Han Lie left the school gate and took a taxi straight to the SEG Electronics Market.
Standing on Beijing East Road and looking up, the entire building was a relic of a bygone era.
The more popular it had been in the past, the more desolate it was destined to become.
Until one day, the market began to observe weekend closures.
A shopping mall that didn't open on Saturdays and Sundays—ever heard of such a thing? The one right in front of him was precisely that.
But now it was only 2013; the twilight of its decline hadn't fully settled here yet, so swindlers big and small still lived very comfortably.
In fact, it wasn't just SEG; places like BuyNow and Pacific were much the same, with many shopkeepers sharing an identical business philosophy—scam one, profit from one.
Yet, thanks to the massive foot traffic in the Magic Capital, they always managed to succeed.
It was quite a display of magical realism.
Han Lie didn't have the skill to assemble a desktop computer himself without getting fleeced, so he simply decided to buy a laptop.
At this point in time, there were really only two top laptop brands—Conscience and MacBook.
The former was a definite no-buy, no-buy, no-buy!
He wouldn't explain why, but Han Lie refused to contribute a single penny to those "conscientious" entrepreneurs.
MacBook was YYDS, but Han Lie genuinely couldn't get used to macOS.
So, he compromised and bought a Sony P series ultrabook that had just been released that year.
Emotions played a part in this decision.
Among Wan Wan's, Samsung's, and Sony's laptops, the Sony one was definitely the best deal.
Why?
Because in a few more years, Sony's electronics division would completely collapse, basically transitioning into an entertainment company and a semiconductor foundry for Huawei.
Compared to other manufacturers, Han Lie preferred Sony, which posed no threat to Huaxia.
As for phones, his choice was clear.
Han Lie bought two: a Huawei P6 and an Apple iPhone 5S, which had been released just over a week prior.
Faced with such a revolutionary product, the inconveniences of iOS were entirely tolerable.
Han Lie was eager to return to the 4G era with fingerprint unlocking.
Strictly speaking, for the next year and a half, no phone could truly compete with the Apple iPhone 5S, not even the upcoming iPhone 6.
Xiaomi, Huawei, and Vivo all had a long way to go.
But Han Lie still bought a Huawei, partly to show support and partly to use the Android system for managing various secondary accounts.
The Huawei P6 cost less than 2,900 yuan, while a 64GB iPhone 5S, with markups, went for 8,000 yuan. However, the 4G network was at least five times faster than 3G, so it was hard to say it wasn't worth it.
Who would have guessed that Huawei would later be the first to launch 5G phones, while Apple's iPhone X and iPhone 11 would lag significantly behind Huawei's flagships?
Continuous self-improvement was truly the most admirable feat.
After this major expenditure, Han Lie only had 15,000 yuan in cash left. His experience points, at only 180,000, were still insufficient to add a single attribute point.
Signing up for driving school will cost at least another 4,000 yuan. I can't waste any more money!
Spending his first windfall down to the critical level greatly diminished Brother Lie's sense of security.
He began to ponder, Is there any chance of mooching off someone?
He calculated: Xi Luting, Yu Yun, Fang Feifei... one is poorer than the next, and one stingier than the last. Tough!
When going downstairs, he had originally planned to buy a cup of sour plum drink but decisively switched to a Coke, grudgingly saving 5.50 yuan.
But no matter how much he saved, he still needed a SIM card.
Carrying the ice-cold Coke, Han Lie went to the China Mobile service center beneath the SEG building.
After eyeing the flashy, premium numbers displayed outside for a while, he sensibly got himself an ordinary Global Communications SIM card.
It required real-name registration and had a monthly fee of 88 yuan—far more luxurious than the campus SIM he had in his previous life, but still within his budget.
He paid the money, got the receipt, and took the card.
Han Lie was memorizing his new number when the system suddenly DINGED.
[Your consumption behavior has triggered a minuscule probability, and you have received a complimentary gift.]
Huh?!
You didn't make a peep when I bought three big-ticket items, but you give me a gift for purchasing a 200-yuan SIM card? Really?!
For a moment, Han Lie didn't know whether to laugh or be angry.
However, based on the value of the previous gift, Brother Lie still eagerly opened his inventory.
