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

Li Yichen stared at Liu Guoliang for five seconds.

The man opposite him—the deputy commander of the Shanghai Military Region, who commanded tens of thousands of elite troops year after year, never yielded to the four major war zones, and was called a miser for half his life—sat across from him with his ten fingers twisted into a knot and his eyes red-rimmed.

The phrase "desperate measures when ill" is etched into every line on Liu Guoliang's face.

He didn't speak immediately. He asked a question first.

"With the best medical care available, how much longer can Commander Xiao hold on?"

Liu Guoliang's voice was hoarse, as if he had sand in his mouth: "The expert group's advice was to do everything possible to prolong his life, at most one month. After that, organ transplants would stop working one after another."

One month.

Li Yichen closed his eyes briefly.

The nanomedical module's technological architecture automatically deploys within the cranial cavity. Billions of programmable nanorobots, circulated through the bloodstream, reach every capillary in the body, precisely identifying damaged cells and repairing them in situ, clearing necrotic tissue, and gradually regenerating organ function. Theoretically, aside from brain death, any injury to the human body—

Multiple organ failure?

It doesn't even qualify as "hard mode".

He opened his eyes.

"One month is enough."

Liu Guoliang's upper body sprang off the back of the chair, and he slammed his palms on the table, causing the ice-cold tea to slosh around.

"What did you say?"

"I said a month is enough." Li Yichen tapped the armrest twice with his fingers, unhurriedly. "Your superiors must protect Commander Xiao for these thirty days. After a month—I can save him."

Liu Guoliang pushed his chair back, walked around the corner of the table, and took two steps to stand in front of Li Yichen.

Li Yichen was so close that he could see the few gray hairs at the temples that he hadn't had last year.

"Are you serious?"

"When have I ever made empty promises to you?"

Liu Guoliang stared at his face, his Adam's apple bobbing twice. He took a half step back, one hand bracing against the edge of the table, the other pressed against his chest, as if physically suppressing his heart that was about to leap out of his chest.

He took about five seconds to get his breathing back to normal, then looked up.

"What method?"

Li Yichen stood up from his chair, put his hands in his pockets, and walked to the window. Outside, the plane trees lining the main road of the military region were sprouting a layer of light green buds. Spring had arrived.

He turned around.

"I recently developed a new technology called a nanomedical pod."

Liu Guoliang didn't interrupt, remaining frozen in place, even deliberately suppressing his breathing.

"The principle isn't complicated—" Li Yichen raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and then slowly clenched them. "When the patient lies inside, the capsule releases about a billion nanometer-sized microrobots. These things, smaller than red blood cells, travel directly through the blood vessels throughout the body. They repair whatever is broken. They clean up the dead cells and new tissue grows in situ."

He looked into Liu Guoliang's eyes.

"Liver failure, repair it. Kidney failure, repair it. Pulmonary fibrosis, repair it too. Chronic inflammation caused by shrapnel residue—eradicate it completely. A complete overhaul from the inside out, 24 hours a day."

The only sound in the conference room was the faint hum of the fluorescent lights.

Liu Guoliang stood there, his lips slightly parted, his pupils unfocused.

It felt like someone had hit me on the head with a hammer.

All cognitive frameworks shattered in an instant, and before new information could rebuild order, the brain briefly shut down.

Seven or eight seconds later.

Liu Guoliang's vocal cords have regained their function.

"You…" He swallowed hard, his voice trembling, "Is this thing real? Or just one of those gimmicks from science fiction movies?"

"The technology is fully mature." Li Yichen nodded. "What I lack is time. The core components require atomic-level precision, and the manufacturing process is very complicated. I estimate the fastest—one month."

Liu Guoliang's expression underwent a complete transformation within ten seconds.

From shock to ecstasy.

From ecstasy to disbelief.

From unbelievable to—

He walked over.

Two steps.

step.

She raised both hands and grabbed Li Yichen's arms. The force was so great it felt like she was squeezing a steel pipe.

Liu Guoliang brought his face close, his expression almost absurdly serious. His lips moved twice, uttering a completely off-topic statement:

"Brother Li, tell me the truth—are you even from Earth?"

After saying that, the man actually reached out and touched Li Yichen's face.

His movements were so rough, it was as if he were checking whether the fruit in the supermarket was made of wax.

Li Yichen's face darkened.

He slapped that hand away.

"Brother Liu, can you be normal for once? Of course I'm from Earth! Why are you touching my face?"

