Reborn in 2000, starting from the university website

The innermost private room in the New Century Internet Cafe had such foul air that it felt like it could pickle you.

When network administrator Wang Jun pushed open the door, Bai Yuhang was staring intently at the line of error code on the screen, a cigarette dangling from his lips. Next to him, Zhang Jian and Wan Lianghao were huddled together, arguing heatedly about capturing an infinite loop in the script. Zhang Qingheng was huddled in a corner, annotating the code with an English dictionary.

"Brother Bai, Boss Zhao is on the phone. He says it's urgent and you need to answer him right away."

Bai Yuhang stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, got up, and followed Zhao Jianjun to the bar. Just as he picked up the receiver, Zhao Jianjun's raspy voice boomed from the telephone line, making Bai Yuhang instinctively move the receiver half a foot away.

"Hey bro! Two bespectacled punks came in just now, carrying briefcases, and started lecturing me as soon as they walked in."

Bai Yuhang leaned against the bar, his fingers unconsciously twirling the phone cord, and chuckled: "Someone from the Geek Alliance?"

"Absolutely. They keep talking about some underlying architecture, some elite team from the university, complaining that my shop's machine has too little memory, and saying that Qihang Navigation is a quack, telling me to quickly switch to their system, saying they'd give me a 50% discount because we're in the same industry, but they want 1,500 yuan per person for installation." Zhao Jianjun spat, his disdain evident even through the phone. "I laughed then, saying, you guys, with your barely-grown skills, dare to poach my customers? What, if I don't switch, are you going to smash my computer?"

"Brother Zhao didn't lay a hand on them, did he? They're seniors in college, still just kids."

"What are you doing, getting my door dirty? I had someone kick him out." Zhao Jianjun snorted. "I've told all the guys in Daoli, Daowai, and Nangang Xiangfang that in Harbin's internet cafe scene, you, Bai Yuhang, are my only brother. Anyone else wanting to come in is dreaming. If anyone dares to use those knock-offs, don't ever drink at the same table as me again."

"Thanks, Brother Zhao, I'll remember that favor. I'll treat you to some skewers when I get back tonight."

After hanging up the phone, Bai Yuhang rubbed his stiff face.

Zhao Jianjun, a man of the underworld, values ​​face and loyalty above all else; once he sets his mind on someone, he's single-minded. With his words, the foundation of these districts was completely solidified.

There was a big class at 4 pm. Around 3 pm, the four of them, half asleep and half asleep, floated back to dormitory 206 as if riding on a cloud, to change their clothes and go to class.

As soon as I pushed open the door, a lively atmosphere hit me.

The fifth brother, Liu Jing, and the eldest brother, Jiao Liwei, were slumped in their chairs like two puddles of mud, looking like they had just returned. Liu Jing, in particular, had his down jacket open, his sweater underneath was soaked through and clung to his body, his forehead was covered in sweat, and he was panting heavily. Anyone who didn't know better would think he had just been chased all over the street.

"Water...give me water..." Liu Jing's hands were trembling as he saw Bai Yuhang and the others enter the room, pointing to the cold boiled water on the table.

Bai Yuhang handed him the water bottle, which Liu Jing grabbed and gulped down half of it. Water dripped down his chin, but he didn't bother to wipe it. Then, wiping his mouth, he suddenly grinned, a creepy, almost manic laugh: "Sixth Brother, amazing! Absolutely amazing!"

"You guys beat up the Geek Alliance members?" Bai Yuhang raised an eyebrow, hanging his backpack on the headboard. "Look at you, all sweaty, went out for a brawl?"

"Beat them up my ass! I'm going to thank them! I'm going to give them a banner!" Liu Jing threw his bulging canvas bag onto the computer desk with a heavy thud. "My boss and I were really angry. We knew a few internet cafes that had 'Fast Navigation' installed, so we were planning to go and yell at them, and maybe give the owners a piece of our mind. But guess what happened?"

Jiao Liwei, standing to the side, was also both amused and exasperated. He took off his glasses and wiped them with the corner of his shirt: "Those geeks are a bunch of terrible teammates. Their crappy website, oh my god, it's full of dead links. These guys, just to make a quick buck, also added a bunch of random pop-ups. And the worst part is, you'll never guess... these idiots, for the sake of traffic, added a 'Beautiful Pictures Appreciation' category link on a secondary page, and clicking on it leads to... those kinds of illegal websites with suggestive content."

"With color?" Zhang Jian, who was taking off his smelly socks, stopped abruptly upon hearing this. "Holy crap, that's so vulgar!"

