novelIdeaMax Chapter 1610 3 years
Chapter 1610 3 years
At 11:30 p.m. on Friday, the headquarters building of Dingqi.com was still brightly lit.
In the tech department on the seventeenth floor, coffee cups filled the table, and Red Bull cans were piled up like a small mountain. Several programmers leaned back in ergonomic chairs, their keyboards clattering as they scrolled up line after line of code on their screens.
In half an hour, "Sword Comes" and "Six States Break" will be officially released.
One month.
For a full month, the two novels raced like two horse races on their respective tracks for thirty days. Now the finish line is in sight, and all that's left is to wait for the starting gun at midnight.
By 11 p.m., the number of favorites for "Sword Comes" had exceeded two million. This is a phenomenal achievement.
The number of collections for "The Fall of Six States" has reached 1.2 million.
The difference is obvious—a difference of 800,000, which would have been enough to make an author question their life choices in the past. But for He Han, this is already his best-performing work to date. His previous work, "Star River Era," only had around 700,000 favorites when its free period ended.
One million two hundred thousand, almost doubled.
Even Uncle Fan was caught off guard. To be honest, it was a miracle that He Han's new book could compete with "Sword Comes" for a month without being left behind. He originally thought He Han would be crushed, but "Six States Break" actually held on.
Of course, holding on is one thing, winning is another.
However, Uncle Fan doesn't care who wins.
He cares about the data.
In the past month, Dingqi.com's daily active users have reached a new high, increasing from 13 million to 16 million. The conversion rate of paying users is also climbing. The head-to-head collision between two top authors is like two huge traffic black holes, drawing the attention of the entire internet.
The board of directors was very satisfied.
If this momentum can be maintained, the year-end bonus will be a very substantial amount. Uncle Fan has already calculated that, based on the current growth curve, that money will be enough for him to buy another sea-view apartment in Sanya.
Thinking of this, Uncle Fan couldn't sit still any longer and went straight to the technical department.
Old Wu turned around from in front of the computer, adjusted his glasses, and asked, "Mr. Fan, what brings you down here?"
"I came to see you all." Uncle Fan sat down in an empty chair, crossed his hands on his knees, and glanced at the large screen on the wall.
On that screen, real-time data was scrolling—the number of online users, server load, API response time. Strings of green numbers bounced against the black background, like waveforms on a heart monitor.
"Can the server handle it?" Uncle Fan asked.
Old Wu patted his chest: "We expanded the capacity last week, no problem."
"As long as there are no problems." Uncle Fan leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the armrest. "Nothing can go wrong tonight."
Old Wu nodded and didn't say anything more.
The technical department was quiet for a few seconds, with only the sound of keyboards and the hum of the air conditioner remaining.
11:45
11:50
Uncle Fan's gaze remained fixed on the large screen. The numbers were jumping, changing every second. The number of online users jumped from eight million to nine million, and was still rising.
"There are quite a few people here," Uncle Fan muttered.
"More than the night 'Da Feng' was released," Old Wu said.
Eleven fifty-eight.
The book review section is already flooded with comments.
"Two minutes left!"
"I topped up 500 yuan, I've been waiting for this moment!"
"I'm ordering both books, I'm not sleeping tonight!"
"Victory is assured when the sword comes!"
"Go Six States, keep it up!"
The last minute before midnight felt like it was stretched out indefinitely.
Uncle Fan sat up straight.
Old Wu rested his hands on the keyboard, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.
As midnight arrived.
The review sections of both books were flooded with comments at the same moment.
"It's available! It's available!"
"Subscribed!"
"That bastard editor's ending was brilliant! He hit a major climax right before the book went live, making it impossible to put down!"
"The first chapter went viral!"
At the same time, the initial order data in the backend began to soar.
The two curves, like two crazed snakes, shot straight up on the data panel.
-
At the same time, at the Star Corporation.
All the lights in the office area were on, and takeout boxes, milk tea cups, and folders that hadn't been tidied up were scattered on the desks.
