Reborn in 2000, starting from the university website

Having endured two long classes in the morning, Bai Yuhang felt like his brain was about to turn to mush. He stopped at the entrance of the teaching building and shoved the still-warm remittance slip into Yang Bo's hand.

"Second brother, fifth brother, you two have to go through a lot." Bai Yuhang rubbed his temples, his voice hoarse as if he had swallowed a handful of sand. "Go to the China Construction Bank next to the Bachelor's Building and transfer the domain name fee, two hundred yuan in total. Also, bring back a few blank remittance slips, and then go to the server room to keep an eye on the data. If there are any anomalies on the Telecom side, call me immediately."

Yang Bo didn't waste any words. He took the order and money, then pulled Liu Jing, who was still yawning and rubbing his eyes, and turned to leave. The remaining six people supported each other, looking like defeated soldiers who had just come from a battlefield, and drifted back to their dormitory.

Those two long classes in the morning completely drained the last bit of energy from these people.

When they arrived at room 206, no one washed up, no one took off their clothes, and they were too lazy to even put on their shoes. Several people threw themselves onto the bed, not even having the strength to pull off the blankets, and then the power was turned off.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly.

When counselor Wang Gang stood at the door, his hand had just touched the doorknob when he was forced back half a step by the blast of air emanating from inside. The smell was overwhelming—the pungent aroma of braised beef noodles seasoning, the rancid smell of overnight beer, and the combined stench of six grown men's feet, fermenting under the sweltering afternoon sun, it was practically a biological weapon.

Wang Gang pinched his nose and peered inside, only to see a complete mess. A pile of unused lunchboxes lay on the table, instant noodle soup spilled all over it, dried and hardened into brown shells. Zhang Jian's half-eaten sausage lay forlornly on a pile of books, its skin peeling from the sun, next to a litter of sunflower seed shells—it looked like a piece of performance art.

Wang Gang subconsciously held his breath, took a half step back, and even considered going to the corridor to pull out the gas mask from the fire hydrant and put it on.

Room 206 was eerily quiet, so quiet that the only sound was the occasional thud of a basketball hitting the ground outside the window.

Sunlight streamed in at an angle, illuminating Zhang Qingheng's head as he lay sprawled on the lower bunk by the window. Exhausted, he slept in a terrible state; his disheveled hair stood stubbornly upright against the backlight, resembling a collapsed Eiffel Tower. Two greenbottle flies, having flown in from who-knows-where to spend the winter, were using this "tower" as a landing pad, buzzing and circling, the only living thing in the room.

Looking at the table, it was practically a performance art piece. In the leftover instant noodle bucket, red chili oil floated, and the ham sausage skin that Zhang Jian had finished eating lay forlornly on the keyboard covered in cigarette ash. Next to it were a few socks that no one knew who had taken them off, huddled together like dried pickled vegetables.

"Damn it, these bastards..." Wang Gang held his breath and carefully stepped over the pile of empty beer bottles on the ground, afraid that kicking one would cause a chain reaction.

"Wake up! Are you all alive?" Wang Gang shouted, pinching his nose.

There was no movement.

Wang Gang's heart skipped a beat, wondering if they had all died from exhaustion from staying up all night. He subconsciously reached out to check Jiao Liwei's breath and felt the warm breath on his hand before he felt relieved.

Jiao Liwei rolled over, smacked his lips, seemingly dreaming of something delicious, and then fell asleep with his head against the wall.

Wang Gang was speechless. He stepped over the minefield of empty beer bottles on the ground, walked to the lower bunk, and nudged Jiang Shuo.

"Hmm...stop messing around...I'm busy..." Jiang Shuo mumbled, burying his head in the pillow and continuing to sleep soundly.

Wang Gang had no choice but to look up at Jiang Shuo's upper bunk. Bai Yuhang was also a restless sleeper. He was wearing thermal underwear, lying on his side with a thin blanket covering half of him. His military overcoat was pressing down on his feet, and one leg was hanging on the upper bunk railing with his big toe dangling in the air.

"Bai Yuhang! Wake up!" Wang Gang reached out and patted his forehead. "Don't sleep, something's happened!"

Upon hearing the word "something happened," Bai Yuhang seemed to be electrocuted, his eyes snapping open, bloodshot but instantly focused: "The server crashed?"

"What are you yelling for, you idiot? The department head is looking for you." Seeing that he was awake, Wang Gang released his hand from pinching his nose and took a deep breath of the relatively fresh air in the corridor. "Come down quickly and wash your face. Someone is waiting for you in Director Wang's office; they seem to be someone important."

Bai Yuhang paused for a moment, then rolled out of bed. Without asking any questions, he grabbed the glass of cold water on the table, took a swig, wiped his face haphazardly, put on his cotton-padded jacket and trousers, slipped on his shoes, and followed Wang Gang out the door.

The aroma of tea wafted from the department head's office.

Today, Director Wang wasn't sitting behind his desk, but rather in the main seat of the sofa, opposite two men in suits. Although young, their air of sophistication was completely different from the rough, technical guys at the university.

"Director, you wanted to see me?" Bai Yuhang knocked on the door and entered, greeting him.

"Yu Hang is here, come in quickly." Director Wang smiled and waved, leading Bai Yu Hang to the sofa next to him. He couldn't hide the pride on his face. "These two are entrepreneurs who flew in from Beijing. They greeted our Secretary Li and said they came to our department specifically to conduct research on your website. I have a class later, so you young people can communicate more easily and chat more."

Bai Yuhang's gaze swept over.

He didn't recognize the slightly older-looking man on the left, but the young middle-aged man on the right, who was standing up and smiling as he extended his hand to him, made Bai Yuhang's heart skip a beat.

He has a round face, a buzz cut, and wears glasses. His smile is somewhat憨厚 (honest and simple), but the eyes behind his black-rimmed glasses are as sharp as an eagle's.

This is no ordinary entrepreneur. This is Zhang Lei, the future tycoon who will lead Hillhouse Capital and wield immense power in the Asian capital markets.

However, Zhang Lei at this time has not yet founded Hillhouse Capital. He should have just started up China Entrepreneurship Network and is currently searching the world for future unicorns.

"Hello, Bai Yuhang." Zhang Lei took the initiative to shake Bai Yuhang's hand with just the right amount of pressure. "I'm Zhang Lei from China Entrepreneurship Network, and this is my partner, Sun Yanjun. I apologize for bothering you, but I couldn't resist coming all the way to Harbin because the data from Qihang Campus Network is just too impressive."

Bai Yuhang shook hands with Sun Yanjun, quickly composed himself, and suppressed the turmoil in his heart. He knew that he, a small fish, had finally attracted a real deep-sea giant.

"Mr. Zhang, you flatter me. It's nothing more than a small matter." Bai Yuhang didn't show the awkwardness one would expect from a freshman meeting a boss from Beijing. Instead, he appeared unusually composed, even exuding the ease of someone on the same path. "Since you two have come from afar, and this office is too busy with people coming and going, and our teacher has a class soon, shall we go to the small conference room next door to discuss this in detail?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Zhang Lei's eyes. The student's composure exceeded his expectations.

"Okay, I'll go along with whatever the host says." Zhang Lei nodded with a smile.

Bai Yuhang and Director Wang nodded to each other in greeting.

The three moved to the next room.

The moment the door closed, Bai Yuhang realized that Qihang Technology's first real capital game had begun ahead of schedule.