Reborn in 2000, starting from the university website

At eight o'clock in the morning, the roller shutter door at the entrance of New Century Internet Cafe was wide open, and the air that came in replaced the stale air inside.

When Jiao Liwei led Yang Bo, Liu Jing, and Jiang Shuo into the private room, they happened to see Zhang Jian about to plunge his head into a basin of cold water to rinse it off and clear his head.

"Stop washing, it won't make a difference if you eat a little more and go back to sleep." Jiao Liwei put the fried dough sticks and soy milk in his hand on the table, looking at his brothers who were lying around in the room, and felt a little sorry for them.

Bai Yuhang leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. Seeing the new recruits arrive, he pointed to a stack of newly signed letters of intent on the table and a thick wad of red banknotes beside it: "Let's hand over the documents. This is the franchise fee deposit paid last night by the internet cafe owner from out of town, along with a few signed letters of intent."

Jiang Shuo, who had been drowsy, suddenly felt a surge of adrenaline the moment his eyes fell on the stack of banknotes; his eyelids no longer drooped. He quickly moved closer, adjusted his glasses, picked up the entire stack of money, weighed it in his hand, and handed it to Jiao Liwei, who was in charge of the money, to count: "Sixth Brother, this... this is what we earned while we were sleeping last night?"

"This is called 'passive income'." Bai Yuhang pushed the letter of intent to him. "It's 35,000 in total. Make sure the payments are clear, and keep an eye on the backend this morning. Lao Ba, this time you don't have to worry about the server's electricity bill, right?"

"I don't care! This isn't just wasting electricity, it's like a money printing press is running!" Jiang Shuo held the money, his mouth practically stretched to his ears, looking just like a mouse guarding a rice jar.

Bai Yuhang turned to Yang Bo and handed him a file folder: "Second brother, this contains the attack logs and IP tracking records that Third brother intercepted last night. I suspect it's Chen Yuanqian's doing, but the law is currently in a gray area when it comes to cyber forensics. See if you can compile some materials and file a report at the local police station."

Yang Bo pulled out a few sheets of printed paper, glanced at them, and frowned slightly: "If we want to convict them, it will be difficult to arrest them based on this alone, unless the public security cyber police get involved directly. But let's report the case first, make a scene, and scare those bastards. Once the case is filed, if they dare to do anything again, they'll be defying the law."

"That's the effect we wanted." Bai Yuhang nodded, then turned to Jiao Liwei and Liu Jing, "Boss, the internet cafe owner from out of town is still asleep in a nearby hotel. When he wakes up, we'll definitely have to take care of him. You need to deposit the money when you have a spare moment, and also work with Brother Zhao to appease him. Fifth Brother, take them out for a good meal later, and while you're at it, find out how many machines they actually have in the area. Don't let them give us an inflated number."

"Don't worry, I'm good at drinking and bragging. After a few bottles of Harbin beer, I can even find out what color underwear they're wearing," Liu Jing chuckled, patting his chest to assure him.

After arranging everything, Bai Yuhang led the four-person tech team, who had stayed up all night, out of the internet cafe and took a taxi back to school.

Just as he reached the dormitory building, his pager suddenly vibrated. Bai Yuhang picked it up and saw Su Muqing's code on the screen: three urgent "999s".

"You guys go up first, I'll make a call." Bai Yuhang wrapped his military coat tighter around himself, watched Zhang Jian and the others help each other up the stairs, then turned and went into the familiar IC card phone booth downstairs in the dormitory building.

The morning wind in Harbin was still harsh, and the microphone felt icy cold against my ear.

"Hello, Mu Qing, it's me."

"Yuhang! Did you see the news?" Su Muqing's voice on the other end of the phone lacked its usual composure and even trembled slightly. "I was just worried about the website being attacked last night, but when I turned on my computer, the entire internet community across the country was in an uproar."

Bai Yuhang was taken aback. He had been so busy battling zombies online last night that he hadn't had time to check the news: "What? This petty attack has already reached Beijing?"

"No, no," Su Muqing said urgently. "Find a place with internet access and open the Sina.com homepage. There's a feature article on the front page of the technology channel—'The Internet Miracle of Harbin Institute of Technology Students: The Emergence of China's 'Social Network'?'"

Bai Yuhang's grip on the microphone tightened slightly: "Sina's headline? Who wrote it?"

