Morning sunlight filtered through the stained-glass windows of Solaris Tower, scattering colors across the polished floors. The campus was already alive—AIISA was a city disguised as a school, and its pulse woke earlier than the students.
Steven Blake stood at the main entrance, hands in his pockets, the breeze gently rustling his shirt. He waited in quiet silence, expression unreadable.
Noah arrived first—hair messy, glasses slightly crooked, clutching a worn laptop bag like a lifeline. Lila arrived a minute later, posture straight, ponytail sharp, eyes bright with curiosity and calculation.
"Where exactly are we going?" Noah asked, breath slightly uneven.
"Field trip," Steven replied, the corner of his lips lifting.
Lila narrowed her eyes. "Field trips in AIISA aren't usually off-campus."
"Exactly," Steven said. "Get in."
The black SUV waiting beside him gleamed under the sun. When the door opened, they found a familiar man seated at the wheel.
"Good morning," Alex greeted politely.
Noah and Lila greeted with a polite nod. They climbed in. The SUV pulled away from AIISA, the school gates shrinking behind them.
As the drive stretched on, Steven briefed them calmly, like someone reporting tomorrow's weather.
"Noah, your SoC design ideas will be used."
Noah's jaw dropped.
"Lila," Steven continued, "Eva Mobile OS will need optimization. You'll handle the adaptive AI kernel."
Lila blinked. "…You mean you're actually building a phone."
"Not just a phone," Steven corrected. "An evolution."
Noah swallowed, adrenaline rising.
Steven glanced toward the front."Alex. Transfer DeltaElectronics to Griffin Tech. Lisa will handle the paperwork. And begin acquiring Griffin Tech shares in bulk—I want full ownership."
Alex nodded. "Already in motion, sir."
Noah's jaw nearly unhinged.
"Wait—wait wait wait—YOU own Griffin Tech?! The Griffin Tech? The one with multiple patents in robotics, IoT, AI frameworks—?!"
"Majority shareholder," Steven confirmed. "For now."
Noah clutched his head. "What kind of eighteen-year-old casually buys companies and builds OS platforms?!"
Lila smirked."Noah, please. Did you really think a 'Soft Rice King' invented technology twenty years ahead of the world by frying noodles at Heavenly Dine?"
Steven didn't respond—but his faint smile said everything.
The SUV rolled past steel gates of Delta Electronics as facial-recognition cameras tracked them.
Noah leaned forward in awe.
Rows of buildings. Towering silos. Dozens of loading bays.A complex easily worth several billion—yet Steven had bought it for "pocket change" during auction.
They entered the main production hall.
It was enormous—like a cathedral built for machines.Five sleek manufacturing belts lined the center, each one humming quietly though unused.
Lila whispered, goosebumps rising on her arms:
"Is this… ours?"
Steven walked forward, tapping one of the belts lightly.
"It is now."
He turned to them, tone shifting into leadership. "Roles."
He pointed.
"Noah — Hardware engineering. Lead the SoC, battery, camera systems."
Noah nodded vigorously.
"Lila — AI integration and OS optimization. Eva Mobile needs to evolve."
Lila smirked. "Already rewriting frameworks in my head."
"And you?" Noah asked. "Where do you fit?"
Steven's lips tilted upward.
"I'll bridge you both… and take care of what you can't."
He turned toward Alex next.
"Call Lisa. Tell her to send ten elite engineers from Griffin Tech. We're building something monumental."
"Yes, sir."
Within an hour, black and silver vehicles began arriving at the facility. A dozen top-level Griffin Tech engineers stepped out—experts in circuit design, material science, OS architecture, battery tech, and quantum-layer computing.
Noah's breath caught. "These people… these are legends."
Lila whispered, "What kind of eighteen-year-old commands an elite R&D team like this?"
Steven simply clapped his hands once. "Let's build."
Soon the work began.
Noah spread schematics across the table, sketching SoC improvements. Lila argued over data routing until she and Steven reached elegant solutions together. Engineers carried metal sheets, sensors, and chipset prototypes. Steven moved between workstations like a conductor, solving bottlenecks before they turned into problems.
Every night ended with exhausted geniuses sleeping half-bent over circuit boards. Every morning began with another breakthrough.
By second week, a major obstacle emerged:The transparent chassis material wasn't stable enough to maintain light-bending consistency.
Engineers stressed. Noah nearly pulled his hair out. Lila swore softly under her breath.
Steven quietly took a pen, walked to the whiteboard, and in fifteen minutes—designed a new meta-material structure using principles from his Advanced Material Synthesis skill.
Silence fell.
A Griffin engineer whispered, "…This formula is… genius."
Noah whispered, "He isn't building a phone… he's bending physics."
From that moment, they no longer viewed Steven as a CEO.
They viewed him as the architect.
By the third week, the belts roared to life. Tiny robotic arms moved, assembling parts with millimetre-perfect precision.
Lila watched tearfully as Eva Mobile OS booted instantly— her code dancing inside the transparent device like a heartbeat.
Noah adjusted the final circuit, hands trembling.
And then—
It appeared.
A phone slid off the production line.
Not any phone.
A ghost. A glass prism.A device that warped the air around it in gentle waves.
Steven picked it up carefully.
The room waited with held breath.
He powered it on.
Light glowed from within the transparent slab—soft, elegant, like dawn trapped in crystal.
Noah whispered, "…Eclipse."
Lila stepped closer, mesmerised.
"This isn't version one," she murmured. "This is version future."
Steven smiled. "Eclipse Note X01."
The team exhaled in awe.
While Steven, Noah, and Lila were busy with Eclipse Note X01, on campus, the rumours were ignited again.
"He disappeared."
"I heard Veronica cut him off."
"He couldn't even survive the first month."
"Dropped out. Classic small-town boy failure."
Lucas's circle fanned the flames gleefully.
Veronica walked the halls alone, ignoring the whispers—but her eyes held storms.
She trusted Steven.
She waited. Quietly, fiercely.
Back at DeltaElectronics, Steven stood in the dark factory, Eclipse Note X01 glowing in his hand like a living star.
Noah was asleep on a workbench.
Lila sat nearby, arms folded, watching Steven with quiet admiration.
He finally turned to them.
"Tomorrow," he said softly, "we show AIISA who we are."
The world wasn't ready. And neither was AIISA.