Bitcoin Billionaire: I Regressed to Invest in the First Bitcoin!

There was a spare room in the Steele Complex. Actually, there were many spare rooms and one of these, Darren had repurposed to be a lab.

Inside, the air buzzed with the hum of high-end servers and the faint scent of ozone from cooling fans. Three monitors glowed on a sleek workbench, casting sharp light over Darren, Lila Torres, and Amelia.

Darren stood at the center, tie gone, sleeves rolled up, his dark eyes scanning code like a general reading a battlefield. Corporate mode Darren was gone for now and this was work mode Darren. Ready to brainstorm.

Lila sat at a keyboard, her braided hair pinned messily, her fingers flying as she refined NeuraNest's neural net.

She paused, her eyes flicking to Darren, soft with gratitude. "Oh, Mr. Steele," she began, "I needed to say... Thanks again — for yesterday. Paying Dad's bills, getting him into Holloway Medicals… I don't know how to repay you."

Darren waved it off, not wanting to lose focus. "You're repaying me by coding like a genius, Lila. Your dad's where he needs to be. Focus on making this—" he tapped a monitor—"sing for me."

She nodded, a shy smile breaking through. "Still… It means everything. He slept better last night than he has in months."

Amelia glanced up, her hazel eyes softening. "That's amazing, Lila," she said, her tone gentle, shy but sincere. "You're doing so much, and it's… inspiring."

Lila blushed, ducking her head. "Just trying to keep up with you two."

Darren leaned against the workbench, crossing his arms. "Alright, enough mush. Let's talk tech. Lila, where's the software at? I want accuracy above 95% before we test retail."

Lila spun her monitor, lines of Python gleaming. They were clean and modular, and when she started to explain, it was clear she'd spent sleepless nights on this.

"We're at 93% on the deli dataset," she said, technical but alive. "I tweaked the dropout rate — 0.3 now — to cut overfitting. Next is scaling the input layer for bigger shops, maybe 10,000 transactions. Needs a new server, though."

Darren nodded, in his mind, he was thinking. Not about the code, but about markets.

Since this product was not big in the former timeline, the Investor System could not tell him exactly how successful it would be, so everything was up to his prediction, mathematics and analysis.

"Good," he said. "Scale is the key factor here. Small businesses are our bread, but if we crack chains, we're talking millions. Amelia, what exactly is the market saying?"

Amelia flipped her notebook. "Retail looks ripe. The year has been a mess for mom-and-pop shops. Bankruptcies are up 8% since '08. A tool like NeuraNest cutting waste by even 10%, could grab 12% market share in Calivernia by 2012. Imagine 5,000 stores, $50,000 each in savings. Chains are trickier; Walmart's got in-house tech, but mid-tier like Rite Aid have been bleeding. A lean AI could hook them."

Darren's brow arched, impressed. "12%? Amy, that's awesome. I like it. I have a similar read. I believe that small retail is desperate, but even at that, even though we can bank on their desperation, mid-tier's where the cash is. If we hit 95% accuracy, we could pitch to, say, 7-Eleven. Their stock's flat — $10 a share — but a 15% efficiency bump could double it by 2013."

He tapped a finger, calculating. "The risk is high, though. No timeline data means we're betting blind. One glitch and we're toast."

Lila frowned, her passion flaring. "No glitches, I promise. I'm triple-checking every weight. This is my baby and I won't let it crash."

Amelia smiled, scribbling. "I've got adoption curves— $200 per license, 2,000 users by Q2. Low price, high volume. We'd clear $400,000, and then reinvest in servers."

Darren grinned, gaining more confidence on this product. "That's the play. Keep it cheap, flood the market. Lila, push that accuracy. Amy, nail the pricing model. We are taking over the market with this product."

Then he paused. "Where's Evan?"

Lila quickly answered. "Oh, he's still got a fever."

Darren's eyes narrowed. "Fever, huh? Second day running. He must have the worst immune system in Los Alverez. No one gets a fever in this hot city."

Amelia glanced at him, her pen stilling. She caught the edge in his voice, but said nothing, her shy loyalty holding.

