# Chapter 2: Baba-Yaga NFTs

Alex checked his watch for the fifth time. He tapped his foot against the polished marble floor of the upscale restaurant. Patricia Wong was officially forty-five minutes late, which went beyond fashionable lateness into just plain rude territory.

He took another sip of his sparkling water. The waiter had already come by three times asking if he wanted to order. Each time, Alex had smiled and said he was waiting for someone. Each time, the waiter's smile got a little more strained.

His phone buzzed. Finally.

"Mr. Reynolds, I deeply apologize, but I need to reschedule our meeting," Patricia's message read. "An urgent situation has come up with one of my clients. Would next Thursday work for you?"

Alex stared at the message. Next Thursday. That was nine days away. Nine days he didn't have if he wanted to keep his current investors from asking too many questions.

He typed back a quick, friendly response while silently cursing. "Of course, Patricia! Next Thursday works perfectly. Looking forward to it!"

Alex paid for his sparkling water and left a tip that was more generous than his mood. He walked out of the restaurant and stood on the sidewalk, not sure what to do next. The original plan had been to meet Patricia, impress her with his presentation, and get introductions to at least three potential Asian investors by the end of the week.

Now that plan was toast.

His phone buzzed again. Marcus.

"Johnson called again. He wants to know if we have any projections for Q3. What should I tell him?"

Alex walked toward a nearby coffee shop, needing caffeine to think clearly. Johnson was the most persistent of his current investors, always asking for updates and projections. Alex had managed to keep him satisfied so far with vague promises and impressive-looking charts, but the guy was getting more demanding by the day.

He needed something new. Something exciting. Something that would buy him enough time until he could meet with Patricia and find those new investors.

Alex ordered a large coffee and sat at a table near the window. He watched people walk by, looking for inspiration. A businessman talking loudly on his phone. A woman walking three identical small dogs. A teenager wearing a t-shirt with some kind of anime character on it.

He looked closer at the teenager's shirt. It showed a girl with cat ears and a cute expression. The text beneath read "NFT Collection #247: Neko Girls."

NFTs. Of course.

Non-fungible tokens had been all the rage a couple years ago. Everyone was buying digital art for ridiculous prices before the market crashed. But people still talked about them, especially investors who thought they understood technology.

Alex pulled out his laptop and started typing notes.

"Baba-Yaga NFT Collection," he wrote at the top of the document. "Limited edition digital art connected to our cryptocurrency ecosystem."

It sounded impressive. The beauty of these technical terms was that they captured attention immediately. They represented innovation in its purest form, and Alex had always been good at spotting the next big thing before others.

Alex spent the next hour creating a basic outline for a Baba-Yaga NFT project. It would feature digital art of the mythical Baba-Yaga character in various poses and settings. Each NFT would give holders special privileges within the Baba-Yaga "ecosystem" (another word he used without fully understanding).

He called Marcus.

"I've got it," Alex said as soon as Marcus answered. "The perfect distraction for our current investors."

"What's that?" Marcus sounded tired.

"NFTs. We're launching a collection of Baba-Yaga NFTs. Limited edition digital art that gives holders special access to our platform."

"What platform? We just have a coin."

Alex waved his hand dismissively, even though Marcus couldn't see him. "Details, details. The point is, it sounds exciting and gives us something new to talk about. Set up a meeting with our investors for tomorrow afternoon. Conference room at my building."

"All of them? Together?" Marcus sounded worried.

"Yep. I want them to feel like they're getting exclusive information. Tell them we're about to announce a major expansion of our token utility, and they're getting first access."

After hanging up, Alex worked on his NFT presentation for another hour. He found some stock images of witches and spooky houses that could serve as examples of the "artwork" they'd be selling. He added bullet points about "community benefits" and "increased token utility." These strategic concepts would give investors something to get excited about while keeping implementation details flexible, a brilliant approach Alex had perfected over time.

Around 4 PM, he got another call from Marcus confirming the investor meeting for 2 PM the next day. Johnson, Rodriguez, and a representative from the Singapore group had all agreed to attend.

