Chapter 13 Group Installation

7:00 AM on Sunday morning.

The air quality in dormitory 206 is barely better than in an internet cafe, and it's comparable to a biological weapons testing ground.

The lingering smell of alcohol, mixed with the musty, aged tang of a few pairs of sneakers, fermented in the heated space that had been closed off all night.

The eldest brother, Jiao Liwei, was the first to wake up. His eyelids were still drooping, but he had already kicked the third brother's bed board, shouting, "Get up! Everyone get up! It's almost dawn! There's still work to be done!"

Amidst a series of groans, the young men writhed and tried to escape from under the covers, but Jiao Liwei forcibly dragged them out of bed.

Bai Yuhang rubbed his throbbing temples as he got dressed, and subconsciously glanced at Lao Ba Jiang Shuo's bed.

His blanket was folded into a perfect square like a tofu block, and there was a note on the table that read: "Going to the library to study. Don't worry about me."

The handwriting was indeed quite neat, and the words exuded a sense of aloofness and detachment.

"We can't compare to Lao Ba's awareness." Just then, Lao Wu, Liu Jing, burst back in carrying two bags of rice porridge and steamed buns. "Hurry up, everyone wash your faces and brush your teeth. I've already heated up the main dishes."

The so-called main dish was a bag of sweet and sour pork and a whole roasted chicken that Lao Qi Zhang Qingheng and his men had brought back last night after drinking Mengdeng.

Liu Jing poured the main dish into an aluminum lunchbox, then placed it on the scorching hot radiator, where it immediately began to steam.

A few minutes later, the aroma of vinegar and meat was released by the high temperature, quickly overpowering the smell of the young man's feet in the room.

Seven heads huddled around the desk, no one paying attention to table manners. They poured hot water to prevent choking, broke open steamed buns, stuffed in a piece of hot, juicy sweet and sour pork, took a big bite, and their mouths were filled with sweet, sour, and caramelized flavors. With the chicken, it was simply delicious!

"This is the life a human being should live," the third brother, Zhang Jian, mumbled, his mouth stuffed full.

Seeing that everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Bai Yuhang spread a simple map of Harbin on the table, circling eight points in red pen. These were the approximate addresses of the eight internet cafes that he had promised to install that day.

Then, he took out four system disks that he had previously burned, as well as the blank disks that he had asked his third brother to buy, and placed them on the table, saying...

"Guys, let's get to work now that we've eaten." Bai Yuhang handed four system disks and blank disks to Jiao Liwei. "Boss, let's split up. These internet cafe owners drank yesterday, but it's uncertain whether they'll admit it when they sober up. I think we should strike while the iron is hot. Let's go to the server room together in a bit, burn two disks each, and then head out."

Jiao Liwei swallowed the last bite of steamed bun with warm water, then pointed to the red dot in Nangang District: "Hongxing Internet Cafe is mine. Qian Jiangnan is a smiling tiger, full of empty talk. Anyone but me would be completely confused by him."

"I'll go to both of Fatty Liu's houses in Daoli." Liu Jing picked his teeth, looking relaxed. "Last night, we were like half-brothers. If I go to his place, I bet he'll even cover my lunch."

Bai Yuhang nodded and looked at the second and third brothers: "Xinyu and Dianfeng are next to each other and have a lot of machines. Second brother, you lead the team, and third brother, you'll be in charge of technical support. Especially that bald Zhang Qi, he has a bad temper. If he's in the store, second brother, you two need to be more lenient with him."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Yang Bo pushed up his glasses.

"Xinxin Internet Cafe in Xiangfang is a bit far." The fourth brother, Wan Lianghao, stuffed a system disk into his clothes and spoke with a strong Northeastern accent. "It's okay, I have long legs. As long as the internet cafe manager doesn't unleash his dogs on me, no matter how many computers there are, I'll definitely get them sorted out by tonight."

"Alright, I'll go with Lao Qi to the remaining Flying Birds and Sea and Sky."

Bai Yuhang took out a few banknotes from the drawer, counted out six fifty-yuan notes, and slapped them into the hands of the group.

Fifty yuan in 2000 was a huge sum of money, enough to eat well in the cafeteria for several days.

"Take it." Bai Yuhang stopped the leader who was about to refuse. "This is for travel expenses, cigarette money, and lunch money. Keep the rest. Remember, we're going there to be technical instructors, not laborers. When we get there, don't act like students. Stand up straight. If anyone dares to give us a hard time, just quit and leave. We're not going to serve them. I'll go find their boss later."

