Chapter 001

Until prompted to input his fingerprint, Ye Zhendong could no longer contain himself and muttered under his breath: "What a jerk, what the hell is this, where do I input it, pervert." If he weren't an experienced user, he would have punched the screen by now. Years of playing on the computer had trained his patience well. He was impatient, but one could not excel at using a computer without it.

707 is a small shop run by a couple who have both lost their jobs. The proprietress is inside calculating accounts, and upon seeing Ye Zhendong walk in, she quickly greets him: "Xiao Ye, we have finally been waiting for you to arrive. If you don't come, my husband refuses to close the door."

Upon hearing this, Ye Zhendong was taken aback and hurriedly gasped, saying: "No, I have already come, right? If I hadn't come, wouldn't my thousand-meter run have been in vain?" As he spoke, he walked towards the store.

What core model? I have never heard of it, Ye Zhendong shook his head and thought, "What a strange computer." Having played with computers for a long time, he was naturally accustomed to such inexplicable questions and did not feel anxious. He quietly waited, as the progress bar on the prompt box was still moving, indicating that it was in operation. Ye Zhendong decided to observe the situation.

What is going on? Ye Zhendong was utterly perplexed; could it be poisoning? This is now the only explanation. Habitually curling his lips, Ye Zhendong laughed and said, "A virus, no big deal"

Upon seeing Ye Zhendong, the shopkeeper hurriedly set down what he was holding and came out to greet him, saying: "Xiao Ye, I thought you weren't coming. I was just about to move the machine back."

Looking at the clock, it was almost 3 o'clock. Ye Zhendong reluctantly glanced at the computer and thought, "I guess I can only play tomorrow." Just as he was about to shut it down, he inadvertently noticed a strange button on the left side of the case. It was small and easily overlooked. Ye Zhendong turned the computer over, took a flashlight from the bedside, and examined the peculiar button closely. The button was an old-fashioned snap-type button, while most laptops typically use a push-button type; such old-fashioned buttons are quite rare. However, the strangest part was that even Ye Zhendong did not know what this button was for. Ye Zhendong had been playing with computers for many years, and his skills could be described as superb. Even if he disassembled this laptop completely, he was confident he could put it back together. This was also the main reason he dared to sell a computer from a brand he had never heard of; after all, without some technical knowledge, who would dare to buy second-hand goods without any warranty.

At this moment, the extinguished screen flickered back to life, but it did not enter the self-check interface; instead, a digital waterfall appeared on the screen, resembling the opening sequence of The Matrix

However, the next scene left www.hetushu.com.com in a daze, as a prompt box appeared on the screen, stating: Enter Core Mode

The boss's wife also has the surname Ye. Ye Zhendong calls her Sister Ye. Upon hearing her say this, Ye Zhendong shyly replied, "Sister Ye, I apologize, I was stuck in traffic and ran over here." In reality, he had no money for a car; he barely had enough for the fare, and he still needed to arrange for tomorrow's meal. However, Ye Zhendong would not say this.

Returning to the dormitory, his roommates were all asleep. He quietly slipped into bed, connected the transformer to the power source at the head of the bed, turned on the computer, and heard a self-check sound. The familiar blue sky and white clouds appeared on the computer screen. Looking at this familiar scene, Ye Zhendong was so excited that he wanted to shout. The laptop, still ultra-thin, was something he had longed for.

Ye Zhendong was not flustered, as there were many reasons for the screen to go dark; it could be a restart or a shutdown. He thought to himself, "Could it be the shutdown button?" However, after some consideration, he shook his head. Both the shutdown and reset buttons were present, and a single machine could not have two shutdown reset buttons. So what exactly was this button? Ye Zhendong was left with a multitude of questions in his mind

After waiting for half a minute, the screen changed, and another prompt appeared, asking for information such as name and gender. Ye Zhendong's curiosity was thoroughly piqued, and without hesitation, he entered a series of information. Pressing Enter to confirm, the screen changed again. It prompted him to enter a password, followed by verification. Then came the security questions and answers, a series of extremely tedious steps. Fortunately, he was somewhat experienced and patiently followed the prompts. Pressing Enter to confirm, the screen changed again. It prompted him to enter a password, followed by verification. Then came the security questions and answers, a series of extremely tedious steps. Fortunately, he was somewhat experienced and patiently followed the prompts.

