Age of Legends

Chapter 359 You've had too much to drink!

“Setting rules…you mean…” Jiang Rong stared at Zhang Chen, not understanding what this eighteen-year-old boy, who had just left the realm of adolescence, wanted to do.

Moreover, does he even know what he's saying?

Rules can be a market, a situation, a law, or even a set of conventions that many people have agreed upon.

The reason rules are formed is that they possess an invisible binding force, which can restrain people and guide them to develop in the predetermined direction of the rules.

It's not something anyone can just say they want to break free or start over.

Because the binding force may come from higher-level laws, from capital, or even from personal connections, the cost of violating them is very high.

To redefine the rules, you need power. Power is broad; it could be holding an official position, having influence, or possessing resources. Use these to develop the rules.

So now, does this young man in front of me have it?

If it weren't for Zhang Chen, she would have scoffed at anyone who spoke to her like this. She wasn't some greenhorn anymore; she was a seasoned professional, having led her own projects. Even ordinary social activists wouldn't be able to influence her. She might even politely smile at those with ulterior motives who were trying to deceive her.

But the person in front of him was none other than Zhang Chen.

So all she would say to him was, "What are your plans?"
“TV stations control the traditional screen, and the traditional structure is already set. That is, without official backing and substantial funding, it is absolutely impossible to enter this field.” Zhang Chen took a sip of beer to moisten his throat.

Jiang Rong nodded. She enjoyed listening to Zhang Chen tell stories and describe the details. She didn't know where his thoughts and knowledge came from. Even if it was just the accumulation of daily knowledge and the fantasies he imagined, what people call daydreams, she wanted to hear about his fantasies too.

Zhang Chen said, "But TV stations are also competing for these screens. They make better programs and buy various copyrights to capture people's attention and gain market share."

Jiang Rong said, "Isn't that just the viewership ratings?"

"Yes, if we create content, we can only cooperate with TV stations. We might gain some influence if our content is good. But ultimately, it's all about the revenue sharing of traditional TV stations. In the end, the platform is still in their hands. They ultimately hold all the power."

Jiang Rong pondered for a moment and then hummed in agreement, her bright eyes looking over. "That's certainly true. What can we do?"

"The traditional landscape of television is deeply entrenched and unbreakable. If the world continues to develop in this way, there's nothing I can do. But fortunately, we can see that the world order is changing."

Countless things are emerging, and the birth of new things is like magic, ultimately profoundly impacting and changing the world around us.

Zhang Chen said, "I can relate to that. Before the internet, Wang Shuowei and I played single-player games on a LAN. Back then, in internet cafes, you'd log in to Diablo and there would be a bunch of people's IDs. Even if you logged into your own account, someone else might be playing it. If you wanted to play your own account, you had to wait for a specific machine. After the internet came along, the world started changing rapidly. Forums appeared, forum games appeared, and then online games developed."

"If things continue like this, will there come a day when computer screens can also be seen as a new type of screen? There will be enough things to do on this screen: play games. And when the internet speed is faster in the future, you can play large-scale online games and even watch high-definition videos and movies. That era will be different again."

"Currently, mobile phones are still keypad phones. What if, with the advancement of technology, mobile phones also become small-screen devices? At that time, television will no longer be a single-screen medium, and everyone in the world will have their own small screen. When that era arrives, what will we be able to grasp?"

Jiang Rong listened, speechless. This was partly because she wasn't a science fiction fan; a true sci-fi fan could imagine such a future world that countless people had proposed. But she was ultimately more inclined towards the humanities, lacking a scientific background, though that didn't stop her from finding Zhang Chen's explanation incredibly creative.

Not to mention that they created many things from scratch together, generating a huge response from the outside world. Without those achievements, without "Emotional Mediation Room," without "Seven-Day Promise," Zhang Chen's talk would be nothing but wishful thinking. She could only listen and imagine how wonderful the science fiction world was.

But the key is that she experienced those battles, the process of bringing imagination to life from nothing, and more importantly, these things came from Zhang Chen's mouth. Now she has an extreme reliance on this boy; to the point that if Zhang Chen says aliens might come to Earth in the future, she'll think about what to do then and how to face them.

To be honest, it's all about immersion.

Because she felt these things were actually possible, she became quite engrossed in them.

"Could we compete for those screens? There are many ways to control those screens. Maybe we can build some communities, and control the current computer screens first. When the time is right, we can build online platforms, and in the future, it won't be TV stations that control computer and mobile phone screens, but these platforms. Or, we can manufacture these screens ourselves and sell them to people all over the world, letting them buy our screens, watch our content, and yes, get caught up in the metaverse we've built."

Zhang Chen couldn't find any adjectives to use, so he used the outdated term "metaverse".

But this meaning is definitely not that meaning.

But Jiang Rong thought the idea was absolutely brilliant; they were currently suffering from the exploitation by the TV station. Zhang Chen said that was the power of a platform. And how could one acquire such power? By building their own platform.

"This is an era of explosive growth in information and technology. The future will be accompanied by the Internet and the rapid upgrades of software and hardware. There is a Moore's Law in the Internet field, which means that every eighteen months, the performance of integrated circuits that can be bought for the same price will double."

The world we see appears to be a world of sunrise and sunset, with new things being born every day—breakthroughs in the internet field, new devices appearing. But in the realm of high-precision manufacturing, miracles are actually happening every day.

Once humans enter the nanoworld, they will find that they are manufacturing electronic components on extremely small scales, much like building skyscrapers. This has turned previously enormous semiconductor structures into devices smaller than a human hair.

The greatest achievement in human society on a macro level is the urbanization process brought about by industry, which has resulted in countless skyscrapers and intricate urban rail transit systems. However, on a micro scale, humanity is creating countless sophisticated structural components resembling real-world metropolises every day, and this is the fundamental source of progress in the human world.

"Moore's Law has lasted for decades and is still valid today. Although I don't know if it will remain valid in the future, it may slow down due to physical limitations. But what is certain is that development will be rapid. Just look at the rapid development of the internet. Before, it was 56k, but now ADSL is becoming widespread in Fuzhou. This trend will spread to major cities across the country and eventually cover all cities and towns. In the future, there should be online video platforms that will replace the role of television stations. And we must prepare for this."

Jiang Rong opened her mouth slightly: "Then, what can we do..."

"With current broadband speeds still insufficient, new strategies are needed to avoid TV stations dominating new screens. I've noticed that forums are quite popular, and in the future, there may be upgraded versions of forums, namely communities, where people can listen to music, read novels, even watch videos, and share with others. Online social networking, online games, and online film and television entertainment should become the three mainstream aspects in the future."

"Therefore, we need to focus our efforts on these three areas."

"I'm leaning towards creating an online community in the future. When the time is right, we can upload video content, and then we can publish our programs, even TV series and movies, on our own community. When others come to us for cooperation, it's just like TV stations now—we can split the profits!"

"Then... we'll just charge advertising fees like TV stations do? That way we won't be at their mercy!" Jiang Rong's eyes lit up.

“That’s too narrow a scope,” Zhang Chen said. “We could also implement a membership system. Members could buy a certain number of minutes of TV time to watch programs. Premium members could skip ads and watch regular TV for free. For premium TV programs, there would be a VIP premium membership price. If they wanted to catch up on episodes, they could pay extra to purchase additional episodes…”

Zhang Chen was talking animatedly, then realized something was wrong and exclaimed, looking at her, "What's wrong?"

Zhang Chen imagined Jiang Rong looking at him with resentful eyes, her voice low and melancholy: "I think you've had too much to drink... all you see is money."

(End of this chapter)