Lin Zhanqiao sat at her desk, staring at He Han's backend subscription data, her right hand unconsciously gripping the mouse cable.
Zhao Lanxin sat opposite her. Her laptop was on, but she didn't touch it at all. Her gaze went past the screen and was fixed on the numbers on Lin Zhanqiao's computer.
Ling Yikai stood by the window, arms crossed. His gaze was fixed on Lin Zhanqiao's screen, the corners of his mouth tightly pressed together.
No one else spoke.
The entire office area was so quiet that you could hear the sound of the air conditioner vents and the occasional rustling of takeout bags being blown by the wind.
"It's broken 10,000!" someone shouted.
Lin Zhanqiao's mouse cable slipped from her fingers.
"Ten minutes! Ten thousand first-day subscriptions in just ten minutes! Teacher He Han is amazing!"
"Haha, our six states are about to break the record!"
"That's amazing! They're aiming for 100,000 first-time subscribers!"
The editors jumped up from their chairs, some slamming their fists on the table, others raising their arms and shouting. Xiao Liu was so excited that he almost spilled his milk tea on the keyboard.
Lin Zhanqiao did not join in the cheering.
She simply loosened her grip on the mouse cable, leaving a faint red mark on her palm. The weight that had been pressing on her chest for a whole month could finally be lifted.
A month ago, when He Han said on the phone that she wanted to meet with Qin Hao, all she could think about was the worst possible outcome—"Six States Broken" would be crushed to dust by "Sword Comes," He Han's reputation would collapse, and the reputation of Zhixing would be ruined as well.
The result was unexpected.
The six states were breached, but the defense held firm.
Not only did it hold up, but the initial order data far exceeded expectations. He Han's previous highest initial order record was 52,000, and now it broke 10,000 in just ten minutes. At this rate, it has a good chance of breaking 100,000.
What does this mean? It means that He Han's "divinity" will be further enhanced.
Just as everyone was cheering for the first-day subscription figures of "Six States Broken", Zhao Lanxin spoke up.
The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the intervals between cheers.
"According to data just released by Dingqi.com, the first-day subscription for 'Sword Comes' has exceeded 60,000."
The cheers abruptly stopped.
It sounded like someone had pressed the mute button.
The air in the entire office area seemed to freeze for a moment.
"Sixty thousand?" someone repeated in a low voice.
"Over 60,000 orders in just ten minutes..."
"This is too insane!"
"As expected of Teacher Qin Hao, he's amazing!"
"Is this the power of a supreme deity in the online literature world?"
"I originally thought Mr. He's grades were already quite impressive, but I never expected there to be even more outrageous ones..."
Whispers buzzed like mosquitoes in the office area.
This gap isn't just "almost there," it's an order of magnitude difference.
Lin Zhanqiao cleared her throat.
The sound wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.
There's no need to focus on other people's grades.
Her tone was steady, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
"We've already achieved a remarkable result. Let's celebrate together when the first-order results for the next 24 hours come out tomorrow!"
"This book by Professor He Han was a collective effort. From operations and promotion to securing recommendation slots—every step of the process deserves your credit. Tonight's data is a victory for our Zhixing team."
The editors looked at each other for a couple of seconds, and then someone started clapping.
"Mr. Lin is right!"
"Teacher He Han is awesome!"
"Celebrate! We must celebrate!"
Morale was boosted again.
Zhao Lanxin did not applaud.
She glanced at Lin Zhanqiao, her gaze holding something indescribable. Then she shifted her gaze to Ling Yikai by the window.
Ling Yikai wasn't looking at the data.
He was looking at Lin Zhanqiao.
There was admiration in his eyes.
Zhao Lanxin gave a soft snort, looked away, and closed the laptop in front of her.
-
The next day.
It was seven o'clock in the morning, just as dawn was breaking.
Most office workers are either dozing off on the subway or already on their way to work.
