Reborn in 2000, starting from the university website

However, just as these young people were racing towards their dreams, there was a gentle knock on the door of the department head's office in the main building of the university.

Chen Yuan held an envelope in his hand, his eyes filled with a frighteningly sinister look.

"Come in." The department head's authoritative voice came from inside.

Chen Yuan pushed open the door, put on a pained expression, and handed the envelope to the desk with both hands.

"Director, there are some things I feel I must report to you as a former student council member." Chen Yuan's voice was low, with an urgent hint of whistleblowing. "Bai Yuhang, a freshman in our department, has been doing some things off-campus lately that have crossed the line."

The department head put down his teacup, frowned, and glanced at the envelope: "What's going on?"

"What kind of 'e-sports league' are they running? Director, think about it, over thirty internet cafes, thousands of students, running off campus in the middle of the night to gather in internet cafes and play games. If a safety incident happens, who in our department can bear the responsibility?" Chen Yuan observed the director's expression, and seeing that the other's brows furrowed even more, he immediately added drastic measures, "Moreover, I heard they're offering high prize money to lure students in. This is... at best, it's disrupting the academic atmosphere; at worst, it's disguised gambling, it's leading people astray."

The department head tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a soft, rhythmic sound that seemed to strike Chen Yuan's heart with each tap.

"You mean, it involves money?"

"It's involved, and quite a lot," Chen Yuan quickly added. "I heard the champion's prize money is tens of thousands. Freshmen aren't focusing on their studies, they're getting involved in this kind of shady stuff. People outside are saying that our university's computer science department has produced a 'web cafe boss'."

The department head picked up the letter, but didn't open it; he just weighed it heavily in his hand.

"Alright, I understand. You can go back now."

As Chen Yuan left, a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips. He believed that the weight of this letter was enough to kill Bai Yuhang's so-called "alliance" before it even began.

Inside the office, the department head looked out the window, picked up the phone, and dialed a number: "Wang Gang? This is... Yes, there's a situation you need to verify."

206 Dormitory.

Wang Gang, the counselor, was a full-time counselor assigned to the department by the graduate school and rarely came to the dormitory. When he entered the room, his face was even more gloomy than the sky outside. He didn't even find a chair to sit on, but simply threw an unopened manila envelope on the table. The noise wasn't loud, but in the deathly silent room 206, it sounded like thunder.

"The department head is really angry. Do you guys think you're having too easy a freshman year?" Wang Gang pointed at the room full of promotional posters that hadn't been taken down yet, his finger almost poking Bai Yuhang's forehead. "Gathering people for gambling? Inducing students to become addicted to the internet? If you pin these accusations on me, not only will your newly registered little company be implicated, but I'll be in trouble too. The department's current stance is that you must immediately stop all on-campus and off-campus promotion, write self-criticisms, and await further action. If the nature of the offense is deemed serious, you'll definitely get a demerit."

The people inside the room all lowered their heads and dared not utter a sound.

Zhang Jian sat on the edge of the bed, his fists clenched until they turned white. He wanted to speak, but Jiao Liwei, who was on the lower bunk, held him down firmly. In the corner, Jiang Shuo held a book on advanced mathematics, seemingly reading it intently, but his eyes kept glancing this way out of the corner of his eye.

Bai Yuhang acted as if nothing had happened. He reached out and picked up the envelope, but didn't open it. He weighed it in his hand for a moment, then put it back in its place.

"Teacher Wang, that's a bit of a stretch," Bai Yuhang said calmly, even pouring Wang Gang a glass of water. "We're not involved in gambling; we're in sports competition."

"Sports my ass!" Wang Gang refused the water glass. "Playing games is just playing games. Just because you change your username doesn't mean I won't recognize you!"

"Teacher Wang, please calm down." Bai Yuhang winked at Yang Bo. Yang Bo immediately took out a pre-bound stack of documents from the cabinet and handed them over with both hands.

"This is the 'Proposal for Hosting the First Harbin Digital E-sports Invitational Tournament,'" Bai Yuhang pointed to the large characters on the cover. "Although the General Administration of Sport of China hasn't officially issued a document yet, e-sports has long been included in the sports category at the provincial level in Beijing and Shanghai. We're responding to the call to enrich the extracurricular cultural life of university students and cultivate their teamwork skills. How can that be called gambling?"

Wang Gang paused for a moment, then opened the planning document. It was filled with formal competition procedures, referee rules, and even an anti-cheating agreement, looking more rigorous than the department's sports meet regulations.

"Stop giving me that nonsense." Wang Gang closed the proposal, his tone softening slightly but still firm. "The school cares about results, about safety hazards. Thousands of people going to internet cafes—who's responsible if something happens? Can you bear that responsibility?"

"We can take on that responsibility," Bai Yuhang replied decisively. "Because it's not just us doing this; the city also supports it."

Wang Gang was amused and annoyed: "You're just bragging without thinking, aren't you? The city supports a college freshman like you organizing a game competition?"

