On the 3rd of February, the news coursed that Neurolink didn't have any funds after many failures in the project.
Ben was exactly waiting for this moment. It wasn't stupid of him to buy everything before this news came as Elon Musk would have fought with him for the stocks. It would be a huge risk to bid so late as at the end of the days he would at best win even less back.
This was mainly due to the german tax, which would take away 28% of his profit. He had limited funds, which would nowhere multiply as fast as at Neurolink. But Ben didn't give up to exploit this situation.
´I already have 870 103 stocks. There were 1 million stocks on the market, so there are still 129 897 stocks. After a none confirmed rumor of bankruptcy spread through the media, every holder will sell their shares and lower the stock value. But now that I hold 87%, it won't decrease as fast and much. It probably will stay at 200. Yes, I will bid for 200€.
129.897 x 200; this makes 25.980.400 Euro.´
He asked beforehand Efron to borrow from the bank 26 million in the name of LifeUp for a month.
Ben wasn't ready to give up on Neurolink, where he didn't know the limit of its potential.
Ben already made his bid order the highest 200 Euro for exactly 129 897 stocks. He was so nervous about the outcome.
He was watching the live stock chart of Neurolink. It was as he imagined. The chart fell rapidly till 190 and then stopped stabilized. If he understood Elon Musk right, Elon would only bid at highest for 150. He wouldn't anticipate that someone knew his plan.
Ben looked at his depot and found there a million stocks of Neurolink.
Ben hoped that Elon wouldn't hate him too much. Elon Musk will still swim in money as most of the company's shares had to be his.
...
On the 5th of February, Elon Musk made a press conference about Neurolink, which was published worldwide.
Ben was watching the conference live on his laptop.
„Today is one of the greatest days for humanity. We made something seemingly impossible for most people, accessible to the whole middle-class. We succeeded in creating a product, which can restore limb function, improve human movement, resolve issues with eyesight and hearing, and even help with diseases like Parkinson's.
To prove my claim, I will introduce you to volunteers, who were healed thanks to the new chip." Elon Musk declared loudly with a big smile on his face.
People climbed the stairs to the podium, in the meantime, Musk introduced each of them and explained how they were healed.
The chip connected to wires which fan out into the human brain, capable of both recording brain activity and stimulating it.
Elon Musk said the process of "getting a Link" will not require general anesthesia and he hopes that a robot will "do the entire surgery" in about an hour. Musk said that people who get the Neuralink device are left with a tiny scar after the electrodes are inserted in the brain and there won't be any blood.
"We do want a close coupling between collective human intelligence and digital intelligence and Neuralink is now able to help in that regard by creating a high bandwidth interface between AI and the human brain. This is simply the next evolution of humanity, we have to merge with AI to avoid becoming irrelevant in the future." Elon said seriously, believing fully his own words.
Many old people saw Elon Musk as a lunatic. Nobody wanted to become cyborgs.
The younger generation understood his viewpoint. The possibility of learning loads of digital information through a simple download was too world-shaking. It would open debates about education, society, the future, etc.
But nobody understood the future better than Ben, who had memories from his future.
´Well, every generation has its great innovators. Da Vinci, Edison, Jobs…men whose contribution have changed the course of technology. Another name that can be added to that list and one which is no stranger to anyone is that of Elon Reeve Musk, a man who today is changing the face of technology, innovation, and creativity. This South African-born Canadian American business magnate, investor, engineer, and inventor has numerous great innovations to his credit, the impact of which is unimaginable.´
In Ben's mind, Elon Musk was the person he respected the most, for his intelligence, courage, and foresight. His achievement would be too long to talk about. His best choice was to invest in E-mobility like electric jets and electric cars. Hyperloop was also a successful project.
But now that Ben knew the future, he could see the flaws in his foresight. SpaceX would be profitable in the future, but only after finding magic and new material from other planets.
He basically threw money and time overboard all these years.
He may be right that the new chip was a big step for humanity, but humans won't become irrelevant for the next dozen years. With the discovery of experience, it proved that organisms will always be better than machines as machines or AI couldn't absorb exp and level up. The only exception was that AIs took organic bodies over, but that shouldn't be a problem for now.
