Chapter 22

Since the website was built, Bian Xuedao has been obsessed, constantly thinking about ways to promote my123.

At night, he would think about it while lying in bed, during class, and even while eating. The people in Dorm 717 all noticed that Bian Xuedao had been acting strange lately.

One day during the ice skating class, while skating, Bian Xuedao's mind wandered again. He failed to turn where he should have, and by the time he came to his senses, he couldn't stop himself, crashing into two girls standing by the rink, talking. The girl in red sat down in a snow pile, while the girl in a white down jacket fell directly onto the ice.

Bian Xuedao was stunned, fumbling to help the two girls up, only to realize that the girl in the white down jacket might have injured her coccyx.

The girl in the white down jacket sat on the ice, forcefully pushing away his outstretched hand. Her large scarf covered half her face, and the two eyes that were visible were already brimming with tears. Seeing this, a few girls skated over, listened to the girl in red explain the situation, glanced at Bian Xuedao a few times, and without saying anything, helped the injured girl in the white down jacket away.

Bian Xuedao followed, offering to take her to the hospital, but the girl in the white down jacket glared at him and left with her friend.

Despite often being distracted, Bian Xuedao's life continued as usual: morning exercises, reading the newspaper, studying programming books, writing reviews, submitting articles, and maintaining my123.

One evening, Yu Jin, who rarely stayed up at the internet cafe, lay in bed and said that the game was indeed fun but exhausting. He wished the computer could play by itself while he watched from the side.

Yu Jin soon fell asleep, and no one paid much attention to what he said.

However, Yu Jin's words were like a bolt of lightning, piercing through the layers of fog in Bian Xuedao's mind, revealing a ray of light through the thick clouds.

Cheating software! Cheating software! Why didn't I think of cheating software?

Online games were just beginning to gain popularity, and many people created cheating software purely for their convenience. This industry had not yet formed.

Bian Xuedao had no money to act as an agent for "Legend" and "Miracle," but he could create cheating software for these two classic games, which would allow him to ride the wave of their success.

The benefits didn't stop there.

If he could create cheating software, he could sell it online for money. Additionally, he could slightly modify the software to bundle my123 with the computers using the cheating software, promoting my123.

Bian Xuedao finally found his first pot of gold.

The next afternoon, with no classes, Bian Xuedao carefully examined several internet cafes near the school: Family, Ultraman, Speed, and Little Fool... He discovered that the most popular games were "Legend," "Stone Age," "Millennium," and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," followed by the Lianzhong platform.

Bian Xuedao found a computer, logged onto QQ, clicked on Jinghai's avatar, and sent a message: "Master, I've been playing an online game recently and want to try making a script to automatically fight monsters. Where should I start?"

After a while, Jinghai replied, "What game are you playing?"

"Stone Age," Bian Xuedao replied.

After a bit more time, Jinghai said, "I'll familiarize myself with the game and tell you tomorrow."

The next day, Jinghai sent a compressed file to Bian Xuedao's email, containing an operation guide and a segment of code.

Bian Xuedao began a period of both tiring and fulfilling days.

Each time he was working in the dorm and suddenly lost power, or went to the internet cafe and couldn't sit at a machine with the software he needed, he painfully wished for his own computer and a house with no power outages.

Starting is always the hardest part! Once started, everything else falls into place.

After mastering "Stone Age," he tackled "Millennium" and then moved on to "Legend."

Yu Jin was the first user of the "Legend" cheating software Bian Xuedao created. Seeing his character automatically fight monsters, pick up items, and even avoid damage, Yu Jin was almost ecstatic.

"Brother Bian, Brother Dao, Fourth Brother, you're amazing! You're incredible! Did you really make this thing? Is it from the books you read every day?" Yu Jin, hugging Bian Xuedao's shoulder, was already incoherent.

After a while, Bian Xuedao noticed that the character would suddenly freeze and then automatically return to the city. He felt that some modifications were still needed.

Two days later, after testing by Yu Jin, the cheating software was complete.

A day later, Yu Jin told Bian Xuedao, "A friend I know in the game also wants this cheat."

Bian Xuedao said, "We can sell it to him."

"Sell?" Yu Jin's eyes widened.

"Yes, sell!" Bian Xuedao said, "Tell him it's 100 for one cheat. He can help sell it, and for each one he sells, we take 70, and he keeps 30. If he's capable, he can find more people to help sell it."

"Huh?" Yu Jin's mind couldn't keep up with Bian Xuedao. He asked, "He's in Hebei, how will he pay us?"

"Bank transfer!" Bian Xuedao said.

"Then how do we give the cheat to the buyer?" Yu Jin continued.

"I'll encrypt the cheat and put it on a random forum. The buyer can download it themselves, and we'll give them the extraction password," Bian Xuedao said.

That afternoon, Yu Jin went to the Industrial and Commercial Bank with his ID to get a new bank card. He handed the card to Bian Xuedao, saying, "Brother Bian, I'll just call you Brother Bian from now on. I'm with you from now on."

This was the result of their discussion.

They split the profits 80-20, with Bian Xuedao providing the technology and responsible for developing the cheat, while Yu Jin used his name to open the account and was responsible for contacting secondary sellers online. Only Yu Jin knew the password to the card, but the card was in Bian Xuedao's possession. They agreed to check the account once a month.

Subsequent events proved that checking the account once a month was too long, and once a week was more scientific.

In the first week, they sold 83 extraction passwords, earning 5800 yuan. Bian Xuedao took 4500, and Yu Jin took 1300. When they received the money, Bian Xuedao was calm, but Yu Jin was so excited that his face turned red.

On the evening of December 31, 2001, Dorm 717 and Dorm 603 went to the riverside's stone street to play. Yu Jin treated everyone from both dorms to coffee and hamburgers. Bian Xuedao watched Yu Jin happily, finding him quite adorable.

That morning, Bian Xuedao spent 1400 yuan to buy a Samsung SGH-600C mobile phone.

The phone was Bian Xuedao's, but it was mainly for Yu Jin to use. Bian Xuedao's action clearly relieved Yu Jin, who had been worrying about making phone calls. If Yu Jin had any reservations about Bian Xuedao using his name to open the account and the 80-20 split, the moment Bian Xuedao handed him the phone, he felt Yu Jin's trust.

Standing on the flood control dike by the river, Yu Jin took out his phone and called home: "Mom, it's me, Yu Jin. Yes, I'm out with classmates, wearing thick clothes, don't worry. What? Phone? A classmate's phone. Tell Dad I wish you both a healthy and smooth New Year. Yes, long-distance calls aren't expensive, okay, okay, I'll hang up."

Yu Jin and Li Yu spent money to buy over 200 yuan worth of fireworks and firecrackers from a nearby stand, leading a group of girls to set them off on the ice-covered river.

Chen Jian rented two sleds, and Su Yi, Nan Jiao, and Zhang Meng took turns sitting on them while the boys pushed from behind. Tong Chao, regardless of the lighting, stood aside and took photos with a flash, "click, click, click."

Seeing Bian Xuedao standing on the side, Yu Jin ran over and asked, "What are your plans for next year?"

Bian Xuedao said, "More people will create cheats, and buyers will become more picky. I'm researching more advanced cheats. Even if I raise the price, they will still sell well."

Yu Jin said, "Alright, I'll contact more agents to sell the cheats." Then he took a deep breath, "I'll try to buy a computer by the time I return for the Spring Festival, and ideally, rent a place off-campus. We'll go big."

Bian Xuedao looked at Yu Jin, realizing this guy was smarter and more daring than he had imagined.