"Chu Ge! You just wait!" Lightning flashed and thunder roared above the Cloud Realm Sect, as if some great enemy had invaded. A group of high-ranking elders rushed out of seclusion, only to find the Sect Master alone on the mountaintop, venting his anger.
"What are you all staring at me for? Don't you have anything better to do?" Qiu Wuji angrily flew towards the Scripture Pavilion: "I'm going to consult the scriptures. Go do whatever you need to do."
He wanted to go back and beat him up, but he held back for now. After all, it was a world-breaking traversal, and going back and forth was quite tiring…
"Wait till I find some things for you to practice on, and see how you die!"
Leaving aside Qiu Wuji's thoughts of revenge, Chu Ge, after writing this sentence, felt refreshed.
"I wonder if it worked. Hopefully it did, so she knows that the Father God isn't someone to be trifled with, and can be countered! If she doesn't retaliate a few times, her husbandly authority will be in danger."
"Serves you right for hitting me, hmph."
Chu Ge continued typing with a clear mind, when suddenly his QQ started beeping incessantly. Puzzled, he clicked on it and discovered he'd just been added to a new group.
No wonder it kept beeping… He'd clearly muted all group chats to focus on his writing, only opening a few regular groups when he felt like chatting after finishing. He hadn't chatted in any lately, not even checking his "Siblings' Quarrel" group.
Who's got such a fuss? Don't you need permission to add people to groups these days?
The group name appeared again: "Failed Driving Group."
What's so interesting about a driving group? My own "Siblings' Quarrel" group is already keeping me going with my energy drinks. Do you think I need your lewd pictures and car license plates?
Thinking this, Chu Ge instinctively reached for the "mute" button, but his gaze swept over the chat window, and he froze.
The chat window was currently filled with the same repeated message: "Those who have flopped these past few years have gone crazy. Sometimes I hide under the covers and cry secretly at night, afraid you'll find out how much of a flop I am and kick me out of the group."
"Those who have flopped these past few years have gone crazy. Sometimes I hide under the covers and cry secretly at night, afraid you'll find out how much of a flop I am and kick me out of the group."
...Repeating these messages wasn't unusual; flop groups often used this kind of spam.
However, this time the IDs were all incredibly familiar. Chu Ge immediately spotted four top-selling authors with over 10,000 subscriptions, two big names, and one who was even a platinum-level artist—all top-selling, currently trending stars, dazzlingly popular.
You call this a "Flop Driving Group"?
Where's the driving? Oh no, where's the flop? Are you referring to me?
Just then, the group admin spoke: "Just added Chu Ge, the big shot."
"Group status -1.jpg" The image arrived just in time. Chu Ge stared speechlessly at this big shot with 30,000 subscriptions, unsure where to even begin to criticize.
The repetition started again: "Group status -1.jpg"
"..." Chu Ge thought for a moment and then sent a red envelope: "Newcomer paying respects."
Then the screen was flooded with: "Thank you, boss.jpg"
Do you geniuses not need to type?
Finally, the repetition stopped, and someone got to the point: "I've read Chu Ge's book, the group portrait is amazing! You're awesome!"
Chu Ge looked at this genius and could only reply: "I grew up reading your books..."
"?" The genius replied: "I'm only eighteen this year, you've mistaken me for someone else."
Chu Ge: "..."
Damn, it's just chatting and joking around, anyone can do that. So Chu Ge became fifteen years old.
Watching a bunch of old men start acting young, Chu Ge leaned back in his chair, somewhat lost in thought.
Is this... rising grades leading to a so-called circle upgrade?
Anyway, they still look the same. What's the difference between these geniuses chatting in groups and Zhang Qiren?
Oh no, there are some differences.
For example, a popular author suddenly spoke up: "Hey, this book really flopped."
A bystander asked, "What happened?"
"My new book only got 20,000 reads..."
Chu Ge felt that if a new book only got 20,000 reads before its release, it seemed a bit doomed. Was another popular author about to fall from grace?
Before he could even think of a word of comfort, the other person added, "It's been almost a day since it was released."
Chu Ge: "?"
Another popular author said, "I just flopped. It's been three days since it was released, and I only have a little over 9,000 average reads."
Chu Ge looked at his own record of only reaching 300 reads on his fourth day of release, then at his own average read of only 5,500 after more than two months, and expressionlessly closed the group chat to go offline and heal his wounds.
Wait a minute... 5,500?
This growth rate is truly... terrifying.
