Sha Sha
Flipping to the last page of a book that was as heavy as a brick, Ray rubbed his temples.
Looking around his eyes were attracted to the two static students exchanging stationary next to him.
They have maintained the same posture for past six months.
Retracting his eyes, Ray called panel in his mind and checked the time spent in Time-Stop.
[Time-Stop: 14 yrs, 301 days, 12 hours, 26 mins]
Yes, after taking a month of break, in reality, he again went into Time-Stop.
From the 6 years in the previous Time-Stop to the 15 years in this Time-Stop, his 'will' has strengthened enough to double his stay time.
Except for the first 7 years, in which he coded the antivirus software, which he named 'The Shield', in the remaining 8 years he has been brushing books about management.
From public libraries to universities, from small company policies to the conglomerate strategic planning he has been studying non-stop for 8 years straight.
Even with the 'will' that has been enhanced by time, Ray feels a little unbearable now.
Another thing that made him a little excited is that his memory is also being enhanced over time, after all, the memory of 15 years needs a place to stay.
He didn't notice this in the previous Time-Stop, maybe it is because he stayed for a shorter time he didn't realize this benefit, and now that this period has extended to 15 years this little enhancement has magnified in his senses.
Most importantly he has also reached the limit of improvement a basic exercise can provide him. Although he was extremely busy he still left some time to exercise his physique during this period, by the 10th year into Time-Stop he couldn't see any more improvement through exercise.
Now even if he exercises for 24 hours straight he can't strengthen anymore.
After the study of management all these years, at least in theoretical knowledge if Ray dares to be second no one dares to be first.
As for practical application, he will do it in reality, he has no way of doing it when time is paused.
Retracting his thoughts Ray stood up and left the library, there were 2 months left till his 'will' reached his limit, and he decided to relax in this period.
He needs to relieve the sequelae that 8 years of intensive study had on his spirit.
Although the continuous energy provided by time rule keeps his mind and body in the best condition, the monotonous routine of the past 8 years has taken a toll on his spirit.
Anyway, the amount of chaotic thoughts bombarding his mind makes him unable to concentrate, so it is better to relax during this period.
Coming out of the institute whose name he didn't bother to remember, Ray walked towards a pizza joint 2 streets away from here.
Although he didn't need to eat food since he merged with the time rule, it was a habit and one of his enjoyment, he didn't want to leave it.
He has been eating at this joint for quite some time, their pepperoni pizza is his favorite, and he has eaten all the ones from the oven, today he is going to change the flavor.
"Maybe Fajita will suit my taste" thinking he arrived at the joint.
Taking an extra large-sized pizza from the oven he counted the number of pizzas left, well there were 5 units with different flavors left.
When he started robbing, ahem I mean, when he started borrowing from here, there were 20 units, he has 'borrowed' 15 already.
"Looking at the missing pizzas will they attribute it to a ghost," Ray thought with some amusement.
Sitting on a spare table, he enjoyed his pizza while looking at the static people all around, the feeling of satisfaction about being the only one in the whole world made the already delicious pizza taste even better.
Time flies, and 2 months passed in the blink of an eye, in this time Ray enjoyed himself to his heart's content, eating delicacies from mountains and seas, enjoying a stay in luxurious hotels, enjoying the thrill of guns and weapons and whatnot, his actions followed his heart and side effects on his spirit were greatly relieved.
Another thing he found from this endeavor is that, if he regulates his mood regularly he can extend the amount of time he can stay in time-pause a little bit.
[Time-Stop: 14 yrs, 364 days, 23 hours, 59 mins]
The countdown to his return had already started, and as soon as he felt his 'will' reaching the limit he resumed the time flow, he didn't give a chance to chaotic thoughts to intrude his mind.
Last time he was careless and almost capsized his ship, this time he was prepared, he didn't want to experience the feeling of falling into the abyss again.
As soon as time resumed its flow, Ray was once again bombarded with a lot of noise, although a little uncomfortable he adapted quickly.
Checking his 'will' that has already begun to recovery process he nodded with satisfaction.
He decided to give rest to his will for today and talk about other things tomorrow, lying on the bed in his apartment he quickly fell asleep.
The next morning after getting up early, Ray had a leisurely walk in a park, a block away from his apartment.
Coming back he made himself something to eat, after getting ready he hailed a taxi to the warehouse he had rented before the time pause.
A taxi stopped on the side of the road, opposite which rows upon rows of warehouses could be seen.
The one at the corner was the place he had rented, it wasn't something high-end, even a bit simple, but it was clean and neat, and most importantly it was a quiet place.
Opening the door he had an overview of the whole pod, 3 computers neatly arranged in a line, a working table, and a cabinet to place documents and files.
These were all the supplies he had bought after renting the place, after spending money on these things he was broke, so the success of the first project was extremely important for his future plans.
Taking a hard disk from the side bag, Ray looked at it intently, the code in it was a key to his huge business empire.