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

Ji Yanran's phone call lasted three minutes.

She stood at the end of the corridor, her voice low as she confirmed the final payment details with the finance department. 16 billion. The construction cost plus the material cost, split into three payments, all deposited into the designated account. The finance director on the other end of the phone confirmed the amount twice before daring to hang up.

Li Yichen sat in his office on the 60th floor, his right hand resting on the edge of his watch, leaning slightly forward.

It's not because of that 16 billion.

There's something moving in my head.

The system panel was jumping. Jumping violently. He was all too familiar with that frequency; it would appear before every leap in wealth level. Data streams surged from the depths of his consciousness, golden specks of light exploding and then coalescing at the edge of his vision.

[Wealth Level Upgrade: Lv.14 → Lv.15]

[Passive income updated: 1638.4 yuan/second]

[New Wealth Gift Pack x1 unlocked, to be activated]

Li Yichen leaned back in his chair and tapped his two fingers lightly on the table twice.

One thousand six hundred and thirty-eight dollars per second.

He did the math in his head. Daily income exceeding 140 million, monthly income exceeding 4 billion, and annual passive income exceeding 50 billion.

This figure exceeds the annual net profit of most listed companies.

In other words, he could earn enough to build a large conglomerate every year without lifting a finger.

I'll open the gift package later. I have too much to do right now. I'll open it when I have some free time.

When Ji Yanran pushed the door open and came in, he had already returned to his usual relaxed state.

"Has the payment been made?"

"All payments confirmed." Ji Yanran put her phone in her pocket. "The engineering teams at the battery and chip factories have received the payment and said they will expedite the final stages."

"Um."

Li Yichen stood up and patted his pants. "I'll go upstairs and take a look."

The 66th floor.

The moment the elevator doors opened, the low-frequency hum of the servo motor and the dull thud of metal colliding echoed alternately. The silver-gray robotic arm operated in a dust-free environment with a precision that was chilling.

The eighth set of military armor was fixed at the painting station.

A deep black matte coating has covered 70% of the outer shell. The paint robot's nozzle sweeps across the curved surface of the chest armor at a uniform speed, layer upon layer of nanoscale coating, absorbing all the light.

On the assembly table next to it, the limbs of the ninth set have been welded and are waiting to be installed with batteries.

"Ling'er, at the current pace, how many days will it take to deliver all ten sets?"

"Six days, brother. The yield rate is 100%, no need for rework."

Li Yichen nodded, didn't linger, and turned back to the elevator.

The following afternoon.

On the banks of the Huangpu River, at the same old spot.

Li Yichen sat cross-legged on a bench by the railing, his fishing rod propped up on the handrail, the line cast into the muddy river water.

A cargo ship sailed by in the distance, its whistle sounding long and muffled. The river wind billowed the hem of his T-shirt.

The fishing rod didn't budge.

As always, the Air Force.

He had an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips, his legs stretched out long, his heels digging into the cracks in the floor tiles. He was sprawled out on the back of the chair, looking every bit like a retired young man with nothing better to do.

The phone rang.

He lazily took it out and glanced at it.

Gu Shounian.

connected.

"Brother Gu."

The person on the other end of the phone wasn't as cheerful as usual.

Gu Shounian's very first words were off. His voice was low, each word carrying a heavy weight, with a two-second pause in between.

"Hey bro, have you been keeping up with international affairs lately?"

Li Yichen took the cigarette out of his mouth and twirled it between his fingers.

"I haven't been watching the news much these past few days. What's wrong?"

Something's happened.

Gu Shounian's heavy breathing came through the microphone.

"Have you heard of Casablanca in the Middle East?"

"A small country, not much oil, but many tribes." Li Yichen sat up straighter. "Why?"

"A large-scale civil war broke out three days ago. On the surface, it was a tribal conflict, but in reality—" Gu Shounian paused for two seconds, "the United States was behind it. The rebel forces obtained a large number of advanced weapons and began indiscriminately massacring civilians. The international community issued seventeen statements, but none of them were useful."

Li Yichen leaned the fishing rod against the railing.

"What does this have to do with us?"

There was a full four seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

This silence carries more weight than any answer.

"On the day the civil war broke out, the country sent warships to evacuate its citizens. The vast majority of people have been safely evacuated." Gu Shounian lowered his voice by half a degree. "But yesterday, intelligence confirmed that there are still 137 citizens of Great Xia trapped in a Chinese-owned factory in a southern city of the country."

