CHAPTER 48 - CORTANA IS REAL?

The next day, Natalie slept in again and woke up late in the afternoon.

Groggily picking up her phone, she squinted at the screen. "It's already past noon?!"

She stretched, muttering to herself with a self satisfied grin, "Why didn't Tony wake me up? Did he forget about his beautiful, beloved older sister?"

Still basking in her own narcissism, she climbed out of bed and walked toward the living room.

But there was no sign of Tony.

"Huh... Where'd he go?"

Just as she furrowed her brows in confusion, a soft, female voice floated from behind Tony's bedroom door.

"Please command me as you wish, Master."

Natalie's body stiffened instantly. Her ears perked up like a fox catching the scent of prey.

What the hell?!

This punk is hiding a girl in his room?!

Not just that, he's playing some kind of master and servant roleplay?!

Wait a second... that voice... why does it sound so familiar?

Who could it be? Amy? Lily? One of her besties?

Her curiosity flared, and her suspicion deepened. Slowly and stealthily, she tiptoed toward the bedroom door, crouching beside it to listen in more clearly.

Then she heard Tony's voice.

"I've already taught you everything."

"I will always obey you, Master. Your will is absolute. I will always love you... because that's how I was programmed."

Natalie's face darkened.

"Ugh! That sweet, clingy voice is so annoying!" she muttered bitterly. "And it's way too pleasant to listen to!"

She hated girls with cute voices the most.

Anger bubbling up, she finally snapped. Taking a step back, she lifted her leg.

Bang!

She kicked the bedroom door open, ready to embarrass him.

But right at that moment, the door opened from the inside.

Smack!

She collided straight into Tony's chest.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing, Sis?" Tony caught her just in time, looking completely baffled.

Ignoring him, Natalie immediately peeked behind his shoulder... only to find.

Nothing.

No girl. No one else in the room. Just Tony.

"...Huh?"

Natalie was dumbfounded.

"I should be the one asking you that!" Tony said, clearly exasperated.

"I was... uh... catching you!" she said, trying to recover her pride even though her voice cracked with guilt.

"Catching what?" Tony blinked in confusion.

Realizing she used the wrong term, Natalie quickly corrected herself, cheeks turning red. "I-I mean I heard a woman's voice in your room and thought you might be in danger..."

Concerned for my safety?

Tony almost laughed out loud. That was the most ridiculous excuse he'd ever heard.

Still suspicious, Natalie glanced around the room again. Suddenly her eyes lit up.

"Wait a sec... don't tell me you're hiding her in the closet?!"

"Hide your head!" Tony snapped, lightly flicking her forehead. "Where do you even get these ideas?"

"Oww..." Natalie pouted, holding her forehead like a wronged child. "It sounded like a girl..."

"Of course." Tony's voice suddenly grew louder. "Cortana, say hello to your master's sister."

"Hello, 'Master's Sister'!"

That soft voice came again, but this time, it clearly came from Tony's computer.

Natalie's eyes widened in disbelief.

"...Wait a minute, that voice, it's the Cortana AI?!"

No wonder it had sounded familiar! These past few nights, she'd been listening to Cortana's voice in-game nonstop. But the tone was so sweet and distinctly female just now, she hadn't recognized it.

"You separated Cortana's AI from the game?" she asked in amazement.

Tony nodded. "Yeah. It felt like a waste to keep her stuck inside the game, so I gave her a new purpose."

"New purpose?" Natalie raised an eyebrow. "Wait, don't tell me you want an AI waifu too?"

"You know about that?" Tony laughed.

"Of course I do! I'm a livestreamer, do you know how many otakus want Cortana to call them 'husband'? That's half the fun of Subnautica!"

"That's true," Tony agreed. "Based on our data, over one million players have asked Cortana to call them 'husband'."

"Wha, how do you know that?!"

Tony shrugged. "It's my game. Of course I know."

It wasn't just a name, he could monitor pretty much any player behavior inside the game if he wanted to. Just like how some people think they're surfing the web anonymously... but someone, somewhere, is always watching.

Natalie looked a bit uncomfortable. "...So, you and those otakus are into the same thing?"

"Not even close." Tony smiled. "Natalie, your vision is too narrow. An AI can be so much more."

"Like what?"

"Well, first, Cortana is now my personal assistant. She manages the smart appliances, helps schedule my day, even adjusts the lights and temperature. Makes life so much easier."

Natalie nodded in agreement. "That's actually pretty useful. A lot of tech companies are working on that too."

"And second..." Tony's eyes lit up. "I want to make Cortana the virtual face of New World Studio."

"A virtual mascot?"

"Exactly. You know what's trending these days, virtual idols, VTubers, digital spokespeople. Every successful brand online has its own face. Why not us?"

"And with her as our digital ambassador, I can interact with fans more efficiently too."

Tony had already taken two big steps: Silent Hill was step one. Subnautica was step two.

And now?

His next plan was to build a game platform of his own.

Currently, all his games were hosted on Steam, but Steam in this world wasn't exactly as dominant as his previous world. It was popular sure, but it wasn't ideal.

He wanted his own space. Something bigger. Something better.

And with the money he had now, building a proprietary platform wasn't out of reach at all.

But unlike other platforms, this wouldn't just be a storefront.

It would be a whole ecosystem, a digital world where all future games from New World would be hosted, just like the 'OASIS' from Ready Player One.

In that future world, Cortana AI wouldn't just be a cute assistant. She would be the heart of it all.

She would be the manager, the spokesperson, the guide, and maybe even the goddess of this new virtual realm.

1011 Words.