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

The smoke from the stir-fried chili peppers went straight into Han Fei's nostrils, making him sneeze twice.

The three were led by the waiter to a booth by the window. Liu Bing hadn't even settled in before she snatched the menu and started flipping through it noisily.

"Steamed fish head with chopped chili, stir-fried beef with yellow peppers, stir-fried pork with chili peppers, and a dry pot of braised pork intestines, please." Liu Bing held up four fingers to the waiter, "Full spiciness, the kind with bird's eye chilies."

Han Fei rubbed his hands together, winked and leaned closer: "Brother Chen, we're not done until we make you cry from all the spiciness today."

Li Yichen glanced at the red chili pepper icon on the menu and leaned back in his chair.

"The two of you combined can't even handle as much spicy food as I can."

Liu Bing slammed his hand on the table: "Let's make this clear, whoever calls for water first will pay the bill."

"Wasn't it your treat?"

Liu Bing's hand hovered in mid-air, frozen for a moment.

"...Okay, whoever calls for water first treats to the next meal."

The dishes were served quickly. When the chopped chili fish head was brought out, it was covered with a thick layer of red oil, and the fish's eyes stared at you from among the pile of chilies. Steam mixed with the aroma of spiciness rose up, and Han Fei started sniffing the air even before he picked up his chopsticks.

Li Yichen picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. He chewed it a couple of times without even frowning.

Liu Bing observed him for three seconds, then looked away in disappointment.

"You're so boring, you don't react at all."

Li Yichen spat the fish bones into the dish: "You think genetically optimized taste is the same as yours?"

"What kind of gene optimization?"

"It's nothing. Eat yours."

With his mouth full of beef, Han Fei mumbled a new topic.

"Brother Chen, is it true that your company really gives away villas worth tens of millions at its annual party? I saw it online and thought it was fake news."

"real."

Han Fei's chopsticks slipped from his hand, fell onto the table with a thud, bounced twice, and rolled into the pile of chili peppers.

"What?! A villa worth ten million as a prize? Is your company a money-printing factory?"

"It earns more than a money printing factory."

Han Fei pulled the chopsticks out of the chili sauce and wiped them haphazardly on a tissue. His eyes darted around, and he suddenly leaned closer.

"Brother Chen, can I also sneak in? I'll stand at the back and won't take up a seat. I promise I won't make a sound."

Li Yichen glanced at him.

Are you a company employee?

"no……"

"Then what are you going in for?"

"I'm hoping for some luck! What if the villa's energy radiates towards me!"

Liu Bing laughed so hard he slapped his thigh.

"What's the difference between your logic and that of the old man standing outside the lottery shop trying to attract good fortune?"

"What's wrong with the old man? The old man won the lottery too." Han Fei said confidently.

Li Yichen put the last piece of beef into his mouth and waved his hand.

"I'll get you two audience tickets. Stand in the last row, and don't cause any trouble."

Han Fei clasped his hands together and bowed exaggeratedly three times.

"Brother Chen has shown me great kindness and virtue; I will surely repay you handsomely in the future."

"I don't even care about your meager reward."

When Liu Bing was about 70-80% full, he put down his chopsticks and took out his phone from his pocket. On the screen was a location screenshot with the name "Supreme Human Foot Bath and Wellness Club".

He pushed the phone in front of Li Yichen and lowered his voice.

"Brother Chen, this place is newly opened. I heard the technicians are incredibly skilled. I spent half a month trying to get a VIP reservation. All three private rooms are already booked."

Han Fei nodded frantically beside him, his expression as serious as if he were giving a work report.

"A legitimate massage. Purely legitimate. Absolutely no crossing the line."

Li Yichen glanced at him.

"The more serious you emphasize it, the more inappropriate I find it."

"Innocent!" Han Fei patted his chest. "You'll see when you get there. They specialize in cervical and lumbar spine therapy, and many office workers go there."

Liu Bing chimed in, "Yes, yes, yes, for health and wellness. We're going there for health and wellness."

The way the two of them sang in harmony was as if they had rehearsed beforehand.

Li Yichen didn't refuse. He was indeed very tired lately, and his neck was as stiff as if it had been poured with cement.

"Let's go."

After paying the bill and leaving the house, the three cars drove one after the other to the Supreme Human World.

