself." Leah replied.

Leah's physical condition, like her black her looked much better than a year ago.

[It was fortunate that the doctors were able to catch her disease before it got any worse.] Vince thought.

"I decided to donate $100 million to Dr. Sera and her team. You don't mind, right, son?" she asked.

"Dr. Sera deserves it for what she's done for us," Vince replied.

"Oh! I love these new clothes Aiya gave me recently. I assume it's a new Future Tech product. When are we planning to sell them?" Leah asked.

"The new consumer electronics will be the priority. The fashion line will probably hit the shelves in two months." Vince replied.

"Some of my friends have been asking about the clothes recently. Do you mind if we start selling them in low quantities for now?" Leah asked.

"That shouldn't be a problem. You can talk to Maria from the materials division to order some." Vince replied.

"By the way, You've been working too much this past year, son. It's not healthy. Go out more and enjoy your young life. Maybe even start dating." Leah said seriously.

"Oh, stop it, mom. You know I like working." Vince replied.

"You have thousands of employees, Vince. Don't give me that excuse." Leah replied angrily.

She took a few seconds to calm down.

"I'm grateful for what you've done for our family the past year. But, you should slow down and enjoy your success." Leah said calmly.

"Alright, mom. I'll take your advice. Stop nagging, please". Vince replied defeatedly.

"I'm not nagging; I'm doing my job as a mother." Leah declared.

They talked about the charity fund and assistance programs for an hour before Vince left Leah's office.

Vince then headed to the accounting department to discuss the financials with Ralph.

Ralph was wearing his expensive tailored suit as usual. His brown hair was cut short yet elegant, which complemented his caucasian jawline.

"Good day, Ralph. How are Future Tech's finances doing?" Vince asked.

"The three thousand employees have put a large dent on our annual expenses, but revenue is up due to the new expansion of War Online," Ralph replied.

Ralph handed an updated financial report to Vince for reference.

"Where did this $3 billion itemized as Arena Pro League come from?" Vince asked.

"Oh, That's revenue from the sixteen franchise spots in the Pro League. The bids averaged a bit below $200 million for each." Ralph replied.

"Take $1 billion and reinvest it in the APL for marketing or anything Future Studios need to maintain our lead against our competitors," Vince instructed.

The Arena Pro League didn't have to compete with LoL or DotA 2 as they were already considered small fry compared to APL's current size.

The APL competes with enormous entertainment properties like the NFL, the NBA, and the Champion's League.

"Future Tech's projected annual expenses is $10 billion at our current state. Expenses should double or even triple next year." Ralph said.

"We can't afford it for now, but conservative estimates of revenue from the new consumer electronics are around $50 billion," Ralph added.

"You and David have managed our expenses well the past year. So don't be surprised to receive a handsome bonus at year's end." Vince replied.

The financial report stated that Future Tech had $5 billion in liquidity for now.

"Thanks for the update, Ralph," Vince added as he left to find Morgan to discuss the AIM processors.

Morgan was his usual British self as he wore his old school yet regal-looking suit.

"Good day, Morgan. Any updates about the AIM processors I need to know." Vince asked.

"The current AIM processors are performing better than our expectations, but future upgrades will be more difficult with our existing fabrication equipment."

"I request for more Hive Mind suites dedicated to improving our current fabrication and manufacturing equipment," Morgan stated.

"That's going to be a bit difficult. Patel's AI team and the robotics division are expanding the Hive Mind suites. Still, Future Tech will use most of them to manufacture the current generation AIM processors and consumer electronics." Vince replied.

"We are still developing the second generation AIM processors. So our team can wait until new suites are made available." Morgan said.

"Thanks for understanding, Morgan. I appreciate what ARM and your team have achieved this past year." Vince said.

"We are Future Tech now. I would never have thought ARM would produce better performing processors than Intel and AMD. It's thanks to Future Tech's advancements in artificial intelligence and manufacturing." Morgan replied honestly.

Vince and his friends continued working on various projects while attending homeschool classes.

More Hive Mind suites had been created and immediately started mass-producing the new consumer devices in the tens of thousands.