A line of text appeared on the screen: Successfully entered core mode

"It's alright, I can tell you really like that machine. It doesn't matter if you wait a bit; the machine is over there, you can check it out." After finishing her words, Sister Ye pointed to a laptop on the table beside her.

Ye Zhendong possesses a strong spirit of inquiry when faced with the unknown; if he does not understand something, he is determined to comprehend it. Thus, he has developed a keen curiosity about this strange button. After a moment's hesitation, he gritted his teeth and gently pressed it. To his dismay, it did not budge. He applied a bit more force, yet it still remained unresponsive. At this point, Ye Zhendong hesitated to exert too much strength, fearing he might damage the casing. Suddenly, a thought struck him: could it be that it needs to be pulled instead? Absurd; he had never heard of a button that required pulling. Nevertheless, Ye Zhendong decided to give it a try. The button was too small for his fingers to grasp, so he retrieved two toothpicks from the bedside, one in each hand, and positioned them on either side of the button. He gently lifted upwards, and it moved. However, the computer screen flickered and then went dark.

After trying it out, the speed is quite good. I opened several large programs, and there were no issues at all with the graphics and books. Ye Zhendong was so excited that he couldn't sleep, repeatedly thinking to himself: "What a great deal, what a great deal." Buying a laptop for 1,500, it seems he would even wake up laughing in his dreams.

Impressive, Ye Zhendong thought to himself, this has already surpassed his knowledge range, and he had a vague premonition that he had purchased something remarkable

At 7:00 PM, on the west section of University Road, Ye Zhendong was sprinting at full speed towards Fenglan Computer City. Most of the shops had already closed, and he felt anxious, silently praying that he would make it in time. By this point, he was already out of breath and drenched in sweat, not even waiting for the elevator, and he ran up the stairs to the seventh floor in one go. When he arrived at shop 707 on the seventh floor, he saw the shop owner still moving things, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "Fortunately, I made it in time."

Just when he was at a loss, a prompt appeared on the screen. It instructed him to place his finger on the touchscreen. Ye Zhendong was momentarily stunned; how could this be? He had never heard of a touchscreen being used as a fingerprint scanner. Wasn't that too advanced? Nevertheless, despite his confusion, he complied. As his finger pressed against the touchscreen, a yellow line moved down parallel to the prompt box, leaving a clear imprint of his fingerprint along its path.

Having paid the money, Ye Zhenhe joyfully carried his computer back to the dormitory, having spent all his funds on the purchase and lacking even bus fare. He was uncertain about where to arrange for tomorrow's meal, but Ye Zhendong was the type to take things as they come, deciding to deal with tomorrow's matters when the time came. He was a sophomore at Donghua Business College, which is also located on University Road, but in the eastern section, a full five kilometers away. By the time he reached the dormitory, it was already 11 PM. He was a sophomore at Donghua Business College, which is also located on University Road, but in the eastern section, a full five kilometers away. By the time he reached the dormitory, it was already 11 PM

"Um," Ye Baidong replied, walking directly to the edge of the stage. On the stage was an ultra-thin laptop, engraved with the model PLTHMC. Ye Zhendong had never heard of this brand's manufacturer, but according to the boss, the specifications were quite good. It had a PIII 900 CPU, 128 RAM, and a 14.1-inch screen, which could be considered mainstream specifications. Although it was second-hand, the machine was in relatively good condition except for some discoloration on the edges. The most important thing was that it was priced at only 1500 yuan. As soon as Ye Zhendong saw it, he fell in love with it; an ultra-thin body, mainstream specifications, and such a low price—no one would believe it if he told them. As soon as he saw the machine at noon, he decided he had to buy it at all costs. Therefore, he withdrew all his money from the bank, which was meant for his meals for the next two months, and he also borrowed from friends, finally managing to gather 1500 yuan.