The private room was indeed exquisitely decorated. Warm lighting shone on the wooden partition, and a faint sandalwood scent filled the air. The three of them each occupied a large massage bed. When the masseuse started massaging, her pressure was precise. The moment the knot on Li Yichen's neck was massaged away, he almost groaned.

Liu Bing lay on the bed next to him, so comfortable that his eyes were closed.

"Brother Chen, this is the lifestyle a successful person should have. What's the point of making money? Isn't it to enjoy life?"

Li Yichen closed his eyes.

"How many times can you enjoy that with your meager salary?"

Liu Bing's groans stopped abruptly.

"...Brother Chen, could you please not hurt me when I'm relaxing?"

Han Fei, who was lying on the other end, turned his head and began to talk about his blind date last week.

"The girl was quite pretty. The first thing she said after sitting down was, 'How many apartments do you own?' I told her I had a small apartment in Pudong. She immediately stood up and said, 'Then we're not a good match,' grabbed her bag, and left. It was all over in less than three minutes, and I didn't even have a sip of water."

Liu Bing gloated.

"Three minutes? Even delivery drivers don't get orders that fast."

"Get lost."

The three of them burst into laughter, and the atmosphere in the private room became extremely relaxed.

Just as he was enjoying himself, Li Yichen's phone vibrated in his pocket.

He pulled it out with one hand and squinted at the screen.

Xue Shanshan.

Three WeChat messages in a row.

"Brother Li, the power keeps tripping at my place tonight..."

"It jumped once more, but now it's stopped completely; the battery is dead..."

"It's so dark."

Li Yichen frowned slightly.

He typed back: Where are your roommates? Aren't they here?

Xue Shanshan replied immediately: They all went back to their hometowns for something, so I'm the only one here.

Then another one was added.

"It's okay, Brother Li, I'll be fine for one night... I should... be alright, right?"

That "should" and "probably".

A girl is alone in a dark room. In the Shanghai night at the end of December, no electricity means no heating, no hot water, and no lights.

Li Yichen sat up from the massage bed.

The technician paused for a moment, then said, "Sir, it's not finished yet—"

"I'm not doing it anymore." He was already putting on his coat.

Liu Bing and Han Fei looked up at the same time.

"Brother Chen? He's leaving already?"

"Um, something came up. You two continue, I'll head out first."

Han Fei narrowed his eyes, and his gossipy nature suddenly surfaced.

"What's the rush? Did some girl contact you?"

Li Yichen put on his shoes and walked towards the door without looking back.

"My friend's power is out, I'm going to check on him."

Liu Bing shouted from behind, "Power outage? Power outages these days? You're kidding me—"

The door is already closed.

Looking up, I watched the U8 rush out of the underground parking garage and merge into the traffic flow in the night.

Ling'er popped out of the watch and hovered above the dial, her little head tilted to the side.

"Bro, your heart rate right now... is even faster than when you were eating chili peppers."

Li Yichen turned his head and glared at her.

Ling'er shrank her neck and lowered her voice by three octaves.

"I just mentioned it casually... The navigation is already planned, it should take twelve minutes."

The car was approaching the speed limit. They only encountered two red lights, and Li Yichen tapped the center console twice with his fingers gripping the steering wheel.

9:40.

The car was parked downstairs in the apartment building where Xue Shanshan lived.

The streetlights were so dim they were just a yellowish glow. The stairwell was pitch black; even the motion-activated lights weren't on.

He locked the car and rushed upstairs.

When I got to the door, I knocked three times.

There was a two-second silence inside. Then came the soft clatter of slippers.

The door opened a crack from the inside.

Xue Shanshan's small face peeked out from the crack, clutching a cell phone with a flashlight in her hand. The white light shone upwards on her face, making her eyes sparkle. The tip of her nose was red.

Upon seeing it was him, the panic in his eyes visibly dissipated.

"Brother Li...you came so fast."

Her voice was soft and nasal, as if she had just been crying.

Li Yichen entered the room sideways.

The room was pitch black, with only the faint white light from her phone flickering. The air was chilly; the radiators had long since stopped working.

Xue Shanshan stood in the middle of the living room wrapped in a thick blanket, her hair disheveled and her nose red from the cold. She clutched her phone in both hands, holding it to her chest, and huddled in the blanket like a frightened little animal.

Li Yichen glanced at her, took off his dark gray cotton coat, and draped it over her shoulders.

Don't be afraid.

He walked toward the electrical distribution box in the corner.

"I've come to see what's going on."