Chapter 6: New Game

A week had passed since the founding of my enterprise and the release of my books. During this time, I continued to improve both physically and mentally. The staff had been recruited, and work was ready to begin. First, I'd like to brag about something: a week after the release of the books, the 35% share owed to me was credited to my account.

In the contract, I had stipulated that I should be paid a percentage of the total sales every week. When I saw the amount, my eyes nearly popped out of my head: $11,135,012.

A little over 11 million dollars! And that's after taxes! Each book sold for $15. I calculated that about 8 million copies of all four books had been sold in the first week, with approximately 2 million copies per book. I had underestimated this world... Well, now I'm a legitimate millionaire! Also, when I received that amount in my account, I got a message from Bruce: he had kept 1 million for himself. From that moment, I considered my debt paid.

[A/N: The 12 million is not the total amount but a part of it.]

That meant I had earned more than 12 million in just the first week. Now the publisher would surely increase the number of copies for the second printing. I decided to go online and read some of the reviews for my books.

{Nam Hov: I read The Lord of the Rings. It's a masterpiece! Can't wait for the sequel!}

{Pav good: I used to never understand how deduction could help in an investigation. But after reading Sherlock Holmes, I suddenly wanted to become a detective myself. Unfortunately, I'm not as smart as the hero of the book.}

{OLD boi: I racked my brain trying to figure out who the killer was in Ten Little Indians. It's the best book I've ever read! I've already memorized the poem!}

Most of the comments were positive. The bad ones seemed completely out of place. Every time a negative comment appeared, it was immediately overshadowed by a flood of positive ones. The reviews from critics were also quite high.

The newspapers had already started publishing about the four new books, which had sold over 8 million copies in the first week. They were full of praise and recommended reading. People weren't just talking about the books—they were talking about their author. After all, all these works had been written by the same person. The name "Alex Reath" was now on everyone's lips.

They were calling me an icon of the literary renaissance. They wanted to know where I came from. Well, I didn't mind. I liked the feeling of fame. Heh, it was nice to feel famous. But as great as money and fame were, it was time to get back to business.

Today, I announced to my employees what kind of game we would create. I had thought about it for a long time and decided to bring the famous mobile game Subway Surfers to this world. Subway Surfers can be considered a legendary game, as it was the first truly refined runner—a game where you constantly run.

"We will play as a boy aged 10 to 13, who is being chased by an evil guard. Trains will be moving towards him, and along the way, there will be all sorts of obstacles. The character will need to jump over some, bend under others, and throughout the game, he must collect coins that are floating in the air," I explained the general concept of the game. It may seem like a simple concept, but when it comes to popular games, Subway Surfers is absolutely essential.

The truth is, this game literally introduced a whole new genre to the world that shook up the gaming industry. Other creators later tried their hands at the runner style, but Subway Surfers will always be the first of its kind. And now, I will introduce this gem to the world.

My colleagues were quite surprised. They had never heard of such a game before. They wondered whether it would gain popularity, but by this point, they were fully on board with my idea.

Over the next two weeks, we worked diligently on the development of the new project. The game production process was advancing rapidly. Despite my busy schedule, I still found time for both training and further education. It's worth mentioning that I almost finished reading all the books in my collection.

My mind was in a whirl. I decided to focus on work to clear my thoughts. On the physical front, my attributes had finally surpassed 20. For an average person, 10 is the baseline, but 20 belongs to those with talent. My body was now in the proportions I had been aiming for.

The muscles were visibly defined, and in general, I had achieved the results I wanted. For this milestone, the system rewarded me with 3 points in charisma. Yes, I'm becoming more attractive! In other news…

In the past two weeks, my account was credited with $16,231,201 and $26,418,367, respectively. In total, I earned more than $50 million during this period. My books had already been translated into 26 languages, and they would soon be available in bookstores worldwide.

For me, this meant even more profit, and I couldn't be more pleased! My name was appearing on television and the internet. Many people were curious about who I was and what I did. However, the most frequent question was when the sequels to my bestsellers would be released.

Recently, the editorial team of the Gotham Gazette contacted me for an interview. At first, I considered turning it down because I was so busy, but when I learned that the reporter would be Vicki Vale, I immediately agreed.

So today, I waited in my office for reporter Vicki Vale to arrive. Yes, that famous journalist. In the comics, she was closely associated with Batman. Victoria Elizabeth Vale is a renowned reporter, photographer, journalist, and chief correspondent for Gotham's hot news and other media sections. She's an influential figure, but for me, she was, first and foremost, an attractive woman.

.

.

.

.

.

How could I refuse to meet her? Exactly at one o'clock in the afternoon, an elegant woman with bright red hair and a seductive figure walked into my office. She looked about 25, her face adorned with a dazzling smile. I stood from my desk to greet her.

