A promotional soft article can also go viral?

The Imperial Capital.

Fu Guoqiang was a native-born Beijing Native.

In the early days of the founding of the nation, his grandfather was transferred from the Northeast to the Imperial Capital to serve as a technical backbone in a state-owned enterprise.

His parents were also state-owned enterprise workers.

Later, his older brother and sister took over their parents' jobs.

But when Fu Guoqiang, a sent-down youth, returned to the city, he could only be an unemployed young man, and he even published some scar literature.

When he was young, he went to Pengcheng and Yang City to make a living, dealing in things like cassette tapes and jeans. Then he got into pirated books, collaborating with legitimate printing factories to illegally print various novels.

Later, he laundered his money and started a legitimate business, opening a department store in Beijing. Because the location was good and the scale was not small, it was acquired by Hualian four years ago and renovated into a supermarket.

He also became a small shareholder in Hualian Supermarket Company. At first, he could still manage his original store, but later the management system reform kicked him out. He could only sit back and collect dividends, unable to participate in company affairs.

Two years ago, this company went public...

Suddenly without a goal in life, Fu Guoqiang didn't know what to do all day and could only drink and brag with friends every now and then.

Until he came into contact with Legend, he was immediately hooked.

But a few months ago, Fu Guoqiang stopped playing.

The game was full of hacks, the version hadn't been updated, and they even came up with some "player immigration plan."

Some of his friends in the game transferred to Legend of Mir, some stayed in Legend, some went to play Legend 3, and some directly quit online games.

Fu Guoqiang tried all the new games that were launched.

But after playing for half a month each time, he felt it was very boring and missed the days when he first played Legend immensely.

What he missed, in fact, was the "brotherhood" and his gaming years.

On Tuesday, Fu Guoqiang was idle and logged into the 17173 forum to chat and complain about Shanda with netizens.

He also looked for new games to play.

You could also buy and sell equipment and hacks here, so it was hard for netizens who liked playing games to bypass 17173.

"Huh, what is this?"

Fu Guoqiang saw a hot post: The Voice of a Legend Refugee: The Internet is So Big, Where is My Home?

Just the title struck Fu Guoqiang's heart.

"I am an orphan of the online world, a refugee whose home was destroyed by Shanda..."

"At the end of 2001, with no concept of online games, I stumbled into a world called Legend with a blank look on my face. I had a new name and rushed towards little chickens with a wooden sword. I also fought with rake cats and was chased all over the place by half-orcs..."

"Having already reached level 10, I was still foolishly using a ebony sword to kill monsters, not knowing that I could learn Fireball. I saw a little mage casting fire and chased him for a long time, but he wasn't willing to teach me. Then, I met my first brother in the game. He took me to buy skill books, taught me how to team up, and we ventured together on the Marfa Continent..."

"At level 26, I met my girlfriend in the game. She was a female Taoist. Our encounter happened in a romantic and cliché story of a hero saving a beauty..."

"I have many friends, and to this day, I still remember their names. They are called Xiao Qingfeng, One Sword Comes West, Black Cat Sheriff 123, Haha Xi Haha... We mined and chatted all night in the mining area, we also happily burned pigs, and we got lost like directionally challenged people in the Zuma maze..."

"The first time I said goodbye to a friend was due to server lag. During that time, it was so laggy that I couldn't take care of myself... When Xiao Qingfeng left, he said many emotional things and gave me his full set of equipment... He said the people here were very good, but this game was too bad. He couldn't stand it anymore and wished we would meet again as brothers in the martial world. I have his QQ and occasionally still contact him, but the feeling is becoming more and more distant..."

"Life is like this, there is meeting and there is parting. When we duplicated equipment, two more friends left. One Sword Comes West and Black Cat Sheriff, exploiting the BUG to farm equipment, didn't make much money but were all banned... Were they greedy? It seems so, and it seems not..."

"I still remember during the wedding event, my girlfriend was very envious of that new couple in the game. So, we agreed to meet in reality. I specifically bought a ring and took a train to find her. She cried and said she would marry me after graduation. However, even vows of eternal love can be broken. She didn't marry me, just said sorry, and disappeared from my world forever..."

"I still remember, she wanted to watch the stars in the Snake Valley. There seemed to be no stars there, and we couldn't raise our heads to look up at the starry sky... Maybe what we missed was more than just the starry sky, but also the words 'don't go' that we couldn't say..."

"The day she said goodbye, I got drunk and dreamed that she was being chased by a White Wild Boar, shouting 'Husband, save me' at me. I wanted to save her, but I couldn't control my body and couldn't lift my magic staff... From then on, I often had dreams. Every time there was a girl in my dream, she was being chased by various monsters, calling for me to be a hero and save the beauty..."

"She finally left, and I played games less often. But every weekend, I would log into the game and chat with my brothers and sisters. The map was updated again, and everyone took me to the new map to fight monsters. There were also more and more hacks, and I was a little uncomfortable..."

"Xi Xi Ha Xi Xi, who was still in the game, called me a while ago and said he was also leaving Legend. He couldn't stand the hacks and the lack of map updates. He was tired of it. He had walked every corner of every map, but Shanda kept delaying the version updates..."

"He said that the last time he logged off, he walked around the safe zone again and again. It was like saying goodbye to his youth, and also like attending his own funeral. He said that the way he was wandering around was like when he couldn't find the exit of the Stone Tomb Array, completely lost like hitting a ghost wall..."

