From Idler to Tech Tycoon: Earth

Chapter 77: Future Alliances
Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Future AlliancesA sharp knock broke the low hum of air-conditioning.

”Sir Ernesto,” Mira called, cracking the door open just enough to peek in. Her clipboard was already up. ”Apologies for the interruption. An update: Mr. Arthur Vance, CEO of Rockstar North, and his board will be arriving in approximately three hours.”

Ernesto didn’t look up immediately. He was mid-paragraph in a printed report, pen paused mid-air. When he did glance over the rim of his glasses, it was with the calm of a man used to earthquakes.

”Thank you, Mira,” he said simply, nodding once. ”Inform the security to be prepared. Treat it like a soft lockdown.”

He looked sideways, toward the man leaning against the window frame.

”Richard.”

Richard straightened up from his slouched lean, already half-scrolling on his tablet.

”Everything’s on schedule.”

”Remind Jack to prepare,” Ernesto added, not looking at him.

Richard smirked. ”That... may already be a lost cause.”

Ernesto finally set the pen down. ”Then make sure he at least doesn’t humiliate himself in front of Rockstar.”

Richard pushed off the wall. ”Understood.”

He was already out the door before Mira could sidestep.

Richard adjusted the knot of his tie in front of the mirror. The man staring back at him wore a sharp charcoal suit and an expression that didn’t quite fit.

”You look like someone who owns stock in a bank,” Jack said from the bed, still in a hoodie and pajama shorts.

”And you look like someone who just woke up in one.”

”Funny.” Jack threw a shirt at him.

Three hours later, the ByteBull compound gates buzzed open. Three matte-black SUVs rolled in without hesitation.

A security team in matching tactical jackets moved in formation, eyes scanning, posture stiff but smooth.

One of Rockstar’s board members glanced around, eyebrows raised. ”Quite the welcome committee. Their security is... very extensive.”

Arthur Vance stepped out of the first SUV, sunglasses off, suit crisp.

”Indeed,” he said, voice even. ”It seems their reputation for technological paranoia isn’t exaggerated.”

”Paranoia or preparedness?” another muttered.

Vance just smiled. ”Maybe it’s the latter.”

The ByteBull boardroom looked nothing like Rockstar’s glossy LA floors. It was minimalist, modern. No giant screens screaming tech. Just clean angles, warm lighting, and one subtle centerpiece: a brushed metal ByteBull logo mounted behind Ernesto’s chair—Jack’s original design.

Introductions were quick, formal. Jack stayed quiet, seated just left of Richard. Ernesto opened, as expected, welcoming them with the same tone he used whether announcing quarterly losses or international deals.

Vance was smoother than expected. He opened with polite flattery.

”Gentlemen, Rockstar is deeply impressed with Phoenix AI’s successful demo with Vector Core’s state of the art technology. It’s frankly revolutionary. The dynamic NPC behavior alone... If even half of it is scalable, we believe it could redefine immersion.”

Richard didn’t smile. He leaned forward slightly.

”Mr. Vance, we appreciate the praise. Phoenix AI was built with a long-term architecture in mind. It doesn’t just plug into engines. Our vision is to integrate intelligence into every aspect of our lives.”

Vance nodded. ”Of course. That brings us to our proposal. We’d like to commission ByteBull to integrate Phoenix directly into our RAGE engine—via backend API.”

A pause.

Richard blinked once. Jack cracked a knuckle.

”API, huh,” Richard said. ”Let me be blunt, Mr. Vance. Phoenix AI isn’t a module. It’s deeply embedded into Vector Core’s neural framework. RAGE doesn’t support the runtime adaptation Phoenix requires. It wouldn’t just be inefficient. It would be... broken. Though our engineers are working hard to develop Phoenix AI to easily integrate into existing programs without messing up with the source code.”

Vance looked amused. ”A fair point. I knew it was impossible but, I had to try, wouldn’t you agree?”

Ernesto leaned back, observing.

”Then allow me to give an offer,” Vance continued. ”Rockstar is prepared to offer an advanced payment. Ten-year licensing deal with Vector Core access and full rights to implement it in-house across titles.”

Jack coughed.

Richard didn’t blink. ”That’s generous. And we’ll consider it. But Vector Core is still under internal evaluation. We project a June release window. It has to meet our standards first for the commercial release.”

Vance’s smile didn’t falter.

”Understandable. We’ll eagerly await.”

A Rockstar board member, older and quieter till now, spoke up.

”What young Mr. Santamo and Mr. Purnas have built here is remarkable. Truly. Our industry hasn’t seen this kind of grassroots innovation in decades.”

Richard met his eyes, deadpan.

”We’re not trying to innovate the industry. We’re trying to revolutionize it.”

That line hung in the room longer than it should have.

