Chapter 283
Penguin Tower, WeChat Business Division.
Su Wan sat in her spacious leather office chair.
Listening to the trembling report from the ground promotion supervisor on the phone, her face gradually turned livid.
"You asked for manpower, I gave it to you. You asked for money, I gave it to you. And in the end, you can't even secure a single internet cafe in the university town?!"
Even with her usual calm and collected demeanor, her defenses were completely shattered by anger in this moment, her chest heaving violently.
Su Wan couldn't understand. Why was it so difficult for her to accomplish what WeTalk did with such ease?
She then turned to look at the giant electronic screen on the wall.
The screen displayed the real-time download numbers and user feedback panel for WeChat V2.0, the "Voice Call" version.
The data was a disaster.
The curve representing new users, after a brief and minor uptick, had completely flattened out and was even showing a faint downward trend.
Even more glaring were the scrolling user comments next to it.
Negative reviews from major app stores were flooding in like a tidal wave.
"Trash Penguin, ruining my youth! What kind of garbage voice call is this? It's all static!"
"Isn't WeTalk's free voice call much better? Who would use this piece of junk?"
"Penguin has run out of ideas. They can't even pass when copying someone else's homework."
Every comment felt like a resounding slap.
Striking fiercely across the face of Su Wan, a highly educated overseas returnee.
Her proud business logic and capital operations were smashed to pieces in the face of WeTalk's overwhelming, multidimensional product experience.
"No... we haven't lost yet."
Su Wan clenched her jaw.
She had no way out. If WeChat died in her hands, she would completely lose her voice in front of the Penguin board of directors.
"Notify the tech department!"
"Everyone continues to work overtime! Even if it means no sleep, rewrite the underlying voice codec for me! It must be as smooth as WeTalk!"
High pressure descended once again, and the WeChat team was completely reduced to exhausted machines running themselves into the ground.
Another week passed.
At the cost of several programmers nearly dropping dead and being sent to the hospital, the WeChat team finally refactored the underlying code.
They polished a fluid voice call version that was basically free of latency and static.
Su Wan stood in front of the testing device, listening to the clear voice coming from within.
Her nerves, which had been stretched taut for half a month, finally relaxed a little.
"We finally caught up."
She let out a long breath.
"Prepare for a staged rollout immediately. We'll do a full release of the new version tonight."
As soon as she finished speaking.
"Bang!"
The office door was violently pushed open, and her assistant stumbled in.
"Ms... Ms. Su..."
"Why panic! Has the sky fallen?"
Su Wan frowned slightly, somewhat displeased with the assistant's recklessness.
"We... WeTalk... WeTalk has updated again!"
The assistant swallowed hard, struggling to spit out the words.
Hearing this, Su Wan's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition rushed straight to her head.
She quickly rushed to her desk and opened the WeTalk monitoring backend on her computer.
She didn't even need to search for it. WeTalk's official accounts had already simultaneously released a demonstration video of the new features for their major V2.0 update across all major platforms on the internet.
She stared intently at the screen.
In the video, it was no longer just a simple voice waveform.
Following a crisp incoming call tone, a clear, real-time video feed popped up directly on the phone screen!
Not only was the person's voice clear, but even their subtle facial expressions were visible in minute detail. The interaction was so smooth there wasn't a hint of lag!
WeTalk's video call feature was officially online!
The entire WeChat executive conference room suddenly fell into a dead silence.
Everyone stared blankly at the demonstration video on the big screen.
No one spoke; only heavy breathing echoed in the air.
This was no longer competition; it was a unilateral flex of technical prowess!
They had risked their lives and stayed up late for half a month just to barely catch up with the progress.
And the other side casually threw down a royal flush?!
Staring at the demonstration on the screen, Su Wan slumped defeatedly into her chair.
For some reason, she suddenly calmed down.
Because the capital she relied on, the endless overtime...
In this moment, all of it turned into a meaningless illusion.
......
Evening, Qinglin University's Second Cafeteria.
It was dinner time, and the cafeteria was bustling with noise.
The aroma of food mixed with the chatter of college students, brimming with the vibrant breath of life.
Gu Ran carried a stainless steel tray, navigating through the crowded throng.
He slowly walked to a quiet spot by the window.
Ye Zhenzhen was already sitting there, having saved the seats.
She was eating while looking down at a copy of "Systematic Anatomy."
"Time to eat, Dr. Ye."
