Reborn in 2000, starting from the university website

The rousing music from the awards ceremony still echoed through the stadium dome, and confetti rained down all over the floor. The young men from the Five Star Gods team, carrying heavy cash and trophies, were preparing to leave amidst cheers.

Bai Yuhang didn't move.

He stood in the center of the stage, one hand in his trouser pocket and the other holding up the microphone, but he didn't speak. Instead, he made a slight gesture to the sound control panel on the side to cut off the microphone.

The movement was very light, yet it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

The sound engineer almost instinctively pushed down the fader. The deafening background music stopped abruptly, as if someone had suddenly grabbed his neck.

The venue, which could hold thousands of people, fell into a vacuum-like silence in that instant.

The audience, who had been screaming just moments before, froze, their hands waving glow sticks hanging in mid-air. All eyes, like iron filings meeting a magnet, were drawn to Bai Yuhang.

The spotlight shone alone on him, casting a long shadow behind him.

"The champions took the prize money, and that's the honor they deserved." Bai Yuhang's voice, delivered through top-of-the-line sound equipment, resonated in every corner, steady, deep, and with an undeniable magnetism. "But before you all leave, I have a few messages I'd like to share with you."

Sitting in the first row of the VIP section, Shi Hongchao still held an unfinished bottle of mineral water in his hand. He instinctively straightened his back; a businessman's keen intuition told him that the real show tonight was just beginning.

"Just recently, Qihang Technology officially completed its angel round of financing."

Bai Yuhang paused, his gaze sweeping over the young and enthusiastic faces below the stage. "A million-dollar angel round of financing led by ChinaVenture."

With a "buzz," it sounded like countless bees were fluttering their wings simultaneously below the stage.

Millions of US dollars.

In an era when an apartment in Harbin costs only tens of thousands of RMB, this figure is astronomical for most of the college students present, a concept that only exists in the news.

Shi Hongchao's fingers tightened suddenly, and the plastic bottle made a crisp "crack" sound.

Zhao Jianjun, who was standing next to him, stared wide-eyed, his jaw almost dropping to the ground.

They knew Bai Yuhang was a genius, a troublemaker, but it wasn't until this moment, when the words "US dollars" and "millions" came crashing down on them, that they realized that this boy who had once chatted and laughed with them in the smoky internet cafes had already reached a height they could only look up to.

"At the same time, Qihang Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. has been officially established." Before everyone could digest this, Bai Yuhang dropped another bombshell, "Harbin Qihang will be incorporated into the parent company as a wholly-owned subsidiary. Our journey has officially crossed from the banks of the Songhua River to the Zhongguancun Science Park."

This is a blatant display of force.

Before the murmurs from the audience could erupt, the huge projection screen behind Bai Yuhang suddenly flickered.

The previously frozen CS victory scene disappeared, replaced by a dynamic data backend with white background and blue text.

The numbers above are jumping wildly, and each jump represents a living, breathing person.

Bai Yuhang turned to the side and pointed to the string of numbers behind him: "Some people ask, is Qihang really worth a million US dollars? This is the answer."

"As of today, on the night of the finals, Qihang Campus Network has officially surpassed 160 million registered users! At this very moment, our peak real-time online user count has exceeded 100 million!"

At that moment, the entire audience erupted in uproar.

This shock did not come from money, but from a collective resonance.

Everyone present, watching the numbers jump around, realized that they were no longer isolated individuals, but rather a brick in this vast empire, a part of its bloodline.

"This is a social platform for young people on the Chinese internet, unique, real, and irreplaceable." Bai Yuhang's voice rose an octave.

Backstage, Zhang Qingheng's fingers flew across the keyboard, typing every word Bai Yuhang said into the live text broadcast on the special page.

His fingertips trembled uncontrollably from excessive excitement, and he made several mistakes, which he hurriedly deleted and retyped.

But this is not the end.

Bai Yuhang turned around and faced the audience again, a playful smile curving his lips.

"To make this celebration of millions of people online at the same time not just stay on the webpage, and to make everyone's social experience even more ultimate..." He paused for two seconds, during which time the rapid breathing of the audience in the front row could even be heard.

"I am pleased to announce that Qihang Technology has acquired Shenzhen Tencent Computer Systems Co., Ltd. and its core product, OICQ, three days ago."

Dead silence.

True deathly silence.

It's like a nuclear bomb detonating above a crowd, but before the shockwave arrives, there's a momentary vacuum.

What is OICQ?

That's the penguin that jumps in the lower right corner of every computer that goes online. It's the "beep beep" sound that millions of netizens hear every day. It's a synonym for online social networking in this era.

It was acquired?

It was acquired by Qihang Technology, which is owned by a student in front of me?

"From now on, it won't be called OICQ; it will be renamed QQ." Bai Yuhang's voice was like a hammer, shattering the dead silence. "In the future, QQ will achieve complete data integration with Renren.com accounts. Any newly registered account will simultaneously have both Renren.com and QQ accounts, and previously registered accounts can be linked to either Renren.com or QQ accounts. In the future, one account will allow you to navigate the entire internet; post in communities with your left hand and use instant messaging with your right. We will redefine—what a social network is."

"boom--!"

The sound wave, which had been delayed for two or three seconds, finally erupted like a volcanic eruption.

This time, there were no glow sticks being waved, only countless people jumping up from their seats and roaring wildly.

"Starting is awesome!"

"Long live Boss Bai!"

The cheers were so loud that the steel frame of the stadium trembled.

Shi Hongchao slumped in his chair, looking at the young man on the stage who was bathed in light, feeling his mouth dry and unable to utter a word for a long time.

He turned to look at Zhao Jianjun and saw that Old Zhao was trembling as he reached for a cigarette, but after a long time he couldn't even open the cigarette box lid.

In the backstage corner, Zhang Qingheng gritted his teeth, desperately trying to control his trembling fingers, and typed the last paragraph into the Renren.com special page before pressing Enter heavily.

The moment the message was sent, the red line for the server load monitoring in front of him went straight to the top.

"Drip—drip—drip—"

The piercing alarm sounded backstage, but amidst the overwhelming cheers on stage, it sounded more like a coronation salute for a new era.

The comment section went completely crazy. The page was lagging due to the thousands of comments refreshing per second. Throughout the entire Chinese internet, the same name was being spread all night – Qihang Technology.

Bai Yuhang stood in the center of the stage, looking at the crazy scene before him where even the air seemed to be burning, slowly put down the microphone in his hand, and bowed slowly to express his gratitude.

The curtain has risen.