I'm The King of Business & Technology in the Modern World-Chapter 171: Echoes of Progress

Thursday — 7:45 AM, Sentinel BioTech HQ, Manila

The morning sun cast long rays across the conference room as Matthew Borja stood before a wall of screens, arms folded. On one monitor played drone footage of Aurora Line's initial construction sites—steel columns rising, concrete pilings being laid, and survey teams walking along the cleared corridors. Another screen displayed real-time social media trends and news updates. The tags #AuroraLineProgress and #BorjaBoldMove were still trending.

But it was the national sentiment dashboard that caught his attention.

Public approval was shifting.

Slowly, yes—but meaningfully.

Angel entered the room with her usual calm energy, holding a coffee in one hand and a tablet in the other. "Morning, sir. You should see the reactions out of Pampanga. Local leaders are organizing their own community info sessions to keep residents updated."

Matthew glanced over. "Voluntarily?"

She nodded. "They said, and I quote, 'If Mr. Borja keeps showing up, we'll show up too.' It's starting to resonate."

He took the coffee she offered and leaned against the table. "They still haven't forgotten what I said back then."

Angel hesitated. "They haven't. But they're beginning to understand it came from frustration, not arrogance."

Matthew looked thoughtful. "I used to think that saying it out loud would wake people up. I didn't realize how deep the distrust ran."

Angel gave a small smile. "Sometimes, waking up a nation means being willing to become the villain first. Now you're showing them you were never their enemy—you just didn't know how to speak their language."

He exhaled deeply. "Let's keep listening then."

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—

Roxas City — Thursday, 10:30 AM

A fisherman named Dodong sat on the edge of the wharf, mending his nets as a young barangay captain approached him.

"Did you see the news?" the captain asked, holding up his phone. "They broke ground. It's real."

Dodong squinted at the screen. "I thought in the past, it was just words. Now he's putting steel on the ground."

The captain smiled. "That line's gonna come through Capiz. They say we'll have cargo rail, too."

"If that is true," Dodong murmured, shaking his head, "then my son won't have to go to Maynila just to find a job."

—

National University, Manila — Thursday, 1:00 PM

In a large classroom filled with civil engineering students, a projector showed real-time construction feeds of the Aurora Line. Professor Del Rosario pointed to the frame.

"Class, this is a textbook case of private-led infrastructure. It challenges everything we've been taught about relying on state-backed megaprojects."

A student raised his hand. "But sir, do you think Borja can really finish it without government help?"

The professor nodded slowly. "With enough capital, yes. But more than money, he's building public trust. If that holds, this won't just be a railway. It'll be a reset button."

—

Senate Building — Thursday, 3:15 PM

Inside a committee hearing, murmurs filled the air as legislators watched footage of Matthew's exclusive interview from the day prior.

"He's buying goodwill," one senator muttered.

"No," another corrected, adjusting her glasses. "He's buying independence. And if he pulls it off, he won't need us anymore."

The tension was palpable. Some senators viewed Matthew's self-funded, foreign-partnered project as an existential threat to political relevance.

But others saw opportunity.

"We either support this and be part of history," said one pragmatic lawmaker, "or resist it and be remembered for slowing down progress."

—

Sentinel BioTech HQ — Thursday, 6:30 PM

Back in Manila, the evening light turned golden as it filtered through the glass. Matthew sat at his desk, a stack of papers and maps spread before him. Angel stood nearby, reciting a list of community feedback summaries from Mindoro, Bataan, and Leyte.

"No major resistance so far," she said. "People are asking how soon stations will open. They want jobs, too—security, maintenance, local vendors."

Matthew leaned back, gazing up at the ceiling. "It's strange, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"I started this because I thought no one else would. But now it's… theirs. I can feel it."

Angel smiled. "That's how it should be. You laid the tracks, but they'll carry the train."

There was a brief pause. Then Matthew stood and walked to the window once more, looking out over the sprawling city that had shaped and tested him for so many years.

"They'll never forget what I said," he murmured.

Angel joined him at the window. "Maybe not. But someday, they'll tell their kids how they rode the train that changed everything."

And for the first time in a long while, Matthew allowed himself to smile—not the calculated, polite smile of boardrooms and cameras, but a small, hopeful one.

Quiet.

Real.

History wasn't waiting anymore.

It was boarding now.

Matthew stood there for a moment longer, the Manila skyline glowing beneath the soft hues of twilight. From this height, the city looked peaceful—almost manageable. But he knew better. He had lived the chaos, fought through the inertia, and now stood at the edge of something far bigger than even he had anticipated.

Behind him, Angel tapped gently on her tablet, pulling up the latest terrain clearance reports from Tarlac and Pampanga. But then she looked up, her expression softening.

"You know, sir," she said, "when we started this, everyone thought we were crazy."

Matthew chuckled, his eyes still on the horizon. "That hasn't changed."

She smiled. "Maybe not. But now... they're watching. And more than that—they're rooting for you. Not everyone, but enough."

He finally turned to face her. "Let them root for the project. It's not about me."

Angel studied him for a second, then nodded slowly. "Maybe. But for most people, it still helps to have a face they can believe in."

He didn't answer that, but he didn't dismiss it either.

Instead, he walked back to the table, picked up a fresh set of station layout plans, and set them on the board.

"Tomorrow, we start the surveys for Batangas," he said. "Make sure the outreach team is in place. I want every barangay captain involved before the first machine touches the ground."

Angel nodded. "Already ahead of you."