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

Four days later.

My phone vibrated at exactly 8:00 AM.

Li Yichen put down his chopsticks, picked them up and looked—it was Gu Shounian.

connected.

The voice on the other end was very low, so low that it was almost as if they were speaking through breath.

"That person is here. They're at the military guesthouse and can't come out. Come here."

Li Yichen finished the last mouthful of porridge in his bowl, stood up, grabbed his car keys, and walked out.

Miao Miao was drawing on the dining table, her head never looking up. "Did brother go out again?"

"Yeah, I need to take care of something."

"Are you coming back at noon?"

"uncertain."

Miao Miao said "Oh," and continued painting her rocket.

Looking up, I saw the U8 leaving Tomson Riviera and heading west along Pudong Avenue.

One hour.

At the main gate of the military region, two armed sentries stopped the car.

Li Yichen rolled down the car window and gave his name.

The sentry on the left glanced down at him, and his entire back instantly straightened. It wasn't a forced stiffness, but a conditioned reflex of standing at attention in a state of high alert.

"Mr. Li, please wait a moment."

The sentry turned and jogged to the guard post to make a phone call. He returned thirty seconds later, opened the passenger door, and got in.

"I'll take you there."

He didn't say a single unnecessary word throughout the entire process.

Li Yichen was actually the most relaxed person in the car. He rested one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the edge of the window, watching the rows of neat barracks pass by outside his view.

The guesthouse is a three-story gray building, hidden behind two rows of plane trees.

When the car came to a stop, Gu Shounian and Liu Guoliang were already standing at the door.

Two men in military uniforms stood side by side in the morning light, the stars on their epaulets shining brightly in the sun, but both of them had tense expressions and their lips were pressed into a thin line.

Li Yichen got off the car.

Gu Shounian took two steps forward and lowered his voice.

"Don't be nervous later. You'll see who it is when you meet them."

Li Yichen glanced at him. "Brother Gu, you're more nervous than I am."

Gu Shounian choked for a moment, didn't reply, and turned around to push open the door of the guesthouse.

The corridor was quiet. The floor was waxed so smooth it reflected your image. Several calligraphy scrolls hung on the wall, the strokes powerful, but the signatures were illegible.

The innermost room had its door ajar.

Gu Shounian stopped at the door, glanced back at Li Yichen, and pushed him away.

The living room was small and simply furnished. There was a dark wood coffee table, a few old-fashioned sofas, and the curtains were half-drawn, allowing sunlight to stream in at an angle, drawing a bright line on the floor.

A person was sitting behind the coffee table.

Casual clothes. A dark gray jacket over a white crew neck shirt; he looked no different from a retired old man taking a stroll in the neighborhood.

But his back was ramrod straight.

He was in his early sixties, with graying hair, a thin face, high cheekbones, and a strong jawline. When he sat there without speaking, he exuded an aura that made the surrounding air feel heavy.

Xiao Jingshan.

Commander-in-Chief of the Shanghai Military Region. General.

There are only a handful of people in the whole country who can hold this title.

The moment he looked up and saw Li Yichen walk in, his eyes narrowed slightly. The movement was brief, lasting less than half a second, but Li Yichen caught it.

That was a kind of sizing.

It's not scrutiny, not probing, and certainly not condescension.

It's the kind of subconscious reaction a person who's seen a lot, when finally seeing something that has intrigued them for a long time, will instinctively scrutinize it.

"sit."

One word.

Li Yichen sat down on the sofa opposite him.

Gu Shounian and Liu Guoliang sat down on the chairs to the side, their backs straighter than usual.

Xiao Jingshan made no small talk. There were no polite phrases like "I've heard so much about you" or "It's a pleasure to meet you." He picked up the enamel mug on the coffee table, took a sip of water, put it down, and spoke.

"Thor Battery. Aurora Engine. Photon Current Carrier Chip. Celestial Armor. Soaring Launch Vehicle."

Order all five items at once.

"Energy, aerospace, semiconductors, and defense. Each of these four sectors, taken individually, could reshape the global landscape."

Xiao Jingshan tapped his finger lightly on the rim of the enamel mug.

"It was all done by one person."

He paused for three seconds.

The room was so quiet that you could hear the rustling of the sycamore leaves in the wind outside the window.

"What the higher-ups mean is—you must be brought into the system's purview."

Li Yichen didn't move. His posture remained the same, and his breathing remained the same.

Xiao Jingshan looked at him.

"Do you know why we're looking for you instead of waiting for you to come to us?"

Li Yichen didn't speak, he waited.

"Because we don't want to put pressure on you."

Xiao Jingshan slowed down his speech by half a beat.

"You're one of us, not a bargaining chip."

As these words struck, Li Yichen leaned back slightly into the sofa.

Unexpected.

He made many contingency plans. He considered every possibility: being recruited, being restricted, being required to hand over core technologies, or having supervisory personnel installed. He had a countermeasure for each one.

That's the only thing I never thought about.

Xiao Jingshan continued.

"The conditions are simple. After ongoing discussions, it has been decided to appoint you as a research advisor for military equipment, granting you the rank of reserve major. You will retain full commercial autonomy, and the military will not interfere with any technological developments."

He placed the enamel mug on the coffee table, the bottom of the mug hitting the wooden surface with a dull thud.

To put it bluntly, this is a protective umbrella, not a rein.

The room fell silent again.

Gu Shounian looked out the window, his hands resting on his knees, motionless.