Dingqi.com is experiencing its second peak in traffic.
Those who rushed to subscribe at midnight last night were die-hard fans—they paid, waited until midnight, and subscribed without missing a second. But most people were ordinary readers who only learned about the news this morning. They opened the Dingqi.com app and found two banners hanging on the homepage.
One of them is a poster for the release of "Sword Comes", with the words "First subscriptions exceeded 150,000" in gold.
The other poster is for "Six States Broken," with the words "First Pre-orders Exceed 60,000" in red, next to a landscape painting in ink.
The two banners hung side by side, like two battle flags.
The debate over whether "Sword Comes" or "Six States Break" is better has once again ignited a frenzy online.
On Weibo, the hashtag #WhoIsTheNumberOneActiveOnlineWriter# tripled in views overnight, soaring from 300 million to 900 million. On Zhihu, the question garnered over a thousand more answers, and explanatory videos on Bilibili sprang up like mushrooms after rain.
This was naturally facilitated by both Zixing and Dingqi.com, each contributing their own efforts behind the scenes.
On the Zhixing side, the operations team created several short videos featuring He Han, edited reader comments from the book review section, added upbeat background music, and released them on short video platforms. Dingqi.com went even further; Uncle Fan directly had the operations department create a comparison chart—the first-day subscription data curves of the two books were overlaid, making the difference immediately apparent.
The comparison photos caused an uproar in the comments section.
"The difference is just too big..."
"He Han is already incredibly impressive, okay? One hundred thousand in initial orders! That used to be the ceiling!"
"Unfortunately, we ran into that monster, the steward."
"The manager is awesome!"
"Go He Han!"
The battle between the two sides' fans has never stopped.
"Six States Break" certainly doesn't have as many fans as "Sword Comes," after all, there's a significant difference between 1.2 million and 2 million collections. However, He Han has never missed an update over the years, updating day after day, accumulating a group of loyal fans. These loyal fans are very dedicated, fiercely defending "Six States Break"'s core fanbase in the book review section, refusing to give an inch.
Time slipped away amidst the arguments.
Daytime turned into evening, and evening turned into night.
11:50 p.m.
There are ten minutes left until the first order deadline.
At this moment, the initial subscription data for "Six States Broken" has reached 115,000.
The first subscription for "Sword Comes" was 380,000.
The gap is already over 260,000.
The answer to the question of who is the number one active online writer is no longer in doubt.
However, He Han's supporters did not collapse. The initial subscription of 115,000 is already He Han's highest record to date. Whether die-hard fans or casual readers, everyone praised his courage in taking a stand.
"Although he can't compare to the head steward, He Han really went all out this time."
"An initial order of 115,000 is a top-tier achievement in any era."
"He Han is awesome! Daring to confront them head-on is a victory in itself!"
As for Qin Hao's side—the initial subscription of 380,000 has broken the record for the highest initial subscription in the history of online literature.
The only remaining question is how high "Sword Comes" will push this mountain peak.
At this moment, on the large screen in the Dingqi.com technology department, the number of online users is less than two million. Most readers have already paid and exited the app, with only a few subscriptions still pouring in.
Uncle Fan stared at the number, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up.
390,000.
He glanced at the curve next to him again—it was still rising, albeit slowly.
Midnight.
The data jumped one last time.
39.1 million.
Uncle Fan stood up and patted Old Wu on the shoulder.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Old Wu breathed a sigh of relief: "Thankfully, nothing went wrong."
Uncle Fan turned and walked out of the technical department, took out his phone, and dialed the number of Xiao Zhao, the operations manager.
"Xiao Zhao, the initial order figures are in: 391,000. Quickly make the posters and upload them to the website homepage. Also, don't neglect off-site promotion; let's capitalize on this momentum and create another buzz."
"Yes, Mr. Fan, I'll arrange it right away."
"The poster should say 'Highest First-Day Subscription Record in Online Literature History,' in large font and a bright color. Also, include He Han's first-day subscription data—a comparison of the two books, you get what I mean?"
