Chapter 16: The First Employee
The next morning arrived quietly.
Anshul woke up earlier than usual. The sky outside his window was still pale blue, and the streets of Pune had not yet become busy. For a few moments he simply lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, organizing his thoughts for the day.
During the past week his life had changed dramatically.
He was no longer just a university student worrying about exams and assignments. Instead, he was now the founder of a technology company and the owner of a system that allowed him to travel across different worlds.
The difference between those two realities still felt surreal sometimes.
Anshul sat up and glanced at the small container inside his drawer.
The NZT pills rested quietly inside.
He had not used them again since returning from the Limitless world. Even though the drug was incredibly powerful, he knew the risks. Until he obtained the perfected version that Eddie Morra would eventually develop, using NZT too frequently would be dangerous.
Closing the drawer, Anshul walked to the bathroom, washed his face, and prepared for the day.
A few minutes later he sat down at his desk and opened his laptop.
Immediately several windows appeared on the screen.
The AI assistant program was already running.
During the past few days Anshul had significantly improved the system. It could now automatically gather data from financial markets and organize it into detailed reports.
The program scanned information from dozens of sources every minute.
Stock price movements.
Technology sector investments.
Global economic news.
All of this information appeared on the screen in neatly organized charts.
Anshul studied the data carefully.
After several minutes of analysis, he opened his trading platform and placed a few small investments.
He wasn't risking large amounts of money yet.
At this stage, the purpose was simply to test the AI's prediction accuracy.
So far the results had been encouraging.
Several trades had already generated consistent profits.
Anshul leaned back slightly in his chair and opened the World Theater interface.
The translucent screen appeared instantly.
Traveler Level: 1
Current World: Origin World
Limitless — 30%
The progress bar had increased again.
Time in the Limitless world continued moving forward even though he had not returned there recently.
Anshul thought about the timeline of the movie.
By now Eddie Morra was probably already becoming extremely powerful in the financial world. Soon he would attract attention from politicians and investors.
Eventually he would gain control of the pharmaceutical company connected to NZT.
And after that…
The perfected version of the drug would appear.
That moment would be extremely important.
Until then, there was no reason for Anshul to interfere.
He closed the interface and turned his attention back to the computer.
Another document appeared on the screen.
Company Development Plan
Giri Technologies had already been registered.
The AI assistant program was improving.
His financial resources were slowly growing.
But there was still one major problem.
He couldn't do everything alone.
Even if he possessed incredible knowledge, managing a company while also preparing for multiverse travel would eventually become impossible.
He needed help.
Employees.
Developers.
Engineers.
Anshul opened several job websites and began reviewing profiles.
Hundreds of candidates appeared on the screen.
Most of them were average.
Some lacked experience.
Others demanded salaries far beyond what a new startup could afford.
But after nearly ten minutes of searching, one profile caught his attention.
A young programmer named Rohan Kulkarni.
Age: 23
Degree: Computer Science
Skills: Python, Machine Learning, Data Analysis
Most importantly…
He had been unemployed for several months.
Anshul studied the profile carefully.
Rohan had clearly participated in several impressive university projects, but without strong connections or experience it had been difficult for him to find work.
For Anshul, however, this situation was perfect.
Talented people who lacked opportunities were exactly the type of employees he needed.
He quickly sent a message inviting Rohan for a meeting.
To his surprise, the reply arrived less than an hour later.
Rohan was extremely interested.
They arranged to meet the following afternoon at a small café near a technology park.
The next day, Anshul arrived at the café ten minutes early.
The place was quiet, filled mostly with students and programmers working on laptops.
After a few minutes, a young man entered the café and looked around nervously before approaching Anshul's table.
"Are you Anshul?" he asked.
"Yes."
They shook hands and sat down.
The interview began immediately.
Anshul asked several technical questions.
Some were basic programming concepts.
Others involved complex machine learning algorithms.
Rohan answered most of them correctly, although sometimes he needed a few seconds to think.
That was a good sign.
He was intelligent, but not arrogant.
After about half an hour, Anshul closed his laptop.
"You're hired," he said.
Rohan blinked in surprise.
"Just like that?"
"Yes."
"But… we didn't even discuss salary yet."
"We will," Anshul replied calmly. "But first I want to know if you're interested in building something new."
"What do you mean?"
"A technology company focused on artificial intelligence."
Rohan's eyes widened slightly.
"That sounds incredible."
Anshul smiled faintly.
"Good. Because that's exactly what we're doing."
They spent the next twenty minutes discussing the details.
Rohan would begin working remotely for now while they developed the first version of the company's AI platform.
If everything progressed well, they would eventually rent an office and expand the team.
After the meeting ended, Anshul stepped outside the café.
The afternoon sun illuminated the busy street.
Cars moved slowly through traffic while office workers walked toward nearby buildings.
For a moment Anshul simply watched the city.
Step by step, his plan was becoming reality.
First the company registration.
Then the AI system.
Now the first employee.
Soon Giri Technologies would begin building its first real product.
But Anshul knew this was only the beginning.
Because somewhere inside the endless library of the World Theater, countless other worlds were waiting.
Worlds filled with knowledge.
Technology.
And brilliant minds that might one day join his growing empire.
For Anshul Giri, the journey had only just begun.