Infinite Cashback System

Every student in the room went silent.

Jordan’s brain kicked into overdrive. He’d been half-listening to the lecture while reading the quest notification. Accrual versus cash. That had been mentioned maybe five minutes ago.

"Accrual accounting records revenue when earned and expenses when incurred, regardless of when cash changes hands." Jordan kept his voice level. "Cash accounting only records transactions when money actually moves. Accrual gives a more accurate picture of financial health but cash accounting is simpler."

Dr. Ashford’s eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch.

"And which method would you recommend for a small business?"

Trap question. She was testing whether he actually understood the concepts or just memorized definitions.

"Cash accounting initially." Jordan met her eyes. "Lower complexity, easier tax filing. But once revenue hits twenty-five million annually, accrual becomes mandatory under GAAP standards. Starting with cash also means cleaner books during the growth phase when expenses are inconsistent."

The room stayed silent.

Dr. Ashford studied him for a long moment. Then she gave a single nod.

"Correct. Put your phone away, Mr. McKnight."

She returned to the front of the classroom and continued the lecture.

Jordan exhaled slowly and pocketed his phone. Beside him, Brooke leaned slightly closer.

"That was impressive." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Most students can’t articulate GAAP threshold requirements. Are you planning to start a business?"

"Maybe. Still working out the details."

"What kind of business?"

Jordan glanced at her. Brooke’s crimson eyes held genuine curiosity, no judgment or ulterior motive. Just pure interest in the answer.

"Content creation. Streaming, social media, that whole space."

"Oh." Brooke’s face lit up. "That’s actually a really smart vertical right now. The creator economy is projected to reach one hundred and four billion dollars by 2025. Low barrier to entry, high scalability, multiple revenue streams through ads, sponsorships, and direct fan support."

She rattled off statistics like she’d memorized a market research report.

Which she probably had.

"You know a lot about streaming?"

"I watch a lot of educational content." Brooke adjusted her glasses. "Physics lectures, engineering tutorials, coding streams. I don’t really understand entertainment streamers though. Why do people want to watch someone play video games instead of just playing themselves?"

"Personality. Community. Same reason people watch sports instead of just playing pickup basketball."

"But sports involve physical skill demonstration. Gaming is just pressing buttons."

Jordan bit back a laugh. "Tell that to any League player and they’ll flame you for an hour straight."

"Flame?"

"Verbally attack you. In chat."

"Oh." Brooke frowned. "That seems unproductive. If someone disagrees with your assessment they should provide counterarguments supported by data, not resort to ad hominem attacks."

God, she was adorable.

Like a robot trying to understand human social behavior by reading instruction manuals.

Dr. Ashford’s lecture continued, covering journal entries and T-accounts. Jordan forced himself to pay attention and take actual notes. The business quest wasn’t going anywhere. He had sixty days to build a streaming empire, which meant he had time to do this right.

First step was registering the LLC. That required choosing a business name, filing articles of organization, getting an EIN from the IRS. Probably a week of paperwork and fees.

Second step was recruiting streamers. Chloe and Kumiko were automatic additions. They both fit the follower requirement once Chloe launched. He needed one more person minimum.

Jordan’s eyes drifted across the classroom.

Cameron sat in the back playing with his phone under the table. Eliza had her laptop open but her screen showed Instagram, not class notes.

Neither of them had any marketable skills for streaming.

His gaze moved to Brooke beside him. She was writing in her notebook with perfect penmanship, every letter precisely formed. Her Starbucks cup sat exactly where she’d placed it at the start of class, untouched since her last sip.

Could Brooke stream?

She had the looks for it. Gorgeous in that quiet, understated way. Smart enough to carry educational content. But her social skills were basically nonexistent.

Although that might actually work. Awkward genius girl explains physics while chat spams PROTECC in all caps. The internet loved that archetype.

Jordan filed the thought away for later.

Class ended at 10:47. Dr. Ashford dismissed them with a reminder about the upcoming quiz on Friday. Students started packing up immediately, conversations filling the room.

Jordan closed his laptop and shoved his notebook into his bag.

"Hey, Brooke."

She looked up from carefully placing her pens back in their designated case, each one color-coded and organized by size.

"I’m putting together this streaming thing. Would you be interested in being involved? Not as a streamer necessarily. More like consultant work. You seem like you’d be good at the business side."

Brooke blinked behind her glasses.

"Me?"

"Yeah. You already know the market. You understand the revenue models. And you could probably optimize content schedules better than anyone else I know."

Her face went pink. "I don’t know anything about streaming though. I’ve never even played a video game."

"That’s fine. I’m not asking you to stream. Just help with strategy and planning."

Brooke bit her lower lip, thinking. Her fingers twisted together in front of her chest.

"What would the time commitment be?"

"Couple hours a week maybe? Flexible schedule."

"And you’d want analytical breakdowns? Engagement metrics, audience retention graphs, comparative performance analysis?"

"Exactly that."

Her eyes lit up behind her glasses. "That actually sounds really interesting. I’ve never done anything like that before."

"So that’s a yes?"

"Yes." The word came out quickly, like she was afraid she’d change her mind if she waited. "I mean, if you think I’d actually be helpful. I don’t want to mess anything up."

"You won’t." Jordan stood and shouldered his bag. "I’ll text you when I have more details worked out."

"Oh. You don’t have my number."

"Oh here, my number is 829-555-8767."

"Okay." Brooke stood as well, gathering her things with the same careful precision she did everything else.

They walked out of the classroom together. The hallway was packed with students moving between buildings. Brooke kept close to Jordan’s side, using his height as a buffer against the crowd.

Outside, California sun hit them at full force. Brooke immediately produced sunglasses from her bag and put them on.

"I have Physics in ten minutes." She adjusted the strap of her bag. "Building C, room 304."

"I’m heading to the parking structure. See you Monday?"

"Yes. Same seats?"

"Works for me."

Brooke smiled, small and genuine. Then she turned and walked away with quick, efficient steps.

Jordan watched her go for a second before heading toward the parking structure himself.

His phone buzzed.

Chloe: done with class. heading home.

Jordan: cool. see you tonight for shopping

Chloe: can’t wait to watch alexis and kumiko fight over your clothes

Jordan: you’re enjoying this too much

Chloe: i really am

Jordan: evil girlfriend

Chloe: your evil girlfriend 💙

Jordan pocketed his phone with a grin.

The streaming empire quest glowed in his quest log. Ninety days to build something real. Something that explained where his money came from and gave him cover for the Cashback System’s increasingly large deposits.

He could do this.

He had unlimited capital through Chloe, talented people willing to help, and a System that apparently wanted him to succeed.

Jordan reached his Civic and climbed inside. The interior still smelled like new car air freshener from yesterday’s cleaning.

Time to become a businessman.