37 Students 2

Ci-ci reclined in his chair, absentmindedly staring at his monitors. Over the past week, he had done practically nothing aside from research. At the moment, he was facing a couple big problems.

The first was the biology side of things. Wanting to create a virtual reality system that could take effect in your dreams at this point was no more than a fantasy. The idea of succeeding in just a single year was ridiculous by anyone's standards, even Ci-ci's.

Although Ci-ci wasn't ignorant in the medical field, he was only one man. It was impossible for him to be an expert in everything.

The second problem were the games.

For obvious reasons, he hadn't had much time to play around in his youth, so the gaming world was quite foreign to him. But, it wasn't as though he was sitting on his hands doing nothing in preparation for joining Petrov Technologies. It could be said that over the past half year or so, after Ci-ci had put down his renewable energy research, he had become a leading historian in gaming entertainment.

That said, simply knowing what made something great didn't mean you could then produce the perfect product.

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This was why Ci-ci needed others.

'Dr. Rai, it seems like you'll finally get your chance to poke at me like your own personal lab rat.' Ci-ci chuckled to himself lightly.

He clearly had an idea about which neurology specialist he wanted to make use of, however, what he was sorely lacking was an artist. Not just in terms of design work because he had Lily for that. Rather, he needed a savant in crafting a story… A creative genius.

That said, this task was even more difficult than the first. Creative types often had their own quirks when it came to the work they did. Ci-ci might very well find someone perfect who could construct the greatest game world ever seen, but whether that person would be willing to work for him was a different matter entirely.

This wasn't all either. Ci-ci also wanted the story this genius crafted to conform with what audiences wanted to see. This would up the difficulty once more.

Ci-ci shook his head, standing to walk out of his office. 'It's fine. First let's deal with what's in front of us.'

Suddenly, a slight rage coursed through Ci-ci's eyes.

One of the hardest things he ever had to do in his life was sully his father's name by rejecting the Grandbell award. If it wasn't for the fact he knew that his rejection would fuel and remind the world of the legacy of his father, maybe he would have never done it to begin with.

However, Ci-ci would never allow anyone else to do this. The reason he went out of his way to ensure Grandbell would always rank number one was because he would never allow his family's name to be trampled upon, not while he was still breathing.

'Before the Grandbell family, you can only compete for second place.'

**

As Ci-ci was diligently working toward his goals, an article akin to a shot heard around the world was released.

At first, many found it ridiculous. This was because this article was released by a very small newspaper, The Algood Times.

This wasn't all either, it was released by a relative no-name of that newspaper as well.

These days, it was difficult for the public to take new reporters with poor credentials very seriously. Plus, with the advent of social media, not many paid much attention to the newspaper at all – it was a dying industry even hundreds of years later.

However, the newspaper had its own merits, or else it never would have lasted so long. In addition, when coupled with a strong social media presence and its now paperless form, it was much easier to accept for those of the modern times.

This said, The Algood Times was still far too small to catch nation wide attention… That is, until it broadcasted a name that resounded through the world: Ci-ci Bell.

The very first exclusive interview with Ci-ci Bell after the incident? How could the world not go crazy over this news?

Almost simultaneously, man, woman and child ran to their respective devices, sending a flood of revenue to The Algood Times server. After multiple crashes, pirated versions of the article sprung up, spreading further and wider.

The best part was that this article didn't disappoint in the least.

First were the speculations about Ci-ci's gang affiliations. According to the reporter, Ci-ci had an altercation with members of The Russians at the Mariotte that ended with seven wounded individuals. Although the reporter didn't elaborate, it was heavily implied that Ci-ci was responsible for those seven being injured, including two women!

The world was sent into an uproar. Ci-ci Bell? A gang member? A woman beater? Each caused the public to seethe more than the last.

Could Ci-ci's rejection of the Grandbell Award have something to do with those big mafia bosses? Could it be that they were making big moves after so many years lying dormant?

Before those shocking revelations could even calm, a second article was released detailing content of an exclusive interview this very same reporter had with Ci-ci where he actually guaranteed winning the Newcomer Award of this up and coming Gaming Expo!

The world was filled with a rain of curses. How arrogant did you have to be to guarantee something like this?! Especially when everyone knew that Ci-ci had no experience in the gaming field!

It was safe to say that the world had rekindled its reasons to hate Ci-ci, but also felt the need to follow his story even more so.

That was when the reporter revealed her identity as Elizabeth Russo, along with a promise that she had inside sources on Ci-ci who would feed her the information they all wanted.

At that moment, not only was Ci-ci thrown into the spotlight, but Elizabeth soared right along with him.

In a single night, Elizabeth's 'LifeVein' social media account gained tens of thousands of followers.