Xiao Zhao paused for a moment, then smiled: "I understand."
"Go."
Uncle Fan hung up the phone, stood in the corridor, and stared at the night view outside the window.
The city lights spread out before my eyes, like a giant chessboard.
-
The first day of bookings has ended.
He Han leaned against the headboard of the hotel room and let out a long sigh.
On the phone screen, the final first-order figure for "Six States Break" was 122,315.
122,000.
He was already very satisfied with this result. Although it was less than a third of Qin Hao's, it was already the peak of his writing career. More importantly, he dared to fight.
He really did hit him.
And they weren't knocked down.
He Han was about to put down his phone to take a shower when the screen lit up.
Caller ID: Qin Hao.
He answered the call.
"How are you? Not too upset, are you?"
He Han said irritably, "Anyway, it's not the first time."
"That's true." Qin Hao's tone carried the casualness of old friends. "But you've definitely done much better this time than before. 120,000 in initial orders, not bad."
"Come on."
"Really, I've read a few chapters, and it's well-written."
He Han didn't reply. He knew Qin Hao wasn't just being polite—Qin Hao was never polite. If he said it was good, it really was good.
After a few seconds of silence, He Han spoke.
"One day I will surpass you."
He said it very softly, as if he were talking to himself.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.
Then Qin Hao smiled, not the teasing smile from before, but a more complex smile, tinged with a sense of relief.
"Then you'd better step up your game." His tone suddenly became somewhat casual: "Don't wait until I've retired from the industry and there's still no sign of anything."
He Han was stunned for a moment.
"Retiring from the industry?"
"Hmm." Qin Hao's tone was very calm: "I plan to retire from the entertainment industry after fulfilling my three-year contract with Dingqi.com."
He Han sat up straight on the bed.
"What did you say?"
"Retiring from the industry. I'm not writing anymore."
"What? Planning to travel the world again like last time?"
"I've been to all the must-see places abroad, it's not very interesting anymore." Qin Hao paused for a moment, then added, "I plan to travel around China a bit."
"You don't need to quit the scene, right? Just come back when you've had your fill."
"No."
Qin Hao's tone was decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
"You guys are too weak, it's not fun to beat you up."
"Get lost!" He Han said irritably.
Qin Hao chuckled.
After laughing, his voice returned to its usual casual tone.
"Mainly, I've earned enough money, and it's time to start enjoying life. I've been writing books for so many years, but I haven't really had any real fun yet."
He Han leaned back against the headboard and stared at the ceiling.
"You're so young and you're already thinking about retirement?"
"If you don't have fun when you're young, are you going to regret it when you're too old to enjoy it?"
He Han was speechless.
He had to admit that while Qin Hao's words sounded unreliable, the logic was sound. Qin Hao's current income was already astronomical. Five works, each a top seller on Dingqi.com, brought in royalties, film and television adaptation rights, game licenses... As long as he didn't start a business or get involved in gambling or drugs, he could never spend it all in his lifetime.
Anyone else would have retired long ago. Qin Hao has been very diligent to keep writing until today.
"So what are your plans after you retire?"
"I haven't decided yet. Let's just drive around and see what it's like."
He Han smiled and didn't ask any further questions.
Qin Hao suddenly lowered his voice: "By the way, don't tell anyone about this."
Do I look like a gossipy person to you?
"I don't know about others," Qin Hao said with the certainty of someone who's been through it all. "If Lin Zhanqiao asked, would you not tell me?"
He Han opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
"Okay, I'm hanging up."
He Han pressed the hang-up button and threw his phone onto the pillow.
The room fell silent again.
The city outside the window had fallen into night, with only a few scattered lights flickering among the distant buildings. He Han stared at the ceiling, Qin Hao's words still echoing in his mind.
Retiring from the entertainment industry.
Three years.
In other words, he only has three years to surpass Qin Hao. (End of Chapter)