An uncountable amount of transport trucks were heading to electronics stores around the US to stock the new products while shipping containers were heading to China, South East Asia, Japan, and other foreign countries for the same purpose.

[This release will be the new chapter in Future Tech's history. There will be a new tech giant to face behemoths in the industry, but we will prevail.] Vince pondered as he was waiting to watch the Future Tech release event on his flat-screen tv.

Stats last time checked:

15 million BTC (currently trades at $1,000)

$5 Billion in Future Tech

3800 employees (Future Studios, Hive Mind AI, ARM, BitCash, Future Security)

Five company collaborators

Dozens of investments under Future Tech Holdings

Report chapter Comments

Hype levels for the new Future Tech consumer electronics line reached sky-high as more positive product reviews were flooding the internet.

Benchmark reviews from reputable sources demonstrated the superior performance of AIM CPUs and other Future Tech-designed components like the new AIM-assisted solid-state drives.

Common bottleneck issues that high-end graphics processors from NVidia and AMD usually suffered from were not problems with AIM processors.

Looking out of the penthouse window, Vince could see a long line outside the Future Tech store located at the headquarter's ground floor.

Gamers, IT specialists, computer enthusiasts, and more were waiting in line patiently to experience the next-generation systems.

This same situation could be seen in countless stores worldwide and was not slowing down anytime soon.

Ars Technica, a popular consumer tech publication, invited Future Tech to discuss the new products more in-depth, and Vince decided to send Morgan as the spokesperson.

"Welcome to Ars Technica. Today, we will be discussing the new Future Tech products with Morgan, the lead AIM developer at said company."

"One of the most requested questions is regarding the battery life of the laptops and mobile phones. People seem to think it's too good to be true." the Ars Technica interviewer asked.

"It's only natural to think that way, considering the battery life in these products is multiple times that of our competitors," Morgan replied.

"How was Future Tech able to do it then?" the interviewer added.

"These batteries are an upgraded version of current Tesla battery designs. Our advancement in battery technology is thanks to our partnership with Tesla." Morgan replied.

"The Hive Mind manufacturing suites, or HMMS, can produce these batteries faster and with considerably less waste," Morgan added.

"This Hive Mind system you're referring to is quite impressive.

Rumors have been going around the industry about it—stories like manufacturing satellites and fabricating microprocessors.

But, not much had been made public.

Rumors like manufacturing satellites and spacecraft aside from fabricating microprocessors." The reporter said.

"The AIM processors would never have been possible without Patel and his AI division. Future Tech had been heavily involved with the advancement in artificial intelligence applications long before my arrival." Morgan proudly replied.

"Future Tech had been rolling out so many innovative products this past year; will this be slowing down any time soon?" the interviewer asked.

"This is just the beginning. I can confidently say that Future Tech will have an even brighter future as long as Vince is leading the way." Morgan replied zealously.

"You're talking about Vince Dalton, the CEO of Future Tech, I assume.

Time Magazine's most influential person has Vince Dalton as the leading contender based on gossip. So what do you have to say about this?" Ars Technica asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Though Vince only cares about results for the most part. He works more than he should, but it's because of his innovative mind and relatively high level of technical skill for a young man his age." Morgan replied.

"We would like to thank Morgan, the lead AIM engineer at Future Tech, for joining us today. Huge thanks to our viewers and readers who make this possible. Better get to the stores before stocks run out!" the interviewer declared.

"Bro! Look here, War Online has a new graphics setting on my new AIM mobile phone, even higher than the previous max settings." one of the customers on the ground floor said.

"Alright. I'll look at it later. But help me carry these accessories for my AIM desktop. " his friend replied.

Future Tech also sold their brand of peripherals like keyboards and headphones, collaborating with accessory brands like Razer and Logitech.

The pair of gamer buddies arrived at their shared apartment and immediately tested the AIM desktop.

"Those benchmarks online were no joke. The integrated graphics in the AIM processor crushes my Nvidia GTX 580. War Online looks like a totally different game with the new settings enabled." one of them exclaimed.