Vance closed his folder. ”Then here’s to the new revolution of the gaming industry.”

Ernesto stood just as the boardroom doors reopened.

”Gentlemen,” he said with quiet confidence, ”why don’t I show you a little more of what ByteBull is capable of? It’s one thing to talk. It’s another to see it for yourself.”

Arthur Vance gave a courteous nod, already intrigued. ”Lead the way.”

The hallway was wide and bright, lined with glass panels that revealed smaller departments buzzing with activity. They passed groups of developers locked into their screens, product managers in hushed debate, and the occasional intern speed-walking like their life depended on it.

”This wing,” Ernesto began, gesturing casually as they walked, ”houses our engineering and infrastructure teams. Most of the foundational work for our platforms gets done right here.”

They stopped in front of a pair of thick, reinforced doors. Security badges flashed. A beep. The doors unlocked.

”This,” Ernesto said as they stepped inside, ”is where we keep the muscle.”

Rows of server racks stretched ahead, humming with subdued power. Cables were color-coded, perfectly managed, and overhead lights cast a clean white glow.

”This first bank of servers powers our upcoming multiplayer update for ’World War 2 Frontlines.’” Ernesto’s voice was even, but pride slipped through. ”The adjacent room houses dedicated processing for Phoenix AI. Completely partitioned systems. We ensure maximum learning bandwidth without choking real-time operations.”

One of the Rockstar board members leaned in. ”Isolating AI processing? That’s expensive.”

”Only if you measure value in cost,” Ernesto replied, moving on.

Inside the next section, network engineers adjusted dashboards filled with diagnostics and security layers.

”Every machine you see here—configured, tuned, and maintained by our in-house team. We built this from scratch. No outsourcing.”

Richard added, walking behind, ”We even coded our own cooling management firmware. Jack overclocked a node once and nearly set off the fire suppression system.”

Jack, walking at the rear, smirked. ”It was for science.”

As they passed into the east wing, the atmosphere shifted. Cubicles gave way to open layouts. Whiteboards cluttered with diagrams. Wall-mounted displays flickering with testing environments.

”Our development hub,” Ernesto said. ”This is where Vector Core lives.”

The room felt alive.

Developers were mid-task, some dragging nodes across visual scripting panels, others monitoring load balancing simulations. Several screens displayed early mockups of ByteBull’s next internal tools.

”We’ve rapidly expanded our team over the past few months,” Ernesto continued, letting his tone relax just a bit. ”Philippines has no shortage of talent. We tapped into it. Our core engineering hires were onboarded in seven days flat. It’s not just efficiency—it’s mission alignment.”

Jack stepped forward, his energy unmistakable.

”Alright, here we go,” he said, waving the group toward a large central monitor.

A developer nearby tapped a few keys, and the screen came alive with a workflow window.

”Vector Core isn’t just a game engine,” Jack explained. ”It’s a full ecosystem. Let me show you.”

First, the AI-assisted procedural generator. Jack dragged a single dropdown and typed in: ”WWII trench ruins.”

Within seconds, a complex, high-detail scene assembled in real time. Debris, wear, weathering, even placement logic—all generated.

Jack kept going. ”Now here’s our visual scripting interface.”

He switched screens.

”Everything’s node-based, with AI-supported corrections. Watch this.”

He misswired a condition intentionally.

The system flagged it instantly.

”Phoenix AI doesn’t just sit in-game. It helps build the game. From pathfinding to behavior trees.”

He brought up another window—real-time optimization tests. A chart showed framerate and resource distribution across four simulated devices: a low-end Android, mid-tier laptop, flagship phone, and a desktop gaming rig.

”This profile adjusts on the fly. Want to deploy to mobile? Vector Core rebuilds the lighting matrix, optimizes scripts, and drops redundant poly counts. No manual pass needed.”

Rockstar’s team was silent.

One leaned in. ”How long did this take to build?”

Jack didn’t look away from the screen. ”Four years. Give or take some mushroom-induced diversions.”

Laughter rippled. Even Ernesto cracked a smile.

Then Jack keyed up a final demo: Phoenix AI controlling an NPC.

The screen displayed a low-poly soldier cautiously navigating a bombed village. It paused at a sound. Crouched. Took cover. Looked back. Adjusted its route.

”That decision tree? Not scripted,” Jack said. ”Phoenix built that behavior on its own from battlefield context.”

Arthur Vance stepped forward.

”Gentlemen... this isn’t just impressive. This is truly revolutionary.”

He glanced at Ernesto.

”I see the reason for your extensive security. I too, would likely do the same in your shoes.”

Later in the meeting, discussions shifted toward future partnerships. Rockstar appeared largely satisfied, particularly with the assurance that their upcoming title: GTA V could be seamlessly imported into the Vector Core engine. Now, all that remained was preparing for the mass release—five months away.