"Hello, Ms. Vale," I said, casually taking her hand and brushing my lips against her palm. She seemed slightly flustered.

"Hello, Mr. Reath. I'm very glad to meet such an outstanding person as you."

"You flatter me. Please, have a seat," I said, moving a chair for her. "Would you like tea or coffee?"

"Tea, if you don't mind," she replied with a smile, clearly appreciating my politeness. I made the tea, and Miss Vale began her interview.

"Mr. Reath, many people admire you, myself included. Please tell me, how did you manage to write four incredible masterpieces? These books, without exaggeration, are capable of changing the way we view the world. We've long been convinced that it's impossible to come up with such an interesting story, and yet you've dealt a powerful blow to our skepticism."

"I'm not quite sure how to answer that," I said with a small smile. "I'm just happy that I could contribute something meaningful. You could say the plots of these books simply came to me, and I just transferred them from my mind to paper."

"Mr. Reath…"

"Miss Vale," I interrupted gently, "perhaps we should stop being so formal? Let's just call me 'Alex,' if that's alright with you."

"Of course, whatever you prefer. So, Alex, everyone wants to know who you are, and who you were before you gifted the world these literary masterpieces?"

"I don't see any reason to hide anything. I guess, until recently, I was homeless." Her response was immediate surprise—clearly, she hadn't expected that. "A couple of months ago, I met Bruce Wayne. He must have seen something in me and gave me a chance to change my life by lending me money. With that, I was able to open my own small company. In my free time, I wrote my books."

"Bruce Wayne is a very good man, and apparently, very far-sighted," Victoria said, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips. It seemed genuine, a bit of warmth and sincerity showing through. "I'm glad to hear that you were able to turn things around. You've definitely caught my interest. So, what are you doing now, Alex?"

"At the moment, my company is developing a mobile game."

"So you're working on a new game? How confident are you in your new project?" she asked, leaning in slightly.

"I have quite a bit of confidence in it. If the mobile game succeeds as we hope, we plan to develop a full-scale computer game," I answered softly, but my tone carried confidence.

"Your company will be focused solely on games then? I hope you're not abandoning literature entirely. Will there be more books in the future?"

.

.

.

"You don't have to worry about that. I plan to write sequels in the next six months or a little longer. But my fans need not grieve, because I plan to write several new books in the near future. I think they'll be able to calm the avid readers a bit."

"We're all looking forward to the new books."

"As for the other question... In fact, my company won't just focus on games in the future. We're also interested in the entertainment industry. We'll be following that path, bringing a touch of creativity to every corner of it."

My listener seemed genuinely amazed by my words. After all, someone as talented as I must realize that the path I'm choosing is risky, even though my vision was clear.

"Can I quote this?" Vicky asked.

"Of course," I replied. "I was planning to announce this to the world anyway. If it happens so soon, it's like free advertising."

Vicky asked a few more routine questions. Although we were communicating in the typical journalist-writer fashion, there was an unusual ease to our conversation. When she's being sincere, talking with her becomes an enjoyable experience. As the interview came to an end, the beautiful reporter thanked me and began to leave.

"Victoria, it was very nice talking to you. How do you feel about continuing the conversation in a more relaxed setting? Perhaps over dinner?"

"Are you asking me out on a date? Just like that?" She threw her handbag over her shoulder with a playful smirk.

"I'm a straightforward person, and if the situation allows, I usually speak directly."

"Hm, over dinner, you say?" She looked me in the eyes, smiling meaningfully. "Alright, here are my contact details." She handed me her business card. The one she gave me earlier was clearly for business purposes, but this one was personal. I walked her to her car, a red Mazda 3, and soon she disappeared from view.

Perhaps I should buy a car, too. Besides, I still live in a rented apartment. I should start thinking about moving. Returning to my office, I dived back into my work. Not long after, Darn, one of my employees—a 28-year-old man—came in.

"Sir, can I come in?"

"Yes, of course, come in," I said, moving away from the computer. "Did something happen?"

"We're getting an error in the 19CD code. But I think we can fix it soon. We just wanted to clarify when we'll begin the preliminary check." Our mobile game was almost ready. Well, "almost" is relative. The core of the code had been built, and now it was just a matter of merging it all together and attempting to launch the game. But, as anyone who's worked in programming knows, that's never as easy as it sounds.

"We also don't have the musical accompaniment ready yet. I believe that shouldn't be overlooked," Darn pointed out. He was right—good music really does set the tone for a game. I was confident I could come up with something fitting.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it. As for launching the game... Let's put that aside for now. I'll check the system, and after that, I'll handle the launch later. Start working on the additional program I mentioned," I instructed, returning my attention to the monitor.

"I understand," Darn replied, heading for the exit.

.

.

.

.

Please vote with power stones and write a review if possible.