"I'll be sure to save some money to buy the AIM dedicated graphics card when it eventually comes out." his friend replied.

Millions of people worldwide were now exposed to consumer technology more advanced than any they have experienced before.

Large multinational corporations like Apple and Microsoft were holding meetings to address the new player in their industry.

Apple HQ, Cupertino

"Update me on the situation." Tim Cook ordered.

"The market is unhappy with our current progress on macOS and iOS, and the devices themselves. Our stock price is steady, but there is a noticeable lack of market movement." one of the managers replied.

"The release of the new iPhone later this year is compromised because of these new AIM devices," he added.

"Tell me some good news!" Tim shouted.

"The AIM operating system will allow the App Store and Android Store to be installed on the new devices through the operating system's native storefront." the manager replied.

"How can their devices use our native apps? Are there no compatibility issues?" Tim asked.

"They developed a near-perfect iOS and macOS emulator that can flawlessly run our applications. Most of them even run better." the manager added as he shrank in his seat.

Tim sat back on his chair as he thought of the lawsuit Apple lost a year before.

Meetings in Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, and other competitors in the industry went the same way.

These same companies started poaching Future Tech employees but were out of luck as they ran into a wall known as Kemp-Jacobs.

Austin, Texas, began to feel like the center of technological advancement when looking at Future Tech HQ and the expanded manufacturing campus outside the city.

Vince was enjoying the War Online expansion but stopped because of a notification on his AIM phone.

"I'd like to meet with you to discuss the dedicated graphics cards yet released," Morgan texted.

Vince made his way to the AIM department and found Morgan talking to mid-level managers.

"What's the issue, Morgan," Vince asked.

"Our department recently received motherboard prototypes from MSI, EVGA, and other manufacturers. But, unfortunately, none of them are even half as good as the ones in the AIM desktops." Morgan replied resentfully.

"This will be a problem when we start selling the AIM processors and graphics units," Vince stated.

"We'll just manufacture the motherboards ourselves. I know it will strain our production line, but low stock is better than a mediocre product." Vince added.

[Future Tech will set the new standards. I cannot compromise after we've achieved so much already.] Vince thought solemnly.

Stats last time checked:

15 million BTC (currently trades at $1,000)

$5 Billion in Future Tech

3800 employees (Future Studios, Hive Mind AI, ARM, BitCash, Future Security)

Five company collaborators

Dozens of investments under Future Tech Holdings

Report chapter Comments

August 2012.

A week after Future Tech released the AIM devices, Elon scheduled a video meeting with Vince to discuss their cooperation.

"Good to see you, Vince. I know you're busy with plenty of things at your company, but I just wanted to notify you about the SpaceX satellite we've designed with Future Tech's assistance."

"SpaceX will launch the first one you ordered next month, and we'd love to have you there to witness it. With our advanced AIM satellites and refined manufacturing process, we'll be able to undercut Boeing and Lockheed Martin in satellite sales." Elon added.

"Thanks for notifying me. I'll send Morgan and Dollar to Hawthorne to check on the satellite in a few weeks and meet you all a day before launch." Vince said.

They bade farewells after some small talk, and Vince continued working with Patel and the AI department. He understood that most of their success had been thanks to advanced AI technology.

Close to a month had passed, and sales had been too good for Future Tech, and the company had to stop pre-orders before fulfilling their current ones.

The sheer demand was taking all the efforts of everyone to keep up.

Morgan had to postpone the release of the new motherboards and dedicated graphics cards because he had no other options.

Future Tech had to focus on manufacturing more Hive Mind suites because no other OEM could be contracted to produce their proprietary components.

Sales projection was entirely off as everyone, and their mother wanted to own a Future Tech device.

The company was currently $80 billion richer, and Vince decided to use $10 billion to purchase materials for more drones. (based on Apple's 2012 net revenue)

Vince brought Aiya to watch the SpaceX launch live from mission control.

They flew on a private jet with a few security operators and landed at the Hawthorne municipal airport a few hours later.

The group rented a few black SUVs and headed to the hotel to freshen up before going to SpaceX.

