✨ Please take your time reading. ✨
I spent my first years of school like any other student: fasting, sleepless nights, studying, working, and very little social life.
We're young developers, after all; when we're not creating, we're studying code. My classmates and I could have continued like this for another three years, but everything changed at the end of the year.
In October, to be exact, two important things happened.
1. The price of Bitcoin skyrocketed to 250 K.
2. A pandemic hit, and all the schools had to close.
Like the genius I am, I only had to sell 10 Bitcoins, and I had the next five years of my life sorted, receiving 2.5 million in seconds.
The next thing I did was rent a luxury apartment. You know, one of those at the top of a skyscraper, the kind that costs 20 k a month but has a terrace, a pool, and a jacuzzi next to the balcony.
Paying one Bitcoin a year in rent, including the maintenance fee.
In these kinds of places, you absolutely have to pay maintenance fees, but your fee only includes parking and security.
Why do you have to pay for security if you live 100 meters up?
I have no idea, but you have to pay for other services like gas, water, and electricity yourself or talk to management and they'll take care of the details.
I knew this Bitcoin price wouldn't last forever, a week or two and then... Boom! Its price would plummet. That's why I had to take advantage of it as much as I could.
With this in mind, I put 1,000 Bitcoin up for sale, and when my bank account was filled with 250 million in a couple of hours, for the first time I breathed a lot easier,.
You know, like everything that happens in the world has nothing to do with me.
At this point, you might wonder why a thousand and not ten thousand or a hundred thousand. It's because I don't have an uncontrollable ambition for money.
For me, goals are better.
With them, you won't feel empty inside, or like everyone is chasing you to steal your money.
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[Ring-Ring.]
The sound of the phone woke Max before noon.
—"What's up.?"— Max asked as he picked up the receiver.
The girl on the other end of the line cleared her throat and said... —"Hello Mr. Maximus, I'm calling from the building's reception desk to let you know that your two cars and the motorcycle have been delivered and parked."—
This seemed a bit odd to me, so before answering, I checked the time on the table by the bed.
11:35 am
—"Oh, thank you. "— Max replied.
—"You're welcome, Mr. Warren. The car keys are at reception, and you can pick them up whenever you like."— The girl said. She continued. —" Ms. Rocio, the real estate agent, wants to speak with you."—
Max just racked his brain to recognize the name. —"Sure, give me 10 minutes, then you can ask her to come up."—
—"Of course, sir."— the girl replied, and then she hung up.
Max gets out of bed and heads to the closet a few feet away. He opens the door and finds six different types of robes, as well as casual clothes, sportswear, and extremely elegant suits.
—"Okay, let's use this one."— He says, grabbing a black silk robe with yellow trim.
Max leaves the master bedroom and goes to the living room. In the hallway, besides the master bedroom, there are four more bedrooms, each with its own full bathroom. Max goes downstairs to the first floor and arrives at the impressive living room.
On this first floor, directly behind him, is another hallway with three more bedrooms and a study. Across from the living room is a fully equipped kitchen with a breakfast bar and dining area.
Outside is the foyer with a small sitting area, a swimming pool, another full bathroom, a terrace, a barbecue area, and a balcony—the latter three with wood finishes.
Minutes later, a side door on the terrace opens, and two women come out. As one of them enters, she closes the door.
Both women take a moment to admire the terrace, sundeck, pool, and grill, sighing at the wonderful view.
Seconds later, both women finally react and head to the apartment entrance where Max is already waiting for them with a fruit juice in his hand. —"Hello Mrs. Rocio, Hello Mrs. Lucrecia"— With that, Max approaches and shakes their hands, completing their greeting.
—"Hello, Mr. Max."— Lucrecia said, shaking the young man's hand. She then stepped aside and made way for Mrs. Rocio. —"Hello, Mr. Warren."— She replied, shaking his hand as well and immediately pulling some documents from her bag. —"Here, they arrived this morning,"— She said with a smile.
Max frowned and asked, his voice laced with doubt. —"Are they...?"—
Now it was Rocio's turn to look distracted, her gaze darting around, avoiding the young man's eyes.
