The air in the "Netopia Express" was cooler than usual, the overhead fans spinning at a frantic pace to combat the late afternoon humidity. Xavier sat at Terminal 14, the blue light of the oDesk dashboard reflecting in his wide, dark eyes.
"PENDING WITHDRAWAL: $545.00"
He stared at the number. Five hundred and forty-five dollars. At the current exchange rate, that was over twenty-five thousand pesos. In the world of 2007, that was more than enough to buy a brand-new, high-end desktop computer or pay for Aris' tuition.
And it was growing.
Beside the oDesk tab was a private blog he had set up. On it, the first five chapters of The Blood God's System were live. He hadn't just uploaded them; he had used Abyss to SEO-bomb early webnovel aggregators and forums like NovelUpdates (which was in its infancy) and various supernatural fiction communities.
The hit counter on the side of the blog was spinning.
"TOTAL VIEWS: 12,450"
"COMMENTS: 412"
The Western readers were hungry. They were leaving comments demanding more of the system mechanics that were entirely new to them.
*When is the next update? I've never seen a vampire story with levels before!*
*Is this a real game? Where can I download it?*
Xavier leaned back, his feet dangling six inches above the floor. The digital seed was no longer just a seed; it was a sapling.
"ABYSS: REVENUE THRESHOLD ACHIEVED. NOTE: PAYPAL VERIFICATION REQUIRES A VALID CREDIT CARD OR BANK ACCOUNT. CURRENT PROBABILITY OF ARTHUR GUAN (FATHER) NOTICING A SUB-ACCOUNT: 78%."
"Not through Pa's account," Xavier whispered. "I need something separate. A front."
He looked at the USB drive. He needed a legal adult who wouldn't ask questions. Aris' mother was an option, but she does not trust her. He needed someone else.
He logged out, pulled the drive, and walked out into the dusty street. He had three months until the steel market began its final, dizzying climb before the crash. He needed every cent he could get to be ready for the "Short."
---------------
The Guan-Tech factory was humming with a new kind of energy when he returned.
In the office, Arthur was hunched over a large blueprint of the factory floor, but it wasn't a machinery layout. It was a security map.
"Bert, I want cameras here, here, and over the loading dock," Arthur was saying, his voice sharp with a new-found paranoia.
"The bolt on Line B... I still don't like it. If someone is sabotaging us, I want to see their face"
Bert nodded, scratching his head. "Boss, the DVR systems are expensive. We're talking eighty thousand pesos for a basic four-camera setup with a 250GB hard drive."
"Pay it," Arthur said, not looking up. "I'd rather pay eighty thousand for cameras than eighty million in damages."
Xavier stepped into the office, his school bag heavy on his shoulder. "Are we getting robots, Pa?"
Arthur looked up and smiled, the tension in his face easing slightly. "No, Xavi. Just eyes. Digital eyes so no more screaming cats get into the machines."
Xavier walked over to the desk and looked at the map. He saw the placements Arthur had marked. They were standard, covering the main entrances and the financial safe. But they left the mezzanine and the rear storage area completely blind.
"Pa" Xavier said, pointing to a corner near the steel coil racks. "If I were a ghost, I would hide there. It's dark."
Arthur laughed, ruffling Xavier's hair. "A ghost? You've been watching too many cartoons."
"But if you put a camera there" Xavier continued, his finger tracing a line that would give the lens a perfect view of the entire production floor and the mezzanine where he and Aris met
"You could see the whole factory like a movie. Like the one in the mall."
Arthur looked at the point Xavier was indicating. He tilted his head, his mind calculating the field of view.
"Actually... he's right, Bert," Arthur said, his tone shifting. "If we mount a wide-angle lens on that pillar, we cover the back exit and the racks in one shot. Why didn't we think of that?"
"Kids see things we don't, Boss," Bert chuckled.
Xavier smiled, his heart steady. He had just ensured that he would have a high-resolution, digital record of everything that happened in the factory, and he knew exactly how to "borrow" the DVR's feed once the system was live.
---------------
Dinner that evening was different.
Clara was quiet, her eyes lingering on Xavier as he meticulously helped in serving the dinner. He didn't ask for a second helping of dessert. He didn't ask to watch the cartoons.
"Xavi," Clara said, her voice soft but laden with a mother's intuition. "Do you want to go to the park this weekend? We can get some dirty ice cream and fly your kite"
Xavier paused, his fork about to pierce a piece of meat. He looked at her, the mother who, in his past life, had worked herself to exhaustion to keep him in a university.
"I have a lot of homework, Ma" Xavier said. "And Aris is coming over. I'm helping him with his math."
"Your new friend? Isn't he in grade 4" Clara said, her brow furrowing. "You're in Grade 2. How can you help him with math?"
"He says I ask great questions" Xavier lied smoothly. "He teaches me too"
Clara exchanged a look with Arthur. "He's so serious lately, Arthur. He doesn't play anymore. He just acts like you and talks about the factory"
Arthur shrugged, a proud smile on his face. "He's a Guan, Clara. He's got the gears in his head. Let him be. He's the one who found the Line B fault, remember?"
Clara didn't look convinced. She reached out and touched Xavier's hand, her skin warm and soft. "Don't grow up too fast, A-Ba. You only get to be a child once."
Xavier looked at her, and for a fleeting second, he wavered. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her that he was doing this so she would never have to cry in a cramped rental apartment. He wanted to tell her that he was already thirty-one and that he had wasted his youth being a child while the world burned around them.
"I'm just learning, Ma" he said, squeezing her hand with his small fingers. "I want to be able to help Pa"
She smiled, but the worry didn't leave her eyes.
---------------
Later that night, Xavier sat at his Pentium 4.
He wasn't typing articles tonight. He was training Aris.
The older boy was sitting on the edge of the bed, a notebook in his lap. On it, Xavier wrote a series of Math Shortcuts.
"Repeat it, Aris" Xavier commanded, his voice low. "If the last digit is five, what's the square?"
"Multiply the first digit by the next number, then add twenty-five at the end," Aris recited, his voice gaining a confidence Xavier had never seen before.
Aris then said "Xavi, my Stepfather doesn't go in my room anymore. Marco told him... he told him that if he touches me, he will have no work"
Xavier nodded. His plan was worked. By providing Marco with small luxuries, he had effectively purchased a bodyguard for his first asset.
"Great" Xavi said.
Aris looked at the seven-year-old boy in the swivel chair. To Aris, Xavier wasn't a younger child. He was like an elder brother.
As Aris left through the back door, Xavier turned back to the Abyss.
"NOTIFICATION: ODESK PAYMENT PROCESSED. TOTAL FUNDS IN ESCROW: $780.00"
Seven hundred and eighty dollars. Thirty-six thousand pesos.
Xavier looked at his small. They ached from the hours of typing. But the capital was building. This time, he is still working hard but he is spending more time resting.
He sighed. It is hard to change his nature.
"Let's move faster, Abyss," he whispered.
"I want to hit a thousand by the end of the month"
"COMMAND ACCEPTED. GENERATING HIGH-VALUE ARTICLE OUTLINES..."
The clacking of the keyboard began again, a rhythmic sound echoed. One press at a time.