[Bonus] The Short Lifespan of Hardware Supremacy

Hiro took back his phone and glanced at the text she typed.

[How did you know I was being followed?]

Hiro smiled and started typing, but he also kept the conversation going. "Great, there are so many questions I'm confused about, and I hope you'll help me clear my doubts…"

Hiro then returned his phone to her. "Please confirm if everything is alright with this address."

[I made an educated guess after learning about your recent activity pattern; it's like you're afraid of being alone in a secluded space for too long.]

Hiro also thought about how she assigned the task of her personal assistant to those gunning for the class president seat.

Is she using them as human shields? I guess I was rash with my judgment earlier… Hiro's eyes went out of focus for a little.

He decided to use his reward from the previous mission to unlock a new skill, and he quickly opened the system shop and identified the desired skill.

Using the skill voucher, he bought the {Espionage I} skill, which contained tracking, anti-tracking, and counter-surveillance skills.

Aiya noticed that Hiro was in a daze, so she didn't say anything else. A moment later, Hiro's eyes regained focus.

Then, he felt as though something tangible yet intangible pricked at his skin and the back of his neck. Subconsciously, he turned his head in that direction.

He noticed an old man on cleaning duty changing the garbage bin's bag, which seemed alright at first glance.

However, the garbage bag was barely half full, but the old man was already changing it.

That didn't make sense.

Hiro didn't look away from the old man, and less than 30 seconds later, the old man lifted his head and made brief eye contact with Hiro, but he quickly retracted his gaze and finished up switching the garbage bag.

Hiro also retracted his gaze and typed an additional sentence on his phone.

[The janitor is one of the pests keeping an eye on your movements; I suspect someone paid him off to do it. Anyway, just continue going about your life as usual, I'll do the investigation for you from the dark.]

Hiro didn't give her his phone this time. After giving her less than five seconds to read the message, he deleted the draft and stood up from his seat, greeting her politely before returning to class.

The bell had already sounded the start of the next period.

Teacher Aiya looked up at Hiro's back as he walked away, her tense shoulders finally relaxing.

God knows how tiring this week had been on her, and she didn't know who to ask for help because she was afraid they were also involved in this shady operation.

She hadn't expected to receive timely assistance from a scholarship student.

Sighing, she finished her meal and decided to return to the teacher's meeting room with one of her student assistants, which had become a habitual routine for her at this point.

No student here came from an easy background, and as long as she used them as her shields, no one would dare act rashly in the school.

She already endured for a while now, and she decided to trust that Hiro could help her if she endured a while more.

…

Hiro had nothing productive on his plate for the rest of the day. Other than visiting Rosaline in the student council's club room to ask her for information on the old janitor, he didn't do anything else.

Towards the end of the day, Hiro left the school grounds when he received a phone call from the Committee of Commerce's Handler.

Although surprised, Hiro still chose to answer the call, "Hello, how can I help you?"

"Mr. Sciatis," the man on the other end spoke in a polite tone.

"The sales of the VR hardware went better than expected, and the five companies had received a total of 800,000 preorders. According to the contract, they transferred the 33% sales shares to my business account, and after subtracting 6% for my commission, I transferred the money to your personal Nexus Bank and your company's account. The invoice will be in your inbox in a while now."

Hiro was a little surprised. "So quickly?"

The Handler responded, "It's only to be expected, Mr. Sciatis. However, hardware sales will slowly phase out since the technology is a short-term business. I recommend you not to squander your first pot of gold so quickly, and it's better to find some investments as soon as possible."

Hiro understood the logic behind the Handler's advice. It won't be too long before counterfeits arise in the market through reverse engineering.

Maintaining a lead through hardware was always a difficult challenge, as cyber security through ingenious software technology always had an edge in the market.

Why else would things such as monthly subscriptions, season passes, and digital content become so popular?

As long as it exists in the digital world, its future prospects will always exceed expectations.

As such, Hiro was also aware that once the hardware proliferated in the high-end market for a sufficient amount of time, the sales volumes would quickly drop after the technology was successfully reverse-engineered.

At this point, not even the patents would be enough to safeguard this goose that lays golden eggs.

The Handler continued, "I'm afraid that within two weeks at most, your profits will peak and start to decline. As for the other five hardware behemoths, they can still get high-value contracts to manufacture VR hardware, even if it doesn't belong to your company."

Hiro listened quietly. It had to be said that having a business consultant was a great deal.

Usually, such advice would cost a lot of money per session, but the Handler was providing the information for free.

Hiro appreciated this kindness.

After talking with the Handler for a little bit, he hung up the phone.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

His phone vibrated, indicating that he received text messages and an email.

The email was the aforementioned invoice, while the text messages were from the COC and the Nexus Bank.

Hiro's profits amounted to 1.7 billion nexus dollars.

The COC only deals with international credits and with an exchange ratio of 3:1 between nexus dollars and international credits.

According to the contract, only two-thirds of the total profits would be deposited into his company's account, amounting to 390 million international credits.

The remaining 195.4 million international credits would be deposited into his Nexus Bank account, and after the exchange of currency, he would have close to 580 million nexus dollars in liquid funds.

All of this was mentioned in the invoice in great detail, but Hiro rounded up the numbers in his mind.

His frozen assets in the company's account would require three business days to be unfrozen, but things weren't so troublesome with his Nexus Bank account.

Hiro opened his bank account on the phone and stared at the long string of numbers on his phone.

[Balance: 586,402,342.]

Hiro took in a deep breath, feeling as though he had already achieved financial freedom.

However, he quickly shook his head when he remembered that the masters on the PARA app requested payments in the millions on a daily basis—he was still a frog in a well compared to those tycoons.

The Handler was right about one thing—hardware supremacy had a short lifespan.

In less than two weeks, the five companies will approach him to terminate the contract and cut their losses short, phasing out the S-gear technology from their shelves.

The Handler was kind enough to attach a chart with the email, speculating the peak profit Hiro would receive from this deal.

He also advised him to hire a professional investment consultant to help circulate his assets, and not to leave them resting in the company's account.

After all, the COC earned their keep from the taxes and transaction fees—they wouldn't welcome a client with an inactive account without much traffic.

Hiro sorted out his thoughts and decided to deal with this matter when the five companies indicated their intention to terminate the contract.

After signing deeply, he left the school's campus on the hunt for an apartment.