Reborn in 2000, starting from the university website

Downstairs at the Zhichun Road Hotel, a black Santana was still running, the engine making a slight vibration sound.

With the car window half-rolled down, Su Mu rested one hand on the steering wheel and turned her head to look at Bai Yuhang in the passenger seat.

The dim light from the streetlights filtered through the shadows of the trees, creating a striking contrast on her face and making her large, almond-shaped eyes appear exceptionally bright.

"You were really extravagant at Yishiliu just now," Su Muqing said with a half-smile, tapping her fingers lightly on the steering wheel. "Three hundred thousand US dollars, you threw it out without even blinking. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were some rich tycoon's son out experiencing life."

Bai Yuhang loosened his tie, let out a long sigh, and leaned back in his chair: "Feeling sorry for him?"

"Yeah, it's the company's money, how could I not feel bad?" Su Muqing snorted, but leaned slightly towards the passenger seat, instantly intensifying the faint jasmine scent in the car. "However, hearing you say that Wang Jingbo looked like she was getting the short end of the stick but had to force a smile, it's quite satisfying to spend this money."

The two were very close, close enough to hear each other's breathing.

Bai Yuhang looked at her face so close to his, and was about to say something when Su Muqing seemed to sense the subtle change in the atmosphere. She quickly sat up straight and reached out to unlock the car door for him.

"Alright, go upstairs and catch up on your sleep. I'm going home. We're heading to Hailong first thing tomorrow morning; the real battle is about to begin." A beautiful smile curved her lips, a hint of cunning in her eyes. "Boss Bai, don't forget, we're penniless right now, owing our investors a mountain of debt."

Bai Yuhang smiled, opened the door, and got out of the car.

Only after the Santana's taillights disappeared at the end of the street did he wrap his coat tighter, turn around, and walk into the hotel lobby.

The next morning, at the buffet restaurant on the second floor of Zhichun Hotel.

For the students of Class 206, who were used to eating at the Harbin Institute of Technology's canteen and roadside stalls, this breakfast was a feast.

The plate was piled high with bacon, fried eggs, and grilled sausages. Zhang Jian even made himself two plates of fried noodles, eating with his mouth full of oil.

"The food in Beijing is really good," Liu Jing mumbled between mouthfuls of steamed buns. "How much did this meal cost? If we keep eating like this, will we even get our money's worth for the room?"

"You're promising." Although Jiao Liwei complained, his hands didn't stop. He was spreading a thick layer of butter on the bread slices. "Eat more. Lao Liu said he has to go to work at Hailong Building today. How can he have the strength to clean the house if he doesn't eat his fill?"

Bai Yuhang walked over with a cup of black coffee, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"Are you all eating?"

"Sixth Brother, try this bacon, it's amazing!" Jiang Shuo pushed up his glasses, the plate in front of him was neatly arranged, even when eating at a buffet he had a meticulous attitude towards calculating the bill. "I just calculated that this plate of meat would cost at least twenty yuan outside."

Bai Yuhang took a sip of coffee, put the cup down on the table with a crisp "clatter".

"Let's not talk about the cost of the meat yet. Hold on, I need to talk to you about something."

Everyone looked up at once, their mouths stuffed with food.

"Two things." Bai Yuhang held up two fingers. "First, after dinner, we'll go straight to Hailong Building. That's our new battlefield; we need to set things up today. Second..."

He paused, then took out a folded bank transfer slip from his pocket, placed it lightly on the table, and pushed it in front of Jiang Shuo.

"I took care of a small favor last night and bought OICQ. Zhang Lei will send someone to help with the contract process today, and the data from Shenzhen will be transferred by tomorrow at the latest. Pony Ma has agreed to be our technical consultant and help us take over the entire operation."

The restaurant fell silent for a few seconds.

"puff--!"

Liu Jing, who was drinking sweet soy milk, sprayed it all into the bowl, splashing it onto Zhang Jian's face across from him. When he looked up, soy milk was still dripping from his nose.

Zhang Jian's fork clattered onto the plate. Without even wiping his face, he stood up, eyes bulging, and exclaimed, "What? What did you say, Lao Liu? OICQ? A chat application that coughs and beeps like a penguin?"

"Yes, it's the penguin you mentioned." Bai Yuhang handed Zhang Jian a tissue. "From now on, you won't have to go to an internet cafe every time you register a new account. That thing now belongs to Qihang; it's our own business."

