CHAPTER 183: FACEBOOK SERVER’S

The next morning in New York was crisp and bright. The trio—Lukas, Annie, and Bella—began their day by visiting one of the most luxurious furniture stores in Manhattan. The towering glass façade welcomed them into a world of opulence, where Italian-crafted sofas, handmade Persian rugs, and bespoke chandeliers gleamed under elegant lighting.

Annie, with her natural grace and taste, fell in love with a velvet green sectional that perfectly matched the mood of the mansion’s lounge. Bella ran her hands over the surface of a carved oak dining table, visualizing long family dinners and laughter filling the high-ceilinged halls. Lukas watched them, amused and warmed by their enthusiasm, occasionally giving his nod of approval or pulling out his phone to take pictures.

As the sales were processed and deliveries arranged, the girls began scouring through interior decoration firms on their tablets. Annie was determined to find a theme that brought elegance and comfort, while Bella focused on clean designs with subtle personality. It was a vision being stitched together by two very different minds in harmony.

Then Lukas’s phone buzzed.

It was a call from Yaho, the sharp and ever-focused CEO of Facebook. Her voice was urgent but calm as always.

"Lukas," she said, "I need you back at headquarters. Something came up with the Japanese partners, and we can’t afford a delay. The staff is preparing everything for you. It’s best if you fly back on the double."

Lukas sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He turned to Annie and Bella, both of whom looked up immediately, concern in their eyes.

"Work emergency?" Annie asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah," Lukas nodded. "Facebook stuff. Yaho needs me back in Princeton ASAP."

"Go," Bella smiled. "We’ll be fine. You’ve already left us with more than enough to keep us busy."

"Exactly," Annie agreed. "We’ll finalize the decor ideas and maybe visit a few more places. Jay and Roy are with us, right?"

Lukas gave a small, grateful smile. "Of course. They’ll take care of everything."

After sharing a quick embrace with both girls, Lukas stepped into the sleek black SUV waiting outside. As it pulled away, Annie and Bella watched him go, proud and supportive, already diving back into color palettes and layout mockups.

A chartered plane stood ready for Lukas on the private runway just outside the city. Within the hour, he was in the air, New York fading beneath him as his mind turned once more to the future of his empire.

Lukas returned to Princeton with urgency and purpose, stepping out of the black Mercedes in front of the Facebook headquarters. The sleek glass building shimmered under the morning sun, reflecting a new era of technology, ambition, and Lukas’s growing empire. He adjusted his coat as he walked through the doors, nodding at familiar employees who greeted him with surprise and admiration. After all, it wasn’t every day their founder returned so suddenly from New York at a moment’s notice.

Inside, there was a different kind of energy—one that buzzed with tension. As Lukas walked into the operations bay, he was greeted by a sight that momentarily froze him in place.

Dozens of large crates were being unloaded by workers. Japanese writing covered the boxes, which were sealed tight with industrial tape and handled with the utmost care. These were the servers, the backbone of Facebook’s next phase—designed to support over 100 million concurrent users. These machines were the result of months of negotiation with top Japanese tech manufacturers.

"Luke, these are the Osaka-class clustered drives. The ones designed for extreme data loads," Anya explained, walking beside Lukas; they are very close friends after working together for a while.

Lukas nodded. "We’ve waited long enough for these. They’re going to make history when operating."

However, as they made their way to the main floor, they found Yaho in the glass conference room. Her brows were furrowed, her arms were crossed, and she was tapping her pen against her tablet with irritation. The Japanese representatives sat across from her, looking stiff and unsatisfied.

Lukas stepped in.

"Lukas," Yaho said, straightening, her voice unusually serious. "We’ve got a problem. The payment for the hardware was expected next quarter, but they want it now."

Lukas’s eyes narrowed. "Why now?"

"Yen fluctuation, stock backflow. Their central office pushed the demand down to the minute. They won’t release the root drives until the full sum is transferred."

Lukas turned to the Japanese head delegate. "We’re building a network that will change how people connect forever. Surely you see the long-term return?"

The man bowed slightly but remained firm. "We believe in Facebook’s future, Lukas-san, but we have our orders. Immediate payment is essential; you know how Silicon Valley is, they will gobble up this much drive in a month with hard cash."

Yaho gave him a silent look—one that asked, "Can we really do this right now?"

Lukas exhaled. "Call Terry. Right now. Tell him to move funds from my account; you have authority to move funds from it. Use the company check I gave you, and send someoneto the bank personally with it."

Yaho raised an eyebrow. "That’s over $18 million. Are you sure?"

"Yes," Lukas said, voice steady. "This isn’t just hardware. It’s the foundation of everything. And I won’t let it stall over accounting schedules."

She didn’t argue further. Within ten minutes, the call with John Terry was made, wires were approved, and payment was underway.

"Mr. Lukas," one of the Japanese men said, bowing deeply. "You have our highest respect. We will begin full installation at once."

As the conference room emptied and the tension faded, Yaho remained behind, looking out at the crates now being opened with precision. She glanced at Lukas.