A SIM card lay quietly inside.
So it's really a buy-one-get-one-free...
[An utterly ordinary SIM card]
[Description: Don't bother looking, it's just a SIM card]
[Choose Your Own Number]
[Auto-activated and real-name registered]
[Automatically granted top-level system privileges; cannot be monitored or queried]
[Automatically intercepts all scam, telemarketing, and harassment calls and texts]
[Can bypass all blocks to dial any number at will]
Han Lie's eyes grew wider, and his breathing quickened.
And you call this an utterly ordinary SIM card?!
If I were to call and curse out Li Bancheng right now, there's nothing he could do but stare helplessly, right?!
This is overwhelmingly powerful!
Han Lie instantly realized the immense value of this SIM card.
It didn't have an easily quantifiable price, but it could offer him enormous help and protection.
Its value was immeasurable!
Han Lie decisively inserted the newly purchased SIM card into his Huawei P6, then trimmed the gifted SIM card to the proper size and inserted it into his iPhone 5S.
This has to be my main SIM card...
Before use, he had to set its phone number using the interface on its panel.
The first number that flashed through Han Lie's mind was—18888888888.
He quickly dismissed it.
No, no, that's too ostentatious!
Numbers of that caliber are controlled by top mobile network executives and can only be obtained through official auctions or applications.
Trying to get one covertly would guarantee an investigation.
Han Lie had heard about this number before his rebirth.
Whose specially designated number was it again?
That fellow later got taken down a peg, probably because he was too arrogant and didn't know how to lay low.
I definitely can't be that cocky...
Han Lie glanced back at the premium numbers displayed at the entrance and casually tried a somewhat similar one.
A prompt appeared on the interface.
[This number is already in use. Would you like to forcibly replace it?]
Metaphorical black lines covered Han Lie's forehead.
I'm not a psycho; why would I forcibly replace someone else's phone number?
"No! Don't be ridiculous!"
He tried another number; it was in use. He tried yet another; that number block hadn't been activated yet...
After numerous attempts, he finally found an unused premium number in the 139 prefix block.
1390011XXXXX.
This number wasn't strikingly amazing at first glance, but the more one considered it, the more it revealed itself as a type of low-key awesome.
The 139 prefix was from the first batch of mobile number blocks released in 1995.
The middle four digits were the area code; 0010, 0011, and 0012 all belonged to the Imperial Capital.
0013, on the other hand, was for the Magic Capital.
Han Lie, despite operating in the Magic Capital, had deliberately chosen an old Imperial Capital number block—a very shrewd move.
To the uninformed, it just looked like a number ending in four identical digits—valuable, sure, but nothing too special.
Aren't those with numbers ending in five nines or six eights far more impressive?
However, to those in the know, this kind of number wasn't about money at all.
1995, Imperial Capital, the first batch of mobile numbers—who mostly held those?
Furthermore, in the 0011 block, there were only ten numbers ending in four identical digits. Ranked by value, 1111 was the most expensive, 8888 was second, and 6666 was either third or fourth!
Honestly, that's quite formidable.
An expert seeing such a number would definitely reassess Han Lie upward and silently wonder, Whose kid is this?
Those not in that league wouldn't even realize its significance, perfectly fitting Han Lie's low-key style.
Those who were knowledgeable enough would automatically fill in the blanks with their own assumptions, perfectly satisfying Han Lie's desire to subtly show off.
There couldn't be a more perfect outcome.
Without hesitation, Han Lie went to the Industrial and Commercial Bank and the Construction Bank and linked both his existing bank cards to his new phone number.
Then, he used the new number to register a new WeChat account, sending the first contact request to Chen Yanfei.
His WeChat name was simply 'Han Lie,' no frills.
This will be my main account. I'll probably use it for many external collaborations later, so it's better to keep it professional.
Chen Yanfei didn't reply; she was probably taking a nap.
Han Lie then logged into QQ and sent a message to Xi Luting.
"1390011XXXXX. It's my phone number and WeChat ID. Try not to spread it around."
Xi Luting, who had been staring blankly at her computer, casually clicked open the message. Her eyes gradually widened, and she was, yet again, completely bewildered...