The rise of ByteBull Studios sent shockwaves through the tech world, and at its center, Don Estello Purnas moved like a grandmaster setting up the board for a long game.
While the world debated the implications of the Phoenix AI and the Vector Core Engine, Don Estello had already made his decision—ByteBull needed a real headquarters. There was no waiting, no hesitation. The industry was watching, and ByteBull had to cement itself as a true powerhouse.
The first thing Estello did was sell off large portions of his agricultural empire—rice fields, banana plantations, coconut farms—assets he had held for decades. These had been the foundation of his wealth, businesses passed down through generations, but he knew times were changing.
He didn't hesitate.
Estello's long-time partners, trusted men who had worked alongside him for years, took over the agricultural operations, ensuring they remained profitable while allowing him to free up capital and redirect his top executives to ByteBull.
But not all of them made the cut.
Many of these executives were older businessmen—masters of supply chains, import-export deals, and large-scale logistics, but utterly clueless when it came to AI, gaming, or modern technology.
And yet, Estello knew better than to discard them.
These men had built empires in their own way. They understood negotiations, operations, and efficiency in ways that the younger generation often overlooked. They might not have known how to code, but they knew how to run an organization.
So, Estello did what he did best: he divided and conquered.
The younger executives—those who could at least operate a computer, grasp the basics of digital infrastructure, and adapt—were brought into ByteBull's inner circle. They would help establish the business side of the company, handling partnerships, licensing, and corporate strategy.
The older executives were given new roles. They took charge of logistics, procurement, and managing the workforce needed for construction and expansion. If they weren't tech-savvy, that didn't matter—they still knew how to run an empire.
Every piece on the board was moving into place.
No one was left idle. Everyone had a role to play.
The three-story headquarters was temporary, but it needed to be built fast.
There was no time for bureaucracy, no time for endless meetings or corporate red tape. The tech industry moved at breakneck speed, and ByteBull had just put itself on the map.
The site was right beside Estello's mansion—on land he already owned. The plan is to build a fully operational workspace—office rooms, high-speed server rooms, conference spaces, and a secure underground storage facility for AI development.
Estello didn't hesitate. He gave the order immediately.
The first wave of workers arrived that same evening—construction crews, electricians, engineers. Some were professionals, some were workers redirected from Estello's other businesses, but all of them had one thing in common: they knew this was urgent.
Estello stood in the middle of the open lot, hands behind his back, as his oldest executive, Mr. Lino, handed him a clipboard.
"Materials are coming in batches," Lino said. "Concrete will be here in two days, steel frames by next week. But insulation and wiring are going to take a while."
Estello's jaw tightened. Too slow.
"Buy from another supplier," he said. "I don't care if we have to triple the cost. We need this done fast."
Lino hesitated for only a second, then nodded. "I'll handle it."
The executives who once handled plantation logistics were now managing construction teams, handling payrolls, and coordinating material deliveries. It was a baptism by fire, but Estello had faith in them.
"Sir," one of them, Manuel, spoke up. "We're used to moving tons of crops, not fiber optics. We might accidentally damage them."
Estello's gaze was sharp. "You have to meet the deadline. The shipment is very important and the entire world is watching."
Manuel swallowed hard and got to work. Meanwhile, Jack had his own orders.
He stood beside a stack of newly delivered server racks, scanning the list on his tablet as workers carried in high-end workstations and networking equipment.
A young IT recruit, barely out of university, adjusted his glasses. "Sir, should we configure the backup servers separately from—"
"Redundant clusters," Jack cut him off. "We mirror everything. If one server farm crashes, the other picks up instantly. Clear?"
The recruit nodded quickly.
"Also," Jack added, "we're not using cloud services. Everything stays in-house."
The recruit hesitated. "That's… going to be expensive, sir."
Jack smirked. "Good thing we're rich now."
--------
The basement was silent, except for the soft hum of servers in the background and the occasional flicker of Richard's screen. No windows, no distractions. The glass walls had been covered, making sure no one—not even Don Estello's people—could peek inside.
Jack was the only one allowed in. Everyone else? Strictly off-limits.
Richard sat cross-legged on the cold tiled floor, staring at his arm.
Two weeks ago, he had purchased a skill from the system. A ridiculously expensive skill.
[External Nanite Deployment & Manipulation]"Enables real-time nanite construction and tool formation. Can be used for environmental manipulation, temporary repairs, and automated microengineering."
At the time, he had no idea how powerful it really was.
Now?
He was about to find out.
He exhaled, then activated it.
A sharp tingling sensation ran through his entire body, like static electricity crackling under his skin. Then, like black sand, tiny nanites poured out of his pores, floating in the air, forming a cloud.
Richard's vision shifted.
Everything turned into blue lines and wireframe grids—some kind of build mode interface.
A list appeared in his peripheral vision, hovering in the air beside him.
[Blueprint List]
Advanced Modular Fabrication System (AMFS) – (Purchased two weeks ago)Quantum Server Rack 34QU - ZT Model – (Purchased days ago for 150,000 SP)
Richard smirked. "Let's start small."
He selected AMFS.
Instead of fabricating the entire thing at once, the system broke it down into modular components:
MPRU (Material Processing and Recycling Unit) – 2 hours
MRAN (Modular Robotic Assembly Network) – 3 hours
CDOC (Cognitive Design and Optimization Core) – 5 hours
TPAMU (Temporal Phase Additive Manufacturing Unit) – 4 hours
IEMS (Integrated Energy Management System) – 5 hours
LEFDS (Localized Echo-Factory Deployment System) – 6 hours
A new prompt appeared.
[Select Materials to Use]
He selected the metal pile in front of him. Stacks of short metal bars, sheets, and scraps.
The nanites moved instantly.
