Chapter 8
The First Plan
Morning sunlight slowly spread across the streets of New York.
The city was fully awake now.
Cars filled the roads. People hurried toward offices and subway stations. The noise of traffic and conversations mixed together into the usual rhythm of the city.
Anshul walked calmly along the sidewalk.
Despite staying awake the entire night, he did not feel tired.
The NZT was still active.
His mind remained incredibly clear.
Every movement around him seemed easy to analyze.
A man checking his phone while crossing the street.
Two businessmen arguing near a taxi.
A police officer standing beside a coffee shop.
Anshul noticed all of it automatically.
His brain processed the information effortlessly.
But his thoughts were focused on something else.
Planning.
He had already confirmed several important rules about the World Theater system.
First.
The number of worlds was practically infinite.
Movies.
TV series.
Stories from different universes.
Second.
The system did not give missions.
There were no tasks to complete.
Only Story Progress percentage.
Third.
Time behaved differently depending on the world.
If Anshul had never entered a world, time inside that world was frozen.
But once he stepped into it, the story timeline began.
And from that moment onward, time would continue moving there.
Even if he left.
That rule made every decision extremely important.
Entering a world meant activating its timeline.
Which meant the story would progress whether he participated or not.
Anshul took out his phone and opened the system interface again.
Traveler Level: 1
Current World: Limitless
Story Progress: 8%
The number had increased again.
The movie timeline was moving forward.
Soon the protagonist of the story would discover NZT.
Soon the events of the film would accelerate.
But Anshul was not concerned.
Because he already had the most valuable resource from this world.
He adjusted the strap of his backpack slightly.
Inside were dozens of NZT pills.
More than enough to support his plans.
Anshul entered a small convenience store and bought a bottle of water.
While standing near the counter, his thoughts continued moving rapidly.
The biggest problem he currently faced was not power.
It was identity.
Whenever he entered a new world, he appeared there without any documents.
No passport.
No ID.
No bank account.
In other words, he technically did not exist in that world.
That could easily become dangerous.
Police.
Immigration authorities.
Government databases.
Any of these could cause serious trouble.
Anshul left the store and continued walking.
His brain quickly began generating possible solutions.
Fake identities.
Digital records.
Financial accounts.
All of these required technical skill.
Which meant he needed one thing first.
Programming ability.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Perfect."
Because learning programming was exactly what he had been studying all night.
Under the influence of NZT, mastering several programming languages was not difficult.
Python.
C++.
Java.
Cybersecurity.
Machine learning.
The knowledge was already forming inside his mind.
But simply having knowledge was not enough.
He needed something more.
An assistant.
A digital intelligence capable of processing large amounts of data.
An AI.
Anshul stopped walking for a moment.
The idea immediately expanded in his mind.
If he created his own AI system, it could help him manage many things.
World information.
Financial markets.
Digital identities.
Even monitoring story progress across different worlds.
The possibilities were enormous.
And with NZT, building such a system might actually be possible.
Anshul resumed walking.
The streets ahead were crowded again.
But his attention remained focused on the plan forming inside his mind.
Step one.
Continue learning programming.
Step two.
Build a basic AI assistant.
Step three.
Use the AI to create digital identities in different worlds.
Step four.
Begin expanding resources across multiple worlds.
The plan felt solid.
But there was still one more world that remained in his thoughts.
Elysium.
Even among the countless worlds in the system, that one stood out.
Advanced medical technology.
Military robots.
Exoskeleton suits.
A massive space station orbiting Earth.
Compared to the present world, the technology there was decades ahead.
And somehow…
It was still classified as a Level-1 world.
Anshul opened the world library again.
He found the title easily.
Elysium.
Story Progress: 0%
Status: Abnormal
He stared at the screen thoughtfully.
If that world truly contained the technology from the movie…
Then entering it could completely change his future.
But only if he was prepared.
Because advanced technology also meant stronger enemies.
Security systems.
Armed forces.
Powerful corporations.
Entering such a world without preparation would be extremely dangerous.
Anshul closed the interface.
"For now… not yet."
The Limitless world still had enormous value.
NZT could accelerate his development dramatically.
Which meant the smartest decision was simple.
Stay here.
Learn everything possible.
Build the foundation.
Then move on to the next world.
Anshul looked up at the sky.
The sunlight reflected from the glass windows of nearby buildings.
People continued moving through the city without noticing him.
To them, this was just another ordinary day.
But for Anshul Giri…
Everything had already changed.
Because somewhere beyond this city…
Beyond this universe…
Countless other worlds were waiting.
And he now had the ability to step into them.
One story at a time.