Chapter 93 - Amateur Assessment of Physical Processes

April 7, 2012 – Sunday 2 am – Okuba, Nabla Province

The English dubbing was finished faster than Tayaw expected. The broadcasting students he hired absorbed Tayaw's instructions very well. Without any theater or voice acting experience, the students did not have any habits that interfered with the recording.

Even though Tayaw talked their ears off with instructions or insulted them to elicit emotions, it all ended well and the voice actors went back to their homes happy with their small fortunes.

Tayaw also fiddled a lot with his video editing and sound editing software until he was able to finish replacing the Teungebian dialogue with English. It was a delicate process but he was able to quickly finish the dubbing nonetheless with his enhanced physical and mental processes.

Finding himself nothing to do he decided to go back home in Okuba where he now finds himself sitting in his truck, with his laptop on his lap.

As to why he is sitting in his truck and not inside the house at this hour of the morning; he needed privacy.

He just had a video conference with the CEO of Pink Apron and the CEO of Cognito Technologies, the guys he hired back in October to be his eyes in the two companies while he's away. According to the CEO of Pink Apron, the company already started business in the latter half of January. Because Tayaw was busy, he did not bother reading the CEOs' e-mails to him.

The company started small at first, only advertising themselves in New York as it is still what the current manpower and equipment can handle. After more than three months however, the business quickly gained profit.

Tayaw could still not believe how the company's business model became valued at 2 billion dollars when it became public in NASDAQ in his previous life. All the company did was to package measured raw ingredients, attach a recipe in a pamphlet, and send it to subscribers. "Well. Whatever. If this works out, I'll sell my shares immediately." Tayaw chuckled.

Cognito, on the other hand, according to the CEO, are still in their Research and Development of drones, 360 degree videography, and phone camera filters. Thankfully, the company is very secretive in their research, and with the small group of electronic, mechanical, and software engineers very focused on their work, the future of the company looks very bright.

If everything goes well, when the company becomes public 12 years from now, it will be valued by NASDAQ at $250 billion. That value was not really due to the manufacturing power of Cognito in the future, but the patents they will hold.

After processing the reports of the two CEOs in his head, Tayaw clicked open his e-mail to browse the sales report from 'The Halfling' and the 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' for the month of March. He earned a total 46,000,000 BGC from the combined sales, and he has now 240,000,000 BGC in his account, tax not included.

"Yep. I'm probably the richest man in Ouigab right now." Tayaw said to himself. Ouigab currently, is a music and academic city filled with artists, students, and professors. Smart people, but their trade is not as lucrative in the grand scheme of things.

From what he can remember in his past life, the richest artists, pop stars, actors, or authors in the world all did not become billionaires from selling their craft alone, but by starting their own businesses be it cosmetic brands, clothing brands, or liquor brands. The richest musician Tayaw can remember in his past life made his riches with overpriced Bluetooth speakers.

When it comes to the actual richest showbiz person overall, it would be a film director who owned a film studio that made animated films. Even then, the film director did not make his money through ticket sales, but toys based on his animated films.

"Thought for the future." Tayaw sighed and closed his laptop, went out the car and went back inside the house.

After washing up, Tayaw went out of the house again, wearing his running gear on and a backpack on his back. Stepping out the door, he inhaled deeply to smell the early morning breeze of Okuba. It's not Alib Village or Canotu Village where his parents are originally from, but the air is still a lot fresher than the air in Ouigab.

After stretching for a while, Tayaw started his jog. It's still 2:15 in the morning so all the neighbors are still asleep, and the roads are dark. Tayaw didn't mind the dark as it's safe for him to test something out without people seeing.

Arriving at the more desolate parts of Okuba, he pulled out a digital speedometer he recently bought and turned it on. On a jogging pace, he saw his speed is at 15 km/hr; a much faster speed than the average jogging speeds of 9 km/hr.

