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

At the outermost edge of the crowd, Li Yichen had his hands in his trouser pockets.

On stage, Liu Xue turned to the last slide of the PowerPoint presentation. The red pillar was almost twice as tall as the blue one, and a murmur of discussion erupted from the audience.

Some people took off their glasses to wipe the lenses, while others grabbed their phones to make calls. A pop-up ad on the stock forum had already appeared on the screen: "Liu's Pharmaceutical stock price hits the daily limit and is locked at the limit, with 900 million yuan in buy orders."

A man in a gray jacket next to him turned around. He had a media pass around his neck and the words "Financial Weekly" printed on his chest. He sized up Li Yichen—a dark gray bespoke suit, no recorder in his hand, no camera in his hand, and no media pass.

"Hey bro." The man in the gray jacket took a half-step closer. "Which media outlet are you from? Why aren't you carrying any equipment?"

Li Yichen turned his head and glanced at the ID on the other person's chest.

"I'm not a media person," he said softly. "I'm just a passerby who's here to join the fun."

The man in the gray jacket gave an "Oh." A passerby? Probably an office worker from a nearby building, sneaking out during his lunch break to watch the press conference and join the fun. But that suit didn't look cheap.

But he quickly looked away from his suit, pulled out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket, and offered one to Li Yichen. Li Yichen waved his hand. He put the cigarette back, then leaned closer: "Brother, wanna buy some stocks?"

Li Yichen shook his head.

The man in the gray jacket's eyes lit up—he'd seen this reaction many times before. Ordinary office workers, uninterested in stocks, completely ignorant of the capital market, were the easiest to fool.

"Let me tell you, brother," he lowered his voice, his face plastered with a warm expression that said, "I'm doing this for your own good, if you buy Liu's Pharmaceutical stock now, you'll absolutely make a fortune."

He shoved his phone screen right in front of Li Yichen's eyes—Liu's Pharmaceutical's candlestick chart showed a straight red limit-up line, with a long string of buy orders hanging next to it.

"See that? It's already hit the daily limit. If you place your order now, you might get lucky and manage to snag a few lots. Once this miracle drug hits the market, the stock price will absolutely skyrocket. It's not too late to buy now; it'll probably open at the limit up tomorrow, and then you won't be able to buy at all."

He spoke with great enthusiasm, his index finger clicking rapidly on the screen.

Li Yichen politely tilted his head slightly: "Why aren't you buying anything?"

The man in the gray jacket paused for a moment, then snorted and laughed: "Brother, to be honest—" He flipped his phone over, revealing the transaction history screen, which clearly showed a purchase order that had been completed three minutes ago, and the amount was not small.

"I rushed in the moment Mr. Liu finished speaking." He put away his phone, patted Li Yichen on the shoulder, and said, "You still have time to buy now. Otherwise, they'll sell out quickly, and you really won't be able to get one."

Li Yichen turned his gaze away from the other person's ingratiating face.

"I won't buy it." He spoke calmly. "After all, it's easier for me to make money than for you guys."

The man in the gray jacket's hand froze in mid-air.

What? What do you mean by making money a little easier than us? He looked Li Yichen up and down—a dark gray bespoke suit and handmade leather shoes; this outfit was indeed expensive.

But to say something like that, isn't that incredibly pretentious? He's a senior reporter for a financial weekly, covering all sorts of big shots in all these years. Even chairmen of listed companies with billions in assets wouldn't dare say something like that in an interview.

This young man was bragging without thinking. The man in the gray jacket mentally labeled him a show-off. He withdrew his hand, put the cigarette in his mouth, and didn't say anything more.

On the stage.

After Liu Xue finished presenting the last set of data, she put down the microphone. A flurry of camera flashes and clicks erupted. She took a half-step to the side towards the backstage area, signaling for the host to take over.

"Now we will proceed to the Q&A session."

As soon as the words were spoken, the reporters below the stage seemed to have been switched on, raising their arms in unison. Some even stood up, pushing forward with their recorders in hand, the chair legs scraping against the concrete floor with a screeching sound.

Liu Xue selected a female reporter wearing a white shirt.

"Mr. Liu, I'm a reporter from the Medical Economics News. What is the pricing strategy for 'Nirvana No. 1'? Currently, the annual treatment cost for similar targeted drugs in China is over 200,000 yuan. Will Liu's Pharmaceuticals take a high-price route or a more affordable route?"

"The pricing will be controlled to within 100,000 yuan per year for treatment," Liu Xue said clearly. "Furthermore, we will coordinate with the Medical Insurance Bureau to strive for inclusion in the medical insurance catalog as soon as possible. Liu's Pharmaceutical does not engage in profiteering." A round of applause rang out from the audience.

The second reporter, wearing black-rimmed glasses, spoke very quickly: "Mr. Liu, what is the annual production capacity of 'Nirvana No. 1'? When is it expected to be officially launched?"

"The initial annual production capacity is three million units. The launch date—" Liu Xue paused for a moment, "is set for five days from now."

Another stir ran through the audience. Three million units, launching in five days—this was at least six months faster than the market expected.

