4:35in the afternoon, residential area of Riverside Hills.
Located in New York City, just minutes from Central Park and luxurious Fifth Avenue, Riverside Hills was considered one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the world. Each home there sold for tens of millions of dollars; some reached unthinkable figures, approaching hundreds of millions. For most ordinary people, it was an unattainable place, barely worthy of admiring in glossy magazines or on television shows.
The residents were a parade of elite: multinational CEOs, Hollywood stars, financial magnates, tech gurus, and even high-ranking politicians. Seeing them stroll along the wide, tree-lined avenues wasn't unusual, but rather a routine sight on any given afternoon.
In one of the apartments with a privileged view of the Hudson River, Adrian Foster muttered in front of his computer screen:
—Brothers, don't underestimate our current disadvantage; it's all an illusion. Dragon, Baron, rooks... those things are just numbers. In the end, the only thing that matters is who can push best.
Controlled Jinx in the top laneLeague of Legends, farming patiently while his team seemed doomed to lose. The Twitch chat was buzzing with messages:
—[Bro, I tried your strategy and my teammates insulted me.]
—[If you don't know how to play, don't blame the map, crack.]
—[HAHA, this guy thinks he's a Faker!]
The enemy nexus's life bar plummeted until it exploded into a thousand red fragments.¡Victoria!The metallic echo of the game filled the room before it died away. Adrian let go of the mouse with a sigh of relief.
They had won, but barely. Their rank was still stuck at Silver and was on the verge of dropping to Bronze. Their team had been a mess: a suicidal top laner, a phantom jungler, a mid laner who seemed to troll, and a support who, at times, I swore was playing with his feet.
He typed a sarcastic comment into the game chat, disguised it as "constructive criticism," and shared it on his community. A crooked smile spread across his face.
"Okay, guys, that's it for today's stream. I'm taking tomorrow off. The handsome guys need a rest too," he said, closing the broadcast with a wink at the camera.
The distinctive sound of Twitch disappeared, and suddenly, the apartment fell into an eerie, almost solemn silence.
Adrian stood up, stretching his arms as if shaking off the fatigue of hours of sitting. He walked to the enormous panoramic window, opened it, and let the warm July air in. The Hudson River shimmered in the golden hues of the sunset, reflecting skyscrapers that seemed bathed in liquid fire.
He took an ice-cold Coca-Cola from the fridge. The click of the cap resonated like music in the stillness, followed by the fizz that rose to the surface. He took a long sip; the carbonated cold ran down his throat, and for a moment, everything seemed perfect.
Her gaze faded into the horizon, and memories of her years at Columbia University flooded her mind: photos in a cap and gown, eternal promises of friendship, laughter in cramped dormitories, and the naive certainty that life was just beginning.
But after graduation, everything had vanished. The WhatsApp groups languished until they died; all that remained were recycled motivational quotes and the occasional friend trying to sell multi-level marketing products.
Adulthood had caught up with them too quickly. Some were already saddled with mortgages, others were surviving endless days, and a few were struggling with diapers and sleepless nights.
Adrián, on the other hand, had been lucky. A lot. In his first year of college, he stumbled upon a foreign forum that recommended investing in Bitcoin when it was barely worth a few cents. What began as a curious experiment turned into a stroke of luck that made him a multimillionaire overnight.
Today, at just 24 years old and with over $15 billion in assets, he no longer knew what it was like to worry about money. He had gone from his initial fear and anxiety to accepting his status with a certain ease.
While his former colleagues were dealing with unbearable bosses and endless bills, he could afford to live surrounded by luxuries and indulgences.
Out of boredom, he started a Twitch channel. What started as a hobby turned into a routine: daily streams between 1 and 5 p.m., featuring sarcastic humor, eye-catching gameplay, and enough sympathy to attract a loyal community.