Gu Ran said with a smile as he set his tray down.
The dishes they got were completely different.
Gu Ran had braised pork and stir-fried potatoes, eggplant, and peppers.
The girl had sweet and sour spare ribs and stir-fried broccoli.
After he sat down, the young girl very naturally reached out with her chopsticks and started taking food from his plate.
Gu Ran, with quick reflexes, snatched a piece of sweet and sour spare rib from her bowl and popped it into his mouth.
"Are you a dog? I already took a bite of that!"
Ye Zhenzhen glared at him, puffing her cheeks in annoyance.
Then, not to be outdone, she snatched a piece of braised pork from his plate.
"Eat more meat. Look how thin you've gotten lately; you don't even feel soft when I hug you anymore."
Gu Ran teased shamelessly.
"Hooligan! Shut up!"
A blush crept up the young girl's cheeks, and she gave him a light kick under the table.
At the surrounding tables, many students were looking down and playing with their phones.
Amidst the noise, excited discussions like "WeTalk updated" and "Holy crap, we can do video calls" could be heard from time to time.
Listening to the commotion around him, a hint of a smile flashed in Gu Ran's eyes.
He put down his chopsticks, pulled his phone out of his pocket, and opened WeTalk.
He entered the "Loving Family" group chat.
Immediately after, he pressed the brand-new "Video Call" button in the bottom right corner of the chat interface.
"Ring, ring, ring—"
The crisp and pleasant video invitation tone sounded in the corner of the noisy cafeteria.
In less than three seconds, the call connected.
The phone screen flickered, and shortly after.
The faces of Gu Xiangcheng and Ye Shulian, who were far away at home in County A, appeared clearly in the center of the screen!
"Oh my! What's going on? Gu Ran? How can I see a live person?!"
Gu Xiangcheng thought it was just another voice call.
But upon answering, his son's face actually appeared on the screen.
The crystal-clear image and the loud voice on speakerphone.
Instantly attracted the attention of several neighboring tables of college students.
They stopped their chopsticks one after another, staring dumbfounded as they discreetly peeked at Gu Ran's phone screen.
Gu Ran wasn't afraid of being watched at all. Instead, he deliberately raised his volume.
Shouting at the screen in a tone of a "loud conspiracy."
"Dad! Can you see clearly? This is the new feature WeTalk just released today, video calling!"
"From now on, when we want to see each other, we don't need to make phone calls. Just start a video chat, it's completely free! Great, isn't it?"
On the screen, Gu Xiangcheng nodded repeatedly, grinning from ear to ear.
"It's great! Really great! Aunt Ye is right next to me. The picture is so clear, and there's no static at all!"
This conversation rang out exceptionally clear and piercing in the noisy cafeteria.
The surrounding students, who were originally just watching out of curiosity, completely erupted.
"Holy crap! WeTalk can do video calls now?!"
"Are you serious? Let me see! Holy crap, the picture is this clear?"
"Damn it, Penguin's crappy voice chat lags like hell for me, and WeTalk just dropped video calling?!"
Students who hadn't updated their app yet immediately connected to the cafeteria's WiFi and hit the update button.
Those who hadn't downloaded it at all frantically searched the app store to get it.
Some even called their parents right then and there.
"Hello? Mom! Hurry up and go to the app store to download an app called 'WeTalk'! Yes, exactly, you can video call on it!"
"I'll teach you how to set it up. From now on, we can just video chat, it won't cost any phone bill!"
For a moment, the entire Second Cafeteria felt like a massive promotional event for WeTalk.
It set off a crazy frenzy of updates and downloads.
Gu Ran looked at the reactions of the people around him and smiled in satisfaction.
He spoke into his screen, "Alright, Dad, we're eating right now. I'll catch up with you guys in detail tonight when I get back to the dorm."
Hanging up the video call, he placed his phone on the table.
He then looked at Ye Zhenzhen, who was also slightly dazed by the new video feature, and his gaze unconsciously softened.
He quietly reached out his hand under the table.
He accurately caught the girl's soft little hand resting on her lap.
The girl struggled half-heartedly in a display of feigned reluctance.
Finding that she couldn't break free, she simply let him hold it.
The news of WeTalk's video call feature launching spread like a hurricane sweeping across the plains, multiplying exponentially throughout university circles nationwide.
WeTalk's download numbers, daily active users, and user online duration...
On this very day, showed an explosive, almost terrifying surge of growth once again!
......
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
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.
