Lu Chen stared at the jumping hash values on the screen, his fingers hovering above the enter key. This is his third attempt to reply to a user named Wendy, whose lightning network routing algorithm optimization proposal in BTC Holders Club made this New York blockchain engineer feel a rare match.
Are you sure you want to reveal your identity? “Said Jason, a roommate.” Last time you corrected the translation of the Satoshi white paper on Reddit, you were criticized for three weeks. “Lu Chen loosened his tie, as it was his last day interning at a quantitative hedge fund on Wall Street. The Bitcoin price in the bottom right corner of the computer is experiencing a slight fluctuation, just like his fluctuating mood at the moment.
When Wendy’s latest reply popped up, Lu Chen almost knocked over his coffee cup. She not only proved her theory with mathematical formulas, but also attached a verification program written in Solidity language. What surprised him even more was that the girl living in London sent a reward of 0.0001BTC to all respondents using her cryptocurrency cold wallet at 3am.
Do you know? “Wendy’s voice came from the Bluetooth earphones, with a slight electric current caused by the time difference.” Every time I give a reward to someone, I use a different private key, just like distributing different roses. “Lu Chen looked out the window at the Statue of Liberty and felt for the first time that the cold blockchain world could be so romantic.
Their conversation shifted from technical discussions to life sharing. Wendy will describe the grandeur of the Chelsea Flower Show in late night voice calls, while Lu Chen will use code to draw a dynamic version of ‘Starry Night’ for her, with each pixel being a real-time updated cryptocurrency price. When Wendy said she would bring NFT works to New York for an art exhibition, Lu Chen specially booked an apartment with french window near the headquarters of Coinbase.
Lu Chen arrived at JFK airport three hours ahead of schedule. He repeatedly checked the USB drive in the inner pocket of the suit – it was the cold wallet Wendy had asked him to keep before, and now there was a note inside: “Exchange the private key for roses, agree to transfer 0.0001BTC to 1BvBMSEYstWetqTFn5Au4m4GFg7xJaNVN2. When Wendy pushed the silver suitcase out of the gate, he found that she was really holding a bouquet of Bitcoin shaped eternal roses.
Did you mine Bitcoin at the airport mine? “Lu Chen took the rose and found that each petal was printed with blockchain data. Wendy blinked and said, “This was bought with Ethereum gas fees, and the miner fees are even higher than the cost
They spent the entire afternoon at the gallery in SoHo district. Wendy’s NFT artwork ‘Digital Van Gogh’ is currently on display, with the starry sky changing colors in response to fluctuations in Bitcoin prices. When Lu Chen pointed out one of the smart contract vulnerabilities, Wendy suddenly took his hand and asked, “Do you want to collaborate with me on a secret project
Close your eyes, “Wendy blindfolded Lu Chen and led him into the server room at Coinbase headquarters. When the blackout cloth was removed, Lu Chen sucked in the cold air – the entire wall of servers were converted into Bitcoin mining machines, each with Wendy’s hand drawn block hash maps pasted on them.
This is a small mining farm I built with NFT profits, “Wendy handed him a miner’s hat.” Now, we need to complete a cross-border payment for the Lightning Network. “Lu Chen watched as she skillfully operated the terminal and suddenly realized that this art student’s hacking skills may far exceed his imagination.
That night, they were eating Flushing morning tea takeout on a bench in Central Park. Wendy packaged two shrimp dumplings in a cold wallet, with BTC genesis blocks printed on sticky rice paper. When she talked about using cryptocurrency to pay rent in London, Lu Chen suddenly asked, “If one day blockchain disappears, will you be sad
Wendy pushed the last shrimp dumpling in front of him and said, “It’s like asking what to do if a rose withers – I’ll make a specimen of the petals and plant new ones.” The oil paint on her fingertips rubbed against Lu Chen’s sleeve, shining strangely in the moonlight.
