Chapter 196 - Let's Sell It For Five Hundred Million
Soon, Bobby returned in casual attire. “Do you want something to drink? I have instant coffee here.”
Luke said, “No, thanks. Let’s sit down and talk.”
After they sat down on the couch, Luke got straight to the point. “I’ve just returned from a trip. While I have the time today, I have a job for you.”
As he spoke, he took out a pile of documents from his backpack. “You can take your time reading them later. They’re patents that I’ve applied for. As for what they are, exactly, check this out.”
Luke took out a phone with a screen that was larger than normal. He opened an app and gestured for Bobby to take a look.
Watching Luke operate the phone for a while, Bobby asked uncertainly, “Is this… a map?”
Luke said, “That’s right. With the GPS on the phone, it can be used as a nationwide or even global navigator, provided that there are enough maps stored in the phone in advance.”
Bobby was confused. “How are we going to make use of this?”
Luke said, “Let’s sell it to Google. I’m too lazy to create it myself, so I’ll just sell the idea for money.”
Bobby was suspicious. “Isn’t Google… a search engine? Why would they want this?”
Luke chuckled and explained how Google could use this navigator.
Bobby nodded his head and said, “What about the price?”
Luke thought for a moment and said, “Let’s sell it for five hundred million.”
There was a reason why Luke had come up with this figure.
He had read in his last life about some of the shocking acquisitions that Google made.
For example, Google acquired Motorola Mobility for 12.5 billion dollars, only to sell it to Lenovo for 2.9 billion dollars several years later. It was why Luke knew how generous Google could be.
Luke had no idea how much Google would invest into a map app, but considering how bright the prospects would be after smartphones were invented, an offer of five hundred million dollars wasn’t too unbelievable.
What if Google refused the offer? Well, Luke had nothing to lose.
He could always invent some less costly technology and sell that instead.
Despite knowing how things would start to trend, Luke hadn’t been able to profit off the knowledge due to his lack of ability and funding
But now that he had learned Tony Stark’s four elementary abilities, it was more than easy for him to get rich.
He was going to sell this map patent because he wanted to earn enough money once and for all.
He would be able to live off of five hundred million for a long time.
He wasn’t Tony Stark, and wouldn’t spend the money as quickly.
Luke left the phone and the app for Bobby to use in his demonstration. He also gave Bobby ten thousand dollars for travel expenses in the next few months.
Luke had kept Bobby not because he wanted Bobby to become a good PR manager, but because he didn’t want Bobby to be idle all the time.
He would even give Bobby one percent of a share in the map technology. So, if Bobby could sell it, he would earn five million dollars.
With that money, Bobby would immediately become a millionaire.
Bobby could only smile bitterly at that, because he had to sell the map technology first!
However, he was indeed tempted by the prospect.
Five hundred million dollars might seem a lot, but it was nothing for Google.
Luke wasn’t scared of a big corporation like that playing dirty tricks, since he had applied for a patent.
To establish this patent stronghold, he had shelled out almost a hundred thousand bucks in registration and lawyer fees.
He had even mortgaged the villa that he was living in to get the money for that.
The plan with Google would be a lucrative deal in the long run. If Luke wanted to earn a quick buck, however, that was very simple, too.
For example, he remembered that he had an uncle who lived in Las Vegas.
Nevada was right next to California, and Los Angeles was only 430 kilometers away from Las Vegas, which was a four-hour car ride or just a one-hour flight.
However, since he still had plenty of money after mortgaging the villa, Luke wasn’t in a hurry to make more.
At noon, Luke drove his car to USC.
The area south of USC was unsafe, and plagued by criminals and gangsters.
Roaming around the area in his car for a while, Luke had a quick lunch in a fast food restaurant. He left at four in the afternoon to return home.
The area that he had checked out was where a gang called WD-36 hung out. The members of this gang had tattoos of “WD” or “36” on them, and they dealt mainly in illegal drugs.
Luke had tracked them down very easily, because it was this gang which sold weed to Miss Jenny.
How did Jenny, who lived in Beverly Hills, find these dealers? It was because she was a student at USC.
She was rich and had security guards, so she got the gangsters to deliver the goods to her
place.
Luke had gotten basic information on WD-36 from Dustin and Elsa during Katie’s murder case. Coupled with his own investigation, he figured out which area the gang was active in.
Now that he had a personal space, there were a lot more things he could do.
After he returned home, he searched the fridge for something to cook for dinner.
There weren’t any breakfast ingredients, but plenty for dinner. Selina hadn’t touched the raw meat or seasoning at all.
So, dinner was easy.
Luke moved the grill that was barely used out to the backyard, and placed a few fillets of meat on it.
Once that was done, Luke searched online for flights to Las Vegas, and worked out how much time he had in his schedule.
He also checked for hotels in Las Vegas that had a casino and a good reputation.
He had to make sure that the hotels could afford the loss, and that whatever fortune he won wouldn’t be coveted by desperadoes.
There were casinos in Los Angeles as well, but Luke was a police officer here.
In Las Vegas, he would just be a civilian, and whatever money he won there would be his legal gain.