Elon, Price, and Morgan welcomed them as they arrived at the headquarters. Elon showed them around and eventually brought them to the mission control room.

The rocket and satellite were being launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida while they were watching the live feed and experiencing how SpaceX operates.

"The launch will begin soon. It will take a few minutes for the pre-flight checks." Elon said.

Vince and Elon talked about Aiya and AI bots while waiting for the checks to finish.

They watched as the rocket pierced through the sky a few minutes later, delivering their first advanced satellite containing a coin Bank backup and satellite networking functionality.

"Watch. The autonomous landing is the cool part." Elon said with a smile.

With the use of Future Tech AI, SpaceX developed the autonomous VTOL system enabling the reusable component to land itself four years in advance.

The SpaceX engineers started clapping, and some had tears in their eyes while Elon just stood there with a grin while watching the feed.

SpaceX streamed the entire launching and landing process live on various video streaming platforms and received plenty of congratulations on the internet.

"Elon, what if my satellite blew up while testing this new rocket?" Vince asked inquisitively.

"Don't be so modest, Vince. You can just pay to get another one made." Elon jokingly replied.

[Damn. Elon's right, but that's still $500 million.] Vince thought.

After the launch, Vince and his group immediately flew back to Austin.

Vince still had plenty to do, but the new Hive Mind suites produced made life less stressful for everyone at Future Tech.

It took another month before all the pre-orders were fulfilled and the additional stock was delivered.

Hive Mind suites were made available to Morgan's processor division, and Future Tech used some to upgrade the headquarters similar to the penthouse fully.

It was a beautiful day in November 2012 at Austin. The clear sky showered rays of sunlight while the new solar panels of the Future Tech headquarters absorbed the photovoltaic energy.

The panel cells covered the building in a magical-looking crystal lattice design.

Locals admired the beautiful sight as they were passing through the downtown area.

What people couldn't see were the large battery units on the basement floors of the building.

A large bald Swedish man wearing semi-casual attire spoke to Patel at the AI division while Vince was on his way to meet them.

"Christian, It's great to meet you in person finally. Welcome to Future Tech." Vince declared.

"Thank you for having me, Vince. I have good news to share." Mr. Koenigsegg replied.

"What's got you all worked up?" Vince asked.

"We got it to work! Freevalve! The most significant innovation in engine performance was electronically-controlled injection systems. With the help of Future Tech AI, we were able to develop an AI-controlled air valve system." Christian replied excitedly.

"The engines are now much smaller without the need for bulky timing belts and camshafts. Engine performance is night and day. So it was more than worth giving you a 10% stake in my company!" Christian added.

"I'm glad for your success, but you could have told me over a video meeting," Vince replied.

"I flew from Sweden to attend the 2012 Austin Formula 1 Grand Prix to meet with Jean Todt. He's the FIA president. I'll be pitching the Freevalve system for use in the following formula update. (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile)

"And I also brought you a little present—the new Agera SFV containing the new engine," Christian said with a grin.

"I have the Agera R parked at the ground level. So we can compare the two at the Circuit of the Americas outside Austin." Vince offered, and Mr. Koenigsegg immediately agreed.

Vince called Aiya to rent track time at COTA, which surprised Christian as he'd never seen an AI butler bot before.

[Christian is quite happy after developing Freevalve. It makes sense because he had to form a separate company in 2015 to develop the technology. He saved time and money working with us.] Vince thought.

A burly man in a suit named Greg, Vince's personal security for today, accompanied Aiya, Vince, and Christian to COTA.

They took the Rolls-Royce Klassen Phantom while another security operator drove the Agera R behind them.

The Agera SFV was initially brought into the country on one of the cargo planes used to transport Hive Mind suites.

It was picked up by a hauler from the airport and was brought into the COTA pit lanes.

[This is gonna be fun!] Vince thought excitedly.

Stats last time checked:

15 million BTC (currently trades at $1,000)

$75 Billion in Future Tech

3800 employees (Future Studios, Hive Mind AI, ARM, BitCash, Future Security)

Five company collaborators

Dozens of investments under Future Tech Holdings

Report chapter Comments

The Circuit of the Americas usually required track rentals to be booked weeks in advance, but they made an exception after learning Vince Dalton and Christian Von Koenigsegg were arriving.

