Chapter 220
Half a month later.
Shenzhen, Penguin Headquarters.
The atmosphere was so stifling that it was hard to breathe.
Liang Dong stood in the center of the conference room, his eyes sunken, his usually refined face written all over with exhaustion.
He had not had a good night's sleep in a week.
On the large screen, the interfaces of two apps stood side by side.
On the left was the WeChat V1.0 that their team had spent countless hours painstakingly recreating pixel by pixel.
On the right was the latest V1.2 version of WeChat.
Just three days ago, WeChat had undergone a major version update.
Besides a complete optimization of the UI, they had also launched two brand-new features.
People Nearby and Message in a Bottle.
These two features ruthlessly hit the restless hormones of young users.
...According to our data, WeChat's registered users have surpassed five million in the past half month. Daily active users are stable at over three million.
Liang Dong's voice was as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing together.
They used the most simple and brutal cash-burning method to almost monopolize the social market of all key universities nationwide in an extremely short period.
Although our WeChat is almost identical in function to their V1.0 version, we... we have missed the best time to enter the market.
At the conference table, the executives were dead silent.
Looking at the comparison chart, a sense of powerlessness washed over them.
They had finally finished copying the homework.
Only to find out that the other guy had already finished the next set of exam papers.
This feeling was too frustrating.
In the main seat, Pony Ma's face was grim.
He stared dead at the two new features of WeChat on the screen without saying a word.
People Nearby... Message in a Bottle...
What lay behind these two seemingly simple features was a profound insight into human nature and social needs.
Just what was the background of that young man named Gu Ran?
Pony Ma...
Tony Zhang spoke cautiously.
What... what do we do now? Should WeChat still go online as planned?
Launch it!
Pony Ma slammed his hand on the table, his voice carrying an uncontrollable fury.
Not only launch it, but push it with every means possible!
QQ pop-ups, bundled installations, forced upgrades! I do not care what methods you use, within a week, I want WeChat's installation numbers to surpass WeChat's!
I refuse to believe that with eight hundred million users, I cannot beat a team of students!
Pony Ma's eyes were bloodshot.
It had been a long time since he lost his composure like this.
Since founding Penguin, he had always been the industry leader, the rule-maker.
He was used to looking down on everyone, used to using his own sheer size to crush all opponents.
But this time, he actually felt fear from a nameless young man.
...
WeChat officially launched.
Overwhelming promotion, accompanied by QQ's almost thuggish forced traffic diversion, swept across the entire internet.
Countless users, upon logging into QQ, would be greeted with an unignorable pop-up.
Congratulations on obtaining the WeChat closed beta qualification.
Whether they clicked it or not, the green icon would appear in the bottom right corner of their computer, forcibly taking up residence.
This overbearing and unreasonable promotion method.
Allowed WeChat's installations to break ten million in just three short days.
When the data was reported to Penguin Headquarters, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
I told you so, in the face of absolute traffic, all tricks are just flashy gimmicks.
That WeChat is probably crying in the bathroom right now, right?
Heh, he is still too green to fight us.
However, just when everyone thought the war was over.
A new data report extinguished everyone's passion.
[One week after WeChat's launch, the active user retention rate is less than five percent.]
[Over ninety percent of users, after experiencing WeChat, chose to uninstall it or never opened it again.]
In the conference room.
Pony Ma looked at the report, his hands trembling slightly.
Why?
He looked up, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
Who can tell me, why on earth is this?!
Liang Dong stood up, his face paler than last time.
Pony Ma, I did some user research.
Most users' feedback is—my friends, classmates, and teachers are all using WeChat. Why should I use a WeChat that has the exact same functions but where I do not know a single person?
The core of a social app is not its functions, but... the relationship chain.
They lost.
Lost completely and utterly.
The so-called traffic advantage.
Was vulnerable and weak in front of the solid social barrier that WeChat had already built.
They could force users to install WeChat.
But they could not force the users' friends to migrate with them.
That young man named Gu Ran, he used half a month.
To dig an insurmountable moat that the Penguin Empire could not cross.
Good... well played, Gu Ran...
Pony Ma slumped back in his chair, his eyes losing focus.
...
Qinglin, GR Games Company.
The boss is awesome! We won!
Hahaha, I knew it! If we follow the boss, we will feast!
Penguin is nothing! In front of our boss, they are just little kids!
A group of tech nerds held up their sodas, cheering and jumping for joy.
Gu Ran stood by the window, quietly looking at his phone.
On the screen was a Moments post that Ye Zhenzhen had just updated.
[Dr. Ye: The weather is great today, the sunshine is great, and you... are also great. [Picture]]
The picture was a selfie of the young girl.
She was wearing a sky-blue shirt and white jeans.
Standing in the sunlight, smiling with her eyes curving into crescents.
Gu Ran looked at that smiling face, his eyes unconsciously softening.
He tapped on the comments and replied.
[Silly Bear: How great?]
Ding dong.
The phone quickly received a reply.
[Dr. Ye: So great that... I want you to stay by my side forever.]
Gu Ran's heart skipped a beat.
He put away his phone, turned around, and said to the crowd still celebrating.
Everyone.
Everyone quieted down and looked at him.
Defeating WeChat is only the first step of our Long March.
Our journey is the sea of stars.
He raised the soda in his hand and spoke loudly.
To our opponents.
And to... this great era.
Outside the window, a bright moon hung high in the night sky.
A new legend had only just begun.
......
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