"No, I just wanted to confirm..." Liu Guoliang awkwardly stopped, but his mouth didn't stop. "The things you've come up with this past year—armor, chips, rockets, robots, cold fusion, and now this nanotech human repair project—even if you put ten Einsteins in your brain, you couldn't do these things. How can I not overthink it?"

"Would you like to touch it again to make sure?"

"...Don't make fun of me."

"Then don't touch me."

The two stared at each other for two seconds.

Liu Guoliang couldn't hold back for a moment, his lips twitched, but he forced himself to suppress it.

Li Yichen raised his hand and rubbed his upper arm, which had been pinched so hard.

"Alright. What you should be doing now isn't studying my DNA to confirm if I'm from Earth. What you should be doing now is calling them immediately and telling them to do everything in their power to protect Commander Xiao for thirty days. Just make sure he doesn't die within those thirty days."

Liu Guoliang slapped the back of his head.

Yes—it's important business.

He took out his phone, stepped back two paces, and turned his back to Li Yichen. He took a deep breath and dialed an encrypted number.

It rang once and then connected.

Li Yichen couldn't hear the voice on the other end, but he could see that Liu Guoliang's back was ramrod straight and his speech was faster than usual.

"Li Yichen has a solution. It will take thirty days. Please ask the higher-ups to maintain Commander Xiao's vital signs at all costs—at least for a month."

What did the person on the other end of the phone say? Liu Guoliang responded with two "Yes."

After listening for another ten seconds or so, my body slowly relaxed from its stiffness.

hang up.

When he turned around, most of the anxiety on his face had faded, replaced by a sense of relief.

"The higher-ups said—go ahead and do it. If you need any materials or support during the manufacturing process, just ask. There's no limit to what the government can provide."

Li Yichen nodded.

The brain is already automatically scheduling production—the core of the nanomedical module is billions of programmable nanorobots, each requiring atomic-level manufacturing precision. Even with atomic forging tables, industrial mother machines, and the assistance of Ling'er, so many processes still require meticulous, step-by-step refinement.

With a month-long construction period, not even half a day can be wasted.

We have to get started tomorrow.

He turned and walked towards the door.

Liu Guoliang followed behind, and the two walked through the corridor one after the other.

A spring breeze blew in from the stairwell, causing the hem of Liu Guoliang's military uniform to flip up.

As Li Yichen reached the steps at the entrance of the office building, he was about to go downstairs.

"Brother Li."

He turned around.

Liu Guoliang stood at the top of the steps. Backlit, his expression was not clearly visible, but his voice was steady.

It was so steady, it felt like making some kind of solemn promise.

"Commander Xiao—he joined the army at seventeen and served for forty-two years. He has thirteen old wounds and nearly died on the battlefield three times."

The wind scattered some of his words, but every word was clear.

"This country owes him too much."

He paused for a moment.

"If you can really pull him back from the brink of death—I, Liu Guoliang, owe you my life."

Li Yichen stood at the bottom of the three steps, looking up at him.

They didn't say anything sentimental.

He nodded.

Turn around, go downstairs, and get in the car.

Looking up, I watched the U8's engine start, and the car smoothly glided out of the military district gate, turning onto the avenue lined with plane trees on both sides. In the rearview mirror, Liu Guoliang's figure grew smaller and smaller until it was finally obscured by the canopy of a newly green tree.

The car was quiet for about half a minute.

The watch flashed. Ling'er's voice came softly from under her sleeve, devoid of her usual playful demeanor.

"Brother, I was listening to the whole thing."

"Um."

"I have broken down the entire manufacturing process of the nanomedical pod. Four hundred and seventy-two steps. Based on current equipment conditions—"

She gave a number.

"You work sixteen hours a day, and I'll assist you throughout. It can be completed in twenty-eight days."

Li Yichen rested one hand on the steering wheel, his gaze fixed on the straight road ahead. The setting sun bathed the entire road in a golden-red hue, like a melted railway track.

"Then twenty-eight days."

He lightly pressed the accelerator, and the car accelerated by one gear.

"Starting tomorrow."

Ling'er didn't reply.

The watch's light dimmed.

Outside the car window, Shanghai, the "Magic City," was awakening from its winter gloom. The newly sprouted buds of the plane trees along the road were edged with gold by the setting sun.

Li Yichen unconsciously tapped his fingers twice on the steering wheel.

Four hundred and seventy-two processes. Twenty-eight days. Atomic-level precision.

However, as long as Commander Xiao can be saved.

It was all worth it.