The COTA track manager welcomed Vince and his group before showing them the facilities available.

COTA offered Vince and Christian assistance from a professional driver based in Austin who trains COTA customers.

"The first Formula 1 race to be held here in COTA will be next weekend. I assume both of you will attend?" The COTA manager asked.

"Yes, of course. Vince here had never been to an F1 race before, and I'm sure he'll be joining me." Christian replied.

A young professional driver arrived after the group conversed for a few minutes.

"This is Randall. He'll provide you with driving tips and can entertain any more questions about the circuit. Please enjoy your stay." The COTA manager said before leaving.

Vince had Randall take him around the track on the Agera SFV first to experience the difference between the two cars.

The Agera R was fast, and Vince already knew that. But, the Agera SFV was quicker and lighter.

Christian drove the Agera R trying to chase Vince and Randall on the Agera SFV but couldn't even get close.

After an hour of racing, the group took a break for a while.

"The Agera SFV is far and above the fastest Koenigsegg," Vince stated.

"I know. That's why I'm confident in pitching Freevalve systems to F1 manufacturers for next year." Christian replied.

"How confident are Koenigsegg in designing a Formula 1 car?" Vince asked.

"It will be challenging to beat the current top teams, but it's theoretically doable. So why do you ask?" Christian replied inquisitively.

"I was just curious," Vince replied with a smile.

[Formula 1 is an enormous property. RedBull was able to gain massive value in buying a team to promote their product. Maybe I should do the same. Owning a team sounds fun too] Vince thought.

Vince was always interested in owning a professional team in APL, but David told him it was inappropriate.

A well-built caucasian man in his semi-casual attire arrived at the COTA pitlanes.

Price came over after learning about the track day Vince had rented.

"Vince, Let me have a go in the Agera SFV," Price asked excitedly.

"Alright, alright. Go ahead and knock yourself out." Vince replied.

Price went on track with Christian and raced around for a few minutes.

Vince spoke to Randall while the adults were having fun on the track.

"Randall, You look pretty young to be a professional race driver," Vince asked.

"You look pretty young to be a self-start billionaire." Randall jokingly replied.

"Okay. You got me. But seriously though, what's your deal.". Vince asked,

"I'm an Austin local but haven't been home because most Formula 2 races are in Europe. Now that we have COTA here, F2 will be the secondary entertainment for next weekend."

"Instructing at COTA is a recent gig to earn a bit of cash. Racing is expensive as hell." Randall replied.

"You're quite lucky to have a home race. I'm sure you'll do well with all the local support." Vince replied assuringly.

"I sure hope so. One more win is all I need to get my super license. The license can help with negotiating a seat in Formula 1." Randall added.

[Tom has been doing great work remaining undefeated in the UFC. He should receive a title shot soon from all the fans and wins he'd built up.]

[Kyle, Jessica, Rick, and Sarah are slowly becoming experts in their field with access to great mentors within Future Tech, the education you can't find in any university.]

[I look at people like them and see the potential. Unlimited access to resources and support that I didn't experience much of in my previous life undoubtedly helped them become more outstanding individuals.] Vince pondered.

"I've been thinking about buying a Formula 1 team for next season to promote Future Tech and our partners. I'll give you a seat if you win your race next weekend. No pressure." Vince declared.

The 18-year-old Texan race driver was stunned to hear Vince's sudden offer.

"Don't go looking for me in the crowd. I'll be in a meeting with Christian and the FIA president on Saturday." Vince jokingly added.

Price and Christian arrived after their conversation. They switched around cars earlier, trying to chase each other.

Vince drove his new Agera SFV for half an hour with the assistance of Randall.

[This thing is sick. And, with my new special exemption driver's license, I'll be able to drive this car around town feeling like a badass.] Vince thought.

The few fun hours of rented track time were over too quickly for their group.