"I returned to the game again. Facing everything here, it was familiar yet strange. All my old friends were gone, and my youth also went with them..."

"I sent them QQ messages and called them one by one. One Sword Comes West said he was playing a private server. I also downloaded the private server to play with him, and I spent money to buy equipment. It was very boring, nothing but PK..."

"My gaming world has been destroyed, disappearing along with the past beauty. I am a homeless online orphan, unable to find my spiritual home. I don't know where I can stay, where my home is..."

"I met One Sword Comes West in reality for a drink. He said he wanted to make a Legend private server that doesn't sell equipment, so that old friends who can't find a home can relive the past."

"But is this possible?"

"One Sword Comes West said he had some money, but he didn't know how to make a game. I said I could help ask around."

"Brothers and sisters who used to play Legend, how are you all doing now? And which corner of the internet are you scattered in? I want to meet you again. Perhaps there is still the horn of our reunion in Woma Temple, and perhaps a paradise is hidden in the Peach Blossom Spring Gate..."

"For this goal, we must work hard. If we make a private server that doesn't sell equipment, what advice and suggestions do you have? Maybe it can really be done, allowing us to relive the passionate years of the past."

"Just like fighting a BOSS with low health and no mana, who knows the outcome of things in this world without trying?"

Fu Guoqiang read the 2000-word long article carefully.

The first thirty-odd replies were all water armies sent by Tao Chenggang, and the later ones were replies from real netizens.

"Damn, I also remembered my wife in the game. I'm going to leave a message on her QQ and ask her if she's still willing to be my girlfriend."

"Shanda should die, I'm also a game refugee, an online orphan!"

"Wake up, poster. Advise your friend not to make a private server. A private server that doesn't sell equipment, are they just going to keep pouring money into it?"

"Although I don't know how to help with ideas, if the poster's private server is made, I'll definitely go in and support it."

"Who still remembers staying up all night guarding the Corpse King back then, just to get a copy of Summon Divine Beast after several days and nights?"

"I was guarding for Magic Shield. Have you ever seen a level 35 mage without Magic Shield?"

"Haha, I learned Magic Shield at level 33."

"Damn, it's all tears when I think about it. My skeleton baby stayed with me until level 39."

"..."

As more and more netizens joined, this post gradually turned into a nostalgic thread.

A large group of Legend refugees came to the thread to complain and reminisce about the laughter and tears of the past. Guided by the water army, they each shared stories from the game and the little things from when they first played Legend.

Fu Guoqiang carefully read every reply.

Unconsciously, his eyes became moist.

He thought of his own past, his friends in the game, and recalled that crazy yet warm period.

After a long time, Fu Guoqiang finished reading the post, refreshing it again and again, hoping to see more replies.

"This post has been stickied by the administrator!"

Fu Guoqiang saw the latest reply and immediately switched out to check. The post was indeed stickied.

Many forums in China started having a sticky function in 2002. However, so far, it is still not possible to post hyperlinks and attachments in threads.

17173 stickying Tao Chenggang's post was naturally for the benefit of the website itself.

In this era, the value of a website depended entirely on its traffic.

A month ago, 17173 was just acquired by Sohu and began to transform into a game portal website.

They didn't care if you were criticizing Shanda; as long as it increased traffic, they would definitely give special attention to hot posts.

Fu Guoqiang refreshed the forum again and quickly saw another post: Legend Refugee's Private Server Development Log.

"I was just venting on the forum, and I didn't expect so many brothers and sisters to actively follow the thread. I copied the post URL to my friend One Sword Comes West, and he was very moved after reading the replies, saying he would make the private server even if he had to sell everything."

"Now, he is already contacting technical experts, and the daily development progress will be live-streamed in text. But One Sword Comes West also said that his funds are limited, and to make the private server last, it must be charged."

"Does anyone have any good suggestions? Without charging point cards, selling equipment, or selling functions, how can we recoup the investment in the private server?"

Fu Guoqiang stared at the post for a long time, unable to come up with any good ideas.

He really wanted to help with suggestions now.

This was about youth and dreams, and Fu Guoqiang was eager to participate.

He even hoped that "One Sword Comes West" could make money from the private server, and he would definitely be willing to pay to support it when the private server opened.

The two posts, one after the other, were all reposted by "enthusiastic netizens" to major game forums, allowing more truly enthusiastic netizens to actively participate in the discussion.

Two more days passed, and this thing even went viral, being reposted to Tianya, Mop, SC, Xici Hutong, and major university BBS.

Of course, the popularity of other types of forums was definitely not as high as game forums.

They were just watching the show.

However, terms like "Legend refugees," "game refugees," and "internet orphans" gradually became a consensus among certain player groups. Especially old Legend players, who liked to use these terms to make fun of themselves.

Seeing the rising popularity, 17173 even put a special report on the homepage to earn more traffic.

It was free.

Tao Chenggang was a bit confused and called Chen Guiliang: "This is getting a bit big."

"I didn't expect it either," Chen Guiliang said truthfully.

In this era, entertainment was relatively scarce, and there were few websites, so hot posts could easily go viral unexpectedly.

Especially after the groundbreaking use of the water army!

Chen Guiliang said: "Rent two more servers, I'm afraid the private server might lag then."

Tao Chenggang worried: "Won't Shanda target us?"

Chen Guiliang: "..."

(Asking for monthly votes.)

(Sacrificing a rebirth novel, over 1.6 million words, already a masterpiece. Returning to Youth.)