Wan Lianghao's half-eaten sausage fell back into the plate, while Jiao Liwei's butter knife hung in mid-air.

The people at the table seemed to be frozen in place, going through a process from bewilderment to deathly silence, and then to doubting whether they had heard correctly.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

A scream shattered the silence.

To make sure he wasn't dreaming, Liu Jing pinched Jiang Shuo's thigh hard.

Jiang Shuo let out a loud shout that almost made him jump up, attracting the attention of guests at several surrounding tables.

"Damn it, Fifth Brother! Why are you pinching me?!" Jiang Shuo rubbed his thigh, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Eighth Brother, take a look at this receipt!" Liu Jing pointed at the bank transfer slip on the table, his fingers trembling. "Quick, see how much it is!"

Jiang Shuo then turned his gaze to the thin piece of paper in front of him.

Payee: Tencent Computer Systems Co., Ltd.

Amount: ¥2,480,000.00.

Jiang Shuo's hand holding the form began to tremble violently, as if he were in the late stages of Parkinson's disease. His face turned deathly pale at a visible speed, and his lips trembled for a long time, but he couldn't utter a single word.

"Two...two million four hundred and eighty thousand?"

Jiang Shuo suddenly looked up, his eyes fixed on Bai Yuhang as if he were a spendthrift, his voice trembling with tears: "Sixth Brother! Did you get drunk last night and fall for a honey trap? Over two million four hundred thousand! We only have a little over eight million in our accounts, and you squandered a third of it in one night? Buying a chat app? Can you eat that stuff? Is it made of gold or silver?"

"It's more precious than gold." Bai Yuhang pulled a pen from his pocket, removed the cap, and shoved it into Jiang Shuo's still trembling hand. "This is our future nuclear weapon. Enough talk, sign it. This money must be wired before this afternoon."

"I won't sign! This money is giving me a heart attack!" Jiang Shuo gripped the pen tightly, refusing to put it down. "This is all our brothers' hard-earned money! How many servers could two million buy in Harbin? How many houses? And you're buying this?"

"Sign it, and you'll be the CFO of the largest social media platform and the largest social networking site in China." Bai Yuhang didn't bother with grand theories; he grabbed Jiang Shuo's wrist and forced it onto the signature panel. "If you don't sign, the money will still be spent, and you'll be considered negligent."

Under Bai Yuhang's "forceful coercion," Jiang Shuo, with tears in his eyes, awkwardly signed his name. After the last stroke, he slumped into his chair as if his spine had been removed, muttering to himself, "What a waste... what a tragedy... over two million for a penguin... how expensive is penguin meat...!"

Zhang Jian and Wan Lianghao exchanged a glance. Although they were also worried about the money, their eyes were filled with excitement.

That's OICQ! Something used by netizens all over the country, and now it's been taken over by Qihang?

After breakfast, the group took a taxi straight to Zhongguancun.

Standing in front of the glass doors on the 16th floor of Hailong Building, the guys in room 206 rolled up their sleeves and got right to work.

In no time, they wiped the more than 20-meter-long floor-to-ceiling windows until they were sparkling clean. In just over an hour, the 300-square-meter office area was tidied up and made spacious and bright. They neatly arranged the cardboard boxes that Zhang Lei had brought along against the wall, waiting to open them for inspection after the office area was finished. There was no lingering smell of smoke or foot odor in the air, only a faint scent of fresh air freshener from the renovation.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, Zhongguancun Street is bustling with traffic, and countless people with dreams are working hard here.

Zhang Jian carefully stepped onto the freshly cleaned marble floor, afraid of dirtying it. He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looked down at the ant-like crowd below, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

"Sixth brother... shall we be working here from now on?"

"That's right." Bai Yuhang stood in the center of the office area, arms outstretched. "This is our new territory. From today onwards, we're no longer a makeshift crew holed up in internet cafe booths all day."

He turned around and looked intently at his brothers who were still in shock.

"We're now a regular army. This is the starting point for our conquest of the internet."

Jiang Shuo touched the expensive-looking front desk. Although he was still heartbroken about the more than two million yuan he was going to spend, he unconsciously straightened his back a bit.

Even for a spendthrift who squanders money like water, this kind of ostentation is definitely worth it.