Lone Cultivator In Another World

Monday morning, Michael and Dimitri clinked their glasses when The Breakfast Show featured Michael in an interview. They predicted this move from Abbie, so the programmer prepared everything in advance.

"If he's not asleep, that means he's coding – our head developer and lead programmer, Dimitri Sarantos," introduced TV-Michael.

"I do other things," snorted the Greek teenager.

"Like what?" real Michael played along.

"Coding isn't the only thing I care about. I study tech, take gadgets apart and put them back together. Work with microch.i.p.s and other hardware in my spare time."

"Ouch."

Dimitri raised a glass and an eyebrow at his friend.

"OK, I can admit when I'm wrong."

"So?"

"What?"

"Admit it."

"I am admitting!"

"Yeah, but for real."

"For real, I was wrong!"

"Uh-huh, I know."

Michael exploded, "Then why are you trying to make me apologize!?"

"You're always so confident. I get sick of it," Dimitri shrugged.

"You…"

Michael swallowed the insult when TV-Michael drew his attention.

"…hundred thousand codes, and they are released right now!"

Dimitri pressed a few buttons and Angry Birds was made available at the same time with three new videos coming out on his friend's channels. Each had a code in the description, which were the same, but only the first 100,000 would work.

"Since you've shut up," continued the programmer, provoking a hateful glare from Michael, "tell me, when do we begin working on our next game?"

"As soon as we confirm there are no problems with this one."

"Are you planning a sequel right away or do we shift to something else?"

"No, we shift. A tower defense game is in order."

Dimitri nodded contentedly. He also wanted to do something new.

"By the way, Dim, your salary – would you prefer a fixed one?"

"Knowing you, it's a trap, and I should pick percentage of revenue," a knowing smile formed on his lips.

"Hey, your choice. I'm offering you 3%. It's less than the signing bonus, but few employed programmers earn this much."

"With 50 million downloaded copies, we got 11 million purchased ones. That's 33 million dollars. A 3% share is a million," Dimitri counted. "If our next game is as successful as this one, I'd say there's a very low chance I'll leave you to work at Google."

"Don't forget, the money will keep coming in. It's a constant stream, especially with our new server. More soda?"

The duo refilled their glasses. Skipping lessons in the morning was fun!

This game update connected Angry Birds to a server whenever a player finished a block of levels. There were six blocks with 20 levels each, and the first 25 levels were free. This was the best compromise Dimitri could come up with.

On the one hand, the safest way to prevent a game from being hacked was through constant connection to the Internet. This way, North Gaming wouldn't lose money in revenue because of pirating.

On the other hand, that meant players with unstable Internet, those who played on the subway or lived far from wireless towers, suffered. So, Dimitri issued each copy with a unique program code during the purchase that the server checked against. If this code had already been used to unlock a certain block of levels, it wouldn't work again.

Even if Angry Birds was on the Internet, these measures protected the game from being pirated further. The codes were part of the game's programming. Without them, level 26 and higher would cause a crash. The codes had to be deciphered, not deleted.

Dimitri proved his genius in coming up with this method, and North Gaming would adopt it until project Striptease was completed.

…

In British homes, viewers cheered on as a boy schooled Abbie Thomas in manners.

"Bwahahaha, that's what you get for being a stone-cold bitch!"

"I like this kid's style! Let me check out his game."

"Did you see her face turn green? She targeted his low morals, and he brushed it off and turned the tables! So funny!"

The program didn't exist in Michael's past life, but he assumed it to be just as energetic and positive as the others. Turned out, Abbie Thomas did both puff pieces and, unexpectedly, some biting journalism. She tore at sports stars and politicians, but also at street musicians and small business owners, which earned her the ire of the common folk.

The Breakfast Show had a wider than average audience. Half a million people saw Michael's face and were influenced by his charm. He projected a cool image of someone serious and business-like.

All around the country, mothers smacked their lazy sons and ordered them to watch North Academy. Ironically, the average grade across the UK rose by a few percent – all because of that.