"The article is attributed to Sina Tech's in-depth reporting team, but I didn't expect it to be this powerful. It praises your 'Turing test' approach to dealing with the attack to the skies, calling it a 'perfect combination of technology and humanities,' and even posted data from Qihang Campus Network, including its projected future growth curve, calling it 'the sexiest curve on the Chinese internet in the millennium.'" Su Muqing paused, lowering her voice slightly, "Do you know what this means?"

Bai Yuhang stared at his reflection in the glass of the phone booth, his mind racing.

Sina, Wang Zhidong, April 13th.

"Sina is going public." Bai Yuhang slowly exhaled a puff of white breath. "They're aiming for Nasdaq."

"That's right! The bell-ringing ceremony is just a few days away." Su Muqing sounded unusually excited on the other end of the phone. "Wall Street these days doesn't believe in tears, only stories. Sina, as a portal website, has huge traffic, but it's always been criticized for lacking user stickiness. Then suddenly, a 'Chinese social network story' with extremely high stickiness and rapid growth appears, and it's even a university student startup! This is practically delivered to Sina's doorstep—the best roadshow material to boost its stock value. They're using Qihang as a stepping stone to knock on Wall Street's door!"

Bai Yuhang smiled, but it was a cold smile.

No wonder Zhang Lei said last night that he would use media resources; it turns out he was feeding this lucrative opportunity to Sina. This isn't just about exposure; it's putting Qihang directly on the hot seat.

"It's a good thing, the traffic is definitely going to explode." Bai Yuhang traced the name back and forth on the glass of the phone booth with his finger. "But it also means that we can no longer develop in silence. From today onwards, we are the bullseye under the spotlight."

"Scared?"

"No." Bai Yuhang chuckled into the microphone. "Since they want to see a show, let's put on a big one. Mu Qing, take advantage of this buzz and talk to those venture capitalists who are still observing. Tell them that Qihang now is Sina's 'future of Chinese social networks,' and if they want to get on board, they'll have to pay more."

"Wait, I don't think it's as simple as just adding money." Su Muqing's voice snapped out of her earlier excitement and became unusually serious. "This surge in traffic is indeed a good thing, but it's also a sword hanging over our heads. Yu Hang, you need to wake up."

"Are you worried about the server?" Bai Yuhang stomped his numb feet, the ground in Harbin was as hard as an iron plate in the morning.

"It's not just the hardware, it's the content too." The sound of a pen tapping on the table came from Su Muqing's end, hurried and urgent. "Sina has put Qihang under the spotlight, under a microscope. Half a million users, over 80% of whom are daily active users, hundreds or thousands of posts and photos every minute. Who's doing the moderation now? You? Or your roommates?"

Bai Yuhang rubbed his nose: "Everyone's doing it. The eight of us in the dorm are now working in two shifts, doing manual verification."

"This is ridiculous. Yu Hang, not all posts are posts; some are bombshells." Su Muqing didn't hold back. "If even one seriously illegal message or sensitive comment slips through, the regulatory authorities don't care if you're some kind of 'future of Chinese social networks,' they'll just cut off your internet connection. The internet is not a lawless zone. This makeshift manual review team can't withstand the impact of nationwide traffic. Your brothers might also face serious charges."

Bai Yuhang was silent for two seconds. Su Muqing was right. Qihang was like a hand-operated tractor speeding along a highway. Although it was running happily, it was hard to say when the parts would fall apart.

"I know, so we need to raise money, recruit people, and get a regular army." Bai Yuhang looked at the cars passing by outside the phone booth and exhaled a puff of white breath.

"Speaking of money," Su Muqing's tone shifted, tinged with a hint of sarcasm, "remember that investment manager from IDG? He was trying to snag a bargain with three million."

"I remember, they wanted to buy us like cabbages."

"He called me seven times this morning. I guess his partner saw the Sina report and questioned him about why he let go of such a potential 'unicorn'. Yesterday he was almost crying on the phone, insisting on meeting me and even asking if I liked French food." Su Muqing chuckled. "His attitude did a complete 180-degree turn; he was practically calling me 'Grandma'."

Bai Yuhang chuckled, his laughter causing the frost on the glass to tremble slightly: "Leave him hanging. Tell him that you and I are very busy and don't have time for French food. Besides, the current price can't be settled with three million. Want to talk? Tell him to buy a plane ticket to Harbin and be placed after Zhang Lei in line. Oh, and by the way, tell him that I only eat sweet and sour pork, and it has to be from Lao Chu's."

"You're really wicked," Su Muqing chuckled on the other end. "Alright, let's do it this way. Whoever speaks first loses."