Super Rich: Starting the game by going back ten years to buy Bitcoin

The chopsticks stopped in mid-air.

The fat from the braised beef condensed into a thin, glossy layer on the tip of the chopsticks.

Li Yichen placed the chopsticks on the blue-and-white porcelain chopstick rest. The tips of the chopsticks touched the porcelain surface, making a very faint tapping sound.

"Can't it be listed on the stock exchange?"

The four words were squeezed out between his teeth. The volume wasn't loud, but the air in the private room instantly tensed.

Gu Shounian did not avoid Li Yichen's gaze. He held the teacup to his lips, but did not drink. He then put it back on the table.

"Mr. Li," Gu Shounian tapped his fingers twice on the table, "I understand how you feel."

He picked up the blue-and-white porcelain teapot and added some water to Li Yichen's cup. He held the spout low and controlled the pouring motion with great precision.

"But you also need to understand the difficulties mentioned above."

Gu Shounian put down the teapot. The bottom of the teapot hit the marble table with a dull thud.

"Your graphene solid-state battery has too high an energy density, too long a cycle life, and too strong a fast-charging performance. It's not that we don't want you to make money, it's that once this technology is on the market, foreign financial giants, intelligence agencies, and even military laboratories will flock to it." Gu Shounian held up one finger. "Crack it."

Reverse engineering.

Materials analysis.

"Reverse engineering the production process."

"Once your battery is on the market, those guys have a million ways to disassemble it, grind it into powder, slice it, and then replicate it. This process can take anywhere from six months to two years."

Gu Shounian leaned back on the hardwood back of his official hat chair, crossing his arms.

"Can you imagine where this battery would be used after some countries cracked it? In drones, its flight time could be increased from half an hour to three hours. In submarines, its underwater stealth time could be doubled. In soldier exoskeletons, the biggest weakness of the US military's TALOS system is its battery life. If they were to use your battery, their individual combat capabilities would increase by an order of magnitude."

He stopped.

Li Yichen did not respond.

His mind raced, rapidly processing what Gu Shounian had said.

He's right. Once this battery is leaked, it's not just a matter of commercial competition; it's a threat to national defense and security. Those countries that have been at odds with Great Xia for years dream of having this technology. Previously, all I could think about was seizing the market, crushing Ningwang and Bidi, and redefining the energy landscape. I hadn't considered anything at all regarding the military aspect.

It's not that I haven't thought about it. It's that I'm afraid to think about it.

An ordinary person who develops a battery might at most worry about being copied by competitors. But the battery he has is beyond the scope of his peers. It is a strategic material.

"Mr. Li," Gu Shounian interrupted Li Yichen's silence, "I was sent here not to cause you trouble. We made this decision after repeated discussions." He picked up his wine glass and twirled it between his fingers. "Your batteries won't be on the market anytime soon."

"unless--"

Li Yichen raised his eyes.

"Unless you drastically cut back on the battery's overall specifications—reduce the energy density to the level of current mainstream batteries, reduce the cycle life to less than two thousand cycles, and extend the fast charging time to more than half an hour. In short, make it less outstanding, similar to other products on the market." Gu Shounian put his wine glass back on the table. "Then the higher-ups will consider giving you the green light."

Castration.

The word exploded in the air of the private room.

Li Yichen picked up the teacup on the table, his fingertips repeatedly rubbing the warm surface of the cup. Castration. Eight hundred and ninety reduced to two hundred and fifty. Six thousand three hundred and sixty cycles chopped down to two thousand. He forcibly reduced a groundbreaking, high-tech battery to a mass-produced commodity. What's the difference between this and remelting a legendary sword that could cut through iron like mud into a scythe?

"I understand the concerns mentioned above."

Li Yichen placed the teacup back on the saucer. He leaned back in his chair, his back against the hardwood backrest of the official's hat chair.

"But Colonel Gu, if I don't list the batteries on the market, how will I support the thousands of workers in the factory?"

He held up one finger.

"We just resumed work a few days ago, and in front of more than 3,000 people, I announced a 20% salary increase, full payment of social insurance and housing fund, and a 17th-month bonus. The annual human resource cost is more than 200 million yuan."

Then he raised his second finger.

