[Chapter 7: Returns to Los Angeles]
Setting aside the back-and-forth banter between Jerry Yang and David Filo, Zack and John were also chatting.
"John, are you just leaving like that?" Zack asked John, puzzled.
"Of course. Yahoo! is pretty much unbeatable right now. We're just waiting for venture capitalists and advertisers to come knocking. Zack, remember, we're angel investors, not Yahoo! employees. Let them worry about Yahoo!'s growth. The advertising revenue model is clear. Even though others can copy it, on the internet we're at least six months ahead of any competitor. That six months will give Yahoo! enough time to pull ahead and become the undisputed number one portal on the internet."
"Alright, let's get to the important question. You've invested all your money in Yahoo! How much do you have left? We still need to eat and live, after all."
"Well, Zack, I've got about $12,000 left. You?"
"I've got 2,000," Zack said with a mix of humor and frustration.
"Okay, luckily our rent is paid yearly."
"Yeah, Boy, my room's lease runs out in a month. Yours doesn't end until next year."
"Damn, Zack, you know, I was just telling Jerry and David that they're millionaires now. With Yahoo!'s current valuation, the fundraising is worth at least 50 million, maybe even over 100 million.
So theoretically, I'm a millionaire, but you see, this millionaire only has $10,000 for living expenses."
"Well, I don't quite get how you guys arrive at your valuations. By that standard, I'm not even a millionaire, and this so-called millionaire is about to go broke."
"Don't worry, I've got over 10,000 dollars. That should last me at least half a year. When your lease runs out, you can move in with me."
Thinking about their current situation, John couldn't help but feel a bit speechless. Zack had quit, and he was just a kid. They stared at each other, imagining how funny it all was.
"If worse comes to worst, Jerry and David can help us out. After all, with Yahoo!'s current momentum, ad revenue should be arriving soon. They won't let us starve," John joked to Zack.
Zack rolled his eyes, shrugged self-deprecatingly.
...
They safely made it back to San Francisco. Thankfully, renting cars was extremely convenient -- you could rent anytime, return anytime. They also managed to snag plane tickets back to Los Angeles.
Back in LA, they picked up their car at the airport lot and returned to their apartment. After being empty for over a month, it needed a good cleaning.
"Wow, finally cleaned up. I haven't slept a single night here yet. Had to start by tidying up."
"Alright, Boy, didn't you say you'd cook some Italian food? Then get to it."
"Zack, we don't have any ingredients. What we bought is over a month old, all rotten. How about we just hit McDonald's today?"
"Fine, damn McDonald's. After eating, let's go to the supermarket," Zack grumbled as he stood up.
...
After trading jokes, they packed up and headed out. Unexpectedly, just after exiting the elevator and heading to the front door, another incident happened.
"Bang bang bang..." A barrage of gunfire erupted. Like before, Zack quickly pulled John behind the front desk.
Sure enough, once hidden, the friendly front desk lady reassured them.
"Zack, man, why do I spend two days in such a hellhole and both days end up in a war zone?"
Faced with John's question, Zack looked embarrassed.
"Looks like the area's really bad in terms of safety. But Boy, we're broke now, can't move out. When I lived here before, shootings happened maybe once every two or three months. Why's it gotten so frequent lately?" Zack muttered.
Hearing Zack's muttering, John felt a headache coming. The truth was, the crime in impoverished neighborhoods in the late 80s and early 90s was really bad.
Sure enough, within minutes, police sirens wailed. The street fell quiet again. The homeless and residents just went about their business -- they were clearly used to it.
John started to miss the peaceful future he once knew. At the same time, he hoped to grow up fast. Once he turns 18, he plans to apply for a gun permit -- thinking about it made him excited.
...
After dinner, they bought two IBM computers -- over $1,000 for both.
Even in 1995, most apartments could connect to the internet, although it wasn't mainstream yet.
When ordering the computers, they also arranged for installation service. For a fee, someone would come to set everything up for them until fully functional.
Zack drove his old beat-up truck back to their apartment with John.
Shortly after returning, the computers arrived and were set up. Soon enough, they were able to connect from home and log into Yahoo!, so they could keep track of everything remotely.
...
With John having dropped out and Zack having resigned long ago, they had plenty of free time.
Zack spent his days obsessing over internet research, verging on internet addiction. John, besides chatting with Jerry and others, devoted most of his time to practicing magic, since it was essential for survival.
He knew he couldn't give up magic practice, despite Earth not being a conducive environment for it -- it seemed magic elements were sparse here. Otherwise, he wouldn't still be a novice after more than ten years.
He remembered the legendary mage from his memories: discovered magic talent at age 3, felt magic elements at 5, became an apprentice at 7, a full mage at 9, intermediate at 12, advanced at 15, master at 20, then traveled the magic world. At 30, reached peak master level, at 50, became a saint mage, the youngest in history.
By 100 years old, this mage became the world's only magic god, ruling the magical realm like a protagonist from a fantasy novel. To become a magic god normally took over a thousand years.
Every time John thought about mages living easily past 100, even 150 years, he felt motivated. If he could break through to master mage this life, he might live to 300 or 500 years.
Just the thought kept him up at night. Not to mention, becoming a mage meant potentially becoming Earth's strongest individual in combat. Any man wouldn't refuse the chance to be the strongest.
For a man, life boils down to two things: power and pleasures. But before those, there's one thing everyone hopes for -- longevity.
So recently, John put most of his energy into magic practice. Though progress was slow, he knew persistence was key.
*****
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