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"Amazing! I think this is Bangtan Boy's new sound and style. You have quite the talent in music direction, Vince." Pdogg said excitedly after an hour of coaching from their CEO.
[Not really. I just guided BTS towards their inevitable signature style.] Vince thought.
"That was all you, guys. Alright, Imma bounce. Y'all are welcome to Hailee's welcoming dinner tonight. It's the least I can do to thank y'all for entertaining my special guest." Vince offered graciously before heading towards the NetServ Control Center.
Vince emerged from his private elevator on NetServ's dedicated office floor a few minutes later.
He found Azuma-san and Edward waiting in the meeting room discussing the project.
"Have you guys deliberated enough about the release date yet?" Vince asked as he sat down at the head of the table.
"As we concluded earlier in the meeting, the unique media identifier initiative is ready for market, but the augmented cyberspace project is lagging behind the development. Nevertheless, I stand by my suggestion to release both when the ACS is fully functional." Azuma-san stated.
"I respectfully disagree. We have the opportunity to level up Future Tech's security protocols if we implement the identifier system while also protecting our clientele's digital property. The ACS can wait." Edward Snowden explained.
"I understand your gripes with releasing an unfinished product, Azuma-san. That's why I respect you highly, but we should start utilizing the identifiers, especially with my negotiations with Disney and Marvel coming up this weekend. It will also make moderating all our different platforms much easier." Vince explained.
"Alright, Vince. But you have to inject additional funding into NetServ to complete the ACS more quickly." Azuma-san replied.
"Consider done. I'll add $1 billion to your funding for the rest of 2013, specifically for the ACS development. Can we move on to the next order of business, NetServ's foreign expansion?" Vince stated.
"Marcia Kemp is finalizing the agreement with the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regarding our service expansion. So NetServ's next quarter target is growing our presence within the African Union and China if possible." Azuma-san described shortly.
"How about Russia? Plenty of other nations are frothing at the mouth for a new alternative internet provider, so why has Russia stayed silent?" Vince asked in confusion.
"Most of our attempts in entering their market have been unfruitful and a waste of time. The Russian government doesn't want anything to do with NetServ's global internet initiative." Azuma-san replied.
"Well, That's annoying. Is there anything we can do, at least?" Vince asked.
[Multi-national deals like this were never my forte, though I'm learning slowly in my new life.] Vince thought.
"It's a lot of politics, Vince. The Russian market is currently too much of a headache, but it makes sense. Anthony and I have been investigating the Ashkan prisonbreak and found evidence of SVR RF movement around the CIA black site a few weeks before the assault." Snowden commented.
"So the Russians were behind freeing one of the highest-ranking Al-Qaeda officers ever to be captured alive?" Vince inquired seriously.
"Future Security is collaborating with Interpol in the search for Ashkan, but what can we do? The Russians will simply deny it and intimate that the US forged the evidence." Edward replied sullenly.
"Have Anthony compile all the findings and evidence Future Security gathers in our database. Then, if the authorities can't do shit, we'll retaliate when the time is right instead." Vince instructed sternly.
"Agreed. However, I question Russia's motive for going out of its way to free a known terrorist. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around it." Edward
Vince went silent and reminisced deeply of his past memories about Russia in 2013. He had to focus intensely because of the numerous distracting memories in Vince's mind from both his lives.
[Euromaidan. But what does a jihadist have to do with the civil unrest in Ukraine?] Vince pondered.
What Vince didn't know was the fact that Russia has been gathering tactical support from various sources such as Anarchy's Lazarus Group and Fawdaa in preparation for the invasion.
It was around 5 pm when the meeting was concluded, which perfectly aligned with the end of the day shift.
Vince bade farewell to his NetServ executive director and vice-director before returning to Future Studios to find his friends.
Game developers on the way out of the office noticed Vince Dalton going in the opposite direction.
"I appreciate the excellent work, always. Have a good night, everyone." Vince told the devs as he walked by.
"Likewise, Mr. Dalton." "You too, sir!" the staff enthusiastically replied before leaving the office.
[Yeah, fuck working at the office late at night. Everyone at Future Tech deserves ample time with their families and away from work.] So Vince thought as he remembered the nights he spent at his old office in 2021.
He found a group of thirteen young men and women dancing around the video production wing at the Future Studios offices.
A massive background replacement screen that directors could switch to any color surrounded the area filled with different types of camera rigs and boom microphones, and staff working the later-day shifts.
"Hey, babe! Come here and watch the music video we shot while you were away. It isn't finished yet, but we already have a solid vision of the final version." Hailee shouted enthusiastically.
