6 Chapter #5
{Flashback}
[Merritt's POV]
It had been a week since my dickhead of a brother, Chasey, ran away with all my money, and here I was, eating a vanilla-flavored ice cream cone that I bought with my last 4 bucks. Suddenly, I noticed a boy, around 13 years old, looking at me strangely.
"What do you want, kid? If you want an ice cream, ask your dad for one," I said, covering my ice cream protectively.
'Kids can be unpredictable these days. Next thing you know, they'd be punching you dick for no reason at all,' I thought, amazed at my own wisdom.
"You're the mentalist guy, right?" the kid, who I don't know the name of asked.
"Uhh, yeah~. You know about me, kid? Are you a fan?" I asked, feeling smug and proud of my fame.
"I guess I am?" the kid replied, looking confused and uncertain.
"Look, kid, I'm sorry. I can't give you an autograph right now. Go back to your parents," I said, continuing to eat my ice cream.
"Teach me your mentalism," the kid said, making me laugh.
"Pfft, look, kid, I'm sorry, but I don't take disciples."
"I'll pay you," the kid said, making me laugh even harder as I looked at him again.
'No signs of lying in his facial movements, his eyes tell the truth, and his voice didn't quiver when he mentioned payment. Moreover, his clothes give off a rich but low-profile vibe. Hmm, either I'm tripping or this kid's a good liar... or he's really willing to pay me,' I thought, wondering, as I continued to observe the kid.
"How much?" I asked, double-checking if he was telling the truth.
"$50K a month, and if you become my friend, I'll give you $50K right now," he said with a smile, causing my heart to skip a beat.
'This kid... he's serious. Jackpot!' I thought in excitement as I exclaimed, "You son of a bitch, I'm in!"
{Flashback End}
It had been 2 years since that happened, and I could confidently say that my skills in mentalism were now on par with or even surpassing Merritt's.
After that, I managed to hire Jack Wilder to teach me his sleight-of-hand tricks, and we became friends. His life was now much better compared to his movie counterpart, and he had become a famous magician, much like J. Atlas.
I invested in his shows discreetly, off the books, as I didn't want 'The Eye' to know about my connections with their future members yet. Not even my parents knew that I had learned magic tricks.
The money I paid them came from some of the things I brought from my past life that didn't exist in this world. I recreated the Rubik's Cube, an advanced lightsaber toy, D*scord, R*ddit, and an algorithm for precise mapping software. These inventions made me the youngest multimillionaire based on my inventions alone by securing licensing agreements with promising companies, further expanding my finance.
Around 30-40% of the sales revenue from my products automatically went into my bank account. I also acquired shares from certain companies, earning me additional dividends. This allowed me to earn millions of dollars as my monthly income.
But the most significant thing I created was a limited game event using the app Element Crush.
Element Crush was similar to the game Candy Crush from my previous life, but instead of candy, it was themed around the Periodic Table of Elements. Players needed to match elements to create new bonded elements, which, when matched, would crush and shift the elements above them, allowing players to achieve various goals. Matching more than three elements would result in different bonds and combos. However, there was a twist.
After three years, the user with the highest level would win $10K, and instead of gold, users could buy power-ups using the cryptocurrency called Bitcoin within those three years. Bitcoin had been recently developed by someone named Nakamoto, who turned out to be a pseudonym. I had managed to discover Nakamoto's real identity by searching for Hal Finney, an early Bitcoin contributor and someone who had transactions with Nakamoto.
When I proposed the event through a secured channel with Hal Finney's help, Nakamoto agreed. He believed that the event's popularity would help make Bitcoin more widely known. If the value of one Bitcoin reached over $1, the payment procedure would change, and users could use real money for in-game purchases through an online payment system. The game event was set to start in January 2009, next year.
......
As I followed Rajit to a corner where there were only a few people, I intentionally collided with him and started my magic. With an inaudible flick on his forehead, I whispered the following words.
"Look into my eyes as you saw my eyes, flick*, and let your eyes follow mine as we walk through the aisles, flick*, observing my movements, flick*, hearing my voices, flick*, as it guides you to act according to my commandments, flick*, recalling the moments and the contents of the voice that you followed to no ends, and... sleep!" I whispered to him, snapping my fingers at the precise moments. With my work finished, Rajit Ratha slumped onto my shoulder, ready to follow my orders.
...
A few minutes later, I saw Peter walking out of a room labeled "Biocable Development Unit."
"Hey, Pete! What were you doing in there?" I asked, fully aware of what he had been doing.
"Just... lost, I guess. I was trying to find the bathroom, but it seems to be on the floor below," Peter replied, attempting to make an excuse.
"Okay, if you're in a hurry, we can take the stairs," I said, but I was interrupted by Peter's sudden shriek of pain.
"Agh!" he winced, touching the back of his neck.
"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned.
"Nothing. I think something just pricked me," Peter said.
'And so it begins,' I thought with amusement visible in my eyes.
........
It had been a few days since Peter was bitten. He looked sick when we went home that day, causing MJ to worry about his health. Peter had decided to excuse himself from school for a few days due to his health.
Meanwhile, as I sat in class, listening to our chemistry professor, Prof. Cobbwell, my mind wandered to the orders I had given to Dr. Ratha.
{Flashback}
"You will save all the data about every project that 'Oscorp' holds, including the Oz serum, schematics for a bodysuit armor, genetically modified electric eels, and the Lizard serum once Dr. Connors successfully completes his experiments," I whispered into his ear as we made our way to an empty room. As we entered, I continued my instructions.
"You will give me the data once you've saved it on the hard drive I'm holding. You'll throw it into a yellow trash can on 2XXXX Avenue, near the construction building. After you've completed these tasks discreetly, you will continue with your life, forgetting everything you did and everything concerning me. Now, open your eyes and wake up!" With my final order, I flicked his forehead and
quietly left the room.
{Flashback end}
'The orders I gave him that day were a bit more complex than I thought, but hopefully, he will manage to finish them safely. Considering that the hard drive I gave him cannot be detected or cracked by normal means, I think he'll be fine,' I thought, resting my face on my palm, feeling bored as I heard Prof. Cobbwell make an announcement.
"Class, I would like you all to meet your new honorary student, who will also be joining the debate team this year," Prof. Cobbwell said, gesturing towards the door.
'Part of the debate team?' I thought with interest as the student in question entered the room.
Gwen Stacy, a petite and attractive blonde-haired woman, walked in, carrying her books. Standing at 5'7" tall, she wore a white and black t-shirt with a short skirt. She resembled a young Emma Stone but was even more beautiful. Her bright blue eyes briefly scanned the classroom before focusing on me.
We locked eyes for a few seconds, but for me, it felt like hours before she averted her gaze and composed herself with a cough.
"Ms. Stacy, please introduce yourself," Prof. Cobbwell requested.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Gwendolyne Maxine Stacy, but you can call me Gwen. Please take care of me, and let's do our best this school year," Gwen introduced herself with an optimistic smile, brightening the class's mood.
"HI GWEN!" the class greeted her in unison.
"Great! You can take the vacant seat in the front row, fourth row to the left, previously occupied by Mr. Lucas. Thank you," Prof. Cobbwell instructed Gwen, who made her way to the seat in front of me. As he continued, "Now, class, please take out your textbooks..."
//A/N: Be sure to leave a review and tell me what you think, please make it make sense so that I could develop my shitty skills as a writer. Also, I don't know if I'll make the Gwen here a Spider-Gwen or just a genius normal Gwen, what do y'all think? Anyways, as usual, be sure to leave a comment and stones if you like what you've read! Author out...//
