Shaking off the unease, he switched tabs to the cycling forum where 'PrecisionCycleWorks' had operated. Curiosity piqued, he searched for his old username. A thread popped up immediately, started just a few days ago.
Thread Title: The Legend of PrecisionCycleWorks - Where Did He Go?
User "CycleNut88" (Dave): Anyone else remember that seller 'PrecisionCycleWorks' from a few weeks back? Sold those insane Giant and Cannondale bikes? Mine is still flying! Seriously feels better than bikes costing twice as much.
User "RoadieRon": Yeah! I saw those listings! They vanished instantly. Always wondered who that guy was. Seemed to have an endless supply of perfectly tuned, high-end bikes for reasonable prices.
User "MTB_Mike": My buddy nearly bought one. Said the seller knew his stuff but was kinda intense. The bike felt 'unreal' according to him.
User "SuspiciousCyclist": Seemed fishy to me. Too many good bikes sold too fast. Felt like someone unloading stolen goods, or maybe some pro mechanic clearing out a secret stash?
User "GaryTheBuyer": Bought Bike 3 from him. Solid transaction, great bike. Guy knew bikes. Definitely not stolen, just… really, really well optimized like he said. Wish he'd list more!
Theo read through the comments with a mix of amusement and caution. 'Bike god', 'stolen goods', 'pro mechanic's secret stash'. The speculation was harmless, confined to a niche forum, but it underscored the point. Unusual success breeds attention and questions. Doing the same thing repeatedly, even successfully, created patterns. The decision to exit the bike market felt even more justified. Spreading the GPU sales across multiple forums and usernames was the right call.
Just as he was about to reply to a GPU inquiry, his phone buzzed with a personal notification. Sarah.
Sarah: Hey Theo! Hope the 'big project phase' isn't killing you too much! ;) Just got back from another amazing ride on the TCR – seriously, this bike makes me feel like a pro! Quick question though, totally unrelated to bikes…
Sarah: My team at Meta just got restructured AGAIN. More vague corporate synergy BS. Talking about 'optimizing workflows' which really means 'layoffs are coming'. Ugh. It's making me seriously reconsider things. That side project I mentioned, the cycling data analysis thing? I actually started mapping out the data architecture last night instead of sleeping…
Sarah: Sorry, totally rambling! Point is, the corporate grind is feeling extra soul-crushing lately. Made me wonder what kind of 'optimization projects' you actually work on? Is it more hardware tuning, or software? Always curious about people who manage to freelance successfully outside the big tech machine!
Theo paused, rereading her message. Her dissatisfaction was easy to see, her passion for her side project genuine. He felt a flicker of something, not quite empathy, perhaps recognition of ambition chafing against constraints. He saw the opening she was giving him, the curiosity about his work. The temptation to hint at something more interesting than 'freelance consulting' was there, a desire to connect, maybe even impress her.
He typed, deleted, typed again, forcing himself back to operational security protocols. Vague. Non-committal.
Theo: Hey Sarah. Sounds frustrating over there. Hang in there. Yeah, my projects are mostly hardware optimization, niche stuff. Keeps me busy. That data analysis project sounds cool though, complex problem. Glad the bike is still treating you well!
He hit send, feeling a familiar pang of isolation. Keeping everyone at arm's length was safe, necessary, but undeniably lonely.
The rest of Week 10 became a whirlwind of focused activity. Bolstered by MaxHertz's review, Theo listed the remaining four initial RTX 4090s, staggering them slightly across Hardware Nexus and one smaller, more specialized overclocking forum under a different anonymous username ('SiliconSurfer').
The sales process was smoother now, though still demanding. He spent hours in private messages, answering questions (mostly deflecting deep technical dives, sticking to the 'exceptional silicon' narrative), sharing the anonymized benchmark proof, and vetting buyers. He insisted on secure payment methods (crypto escrow for one particularly paranoid buyer, bank transfers for others). He arranged quick, public meetups for local sales or carefully packed and shipped the cards via insured courier for interstate buyers, using burner return addresses sourced from mail forwarding services.
Simultaneously, he dedicated afternoons to sourcing more inventory. Operation: Final Carbon Buffer was complete, now it was Operation: Silicon Scalability. He managed to acquire three more promising 4090s through persistent negotiation and quick meetups, bringing his total acquired to eight. The $950 price point held firm, indicating steady supply meeting demand. He enhanced these new cards immediately each evening, using his daily charges. Inventory replenished. Pipeline active.
By Sunday evening, all five of the initial batch were sold. Three more were enhanced and ready to list. The GPU venture was officially launched, profitable, and seemingly scalable, albeit intensely demanding and fraught with the tension of managing his secret.
He sat down at his laptop, pulling up the financial ledger, the familiar ritual feeling particularly satisfying tonight. He meticulously entered the transactions for Week 10.
Theodore Sterling - Financial Ledger (End of Week 10)
Starting Balance (Beginning Week 10): $8190.62 (Carried over from End of Week 9)
Income (Week 10):
Sale of GPU 1 (MaxHertz - Cash): +$2000.00
Sale of GPU 2 (Forum Buyer - Escrow): +$2000.00
Sale of GPU 3 (Forum Buyer - Bank Transfer): +$2000.00
Sale of GPU 4 (Forum Buyer - Bank Transfer): +$2000.00
Sale of GPU 5 (Forum Buyer - Crypto via Escrow): +$2000.00
Total Income: +$10,000.00
Expenses (Week 10):
Rent Paid (Week 10): -$450.00
Living Expenses (Wk 10 @ $500): -$500.00
Barebones Test PC Parts (Est. Used): -$150.00
GPU 6 Purchase: -$950.00
GPU 7 Purchase: -$950.00
GPU 8 Purchase: -$950.00
Shipping Supplies/Fees (Est. 3 shipped GPUs @ ~$40/ea): n/a – paid by buyer
Crypto Escrow Fees (Est. ~$30): n/a – paid by buyer
GPU Acquisition Travel/Meetups (Est.): -$30.00
Total Expenses: -$3980.00
Net Change (Week 10): +$10,000.00 (Income) - $3980.00 (Expenses) = +$6020.00
Ending Balance (End of Sunday, Week 10): $14,210.62
Status: Highly Profitable. Initial GPU batch sold successfully at premium price, validating the model despite forum hostility. Significant capital increase achieved (~$14.2k). Inventory replenished with 3 additional units (3 enhanced, ready to sell). Operational efficiency improved slightly with test setup. However, online scrutiny, past business echoes, and sourcing grind remain persistent challenges. Venture confirmed as high-reward but high-stress and potentially unsustainable long-term due to visibility risk. Maintain current course, maximize profit while monitoring external attention.
Theo stared at the final number: $14,210.62. Fourteen thousand dollars. More money than he'd ever seen, earned in a single, frantic week. It was intoxicating. The enhanced GPUs weren't just components. They were money printing machines, powered by his impossible secret. The stress, the paranoia, the close calls, they faded slightly against the sheer weight of the numbers. He had momentum. He had a working model. But the echoes from the past and the hostility of the present served as stark warnings. This climb was getting steeper, the air thinner, and the potential fall greater than ever. He needed to move faster, smarter, before the inevitable attention caught up with him. The marathon was far from over. He'd merely finished the first leg of a dangerous new stage.