Reborn not to be a beast of burden, I set the rules.

October 2nd, early morning.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains and fell onto the edge of the bed. Ye Ming opened his eyes, and the first thing he did was reach for the laptop next to his pillow.

The dormitory was quiet; Chen Mo was still fast asleep, breathing evenly.

Ye Ming didn't get out of bed; he simply turned to his side, placed the computer next to his pillow, and gently lifted the screen.

Log in to the Wanwang Member Center and open the Domain Management page.

The status bar of "csmnq.com" clearly shows "normal".

He stared at the line of text for a few seconds.

It became.

The first footprint was firmly planted.

He closed his laptop, got up quietly, grabbed his toiletries, and went to the washroom to wash up.

The cold water splashed on my face, and I felt much more awake.

Back in the dormitory, I dressed neatly, picked up my phone and laptop bag, and gently closed the door.

The corridor was empty, with the morning light shining obliquely through the windows.

He went downstairs and found an empty classroom on campus that opened early. The classroom wasn't big, with a few rows of old desks and chairs, and a power outlet in the corner.

Plug in the computer, connect the network cable, and open the browser.

I first searched for a few keywords: "Huijing server hosting" and "telecom data center rental".

Web pages popped up one by one. He looked through them while mentally organizing the information—

China Telecom and China Unicom offer server hosting services, but primarily target enterprise customers.

A server rack costs tens of thousands of yuan a year, and you also have to buy your own server hardware, which is simply not something an individual can afford.

Moreover, the signing process is complicated, often requiring a business license and a corporate bank account.

He then searched for the "South China Telecom, North China Netcom" pattern and learned that it would be slow for users in the south to access China Unicom's data center, and it would also be slow for users in the north to access China Telecom's data center. This is the so-called "North-South Interconnection" problem.

He then searched for "IDC service provider" and found that these companies specialize in serving individuals and small businesses—they rent bandwidth and server space from operators and then sublet it to users, providing server rental services for a few hundred yuan a month, which is much more convenient.

He made a comparison in his notebook.

Direct hosting by China Telecom/China Unicom: Annual payment of tens of thousands of yuan, requires self-purchase of servers, complicated contract signing process, mainly targeting enterprise users.

IDC service providers: Monthly fees are a few hundred yuan, providing servers, one-stop service, and user-friendly for individual users.

He thought for a moment, then searched for several specific IDC service providers—China StableNet, Times Interconnect, West Digital, Southbound Data…

I made seven or eight phone calls in one morning, with prices ranging from four or five hundred to eight or nine hundred.

He wrote everything down in his notebook: bandwidth configuration, traffic limits, server room location, payment method...

The cheapest option is 480, but the data center is in the north, so the latency might be high.

The price quoted by Nanxiang Data is 600. The data center is located in Huijing High-tech Zone, providing convenient local service.

He circled the phrase "southbound data".

I checked the time; it was almost ten o'clock.

He picked up his phone and dialed Zhang Bingwen's number.

It was noisy on the other end of the phone, and you could vaguely hear vendors hawking their wares.

"Teacher Zhang?"

"Hey, Ye Ming, I'm buying groceries, wait a bit."

Zhang Bingwen shouted at the top of his lungs, and after a few seconds, the background fell silent. "Speak, what is it?"

He briefly reported on the price inquiries from the morning: China Telecom and China Unicom were too expensive, mainly targeting enterprises; among IDC service providers, Southbound Data quoted 600, with its data center in Anhui and convenient local service, which seemed more suitable.

After listening, Zhang Bingwen said confidently, "The data from the south is reliable. Many teachers and students in our department have used it, and it's quite stable. Just choose the 600 yuan package; it should be enough for you. I'll give you their sales manager's phone number; you can contact him directly."

Ye Ming paused for a moment, then said, "Teacher, I've already talked to Li Yue and Zhang Yuan from the Computer Association, and they're willing to help. We signed the commission agreement yesterday, and the copyright issues have all been clearly agreed upon. The subsequent development should proceed smoothly."

Zhang Bingwen laughed: "Sure, you're quick. Li Yue and Zhang Yuan are both quite skilled, you should learn from them. Let me know if you need any help."

Ye Ming agreed, asked a few more configuration questions, and added a thank you at the end.

After hanging up the phone, he looked at the number he had just written down.

I will remember this kindness.

I dialed the number.

The phone rang twice and was answered.

"Hello, this is Southbound Data."

"Hello, this was recommended by Professor Zhang Bingwen. I'd like to rent a server."

The tone on the other end immediately became more enthusiastic: "Professor Zhang's student? No doubt about it! My surname is Wang, just call me Lao Wang. When would be a convenient time for you to come and visit?"