The increase in grades was miniscule on the national scope, but Michael's channels grew in popularity by several times. Where he earned $40 off a video a little while ago, he now cashed in more than $200. His subscribers across three channels reached 90,000, many of whom came for the codes but stayed for whatever they were interested in.

The video of the interview was posted on The Breakfast Show's page, as well. Even though Abbie looked weak, the story was engaging, so her superiors couldn't care less. There, the video got mixed comments: some praised the newswoman for exposing the greedy teenager while some argued that he made the game and priced it however he wanted.

Good or bad, Abbie was right about one thing – controversy attracted attention.

…

Two weeks later, the game kept getting more popular, as were Michael's channels. The money was good, too. Anna's share grew to six, almost seven million. Dimitri and Sofia scratched off their names from the shared bank account, so the two Russians could take out money by themselves.

Sofia demanded to take part in North Gaming's next project. She worked hard to change her drawing style for the next game.

Dimitri whistled enviously whenever Anna and Michael went to the bank. He had more than he could spend, so it was all in good faith.

Vladimir and Nadezhda Severniy finally left their son alone when he presented them with three more million and a school report card. Proud of their straight-A student son, the old couple took him up on that cruise. Both yearned to see foreign places and countries while their bodies were still strong. The family chose a nice expensive resort to stay in before the trip.

In the last month, another tumor began to come together in Vladimir's throat, but Michael took care of that. The parents promised to come back in two months tops and ran away so fast they almost left their shoes behind.

Jones invited Michael for tea a few more times. They spoke like old friends and laughed without restraint. The two didn't exchange favors. When Michael was abroad, Graves requested to give the teenager time off. The teachers did so but were getting angry with time. It was Jones who held them back and calmed them down. He also kept an eye on Kamyshov who got suspiciously quiet.

Jimmy Carter, Jones's old friend, taught history well. His fun and engaging style earned him brownie points with the students.

Marco and Donald didn't fool around anymore. Jack and Jerry did, a lot. Their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Richardson, took time off when her pregnancy went into the third trimester.

Carina stopped pining for Michael after a while. He was in Russia for a month, so her affections died down as quickly as they were born.

Graves looked over his shoulder more often. He kept looking for Mr. Fluffy but found no clues, except the same name popped up in Czech Republic once. A gangster mentioned the name to the police and was soon shivved in a holding cell. The identity of the man who wanted to kidnap the principal's granddaughter remained a mystery.

Michael paid Old Zhao the rest of the money. The scientist barked his thanks and returned to a bustling laboratory where Chinese men in lab coats shouted at each other. There was a young girl with c.h.e.s.tnut hair in a ponytail, too.

As for his Tai Chi master, Michael never attempted to contact him again.

Such was the peaceful life of a young cultivator. Classes in the morning, more during the day, working on the game or cultivating in the evening. He was grateful for the opportunity to work hard. Even though most men curse their jobs, in his past life Michael was bereft of the chance to work, so he welcomed it with open arms.

Anna lived next door. They often ate dinner or breakfast together on weekends, watched movies or argued about classwork. Michael usually won, unless biology or chemistry were involved.

It was Sunday, December 7th. In the morning, Anna came by to eat, and then they went to school. The girl was going to work with her Chinese fan club where everyone adored her, and Michael just had nothing to do. 1-stage, 10-star was very close, but he got sick of cultivating all the time, so he lazed around. He would do it after sending Anna off.

It was the two's good fortune that he came along because they met a large man with a surly expression on their way to the gates. His head was shaven, but a bushy beard covered his chin. He had a pair of small, deep-set eyes under a heavy brow.

Michael didn't notice anything unusual until he realized Anna had stopped. He checked what's wrong. The girl looked like her greatest fear was coming to life.

"Hello," the man smirked. "Aren't you gonna greet me, kid?"

The normally pale girl's face lost all color.

"Anna, who is this guy?"

"M-my stepfather."

.