"Hello, and thank you for calling Silicon Oasis. Our company is committed to providing arcade operators with high quality arcade machines. From coast to coast, if you have..."
"Mr. Meyer."
Ethan interrupted the man's introduction. Even through the distorted telephone connection, Meyer's voice was easy to recognize.
Though the slogan sounded impressive, he was answering the phone himself. It seemed the actual scale of the company's operations wasn't all that large.
Ethan actually felt a little relieved.
If he had to negotiate directly with some highly successful business magnate, there would inevitably be some pressure.
"Hello, may I ask who this is...?"
Meyer had only met Ethan once.
Although he had been deeply impressed by Tetris, Ethan hadn't shown any intention of selling it, and after so many days, Meyer had largely put the matter out of his mind.
"I was wondering whether you're currently looking to purchase any new stock. We have a batch of arcade machines for a new game that we're planning to sell."
"Hm? Sorry, no need for that at the moment."
On the other end of the line, Meyer frowned and declined.
He thought carefully for a while but couldn't recall any new arcade game scheduled for release recently.
Besides, he was an arcade distributor himself. He had business relationships with a large portion of California's retail operators.
If there really were a new game coming to market, he should have been among the first to hear about it.
Yet none of his suppliers had contacted him, leaving him puzzled.
"Mr. Meyer, you're not interested in Tetris arcade machines anymore? Well then, perhaps we'll talk another time."
Ethan deliberately avoided making things explicit.
Retreating in order to advance, he immediately hung up the phone.
Although they genuinely needed arcade sales to raise their startup capital, exposing too much of their urgency would only weaken their position during negotiations.
On the other end of the line, Meyer had just taken a sip of hot coffee.
He immediately sprayed it out.
"Wait, Tetris? You found a supplier? Hello? Hello?!"
That name was far too memorable for him.
A battered machine casually sitting on a street corner had somehow attracted a massive crowd of nearby college students who lined up under the blazing sun.
Regardless of how good the game itself was, that kind of customer drawing power alone made it worth stocking to test the market.
But no matter how much he shouted into the receiver, the connection had already been terminated.
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Only the monotonous beeping remained.
"Fk! Fk! F**k!"
He cursed anxiously several times.
"Why are young people these days all so impatient?!"
The other party knew his phone number.
But Meyer didn't know Ethan's landline number.
Now that Ethan had hung up, he had no way to call back.
Was he supposed to sit there and wait for Ethan to contact him again?
Meyer slammed the receiver back onto the phone.
No.
He couldn't just sit around waiting.
There were more than one distributor in California.
He had spent an entire week searching for a Tetris supplier and hadn't found a second seller anywhere.
If the supply of this commercially promising new machine fell into the hands of one of his competitors, he'd be finished.
After giving a few instructions to his employees, Meyer grabbed his briefcase and rushed out of the warehouse.
He remembered the address.
It was in a residential area near USC.
He had to get there before Ethan contacted any other distributors.
...
"Sam, stay here and watch the shop. I'm heading home for a bit."
After giving Sam a few instructions and leaving him at the arcade, Ethan returned alone to his apartment.
He carried a chair outside, stretched out his legs, and basked in the sunlight.
He wasn't in any hurry.
If Meyer truly was the sharp eyed businessman Ethan believed him to be, then he should be able to recognize the enormous commercial potential hidden behind Tetris.
An hour later, a car pulled up in front of the apartment building.
It's door flew open, and Meyer rushed out in a flurry.
Hearing the sound, Ethan slowly opened his eyes.
[Meyer David]
[Overall Evaluation]: A (A Shrewd Businessman)
[Administration & Finance]: 47 (Growth Potential: B- (Adjusted to A due to skill effects))
His car wasn't particularly luxurious.
It seemed Ethan's guess had been correct.
The man was simply a small business owner with a reasonably stable operation.
"Mr..."
Meyer nearly lost his hat while running over.
He quickly caught it with one hand and stopped in front of Ethan.
"About that phone call just now..."
Ethan immediately stood up from his chair, putting on a surprised expression.
"Mr. Meyer? What brings you here? Didn't you say earlier that you weren't interested?"
"Mr. Ethan, I apologize. I assumed it was one of those outdated arcade manufacturers. But if we're talking about Tetris, how could I possibly not be interested?"
"The sun's pretty strong today. Let's talk inside."
Meyer nodded and followed Ethan into the cluttered apartment.
His eyes quietly swept across the room, trying to make a rough assessment of Ethan's personality so he could tailor his approach accordingly.
The first things that caught Meyer's attention were the scattered electronic components and tools.
Soldering irons, capacitors, resistors, even hand saws, wood panels, and spray-paint cans were all present.
"Uh, Mr. Ethan, forgive me for asking, but that Tetris arcade machine... don't tell me..."
The level of hands-on ability required was unbelievable.
He had seen young tech enthusiasts tinker with all kinds of strange little gadgets before.
But an arcade machine wasn't some little gadget.
"Hm?"
Ethan turned around and followed Meyer's gaze before nodding.
"Sharp eyes, Mr. Meyer. That's right. That prototype machine was modified from a second-hand arcade cabinet."
Meyer was secretly astonished as he followed Ethan into the comparatively tidy bedroom.
The most eye catching object in the room was the Commodore 64 sitting on the desk.
It was a very popular home computer model.
Its specifications weren't as powerful as IBM's machines, but its cost performance ratio was undoubtedly among the best.
Then Meyer's breathing stopped.
On the desk, he spotted a small device.
He recognized it immediately.
It was an EPROM programmer.
"My God..."
A terrifying thought slowly began forming in his mind, making his heartbeat accelerate.
It seemed…
He was about to stumble upon the deal of a lifetime.
"Mr. Ethan, this game... Tetris... was it developed by you?!"
The moment the thought appeared, all the scattered clues in Meyer's mind suddenly connected.
Everything made sense.
Why had he searched every arcade manufacturer and failed to find Tetris?
Why had that machine been so old, with a logo that looked freshly painted on?
Why had Ethan refused to sell him that important machine?
There was only one answer,
The corners of Ethan's mouth curled upward into a harmless smile.
"Yes, Mr. Meyer. Yes, it was me."
"No f**king way..."
Meyer muttered.
At this moment, he had never been more grateful that he hadn't stayed at the company waiting for Ethan to contact him first.
This was an absolute gold mine.
A pearl still covered in dust.
It felt as though he had stumbled across a winning lottery ticket before the numbers had been announced.
This trip… had absolutely been worth it.