The truth was that his chip is the pioneer of the system. The system was in some sort a fusion of human mind with a control panel. But the system didn't have any drawbacks that a chip had. It couldn't be hacked or influenced from outside and you didn't have to implant something in your body.
The chip would experience a boom at the market as it was able to improve or to be precise temper the memorizes of the holder.
This boom would only be temporary as hackers succeded in hacking his chips and Elon Musk had to reimburse his clients.
If Ben succeded in speeding up the development of the system, then the chip would lose it's value a lot sooner.
´Elon Musk, you may have over 25 billions dollar, but I, Ben Lupus, will one day be richer than you.´
Ben didn't care about the money, but he wanted to surpass the idol of his last life. It was his way to prove he was now different.
Before going to sleep, Ben remembered that it was a long time that he didn't do Parkour.
´I completely forgot about Parkour. I didn't have a lot of time these days. No. Not true, this is just an excuse. After I mastered Parkour and Freerunning, I don't care to meet them. They are nice, but I have to manage my time properly. My skill doesn't make me forget how to do it. I will now focus on increasing my stats to the peak and learn computer sciences as I planned.
Should I leave the group without thanking them personally? No. Why not meet them on Saturday? I bring chips, cookies, and drinks. Thanking them for teaching me and do a last run with them.´
„Guys, I will leave the group. Would you meet me a last time on Saturday? I will bring snacks and drinks along for everyone." Ben sent the message to the group.
....
On Saturday, Ben went to the supermarket and bought popular snacks, chips, and drinks.
Tracer didn't drink alcohol before running, so he bought soft drinks. Like many times, Ben took a train, which went to the University of Stuttgart.
It was quite ironic that the person, who came the latest, was also the first to leave the group. In normal cases, it would be because the person gave up or didn't enjoy the sport. But not this time.
„I can't believe that you have to stop?" Jeff asked half-concerned and half-skeptical.
„I am really sorry, guys. You helped me so much in learning Parkour. Sadly, I have to stop. My grades became worst since I began Parkour and my parents want that I concentrate only on school." Ben lied with a queasy conscience. He decided lying would be for the best.
„As long as you don't forget the moves that I taught you, everything is fine!" Steven said playfully. He couldn't believe that the student beat his master in less than a year.
„Parkour is in your blood. You are even more talented than any of us. Even your body is now is shaped for war." Luke commented. Looking in Ben's eyes he says:
„If you ever need help, you are still part of our family."
„Who would have fought that Luke could say something so beautiful!" Markus ridiculized amicably.
Ben felt warm from their words. He even lied to his kindhearted friends just before they say that. He had to return with thankful words these kindhearted feeling.
„Thanks again for everything. I know you don't know a lot about me. But if you ever need help with anything please call me. I hope we will encounter each other again." Ben said with his most sincere smile.
„You should stop talking. The last day should be used to do Parkour until night." Carl said, inciting to move.
With that, a last memory with his tracer friends was made under the beautiful moon.
...
On the 6th of February, Ben was learning general informatics. But his slow advance made him feel frustrated, he wanted to progress faster, he already worked hard for over half a year.
´I still have over 2 years before the first calamity. It is so long!!! I know I should be happy about passing more time with my family and having more time to train, but I still want to have 2 years less. It is just too satisfying to fight a strong monster and see your level rise. Still, it would be stupid to fight in the calamity against monsters with my strength right now. These monsters could be 50 levels higher than me. To have good chances in a fight I need strong guns and grenades. I have to learn how to shoot in Amerika. But how would I order them? Darknet? I already researched. Drugs are available, but guns are a lot rarer. I even need the strongest guns! Strong guns may kill a monster under level 20. As long as I can kill the weaker monster with guns, I can level up and try to slowly kill my way to the stronger monsters with everything I have. I still have to find a way for buying guns. I will have to wait and hope I find a less risky possibility.
Thinking about guns. There was a knowledge skill, which helped to perfectly avoid most attacks. Shots, strikes, magic, etc. . The potential of the skill was great compared to most other KS. To dodge multiple attacks would be possible.
I have to create that skill!
Samuel said that one had to program all types of dodges, know hittable points on your body and formulate how each information has to be treated by your brain. ´
Having just received a new source of motivation, Ben went to work.