Chapter 70: QQ Messenger Pigeon【First Update】

[QQ Messenger’s Pigeon Post enters public beta today—where is the pigeon that belongs to you and me?]

“Who came up with this slogan? It’s absolutely disgusting! Anyone who can write something like this isn’t even qualified to write online novels in the future!” With a forceful slap on his mouse, Huang He grumbled, clear evidence that his mood was foul.

“Brother-in-law, what happened?” Leng Zhiruo asked curiously from the side.

“It’s nothing, just that Tengda finally responded!” Huang He forced a bitter smile. “Honestly, I shouldn’t complain. Reality has turned out far better than I expected. I thought Tengda would react half a month ago, but here they are only now launching their own Pigeon Post. That’s already given us plenty of time!”

“That’s right. Zhimen gave me the latest report yesterday—our registered users have surpassed thirty million, and active users have reached 1.88 million. Zhimen was so thrilled she could hardly contain herself!” Leng Zhiruo replied.

“Thirty million registered users? That’s wild!” Huang He smacked his lips in astonishment. But then he thought of OO’s bizarre registration method—installing even a minor game would automatically install OO, and just by opening it, registration was instant. So, the number of registered users was indeed astronomical. Still, it didn’t mean much, since most were inactive or duplicate accounts.

“Brother-in-law, with QQ’s Pigeon Post out now, what should we do?” Suddenly, a whirlwind figure burst in, exclaiming without a hint of hesitation.

“What’s the rush?” Huang He shot a look at his little sister-in-law. “Of course QQ would make a feature like Drifting Bottle. We anticipated this long ago. What’s so surprising?”

“No, it’s just—I can’t accept it! How can QQ be so shameless, copying our stuff without a second thought? It’s infuriating!” Leng Zhimen grumbled, visibly annoyed.

“Oh, please. Didn’t we copy QQ when we started? And didn’t we enjoy it just as much?” Huang He smiled faintly. “But this is actually good. I used QQ’s ideas to get started, and I always felt a bit uneasy about it. Now they’re copying me, and that little bit of guilt is gone. From now on, we’ll fight it out fair and square!”

“But the problem is, we really can’t beat QQ!” Leng Zhimen’s expression darkened further. “According to backend data, as soon as QQ’s Pigeon Post launched, our active users dropped by nearly two-thirds in one go!”

“You don’t know what it was like. I was sitting there watching the numbers, and I was stunned. Over 1.8 million active accounts dropped at rollercoaster speed in under an hour. By the time I came over, only about 600,000 were left.”

“Brother-in-law, QQ’s first-mover advantage is just too overwhelming. All they did was copy our feature, and instantly took two-thirds of our users. It’s terrifying. I’m honestly scared…” Her voice grew quieter and quieter, and when Huang He glanced down, he saw the girl curled up, a single tear glistening at the corner of her eye.

“Silly child, you’re just a high schooler…” Huang He reached out, wanting to wipe away the tear from Leng Zhimen’s cheek.

“Silly sister, with your brother-in-law here, there’s nothing we can’t overcome!” Leng Zhiruo’s handkerchief reached out first, gently dabbing away the tear.

“That’s right! With brother-in-law here, nothing’s impossible!” Huang He smiled and drew back his hand. “Zhimen, go home and rest today. Tell your team, too—except for the maintenance crew, everyone else should take the day off.”

“Brother-in-law, you’re not thinking of giving up, are you?” Leng Zhimen asked, almost fearful.

“Haha, give up? Not a chance. I’m having you all take a day off because for the next few months, we probably won’t have any more holidays!” Huang He glanced at his computer, where both QQ and OO were running side by side.

“Whether OO can survive QQ’s onslaught depends on this battle. This is like our war of independence—if we pull through, we’ll have limitless possibilities ahead!” Huang He declared solemnly.

——————————

“Boss, all our key metrics have skyrocketed, higher than ever before! Concurrent users have broken records—2.8 million online at once! Everything OO stole from us has come back!” In Pony Ma’s office, Cai Xin reported the good news with barely contained excitement.

“This was to be expected,” Pony Ma replied calmly. “Our scale is our strength. These numbers are normal. But keep a close watch on OO. We just took back in an hour what they spent three months building. Who’s to say they won’t do something desperate now?”

“Yes, sir!” Cai Xin smiled, nodded, and left the office. Pony Ma, staring at the data on his screen, felt a slight thrill.

“I was right. The internet is an era of scale. Once you’re big enough, you don’t need any tricks—just use your weight and you can crush the competition.” In that moment, Pony Ma had an epiphany, grasping the unshakable truth of decades of internet business.

“So, Miss Leng Zhimen, what resistance can someone as weak as you muster against us?” A trace of curiosity appeared on his face. He was certain OO wouldn’t surrender so easily, and he was genuinely interested in what they might do next.

At that very moment, Leng Zhimen, the girl in question, was lying awake in bed, tormented by thoughts of how to counter QQ’s fierce offensive, while our boss, Huang He, still sat before his computer.

In the adjacent secretary’s office, Leng Zhiruo watched her brother-in-law with deep concern. He hadn’t left his computer for six straight hours.

And what was strange was that for all six hours, Huang He had been playing QQ’s Pigeon Post—tirelessly and obsessively. After all that time, his QQ charisma score had even reached sixty points. If there were a leaderboard, he’d surely be near the top.

It was rare to see a boss so invested in a rival’s product. Huang He never even played his own OO Drifting Bottle with this much dedication.

“Brother-in-law!” Leng Zhiruo had stayed by Huang He’s side all night, until eight o’clock the next morning. She’d even nodded off at one point, but Huang He was still glued to the screen, eyes bloodshot but full of focus.

“Brother-in-law, if you can’t figure it out, it’s okay. We already have a loyal user base for OO, and our mystery box business is still booming. By year’s end, once we clear our inventory, we’ll be able to pay off the 350 million debt.”

“That QQ has never been profitable from the start. They don’t have as much money as we do, not by a long shot!” she tried to comfort him.

“Wait… Zhiruo, did you just say they don’t have as much money as us?” Huang He, his fingers stiff with exhaustion, seemed to realize something and repeated her words.

“I’d say we’re richer. We’ve nearly hit a hundred million in cash, and the GS Bank manager is coming in a few days to discuss repayments. Our Jiangnan Leather Factory is back on its feet!” she replied.

“That’s it. We are the ones with more money! And with what I discovered last night, and the ideas I’ve come up with, maybe things aren’t so hard after all. I have a solution!” Huang He nodded, a smile finally breaking across his face. Without even washing his face or taking off his socks, he collapsed onto the bed and fell fast asleep.

Leng Zhiruo smiled in relief, quietly helped Huang He out of his outer clothes, washed his hands and feet, tucked him in, and then softly left the office.