"You didn’t even blink."

He shrugged slightly. "That’s how you build an empire."

Yaho smirked. "Just don’t go bankrupt doing it."

Lukas smiled back. "Only fools go bankrupt. I’m just getting started."

The office buzzed around them again, but this time with hope. The machines were here. The payments were done. And Facebook’s next Chapter was truly about to begin.

Next, Lukas walked through the long hallway of the newly secured data facility, the cold hum of the air conditioning sending a buzz down his spine. Towering stacks of pristine Japanese hardware greeted him, all sleek, polished, and humming silently with power. The facility smelled of metal, plastic wrap, and opportunity. At the center, resting on pallets and within crates, were the most advanced servers and network infrastructure money could buy—shipped directly from Osaka.

A young technician handed Lukas the inventory report. "Sir, confirmed. Eighteen million dollars’ worth. Fully installed and ready to be calibrated."

Yaho, already there in a tailored navy-blue suit, stood waiting near a giant rack of processing units, her arms crossed, eyes gleaming with restrained excitement. "Lukas," she began as he approached. "We may have just made the most important investment in the company’s future."

He raised a brow. "How so?"

She handed him a printed performance forecast. "These machines—if configured and optimized correctly—can host up to 200 million users simultaneously. Not projected. Proven. I negotiated directly with Fujinaka Industries in Tokyo. It took three weeks of meetings and calling in every favor I had in Japan."

Lukas scanned the report, flipping through metrics, diagrams, cooling load requirements, and failover tests. It was... impressive. Even a bit overwhelming.

"And the payment?" he asked.

"Cleared an hour ago," Yaho nodded. "I used our available funds creatively. Now, the only bottleneck will be manpower. We need to hire at least 50 new backend engineers—network specialists, database architects, and full-stack devs. We don’t just need scale; we need reliability and speed."

Lukas considered this for a moment, then looked around at the humming towers.

"Alright," he finally said. "You’re authorized to use an additional 2 million dollars for staffing and onboarding. Prioritize Princeton and MIT graduates, but make it global. I want the best."

Yaho didn’t smile often, but her lips curved slightly. "Already shortlisting. I’ll have candidates lined up by next week. We’ll also need to fly in integration teams from Tokyo to assist in setup and diagnostics."

Lukas nodded. "Make it happen. If we’re expanding, let’s not crawl. Let’s sprint."

As he left the server room, the vision of a future where Facebook reached hundreds of millions, even billions, became clearer. The hum of the machines sounded like the gears of destiny itself turning.

And in the midst of that, he knew—they were only just getting started.

That evening, after a long day of inspecting the new servers and handling a flurry of high-priority issues, Lukas and Yaho sat down in the executive suite office overlooking the Princeton skyline. The room was quiet except for the soft hum of the city and the low clink of porcelain as a tray of matcha tea was set on the table.

Lukas leaned back on the couch, tired but determined. "Eighteen million worth of machines... It’s a lot of pressure. But if they can handle two hundred million users, we’re ahead of our time."

Yaho, calm as ever, nodded. She sipped her tea. "We need people who can work with the machines, scale architecture, and build around it. But we can’t afford San Francisco wages. And hiring locally in New York or even Philadelphia will run us dry in the long run."

"So what’s your plan?" Lukas asked, watching her carefully.

"Tokyo," she said without hesitation. "I still have strong connections with my alma mater. Tokyo University. We can hire freshly graduated engineers from there. They’re smart, adaptable, and most importantly—cost-efficient."

Lukas’s brow raised. "Brilliant, but can they match the workload? The stress?"

"They’ve been trained by the best. The curriculum is world-class. And more importantly, they’ll be loyal. Most of them want international tech experience. We’ll give them that."

Lukas considered the proposal. It made sense. Hiring from Tokyo University would cost a fraction of what it would in the States. He nodded slowly. "Let’s do it. Set up a recruiting program. I’ll approve two million for the hiring process just like I said. Offer them something competitive."

Yaho set her tea down and opened her laptop. "Already ahead of you. I have resumes from the top ten graduates ready. We can run video interviews starting tomorrow."

"You never stop impressing me," Lukas said with a chuckle. "But you mentioned NYC earlier. Something about it being too expensive?"

"Yes," she replied. "The New York dream is beautiful, but Facebook’s burn rate would triple in Manhattan. Office rent, local hires, tech competition—it’s a bloodbath."

"So what are you suggesting?" he asked.

Yaho looked up at him, serious now. "Shift the tech headquarters to Japan. Not permanently, but for the next five years. We set up an operational base in Tokyo—managing servers, hiring, and core development. Leave only branding, outreach, and investment in the U.S. It’s more efficient this way."

There was a long pause. Lukas stared at the city lights outside the window.

"It’s bold," he said. "But it might be exactly what we need."

"And you’ll still be the face of the company. Wherever you are, media follows."

He smiled, sipping the tea. "Then we build Facebook in Japan."