He then sped up, his foot less and less in contact with the ground. 20… 30… 40… 50… 60… 70 kilometers per hour. At this point, he noticed that he's still not putting that significant of an effort. Maintaining his pace at 70 km/hr, he jogged for 10 minutes straight. At the 10th minute mark, he's still not sweating or feeling any hotter.

He then increased his pace. 80… 90… 100… 110 kilometers per hour. At this speed, Tayaw started sweating a lot. He maintained this speed for a few minutes until he reached the boundary between Okuba and town of Tabila. Tayaw then decided to stop here for a moment.

His breathing has gotten heavy but he is still breathing comfortable. Tayaw figured that he can still keep this speed up for 20 or so minutes more before he runs out of breath. "Well.. I can outrun average cars at this pace." Tayaw chuckled, pleased after getting a quantified information of himself.

Instead of continuing to Tabila, Tayaw turned back around to the direction of Okuba. If Tayaw continued his way to Tabila, a much more populated Town compared to Okuba, people might see him and that would be trouble. After jogging to the straighter parts of the highway, Tayaw prepared to resume his test. His upper limit this time. He stopped again to tie his shoe laces as secure as he can make them.

*Inhale*…*Exhale* Tayaw crouched to a running pose. "go…" Tayaw whispered and pushed his leg off the ground. 110… 120… 130… "Top speed of a cheetah…" Tayaw mumbled his smile getting wider. He feels that his calves are starting to feel hot. His breathing starting to get labored and the sweat from his forehead flowing down to his eyes, obstructing his vision.

140… before he can speed up even further, *Snap* *RICKKK* Tayaw's shoes made an odd sound and his left foot tore through his sock and shoe and his bare foot made contact with the rough asphalt ground. "Tss…" Tayaw felt a sharp pain as the same thing happened with his right foot. His left foot then stepped on a small stone and he stumbled. To prevent himself from falling, he forced himself to gain his balance back.

Before he did however, *SMACK* he crashed to the concrete barrier. Because of the dark, he did not notice the 'curve ahead' sign and that the straight part of the road has ended. "UGHHHHHHHHH" Air was knocked out of Tayaw and his body reeled from the impact.

"Hu- Hu- Hu- Huugghh… PHEW." Regaining his breathing, Tayaw sighed in relief. He also examined his body quickly and noticed that he's still alright. He can still walk, not even limping.

His abdomen and chest, however is feeling a dull pain. "Shit. That's going to bruise." Tayaw said. He slowly pressed on his abdomen and chest to assess how deep the damage is and fortunately, the pain is only as deep as the muscles.

Tayaw then looked over the concrete fence he crashed into and saw an empty darkness down below the road. "Shit. That was close." Tayaw shook his head, not even wanting to think about what would happen had he fallen the roadside cliff.

He then sat down by the side of the road to rest and examine the soles of his feet. He noticed that they were not hurting at all and that the sharp stone he stepped on did not do any damage. "Thank goodness. Even though it will hurt, I can still run home. Hahaha." Tayaw then stood back up and jogged towards where his shoes scattered.

"36 enhancements; 2 story high jump, 140 km/hr sprint." Tayaw's mind is blown at what his body can do. " Looks like running shoes aren't enough. I might have to start using leather boots when testing my body." Tayaw said as he noticed the shoe was torn at the part where the soft fabric is on anterior part of the shoes. He shook his head and put his jogging shoes and the speedometer he brought with him back to his backpack.

He resumed his way home, but after jogging for a few minutes, he realized that he has traveled quite far in only the past half hour. Thankfully, *vroom* he heard a faint sound of a vehicle coming from behind him.

Tayaw then stopped on his tracks and after waiting for 30 seconds or so by the side of the road, he saw a white Wr*ngler Jeep approaching. Tayaw then raised his arm on his side and stuck out his thumb and showed the gesture for the driver of the jeep to see.

The driver responded by sounding their horn and stopped in front of Tayaw. The window by the front passenger seat rolled down and he saw a Caucasian man in his 50s leaning over from the driver's seat.