Wendy has temporarily cancelled her trip to Miami to attend the blockchain summit due to Lu Chen’s sudden severe cold. When he was groggy from a high fever, the doorbell suddenly rang. During the video call, Wendy held up a humidifier in the shape of a Bitcoin mining machine and said, “Open the door, your new mining machine has arrived
Lu Chen opened the door wrapped in a blanket and was greeted by the scent of peppermint essential oil mixed with oil paint. Wendy is cooking ginger soup in the kitchen, with the ERC-721 standard of Ethereum printed on her apron. I bought ingredients with my cold wallet, “she shook her phone.” The supermarket checkout almost crashed with my private key QR code
They were lounging on the sofa watching ‘Silicon Valley’, while Wendy used a blockchain browser to analyze the technical vulnerabilities in the plot. When Lu Chen coughed, she suddenly took off her anti blue light glasses and put them on for him, saying, “It’s more comfortable to watch the screen this way.” Her body temperature remained on the legs of the glasses, with a faint aroma of Chelsea flower shows.
The incident occurred on May 19th. When Lu Chen was awakened by Wendy’s emergency video call, it was 4am London time. The girl on the screen has a pale face, and behind her is a flashing warning of a sharp drop in coin prices: ‘I mortgaged all my properties…’ Her voice is trembling, ‘Now I need you to help me operate the contract…’
The streets of Manhattan were still immersed in sleep, while Lu Chen frantically typed his keyboard under the big screen in Times Square. Wendy’s breathing sounds came through her headphones, forming a eerie duet with the plummeting curve of Bitcoin prices. When the last lightning network transaction was confirmed, Dongfang’s belly turned pale, and Wendy suddenly smiled, “You know what? That gas fee just now was enough to buy a bouquet of roses
They sat on a bench in Central Park all day. Wendy packaged two servings of croissants in a cold wallet, with BTC logo painted on the cream. When the sunset dyed the Statue of Liberty golden, Lu Chen finally said the phrase he had practiced countless times: “Miss Wendy, may I exchange my private key for your public key
On Lu Chen’s birthday, Wendy mysteriously asked him to log in to his cryptocurrency wallet. When he saw an ERC-721 token called ‘Eternal Rose’, his heart skipped a beat. This is the NFT I minted using the hash value of our first transfer, “Wendy’s voice came from behind.” Now, we’re going to mint the physical version
They came to a 3D printing studio in Brooklyn. Wendy’s rose model is composed of countless micro blockchain data blocks, with each petal engraved with their chat history. When the finished product bloomed under the laser, Lu Chen discovered a ring hidden in the center of the flower, with his Bitcoin address engraved inside the ring.
This address will always belong to you, “Wendy put the ring on his ring finger,” but remember to transfer 0.0001BTC every day until forever. “Lu Chen suddenly picked her up and spun her, and the Statue of Liberty outside the window flickered in the twilight, like an eternal node on the blockchain.
On an ordinary weekend, while Lu Chen was buying fish balls at the Flushing morning market, Wendy suddenly pulled him into a small alley. She magically pulled out a Bitcoin mining machine shaped coffee pot from her canvas bag and said, “I just paid for my coffee with Lightning Network. Do you want to give it a try
They sat on the fire escape sharing coffee, Wendy’s oil paint rubbing against the collar of Lu Chen’s shirt. The sound of a subway station announcement could be heard in the distance, mixed with the buzzing of BTC mining machines. When Wendy drew the creation block in his palm, Lu Chen suddenly understood: the so-called eternity is just countless warm moments connected to eternity on the blockchain of time.
Now, whenever Lu Chen sees Wendy embedding a Bitcoin private key in her NFT works, he smiles knowingly. The USB drive with the Genesis block engraved on it was locked in the bank safe by them, with Wendy’s Eternal Rose bought at the Chelsea Flower Show next to it. In the world of blockchain, their stories are forever circulating on distributed ledgers in tiny units of 0.0001BTC.
On a rainy evening, Lu Chen discovered Wendy’s secret diary in her studio. On the yellowed page, it reads: ‘When the first block was born, I knew there would be miners who would mine eternity for me in the digital world.’ The rainwater outside the window flows through the glass, like an uninterrupted blockchain.