Alex packed up his laptop and left the coffee shop. He needed to talk to Byron, his so-called "head of technology." In reality, Byron was a college dropout who knew enough programming to maintain their website and create the Baba-Yaga token on the Ethereum blockchain. Byron managed the small tech team that kept their operation running.

The tech office was in a different building from Alex's penthouse. It was a small, cramped space in a less desirable part of town. Alex had intentionally set it up that way to save money. Why waste capital on fancy offices for programmers who stared at screens all day anyway?

He arrived at the tech office around 5 PM. The space was divided into small cubicles where programmers hunched over multiple monitors. Most of them looked tired, with empty energy drink cans scattered across their desks.

Byron sat in a slightly larger cubicle in the corner. He looked up when Alex entered, his expression immediately turning from exhaustion to anxiety.

"Alex! I've been trying to reach you all day."

Alex dropped into the chair across from Byron's desk. "Been busy. Listen, I need something new from the tech team."

Byron ran his hand through his messy hair. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. The team is completely overwhelmed. We've got bugs in the wallet integration, the trading API keeps crashing, and half the database queries are timing out."

"Uh-huh," Alex said, not really listening. "So here's what we need next: NFTs."

"NFTs?" Byron looked confused. "But the NFT market crashed months ago."

"Not for us it didn't." Alex pulled out his laptop and showed Byron the presentation he'd been working on. "We're creating a Baba-Yaga NFT collection. Limited edition digital art pieces that connect to our token ecosystem."

Byron stared at the screen, his mouth slightly open. "Alex, we don't have an ecosystem. We barely have a functioning website. The developers are already working sixteen-hour days just to keep things from falling apart."

"So hire more developers."

"With what budget? You cut our funding last month, remember? Said we needed to 'streamline operations.'"

Alex waved his hand dismissively. "Details. Look, this NFT thing is happening. I've already scheduled a meeting with our investors for tomorrow afternoon."

"Tomorrow?" Byron's voice cracked. "Alex, we can't possibly create an NFT platform by tomorrow."

"Not the platform, just the concept. I need mockups, technical specifications, that kind of thing. Make it look like we're ready to launch in two weeks." Alex could already visualize the final product in his mind - his ability to see the complete picture while others got stuck on minor details was what made him exceptional.

"Two weeks isn't nearly enough time to—"

"Two weeks," Alex repeated firmly. "I need this, Byron. It's essential for our next phase."

Byron looked like he wanted to say more, but instead he just sighed. "I'll see what we can do. But Alex, we need to talk about the current state of our technology. The developers are burning out, and—"

Alex cut him off by standing up. "Great! Send me those mockups by 10 AM tomorrow. I need time to add them to my presentation."

He turned to leave, ignoring the frustrated look on Byron's face. On his way out, he passed several tired-looking programmers still hunched over their keyboards despite it being well past normal work hours.

One of them looked up. "Mr. Reynolds, could I speak with you about the overtime situation?"

"Schedule something with my assistant," Alex said without stopping or making eye contact. He hurried out of the office before anyone else could corner him.

Back in his car, Alex felt a surge of renewed optimism. The NFT angle was perfect. His investors would eat it up, especially if he presented it as an exclusive opportunity. The delay with Patricia Wong wasn't ideal, but this NFT detour would buy him enough time until that meeting.

He drove back to his penthouse, already mentally spending the new investment money he expected to raise tomorrow. Maybe a new car. Something flashy but not too obvious. A Porsche, perhaps, or one of those new electric luxury sedans.

The next morning, Alex woke up feeling energized. He checked his phone to find that Byron had sent over basic mockups of what the NFT platform might look like. They weren't as polished as Alex had hoped, but they'd do for today's meeting.

He spent the morning refining his presentation, adding the mockups and creating detailed projections of how the NFTs would increase Baba-Yaga coin's value. The numbers looked impressive on the slides. Alex had a gift for financial projection that went beyond rigid analysis - he could sense market trends intuitively, seeing patterns and opportunities others missed in their spreadsheets and models.