Lucrecia, noticing the real estate agent's awkwardness, cleared her throat. — "This place is beautiful,"— She said aloud, gesturing to the terrace and its spectacular view. This in turn, drew the young man's attention, while Lucrecia gave the distracted Rocio a light nudge. —"I can count on one hand the number of times I've been to this place,"— Concluded Lucrecia, the building manager.
—"You can come whenever you like, Mrs. Lucrecia."— The young man replied, gesturing to the terrace.
—"Really? I can.?" —The manager asked, even more excited, her eyes lighting up and her smile becoming much brighter. But then she added, —"Mr. Max, are you trying to make fun of me.?"— Pouting slightly.
—"Of course not, this place will always be open for you,"— He said with a genuine smile.
The woman stepped forward and took Max's hands. —"Really, Mr. Max.?"— Max nodded in response to her constant questions, and she added, —"I've been looking for the perfect spot for days, but I'm out of options.."— At that moment, Rocío's face looked sad like she'd lost the winning ticket.
—"Why don't you come in and tell me more.?"— With that, Max opened the door wider and gestured for the two women to enter, while the young man stepped back and added... —"I'm sorry for my lack of manners. I hardly ever interact with other women, besides my mother and sisters."—
A confession that sounds fake coming from the most attractive guy they've ever seen. At least, that's what Lucrecia and Rocio think.
One of them immediately asks. —"And school.? What happened at school.?"— Referring to meeting other women
Max shakes his head immediately. —"Nah, just guys sitting in front of computers for 12 to 14 hours a day. They even implemented a rule just for me in the dorms, classrooms, and common areas..."—
—"Wow! What rule.?"— The two women ask almost simultaneously, to which the guy immediately replies,. —"No girls when I'm around."—
The two women look at each other for a moment and then nod, while gesturing to one another. (Completely understandable.) The other woman also nods and gestures.
—"But instead of bothering me, that situation was perfect for wrapping up specialized courses and workshops. Oh, by the way, would you like something to drink.? Water, juice, wine, or something else.?"— The women seemed coordinated, nodding and speaking almost simultaneously. —"Water."— Said Rocio.
—"Juice."— Commented Lucrecia, as they looked for a comfortable place to sit. —"What were your courses about, Mr. Warren.?"— It was at that moment that Rocio pointed to several diplomas placed on a table in the living room just a few feet away. —"A simple hobby, nothing important." — Replied Max, not giving the matter much thought..
On the table were five awards, and on the wall a few feet higher hung several titles, ranging from best student to most outstanding person in the course..
Rocio took a screenshot before verifying their authenticity, and each of those documents was validated by the national sports system.
In short, if Maximus were to go out looking for work as a physiotherapist, sports clubs, private clubs, and spas would be fighting to hire him.
Upon returning from the kitchen, Max carries a glass of water and a fruit juice, handing the juice to Rocio and the water to Lucrecia.
To no one's surprise, neither woman complains or says anything about it; they both drink what they have, flashing their best smiles.
—"Now tell me mrs Lucrecia. Why are you looking for this kind of place.?"— Max asks as he sits down across from the two women.
—"My oldest daughter turns 22 this weekend, and we were planning to rent a place for a small celebration, but this morning I got a message saying the place was just shut down due to structural issues. And to top it all off, the guy who was going to lend me his Mustang was arrested and is being prosecuted for drugs."— Mrs Lucrecia's voice was on the verge of tears, and her nose was even slightly runny.
Max nodded and closed his eyes, asking again. —"This weekend, right.?"— Lucrecia nodded, and Rocio gave her a small, comforting hug.
—"Okay, I have no problem lending you this place for your party. And you can use it all weekend, you can also use the Lamborghini, no problem,"— The man confirmed.
Then Max thought of something and asked, "Do you already have a makeup artist.?"— Lucrecia thought for a moment and then shook her head. —"I have several candidates, but nothing confirmed..."—
Max nodded. —"Perfect, perfect."— The boy gets up and goes to get his smartphone.
Seconds later, the boy returns, still on a call. —"Hey, Auntie, how have you been.?"— On the other end of the line, there's a huge commotion, countless shouts from women coming and going.
—"Max.?"— After calling out the boy's name, the crowd falls silent.
