Chapter 3 Recruit the Future

Ethan sat on his mattress, the dim light above him flickering, casting shifting shadows across the room. But none of that mattered anymore. The moment he saw “VIREX Technologies Pte. Ltd.” officially registered on the system dashboard, something deep inside him shifted.

He wasn’t just a bullied student anymore.

He was a CEO.

A future trillionaire.

Mission: Build a Team

Objective: Hire at least three key talents to begin operations.

Reward: Personal Asset Upgrade + Advanced Tech License

Suggestion: Recruit loyal, undervalued talent. Trust is more important than fame.

Ethan opened his laptop and pulled up a few hiring platforms. But then he paused. Regular hiring wasn’t going to cut it. He needed people like him—talented but overlooked. People with fire. People with a reason to fight.

He opened a new document and jotted down three roles he needed urgently:

Chief Technical Officer (CTO) – someone to help build the A.I. framework.

Operations Manager – to run logistics and organize tasks.

Security Specialist – to protect his assets and system from digital threats.

But where would he find such people?

Then he remembered.

In his first-year computer science class, there was a guy named Felix Ong. Socially awkward, always buried in code, but brilliant. He’d once built an entire chatbot network that could pass as real people during conversation. The professor failed him because he didn’t follow the assignment instructions, but Ethan never forgot his work.

Ethan searched Felix’s name.

Found him.

Still in the university, second time repeating his year. Rumor had it he got expelled from the lab for hacking into the dean’s server “just to prove he could.”

Perfect.

Ethan copied his contact and sent a message.

—

Hey Felix. It’s Ethan Reyes. We were in Intro to A.I. together a while back. I have a business proposal. Meet me tonight. I’ll cover dinner. Big opportunity. — E.

—

He waited.

An hour passed. No reply.

Then at 8:44 p.m., a message came through.

—

Ethan? The guy everyone used to call “Scrawny Spreadsheet”? Lol. Okay. Where?

—

Ethan smirked. “Scrawny Spreadsheet.” That used to sting. Not anymore.

—

Toast Republic Café. 9:30. Dress doesn’t matter.

—

At 9:25, Ethan walked into the café, now wearing a fitted black shirt, sleek pants, and a Tag Heuer watch he’d purchased the day before. Nothing too flashy—but enough to look like someone.

Felix showed up in a hoodie, sneakers, and with a half-worried, half-suspicious look on his face.

“Alright,” Felix said as he sat. “What’s this about? And how the hell did you afford that watch?”

Ethan slid a file across the table.

“VIREX Technologies. I’m the founder. You’re my first choice for CTO.”

Felix chuckled. “Is this a prank? Wait, are you running a crypto scam?”

“Not even close,” Ethan said. “I’ve got funding. I’ve got a system in place—literally. All I need is talent.”

Felix flipped through the printed proposal. As he read, his smirk faded.

“You want to build a real-time adaptive automation suite… from scratch?”

“Yes.”

“This isn’t a student project, man. This is multi-million-dollar stuff.”

“I know,” Ethan replied calmly. “That’s why I’ve allocated five million for the first phase. You’ll have full freedom, a state-of-the-art workspace, and twenty-five thousand monthly starting salary.”

Felix dropped the file.

“…Say that again?”

“Twenty-five thousand. Full equity options. And you’ll have access to proprietary tools no one else in the country can offer.”

Felix stared at him, silent. His eyes scanned Ethan, trying to find the joke.

But there was none.

Finally, he leaned back, arms folded.

“…If this is real, I’m in.”

“It’s real,” Ethan said. “Welcome to VIREX.”

—

By midnight, Felix was already drawing up development maps on his tablet. The guy was a genius. All he needed was someone to believe in him—and a damn good reason to fight.

Ethan provided both.

Next up: operations.

—

The next morning, Ethan sat at the student lounge. He scrolled through student profiles, then paused at one in particular.

Vanessa Lim.

He remembered her. Bright, sharp-tongued, ambitious. Ran three student societies. Knew everyone, hated fake people, and was brutally efficient. Rumor was, she turned down a corporate internship because the manager hit on her.

Ethan clicked “Send Message.”

—

Hi Vanessa. I’m hiring for an executive role in a tech startup. You’re the only candidate I want to speak to. Meet today?

—

She replied six minutes later.

—

You? Ethan Reyes? The quiet guy who failed his business proposal presentation because your slides wouldn’t load? What’s changed?

—

Everything, Ethan replied.

—

They met at a mid-tier hotel restaurant in the city. Not too upscale, but far from cheap. Vanessa was impressed the moment she sat down.

“What’s this about, Reyes?” she asked. “You disappear for a month, then come back like some undercover billionaire.”

Ethan slid a tablet toward her, showing a detailed breakdown of VIREX’s early roadmap, funding structure, and hiring plan.

Her expression shifted quickly from playful to serious.

“I need someone to run the day-to-day. Scheduling. Staffing. Logistics. I focus on the strategy. Felix handles tech. You make the machine run.”

“And compensation?” she asked, arms folded.

“$15,000 monthly, 5% equity. You’ll be VP of Operations.”

Vanessa’s eyes narrowed. “And what makes you think I’ll say yes?”

Ethan smiled.

“Because you’re tired of being undervalued. Because you hate people who look down on you. And because you’re smart enough to see this is real.”

She didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she looked at him—truly looked.

Then she extended her hand.

“I’m in. But don’t waste my time, Reyes. If you crash, I’m not going down with you.”

“I won’t,” Ethan said, shaking her hand. “I’m going all the way up.”

—

By the end of the second day, Ethan had recruited two key talents. One remained: a security specialist.

The system pinged again.

Mission Progress: 2/3

Suggested Contact: Aiden Kane – former cybersecurity prodigy. Expelled. Arrested once. Brilliant. Dangerous.

Status: Currently working underground jobs for rent money.

Recommendation: Approach with caution.

Ethan’s lips curled into a grin.

Perfect.

He was building an empire of the underestimated.

And soon, the world would realize—

They shouldn’t have ignored Ethan Reyes.