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

At the entrance of Dashengli Private Kitchen, Gu Shounian was checking the time on his phone.

7:03.

I'm late.

He rubbed his hand holding the phone against the seam of his pants a couple of times, just as he was about to dial, when he saw a black Yangwang U8 turn into the car from across the street.

Li Yichen got out of the car and jogged a few steps to greet him.

"Brother Gu, I'm sorry I'm late."

Gu Shounian breathed a sigh of relief and poked his shoulder with his phone.

"I was just timing it with a stopwatch. If you had been five minutes later, I was really going to dig out the word 'another day' from your contacts and make it into a banner to hang in your office."

"I'm not kidding, there was just a little trouble on the way." Li Yichen rubbed his hands together. "Come on, let's talk inside."

The manager personally led the way, and the two walked through the corridor and entered the innermost private room.

A mahogany table, a landscape painting, and the lights of the Bund reflected on the Huangpu River outside the window, shattering into a golden expanse.

Gu Shounian took a bottle of wine out of his black briefcase and put it on the table.

The bottle is clear, and the liquid has a slightly yellowish tint.

"I've saved up three bottles of Flying Apsara from the past fifteen years, and I'm opening one today."

Li Yichen took the bottle and examined it for a couple of seconds. "Brother Gu, you can't buy this kind of wine even if you have the money, right? Are you willing to part with it?"

"I'll drink with you, what's there to be reluctant about?" Gu Shounian deftly unscrewed the bottle cap, and the aroma of the wine wafted out, so rich it was almost overwhelming.

He poured half a cup into each of the two cups and raised them to clink.

Then his gaze swept downwards.

A corner of white paper was sticking out of the left pocket of Li Yichen's polo shirt.

"Wait a minute." Gu Shounian put down his wine glass and gestured with his chin towards the pocket. "What's that?"

Li Yichen looked down.

Ticket.

He pulled out the crumpled note, spread it on the table, and his expression was full of helplessness.

"Don't even mention it, I got caught by the traffic police on the way here."

Gu Shounian pulled the ticket over and tilted his head to read it twice.

"Activating driver assistance systems during peak hours in the city and using a mobile phone while driving will result in a fine of 200 yuan and two demerit points."

There was a moment of silence.

two seconds.

Then Gu Shounian slapped his thigh and laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight.

"Ha ha--"

He braced himself on the edge of the table with one hand and clutched his stomach with the other, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Li—haha—Brother Li—"

He pointed at the ticket, panting heavily, barely able to catch his breath.

"You know if this gets out—hahaha—you'll be trending for three days! I've even thought of the headline for you—'Trillionaire Richest Man Gets Ticket for Using Phone, Traffic Police Shout: No Matter How Rich You Are, You Still Have to Follow the Rules!'"

Li Yichen picked up his wine glass and took a big gulp.

"Brother Gu, that's enough."

"No, let me laugh a little longer—" Gu Shounian slammed his hand on the table. "That traffic cop will definitely be sleepless when he gets home from get off work today—he'll never dream that the young man he was playing on his phone while issuing tickets is the one trending online who's worth trillions—hahaha—"

Li Yichen grabbed the ticket from the table and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Have you laughed enough?"

Gu Shounian waved his hand, forcing a smile, tears still glistening in the corners of his eyes.

"Okay, I won't laugh anymore. But bro—" He gave a thumbs up, "I admire that traffic cop. No matter who you are, you have to admit you broke the rules."

Li Yichen sighed. "That's what I thought too. A simple phone call could have settled it, but after thinking about it, I decided against it. Rules are rules."

Gu Shounian's smile faded slightly, and something else appeared in his eyes.

"Brother, your awareness surpasses that of many high-ranking and powerful people." He raised his glass and earnestly clinked it against Li Yichen's. "Some people try to abuse their power as soon as they gain a little status, and in the end, they all fall because of it. I'm relieved that you think this way."

The two cups clinked together with a crisp sound.

Just then, the waiter pushed open the door and placed a dish on the table: squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, braised eel in sizzling oil, lion's head meatballs, and a bowl of fish maw and chicken soup that had been simmering for three hours.

Gu Shounian raised his glass again.

"Come on, cheers for your traffic safety awareness today!"

Li Yichen almost choked on his drink. "Brother Gu, are you praising me or insulting me?"

"I have them all." Gu Shounian chuckled and downed his drink.

After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,

Gu Shounian put his chopsticks on the plate and became serious.

"Brother, those materials you've been asking me for lately—niobium-titanium alloy wire, liquid helium, superconducting coil extension components—I haven't asked about them, but I've been itching to get them."

He placed his hands on the table, leaning forward.

"Honestly, what exactly are you doing?"

Li Yichen picked up a piece of eel paste, put it in his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and slowly swallowed it.

Seeing Gu Shounian's posture, almost pressing his face against the table, he laughed.

"Alright, since Brother Gu is so eager to know, I won't hide it from you anymore."

He put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth.

"Energy Shield"

Gu Shounian's wine glass wobbled, and the amber liquid almost spilled.

He placed the cup steadily on the table, his eyes fixed on Li Yichen.

"What did you say?"

"Energy shield." Li Yichen repeated it again, his expression as calm as if he were saying the weather was nice today.

Gu Shounian's Adam's apple bobbed twice.

"Like...the kind in sci-fi movies?" He gestured, spreading his arms in an arc in front of his chest. "The kind where a light screen opens and all the bullets and missiles are deflected?"