"Manager Wang, is this afternoon available?"

"Sure, please give me a call before you come. Oh, and by the way!" Manager Wang paused for a moment, "Please bring your original ID card and a copy. If it's suitable after today's review, we can process your personal ICP registration at the same time."

Ye Ming agreed and hung up the phone.

He glanced at the time; it was 10:30. He went to the cafeteria for lunch, then went back to his dorm to get his ID card and went downstairs to the print shop to make two copies.

At 1 p.m., Ye Ming boarded a bus and headed south to the data center.

The server room is located in Huijing High-tech Zone, in an inconspicuous little building.

As soon as he got out of the car, he saw a man in his thirties standing at the door looking around.

"Ye Ming?" The man came forward, shaking hands with a smile. "Old Wang, Professor Zhang just called me and told me to make sure he's well taken care of."

Ye Ming bowed slightly and said politely, "Thank you for your help, Manager Wang."

Old Wang waved his hand: "No trouble at all, come on, let me show you around the server room first."

Ye Ming nodded and followed him inside.

Pushing open the door to the server room, a blast of cold air hits you.

Rows of black server racks were neatly arranged, indicator lights flashed constantly, and the humming sound of their operation filled the entire space.

As Old Wang led him around, he explained, "This is a standard server rack. You're renting this type, 1U space, shared bandwidth."

"1U?" Ye Ming asked.

"Yes, it's a unit of thickness for servers. 1U is 4.45 centimeters," Lao Wang explained. "Entry-level servers are all this size, so they don't take up much space in a server rack."

Ye Ming nodded and silently made a note of it.

I asked more detailed questions while watching:

"Manager Wang, I'm working on a word game; it doesn't transmit much data per round. If we have a few thousand visitors a day initially, will the bandwidth be sufficient?"

Old Wang laughed: "Several thousand people? That's nothing. Word games don't generate much traffic. With your traffic, you won't even use up 5M of bandwidth. Our entry-level package comes with 100M shared bandwidth, shared by a dozen or so people. You won't take up much by yourself."

Ye Ming then asked, "What if we reach 10 daily active users in the future?"

Old Wang said seriously, "10? We'll have to do the math. Here's a reference for you—30M dedicated bandwidth only costs a few hundred yuan a month, more than enough to handle the word game of 10 daily active users. We have 10M, 20M, 30M, and 50M options available. You can upgrade whenever the traffic increases, just pay monthly, no need for yearly payments."

Ye Ming did the math in his head: with a few hundred yuan plus server rental, the monthly cost could be kept below two thousand yuan.

Old Wang added, "However, bandwidth is just the thickness of a water pipe; what truly handles concurrency is the server itself. You're playing word games. With 10 visitors, the concurrency is only a few hundred, at most a thousand. My entry-level machine can definitely run PHP without any problems. If the database really can't handle the load one day, then we'll consider upgrading the configuration or splitting the server."

Ye Ming kept these words in mind.

After returning to his office from the tour, Lao Wang took out the contract.

"Brother Ye, Professor Zhang has some influence here, so I won't beat around the bush." ​​Old Wang pushed the contract towards him. "Normally, we pay annually, or at least quarterly. If you're short on cash, I can apply to the company to make an exception and let you pay monthly—"

Ye Ming waved his hand, interrupting him.

"Manager Wang, I appreciate your kind offer, but let's stick to the rules and pay quarterly."

As he spoke, he counted out 1,800 yuan from his bag and placed it on the table.

Favors are fleeting; once used, they're gone. We can't afford to squander Teacher Zhang's reputation over such a small matter.

Old Wang paused for a moment, looked at the stack of money on the table, then at Ye Ming, and suddenly smiled.

"Okay, he's a sensible person. Professor Zhang's students are my friends."

He put away the money and handed the contract to Ye Ming. "Then let's do it the way it is, 1,800 per quarter. But if you need any help in the future, just let me know."

If we follow the rules, everyone will be comfortable.

Ye Ming nodded, took the contract, read it carefully, and signed it.

Old Wang put the contract away, stood up, and said, "Come on, let's get the personal ICP registration done at the same time."

He led Ye Ming to another computer, logged into the registration system, and let Ye Ming fill in the information himself.

Website name "Rebirth Simulator", domain name "csmnq.com", personal identification information, contact information, mailing address...

After filling out each section, Ye Ming took out his original ID card and a copy.

Old Wang checked the original document, accepted a copy, and then had him stand in front of a white screen to take a photo.

Ye Ming stood in front of the curtain.

That's when we officially started our journey.