Age of Legends

Chapter 361: Moving Forward Together
Zhang Chen did drink quite a bit the night he left Jiang Rong's rented apartment, but he didn't know if it was because Jiang Rong's brain relaxation and massage technique was good that he dozed off for a while. Afterwards, his cerebral cortex became excited, and he couldn't fall asleep for a long time after returning home that night. He kept thinking about many things about the future.

Collaborating with TV stations to produce programs is a traditional model, and the profit margins are already fixed. No matter how strong the content is, it won't generate much excitement.

A new power structure has emerged, and the rapid development of the internet has revolutionized the future of the entertainment media industry.

The problem now is that internet bandwidth is still limited, so it's still impossible to expand online by relying on video content, making documentaries, or variety shows.

The hardware conditions do not allow it.

The current Internet 1.0 era is marked by the rise of social software and social platforms. At this time, portals included NetEase, Sina, and Sohu, but the profit model remained a problem. Some even charged for email or SMS services, and e-commerce existed, with Lei Jun founding Joyo.com. However, the problem was that it was too ahead of its time; orders still required filling out money order forms at the post office, hindering its success. This is another example of hardware incompatibility.

So ultimately, how to make money on the internet remains a major and urgent problem to be solved.

Only Zhang Chen knew that the only way to generate profits smoothly and be accepted by the majority of netizens was the upcoming point card charging model.

This was a profitable growth point; online games were the only thing that could truly make money on the internet at that time, which led to the emergence of a new richest person.

Zhang Chen wanted to take advantage of this "tailwind".

Following that, as for what Jiang Rong said about establishing a community, this is indeed in line with the general trend of social platforms.

But can he actually succeed? For Zhang Chen, the safest way to make money is to know which companies will stand out in the future. Therefore, he only needs to step forward and acquire initial shares during the company's development stage, and then quietly wait for it to grow and blossom.

Ultimately, while this method does guarantee a steady income, there are many other ways to make money. So, is it possible to do things according to one's own nature while making money, and participate in the process of changing or creating the world? If not, will one regret it later?
Zhang Chen felt he could still live life on his own terms this once in a while. So why not start this community project?

However, Zhang Chen didn't know exactly what it would look like. He felt that he couldn't create a news and political blog, and the "celebrity" economy was currently controlled by Tianya and Mop. Moreover, this BBS format had no future profit model.

Therefore, Zhang Chen believes that if he wants to create his own online community, it should primarily be an aggregation of shared content interests.

The success of "Seven Days' Promise" has generated considerable buzz across various online communities in China. However, if one were to directly share official content and behind-the-scenes footage within their own community, wouldn't it be possible to aggregate this discussion? By leveraging these points, a collection of entertainment content could be created.

Furthermore, the first web-based strategy game in the game "Wanxiang Jianghu" is about to be released. Should we have an official forum? What if the official forum is only created to serve this game? What if the game's popularity declines and the forum declines along with it? It doesn't seem worthwhile.

Could we put entertainment and gaming content in one community, divided into different sections, to maintain the community's popularity and ecosystem?
This is undoubtedly something no one has ever done before. Zhang Chen also knows that there is currently no comparable platform. If you have to say, it is a hybrid of blog, light social networking, and BBS, and even leans towards a lifestyle community.

Zhang Chen believes that this type of "social + content" community platform is more advanced than Mop and Tianya, at least at this time.

In the end, Zhang Chen still fell asleep in a daze.

Graduation is also the busiest time for driving schools, and this August, Zhang Chen, Shen Nuoyi, Wang Shuowei and Zheng Xue have made an appointment to learn to drive and take their driver's license tests at the same driving school.

Furthermore, since the driving school is located in the area of ​​the three companies and four hospitals, and many people learn to drive during this holiday, the driving school has become a gathering place for students, where you can run into acquaintances everywhere, making it quite lively.

For Zhang Chen and Shen Nuoyi, this provided a legitimate and public place to meet, which naturally made them happy. In fact, there was no sense of parting during the holiday; it felt as if they were still at school and would see each other often.

