The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) office in the provincial capital was a study in 2007 bureaucratic clutter. Stacks of paper, the low-frequency hum of window-mounted air conditioners, and the smell of coffee, ink, and new paper.
Arthur Guan sat in a plastic chair, his hands clasped tight in his lap. Beside him, Xavier sat with his feet dangling, looking as if he were more interested in the dusty patterns of sunlight on the floor than the fate of his family's factory.
In a room full of middle-aged men in barongs, a seven-year-old child was an anomaly.
"Contract 09-124: Northern Luzon Connector Bridge Phase 1,"
The bidding official announced, adjusting his glasses.
"Three bidders qualified. Aguila Construction, Metro-Steel Inc., and Guan-Tech Industrial."
Xavier didn't move, but his mind was alive.
The official opened the first envelope.
"Aguila Construction... forty-five point two million."
The man from Aguila, a portly fellow in a high-end watch—nodded confidently. He was the industry giant. He expected to win.
"Metro-Steel Inc... forty-three point eight million."
A ripple of low conversation. Metro-Steel had gone lower than usual. They were desperate.
Finally, the third envelope.
The official paused. He looked at the number, then at the name of the company, then at Arthur Guan—a relatively small player compared to the other competing companies.
"Guan-Tech Industrial... forty-one point five million."
The room went silent. The man from Aguila snapped his head toward Arthur, his expression was unadulterated shock. More than three million pesos difference on a this bid was a massive margin in the world of construction.
"Wait," the Metro-Steel representative stood up. "That can't be right. At forty-one million, their profit margin would be...Suicidal..."
Arthur felt a cold sweat prickle his neck. He looked down at Xavier. The boy was looking up at him with a small and calm smile.
*When you want to win a race, you don't have to be the fastest* Xavier's voice echoed in Arthur's head. *You just have to know how much the other people are willing to lose*
The official cleared his throat. "Pending final technical review, the lowest bid is Guan-Tech Industrial."
The man from Aguila let out a scoff, gathering his leather briefcase. "Enjoy your suicide contract, Guan. You'll be crying before the first pillar is poured."
Xavier watched them leave. They were the people who believed the past would always repeat itself. They were the ones who didn't know that the steel wave was about to crash.
"Pa" Xavier whispered, pulling on Arthur's sleeve. "We won."
Arthur let out a breath he seemed to have been holding for a lifetime. He stood up, his legs feeling like jelly, and pulled Xavier into a tight hug. "We won, Xavi. We actually won."
---------------
The celebration dinner that night was at one of the upscale Chinese-Filipino restaurants in Kawit. The air was filled with the clatter of porcelain and the joyous chatter of the extended Guan family. Arthur was the star of the show, recounting the bidding process to a group of uncles and cousins.
Xavier sat at the corner of the table; his plate piled with noodles he barely touched. His mind was elsewhere, on Terminal 14 and the growing digital fortune in his oDesk account.
"Xavi, why aren't you eating?" his cousin Leo asked, leaning in.
Leo was nineteen, a sophomore IT student at a local university. He was currently in his slacker phase. His hair too long and his eyes perpetually glazed from late-night gaming sessions. But in the old timeline, Leo had been the only one who stayed to help when the factory closed, working two jobs to help support the extended family until he eventually burnt out.
Xavier looked at Leo. The front he has been waiting for.
"Kuya Leo" Xavier said, his voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. "I need help with a computer thing. My Pa said you're the best."
Leo's eyes brightened. To a nineteen-year-old who was used to being the black sheep, the praise of a genius seven-year-old was like a drug. "Computer thing? You mean a game? I can show you how to download some for your GameBoy."
"Not a game" Xavier said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the Kingston USB drive. "I started a small business on the internet. Writing and making games. But I'm only seven, so I can't open a bank account."
Leo laughed, nearly choking on his soup. "A business? You? Kid, you're kidding, right?"