Vince complied with her request as a supportive boyfriend and thought it was good enough to post on YouTube and Instagram as is.
"Catchy and entertaining, I'm digging it. It looks finished enough to start post-production so what's the problem?" Vince asked.
"Two things actually. Firstly, I've decided to sign with Future Studios as my music label. I called my agent earlier to receive approval and they're fine with it, but no feature-length movies yet. Secondly, I want you to be in my first music video, Vince." Hailee explained in detail.
"Aight, you're messing with me, aren't you? Did Kyle or Rick put you up to this? Not cool, guys." Vince replied in mild surprise.
"It was all her idea, stupid. Why does everything have to be my fault?" Kyle commented jokingly.
"I'm serious, babe. I wrote the song about you, so it seems fitting to have you appear in the video, at least." Hailee said with a puppy dog pout.
[The things I do for the women in my life.] Vince pondered before Sarah and Jessica went to action and started doing make-up on his face.
Future Studios employed staff for this sort of thing, but Vince's friends insisted they would do it.
The music video primarily featured Hailee singing her song 'Starving' with BTS acting as her background dancers at certain parts of the song.
The only scenes missing were Hailee and Vince's short interactions in different parts of the production set.
Jessica and Sarah revealed Vince's transformation as they arrived from the dressing room.
He was wearing a set of active Future Couture clothes meant for exercising similar to an Adidas tracksuit but designed with Leah's unique style.
Rick and Kyle were having the time of their lives, laughing their asses off because they were about to watch Vince make a fool of himself on stage.
"Ha ha ha" Vince sarcastically murmured as he shook his head like a monkey.
"Thanks for doing a terrific job, ladies!" Hailee said to Jessica and Sarah.
"Don't mention it. All I want to see is Vince dance on two left feet, honestly." Jessica replied, bantering.
"Wait, you're gonna make me dance too? We might be here all night if that's the case." Vince said as he tried to escape from his evolving predicament.
"Come on, Vince. J-Hope will show you a few moves. Don't stress about it, babe." Haiz interjected.
It took about fifteen minutes until Vince was comfortable enough to dance with Hailee on set, but there was one more thing he had to do.
"Before we start, I want you to take off your shirt." Hailee requested.
Everyone started laughing, including the Korean artists, the moment after she made her request.
"Haiz, not even my sparring partners train with me while I'm shirtless. Is it really necessary?" Vince stated.
[Come on, man. Why ask me, the body shy person, to remove my shirt for a music video that millions of people will watch.] Vince pondered before bottling up his embarrassment and going shirtless.
Vince wasn't hugely muscular, but the supplements Tom Fury recommended to take every day made a decent difference.
"Whoa! What the hell, Vince, you're shredded!" Kyle reacted first.
"I've been pushing you to attend daily training at the Fury Gym, but you keep on making excuses. So this is what an hour of anaerobic activity every day can do for you." Vince rebutted.
"Alright, remind me again tomorrow," Kyle replied.
"Remind yourself, dude," Vince replied before heading up the stage.
The production crew began the video production process as Vince held his own with the dancing and positioning around the stage, to his relief.
The video shooting took half an hour, thanks to pre-recording most of the sections prior to Vince arriving.
"You did great, babe! Thanks for being a good sport and putting up with your friends' teasing." Haiz said before giving Vince a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Please tell me beforehand if you plan on doing that again. We can leave the post-processing to Future Studios. We'll eat dinner at my house in an hour but I want to show you something first." Vince explained.
"I'm yours tonight, so please take me wherever you want," Haiz replied with a playful smirk.
Stats last time checked:
Future Tech current valuation - $300 billion
15 million BTC (currently trades at $25,000)
$15 Billion cash in Future Tech
105,000+ employees (FT AI, Future Studios, Hive Mind Manufacturing, FT Micro Devices, BitCash, FT VR, Future Tech F1, FT Investments, Future Arms, Future Med, Future Tech Robotics, Future Education, Epic Games, 60% of SpaceX, 10% of Tesla, 10% of Koenigsegg)
20,000+ operators under Future Security
Personal Vehicles: Klassen Phantom, Agera R, Agera SFV, Boeing Luxury 787 Dreamliner, The Longhorn, Flyga
Five company collaborators (Epic, Koenegisegg, SpaceX, Tesla, Hyundai C&E)
Numerous subsidiaries under Future Tech Holdings (i..e., Instagram, Twitch, Big Hit Entertainment)
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