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

Li Yichen strode out the door.

They were met head-on by a shower of red ribbons and confetti flying everywhere.

Two gold-plated plaques, one for the future new energy super battery factory and the other for the future chip super factory, were unveiled at the same time.

Tens of thousands of workers wearing uniform work clothes lined up to clock in at the factory.

The roar of the assembly line running at full power heralded the rise of a new industrial empire.

Giant robotic arms tumbled up and down in the cleanroom, while fully automated transport vehicles shuttled back and forth in the factory's passageways.

The asphalt road beneath my feet resonated with the vibrations.

The workers wore excited smiles, clutching their brand-new work badges, and whispered among themselves about the base salary of eight thousand yuan and the seventeen-month bonus.

The president's office on the 60th floor.

Ji Yanran slammed a stack of folders, half a meter high, onto the desk.

Two patches of musk tiger bone plaster were stuck to his right wrist, emitting a strong medicinal smell.

Feng Yue followed behind, her left wrist also wrapped in an elastic bandage.

The tablet I was holding almost slipped from my grasp and hit my instep.

"Boss, my hand is completely ruined." Ji Yanran pulled out a chair, sat down, and shook her wrist. "I sign at least fifteen contracts every day, and I have my subordinates sign all the ones under 5 billion. These bosses are fighting over cabbages, blocking the meeting room and refusing to leave. Even when I go to the restroom, people block the door and hand me their business cards."

Li Yichen pushed the celadon teacup forward.

"Have some water. How much of the deposit have you received?"

Feng Yue opened the tablet and pushed the screen towards her.

"As of 10 a.m. today, the total advance payments for Raytheon batteries and photonic chips amounted to 234 billion. The company's cash flow in its basic account has exceeded 310 billion, which is even more staggering than the deposit reserves of the four major banks."

Li Yichen glanced at the long string of numbers, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

"Has the cost calculation been completed?"

"I've figured it out." Ji Yanran rubbed her wrist. "The annual revenue from Thor batteries is easily over 200 billion. The most outrageous thing is the two-nanometer photonic chip. The yield rate has reached 90%, and the manufacturing cost per chip is kept below 100 yuan. We set a uniform price of 1,000 yuan in China. That's ten times the profit."

Feng Yue pushed up her black-rimmed glasses and continued the conversation.

"When Lei and Wang saw the price list, they immediately got anxious and insisted on raising the price for us. They said that 1,000 yuan for a two-nanometer chip was practically charity. Dawei even boasted that they would buy up all of next year's production capacity."

Li Yichen burst out laughing.

"Tell them not to be shy and to use it freely. We're all one family, we don't care about the price difference. We're going to fill the domestic market with rock-bottom prices so that those foreign companies can't even get a sip of soup."

The internal telephone on the table suddenly rang.

Feng Yue answered the receiver, listened for a couple of sentences, and then frowned.

"Mr. Li, the receptionist said that several foreign representatives are causing trouble in the lobby downstairs. The leader is Smith from Johnson & Johnson Medical, and they insist on seeing you."

Li Yichen leaned back in his leather chair, his legs crossed over the edge of the table.

"Let him come up here. I want to see what he can come up with today."

Five minutes later.

Smith pushed open the door and entered.

The arrogance he displayed at the press conference has completely vanished.

His suit was wrinkled, and his eye bags drooped down to his cheekbones; he had clearly been scolded quite a bit by headquarters these past few days.

He was followed by two blond assistants carrying several heavy briefcases.

"Mr. Li," Smith forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, extending his hands. "I was blind to your greatness at the press conference before. I'm here today with the utmost sincerity."

Li Yichen didn't shake those hands, and didn't even give them a proper look.

"Get to the point. My time is very valuable."

Smith awkwardly withdrew his hand and wiped it twice on his suit trousers.

"We, Johnson & Johnson, along with twelve other multinational corporations including Pfizer and Qualcomm, wish to purchase your company's photonic chips. The price is negotiable. We are willing to pay three times the domestic price! Three thousand RMB per chip! The initial order is for one hundred million chips!"

He placed the briefcase on the coffee table and snapped the lock open.

Inside were neatly stacked green US dollar bills.

"This is a deposit." Smith bowed deeply. "This is just the first payment, provided the supply remains stable."

Li Yichen didn't even pour him a cup of tea.