Lila shrugged, uneasy. "He'll bounce back. Can you watch this? I need to use the bathroom."

Darren looked at her with an intense expression, then he nodded just once. When she disappeared into the bathroom, his gaze rested on the computer, waiting for him.

-------

That night, Lila's hostel room was a cramped nook of peeling paint and thrift-store furniture, her laptop glowing on a wobbly desk.

She'd just saved a new module for the system when a knock rattled the door. Evan stood there, pale, a hoodie hiding his jittery eyes, shaking slightly to point out that yeah, he was still sick.

"Hey, Lila," he said, forcing a cough. "I think I'm feeling better. Wanted to check in."

She frowned, stepping aside. "You look rough. Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Nah, I'm good," he said, too quick, eyeing her laptop. "Come on, show me what you got. Keep me in the loop."

Lila hesitated, then opened the code. "Just tweaks," she said, scrolling. "Mr. Steele wants more accuracy and it's actually climbing. 94% now."

Evan nodded, greedy eyes locked on the screen. "That's amazing. Hey, mind if I crash a sec? And... uh... can you get me some water?"

She shrugged, heading to the tiny kitchenette. The second she turned, Evan jammed a USB into her laptop, copying the code in seconds, his hands shaking. He yanked it out as she returned, pocketing it with a fake yawn.

He took the water and gulped down as much as he could.

"Gotta bounce," he said after, coughing again. "Rest up, yeah?"

"Evan—" Lila started, but he was gone, the door clicking shut, leaving her with a nagging ache she couldn't name.

"What's up with him?"

–------

Two days later, Evan strode into Horizon Strategies' office. Ryan Anders was present, sitting at a polished table, his navy suit crisp, his angular face a mask of cunning calm.

Tamara Johnstone stood by a window, wearing a sharp cream dress, with her auburn hair pinned on top in a fine bun. Evan handed over his USB, his grin cocky but nervous.

"Here's the code," he said, voice loud. "Full package — NeuraNest's heart. Trust me, after everything I've done building this software, you're getting a steal."

Anders took the drive, a thin smile on his face. "Prompt delivery, Evan. I like that." He passed it to Tamara, his eyes glinting. "File the trademark today and NeuraNest will be yours, and its wealth will be mine to manage. Steele can't touch it."

Tamara looked down at the USB, her tone concise but eager. "You keep mentioning Darren Steele, but I've made it clear to you that he's not the reason I'm doing this. Sure, outsmarting a rival company could help my odds, but I simply want to get this win."

Ryan Anders smirked. "Whatever you say, Miss Johnstone."

She tightened her jaw. "I'm pushing the demo for Friday, buyers are lined up. We'll call it 'AI for all.' She turned to Evan. "Can you sell that?"

Evan puffed up, lying easy. "Hell yeah. It's my baby. It predicts everything and it scales like crazy. You'll see."

Her eyes narrowed — this guy was too vague, dodging tech details — but Anders's nod silenced her doubt. "Good," she said, forcing a smile. "Hype it big. We launch next week."

Anders leaned back, his voice low, proud. "Don't worry about a thing, Tamara. We own the board now."

She clutched the USB, her ambition overriding unease. "Let's hope so," she said, her fingers tight. "My board's not forgiving."

--------

The next morning, Lila pushed through the Steele Complex's glass doors, her backpack heavy with notes, her eyes brighter.

She had seen her dad last night, and it seemed Holloway's care had eased his pain. Life was more colorful now. There was hope.

Darren greeted her in the lab, looking all ready to work with those sleeves rolled up and showing his strong, masculine arm—

No, Lila. Not those kinds of thoughts!

She saw Amelia standing by in a neat blazer neat. She waved. "Hey."

Lila waved back. "Hey. Good morning."

"Ready to keep building?" Darren asked.

"Born ready," Lila said, her grin fierce, dropping her bag.

"Got new pricing models — $150 per license, and aiming for 3,000 users by Q3." Amelia reported.

Lila cracked her knuckles, diving into code. "I'm pushing for 95% today. No stopping."

Darren shifted his gaze at the both of them. "Alright team. Get to work."