"almost."

Gu Shounian took a deep breath. Then he took another. He took three breaths in a row.

"You succeeded?"

"The core components are being manufactured, and the first set will be installed in three days."

Gu Shounian jumped up from his chair. The chair legs scraped against the ground with a sharp, screeching sound.

"Dude!" His voice rose several octaves. "Do you know what you're talking about? That's something that only exists in science fiction movies! No laboratory on the entire planet has ever built it!"

"Brother Gu, sit down." Li Yichen gestured for him to sit down. "The food's getting cold."

Gu Shounian forced himself to sit back down, but his legs kept shaking under the table as if he were electrified.

"What about its defensive capabilities? Its stability? Can it be mass-produced?"

The problems spewed out like a machine gun.

Li Yichen picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and slowly began to speak.

"Stability is fine; Ling'er has conducted thousands of simulation tests. As for defense—"

He deliberately dragged out the tone.

Gu Shounian was so anxious he wanted to flip the table. "Just tell me!"

"In theory, as long as the energy supply can keep up, it can withstand direct bombardment from tactical missiles."

Gu Shounian was completely petrified.

The chopsticks slipped from between his fingers and fell into the plate with a thud, splashing a few drops of soup.

"Tactical...missiles?"

"However, there are limitations." Li Yichen held up two fingers. "Four hydrogen fuel cells need to be installed on the existing armor. The shield can only be activated twice per battle, each lasting about a minute. After that, the energy will be depleted."

Gu Shounian remained silent for more than ten seconds.

My fingers tapped unconsciously on the table.

He knew all too well what a minute meant on the battlefield. A minute was enough for a person to escape unscathed from the densest barrage of fire.

"Can it be mass-produced?" His eyes lit up, and he practically wanted to lie on the table.

"If we have enough core materials, we can produce them. But the production capacity won't be too high."

Gu Shounian slapped his thigh, the sound making the bowls and plates clatter.

"Enough! Even if only ten sets are produced a year, and they're installed on the Heavenly Soldier Armor—that would make them the strongest beings on Earth!"

He picked up his glass and downed it in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and looked on with burning eyes.

"Hey bro, could you come to the military region in three days for a live-fire test? Let those old guys up there see what it's like?"

Li Yichen clinked glasses with his. "No problem, you can arrange it."

Gu Shounian was rubbing his hands together, still excited, when he saw Li Yichen's lips curl into a meaningful smile.

"By the way, Brother Gu, when we're doing the testing, I'll show you something else."

Gu Shounian's pupils contracted. "Anything else?"

"Um."

"What is it?"

You'll find out when the time comes.

Gu Shounian became anxious.

For the next half hour, he used every trick in the book—pouring alcohol into his mouth, banging on the table, coercing and bribing, and even acting pitiful and charming.

Li Yichen is known for his sharp tongue and resolute manner; he never utters a single word.

Gu Shounian slammed his hand on the table one last time.

"You brat! You do this every time! Do you know how I feel right now? It's like when I was a kid and my mom took away my lucky money during Chinese New Year and put it on top of the cupboard, so I could see it but couldn't touch it!"

Li Yichen smiled and filled his glass. "Brother Gu, it's only three days, just bear with it."

"Screw it!" Gu Shounian gulped down half a glass of wine and burped. "I'm definitely going to have insomnia tonight."

We drank until almost ten o'clock. The neon lights of the Bund flickered outside the window, and the wind from the Huangpu River seeped in through the cracks, carrying the chill of the winter night.

When they went to pay the bill, the two almost got into a fight at the front desk.

"I said it's on me today!" Gu Shounian said, grabbing his wallet.

Li Yichen grabbed his hand. "Brother Gu, you should save your meager salary to support your family—"

"What do you mean by that! As if I'm starving!"

That's not what I meant—

"Get out of the way! You can't even afford to treat your brothers to a meal?!"

In the end, Li Yichen reacted quickly and slapped the black card onto the cashier's counter.

Gu Shounian rolled his eyes three times in anger.

As they stepped out of Dashengli, the cold winter wind swept over them, sobering them up a bit.

Gu Shounian's black SUV was parked on the side of the road with its hazard lights flashing. When the driver saw him get out, he quickly got out and opened the back door.

Gu Shounian patted Li Yichen's shoulder with considerable force.

"See you at the military region in three days."

"it is good."

Watching the SUV's taillights turn the corner and disappear into the night, Li Yichen took out his phone and opened the designated driver app.

I just got a lecture from the traffic police today—don't drink and drive.

These eight words are etched deeper into my mind than a steel stamp.

Ling'er's voice floated out from the watch.

"Master, would you like me to call a designated driver for you?"

Li Yichen glanced at the watch face. "This time you finally remembered to remind me. What about this afternoon?"

Ling'er shrank her neck, looking aggrieved.

"That traffic cop probably never imagined that the young man he ticketed today, who was looking down at his phone, was the billionaire tech tycoon who's been trending online lately, right?"

Li Yichen ignored her.

He leaned against the door of the U8, looking up at the Shanghai night sky.

Few stars could be seen; the city's light pollution had reduced them to just a handful.

But in that unseen near-Earth orbit, something disguised as a communications satellite is operating quietly.

He looked away and saw a driver wearing a fluorescent vest riding a folding electric scooter towards him from the distant intersection.

Li Yichen put his phone away and waited where he was.