The third, the fourth. Questions came one after another. From details of clinical trial data to plans for expanding indications to overseas market strategies. Liu Xue answered them all concisely, not a single word wasted.

The fifth reporter stood up. His question shifted the focus of the entire press conference in another direction.

"Mr. Liu." The reporter, wearing a dark blue vest and a "New Finance" badge, asked, "There have been rumors circulating lately that your company almost experienced a cash flow crisis a little over a month ago. Is that true?"

The audience fell silent instantly. All the cameras were pointed at Liu Xue. The question was far too direct—more than a month ago, Liu's Pharmaceuticals had indeed almost suffered a financial collapse, and everyone in the industry knew this, but no media outlet had asked her about it directly at the press conference.

Liu Xue did not evade the question.

"That's true." She spoke calmly, "A little over a month ago, Liu's Pharmaceuticals did face a crisis of a broken cash flow."

The murmurs from the audience erupted like a floodgate opening. Reporters whispered amongst themselves, photographers frantically snapped pictures, their lenses capturing every subtle change in Liu Xue's face.

The reporter in the dark blue vest pressed on: "Mr. Liu, there are rumors circulating that just when your company's cash flow was about to dry up, you found a mysterious investor. It's said that this investor directly invested 1.5 billion yuan, pulling Liu's Pharmaceuticals back from the brink of bankruptcy." He leaned forward slightly. "Is this rumor true?"

Liu Xue gripped the microphone. Her gaze swept over the layers of heads below the stage, stopping at the outermost edge of the crowd. A figure in a dark gray suit was leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets. Next to him, a reporter in a gray jacket was smoking, glancing at the figure with disdain.

"It's true." Liu Xue turned her gaze back. "There was indeed an investor who directly invested 1.5 billion yuan when we were in our most difficult time. Without that money, the clinical trials of 'Nirvana No. 1' would not have reached this point today, and today's press conference would not be possible."

The reporter in the dark blue vest's eyes lit up, and he pressed on through the gap, asking, "Mr. Liu, did that mysterious investor arrive today? Is he here?"

Liu Xue tightened her grip on the microphone by half an inch.

All the reporters in the audience pricked up their ears. This question was too tricky—if they said they weren't there, the media would write, "Mysterious investor absent from press conference, does he lack confidence in the company?"; if they said they were there, the reporters would definitely go crazy asking who this person was.

Liu Xue spotted the figure in the crowd. Li Yichen leaned against the wall, sunlight streaming in from the side, casting a line of light and shadow on his shoulder. He was looking at the stage, his expression blank.

Liu Xue raised her hand to signal for silence from the audience. The noise gradually subsided, and all the cameras focused on the female chairman on the stage.

"Your question is very good." Liu Xue's voice resounded throughout the square through the speakers. "What I want to tell you is—that investor is here today."

boom.

The audience erupted. Everyone turned to look at each other. The man carrying the camera moved the lens away from the stage and swept it across the crowd. Several financial reporters stood up abruptly, peering cautiously into the densest part of the crowd.

The man in the gray jacket stood up, shifting the unlit cigarette in his mouth from left to right: "Dude, who exactly is this investor? Fifteen billion, just like that, invests. That takes guts—"

He turned his head.

The young man in the dark gray suit was still standing to the side. But now, Liu Xue on stage was slowly uttering a sentence into the microphone.

"Mr. Li, would you like to come up and say a few words?"

The man in the gray jacket froze. He followed Liu Xue's gaze.

The young man in the dark gray suit took a step forward.

The surrounding reporters immediately made way. Camera lenses all turned towards them. The cameraman, carrying equipment weighing over ten kilograms, swung his lens directly from the stage, the image stabilization motor whirring.

The cigarette that the man in the gray jacket was holding fell out of his mouth.

It landed on the cement ground, bounced once, and rolled to the tip of Li Yichen's shoe.

Li Yichen didn't look at the cigarette butt at his feet. He looked up at Liu Xue on the stage, their eyes meeting briefly in mid-air.

A moment of silence. Li Yichen strode towards the stage.

The surrounding reporters spontaneously stepped aside, their whispers rising like a tide behind them—"Who is this person?"

"Which Mr. Li?"

"So young? 1.5 billion?"

"Holy crap, he was standing right next to me, and I didn't even notice him."

The man in the gray jacket remained standing there, his mind buzzing.

"I make money a little easier than you guys."

Now, every word of those words felt like a slap in the face. The other person wasn't bragging; they genuinely made money much easier for them—a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times easier. Because that person was the investor who poured in 1.5 billion yuan at once, while he himself had just been showing off in front of them that he'd bought shares in Liu's Pharmaceuticals.

The man in the gray jacket felt a burning sensation on his face, as if he had been slapped in the face in front of thousands of people.

Li Yichen had already reached the stage steps. Liu Xue stepped aside to make way for the microphone, and all the cameras in the audience were focused on the young man who was stepping onto the steps.

The flashbulbs went off everywhere.

The clicking sounds continued in succession.