"The contract for the 1,000-acre super factory site has just been signed, and the 4 billion yuan land payment has just been transferred. The 30 billion yuan construction investment contract is locked in my company's safe."

Then he raised his third finger.

"Not to mention the money spent on acquiring Hongyuan New Energy and buying equipment." Li Yichen placed his hand on the table. "All that money is tied up in recouping the costs once the batteries are launched. Colonel Gu, you said the government would compensate me. I know the government certainly won't shortchange me on this. But I have other projects. Those projects are all very expensive."

When Gu Shounian heard the words "other projects," he paused for a moment as he picked up his teacup.

He had served as a special liaison officer in the military region for over twenty years, and had come into contact with no fewer than a hundred private entrepreneurs. When those people heard the words "state compensation," their reactions were generally the same—a few polite words, inquiring about the compensation standards, and then haggling. But Li Yichen's reaction was completely different. He glossed over the compensation issue and jumped directly to "other projects." What does this indicate? It indicates that this young man might be holding more than one card in his hand.

Gu Shounian placed the teacup on the table. He leaned forward, placing his hands on the marble tabletop.

"Mr. Li, my meaning is very clear. This battery cannot be launched on the market." The pause was significant. "I'll say it again: as for your losses, the government will compensate you."

The private room was quiet for a moment.

Shen Jian stood behind Gu Shounian, adjusting his silver-rimmed glasses. He had been listening quietly the whole time, his black briefcase still in his hand. But at this moment, his mind was racing, processing the information from Li Yichen's few words.

More than three thousand workers. A 30 billion yuan investment. And other projects in hand. This young man's trump card is much stronger than they anticipated.

Gu Shounian picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea. He put the teapot down and leaned back in his chair, resting his right hand on the edge of the table.

"Mr. Li, actually, the country is also very interested in the graphene solid-state battery technology you have."

The words slowly faded away in the private room.

Li Yichen didn't respond immediately. His silence wasn't due to a lack of words; rather, it was because the other party had proactively revealed their true hand.

The higher-ups sent Gu Shounian not just to prevent the company from going public. Preventing the IPO was only the first step. The real purpose was yet to come: to acquire the technology.

Gu Shounian was even more surprised by Li Yichen's reaction. He had originally expected Li Yichen to fly into a rage upon hearing this, or even slam his fist on the table and storm out.

After all, for an entrepreneur who has invested tens of billions in R&D, restricting their listing is already excessive. Now they want to acquire their technology; this is practically robbery.

But Li Yichen neither flew into a rage nor slammed his fist on the table. He toyed with the purple clay teacup, his fingers gripping the rim, and twirled it once. Then he spoke.

"Colonel Gu."

The voice was very calm.

"If—" Li Yichen placed the teacup back on the table. The bottom of the cup and the saucer clinked softly. "I would trade my battery technology with the country for something."

He raised his eyes.

"I wonder if the higher-ups will agree?"

Gu Shounian's hand, which was holding the teacup, froze in mid-air. He quickly went through the possible exchange conditions in his mind.

Money? He already said the government would compensate for the losses; there's no need to trade technology for it. Land? Policy? Licenses? With Li Yichen's billions in cash flow, he could buy those things directly; there's no need to exchange technology for them. So what does he want?

"I wonder what Mr. Li wants to exchange for the graphene solid-state battery technology?" Gu Shounian put the teacup back on the table.

Li Yichen leaned back in his chair. His enunciation was extremely clear.

"I want a supercomputer."

The air in the private room fell silent.

Shen Jian's hand, holding the briefcase, rubbed its fingers repeatedly against the metal clasp of the handle. Supercomputing? He had studied Li Yichen's materials. This man worked in new energy, medicine, and materials. None of those fields required supercomputing. Could his earlier mention of "other projects" be related to computing?

"I wonder if it will work?"

Li Yichen asked again.

Gu Shounian picked up the teacup on the table. The tea had gone completely cold, with a very thin layer of oil floating on the surface. He took a sip, swirled the cold tea in his mouth, and swallowed. He then placed the teacup back on the table, the bottom of it making a dull thud on the solid wood surface.

"What do you need that thing for?"

Li Yichen chuckled.

There was no stammering or hesitation that Gu Shounian had anticipated, nor the ambiguity often used in business negotiations.