Li Yichen's back lifted off the chair back.

"Surrounded?"

"Yes. The rebels number at least 300, with four armored vehicles and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. The factory hasn't been breached yet, but it has been without water, electricity, and food for over 48 hours. Among those trapped are elderly people, women, and eleven children."

The cargo ship on the river sailed away, leaving a trail of wakes, its horn sounding intermittently.

Li Yichen remained silent.

Gu Shounian continued his story.

"The military can no longer openly send troops. The US carrier strike group is already deployed in the surrounding waters, and any large-scale military action will be characterized as interference in internal affairs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still negotiating, but what's on the negotiating table won't save us."

"so what?"

"So what the higher-ups mean is—" Gu Shounian gritted his teeth, "they hope you will act alone. Break in by yourself and rescue them."

A breeze from the river blew by, lifting and then letting down the stray hairs on Li Yichen's forehead.

He stared at the river for five seconds.

One hundred and thirty-seven people. The elderly, women, and eleven children.

"OK."

When this word came out of my mouth, there was no hesitation, no heroic generosity, just a single, straightforward word.

But then his speaking speed changed.

"Brother Gu, I have a question."

"explain."

"The armor currently lacks a systematic ranged and melee weaponry. Close combat is fine, but the overload laser has only been tested once, and its stability is questionable. Against 300 enemy soldiers, armored vehicles, and anti-aircraft missiles—I can survive hand-to-hand combat alone, but I cannot guarantee the safety of 137 people."

Gu Shounian paused for two seconds. "What do you need?"

"I need to go to the military region's weapons research and development department and use your laboratories and materials to install a complete weapon system on the armor."

"Okay. I'll arrange it right away." Gu Shounian paused for a moment, "But brother, there's a number you need to know."

"explain."

"Intelligence indicates that the rebel forces will launch a general offensive against the factory in 36 hours."

Thirty-six hours.

Flying from Shanghai to Casal at full speed (Mach 4) in armor would take at least six to seven hours.

In other words, he has no more than 29 hours at most to manufacture the weapon system.

"understood."

Li Yichen hung up the phone.

He put his phone back in his pocket, stood up, and walked to the railing. He braced his hands on the iron railing, looking down at the churning river below.

Twenty-nine hours to build a complete weapon system for the battle armor from scratch.

The palm-sized pulse cannons might be ready in a few hours. But against armored vehicles and anti-aircraft fire, two pulse cannons would be nothing more than large flashlights.

He needs missiles. He needs armor-piercing rounds. He needs jamming systems. He needs firepower to clear the area within thirty seconds.

I have a concept of these things in my mind, but I don't have complete engineering parameters. I don't have manufacturing processes that are accurate to the micrometer level.

Twenty-nine hours.

Just as his forehead pressed against the top of the railing, his hands unconsciously gripping the cold iron pipe—

The unopened golden icon deep in my mind jumped.

Lv.15 Wealth Gift Pack.

I originally planned to dismantle it when I had some free time.

But now—

Li Yichen suddenly straightened up.

Who cares? Let's take a gamble.

What if there's something inside that could save your life?

He took two steps back and sat down again on the bench. He closed his eyes and focused his mind.

Click to open.

A burst of golden light erupted.

Without warning, without any buffer, a massive torrent of information, almost enough to crack one's skull, poured in instantly.

Not scattered fragments.

It is a complete set of armored weapon system design drawings—complete, systematic, and precise down to every thread and weld.

Palm Pulse Cannon. Full set.

High-energy laser cutter for wrist. Complete set.

Shoulder-mounted eight-cell miniature guided missile launcher. Complete set.

Forearm armor-piercing projectile launching module. Complete set.

Electromagnetic decoy jamming system. Complete set.

Back-facing ground-attack cluster rocket pod. Complete set.

The design principles, material formulas, and manufacturing processes for each weapon are all precisely specified down to the micrometer level. Even the assembly sequence and testing procedures are clearly explained.

The information delivery lasted for about forty seconds.

Forty seconds later, Li Yichen sprang up from the bench.

Looking up to the sky and laughing.

He laughed without any regard for his image. An old man taking a walk nearby was startled and pulled his wife away, taking a detour.

He stood on the banks of the Huangpu River, hands on his hips, unable to contain his smile.

Twenty-nine hours?

enough.

More than enough.