DNF's market trend is still on the rise.
At the end of January, just 23 days after DNF's launch, the number of concurrent online users exceeded 1 million.
In less than a month, it set an unprecedented record in the history of Chinese online games.
Before DNF, the following games had reached one million concurrent online users:
Fantasy Westward Journey took 22 months to reach one million concurrent online users.
WOW took 36 months to reach one million concurrent online users.
ZT took 12 months to reach one million concurrent online users.
DNF took 23 days to reach one million concurrent online users.
Moreover, Fantasy Westward Journey and ZT achieved this million-player mark based on allowing multiple accounts to run simultaneously, but DNF does not allow dual-logging.
Such achievements astounded many in the industry.
Game News even ran three large characters on its front page: "The wolf is coming!"
In addition to the game's own quality, such achievements are also related to Renren.com's extensive promotion and well-performing servers.
Accompanying the ultra-high popularity were endless praises and significantly increased revenue.
DNF spawned a "brick-moving" industry, with many people earning money by playing the game.
In fact, whether a game is popular can largely be glimpsed by how many "brick-moving" players it has internally.
Tian Hongrui's management of DNF is also quite strict.
Against the emerging plug-ins on the market, Renren.com, together with the Wujiang District Public Security Bureau, directly pursued them across provinces, striking at the heart of the problem.
After all, a large part of the reason for the decline of Legend back then was due to plug-ins.
DNF's strong rise diverted some players from "World of Warcraft" and "ZT," causing other companies' online numbers to drop, and also making other manufacturers pay more attention to introducing games from other countries and regions.
According to unofficial sources, Ding Sanshi has already planned to backstab The9 and has begun negotiations with Blizzard, preparing to snatch the agency rights for World of Warcraft in mainland China.
Tencent also announced that its "CrossFire" officially started internal testing and will begin public beta later.
After receiving the revenue report for January, Chen Pingjiang smiled so wide his mouth split open.
He truly deserves the title of "King of Gold Absorption."
In less than a month, it actually generated nearly 200 million in revenue.
Even taking six-tenths of that, Renren.com could get 120 million, which already earned back the agency fee.
Terrifying!
It's absolutely true that DNF doesn't make money from the poor.
As a client-side game, DNF has too many ways to attract money.
Tens of thousands of RMB for reinforcement and amplification are just a drop in the bucket; back then, a big shot prepared three million RMB to enhance Xu Xu Bao's equipment, which illustrates the point.
The recently launched Spring Festival gift packages are even more money-making experts, with extra rewards for repeated purchases.
In early February, DNF pressed on with its success, engaging in cross-border collaborations with multiple brands.
First among them was Merchants Bank Credit Card, in addition to KFC and Wahaha.
Chen Pingjiang is no longer satisfied with the product itself and has begun to build IP value.
This type of cross-border collaboration, on one hand, brought huge traffic to the game itself, gaining frequent exposure, and on the other hand, affirmed the commercial value of the game IP.
What people talked about even more was that Tian Hongrui and Qidian Chinese Network in Shanghai jointly launched a writing contest about DNF.
In 2007, online games were a very popular theme on Qidian Chinese Network.
Whether it was "Starting From Zero," "Online Game World," or "Blood Boiling Beast," they all had a large number of readers.
And DNF, to some extent, is very suitable as a carrier for online literature.
......
New Year's Day in 2008 was February 7th, so there weren't many days left.
Before going home, Chen Pingjiang still had to make time to finalize the financing for Zhizhen Catering.
Originally, the financing was supposed to be done at the beginning of January, but it coincided with the launch of DNF, so after comprehensive consideration, it was delayed.
After the news of Chen Pingjiang's catering company seeking financing spread through He Zhiyu's small circle, some local enterprises and bosses in Dongjiang expressed interest.
Mainly, Chen Pingjiang's name itself is a golden signboard.
Some people didn't even care about investment returns, being quite satisfied as long as they had a chance to connect with Chen Pingjiang.
After He Zhiyu mentioned it in his business circle, a group of people clamored,
"Why even hold a financing reception? We can just divide it up!"
Who doesn't know that He Zhiyu, Liu Cheng, and others have seen their wealth grow day by day since following Chen Pingjiang?
However, this proposal was rejected by Chen Pingjiang.
He Zhiyu was quite diligent in his work, contacting people everywhere, but soon the tables turned, with more and more people actively seeking him out through connections to ask for invitations.
This made He Zhiyu feel a bit exasperated, not expecting people to rush to give money.
Originally, the number of guests for the reception was planned to be within thirty, but it was repeatedly increased, eventually reaching fifty people.
Even this wasn't enough; several old connections still called He Zhiyu through various channels, making He Zhiyu a popular figure for a while.
But no matter what, He Zhiyu no longer agreed to add more people, as it would become crowded and mixed.
For this, He Zhiyu came up with a bold move, announcing that this was a financing reception, not a messy social mixer, and attendees must have a genuine investment intention, so participants must pay a 5 million deposit.
Amidst a lively buzz, the Zhizhen Catering Group financing reception was held.