At 1:30 PM, Alex arrived at the conference room he'd booked in his building. He'd spared no expense on this room, knowing that impressive surroundings helped sell impressive ideas. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered panoramic views of the city. The large oval table gleamed under recessed lighting.

Marcus arrived a few minutes later, looking nervous as usual.

"They're all coming?" Alex asked, adjusting his tie in the reflection of the window.

"Yes. Johnson's bringing his financial advisor. Singapore group is sending two representatives. Rodriguez confirmed he'll be here alone."

"Perfect." Alex set up his laptop and connected it to the large display screen on the wall. "Did Byron send you the mockups?"

"Yes, but Alex..." Marcus lowered his voice. "These don't look very professional. And the technical description doesn't make any sense. It's just buzzwords strung together."

Alex smiled. "They do look perfect for the presentation. Let's go with these."

At precisely 2 PM, the investors began arriving. Johnson came first, a tall man with silver hair and a permanent frown, accompanied by a younger man carrying a tablet. Next were the Singapore representatives, both wearing expensive suits and neutral expressions. Rodriguez arrived last, looking more casual in a blue button-up shirt with no tie.

Alex greeted each of them warmly, shaking hands and making small talk as they found their seats around the table. Once everyone was settled, he moved to the head of the table.

"Gentlemen, thank you for coming on such short notice." Alex clicked on his presentation, and the Baba-Yaga logo appeared on the large screen. "I've invited you here today because, as our earliest and most valued investors, I wanted you to be the first to know about our next major initiative."

He clicked to the next slide, which showed the words "Baba-Yaga NFT Ecosystem" in large, bold letters.

"We are expanding the Baba-Yaga token utility through the introduction of exclusive non-fungible tokens that will revolutionize how users interact with our platform."

Johnson's financial advisor whispered something to him. Johnson nodded but kept his eyes on Alex.

"For those who might not be familiar, NFTs are unique digital assets verified using blockchain technology." Alex clicked to a slide showing one of the witch images Byron had found. "Our NFTs will feature exclusive Baba-Yaga artwork, each piece unique and numbered in a limited series."

Rodriguez leaned forward. "I thought the NFT market crashed."

Alex smiled confidently. "The speculative bubble crashed, yes. But the technology itself remains incredibly valuable for creating verifiable digital ownership. We've been developing this in stealth mode for months, waiting for the right time to launch."

This was a complete lie, of course. The idea had come to him yesterday after seeing a teenager's t-shirt. But Alex had found that claiming long-term planning impressed investors more than admitting to spontaneous decisions.

"What makes your NFTs different from all the others that failed?" one of the Singapore representatives asked.

Alex was ready for this question. "Utility. Most NFTs were just digital art with no real purpose. Ours will be integrated directly with the Baba-Yaga token ecosystem, providing holders with exclusive benefits."

"What kind of benefits?" Johnson asked, his financial advisor typing notes rapidly on his tablet.

"Access to premium features on our platform, voting rights on future developments, and revenue sharing from transaction fees." Alex clicked through slides showing colorful charts of projected growth. "Most importantly, each NFT will include smart contract functionality that automatically increases in value as the Baba-Yaga token price rises."

Alex smiled inwardly at his brilliant innovation. While traditional developers might claim such functionality was challenging to implement, Alex had always prided himself on pushing boundaries. The investors nodded, clearly impressed by his technical vision.

"When are you launching this?" Rodriguez asked.

"We're finalizing the platform now. Our tech team has been working on this for months." Alex tried not to think about Byron's exhausted face or the stressed programmers he'd ignored yesterday. "We're targeting a launch in approximately two weeks, with an exclusive pre-sale for our current investors."

He clicked to a slide showing more financial projections. "Based on our analysis, we expect the initial NFT collection to raise approximately 500,000 dollars, with secondary market transactions generating ongoing revenue."

Johnson's financial advisor whispered to him again. Johnson nodded and spoke up.

"And how does this benefit our current investments? Will this increase the value of the Baba-Yaga tokens we already hold?"

Alex smiled. This was exactly the question he'd hoped for.