He held his celadon teacup and blew away the floating leaves.

"Three thousand dollars apiece? You guys are really rolling in money. You must have earned that through hard-earned cash from across the ocean, right?"

Smith thought he had a chance and nodded repeatedly.

"As long as Mr. Li agrees, orders will keep pouring in. We'll all make a fortune together. Business knows no borders."

Li Yichen slammed the teacup heavily onto the table.

The porcelain struck the solid wood with a crisp sound.

"When you were imposing technological blockades and strangling us, why didn't you think about making money together? Why didn't you think about the borderless nature of commerce?" Li Yichen sneered. "Now the tables have turned, and it's my turn to unplug the internet."

He stood up and looked down at Smith.

Listen carefully. Not a single two-nanometer photonic chip will be sold to foreign countries.

Smith's face turned bright red.

He straightened up, pointed at Li Yichen, and roared.

"This is a trade barrier! This violates international business rules! I'm going to file a complaint with the WTO! We want to jointly sanction future technologies!"

"Go report it. The door's over there." Li Yichen pointed to the office door. "Feng Yue, call security."

Two security guards in dark blue uniforms strode in from outside the door.

T-800 Terminator.

The two security guards moved in unison, one grabbing Smith's shoulder.

The hydraulic system inside the robotic arm is generating power.

The foreigner, weighing over 200 pounds, was forcibly lifted off the ground without even a chance to struggle.

"Let me go! You barbarians! I'll make you pay!" Smith kicked his legs wildly in mid-air, the collar of his suit making it hard for him to breathe.

Li Yichen walked up to him and patted his contorted cheek.

"Want to buy chips? Sure."

Smith stopped struggling, and hope ignited in his eyes.

"Give me your top-tier aero-engine technology, plus the core patents for your extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, in exchange." Li Yichen's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Otherwise, forget it. Throw me out."

Two T-800s dragged Smith and his assistant out of the office.

A howl and a heavy thud followed in the corridor, then the sound of elevator doors closing.

Ji Yanran looked towards the door and tapped the table with her pen.

"Boss, what's the difference between your offer and outright robbery? They'd rather die than give up."

"Fine, don't bother." Li Yichen sat back down in his chair. "They're the ones in a hurry anyway. The era of silicon-based chips is over; all that scrap metal they have will become junk sooner or later."

Feng Yue spread several newspapers on the table.

The entire page's headline is in bold, large black font.

A trillion-dollar valuation! The richest man in China changes hands!

Future Technology raked in 200 billion yuan, and Li Yichen topped the wealth list!

Experts predict that Li Yichen will dethrone Elon Musk and become the world's richest person within a year!

The newspaper photo showed Li Yichen holding the chip in profile at the press conference, looking triumphant.

Li Yichen glanced at the headlines, took out his phone, and opened his private account.

One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million, hundred million, billion, billion, hundred billion.

Balance displayed: 987,543,210,000.00 yuan.

Nearly 100 billion in cash.

It's still jumping up at a rate of over 50,000 per second.

The numbers scrolled so fast that they made his eyes blur.

He rubbed his temples and placed his phone face down on the table.

"There are so many zeros that I'm getting dizzy. Looking at this string of numbers every day is more tiring for my eyes than looking at code."

Ji Yanran rolled her eyes.

"Boss, when are you going to get rid of this Versailles-like habit of yours? The media outside are practically praising you like a god. The lobby downstairs is packed with financial reporters, and even the Wall Street Journal's interview is booked until next month."

"Let them block it." Li Yichen picked up the teapot to refill his water. "I'm not going public, what do I need this empty fame for? I'd rather use that time to go fishing."

Ji Yanran and Feng Yue went out to meet with the other party, carrying the signed documents.

The office door closed.

Li Yichen leaned back in his chair, his legs propped up on the table.

A blue light flashed above the watch, and Ling'er's virtual avatar popped out.

She held up a virtual megaphone and imitated the tone of a news anchor.

"Breaking news from our station: Mr. Li Yichen, the richest man in China, has surpassed one trillion yuan in net worth today, causing a global sensation. Elon Musk tweeted his shock overnight."

Li Yichen picked up the teacup and blew on it to cool it down.

"Trillion?" He scoffed at Ling'er. "These so-called experts are too conservative. They have no idea what cards we're holding."