"It's not just despicable, it's downright suicidal." Liu Jing slapped his thigh, speaking with great enthusiasm, "We went to Xinyue Internet Cafe in Daoli. They had only been there for half a day when the local police were conducting a routine inspection. A young guy nearby couldn't resist clicking on it, and good heavens, the screen was filled with pictures of long, white legs, and they were even waving around on the screen, you couldn't close them! The police confiscated the computer on the spot, the owner received an administrative warning and was fined 500, his face turned green."

"Right now, a lot of bosses outside are cursing. They all think this 'Extreme Speed' is a defective product from 'Qihang,' or a disguised paid version designed to rip off new customers," Liu Jingyue said, getting more and more excited. "When my boss and I entered the internet cafe, as soon as we gave our names and explained the situation, the boss almost kissed me on the face, grabbed my hand, and said, 'Finally, someone who understands!' They said they'd pay anything, even more, if they could just replace this broken system and the broken webpage, and stop the pop-ups and computer crashes all the time! You wouldn't believe the scene; it was like tenant farmers seeing the Red Army. They've fallen for this scam so badly."

"This is all thanks to the contrast with our peers." Bai Yuhang couldn't help but laugh. He sat down on the edge of the bed, lit a cigarette, and said, "Oh, I've been wondering about this. So this Geek Alliance is spending their own money, losing face, and risking going to jail to beat us up."

"That's right!" Liu Jing yanked open the zipper of his canvas bag, pulled out a stack of crumpled cash, notes, and business cards, and slammed them on the table.

The money smelled of cigarettes and sweat, and a few bills were stained with oil. It looked filthy, but to a few people, it was more precious than anything else.

"My boss and I went around to argue, but it turned into signing contracts. Nine! Nine whole internet cafes, all of them were crying and begging to install our system after browsing those cheap, low-speed websites. I met with several of the owners, and each one was eager to give me two thousand yuan. This is the deposit they gave me, nine thousand yuan in total. I brought it all back, just in case we didn't go."

The dormitory was silent for a few seconds as it stared at the pile of hundred-yuan bills and change on the table.

Wan Lianghao peeked out from the top bunk, looked at the pile of money, and suddenly burst into laughter, making the bed frame shake: "These seniors are such good people, giving us such a big gift before graduation. If they knew, they'd be so angry they'd tear up their diplomas!"

"Well, since they've already put the food right in front of us, I think we should open our mouths and eat it properly, and even smack our lips so they can hear it." Bai Yuhang's smile faded, and he quickly pulled out his black notebook from the bedside table, turned to a new page, and the pen tip drew heavy marks on the paper. "The situation has changed, and the original plan has been adjusted."

His gaze swept over the crowd, his previous languid air vanishing instantly, replaced by a convincing decisiveness: "These nine companies are easy targets, we can't let them sit idle. Boss, Fifth Brother, you two will have to work hard, use your spare time to visit these nine companies, install the system, and secure your territory. Keep the deposit for now, and once you've installed the system and software and collected all the money, hand it over to Second Brother. Remember, be polite; we're here to put out fires, not to collect protection money. Don't be like those Geek Alliance guys, thinking you're superior just because you're college students."

"Don't worry, I'm good at this." Liu Jing pushed the money into his canvas bag, rubbed his stiff smile, and said, "I'll make sure they're completely obedient and feel like they owe us a huge favor."

"Third brother, fourth brother, seventh brother." Bai Yuhang turned to the other side, "After the four of us finish our big class, we'll continue our seclusion in the internet cafe. These past few days, apart from eating, sleeping, and attending classes, we've been grinding away at code in this private room. These nine companies are just a windfall; the music website must go live this weekend. That's the real blow we'll strike back with, the nail that will completely hammer the Geek Alliance into the ground."

Finally, he looked at his second son, Yang Bo, who was packing his schoolbag: "Second son, you have the heaviest burden. The company's paperwork must be completed as soon as possible. Our business is moving too fast right now, and without proper legal status, we'll be a liability sooner or later. Although the Geek Alliance acted foolishly this time, if someone is behind them and uses 'illegal operation' to accuse us, we'll be in trouble too. If there's a problem with the business registration department, you should try to negotiate. If all else fails, ask Brother Zhao for help, even if it costs more money."

"Understood." Yang Bo pushed up his glasses, gritted his teeth, and said with a pout, "After class, I'll go block the door again. If I don't get the license back, I'll sleep on the floor there."