Lone Cultivator In Another World

"It's not that bad! I need Alex for other things, too, so he can't babysit you on this."

Dimitri was so indignant, he could only open and close his mouth like a fish out of the water.

"What are you planning?" Alex asked.

"It's all about DestiniGo. Before this, we had a smooth ride. Making indie games was easy relying on Dim's programming and my levels. Sofia helped, too. But Angry Birds, this golden goose, won't support us forever. I guess we can push out one more sequel, and then it's done."

"Why? Isn't it a huge hit?" Dimitri appeared clueless.

Michael nodded at Alex, and the Belgian answered instead, "No. We're making essentially the same game in a different setting. The players will get tired. They had four months to complete the first part, and we can release the third in about half a year. After that, our revenues will go down, although we'll remain profitable."

"That's right," Michael agreed, "we will. But the company's innovative and original image will suffer. It's time to turn to a more stable line of business."

"DestiniGo."

"Precisely. If we don't branch out now, we might forever stay as a game-making company which isn't enough for my ambitions!"

Alex and Dimitri nodded. The fire in their eyes has been ignited.

"The transition will be painful. First of all, we need to register another company. I can do that. We will need advertis.e.m.e.nts, though I hope my name will bring us both taxi drivers and users."

"Doesn't sound so painful," Dimitri smirked.

Alex shook his head at the conceited rival, "Really? Don't expect the profit to outweigh the expenses in the first few months or even years. For a smart guy, you're pretty dumb sometimes."

"Hey!"

"We'll need call centers, hundreds and thousands of workers who need salaries. Those call centers will have to be bought or built, and the personnel will require management. That's not taking into account the HR, corporate culture, logistics, finances, marketing, service, app support! The taxi drivers who dislike the service, they might retaliate against us! There's three of us cramped into a room, and you imagine yourself a big businessman?"

Dimitri scoffed and turned away, but Michael saw his cheeks turn red. The programmer had one aspiration in life, and he didn't pay attention to anything else. However, Michael couldn't find fault with him. It was that single-mindedness in pursuing technological advancements that made him into the best developer in Michael's old world.

"Guys, please," he intervened. "It's alright that Dim doesn't care. He shouldn't."

Alex was unhappy with his words, but Dimitri lifted an eyebrow, hoping for Michael to take his side.

"We all have our strengths. Let's stick to them."

Even though Dimitri and Alex had a rivalry, the winner was determined from the start. Alex was a linguist and a politician, his gifts lay in charm and persuasion. As a programmer, he was brilliant, but merely one of hundreds like him around the world.

Michael didn't want the Belgian to waste time learning to code. Why would he, when he knew what Alex was capable of better than Alex himself?

"We'll probably have to use all of the Angry Birds sequel's revenue to keep DestiniGo afloat," Alex stubbornly finished his explanation.

Contrary to the other two boys' expectations, Michael laughed out loudly.

"Any normal businessman would do that. Not us!"

The rival duo shared a look. Was Mike going crazy?

"Dim, come back to your senses! Tell him, what did we buy a month ago?"

"Extra servers."

"How many?"

Everything clicked for Dimitri, and he m.o.a.n.e.d, ashamed of losing his composure in front of his rival. "We don't need workers!"

Michael kept laughing so hard, he teared up.

These two geniuses, they were still teenagers! For all their smarts, they heavily depended on the opinion of each other. Like now, Dimitri conceded under Alex's sound arguments even though he knew better.

"What are you talking about, you dolt?! Of course, we need staff. Who will answer the calls, you and me?"

"No one!" exclaimed Dimitri. "An answering machine will ask questions, record them, edit out the silence and forward the audio to the taxi drivers. And that's only for those who call. There's also an option of pinpointing your destination on the map along with listing your requirements for the car, and voila!"

"Exactly," Michael nodded.

"Oh." Alex was stupefied. You could also do it like that?

"As soon as Dim approves it, we can roll out DestiniGo the same day. Once again, project Striptease is crucial here. I hope we can add it to the app in a month."

The two employees nodded.

"Good. Our next project will be… a social network, most likely. I need to consider it again, after the chaotic week that I've had. Here's another question for you both, are you willing to become emancipated? Few new hires or not, the company needs to expand, and I can't have you officially employed unless you 'grow up', so to speak."

Dimitri was the first to agree, "I've already discussed it with my parents. They talk about you all the time, how generous you were, and how lucky I am to have you as a friend, yada yada. I'm allowed to do anything as long as you do the same."

Alex accented too, without an explanation.

They talked about the company's future for an hour more. It was getting into the night, so the guests had to return to their apartments.

After Dimitri hurried to leave, Michael held Alex back.

"Tell me, what do you think of project Striptease?"

The Belgian adopted a conflicted expression. He lowered his head, nibbling on a lip, and gave his employer a sullen glare.

"Do you plan to conquer the world?"

Michael grinned without saying a word. Compared to Anna and Dimitri, those absorbed geniuses, Alex stood out with his realistic worldview and sharp insight.

"No," he answered, "but I want to steer it in the direction that's convenient for me."

Alex broke into cold sweat. The cheerful classmate in front of him suddenly turned into a shrewd person he didn't recognize. Was this the real Michael? One who planned ten steps ahead and relied on nothing but a few classmates to earn a fortune in months?

He felt like he was making a deal with the Devil.

The faint killing intent Michael unconsciously released created such a frightening image in Alex's head.

"Are you with me?"

Alex swallowed. He knew Dimitri had realized long ago what project Striptease could mean for the world, but he kept researching it. Alex sensed genuine shame in his rival when he confessed his lack of progress, and a surge of vigor after he listened to Alex's idea.

Both rivals were outstanding people. Since Dimitri believed in Michael, it was the one recommendation Alex couldn't ignore.

"I'm with you."

They shook hands.

Michael was grinning like a Cheshire cat. With Alex's loyalty, this handshake meant history wouldn't repeat itself. Belgian prime minister would never have Alex as his right hand.

Instead, this genius administrator belonged to Michael now.

After the two teenagers left, the young cultivator sat at his table. He was trying to come up with a way to utilize their Altered powers in the most efficient way.

Alex's light manipulation was a big unknown. The extent to which he could control light was undetermined. On the other hand, Dimitri's power tempted Michael much more.

In his old world, in 2021, a small start-up company developed a magnetic technology that later spread throughout the world. It was called Personal Space, and it consisted of a neural network that users wore on their head and a number of devices that worked independently, obeying commands with a thought. The technology relied on electromagnetic power of the human brain.

Dimitri had nothing to do with that invention, but now that he had this first-hand insight into the workings of magnetism, could Michael groom him to develop Personal Space?