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

The lead door closed behind us, isolating us from all outside noise.

The lights in Lab Zero were rather cold, casting a layer of bluish-gray light on the two-meter-tall metal behemoth in the center.

The main framework of the matter-antimatter reactor has been built, including the toroidal superconducting magnetic rails, annihilation chamber, and energy conversion matrix—all of which were welded on piece by piece by Li Yichen and the Terminator team over the past month.

Now we only need to take the last step.

Li Yichen placed the magnetic confinement container on the operating table, stepped back two paces, and looked up at the iron behemoth. Weighing four or five tons, it occupied a space larger than an SUV, and the superconducting circuitry on its outer shell was densely coiled, like a spider web.

"Brother, are you planning to shove the container in by hand?" Ling'er floated on his shoulder, craning her neck to look at the pre-reserved injection port on top of the reactor. "That port is just the right size; one slip and it's all over."

"Who said I was bare-handed?"

Li Yichen raised his right arm. With a thought, the nanotech armor spread out from his sleeve, not covering his entire body, but only condensing into a layer of dark gold mechanical exoskeleton on his right arm and shoulder. A slight clicking sound came from the joints, indicating that the hydraulic auxiliary system was activated.

He bent down and picked up the magnetically confined container. The slight tremor was still there when he touched it, and the antimatter particles were obediently spinning inside.

"Injection port calibration".

"Calibrated, deviation within 0.003 millimeters." Ling'er's finger slid across the virtual panel. "Brother, slow down, if this thing gets bumped, we'll both be covered in dust."

"Can you please not say things like that when I'm holding a bomb in my hand?"

Li Yichen held his breath, raised his arms, and aligned the container with the injection port at the top of the reactor. The servo motors of the mechanical exoskeleton hummed softly, compensating for the slight tremors in his arm muscles.

One centimeter. Half a centimeter.

The sealing ring for the injection port is attached to the mating flange at the bottom of the container.

"Click."

The locking mechanism engages. The container is securely embedded in the reactor cavity, the six superconducting lines automatically connect, and blue indicator lights illuminate sequentially.

Li Yichen let go, took three steps back, and let out a long breath. The back of his T-shirt was soaked through.

"Fuel injection complete." Ling'er's voice relaxed. "Next is the final calibration of the superconducting coils, and the magnetic field synchronization of the annihilation chamber—"

"I know." Li Yichen had already squatted down to the side of the reactor, pried open a maintenance panel to reveal the densely packed superconducting coil connectors inside. "Send me the blueprints."

"I've submitted it." Ling'er projected the 3D circuit diagram in front of his retina, with seventeen nodes marked in red. "But brother, can you tone down your obsessive-compulsive disorder? The system's drawings allow for a tolerance of plus or minus 0.05 millimeters, but you insist on squeezing it to within 0.01, which takes three times as long."

"0.05?" Li Yichen didn't even look up, turning the torque wrench twice. "It's filled with antimatter, not peanuts. You want me to leave a 0.05 margin of error? How am I supposed to sleep at night?"

"Which day this month have you slept more than three hours..." Ling'er muttered.

Li Yichen ignored her and shrank into the reactor's maintenance compartment, leaving only his legs sticking out. The sounds of metal clashing and wrenches turning echoed continuously, interspersed with his occasional curse, "The print on these blueprints is too small."

Ling'er floated at the hatch and looked inside. After a while, she couldn't help but say, "Brother, you've reversed the wiring order for coil number seven."

"...Which one?"

"The third one from the left, the blue one."

There was a two-second pause. A muffled thud came from the passageway, like someone's head hitting something.

"Hold."

"I told you to look at the blueprints."

"Shut up."

Two hours.

All seventeen nodes were checked one by one. When Li Yichen climbed out of the tunnel, his face was covered in black oil, and his hair was even more disheveled. He shook his aching wrists, walked around the reactor, and scanned every connection point with his eyes.

The vacuum level of the annihilation chamber, the magnetic field synchronization frequency, the export interface of the energy conversion matrix—all parameters were neatly arranged on Ling'er's holographic panel, all showing green lights.

"You can light it now." Ling'er put away the panel, floated in front of him, her little face tense.

Li Yichen stood in front of the control panel, his finger resting on the start button.

"It's not too late to regret it now," Ling'er suddenly said.

"What's there to regret?"

"What if this thing explodes—"

"It won't explode." Li Yichen stared at the reactor. "I personally calibrated the coils, personally filled the fuel. If it dares to explode, it would be a disservice to all the dark circles I've gotten under my eyes this past month."

Press down with your thumb.

The power button is recessed into the panel.

Inside the reactor, the magnetic field strength climbed to the design value within 0.3 seconds. Guided by a magnetic field precise to the nanometer level, matter and antimatter began to undergo controlled annihilation in minute quantities.

There was no roar.

A deep, bone-chilling hum emanated from the reactor core. The frequency was so low it was almost inaudible, but Li Yichen could feel the soles of his feet vibrating. It wasn't the floor moving; the space itself was rippled by that energy.

The energy output reading on the main control panel started to jump.