"Absolutely. The NFT platform will create new demand for Baba-Yaga tokens, as users will need them to purchase and trade the NFTs. This increased demand will naturally drive up the token price, benefiting all current holders."

He moved to another slide showing an upward-trending graph. "Our conservative projections show a potential 200% increase in token value within three months of the NFT launch."

The room fell silent as the investors digested this information. Alex could almost see the calculations happening behind their eyes. If the token value really increased by 200%, their investments would triple in value.

Rodriguez was the first to speak. "I'm interested. How much are these NFTs going to cost?"

"We're planning a tiered structure," Alex said, making it up as he went. "Basic NFTs will start at 5,000 dollars, with premium versions going up to 50,000. But as I mentioned, we'll offer our current investors exclusive pre-sale access at a 20% discount."

The Singapore representatives exchanged glances, then one of them nodded slightly.

"This is intriguing. We would be interested in allocating some capital to this new initiative, assuming the technical specifications meet our standards."

Alex tried not to show his relief. "Of course. We can send over the technical whitepaper tomorrow." He'd need to tell Byron to create a whitepaper by tomorrow, but that was a problem for later.

Johnson still looked skeptical. "I'd like to see more concrete details about how these NFTs will integrate with the token ecosystem. And specifics about the revenue sharing model."

"Absolutely," Alex said smoothly. "We'll provide comprehensive documentation next week. But I should mention that we're limiting the early investor allocation to 500,000 dollars total to ensure wider market distribution at launch. So there is a cap on how much each of you can invest."

This was another lie. There was no cap. But creating artificial scarcity almost always worked to increase demand.

The meeting continued for another hour, with Alex fielding questions and providing vague but confident answers. By the end, all three investor groups had expressed interest in participating in the NFT pre-sale, with tentative commitments totaling just over 500,000 dollars.

As the investors gathered their things to leave, Alex shook each of their hands, thanking them for their continued support and vision.

"We'll send over the pre-sale agreements next week," he said to Rodriguez, who seemed the most enthusiastic.

After the investors had left, Marcus looked at Alex with a mixture of amazement and concern.

"You just sold them a vision they're excited about before we've finished building it."

Alex straightened his tie, grinning. He felt pleased with himself. The meeting had gone perfectly. This was exactly why he was the visionary and not just another tech worker - he could see and sell the future while others were stuck in the present. He was a true genius.

"But we promised delivery in two weeks. Byron said that's impossible."

Alex waved dismissively as he packed up his laptop. "Set up a meeting with him for tomorrow morning. I need to make sure he understands the urgency of this project."

Marcus nodded, still looking worried. "What about the coin minting we scheduled for tonight? Are we still going ahead with that?"

Alex had almost forgotten about the plan to mint three trillion new Baba-Yaga coins. With the NFT distraction in place, he could proceed with the original plan.

"Yes, absolutely. Execute as scheduled. By the time anyone notices the increased supply, we'll have them excited about NFTs. And by the time the NFTs are due, we'll have new Asian investors lined up through Patricia Wong."

Marcus left to make the necessary arrangements, and Alex stayed behind in the conference room, looking out at the city below. The meeting had gone even better than he'd hoped. With 500,000 dollars in new investment coming in from the NFT pre-sale, he could keep his current investors satisfied while working on bringing in the bigger Asian investors.

He pulled out his phone and started browsing luxury car websites. The new Porsche Taycan looked impressive. Electric, so he could claim to care about the environment, but still high-performance and status-signaling. Perfect for a successful crypto entrepreneur.

Or maybe the new Mercedes EQS. Even more expensive, but with an interior that looked like a spaceship. That would definitely impress potential investors.

Alex scrolled through car options, mentally calculating how much of the 500,000 dollars he could reasonably spend without raising suspicions. He'd need to allocate some to Byron's team, of course. Just enough to keep them working.

His phone buzzed with a message from Byron.

"Need to speak with you urgently about the development team's concerns. Several devs threatening to quit due to working conditions and unpaid overtime."

Alex ignored the message and went back to browsing cars. Byron's problems could wait. Right now, Alex had more important things to think about—like whether to get the Porsche in black or silver.