From 1999 to 2000, although it’s just a numerical accumulation on the human calendar, real time hasn’t been affected at all, it just mercilessly flows forward.
But the counting of time undoubtedly deeply affects the operation of human society. The arrival of the first century starting with the number 20 makes everyone living in this century feel that the era has taken a big step forward.
In the early morning of December 31, many people in various places welcomed the arrival of the millennium, gathering in the squares of large cities around the world to celebrate the arrival of a new era.
Of course, more people stayed asleep at home, passing through this special yet ordinary day.
However, Gan Guoyang had to fly to New York for an FBI hearing scheduled on January 1st.
Because of this, he not only had to miss the fan countdown event on the 31st, but also the Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers game on the evening of January 1st.
The repeated hearings and investigations not only exhausted Gan Guoyang’s energy, causing him to miss games, but also wasted a lot of his travel expenses.
To get to New York, Gan Guoyang had to take his private jet, which was quite an expense for the round trip.
In the early hours, the plane still hadn’t taken off. Sitting in his seat, Gan Guoyang watched his watch as the time ticked closer to 12:00.
Finally, the hour hand, minute hand, and second hand aligned; 1999 was over, and the time record reached 2000.
Gan Guoyang said, "It’s 2000, can we take off now? I’m about to fall asleep... what a damn millennium bug, turns out it’s a timekeeping issue..."
Bodyguard Quentin came over and said, "The crew said everything tested fine, they will take off soon."
The reason the plane was delayed at the airport until after 2000 before preparing for takeoff was due to the so-called "Y2K bug."
Because many early computer devices used timers with two-digit years, for example, 1999 was recorded as 99, and 1985 as 85.
Previously, this method of recording was fine, but when it reached 2000, 99 would return to 00, becoming 1900.
Although it’s just a simple time record, it has crucial impacts on many networked computer devices.
For example, in banking, communication, taxation, insurance, medical services, if the time identification gets scrambled, the normal functioning of the devices would be affected.
It so happens that many large banks, insurance companies, and communication companies use mainframe computers that were built years ago, which, to save memory, used two-digit timers. Thus, if this timing bug exploded on a large scale, it might cause chaos in the entire social order, leading to unpredictable economic loss and social unrest.
This problem was identified by computer experts many years ago and, after widespread dissemination, became known to the public as the "Y2K bug."
Afterward, to address this issue, a global large-scale repair action commenced, with countries collectively investing approximately 308 billion US dollars to fix the timing bug.
Of course, airport communication and navigation equipment were also part of the repairs, and Gan Guoyang’s private crew, to ensure 100% safety and prevent communication and navigation issues when transitioning from 1999 to 2000 during flight, set the takeoff time for 2000.
Gan Guoyang waited on the plane for more than ten minutes, completing the crossover to a new era.
"So the millennium bug is a timing BUG, huh? I damn well thought there were bugs crawling in the computers."
As the plane took off, Gan Guoyang mumbled to himself, finally understanding what the Y2K bug was all about.
Just as 2000 was approaching, many strange tales circulated in Chinese society. The ones Gan Guoyang remembered most vividly were the Mayan prediction of the 1999 apocalypse and the explosion of the Y2K virus, causing worldwide paralysis.
In his past life, when Gan Guoyang was still young, hearing these bizarre rumors, he thought the world was ending, society was about to collapse, and he had to be prepared to survive the chaos.
So he started to secretly stock up on food, hiding unfinished bread and buns for future consumption.
It is said that at that time, a certain boss, upon hearing of the impending Y2K bug and fearing computer attacks, had all of the company’s computers taken offline and locked away in a warehouse to prevent the invasion of bugs.
Later, after some time passed, Gan Guoyang realized nothing had happened. The world remained fine, there was no doomsday, and no virus outbreak. The bread and buns he had hidden away went moldy or got eaten by mice and bugs; they were of no use at all, leaving him somewhat disappointed.
Now, in this era, Gan Guoyang finally figured out what the Y2K bug really was—it was merely a computer timing bug.
Thinking about those who engaged in media sensationalism, they sure liked to alarm people; well, who doesn’t like a little thrill in their otherwise mundane lives?
Now, Gan Guoyang had become one of the representatives of "sensationalism." Since the espionage case broke out, public opinion has become polarized.
Unbelievers no longer take the case seriously. You’ve been investigating for so long without finding any solid evidence; what’s the point?
Gan Guoyang continued with his games, delivering stunning performances as usual. Everything was returning to its normal state, except for the monthly hearings and investigations, which turned out to be quite vexing.
These people comprised the majority, but in American society, there’s always a group of people with unconventional thought processes, people extraordinary in ways of thinking, or possessing outstanding intelligence.
There was such a group who firmly believed that Gan Guoyang was indeed a spy, but not just any spy; he was a devil’s envoy sent to America, here to disrupt the entire society, Satan’s apostle, the demon child born more than two millennia after Jesus. His arrival was significantly tied to the 1999 apocalypse, and his existence would be key to the world’s destruction.