—"Max, is that you.?"— The woman repeats, a hint of doubt in her voice. —"The same as always, how have you been, my favorite aunt.?"— The boy asks.
Just then, the modeling agency entrance is blocked by a group of animal rights protesters, and the agency has an event in a couple of hours.
Five minutes before the call, Olga was on the verge of one of the biggest outbursts of anger in her life, but the models around her were trying to restrain her, since a fight with these protesters, besides being bad publicity for the modeling agency, would give the protesters the media exposure they were looking for..
—"Max, you're calling me at a bad time."— Olga said, straining her voice to sound annoyed, but a smile spread across her face.
A smile that was noticed by most of the girls around her. Olga tried to hide it, but her wide smile didn't help, and the girls began to discreetly glance at each other with a single question on their minds. (Who's calling.?)
All these reactions created a silence that lasted for several seconds...until the protesters began to shout their slogans. —"Oh, wow, there are protesters."— the boy asked upon hearing part of the chant.
—"Yes, they arrived this morning, blocking access, and what a coincidence that it's the first day of the season..."— Olga complained.
—"How's Mom.?"— Max asked.
Instead of answering, Aunt Olga pointed her smartphone at a woman who was yelling. —"Why don't you go to the companies that make those products.? Why the hell are you coming to a company that has nothing to do with this.?"— Olga pulled her phone away and added, —"She's about to lose it."—
—"Okay, okay, can you take a screenshot of the person directing you and send me the image.?"— The boy asked.
—"Wait."— Olga switched to camera mode and took a picture of the woman directing them. After sending the image, Olga finally asked, —"What do you want it for.?"— But this time Max didn't answer.
The boy went to a professional hacking forum, a place where they do commissioned work. Max creates a post attaching the photo with the title: [I want to know who she is...the more information the better* I'll give 4% of a Bitcoin to the first 10 replies.]
After posting, Max goes back to talk to his Aunt Olga. —"Auntie, I'm calling to see if you can help with some makeup and clothing for a girl."— Before Olga can answer, a voice is heard in the background. —"Sister, who's the idiot calling you.?"— Olga can't believe what she's just heard and is left in shock.
More than enough time for Elizabeth still annoyed, to approach her sister Olga and shout at the top of her lungs. —"Don't even think you're going to sleep with her, my sister is a woman of principle..."—
Instead of being upset by her sister's words, Olga laughs, while asking, —"Yeah, it's true, You son of a bitch, you just want to sleep with me, look, I'm a traditional woman."—
Hearing her sister, Elizabeth still furious, she gathers her courage and shouts back. —"You son of a bitch, you just want her for fuck.!"—
Max doesn't speak, he just laughs uproariously and finally adds. —"Just wait until Big Black Cloud."— Olga, who was still laughing uproariously at Max's comment, suddenly loses her voice and freezes; her skin prickles and turns pale.
She remembers the secret that no one else knows except her sister, to whom she had recently confided that she had been having steamy video calls for several months with a stranger who calls himself the Big Black Cloud, videos in which they both appeared naked on camera and touched.
—"How, how do you know BBC that line.?"— Olga asks, but before Max can answer, Elizabeth snatches the phone from her sister's hand, repeating her earlier statement. —"You son of a bitch, she would never fuck with a stranger."—
But the voice Elizabeth was waiting to hear never comes.
Instead she hears her son's voice. —"Hi Mom, how are you.?"— Before the woman could answer, the boy's phone rang.
[Ding]
—"Oh, perfect, perfect,"—The boy said that and went to the blog where they had already posted all the information about the main leader... this included her full name, bank account, phone number, address, job, and phone numbers of friends and family. Max immediately started sending several messages.
—"Max, son, is that you.?"—Elizabeth asked, embarrassed, and added, —"I'm sorry, Max. I thought it was someone else."— Elizabeth tries to force a smile on her face as she hands the phone back to her sister Olga, who is still pale and unable to speak.
Five minutes later, the people blocking the entrance to the modeling agency began to leave.
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✨To be continue...remember, if you like this story, consider adding it to your library, that helps me to know that you are liking and I will give it more priority. ¥ $ ₤ ₯ € ₨ ₩..✨