A sudden surge might have an element of luck, but this sustained surge probably means the book is genuinely good, resulting in high retention and stickiness, and possibly word-of-mouth recommendations.
The only meaningful sentence from the group chat earlier flashed through Chu Ge's mind: "The ensemble writing is awesome."
Was that really the reason? Or was it just a nice way of making it easier for newcomers to integrate?
It was probably true, since switching to ensemble writing was a relatively recent development. This veteran reader wouldn't have noticed this by just flipping through a couple of chapters; they must have actually read the latest version. And a veteran reader wouldn't bother reading the latest version just to flatter you; they're genuinely following the story.
If even veteran readers are following it, it must be really good?
So… it really is the book's quality that's good?
Chu Ge leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought, unsure of his feelings for a long time, a mix of emotions swirling within him.
Chu Ge let out a long sigh and opened the "Siblings' Quarrel" group, which he hadn't opened in a long time.
The group was still lively, no less so than before, but not any more popular, because the people were still the same. This was an old reader group; he had never released a group number for this book, and the recent surge in popularity hadn't led to an increase in the number of members.
The group chat was buzzing with discussion about a school theft, and Chu Ge, realizing he'd been so engrossed in women lately that he hadn't paid attention to current events, couldn't help but ask, "Does anyone have the full story? Give me a link." The group fell silent for a moment, then someone exclaimed, "Holy crap, Chu Ge, you've finally shown up! Did this book become popular and you started a new group, leaving this one forgotten?"
Chu Ge quickly replied, "I've been in seclusion writing lately, haven't been online at all. Otherwise, how could I be updating so frequently, right?"
"We all thought you'd been abducted by aliens."
"Your seclusion is a bit ridiculous. Not only have you been silent, but you haven't even thanked any of the generous donations from the patrons."
Chu Ge broke out in a cold sweat: "Did anyone donate? I haven't even checked..." Women are a curse!
"We explained your seclusion and thanked the donors in the book review section. For now, it's fine," an administrator said. "But Chu Ge, a lot of people are asking for the group number. Shouldn't we expand the group?"
A warm feeling welled up in Chu Ge's heart.
How the book is written is another matter. He initially thought that disappearing for so many days without explanation would leave others to clean up his mess, and people would have some complaints. But it turns out everyone still cares.
"Let's expand the group. I'll get some memberships, two thousand people. I'll add a line to the introduction later." Chu Ge sent a large red envelope and added a bunch of administrators at once: "I'm currently in a high-chapter update phase, so there won't be much chat in the group. Thanks for your help… Oh, by the way, anyone want to do operations?"
"What's operations? Since when do novels need operations…"
"It's basically like being a moderator in the old book review section. Capitalists just have to come up with this term to make it sound professional."
"Moderator? I'll do it! I'll do it!" The response was enthusiastic.
"Chu-da, this book is getting better and better. Focus on high-chapter updates, we'll handle everything else."
Watching everything gradually get back on track, Chu Ge felt a little dazed.
Back when it flopped, he never imagined such a thriving scene.
I wonder how Zhang Qiren is doing now…
I tried sending him a private message, but there was no reply.
…In the Miracle Nightclub, Zhang Qiren leaned back on the office sofa, sipping a glass of red wine that cost tens of thousands of yuan.
The underground boxing matches had recently closed, and his energy seemed to be focused on managing the legitimate nightclub, giving him time to do other things… Before him stood rows of young women in black, nervously queuing for his inspection.
Zhang Qiren's gaze swept over the scene again and again, a hint of disappointment in his eyes: "They're all here?"
The red-haired youth beside him said, "Brother, there's no such thing as someone who only likes bar girls and punks in black. People change their clothes..."
Zhang Qiren was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "Never mind, if they're not here, they're not here."
A woman who looked like a madam was smiling seductively: "Which one has caught your eye, Mr. Zhang? Tonight..."
"Go back," Zhang Qiren said calmly. "The club's young models are famous, but I'm not."
Madam: "?"
Zhang Qiren looked at the drink in his glass and said softly, "Go back... They're all good-looking, but they're not what I want. They're not interesting."
He paused, then turned to the red-haired youth: "Any progress on the 'black room' matter?"
"They're very interested, but the cops are also looking for them, so they haven't dared to show their faces recently."
"It's alright..." Zhang Qiren said slowly, "Gu Ruoyan seems to have returned to Beijing... Lin Wuyang is just a section chief; he can't do anything."