first move
After going through everything, John decided to step out and take in the city he had so dearly missed. The cool autumn air carried the scent of roasted chestnuts and fresh coffee as he stepped onto the bustling streets of Boston. The city was alive—a fusion of history and progress—where red-brick buildings whispered of the past while glass towers reached for the sky. The cobblestone streets of Beacon Hill glistened under the streetlights, their uneven surfaces worn smooth by generations of footsteps.
A Green Line train groaned in the distance, its aging metal frame rattling along the tracks, a sound so familiar it felt like part of the city's heartbeat. Students hurried past him on Commonwealth Avenue, their faces buried in scarves, their voices a mix of casual chatter and intellectual debate. Across the Charles River, the sleek silhouettes of MIT and Harvard stood like sentinels of knowledge, their windows glowing against the early evening sky.
John closed his eyes for a moment, letting the sounds and smells wash over him. I really made it back. The thought still felt surreal. He had walked these streets before, but back then, he was just another struggling college graduate, drowning in student loans, grasping at stock tips and side hustles in the hopes of making something of himself. Now, everything was different. He had knowledge that no one else possessed, the ability to manipulate money itself, and a system that ensured he could turn even the smallest opportunity into unimaginable wealth.
This time, I won't struggle. This time, I'll be the one in control.
---
John walked briskly toward Micro Center, the holy grail of tech enthusiasts. The store was tucked near the Charles River, a haven for engineers, students, and anyone with a love for cutting-edge hardware. As he stepped inside, the hum of conversation and the faint whir of display laptops greeted him. Rows of graphics cards, processors, and motherboards gleamed under fluorescent lights, each one a stepping stone to his future fortune.
John moved with purpose, selecting the best components available:
GPUs: The Nvidia GTX 295, a powerhouse in 2009, capable of dual-GPU processing. He grabbed four of them—expensive but worth it.
CPU: Intel's Core i7-920, the top-tier processor of its time. He needed this for stock market calculations and running multiple scripts.
Motherboard: ASUS P6T7 WS Supercomputer—a rare find but perfect for multi-GPU mining.
Power Supply: 1200W PSU to handle the heavy workload.
Cooling System: A mix of air cooling and custom-mounted fans to keep temperatures under control.
Hard Drive & RAM: A fast 256GB SSD for the OS and 12GB of DDR3 RAM for smooth multitasking.
Bitcoin mining in 2009 was vastly different from what it would become in the future. Back now, there was no specialized mining hardware—just raw computing power. His rig would be among the most powerful in existence at this time.
Satisfied, John walked up to the checkout counter, where a lanky cashier named Ethan rang him up.
"Building a monster rig, huh?" Ethan scanned a top-of-the-line GPU. "This thing alone costs, like, five hundred bucks."
John gave a casual shrug. "Yeah, need it for some heavy computing work."
Ethan nodded, clearly interested. "Gaming or…?"
"Something like that," John said with a smirk, watching as the final total popped up on the register. $3,200. A significant sum in 2009, but nothing compared to what it would make him.
Sliding a wad of crisp twenties across the counter, John waited as Ethan counted the bills, eyes widening slightly. "Man, I don't see a lot of cash payments for stuff like this."
John just smiled. "Guess I'm old school."
As the last bill left his fingers, a soft chime echoed in his head.
[System Alert: Transaction detected. Amount spent—$3,200. Multiplication ability activated. New balance: $16,000.]
John's pulse quickened. The system had just quintupled his money. Walking out with his bags, he exhaled slowly. This was just the beginning.
---
Back in his apartment, John wasted no time. He cleared his desk, grabbed a screwdriver, and started assembling. The motherboard went in first, secured into a modified open-air metal frame. He installed the CPU with careful precision, clicking the liquid cooler into place to prevent overheating.
Next came the GPUs. He slotted them one by one into the PCIe slots, securing each with screws. The power supply cables were carefully routed, ensuring they wouldn't interfere with airflow.
Once everything was connected, he powered it on. The fans roared to life, LEDs flickering as the system initialized. He entered the BIOS, making a few tweaks to optimize power consumption and cooling, then booted into the operating system.
Now came the software.
Bitcoin mining in 2009 was still in its infancy. Satoshi Nakamoto had released the first mining software, and only a handful of enthusiasts were mining coins. John downloaded the original Bitcoin client, setting up his wallet and configuring the miner to use all four GPUs.
He entered a simple command:
bitcoind -gen -threads=8
And just like that, his system started solving cryptographic puzzles.
Blocks of Bitcoin trickled in at an astounding rate—50 BTC per block. In just a few minutes, he had mined more than most people would ever own in their lifetime.
[System Alert: Passive income mode activated. Bitcoin mining at maximum efficiency.]
John leaned back, watching the numbers climb. This was what power felt like.
--
With the mining rig running, he turned his attention to stocks. The market was still recovering from the 2008 financial crisis, and he knew exactly which companies would dominate the next decade.
He opened his laptop, navigating to E*TRADE. After setting up an account, he deposited $10,000—just a fraction of what his system had multiplied for him.
His shopping list:
Apple (AAPL): Still under $20 a share. By 2025, it would be worth hundreds.
Tesla (TSLA): A startup most people ignored. Soon, it would revolutionize the automotive industry.
Amazon (AMZN): E-commerce was only beginning to explode. He would ride the wave to billions.
Google (GOOG): A giant in the making, with dominance over search and the emerging smartphone market.
Using limit orders, he carefully bought shares, ensuring he wouldn't move the market too much.
As his trades executed, a familiar chime rang in his head.
[System Alert: Stock investment detected. Passive income mode enabled.]
John exhaled. Now, the real game begins.
---
Later that night, John found himself back on the streets, walking along the Charles River. The water reflected the city lights, shimmering like liquid gold.
He thought back to his past life—the endless grind, the fear of failure, the nights spent staring at the ceiling, wondering if he'd ever escape mediocrity.
Now, those fears were gone.
He pulled out his phone and checked his balance. Bitcoin mining had already started generating coins, the stock market trades were in place, and his system ensured that whatever he spent, he got back fivefold.
He could do anything. Be anyone.
John smirked.
Boston was just the beginning.