"Colonel Gu, to be honest, I've been thinking about artificial intelligence lately."

He uttered the words "artificial intelligence" very softly. Gu Shounian's hand, which had just picked up his wine glass, suddenly froze. He looked up, his gaze fixed on Li Yichen's face.

The impact of these four words is even greater than the investment figures of hundreds of billions mentioned earlier.

New energy is a hardware-level issue. Artificial intelligence is a software-level issue. Spanning two completely unrelated fields, both of which are extremely expensive projects, what kind of monster is this person?

"This thing consumes a lot of computing power." Li Yichen tapped his fingers on the table twice. "If we had a supercomputer, it would save me a lot of trouble."

Gu Shounian didn't reply. He quickly went through the issue of supercomputer ownership in his mind. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, supercomputers have always been a vital national asset.

From the first-generation Galaxy supercomputer to the later Sunway series, every single one has been deployed in national-level laboratories. No supercomputer has ever been owned by an individual.

"That might be a bit difficult."

Gu Shounian picked up his teacup.

"Supercomputers are considered strategic national resources. They can't be replaced just like that. Even if you wanted to replace one, the approval process would be very complicated."

This isn't just about giving you a machine; it also involves selecting a server room location, connecting it with defense fiber optic cables, providing a supporting power system, and subsequent maintenance and upgrades. The whole process is more complex than building a military laboratory. And, most importantly, no supercomputer in China has ever been owned by an individual. There's no precedent for this in the country.

Gu Shounian looked at Li Yichen.

"Mr. Li, how about you change your terms?"

Li Yichen didn't answer immediately. He had already anticipated that Gu Shounian would make things difficult for him with this question. He picked up the cup of tea on the table, which had already gone cold, and took a sip.

"Colonel Gu."

The teacup fell back onto the table.

"Don't be so quick to refuse."

Li Yichen stared directly at Gu Shounian.

"If I say—"

"The graphene solid-state battery technology I have is more advanced than what I currently produce. It has higher energy density, longer cycle life, and better safety performance."

"I'm willing to use this technology to exchange for a supercomputer from the government. I wonder if the higher-ups will agree?"

An uproar erupted in the private room. Shen Jian's briefcase fell to the floor with a sharp crack as the metal handle slammed against the marble floor.

He crouched down to pick it up, his fingers hooking onto the handle, almost slipping away again. Lu Yuan, standing at the door, remained in the same stance with his feet together, but the muscles between his clenched fists behind his back showed two prominent veins.

Gu Shounian's hand, holding the teacup, hovered in mid-air for a long time. He looked up and re-examined the young man sitting opposite him.

More advanced. He understood the meaning of those four words better than anyone else. The batteries that Li Yichen now had in mass production had an energy density of 890, a cycle life of 6,360, and a capacity retention rate of 91.2%.

This set of data already surpasses all battery projects under development globally for at least five to ten years. Now he says he has even more advanced technology. It's not about making minor tweaks to existing systems.

It's not about increasing energy density from 800 or 900, or cycle life from 6,000 or 7,000. For Li Yichen to use this as leverage to exchange for supercomputing technology with the nation, it must represent a revolutionary breakthrough in the entire battery system.

What kind of battery could be a whole order of magnitude better than 890? One thousand? One thousand five? Two thousand? A layer of fine sweat suddenly seeped out from Gu Shounian's back.

If such a thing truly exists, it's not an ordinary civilian product. It would mean that the energy shortcomings of individual soldier weapon systems, drone swarms, underwater vehicles, and even space-based weapons would be completely overcome. This isn't about business; it's about a generational leap in defense capabilities.

Li Yichen leaned back in his chair. He watched the three people opposite him, each displaying varying degrees of discomposure, and lightly tapped his fingers twice on his purple clay teacup. The Super Calculation was something he absolutely had to obtain.

The artificial intelligence technology in our minds requires computing power that ordinary server clusters cannot solve. Without a supercomputer as a foundation, that digital life capable of thinking, reasoning, and evolving will only remain forever in the memory of neurons, becoming a pile of waste paper.

Gu Shounian put down his teacup. He leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and remained silent for a full ten seconds. When he opened his eyes again, the previous ease and banter were gone from his face.

"Mr. Li, are you serious?"

"Seriously."