World's Richest Man: I Leaped Across Time-Chapter 183: Project Silk Road

By Semptember 2004, my net worth hit a conservative $7 billion.

It started with the cash. Billions in liquid capital spread across overseas accounts in Switzerland and the Caymans.

Then came the Google IPO, PlayTube, Facebook, early stakes in Skype.

On top of that, I had Johnson Trading shares and Immortal Investment was dominating markets in both Asia and the USA. Especially now with the "Project Silk Road"

...

The morning sun in Gainesville was already baking the pavement. I stood by the door, adjusting the cuffs of my shirt.

Charlotte walked down the stairs, wrapping her arms around her waist, watching me with a soft, sleepy smile.

"You're going to be gone long?" she asked, leaning against the banister.

"Just a few days," I replied, picking up my small leather carry-on. "I need to make sure the Asia expansion is moving exactly how I want it to. Raegan is good, but some things need the eye of the owner."

She walked over, fixing my collar, her fingers brushing against my neck.

I chuckled, leaning down to kiss her. "I do promise that when I get back, we're going shopping. Anywhere you want. Paris, Milan, New York. We'll take the jet."

"I'm holding you to that," she whispered against my lips. "Be safe, Jack."

"Always."

I stepped out the door, the Florida heat hitting me instantly, but it didn't last long.

My security detail was already in motion. Three black SUVs idled in the driveway, engines humming low. The lead agent opened the rear door of the center vehicle before I even reached the bottom step.

The convoy moved with military precision, cutting through the Gainesville traffic toward the private airfield. There were no lines, no TSA, no waiting. Just the tarmac, the jet, and the immediate ascent into the stratosphere.

I spent the sixteen-hour flight reviewing the schematics of "Project Silk Road," the ambitious ecosystem we were building to dominate the East.

...

The air in Manila was different—heavy, thick with humidity and the smell of diesel and sea salt.

As I descended the stairs of the plane, the heat wrapped around me. A sleek, black armored Mercedes S-Guard waited on the tarmac, its engine running. Standing beside the rear door, dressed in a sharp charcoal suit, was Raegan Lee.

He looked like a general waiting for his emperor.

"Mr. Somnus," Raegan said, opening the door himself. "Welcome to the Philippines."

"Raegan," I acknowledged, sliding into the cool leather interior of the Mercedes.

Raegan closed the door and moved to the front passenger seat. The driver, a silent local man with eyes that constantly scanned the mirrors, pulled the car away from the jet. We merged onto the chaotic streets of Metro Manila.

"Report," I said, leaning back, my eyes fixed on the sprawling city passing by.

Raegan turned slightly in his seat to face me. "We have secured the initial infrastructure points as discussed with Appaloosa," he began, his voice crisp and professional. "Tepper's team has been efficient on the logistics side. The ports in Haiphong and the shipping routes are already being optimized to support our e-commerce framework. But the digital side is where we are truly aggressive."

I nodded. "And the telecom acquisition?"

"VietTel in Vietnam and TelkomSel here in Indonesia... well, we are finalizing the Indonesian leg now," Raegan corrected himself, knowing I preferred precision. "We are currently moving on the Philippine sector. Globe Telecom. We've leveraged the partnership with the local conglomerates to bypass the usual regulatory red tape. The $1 billion allocation is being deployed. We are buying the backbone of telecommunication this country."

"Good," I said, watching a cluster of high-rises emerge from the smog. "And the microloans?"

"Britney's strategy is working better than anticipated," Raegan said, a hint of pride in his voice. "The pilot program in the rural provinces shows a repayment rate of 96%. People here are starved for capital. We aren't just giving them loans; we are integrating them into a system they can't leave. Once they start banking with us via SMS, they stay."

"That is the point, Raegan," I said coldly. "We aren't here to be a charity. We are here to build a nervous system for the economy. If they want to eat, they use our app. If they want to move goods, they use Appaloosa's trucks. If they want to talk, they use our towers."

"Understood," Raegan replied.

The car slowed as we approached the Bonifacio Global City district, a futuristic enclave of glass and steel that looked like it had been dropped from orbit into the middle of the developing nation. We pulled up to a towering skyscraper that dominated the skyline.

"The Operations Center is on the top three floors," Raegan explained as the car came to a halt. "We call it 'The Hub.' From there, we monitor real-time data from Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines."

Security guards in tactical gear opened the doors. I stepped out, adjusting my jacket.

We took a private elevator that bypassed the lobby, rocketing upward at ear-popping speed.

When the doors slid open, I saw walls of screens displaying live metrics: data traffic flowing through Jakarta, shipping containers, loan disbursements ticking up in Manila.

Dozens of analysts sat at workstations.

Raegan walked a step behind me as I moved through the floor. The chatter died down instantly.

Heads turned. They knew that the man walking the floor wasn't a manager. I was the reason they had jobs.

I stopped in front of the main screen.

"This is Project Silk Road," Raegan said softly, standing beside me. "Infrastructure and telecommunications. Just as you told Tepper."

A golden web stretching across nations, invisible to the governments that thought they ruled them, but visible to us.

"Tepper sees ships and trucks," I said, my eyes tracing the lines of data. "He sees logistics. That's fine. Let him move stuff."

I turned to Raegan, my expression hard.

"We own the information. In ten years, Appaloosa will be moving boxes for us, because we will know who wants the box before they even order it."

Raegan nodded, his face serious. "We are ready to scale, Jack. The partnership is solid, but..."

"But what?"

"But we need to make sure Appaloosa knows who is actually driving the car," Raegan said. "Tepper is charming, but he is a shark. If we show weakness, he will try to eat our share."

I smirked, looking back at the map of the empire we were building.

"Tepper thinks we are partners," I said. "Let him think that."