Ones, tens, hundreds—the numbers scrolled faster and faster, turning the scale from left to right in just three seconds. Then the scale ran out of space, and the system automatically switched ranges. It filled up again. Then it switched again.

Ling'er stared intently at the screen, her virtual mouth opening wider and wider.

The number finally froze. No, it didn't freeze; the system abandoned displaying the actual value and simply typed a symbol in the center of the screen.

∞

"Brother..." Ling'er's voice was weak, her finger pointing at the screen, her words slurred, "This two-meter-tall behemoth... its output power is off the charts. I did the math, it's a thousand times larger than a nuclear power plant and still not enough."

Li Yichen stared at the infinity symbol for three seconds, and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards.

He reached out and patted the cold outer shell of the reactor. A steady, subtle vibration emanated from the metal surface, like the beating of a heart.

"This is just the first one." He withdrew his hand, wiping the oil stains on his pants. "Ling'er, import the complete manufacturing parameters into the ten-axis machine tool production line, and mass-produce them according to this standard. The shield bases at the North and South Poles are waiting for supplies."

"Received." Ling'er composed herself and quickly began processing. "I'll release the mass production schedule tonight. But bro, you should take a shower too. The smell of you... even my sensors are triggering when I'm three meters away."

"roll."

Li Yichen signed the final test report for the reactor and locked the access control to Laboratory Zero. He returned to the control tower's restroom and hastily splashed cold water on his face. The face in the mirror showed sunken eyes, a layer of stubble, and looked three years older than a month ago.

He dried his hands, changed into a clean black hoodie, went downstairs, and started the Tank 700 that was sitting in the corner of the factory collecting dust.

The engine roared. The car drove out of the science park gate, and the soldiers stationed outside saluted to let it pass.

Destination: Future Space Group, a giant enclosed dock.

Forty minutes later, the car stopped in the security area outside the dock. Li Yichen swiped his card at three access gates and walked into the enclosed factory building, which was two hundred meters high.

The moment he looked up, he paused for a second.

Two and a half months.

The last time I came to inspect it was two and a half months ago. At that time, the space carrier had just finished laying the bottom keel, and the entire dock was empty, with just a skeleton on the base.

It's different now.

The 120,000-ton hull has taken full shape. Superconducting tungsten armor covers more than 70% of the outer shell, gleaming with a cold metallic luster under the factory lights. The streamlined bow protrudes from the scaffolding, like the skull of a sleeping behemoth. Amid the hull, the barrels of the electromagnetic railguns have been installed, thick enough to fit a bus, pointing straight forward.

Li Yichen stood on the observation platform, craning his neck, his gaze sweeping from the bow to the stern of the ship.

120,000 tons. This number is just a few Arabic numerals on paper, but when it becomes this metal behemoth before your eyes, the oppressive feeling it brings can suffocate you.

"Mr. Li!"

Hurried footsteps came from behind. Liu Ruyan, dressed in gray-blue overalls, ran over with a stack of progress charts tucked under her arm, her ponytail bouncing on her back.

"Overall progress is 78 percent." She stood next to Li Yichen, following his gaze to the hull. "The parts supply speed from the ten-axis mothership and the forging station is 30 percent faster than I estimated, and the main armor plate was completed twelve days ahead of schedule. At this pace, we can enter system integration testing in another month."

Li Yichen nodded, his gaze falling on a row of tightly closed hatches on the side of the ship: "Where's the Black Bird?"

"The precision testing building next door." Liu Ruyan pointed to her right, "One hundred and twenty-seven aircraft have rolled off the production line and completed all ground simulation tests. They are ready to be installed on ships at any time."

Li Yichen remained silent, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the stealth fighters and main guns that were about to embark on the mission. The pent-up frustration that had been building up in his chest for months dissipated considerably.

"There's something else I need to tell you." Liu Ruyan turned a page of the schedule, a slightly helpless smile on her lips. "This past month, we've been launching with a heavy payload every three days and a light payload every two days. You're practically using the Lingxiao rocket like a taxi."

"Can a taxi carry thousands of tons into the sky?"

"I wasn't talking about transport capacity." Liu Ruyan handed him the schedule. "The space monitoring agencies of the US and Russia must be going crazy. We're sending things into space every day; their radar screens are full of our tracks. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' mailboxes are overflowing with protest letters."

She paused, her smile deepening. "But they were so scared by what happened in Manhattan that not a single one dared to make a move."

Li Yichen snorted, "Serves you right."

"There's progress on the moon too." Liu Ruyan retracted the progress report and changed the subject. "The last batch of heavy supplies arrived half a month ago, and the third mining base is already under construction. Once the Xuanwu spacecraft successfully completes its maiden flight and reaches the Spirit God Star route, production capacity on the far side of the moon can double again—"

He hadn't finished speaking.

Li Yichen's phone vibrated in his pocket.

He took it out and saw that it was a call from the Pudong Shipyard.

connected.

"Mr. Li!" The voice on the other end of the phone was urgent and clearly tense. "There's been a problem with the Xuanwu. You'd better come and take a look in person!"