Vince invited Christian to stay at his Villa for the week after bidding farewell to the others.

Christian graciously accepted Vince's offer. They took the Phantom and headed to his mansion.

The house itself was very different from when Vince initially bought it more than a year ago.

The design was similar to Future Tech headquarters, and Christian found it appealing.

Vince introduced Leah to Christian before instructing the housemaids to prepare a room.

They ate some dinner while getting to know more about each other. The maids served classic Texas BBQ and sides that Christian enjoyed very much.

After dinner, Vince received a call from someone he hadn't spoken to in a long time.

"Ms. Miller, It's been a while. How are you and your son doing?" Vince asked.

"Things have been great the past year for both of us. I wanted to tell you great news about our research directly. My team had a breakthrough yesterday."

"We developed the neuron output prototype for comatose patients. The tests involved volunteers in induced deep sleep. The prototype then projects photorealistic dreams into the subject's mind." Ms. Miller explained.

"Alright. So people asleep can watch movies in the first person as if they were awake? Do I understand this correctly?" Vince asked in confusion.

"The AIM CPU and dedicated graphics processors render the world around the subject, similar to a movie, yes." Ms. Miller replied.

"I've been teaching the Future Tech AI my algorithms, and the bioengineers built the prototype, but it's currently limited to output with no input capabilities yet." Ms. Miller stated.

"The team has succeeded in our current research scope and will be wrapping up soon. However, most of the research team wondered if Future Tech could employ us directly to continue developing the input functions." Ms. Miller offered.

[Their achievement in this field is a historical landmark. They're expecting a big payday for this research.] Vince thought cynically.

[Though, this prototype is one enormous step closer to deep-dive VR.] he pondered.

"I welcome your team to Future Tech. You can contact Hudson for further negotiations." Vince ultimately replied.

Stats last time checked:

15 million BTC (currently trades at $1,000)

$75 Billion in Future Tech

3850 employees (Future Studios, Hive Mind AI, ARM, BitCash, Future Security, FT VR)

Five company collaborators

Dozens of investments under Future Tech Holdings

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Future Tech had invested heavily in Ms. Miller's research team to the tune of $250 million the past year. Investments include access to Future Tech AI and numerous testing costs etc.

Hudson recruited almost the entire team of 50 people with generous contracts, while David and Kemp-Jacobs negotiated $500 million to purchase the whole project, including reimbursing Elon and other smaller investors.

Vince decided to allocate $2 billion to the new FT VR division for the following year, and they were given a dedicated floor in the main headquarters.

The researchers were thrilled to be paid so much money for their painstaking efforts. But $100 million was pocketed by the University of Texas.

Vince drove his Agera SFV with Price and visited his futuristic manufacturing campus outside metro Austin to check on its progress.

The city of Austin was glad to have the local tech industry develop the unused land.

The new 4,000 highly skilled employees Future Tech had recently employed could mostly be found in this burgeoning tech district. There was no need for cheap labor with the Hive Mind AI taking care of most manufacturing.

Plenty of restaurants and outlet stores surrounded the campus to provide the employees easy access to their daily needs.

Vince met the campus manager for an update regarding how device manufacturing was going.

A Hispanic-looking man in professional attire greeted Vince.

"Good day, Vince. My name is Andreas, and I'm currently overseeing the Future Tech campus." Andreas said as he shook Vince's hand.

"Nice to meet you. How have the new Hive Mind suites been coping with our manufacturing?" Vince asked.

"As you instructed, 20% of our manufacturing capacity is reserved for producing more Hive Mind drones. The rest are producing the AIM devices steadily and in much larger quantities than two months ago." Andreas replied.

Price joined in the conversation. "How are the security drones handling the vast perimeter of the campus?" he asked.

"We had to produce more security drones to cover the area after the expansion, but it's currently sufficient," Andreas replied.

The security drones around the tech campus attracted unwanted attention from the US Department of Defense. A representative recently reached out to David to schedule a meeting in Washington, DC, to negotiate a military contract.

Vince decided to meet with them next week after the Formula 1 race this weekend.