Liu Guoliang stared at the beam of light on the floor, his lips pursed.

Xiao Jingshan leaned back on the sofa, steam rising from his enamel mug as he waited.

Fifteen seconds.

Li Yichen remained silent for a full fifteen seconds in the room.

This was probably the longest silence he had today.

Then he spoke.

"I agree."

Clean and neat.

Xiao Jingshan nodded. He turned and called out towards the door.

"Xiao Liu, bring the things in."

A young military officer strode in, carrying a flat, dark green box in both hands. He placed it on the coffee table and opened it.

The grass-green military uniforms were folded neatly.

The shoulder insignia are ready. One bar, two stars. Major.

Li Yichen stood up.

He bent down, reached into the box with both hands, and lifted up the military uniform.

The fabric felt heavy, carrying the distinctive smell of new clothes after washing.

He glanced down at the stars on his epaulets.

This was probably the most solemn time in his life he had ever received something with both hands.

Gu Shounian stood to the side and behind, without saying a word. But his Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed something.

Xiao Jingshan didn't give him much time to reflect before changing the subject.

"How's the Warframe progress?"

Li Yichen put the military uniform back in the box and sat down again.

"In thirteen more days, all ten sets of armor will be completed. I will then notify the military to pick them up."

Xiao Jingshan nodded.

"There's one more thing." He leaned forward slightly. "We need those miniature hydrogen fuel cells mounted on the armor for various equipment. Could we purchase them separately?"

Li Yichen did not hesitate at all.

"Sure. I'll supply separately, and I won't ask for a higher price."

He held up two fingers.

"Twenty million per coin, that's the cost price. That should be reasonable, right?"

Xiao Jingshan's lips twitched.

It's very light. So light that you wouldn't notice it unless you looked closely.

He had read the research report from the military region's scientific research department. The manufacturing cost of a hydrogen fuel cell was at most eight million.

Twenty million. Cost price.

This kid hasn't even had a chance to warm up his military uniform, and he's already talking about making twelve million with tears in his eyes.

But Xiao Jingshan said nothing.

This technology belongs to someone else. It's unique in the world; there's no other company that uses it. At twenty million per piece, honestly, it's worth it.

"How many can you provide in two months?" Xiao Jingshan asked.

"Name your price."

"One thousand."

Li Yichen did the math in his head. A thousand coins should be achievable within two months, and where else could he find such a good deal—two hundred billion in just two months?

"no problem."

The two men exchanged a glance, and the deal was done. There was no contract, no legal team, and no protracted negotiations.

One offer, one nod.

Xiao Jingshan glanced at his watch; it was exactly twelve o'clock.

"Xiao Gu, have someone send some food over. We'll eat here today."

Gu Shounian responded and went out to make the arrangements.

Twenty minutes later, four dishes and a soup were served. Braised pork, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, sweet and sour fish, a plate of peanuts, and a pot of seaweed and egg drop soup. The military canteen's cooking wasn't exactly exquisite, but the portions were generous.

Xiao Jingshan pulled out two bottles of wine from under the coffee table. The bottles were dark green and had no labels, only a handwritten number.

"This is a special supply from the military region; you can't buy it outside. Try it."

Li Yichen took it, smelled it, and raised an eyebrow. "Good wine."

Xiao Jingshan personally poured him a glass.

The atmosphere relaxed considerably during the meal. Xiao Jingshan recounted his experiences conducting missile tests in the Gobi Desert of Northwest China when he was young, Liu Guoliang chimed in with a few words, and Gu Shounian listened with a smile.

Li Yichen ate two bowls of rice and finished most of the braised pork.

Before leaving, he stood up and shook hands with Xiao Jingshan to say goodbye.

He walked to the door, then turned back.

"Commander Xiao, this wine is really good. May I take two bottles with me?"

Xiao Jingshan paused for a moment, then waved his hand. "Take it, take it."

Li Yichen picked up two unopened bottles from the table, stuffed them into his coat, and strode out.

Gu Shounian followed him out and saw him into the car.

Looking up, I saw the U8 start up and drive out of the guesthouse courtyard. There were two extra bottles of military-grade special supplies in the trunk.

Li Yichen rolled down the car window, waved to Gu Shounian, and the car turned the corner of the sycamore trees and disappeared.

The entrance to the guesthouse.

Xiao Jingshan stood on the steps, watching the black SUV drive away, and remained motionless for a long time.

Guoliang.

Liu Guoliang stood beside him. "Commander."

"Do you know how much money he made from our military region, even though he was tearing his eyes out, on those 1,000 hydrogen fuel cells we just ordered?"

Liu Guoliang looked bewildered. "Didn't he say he gave us the cost price?"

Xiao Jingshan's face darkened.

"Bullshit cost price."

He turned around, put his hands behind his back, and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"The research department estimated that the cost of his hydrogen fuel cell would be no more than eight million. You do the math, with a thousand units, how much did he earn from our military region, even if it was with tears in his eyes?"

Liu Guoliang's mouth opened slightly.

Gu Shounian, who was standing next to him, was also stunned.

One thousand coins. Each coin earns an extra twelve million.

One hundred and twenty billion.

The three people stood at the entrance of the guesthouse. The autumn wind blew from the tops of the sycamore trees, making the fallen leaves rustle.

Xiao Jingshan stared in the direction where Li Yichen disappeared, and after a long while, he let out a snort.

"They even stole two bottles of my wine."