Xavier didn't laugh. He looked at Leo with an intensity that made the older boy's smile falter. "I have eight hundred dollars in my oDesk account. At forty-six pesos to the dollar, that's almost thirty-seven thousand pesos. If you help me withdraw it and manage the accounts, I'll give you a five-thousand-peso upfront. Once I earn more, you also get more"
Leo froze. Thirty-five thousand pesos is a large fortune for a seven-year-old. And five thousand for 'managing accounts'?
"Are you... are you serious?" Leo whispered.
"I have the proof on the drive" Xavier said. "And I have a plan for more. Web development. Flash games. I can do the design and some coding, but I need an adult to handle the adult stuff. I also plan to open stalls, Kuya. Food stalls. We will start with my current capital"
Leo looked at the small child sitting next to him. He looked at the USB drive. He didn't know if Xavier was a genius or a monster, but for the first time in his life, he felt a spark of something real.
"What do I have to do?"
"Open a bank account tomorrow" Xavier said. "And look for a place near the school where we can set up a food cart. I want to sell mango graham cake, and ice cream products. It shouldn't just be any cart with the 'Guan' standard. Clean, fast, and always open."
---------------
The next week was a blur of digital and physical expansion. With Leo as the front, Xavier withdrew his first $800. He used $350 to pay for Leo's first salary and the initial investment on the street food stall equipment. The remaining $450 was reinvested into a new laptop for Leo. A development machine that would actually serve as a secondary workstation for Abyss-generated code.
Xavier wasn't just writing SEO articles anymore. He had Abyss generating the source code for a series of high-quality Flash games. In 2007, platforms like Newgrounds and Armor Games were at their peak, paying thousands of dollars in sponsorships for addictive, well-made games.
[ABYSS: FLASH GAME "DUNGEON ARCHITECT" SOURCE CODE GENERATED. PROJECTED REVENUE FROM SPONSORSHIP: $1,200 - $1,500.]
Xavier spent his nights retyping the code into the laptop he had "lent" to Leo. He was a factory in himself, churning out digital products that would fund his physical empire.
On the physical front, the first Guan Desserts was launched outside Saint Augustine Academy. They were selling graham bars, mango float, and related desserts.
It was managed by Aris' older brother, a teenager who had dropped out of school to work. Xavier didn't just give him the job; he gave him a script. The stall was the cleanest in the town, the food was attractive to kids (Abyss had provided the chemical formulation for the "perfect" recipe), and no one was selling the same product as them.
But the stall wasn't just for profit.
"Aris" Xavier said during recess, sitting at their usual side table.
"How many kids bought today?"
Aris opened his notebook, his handwriting now neat and organized.
"Forty-two. Twelve were from the Grade 6 block. They were talking about the internet café near the church. They say the connection there is faster for Ragnarok."
Xavier nodded. Information. Every transaction at the stall was a data point. He was building a map of the town's pulse, its preferences, and its weaknesses.
---------------
By the end of the month, the Guan Prince was no longer just a wealthy child. He was the center of a growing, silent whirlwind.
Arthur Guan was busy with the bridge project, his factory running three shifts to meet the demands. He was riding the Steel Wave, but thanks to Xavier's constant childish observations about the science of rubber bands, he was also building a massive cash reserve. He was slowly selling off his high-cost inventory, liquidating it while the prices were still high. And they were running on previous steel stockpile.
His competitors, like Aguila Construction, were doing the opposite, hoarding steel. They were larger and price increase hurts them more.
Xavier sat in his room, the blue light of the laptop (which he had "borrowed" from Leo for the night) illuminating his face.
[TOTAL DIGITAL REVENUE: $2,100]
[STREET NETWORK REVENUE: PHP 8,400]
[GUAN-TECH CASH RESERVE: PHP 8.5M]
Xavier looked at the numbers. He was only seven years old, but his footprint was already reaching the millions. The 2008 crash was less than a year away.
"Faster, Abyss" he whispered.
"We need to be ready to buy the ocean."
[COMMAND ACCEPTED. COMMENCING DEVELOPMENT OF MOBILE FRONTIER PROTOTYPE...]
Xavier smiled. The iPhone. The device that would change the world, and the device he was already preparing to conquer before it even hit the shelves.
The future is not a threat. It is a playground.