The next few days passed smoothly, almost too smoothly for Ss''s liking but he couldn''tin. Due to the uing beta testing, Ss was nowing to the office daily as he has nothing else to do at home.


    After Marcus''s swift response, the other beta testers began trickling in, each epting the offer sent out by Luna. They arrived at the office one by one, faces a mixture of curiosity, excitement, and nervousness.


    Ss made it a point to meet each of them personally, delivering a prepared speech about the immersive experience they were about to embark on. The anticipation of the VR built with every handshake and every passing day. Soon, the first official beta test would begin—just a few days away now.


    In the quiet moments between meetings and preparations, Ss found his thoughts drifting back to Marcus. The message of gratitude he had received from him was as predictable as it was heartfelt. Marcus had promised to repay Ss for the generosity, swearing to do everything within his power to make it happen. Ss couldn''t help but smile at the young man''s earnestness.


    "Pay me back?" Ss murmured to himself as he sat in his office, his fingers tapping idly on the armrest of his chair. "That''s impossible."


    No matter how he looked at it, there was no conceivable way Marcus could ever repay him. Not in financial terms, not even in kind. The scale of the favor was too vast. But Ss understood. It wasn''t about the money. It was about pride, about Marcus''s own moral code.


    The determination in Marcus''s eyes when he made that promise had struck something in Ss—a reminder of his previous self before the system.


    Marcus didn''t like owing people anything, especially favors. And that was a quality Ss respected deeply. It was rare to find someone who carried such principles, especially in a world where everyone was more concerned with what they could take rather than what they could give.


    And that''s why, in that moment, Ss made a decision.


    Marcus would be more than a beta tester. He would be an asset. Ss would recruit him, bring him into the fold of Kurt Technologies or maybe even the organisation he ns to create. The young man had potential—untapped and raw, but potential nheless.


    More than that, Marcus''s determination, his willingness to fight against the odds for his sister, mirrored a struggle Ss himself had once faced. And for that alone, Marcus had earned Ss''s attention.


    The rest of the week was uneventful, though Ss knew that calm wouldn''tst. The corporate world was never still for long. True to form, word had spread quickly about Kurt Technologies'' uing VR game and its unprecedented potential. The council of old men—executives from thergest, most powerful corporations—had wasted no time in sending representatives to Ss''s office.


    They weren''t subtle in their intentions. They wanted shares in hispany, desperately.


    Their representatives arrived, smooth-talking businessmen in suits worth more than some people''s houses, offering astronomical sums to buy a stake in Kurt Technologies. At first, their offers were polite, their smiles forced but present. But when Ss refused—declining every offer, no matter howrge—those smiles quickly vanished. Their desperation became more apparent, their offers more audacious.


    They even went as far as saying they would pay any price—whatever figure Ss named.


    And yet, Ss remained resolute. He had no intention of letting anyone benefit off him, especially not those bloated, power-hungry men whose time was already running out.


    *Why would I sell to vultures who are one foot in the grave?* Ss thought to himself with a smirk. The idea of giving them even a sliver of control over his vision wasughable.


    If he were going to give out shares—if—he would rather hand them to those who needed it, those who couldn''t afford it. He would give them away for free before he let greedy, self-serving corporate titans buy their way in. It wasn''t about the money for him. It was about control, about shaping the future on his own terms. No amount of currency would tempt him into ceding that.


    As the world''s first VR game and Pod nearedunch, the atmosphere outside the walls of Kurt Technologies became electric. The public was buzzing with anticipation, the media endlessly specting about what this new technology would bring.


    News outlets around the globe started flying into the country to cover the uing beta test with headlines ranging from cautious optimism to wild, futuristic fantasies about the death of traditional gaming. Everyone wanted a piece of what Ss was about to unveil, and spection ran rampant about just how advanced the Pod would be.


    Some imed it would revolutionize the entire entertainment industry; others wondered if it would blur the lines between reality and virtual worlds.


    Ss was calm through it all. He knew the truth—this wasn''t just about gaming. The VR Pod was merely the gateway, the first step in something muchrger. The world was on the cusp of a new era, and Kurt Technologies was at the center of it.


    The first beta testing in a few days would send shockwaves across industries, and once people experienced the immersive world he had created, they would understand. There would be no going back.


    The world of course didn''t know the full capacity of the VR Pod but they would soone to understand in a few days.


    It was just anticipation that was in the air, Ss could feel it—an unspoken shift in the air. As he sat in his office, reviewing the final preparations for the beta test, a sense of unease crept over him. He wasn''t sure why, but he knew something wasing.


    He had made waves—big ones—and waves always brought ripples in their wake. The only question was, who woulde knocking next? And were they friend or foe?


    A slow, knowing smile spread across his face as he leaned back in his chair, fingersced behind his head.


    ''Let theme,'' he thought. ''I''m ready.'' mp-y,r.