Zhang Qingheng clutched the brand-new fifty-yuan note, feeling a little awkward. He had never carried so much pocket money in his entire life.

The group went to the computer lab to burn the discs, then left the school and went their separate ways.

The buses in Daoli were packed with people.

Zhang Qingheng clutched the bag containing the CDs tightly, his eyes constantly drifting out the window, appearing extremely uncomfortable.

"Sixth Brother," Zhang Qingheng finally spoke in a low voice after hesitating for a while, "I...I'm afraid I can't do it. Those internet cafe owners are like gangsters. What if I say the wrong thing and embarrass you?"

Bai Yuhang leaned against the car window, watching the Central Avenue rushing past outside: "Seventh Brother, what's that in your pocket?"

"Money...and CDs."

"Wrong, it's the future." Bai Yuhang looked at him, offering no warm encouragement, his tone flat, "What we're doing now seems like we're begging for help, but in a few months, they'll be begging us. Remember, technology always holds sway. When we get there, you take the lead, and I'll back you up."

Feiniao Internet Cafe is located in a back alley, and the snow in front of the cafe has been trampled into black mud.

Pushing open the door, the pungent smell of smoke was ten times stronger than in other internet cafes.

Behind the bar sat a young man with dyed blond hair, legs crossed, playing music. He didn't even lift his eyelids when he saw two students come in.

"Who should I look for?"

"I'm Bai Yuhang. I made an appointment with your boss Liu Bing and Zhang Haoyong to install the system."

The blond-haired man looked up again, sized the two of them up, and sneered, "The boss didn't tell me. Besides, the machines are all full right now, we don't have time to mess around."

Zhang Qingheng stepped forward, his face flushed, and stammered, "We agreed on this last night at dinner...we'll provide maintenance for free..."

"Free?" The blond-haired guy spat the sunflower seed shells out of his mouth onto the ground. "I don't believe in free lunches. Who knows if there's poison in your dish? What if you mess up my machine? Who am I going to complain to?"

This is clearly a deliberate attempt to make things difficult.

Although the job of an internet cafe manager doesn't pay much, he wields some power in his little corner of the business. He can make a little extra money by letting acquaintances use his computer for free or by reselling game cards.

Now the boss has suddenly introduced an "automatic billing system" and wants outsiders to maintain it, which is tantamount to taking away Huang Mao's livelihood.

"Then...then shall we try one on an empty machine?" Zhang Qingheng was still trying to reason with him.

"That one's broken." The blond guy pointed to a dusty machine in the corner. "Nobody knows the system password. If you can install it, then do it. If you can't, then get out of here and don't delay my business."

Zhang Qingheng stood there, stunned, and looked to Bai Yuhang for help.

Bai Yuhang didn't say anything and walked straight to the "broken machine".

Power on and perform a self-test. A Windows login screen appears, requiring a password.

The blond-haired guy behind the bar crossed his arms and sneered, "That was set up by the old internet cafe manager. Nobody knows about it anymore. Save your energy, college student."

Bai Yuhang took an inconspicuous floppy disk from his pocket and inserted it into the floppy disk drive.

Restart, press F8 repeatedly to enter DOS.

The sound of keyboard typing suddenly rang out, crisp and rapid.

`A:\> copy c:\windows\repair\sam c:\windows\system32\config`

Copy the account verification file to your computer.

Press Enter.

Lines of code flashed across the screen like a waterfall.

Three seconds later, the computer restarted again.

Bai Yuhang pulled out the floppy disk, looked at the Windows interface, skipped the password verification input box, and entered the desktop.

The whole process was smooth and quick, taking less than a minute.

The sneer behind the bar froze, and the blond-haired man stopped cracking the sunflower seeds in his mouth.

Bai Yuhang ignored him, turned around and waved to Zhang Qingheng: "Did you see clearly? You don't need to know the password, you just need to know the rules."

He pointed to the screen that had already booted to the desktop: "Seventh brother, install the client from the disc. Once it's up and running, go to the bar and install the server. While you're at it, teach the network administrator how to install it on the other machines. If anyone keeps dawdling, go ask their boss if anyone's still in charge of their business."

These words, though seemingly directed at Zhang Qingheng, were actually a direct jab at the yellow-haired internet administrator.

Huang Mao swallowed hard, looking at Bai Yuhang's calm face, and suddenly felt that the heating in the room was a bit too strong, and his back was covered in sweat.

He didn't dare to cause any trouble, and sheepishly crawled out from behind the bar, holding a rag in his hand: "Bro... um, let me wipe your keyboard for you."