Vince and Price discussed some other minor issues before leaving the tech campus.

The rest of the week passed as qualifying Saturday came around.

Locals fans walking up the hill to the Circuit of the Americas recognized a blue on black Koenigsegg car followed closely by a similarly looking car in black on white.

The Austinites started cheering and shouting to get Vince Dalton's attention. Locals appreciated the prosperity Future Tech had cultivated for their city and revered the young billionaire who made it happen.

"I play War Online every day! Big thanks, dude!" one of the local frat bros shouted, intoxicated.

A group of university freshmen ladies was giggling by the sidewalk while Vince parked.

Security operators cleared the area before their boss stepped out of the Agera SFV.

[This feels much better than pulling all-nighters in my old office. Cute ladies were scarce around there.] Vince thought as he smiled at the onlookers.

Christian borrowed the Agera R, and Vince didn't mind. However, Price felt left out and decided in his mind to buy an Agera SFV as soon as possible.

Jean Todt gave Vince and Christian free time to watch the qualifying event before meeting about Freevalve.

They walked around the paddock before Vince found the Sahara Force India team's modular headquarters.

[This team is owned by Vijay Mallya and is the best candidate to buy out. Due to legal issues, Mallya had to sell the team in 2018, and I know he'll sell his UK-based F1 team for the right price.] Vince thought

They walked up towards the entrance and were stopped by security.

An Indian man from the inside heard the commotion and headed outside.

He found his security being stared down by a large and muscular man in a working suit.

Next, he noticed a group of important-looking men, including a young man he'd heard about before.

"Stand down, stand down." He instructed with a British accent.

"Vince Dalton, It's a pleasure to meet you here at the Grand Prix. Come in, come in. We have an excellent view on the upper floors of the pit lane and main straight. The qualifying session is about to start." Mallya declared.

"Likewise, Mr. Mallya. Are my security personnel allowed inside?" Vince asked.

"That's not a problem. I trust your character." Mallya replied with a smile.

[Just wanted to make sure cause my guys are packing heavy heat.] Vince thought.

Vince, Price, Christian, and two security operators followed Mallya into the modular paddock home and showed them around for a bit before heading to the viewing section.

Cameras from different critical areas of the track streamed a live feed to large screens around the room.

"This is a great view, Mr. Mallya. Thanks!" Vince declared.

[I would need to avail of more special treatment in the future. Feels good, man.] Vince thought.

Qualifying started as their group watched formula one cars leaving the pitlanes to begin their flying laps.

"I'm curious why you chose my team's motorhome to watch the event. Any other team would welcome you, but you decided on my minor team instead." Mallya asked inquisitively.

"I've recently gained interest in F1's advertising potential," Vince replied.

"You're looking to advertise Future Tech? We have sponsor slots available if you'd like." Mallya offered with a grin.

"I'm more interested in something similar to what Red Bull did a few years ago," Vince added.

"You want to buy my baby? My Sahara Force India?" Mallya asked with a fake front. He'd already started negotiating.

"I'm thinking about it. Williams F1 seems like another good option. Right?" Vince replied.

Mallya got a bit nervous after hearing about Williams. Their teams are close in performance, but Williams has a more storied legacy in the sport.

[I have to buy a current team. Creating a new team and bidding for a spot in F1 will be more of a headache.] Vince thought.

"How much is your offer, then?" Mallya asked.

"$150 million sounds fair." Vince offered.

"Vince, you wound me with such a low offer," Mallya said sadly.

"You've been such a wonderful host to our group today, Mr. Mallya. $250 million then?" Vince asked while drinking tea served recently.

[This kid is offering me a good deal. The team is worth around $200 million at the highest.] Mallya thought.

"I can entertain this offer. I appreciate your sincerity." Mallya replied.

Vince gave him David's number to finalize the deal as the qualifying time ran out.

Stats last time checked:

15 million BTC (currently trades at $1,000)

$75 Billion in Future Tech

7850 employees (Future Studios, Hive Mind AI, ARM, BitCash, Future Security, FT VR)

Five company collaborators

Dozens of investments under Future Tech Holdings

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