Reborn in 2000, starting from the university website

The small conference room was filled with smoke, making everyone's eyes sting. Eight people sat in the room, not doing anything yet, and each of them had a cigarette. In this setting, Zhang Qingheng, who didn't usually smoke, also took one and lit it silently.

Bai Yuhang pushed the still-warm faxed agreement onto the center of the table, tapped his knuckles on the line "1,000,000 USD" with a dull thud.

"Guys, let's get the ugly stuff out of the way first."

Bai Yuhang didn't sit down. He propped himself up on the table with one hand, his gaze sweeping over his colleagues who, despite having hundreds of thousands in assets, were still wearing pilling sweaters and military coats. "These 7% stock options are for the future. If you go to the cafeteria to buy food today, even if this piece of paper says five million US dollars, the cafeteria lady won't give you an extra spoonful of braised pork. You can't eat or drink this stuff now. Only when we make the company successful and the valuation goes up will the stock options be sports cars and villas."

Zhang Jian was staring blankly at a string of zeros when he heard this, he suddenly looked up, a bit of instant noodle crumb still stuck to the corner of his mouth: "Sixth Brother, if that's what you're saying, does that mean we have to keep eating steamed buns?"

"Screw you." Bai Yuhang chuckled, pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and handed one to each person. "Starting this month, everyone's salary will be based on their position. Zhang Jian, you're the technical director, two thousand a month; Boss Jiao, the administrative director, one thousand eight; everyone else, one thousand five. This money is in your pocket, so you can now hold your heads high and take girls to the movies and eat something nice."

1,500 yuan.

In Harbin in 2000, an average wage earner could only earn five or six hundred yuan even after working themselves to the bone.

Zhang Jian held a cigarette, but couldn't light it with a lighter. He took a deep breath, tucked the cigarette behind his ear, and roared in a hoarse voice, "Sixth Brother, from now on, the keyboard is my father! Anyone who dares to mess with the server, I'll fight them to the death!"

The most outrageous one is Jiang Shuo.

This kid usually keeps track of everything, even buying a tea egg. But right now, he's clutching the contract tightly, his eyes red as a rabbit's. He pushed up his glasses, which were almost slipped to the tip of his nose, and suddenly stood up, the movement so big that it knocked over the chair behind him.

"Nobody's getting a single penny wasted!" Jiang Shuo gritted his teeth, his possessiveness sending chills down everyone's spine. "Sixth Brother, this ledger is my life now. Even you, if you want to take money from the account, don't even think about getting past me without proper paperwork! Anyone who touches the company's money, I'll fight them to the death!"

Yang Bo kicked him from the side, laughing and scolding, "Alright, Lao Ba, you haven't even become a miser yet, and you've already learned to be heartless towards your own family?"

A burst of laughter erupted in the room, instantly dispelling the sense of unreality felt by the dormitory residents due to the enormous wealth.

This isn't some fancy board meeting; this is just Dorm 206, a group of brothers determined to start a business together and stick together to the end.

Just then, Bai Yuhang's pager started buzzing incessantly.

He glanced down and saw three hurried "999s"—it was Su Muqing again.

Bai Yuhang grabbed the conference phone on the table and dialed back. As soon as he put the receiver to his ear, he heard Su Muqing's slightly panting voice. He could tell that she was trying her best to suppress some kind of emotion, which sounded both relieved and unbelievable.

"Yuhang, guess who's looking for me?"

"Wang Jingbo from IDG?" Bai Yuhang lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and let the pungent smoke roll around in his lungs.

"You're amazing too." Su Muqing chuckled on the other end of the phone, her tone full of mockery. "This whole morning, my pager was practically exploding with his voice. When we finally got through just now, this guy's voice was almost incoherent, completely lacking the haughty air he had when we were having coffee at the China World Trade Center last time. He said IDG internally reviewed the data and admitted they misjudged it."

"Oh? How much did he ask for?"

"Three million RMB, twenty percent." Su Muqing mimicked Wang Jingbo's tone. "He also emphasized that IDG is a major international investment bank, which can bring Qihang not only money, but also 'international vision' and 'brand endorsement,' which are invaluable intangible assets."

Bai Yuhang blew a smoke ring into the microphone and sneered.

A month ago, three million was a lifeline; now, three million isn't even enough to fill a gap in Qihang's teeth.

These venture capitalists are always good at adding flowers to brocade, but hard to provide charcoal in the snow. Seeing the headlines on Sina Tech and smelling the aroma of meat, I suddenly remembered that the rotten cabbage leaves I used to despise were actually jade cabbages.

"Tell him it's too late."

Bai Yuhang flicked his cigarette ash, his tone as calm as if he were saying he wouldn't eat at the cafeteria that night: "Don't waste your breath on him. You've contacted him so many times these past few days, proposed raising the valuation so many times, but he hasn't changed. This time, just show him your cards. Tell Wang Jingbo that Zhang Lei from China Entrepreneurship Network has confirmed his investment. We've already finished the angel round; the Series A round can be arranged soon."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Su Muqing's hearty laughter.

"Alright! I've been waiting for this moment! You didn't see it, but when I mentioned 'Zhang Lei' just now, the other end of the phone was as silent as a graveyard. Wang Jingbo was stunned for a full half minute without saying a word, finally managing to stammer, 'We can talk again,' and I hung up immediately. Great!"

This kind of slap in the face from the investment community hurts more than a direct blow. IDG, as one of the earliest venture capital giants to enter China, was actually outmaneuvered by Zhang Lei, who had just returned from abroad, and stumbled on a project by a first-year university student. If this news gets out, Wang Jingbo's bonus this year is probably in jeopardy.

"We need to be careful ourselves." Bai Yuhang looked out the window at the hazy sky over Harbin, his eyes gradually sharpening. "Zhang Lei's move was a test, a warning shot. IDG will definitely regret it. We're not a mudfish in the gutter anymore, we're a piece of fat on the chopping board. We need to hold the knife tight."

"What are your plans for the future? How will you spend this money?" Su Muqing asked, getting to the heart of the matter.

Bai Yuhang turned around, his thoughts falling on the latest issue of "Popular Software" that Zhang Jian had been flipping through on his bedside table. The cover was black with white text, and the headline was shocking—"Tencent OICQ is mired in infringement quagmire; AOL officially sends letter, OICQ faces the risk of renaming."

Bai Yuhang stubbed out his cigarette, his voice not loud, but it carried a chilling ambition.

"Mu Qing, I'm going to Beijing next week. It's not just to sign a formal contract with Zhang Lei, nor is it just to see Wang Jingbo, who's so regretful she wants to bang her head against the wall. I also plan to meet someone else."

"Who?"

"Ma Huateng of OICQ".

A bloodthirsty smile crept across Bai Yuhang's lips.

"He's probably scrambling to pay server fees and that damn lawsuit right now, borrowing money from everyone he can. The dollars we have here are just enough to buy a ticket to the future."