Chen Pingjiang, Ge Mengshi, and the heads of their three brands attended together.
The most nervous among them was Zhu Yuanlan, who, having only graduated from high school, couldn't imagine having the opportunity to attend such a grand event, making her extremely nervous.
It was her first time wearing an evening gown, and she was afraid of revealing too much or making a fool of herself.
In the past year and a half, Zhu Yuanlan's life had undergone earth-shattering changes.
From a migrant worker, she transformed into a middle to high-level corporate manager, which was dreamlike.
She recently bought a second-hand house in Dongjiang and brought her parents from her hometown, and the family of three lives happily together.
Zhu Yuanlan clearly knew who gave her today's stage and opportunity.
When the Panamera picked up Ge Mengshi, Chen Pingjiang's eyes went wide.
Today's Ge Mengshi was so different.
She took off her usual work suit and put on a pure black gown, exuding full femininity.
Her long, wavy hair fell naturally, and the halter dress perfectly displayed her fair, jade-like shoulders.
Her "one-word" collarbone, which was the most striking, perfectly fit Chen Pingjiang's aesthetic.
Crystalline jewelry shimmered with strange light under the setting sun's glow.
A golden chain gently tied into a butterfly knot at her waist further accentuated Ge Mengshi's slender figure.
Her fair back dazzled Chen Pingjiang, making him involuntarily swallow and joke,
"It's such a beautiful back; it'd be a pity not to get cupping done."
Ge Mengshi indeed had a good figure, with curves where they should be and slenderness where appropriate.
Due to regular exercise, her upper arms were neither flabby nor skinny like bamboo sticks.
What was even more different from Yan Yan was that, faced with Chen Pingjiang's ardent gaze, Ge Mengshi showed no shyness, but a confident smile, full of charisma and charm.
"If you like, I'll get cupping done for you to see later."
Oh, wow!
Chen Pingjiang felt that today Ge Mengshi was a little different; usually, Ge Mengshi wouldn't say such bold things.
What he didn't know was that Ge Mengshi's previous dresses for receptions were all conservative styles, never exposing her shoulders or back.
Today, under Qin Suqin's strong recommendation, she put on a "battle dress."
"Shishi, trust me, be bolder today, show your charm, and utterly enchant him."
When they arrived at the hotel, Qin Suqin, Nan Xinzhi, and Zhu Yuanlan, the "three golden flowers," had already been waiting for a while.
Chen Pingjiang led the way, with the four beautiful women following closely into the elevator.
Seeing Chen Pingjiang's demeanor, He Zhiyu couldn't help but give a thumbs-up:
"Goodness, does your company specialize in producing beauties? When you all come out together, the aura is too strong."
Zhizhen Catering's management configuration might not even find a replica domestically.
Cold and elegant like Ge Mengshi, shy like Zhu Yuanlan, and with the charm of mature women like Qin Suqin and Nan Xinzhi, Chen Pingjiang couldn't help but nod:
"Our company internally calls it the Iron Lady Corps; they are very capable."
Outsiders who didn't understand showed ambiguous smiles on their faces upon seeing Chen Pingjiang and his group.
Normal people would think that the young Chen Pingjiang had some special preference.
Chen Pingjiang could only spread his hands helplessly.
Zhu Yuanlan was an old employee, Ge Mengshi was poached and brought Qin Suqin and Nan Xinzhi, which ultimately led to this situation.
Upon entering the venue, the other three dispersed, with only He Zhiyu and Ge Mengshi following Chen Pingjiang.
Immediately, everyone's attention was drawn to them.
Currently, Chen Pingjiang's name is very hot, whether in Dongjiang City or even nationwide.
Some even speculated that once Renren.com successfully goes public, Chen Pingjiang might even have the strength to rank among the top three richest in the country.
But honestly, Chen Pingjiang was not very interested in the so-called rich list, preferring to quietly make a fortune.
As He Zhiyu kept introducing him, Chen Pingjiang was always surrounded by groups of three to five people.
Ge Mengshi, who was by his side, always had that spirited, eloquent figure in her pupils.
Just a year ago, Chen Pingjiang, attending a reception, needed to secretly make a fake invitation, and was as humble as a minion, unnoticed by anyone.
But a year later today, he has become the unique focal point of the venue.
Some bosses even brought their young and beautiful daughters to Chen Pingjiang, and if it weren't for the deterrent presence of Ge Mengshi, they would probably have been even more proactive.
"Chairman Chen, Chairman Chen, hello, I am... I've long admired you from afar, and seeing you today, you truly live up to your reputation."
"Mr. Chen, our company is very interested in Zhizhen Catering's financing plan. When would it be convenient to have an in-depth discussion?"
"Mr. Chen, hello, I am..."
Most people came with the idea of making friends; financing was just secondary, entirely used as a bridge to get acquainted with Chen Pingjiang.
This twenty-year-old young man, rumored to be incredibly skilled, was a genuine God of Wealth.
Some busybodies on the internet even Photoshopped Chen Pingjiang into the image of the God of Wealth.
Everyone has seen wealthy people, but there are few self-made bosses this young in the entire world.
(End of Chapter)