Drake came back to reality laying in his new bed, in his new house and as he looked around he sighed in exasperation. He had grown up in his home in the Union State and even though he had to sell it off to ensure his safety he would still miss all the memories that he was leaving behind in his old house. Drake went and got ready for his meeting with the Rivera group, grabbing some nice clothes to wear to his meeting. While he was getting ready he pulled up the international stock market, and just like Eco had told him before, the holomans group stock had multiplied by several times overnight. Drake had not remembered this detail but Eco had informed him that in his past life after his house was bought, within 24 hours the Holoman Group acquiring his land they had announced their real project and their stocks jumped considerably.
Eco chimed in his head, saying,"Master, from my analysis, it seems that the stock of the holoman group only jumped by 3.8 times rather than the 5.2 from your previous life. I am guessing that this is due to the 2 years difference where you held your land longer in your past life."
Drake nodded his head in confirmation, this was a number that was well within his plans. Drake had also invested 4 million of the rest of the 7 million he had gained into the Holoman group's stock. Even though Drake didn't feel like helping them, right now all he needed was a lot of money. Drake had gained a new fortune of just over 13 million! He was now wealthy again and didn't have to worry about money at least for the foreseeable future.
Drake walked over to the Rivera group headquarters and walked up to the front counter. He asked the lady sitting at the desk,"Hello miss, Hector Rivera should be waiting for me, can you tell him I have arrived?"
Normally the desk lady would not have taken this claim to see her boss so seriously but the young master had specifically said that if anyone came to talk to him in the next 24 hours they should be treated as VIP's. The lady at the desk quickly bowed and led Drake to a VIP meeting room, one which was much fancier and better furnished than the one Drake and Hector had met in last time.
Drake waited there for Hector for about 10 minutes before Hector came rushing in, quickly closing the door behind him so no one could come in. He closed the blinds on the windows and pushed a button, sealing the room so no sound could escape as there was a sudden 'ping!' sound. Hector smiled at the still sitting and calm mystery man sitting on one of his chairs. Hector was a little confused as when he had done this before to others they freaked out, but this guy didn't even flinch!
Hector sat down in a chair across from Drake and before Drake could say anything Hector spoke up. Hector said,"Your analysis of the market was indeed correct and both the company and I personally have benefited from this! If you wish, the Rivera Group will fully support you on your endeavors!"
Drake was a little taken aback as he did not expect the Rivera group to come to this conclusion so quickly. Drake asked Hector,"I am glad you believed me, however do you have the power to make that promise happen? It seems odd to me that you didn't even ask how I got the information."
Hector sighed and said,"I will not pretend to not be curious, that really doesn't matter to me in the long run, as long as you can help me push the Rivera group to new heights I could care less how you got the information! As for power, my father is the company chairman and every single person hired onto our payroll for the last 6 years was personally hired by me."
Drake looked at Hector with a surprised look and said,"Really? Wow, I am impressed. However I really don't like lying to people without a solid reason, especially if the people in question are to be my benefactors."
Hector smiled and said back,"Well then, you seem eager, how did you get the information?"
Drake laughed out loud and said,"Ok, ok, you will laugh too once I tell you! I found out my house in the Union State had a shit ton of oil underneath it, and according to them, it was enough to feed the supply of the state for at least 17 years! The Holoman group coerced me out of my house after I found out."
Hector's face made a really confused expression for a second but as soon as Drake noticed it, his expression was back to normal. Hector asked in a quiet voice,"W- Were you injured?"
Drake sighed and while feeling his head, which still had some bald spots due to the helmets meltdown said," Before I left I was playing that game I mentioned to you last time, I was in the middle of a fight so I was completely unconscious, I believe they sent someone knowing i would be unresponsive to short circuit my hardware."
Hector widened his eyes in shock before his face had a sudden look of realization. Hector didn't even try to hide it this time and quickly said,"Did the short circuiting of your headset make your brain power and speed decrease as a result?"
Drake was a little thrown off by the odd question and said,"Ah no, I have no brain damage if that is what you are asking, however I have noticed that my thinking seems to have accelerated. It's kind of like-"
Hector quickly cut him off and said,"Like your brain is at 1.5x times speed, similar to a video, right?"
"What!"Drake said, floored as the man in front of him somehow guessed his analogy before he even said it! "How did you know what I was going to say?!"
Hector looked at Drake and said,"Ah.. So you didn't realize either huh?"
Drake was very confused and responded back,"I don't know if this is a game or something but you're being really weird man"
Hector smiled and started laughing and only after a minute or so calmed down. Hector asked him,"So what is your name in reality and your name in the game?"
Drake smiled back now that they were getting into the game content stuff he actually wanted to talk about. He said to Hector,"In both reality, and in the game, my name is Drake Silver!"
Hector's smile was even bigger than before, and he simply responded," Yes, I figured that out about 3 minutes ago."
Drake, a little dumbfounded at this statement, responded,"I'm sorry? What do you mean?"
Hector just continued smiling and said,"My name is Hector Rivera, the second son of the Rivera group, the genius of the next generation as my people have called me"
Drake, once again confused on the tangent the man in front of him was going on said,"Ok… what does that have to do with me? I already knew your name"
Hector simply responded,"Don't you want to know my in-game name? I could be really useful for you, you know?"
Drake was convinced this person was slightly crazy, but having your backer in your corner in the game as well as reality was a huge plus for him. He responded to the question by stating,"Ok, shoot, I'll add you as a friend when i go back inside the game."
Hector chuckled and said to Drake"That won't be necessary, we are already friends after all!"
Drake, now more confused than ever, said,"What are you talking about? I only have one friend and thats-" Drake's eyes widened as he suddenly realized what Hector was implying.
Hector leaned forward with his hand extended into a handshake and proudly said," Locomadre in Adella online, at your service!"
Drake could no longer speak. This was insanity! The game had an automatic filter so even if you went in with exactly one to one of yourself in reality, the game would change it so everyone would see your face differently. This meant that if you beat someone in a fight and they tried to take revenge on you in real life, they couldn't because they would never be able to recognize you. But here was Loco, in reality, What were the chances?