Chapter 10: The Company
Here's a refined version of your story with improved flow, smoother dialogue, and enhanced emotional depth:
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The next morning, Kai Vale received a notification on his phone — the money had successfully arrived in his account.
'Matt really pulled it off.'
Kai smiled and shot Matt a quick text: *"Got it. Let's continue tonight."*
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That night, Kai and Matt met on the same rooftop. After the smooth operation from the night before, they moved with better coordination tonight — swift and precise. The two of them cleaned out several gang stashes with ease, and Kai made another hefty profit.
But something felt off.
The gangs weren't just putting up a fight — they were 'relentless'. Guards had doubled, and those they faced fought like men with nothing to lose.
"What's going on tonight?" Kai asked, breathing heavily after a close call. "These guys were fighting like they'd been shot full of adrenaline. No hesitation, no fear of dying."
Matt's face darkened. "I know why."
Kai wiped his face with his sleeve. "I'm listening."
"In Hell's Kitchen — and most of New York's underworld — there's one man who controls it all: Wilson Fisk... Kingpin."
Kai's expression tightened. He'd heard the name before — whispers in the streets, warnings muttered in dimly lit alleys.
Matt continued, "Those guys tonight... they weren't just random thugs. If they fought like their lives didn't matter, it's because Fisk *told* them it didn't. He knows what we did last night, and he's not about to let it slide."
"You're saying he's coming for us?"
"By tomorrow, he'll have half the city looking for us," Matt warned. "Don't take any risks for the next few days. Lay low."
With that, Matt vanished into the shadows.
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Back home, Kai mulled over Matt's warning.
'He's worried for nothing,' Kai thought. He'd teleported in and out of every hideout — no footprints, no fingerprints, no traces. Even if Kingpin wanted to find him, it wouldn't be easy.
Still, if Fisk tried, Kai wouldn't hesitate to pay him a visit — or bury him if it came to that.
For now, he put Kingpin out of his mind and focused on his real priority: launching his business.
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The next morning, Kai met up with Ethan to finalize their office space. By the afternoon, they'd secured a spot near Wall Street.
Over the next few days, they tackled paperwork, licenses, and equipment purchases until everything was finally in place.
On the company's opening day, there was no flashy celebration — just two friends sharing beers in their office.
"Cheers," Kai said, clinking glasses with Lin Yi.
"Cheers," Ethan echoed.
The two drank in silence for a moment before Ethan grinned. "I'm telling you, this app's gonna blow up."
"Yeah," Kai smirked. "That's the plan."
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With the app's development in full swing, Kai entrusted the programming to Gear, a skilled coder with a knack for efficiency. After listing all the required features, Kai happily handed over the reins.
"This is what I call hands-free management," Kai thought with satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Ethan became buried in marketing strategies, putting together plans to promote their app across New York.
Watching Ethan hustle around the office, Kai leaned back in his chair, scrolling on his phone.
"You know," Ethan muttered, glaring at him, "this 'hands-off boss' thing is kinda unfair."
Kai glanced up lazily. "Unfair? I told you to handle this stuff. I'm just playing my role."
"You're just 'playing', period."
Kai grinned wider, clearly enjoying Ethan 's frustration.
"You'll thank me later," Kai said, stretching comfortably.
Ethan grumbled but returned to his work, muttering under his breath.
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Over the next week, Kai brought in new employees to handle the growing workload. With the team in place, the company moved faster than expected, and soon, the first version of their short video app was ready.
After a successful internal test, Kai stood before his employees.
"Alright," he said, "let's launch it. We'll call it... *Dooyin.*"
The room buzzed with excitement as employees got to work on the launch.
Later that evening, Kai laid out a content strategy for Ethan — viral trends, catchy challenges, and video ideas that would hook users.
"You follow this plan," Kai said, "and we'll have New York hooked in no time."
Ethan grinned. "Don't worry. If this doesn't work, I'll personally quit and become your butler."
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Sure enough, within days of Dooyin's launch, it started gaining traction. Restaurant customers, teens in parks, even office workers — everyone seemed glued to their screens.
But something was missing. While people watched videos, few were creating their own content.
"We need creators," Kai said after brainstorming with Ethan. "Let's launch an incentive program — pay people to post."
The strategy worked. Soon, Dooyin's content exploded, servers strained to keep up, and New York couldn't get enough.
By the time Kai upgraded the servers to handle the surge, Dooyin had become one of the fastest-growing apps in the city.
Watching his app take off, Kai smiled to himself. 'In a world filled with superheroes, I've found my way to make noise.'
The buzz around Dooyin had another unexpected side effect — his reputation began to skyrocket.
With each viral video and rising user count, Kai felt something familiar — reputation points building steadily.
'This will come in handy... especially when things get chaotic.'
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By now, the company was stable enough for Kai to step back. He handed most responsibilities over to Ethan, content to relax and focus on bigger concerns.
But his newfound peace didn't last long.
Over the past few nights, Kai had noticed something — a shadow that lingered too long, footsteps that seemed to follow a little too closely.
'I'm being watched.'
Frowning, Kai knew one thing for sure — if Kingpin was behind this, the quiet days were over.
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