They surged forward like a wave of locusts, swarming the materials, breaking them down at a molecular level, reshaping them into something new.
The black cloud swirled, forming an eerie shifting mass in the middle of the room.
Richard watched, completely mesmerized.
"This… is insane."
The first module, MPRU, was already taking shape. The nanites were self-organizing, forming complex patterns, layering microscopic structures with inhuman precision.
And this was just the beginning.
Richard checked the estimated build time.
25 hours.
If he took breaks, maybe three days with sleep.
But what's three days when you're literally fabricating the future?
He leaned back, watching the nanites work.
Richard didn't stop.
For three straight days, the basement was a hurricane of motion.
Every few hours, he hauled in more metal, more materials, more fuel for the nanites to consume. Piles of steel bars, wiring, circuit boards, and composite sheets were fed into the swarm.
And the nanites? They devoured everything.
It was perfect. Outside, construction was in full swing. Don Estello's workers were already moving heavy materials, so no one questioned the extra shipments going down to the basement.
Richard's Strength: A Walking Red Flag
But Jack noticed.
Richard hauled an entire stack of steel beams onto his shoulder like it was nothing. Easily 200 kilograms.
The workers stopped what they were doing.
They stared.
"Damn, bro…" one of them muttered. "You, uh… you work out?"
Richard forced a grin. "Yeah, something like that."
Jack, standing off to the side, rubbed his temples.
"Dude. You're literally bad at keeping secrets."
He walked up to Richard, lowering his voice. "If you don't slow down, people are gonna start asking questions."
Richard scoffed. "What, you want me to act weak?"
"Yes!" Jack hissed. "We already agreed—no one is supposed to know about your.. powers or something. Grandpa and auntie Anita swore to keep quiet, but if you start bench-pressing motorcycles, we're screwed."
Richard exhaled, setting down the metal more carefully. "Fine. I'll tone it down."
Jack did not look convinced.
-------
Back at the studio.
The hum of nanites filled the air like an eerie, mechanical whisper. Richard sat on the floor, eyes locked on the swirling black cloud as it broke down and rebuilt matter at the atomic level.
The metal scraps in front of him were disassembling themselves, breaking apart into microscopic particles before being restructured into something entirely new. The nanites weren't just melting or reshaping the metal; they were deconstructing it at a molecular level and rebuilding it with extreme precision.
The first module took shape.
Atomic Disassemblers formed first—tiny, unseen mechanisms woven into the nanite cloud, capable of breaking materials down atom by atom.
Material Sorters followed—miniature filtration systems, separating useful elements from impurities.
Purification Chambers hummed to life—tiny vacuum-sealed units refining raw matter into pristine, usable materials.
Feedstock Synthesizers activated—processing everything into ready-to-use building blocks.
Richard watched in awe as the small black sphere in front of him hardened, turning into a sleek, metallic pod.
[MPRU Fabrication – 100% Complete]
The nanites didn't stop.
They swirled again, moving to the next phase.
Robotic arms unfolded from the forming structure—small at first, but soon expanding into a fully automated assembly system.
Conveyor modules snapped into place—self-replicating parts slotting into the growing network.
An AI coordination hub materialized, embedded with advanced processing systems.
Richard grinned.
He wasn't just building machines—he was building machines that could build more machines.
[MRAN Fabrication – 100% Complete]
he air grew thick with electromagnetic pulses as the next module began taking shape.
AI hardware units formed—a dense cluster of processing cores tailored for high-speed simulation and design generation.
Data storage lattices emerged, their crystalline structures forming inside the machine like a neural network.
Optimization subroutines compiled themselves into the system, allowing the AI to iterate, refine, and enhance designs autonomously.
The air itself felt different, charged with intelligence.
[CDOC Fabrication – 100% Complete]
Richard cracked his knuckles. This was where things got really interesting.
Nanite layering systems formed first—a network of hyper-precise assemblers capable of working at the atomic scale.
Temporal phase modulators hummed to life—devices capable of slightly altering timeflow for accelerated material bonding.
Material synthesis modules built themselves—capable of creating compounds that didn't naturally exist.
[TPAMU Fabrication – 100% Complete]
Richard checked the remaining materials. Enough to finish the job.
Renewable energy collectors formed—nanite-woven surfaces optimized for solar, thermal, and kinetic energy capture.
Energy conversion modules locked into place—devices capable of transforming raw energy into stable, usable power.
Waste heat recovery systems emerged, ensuring nothing was wasted.
[IEMS Fabrication – 100% Complete]
The final module was the most dangerous.
Miniature fabrication cores formed—scaled-down versions of the main system, capable of self-replication.
Self-replication modules initialized.
Richard clenched his fists.
This was the one that could spiral out of control.
The nanites paused, awaiting a command.
[WARNING: LEFDS is a self-replicating system. Do you wish to proceed?]
Richard hesitated. Even with safeties in place, self-replicating machines were a dangerous game.
He exhaled, then pressed 'YES'.
The nanites resumed.
[LEFDS Fabrication – 100% Complete]
Richard wasn't done yet.
A final module was queued. Something he hadn't told Jack about yet.
Neural signal transceivers formed—tiny devices capable of directly linking his brain to the AI system.
Mental interface software compiled—allowing for thought-based commands.
The nanites moved toward Richard.
His hands clenched into fists.
This part wasn't like the others. This part… required integration.
[WARNING: Neural Integration Process Will Alter Cognitive Pathways. Continue?]
Richard grinned.
"Of course."
He hit YES.
The nanites surged toward him.
Outside, ByteBull's new headquarters was being built.
Workers hammered steel beams into place. Servers were being delivered. Jack was running around, organizing power and cooling systems.
But down in the basement…
Richard was building something far beyond a company.