Wang Shuowei and Zheng Xue's constant bickering led to some amusing incidents. Driving instructors at this time varied in their behavior; some were prone to verbal and physical abuse, even demanding cigarettes and money from students. Fortunately, Zhang Chen's instructor, called Teacher Zhang, was a good person—gentle, never asking students for money, and an honest man. However, even this honest man could be driven to despair by Zheng Xue's occasional erratic gear shifting. Once, when they were about to cross the line, Teacher Zhang told her to brake, but she still used the rearview mirror to tidy herself up. After that, whenever Zheng Xue got in the car, Zhang Chen and the rest of the passengers would immediately get out, preferring to stand in the sun on the roadside rather than ride in her car.

Zhang Chen, on the other hand, was able to drive very quickly, earning much praise from the coach.

Wang Shuowei and Shen Nuoyi were both quite conventional. Shen Nuoyi, as a top student who got into Tsinghua University, was well-known at the driving school, and even students from other cars would take a second look after hearing about her.

The main reason is that such a good-looking and academically gifted student is indeed quite eye-catching.

One day, everyone took turns driving and sat on benches under the shade of a tree to chat.

Wang Shuowei said, "My dad said that if I get my driver's license, he'll let me drive his Alto. I'll drive it to university, and that'll be pretty cool."

Wang Shuowei applied to Rongcheng Polytechnic University. His score was above the admission line, so it was only a matter of time before he received his admission notice. These days, being able to ride a small motorcycle on campus is quite eye-catching, and driving a car, even a small Alto, definitely puts you ahead of most people.

Of course, there are plenty of luxury cars both on and off campus, and there are even some strange stories about putting water in cars.

Zheng Xue said dreamily, "I want to buy a cute pink car someday!" Seeing everyone's expressions, especially Wang Shuowei's, she immediately glared fiercely and said, "No one is allowed to get out of the car! By then, my driving skills will definitely be better!"

"You're trying to force us to jump out of the car. As soon as your car drives by, the windows will open, and three figures will dart out. There will be police stopping drunk drivers ahead, and wow, this is obviously a major case involving fugitives. They'll immediately call a squadron of armed police to surround us!"

Wang Shuowei has certainly honed his verbal skills, but unsurprisingly, he was completely outmatched by Zheng Xue!
After a while, Wang Shuowei, disheveled, turned to Zhang Chen and said, "Zhang Chen, where did you learn to drive? How come you just shift into neutral and start driving? You think you're cool? The examiner gave you a zero on the spot!"

This refers to Zhang Chen, who, being an experienced driver, was too skilled and completely disregarded the driving school's procedures, starting the car without using his turn signal.

“I know a lot more than you need to learn,” Zhang Chen said, ignoring his comment.

As expected, Wang Shuowei simply scoffed, "Tch!" and remained noncommittal.

When it was Zheng Xue's turn to learn to drive, she pulled Wang Shuowei into the car with an air of "I'm going to take you down with me," leaving Zhang Chen and Shen Nuoyi on the bench, watching the two bickering like sworn enemies.

The days of learning to drive weren't exactly romantic; there were only red brick walls around the driving school, scattered tire tracks and poles on the training ground. But for the two of them, it was just as wonderful a place as the Xinhua Bookstore with its aroma of books and tea.

As long as they are within each other's sight, even the wilderness can be a paradise.

"By the way," Zhang Chen said to Shen Nuo, "the first game from your self-named 'Wanxiang Jianghu Studio' is about to be released. Therefore, it's also preparing to commercialize. As one of the founders, how about we count you in? This way, as a member of Wanxiang Jianghu, you can get help from Tsinghua University to promote the game when it goes live. That way, you'll basically be starting a business right after the start of the semester, and you won't even need your family to give you living expenses."

Zhang Chen had no intention of hiding anything from Shen Nuoyi, so he got straight to the point.

University life is about to begin, and Shen Nuoyi will be able to keep pace with him from her own perspective.

(End of this chapter)