Zero To Billionaire

his laptop screen, John sat cross-legged on his apartment's threadbare carpet. Except for the screen

rmed his meager $20 into $21.05

a guy who had just been at the bo

*Billionaire's

in. The system was not a joke, a hoax, or a desperate digital i

erplexed by its

pularity" mechanisms, and tiered unlocks. A simulation with h

cantly, who c

n had been developing, nagging him in the back of his mind like a whisper. Pe

d he trus

was instanta

ady been rob

eded Sarah, she

ible that someone ha

-

afternoon. As he pulled the buzzing door open, he saw flickering TVs, decrepit sofas, and rows of tables. Two c

sitting in the corner, sandwiched between an

is Olivi

her nose, and her fingers moving over the piano like a concert pianist. Olivia was the kind of programmer who made

d forward wa

lightly. "Well, well. Unless the gho

earily. "I f

. John, I did not think I would see you outsid

the desk was cheati

ened. "Oh no.

n. "Everything. Then an odd thi

l but interesting

the app, he gave it to her. "Are you f

this? 21.3% is the population. Fortune: $21.05'? She scrolled. "These measurements

o thought. Until it

ery, to the strange tasks, to the increase in wealth. He even showed her

h her arms crossed a

phone to him aft

nds crazy,

*is*

omeone. It is being funded by someone. You made those investments? Real markets are

The software lacks a traceable backend and explicit

ued, "And I am going to assume that

ou have

more beat of her attention. "I a

ngrossed with the app fo

ewalls, and followed packet data through many levels

ption." "The app learns from our attempts to crack it an

e bigger. "You mea

curity shell or a high-functioning AI. Who constructed

cently, the software introduced a new featu

ccess of others." Gain double increase.

ants me to bring i

rom her computer. "You be

erh

ng you to

the system wanted him to develop or *us

d at Olivia. "Yo

ed. "Do I re

We both benefit

an invitation to me. Together

-

uesting a QR confirmation showed up. After scanning i

ed, "Welcome, Olivia Reynolds." "A verified

personal statistics loaded

guess I will ha

l add even more sweet

uter displayed ev

ngs is now active. Fortune Growth Boost: +3%

e. "Collaboration i

. Let us engage in its game. Let

coffee, aging monitors, and an enigmatic app between t

less alone for the

e had

ed to share th