Chapter 0266: Airing

Even Zhao Fusheng himself hadn't expected that the New Year's Day of 2000 would become such an important day for him.

But the facts were right before his eyes: the virtual community's registered users claimed to have surpassed 400,000, and the advertisements for Brain Gold and Aipu Mobile were airing—all of these things happened to converge on this very day.

Many events over the past six months had been unforeseen. Some began with grand openings only to end as farces. Others started as comedies but turned into tragedies. Amid the interweaving of joy and sorrow, Zhao Fusheng walked into the final years of the twentieth century. Scene after scene of opening gongs, song after song of closing elegies, like a sigh.

In distant Hong Kong, a grand ceremony was underway at Happy Valley. Sister Mei at the edge of the venue smiled like a flower, whispering something to Zhang Guorong beside her, whose eyes shimmered with emotion.

Zhang Guorong hesitated but finally nodded.

The host of the celebration was the Chief Executive. After the son of the shipping magnate finished his speech, the stars rode in on horseback, the scene grand and splendid—this was the last afterglow of Hong Kong's entertainment industry in the 1990s.

And in Beijing, in front of Tiananmen, the crowd surged, traffic blocked.

Mobile phones were not yet common, and people's watches were not synchronized. As the New Year approached, multiple versions of countdowns echoed across the square. In the end, cheers drowned out the awkwardness, and the new century arrived amid chaos.

Zhao Fusheng, meanwhile, sat in front of his computer, opened the OICQ account he had just applied for, and looked at his friend list, which was empty except for a few roommates. A stroke of inspiration led him to find the customer service number.

"Hello," Zhao Fusheng typed.

"Hello, how may I assist you?"

Not surprisingly, as if by fate, the customer service replied quickly.

"I can't search for friends," Zhao Fusheng tilted his head, thought for a moment, and typed.

"Due to a millennium bug virus on the server, we are working on repairs. Please wait," the customer service seemed patient, though the reply was not fast, the content was detailed.

Zhao Fusheng smiled. He suddenly typed: "Are you a bot or a human?"

"?"

The other side replied with a question mark, but the answer was already obvious.

A smile curled at the corner of Zhao Fusheng's mouth. The reason he did this was that he remembered reading a biography about someone, saying that on the night of the millennium New Year's Eve, because employees who went out to welcome the new year were stuck in traffic, Boss Ma personally served as customer service all night.

That's right, although when the software first launched, he had also pretended to be a girl to chat, but this time, he truly worked as customer service.

And from the looks of it, he seemed quite competent.

"Nothing, I just feel you're not a bot," Zhao Fusheng continued typing on the keyboard. Wang Zhen had already gone to sleep, Dong Guoxiang wasn't around, and he sat alone in front of the computer, quite bored.

"Thank you for the compliment. I am indeed not a bot." The little penguin on the other side flickered.

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and typed a few words: "Actually, I think your software could add some features."

"?" The other side typed another question mark.

Zhao Fusheng smiled, thought for a moment, and said: "For example, you could add things like email, chat rooms, etc., to make communication more convenient, like video, voice, and so on."

"Interesting," the person replied after a long while.

Soon, a very ordinary five-digit number added Zhao Fusheng as a friend.

A smile curled at the corner of Zhao Fusheng's mouth. He clicked to add.

"Customer service?" Zhao Fusheng typed first.

The other side was silent for a while, as if busy, and replied after a long time: "Yes."

"Are you in R&D?" Zhao Fusheng didn't ask for the person's name but inquired directly.

"Yes," the person replied, then asked: "You too?"

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "I run a virtual community. Heard of MyHome?"

"I know," the person paused, then typed: "I've played it. Not bad."

A smile curled at the corner of Zhao Fusheng's mouth: "It's okay."

"Your suggestion is very interesting," after a moment of silence, the person continued typing. His screen name was interesting—four English letters: Pony.

Zhao Fusheng didn't speak. After thinking, he typed: "Just some immature ideas. Something came up, I'm logging off."

With that, he went offline immediately.

The person on the other end clearly hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to log off so suddenly. He was stunned for several minutes before suddenly realizing that he had been left hanging by that guy.

"Interesting young man," Pony shook his head and also logged off, because he heard footsteps—his subordinates should have returned.

And Zhao Fusheng, away from the computer, revealed a strange smile. He was looking forward to what his future exchanges with this Pony would be like.

Checking the time, Zhao Fusheng didn't continue waiting for the New Year but directly fell asleep on the sofa.

Early the next morning, he was shaken awake by Wang Zhen.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Fusheng looked at Wang Zhen in surprise, utterly confused.

Wang Zhen pointed at the user backend and said: "It's gone up a lot, almost 400,000 now."

Zhao Fusheng found it a bit strange but wasn't surprised. This was a period of rapid internet development, reaching 400,000 registered users in two months, especially with the help of a navigation page.

It was like a person who runs very fast, comparable to the 100-meter sprinter Usain Bolt, but then he's also sitting on a rocket. If he still couldn't outrun a group of ordinary people, that would be a joke.

Soon, Dong Guoxiang also arrived. Although it was New Year's Day, he hadn't gone home, and being near graduation as a senior, he didn't need to prepare for final exams.

"You guys handle it. I'll go buy breakfast for you," Zhao Fusheng said to Wang Zhen and Dong Guoxiang.

When it came to technical matters, Dong Guoxiang knew best, followed by Wang Zhen. As for himself, he was at best a dabbler, having no prior foundation and only learning a bit temporarily.

Professional matters should be left to professionals—Zhao Fusheng was well aware of this.

When he returned with breakfast and turned on the TV, the first ad he saw made him feel terrible.

"No gifts this holiday season; gifts only accept Brain Gold!"

"For parents, Brain Gold!"

Although he had written this himself, Zhao Fusheng blinked and decided not to tell his parents or relatives. Otherwise, he couldn't guarantee they wouldn't laugh their heads off when they saw him.

To be honest, aside from its carpet-bombing brainwashing, Zhao Fusheng couldn't find any other merits for this ad.

But you had to admit that this kind of carpet-bombing brainwashing made Brain Gold the first truly health supplement brand in China.

Next came the moment to witness the miracle.

Phone in hand, Zhao Fusheng silently waited for the result.