Chapter 25: New Hire
It was past 9 PM when Jake returned to his house from downtown.
Still filled with excitement at acquiring the invisibility formula, he was wide awake, but considering the many things he needed to do afterward, he forced himself to go to bed.
The invisibility formula—for an ordinary person, this one ability was enough to live comfortably, whether used for personal gain or helping others.
He pondered his future plans and then drifted off to sleep...
The next morning, waking up early, Jake began his routine run around the neighborhood. He hadn't forgotten Léon's words: physical conditioning was paramount. In the current movie worlds, there were no magic items that could rapidly enhance his physical abilities, so he had to rely on himself.
He did push-ups and burpees repeatedly; the muscle soreness during training gave him a sense of accomplishment.
However, when he saw his neighbors rushing off to work in their nice cars, a problem he'd previously overlooked came to his attention.
He didn't seem to have a legitimate job!
That's right, just a month or two ago, he was an ordinary working guy, barely scraping by, and now he lived in a decent house, spending his days doing whatever he wanted?
Legally speaking, this could raise red flags with the IRS. Even if nothing serious happened, he could still face an audit; in short, it would be very troublesome.
He might as well use this time to establish a legitimate identity for himself.
He carefully calculated his available funds; it seemed he only had about $2,000 left. Money comes quickly and goes quickly, especially since he almost never thinks about earning it conventionally. He only had this much because he wasn't spending much time in the real world.
He needed a legitimate business identity; he didn't actually need to make money, just appear to make money.
With this in mind, Jake headed downtown and quickly finalized a deal online for a bubble tea shop. The owner was relocating out of state, and the shop, located near the state university campus, was doing well, so they didn't want to just close it down and planned to sell.
However, the asking price was substantial—$85,000 for a small storefront!
Besides being in a good location, it was also because of the university nearby; the daily sales alone were impressive.
Without ready cash, Jake couldn't possibly buy the shop outright. But don't forget, owning property is exactly what banks love—clients like him with assets.
After securing a small business loan and signing several contracts, Jake obtained enough funds and immediately purchased the bubble tea shop.
By the afternoon, he'd successfully completed the transaction, borrowing tens of thousands, which then went to the previous owner.
After finishing the paperwork, Jake realized another problem: he didn't want to actually manage the shop day-to-day. He planned to focus more on the movie worlds in the future, but the shop still needed to operate.
Therefore, hiring some employees was essential.
College campuses are never short of students looking for part-time work, and the original employees had all left after the previous owner's departure—probably planning to start their own ventures.
That afternoon, Jake took some time to post some ads around the university campus. Although his flyers were simple and hand-written, he believed many people would notice them.
"Bubble Tea Shop Hiring ( yes i am from asia tea is love )
Requirements: Responsible, presentable, customer-focused
Position: Store associate/shift lead
Pay: $15/hour, paid bi-weekly
Hours: 20 hours per week, flexible scheduling"
In short, it was decent part-time work, especially with only 20 hours per week and earning around $1,200 per month! This attracted many students from middle-class families looking to earn spending money.
Two hours after posting the job ad, Jake's shop started receiving applicants.
They were all college students, young and energetic.
However, Jake was selective. It wasn't that he was old-fashioned, but in his opinion, he needed someone mature and responsible since he planned to be mostly hands-off. This position, while hiring staff, was actually for a shift supervisor or assistant manager.
Finally, after more than an hour of interviews, a young woman wearing modest jeans and a simple long-sleeved shirt appeared before Jake. At a glance, Jake could tell she was a scholarship student; the earnestness in her expression was exactly the same as his own when he'd first been struggling in the city.
"My name is Emily, I'm a freshman, and I believe I'm qualified for this position," she said, her cheeks slightly flushed, her brown eyes showing nervous determination, radiating youth and sincerity.
Employers love these honest, hardworking candidates; they're much more reliable than slick talkers.
Jake asked a few more questions, including her specific background and availability.
Looking at the time, another day was nearly gone, and Jake didn't intend to waste more time, so he nodded. "You can start with a month trial period. If you don't meet expectations after a month, I can let you go without notice." He stood up and looked at Emily. "Fair warning."
His businesslike tone made the young woman appear slightly nervous. "I'll do my absolute best."
"Good." Jake nodded. "We need to hire a few more people—someone for food prep and maybe a delivery driver. For now, you're the assistant manager of this shop. These other hires will report to you. You'll coordinate schedules and operations."
"Wait, me?" She pointed to herself incredulously. "Assistant manager?"
"Consider it real-world business experience. Do well."
What does it feel like to go from an ordinary college freshman to assistant manager of a business? Jake wasn't quite sure. Perhaps it was because his concept of money was becoming increasingly abstract, but looking at Emily's excited, flushed face, he believed it must feel pretty good.
College? He'd never even attended. It might be interesting someday...
Back home, Jake pulled out his phone to check his progress in the Level 2 movie worlds. He'd only been to Léon: The Professional and Invisible Sister. In one, he'd completely rewritten the plot from the beginning, and in the other, he'd only participated in the opening sequence. So his progress wasn't ideal; he'd only advanced 11%.
Through the preview function, he could see the current situations of the protagonists in the worlds he'd visited.
For example, in Léon: The Professional, young Mathilda was watching TV. Léon wasn't there; he must have been working. Jake had lived with Léon before, and this was practically their normal routine.
In the Limitless world, Eddie was driving a Ferrari with an attractive woman in designer clothes, looking quite pleased with himself. Had he already achieved his hundred-million-dollar goal? This was more than a week faster than Jake had estimated. He planned to go collect his returns when he had time. If Eddie resisted, Jake wouldn't mind reminding him who'd made it all possible.
The other worlds were the same, all continuing to develop according to the changes Jake had made. In The Day After Tomorrow world, the ice and snow were gradually melting, and recovery efforts were beginning...
But when he checked on The Princess Diaries, Jake suddenly had an interesting thought.
He was currently involved with the first film, set when Mia was 15. The sequel, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, takes place five years later, after Mia has graduated from college.
If he were to enter The Princess Diaries 2 now, would he encounter a more mature Mia? Would she still recognize him?
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