The intelligence department immediately got to work. They soon came up with a plan to return Vladimir to his country with a story that would make his disappearance understandable, while still allowing him to return to his position without any suspicion.
As for Aron, he had already logged out and went to meet his family and friends. After all, he had spent more than 210 days in that hellish training compound without any access to the outside world.
After spending a week with his family and friends, he finally returned to work and had his first meeting with his CEOs and friends, Felix and Sarah, who seemed to have an idea of what the meeting might be about.
"Long time no see," Aron joked, as they had met last week during his pseudovacation, though he had spent most of it being grilled about his absence by his family. "How've you been?"
"I've been good. We didn't have much work to do, thanks to you," Felix answered.
"It seems like you already have an idea of what the meeting's about, so I won't beat around the bush," Aron said, then received a side eye from Felix. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Are you spying on us with those glasses?" Sarah asked, jokingly covering herself as if she was naked.
"No. Your body language just gave me that impression." Aron understood how they had come to that conclusion, though it was difficult to make them believe he wasn't spying on them now that his intuition was as monstrous as the rest of him after the training he had received.
"Now you can read body language? What exactly happened while you were away?" Felix asked, completely believing his friend's statement.
"I was undergoing a universal training program that was specially made for me, but you can also take it if you want. I actually recommend you do." Aron hoped his friends would undergo the same training he had, as he knew it would be helpful to them both physically and mentally.
"We'd like to try it, but only after we have some free time. It looks like you're about to bring us a heavy workload," Sarah said, hinting for Aron to return back to the main topic and not continue rambling.
"Okay. Soon, Alexander is going to announce the discovery of oil in several of Eden's exclusive economic zones. He'll be opening bids for a company to participate in extracting it for the nation. As you know, the process will take about two months to determine a winner... which will be us, because we'll know the bids beforehand. Also, we have connections with the government, and we're the ones that discovered it in the first place. So I want you to start preparing for it from tomorrow onward." Aron sent Felix a file with a step-by-step plan.
He turned to Sarah and asked, "How many users of GAIA OS are there?"
"Nearly three billion," she answered without needing to think.
"That should be enough to release a social media app with a substantial userbase." Aron had decided that it was about time he started actively farming SP, as he had been quite passive in his use of the system up to this point. But now, he could benefit from its new feature and buy certain knowledges piecemeal. His plan was to gain enough SP, not to buy one full knowledge category, but to buy small pieces of different knowledges and send them to the universal simulation for the scientists to work on. At the very least, they could look for other applications for the information.
"You want a social media app to sell ads? Or to harvest data?" she asked.
"Though I have a few more reasons for releasing it, I don't plan on immediately monetizing it. Instead, I want to use it to control public opinion more efficiently, since controlling it using other social media sites isn't as efficient or effective." Aron gave her one of the reasons for developing their own social media app.
"What features do you want it to have?" she asked.
"I'm still thinking, but the coding will be done the moment I have a solid idea. At the moment, Nova is doing research on what features people use the most and will come up with an app when she's done," Aron answered. "But a few of the features are already known, so you can start the promotion as it should be ready for release by the end of the month." He sent Sarah a document that had all the needed information so that she could use it in her promotional plan.
Following that, they continued talking about different things before Aron bade them farewell and left the office. The meeting had been face to face, despite VR being more convenient, as he liked the feeling of being with his friends in reality more.
.....
A convoy of three cars were heading in the direction of the presidential palace.n0velUSB.c0m
The cars, though they looked different, resembled the vehicles used by the president of Eden. Thus, they had also attracted some attention. People wondered if they had the same features as the presidential motorcade, or if it was just a good custom paint job. Though the cars were similar, they carried a dignity that was subtle, yet still noticeable to those with keen eyes.
The cars were traveling without stopping. Coincidentally, traffic lights were lining up to ensure that the convoy would only get green lights at every intersection. And when they reached the presidential palace, they weren't even stopped at the security checkpoint at the entrance; the gate was already opened for them, allowing them to pass through it without any problem.
...
"Welcome." Alexander gave Aron a respectful smile as he greeted the incoming businessman at the entrance to the building, similar to how he would receive a foreign dignitary.
"Thanks. How've you been doing?" Aron greeted, giving Alexander a friendly smile in trade for his respectful one.
"Let's get inside and continue our talk there." Alexander pointed in the direction of the building.
...
"Is it about time to announce the oil discovery?" Alexander asked after they had taken a seat.
"Yes. You should announce it a few days after you announce the upcoming presidential election. If you announce it before you announce the election, it'd waste the political potential of working out a deal for the country's benefit," Aron said. The announcement would give the incumbent 'temporary' president a leg up in the upcoming election.
