**Chapter 4 – Level Two: Power in the Code**
**Mumbai – Three Days Later**
The notification appeared in his vision like a divine proclamation.
> **\[System World Notification]**
> Knowledge Threshold Achieved: 50%
> Level Up!
> System Level: 2
> Scan Slots: +2 (Total: 3)
> System Area Expanded: +2000 sq km
> Time Compression Increased: 3:1
> Clone Parallel Processing Enabled
Arjun Verma froze on the spot. He was in the middle of a shared kitchen in the hostel, stirring a packet of instant noodles over an old induction stove. The soft bubbling of the water now seemed distant.
He closed his eyes, letting the data settle in his mind.
He had done it.
**Level 2.**
Three weeks ago, he was drowning in loan notices.
Now, he had a 3,000 sq km virtual empire, three clone slots, time control, and processing capacity that even elite AI labs couldn't simulate.
And this was only the beginning.
---
**System World – Expansion**
When Arjun stepped inside the interface again, the transformation stunned him.
The digital skyline had stretched. New terrain spread out—plains, hills, waterways—all available for expansion. In the heart of the world stood his research campus, now surrounded by modular cities of data, knowledge sectors, and clone towers.
Nav01 stood before a 3D map of the terrain, already allocating zones.
> "Two new clone slots available. Recommend scanning a domain expert and a systems analyst."
Arjun nodded.
"I know who to choose."
---
**Real World – 9:15 AM, Dharavi Library**
Arjun entered the old community library with a quiet respect. Among all the chaos of the city, this place felt sacred—one of the last zones of pure learning, undisturbed by money or ego.
At the far table sat **Rehana Shah**, one of the names from his original list. She sat barefoot, headphones on, eyes devouring lines of Python code like poetry. She didn't look up as he approached.
"Hey," he said gently.
She blinked, then slowly removed her headphones.
"I remember you," she said. "Arjun. Phone delivery guy, right?"
He smiled. "Sort of. I heard you were working on a self-learning chatbot?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Why do you care?"
"Because I want to scan your brain."
She blinked again. "Excuse me?"
He shook his head. "Sorry. I meant—I want to learn from you. Work with you. Exchange ideas."
Her posture eased. "I don't do collabs. Not unless it's open-source."
He offered his old tablet, showing the codebase of BrainLine.
Her eyes widened. "This was you?"
"Team effort," he lied again.
She looked at him for a long time. Then nodded slowly.
They talked for an hour. Long enough for him to scan her discreetly.
> \[Scan Successful – Rehana Shah – Clone Reh01 Created.]
---
**Second Scan: Karthik Mehta**
The third scan wasn't as elegant.
Karthik was drunk when Arjun found him—slumped near a garage in Ghatkopar, surrounded by empty plastic bottles and oil-stained journals filled with engine blueprints.
It took time. But eventually, the scan succeeded. Arjun didn't try to persuade him. He only sat with him, listened, and when their eyes met, the system did the rest.
> \[Scan Successful – Karthik Mehta – Clone Kar01 Created.]
---
**System World – Team Assembly**
Nav01, Reh01, and Kar01 now operated within different buildings—each assigned to a specialized domain:
* **Nav01:** AI Architecture and adaptive learning frameworks
* **Reh01:** Language models, data security, voice-based UI
* **Kar01:** Hardware prototyping, mechanical design, real-world feasibility checks
Together, they worked on the next evolution of BrainLine: **BrainLine Pro.**
> Features:
>
> * Real-time audio scheduling
> * Energy-consumption balancing
> * Social cue prediction
> * Workplace sync for team performance
Arjun watched the clones simulate team dynamics, test UI flows, and simulate stress loads. Everything happened three times faster than real time.
In 48 system hours, BrainLine Pro was ready for alpha testing.
He deployed it to his own devices, running deep tests.
Result: 91% accuracy on schedule prediction. 70% increase in personal productivity. Real-time task scoring based on voice stress.
**It was no longer an app. It was a second brain.**
---
**Real World – ByteForge Feature Goes Live**
The ByteForge blog featured him as the "Underground AI Phantom"—a dev who worked alone, under a fake name, and released tools no one could trace.
Downloads of BrainLine crossed 5,000 in one day.
GitHub stars exploded.
Tech influencers started whispering about the project.
He received an email from a VC firm. Then a job offer from a leading tech company.
He declined both.
He wasn't here to work for anyone.
He was here to build an empire no one could see.
Not yet.
---
**System World – Final Scene**
Arjun stood alone on a new overlook. Mountains in the distance. A digital sunrise painted the world in amber light.
> \[System Level: 2 – Progress 57%]
He had knowledge. He had people—clones built from the minds society ignored. He had time.
And the System World still had so much left to unlock.
**End of Chapter 4**