"Whether I'm bragging or not, give me half a day." Bai Yuhang glanced at the clock on the wall. "By 5 p.m. this afternoon, I'll bring back the filings from the Municipal Bureau of Culture and the Sports Commission for you to see. If I can't bring them back, I'll drop out of school without any disciplinary action from the department."

Wang Gang stared at Bai Yuhang for a long time, and seeing no sign of guilt in the kid's eyes, he became a little suspicious. After all, the 206 unit had indeed caused quite a stir recently. "Fine, I'll give you half a day. If I don't see the official document by 5 PM, you can expect to be punished."

No sooner had Wang Gang left than the dormitory erupted in chaos.

"Sixth Brother, are you crazy?" Zhang Jian jumped up, grabbing his hair and yelling, "Who do we know about the Cultural Bureau or the Sports Commission? Aren't we just asking to die?"

Jiang Shuo closed his book and sighed earnestly, "Sixth Brother, you were too impulsive. Why don't we go apologize to the department head? After all, we're all in the same department, why make things so tense?"

"Admit your mistake? Why should you admit your mistake to the department? Who's in the same department as whom?" Liu Jing glared at Jiang Shuo. "Old Eight, if you're afraid of dying, go hide somewhere else and stop making sarcastic remarks."

"Stop arguing, everyone." Bai Yuhang put on his coat, picked up the proposal, and took out a pre-prepared "Strategic Cooperation Intent Letter" from the drawer. "Second brother, come with me to Nangang."

"Where to?"

"Blue Speed ​​Club." Bai Yuhang smirked. "Someone's trying to intimidate us with a big accusation, so we'll find someone tall to take the fall. Shi Hongchao is a returned overseas master's graduate. He already told me he has connections in the city, and he knows better than us what packaging is."

Half an hour later, in the office of the owner of Blue Speed ​​Internet Cafe.

Shi Hongchao looked at the proposal in front of him, then glanced at Bai Yuhang and Yang Bo, who were sitting calmly across from him at the desk, and tapped his fingers rhythmically on the mahogany tabletop.

"You mean, you want to put the competition under the Blue Speed ​​name and have me report it to the Cultural Bureau and the Sports Commission?" Shi Hongchao said with a half-smile. "Xiao Bai, you're using me as a pawn."

"Mr. Shi, how can this be called using someone as a pawn? This is a win-win situation." Bai Yuhang leaned forward, pointing to the terms in the letter of intent. "This competition involves more than thirty internet cafes across Harbin, and tens of thousands of university students are paying attention. As long as we use the 'Blue Speed ​​Cup' name, and you handle the official endorsements from the Culture Bureau and the Sports Commission, Blue Speed ​​will undoubtedly become the leading internet cafe in Harbin. This kind of 'GG effect' is priceless."

Shi Hongchao didn't speak, but the light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter. He was a pure businessman; he cared too much about his reputation and industry standing. If he could nominally and indirectly integrate these scattered internet cafes under the Blue Speed ​​banner, he would have a lot more confidence and prestige when speaking at the CPPCC meetings.

"Moreover," Bai Yuhang added, "with official registration, this isn't just gathering to play games; it's responding to the call to promote 'digital sports.' Who would dare to investigate now? This is a legal shield."

Shi Hongchao smiled, a very happy smile. He picked up the Parker gold pen on the table and signed his name with a flourish.

"You little rascal, if you ever go into business, you'll definitely be a shrewd businessman." Shi Hongchao handed the documents to Bai Yuhang. "I'll take this job. I'll call Secretary Zhang, the director of the Cultural Bureau, right now. We're very close. You two go and try to make an exception. I'll get you the receipt this afternoon. However, the finals must be held at Blue Speed ​​Stadium, no discussion there. And don't ask for two thousand yuan for the venue auction fee. Be stingy, ten thousand yuan. Go to the finance department to get the money later."

"Deal." Bai Yuhang took the documents, handed them to Yang Bo to keep, and stood up to shake hands.

At 4:50 p.m., Bai Yuhang knocked on the door of the counselor's office on time.

When the document bearing the red seals of the Municipal Bureau of Culture and the Sports Commission, titled "Approval for Holding the First HEB City 'Blue Speed ​​Cup' E-sports Invitational Tournament," was placed on his desk, Wang Gang's expression was as interesting as if he had swallowed a whole duck egg.

"Since it's a legitimate activity approved by the city..." Wang Gang coughed lightly, took the letter of complaint out of the drawer, "Then be careful and don't cause any trouble. Come with me to report to the department head. Also, the department is going to hold a civilized dormitory competition soon, so keep your dorm clean and don't let it look like a pigsty all the time."

"That's a must," Bai Yuhang agreed with a smile, then turned and left.

In the corridor of the department head's office, Bai Yuhang ran into Chen Yuan, who had been summoned by the counselor. As they passed each other, Bai Yuhang didn't stop, but simply said, "Senior, next time you badmouth someone, remember to come up with a more solid reason. This little storm won't even rock the boat."

Chen Yuan was stunned. He stared at Bai Yuhang's back, his teeth grinding together, crushing the pages of the book in his hand. He followed Bai Yuhang and Wang Gang into the department head's office.