Reborn in 2000, starting from the university website

Almost all the prominent figures in China's investment circle were present.

Chen Yizhou was making bold statements on stage with great confidence, while the bigwigs in the VIP seats below were each holding a teacup, their eyes meeting with calculating glances.

IDG's Wang Jingbo turned her head and whispered to Liu Xin of Morningside Capital beside her, "Zhang Chaoyang made this move too hastily. Throwing in twenty million US dollars to Chen Yizhou, is it really just to make a splash before the US IPO?"

Liu Xin pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses: "The arrow is on the bowstring, there's no way not to smash it. But look at Chen Yizhou's temper, this isn't a press conference, it's a challenge. He's being pushed to the brink by the student bosses at Qihang."

"Hey, on the surface it's Chen Yizhou seeking revenge on Bai Yuhang, but in reality it's our Sohu-affiliated IDG, Morningside Ventures, and MIT Ventures going head-to-head with Zhang Lei's China Entrepreneur Network and Yale Investment Office on the Chinese internet landscape," Wang Jingbo sneered. "Let's see if burning through that ten million US dollars in promotion fees can break through Qihang's moat."

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of resentment in each other's eyes.

For a powerful financial tycoon to have to follow in the footsteps of an 18-year-old college student and inhale their exhaust fumes is a truly unpleasant experience.

Across the aisle, Zhang Lei leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and watched Chen Yizhou on stage talking at length about real-name campus social interaction, a mocking smile on his lips.

Partner Sun Yanjun leaned closer, his brow furrowed slightly: "Brother Lei, Chen Yizhou is coming on strong. Sohu's entire capital base has jumped in, with ten million US dollars in funding, plus Sohu's massive online traffic allocation. Can Qihang withstand it?"

Zhang Lei picked up his thermos and took a sip of water: "What do you think? Hehe, you underestimate Bai Yuhang. Sohu's ten million US dollars seems like a lot, but do the math. Yuhang has tens of millions of users. That amount of money could buy so many bags of fertilizer for them in Happy Farm!"

Sun Yanjun was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"That's true. No matter how loudly Chen Yizhou shouts on stage, the daily turnover of over a million yuan in Qihang's corporate account is a solid fact." Sun Yanjun shook his head. "However, these people from the Sohu group are clearly trying to use ChinaRen as a shell to suppress our momentum. If they also copy us and make a farm game, it's hard to say what will happen if Sohu diverts its traffic."

Zhang Lei closed the thermos, his eyes sharp: "Pressure? What can they use to pressure? Everyone in the capital circle knows that Zhang Chaoyang wanted to spend 25 million US dollars to buy Qihang last month, but he couldn't even get in the door. Spending 20 million to take over Chen Yizhou today is just a helpless move as a second choice."

He leaned forward, his voice barely audible to the two of them: "Chen Yizhou thinks he can copy others' homework just because he has money. He has no idea how cunning Bai Yuhang is. Victory on the chessboard isn't necessarily decided on the board itself. Bai Yuhang has even registered trademarks for the words 'stealing vegetables,' soft moves, and even patents for page interaction."

Sun Yanjun's eyes widened suddenly: "All registered?"

"Yes, even products that haven't been launched yet are all done." Zhang Lei smiled like an old fox. "The more Chen Yizhou boasts on stage today, the more Sohu's legal department will have to pay when his 5Q Campus Network imitates us. Bai Yuhang is just wondering how to openly pocket the money Sohu just gave to Chen Yizhou."

Sun Yanjun gasped, then looked at Chen Yizhou, who was still speaking eloquently and beaming on the stage, and his eyes immediately showed a hint of sympathy.

"Oh my, this is no ten million US dollars worth of ammunition," Sun Yanjun muttered. "It's clearly Zhang Chaoyang spending money to buy Chen Yizhou a luxury crematorium, and he even has to pay for the urn himself."

At the same time, on the sixteenth floor of Hailong Building, the door to the CEO's office of Qihang Technology was pushed open.

Yang Bo strode in, carrying several file folders that were half a foot thick. Usually composed, he was beaming with joy. He placed the folders on the corner of Bai Yuhang's large desk, his face beaming.

"Mr. Bai, the net is in place." Yang Bo's voice was brimming with barely suppressed excitement. "I contacted every intermediary I could reach, collected and reviewed the materials in the shortest possible time, and signed confidentiality agreements with each one. The trademarks for terms like 'vegetable stealing,' 'parking space grabbing,' 'farm,' 'QQ Show,' 'group chat,' and 'video chat,' along with patents and software copyrights related to game UI, interaction logic, data compression models, and underlying algorithms—over seven hundred in total—are all here. Until the registration is complete and the official public announcement begins, no one will be able to discover these applications."

Jiang Shuo squeezed in from behind Yang Bo, casually pushing up his glasses. "Brother Bo has been spending money like water these past few days, approving three or four hundred thousand yuan at a time that's making my heart bleed. But looking at these receipts, the money was well spent."

Yang Bo patted the file bag. "Shuo, this is our moat. Let me tell you, I even applied for a design patent for the fur texture and teeth-baring expression of the guard dogs on the farm. If any game on the market dares to make a dog look like ours, our legal department can teach them a lesson immediately."

Bai Yuhang casually flipped to the top of the acceptance notice, a smile playing on his lips.

"Well done." Bai Yuhang put the documents back on the table. "The pit is dug, now we just need to wait for the blind man to set off."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor. Zhang Jian and Wan Lianghao, clutching their laptops, rushed into the office like a whirlwind, without even knocking.

"Mr. Bai, something terrible has happened!" Zhang Jian slammed his laptop onto the desk, the screen facing Bai Yuhang. "Sohu has entered the fray!"

Jiao Liwei happened to be there with several administrative reports to sign, and upon hearing this, he also came over to the computer.

On the screen, the headlines of all major portal websites were dominated by the same news: "Sohu acquires ChinaRen for $20 million, Chen Yizhou becomes Sohu vice president, and launches 5Q Campus Network with a promotion budget of $10 million."

In the accompanying photo, Chen Yizhou and Zhang Chaoyang are seen holding hands, both looking quite pleased with themselves.

Jiao Liwei stared at the words "tens of millions of US dollars" on the screen, his brows furrowed. "President Bai, this time a real giant has entered the fray. With Sohu's traffic and ten million US dollars in cash, can our twelve million users withstand it?"

"5Q Campus Network? This old bastard spent all that time and this is all he came up with?" Zhang Jian pointed at Chen Yizhou's photo on the screen, jumping up and down with laughter. "We finally managed to shed the shell of the campus network and expand it to the whole internet, and here he is, picking up the tattered clothes we threw away and putting them on himself!"

Bai Yuhang leaned back in his swivel chair, looking at Chen Yizhou's eloquent written report on the screen, a mocking smile curving his lips.

"He's gotten himself into a panic after we beat him, and he's trying to copy our past successes." Bai Yuhang tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "Unfortunately, without reading Mao's Selected Works, he hasn't even figured out how to copy it properly. He doesn't know how to look at things from a developmental perspective. What do college students want? They want to connect with society, to look outward. Who wants to be forever confined to an ivory tower, indulging in self-admiration?"

Wan Lianghao scratched his head anxiously, "Look at this, Chen Yizhou almost explicitly named us as ecological polluters at the press conference. Now that he has Sohu backing him, he has money and traffic. This overwhelming pressure is putting too much pressure on our technology department."

Yang Bo and Jiang Shuo, who had just been gloating over registering more than 700 patents, fell silent.

In 2000, Sohu, a behemoth about to ring the bell on NASDAQ, stood in the way of any startup, an insurmountable mountain.