Abyss Legend, Coming Soon

Besides Xie Yang and Tao Xue, no one at school knew about the private server.

In the past few days, Chen Guiliang went to the internet cafe every noon and evening to browse forums for an hour.

He constantly monitored the public opinion. As soon as he found any potential issues, he immediately had Yang Yuhui lead the internet trolls to guide the discussion. For topics that were difficult to guide, he had Tao Chenggang update the "Development Log," releasing the private server's progress to divert attention.

Every time he went to the internet cafe, Xie Yang would follow along eagerly, witnessing Chen Guiliang's operations the entire time.

It left Xie Yang stunned!

In the blink of an eye, it was November 28th, Friday.

Tonight at 8 PM, the Abyss Private Server was scheduled to launch on time.

At noon, at the internet cafe.

Xie Yang browsed the forums and said to Chen Guiliang, "The netizens are so enthusiastic, they're all impatient."

Chen Guiliang sent a QQ message to Tao Chenggang: "What's the total number of game downloads across the major forums?"

"It was uploaded at 9 AM, and only over two hundred people have downloaded it so far," Tao Chengang said worriedly, "Will the players just make noise and not actually enter the game?"

"No, the download peak hasn't arrived yet," Chen Guiliang said, "Instead, I'm worried about insufficient server capacity. How many internet cafes are cooperating now?"

Tao Chengang replied, "Including those in Longdu City, there are a total of 52 internet cafes. In a single internet cafe, there are usually only three to five people online simultaneously for the private server, and at most, a little over ten people. The estimated simultaneous online users for 52 internet cafes, at best, would be three to four hundred people."

After repeated discussions among Chen Guiliang, Tao Chengang, Yang Yuhui, and Feng Tao, they decided to open five servers directly this time, each capable of accommodating 1000 people.

This approach actually didn't fit the nature of a private server.

Firstly, when a new version of a private server just launched, it usually only opened one or two servers.

Secondly, the capacity of each server was at most four to five hundred people, and some private servers could only accommodate two to three hundred people.

But the netizens on the major game forums were too enthusiastic, which forced Tao Chengang to rent more servers, leaving enough space for 5000 people to be online simultaneously.

This was a terrifying number.

It's important to know that Fantasy Westward Journey, after a month of internal testing, extensive promotion, and over half a month of official operation, finally broke through 60,000 simultaneous online users.

Now, it was just a private server, directly reserving server capacity for 5000 people. Saying this out loud would make people laugh at the wild idea.

At this moment, Chen Guiliang and Tao Chengang were both worried.

Chen Guiliang was worried that the server capacity would be insufficient, causing players to be unable to play the game normally due to lag.

Tao Chengang was worried that players would bail, wasting the server rental fees.

"Let's go." Chen Guiliang went to the internet cafe attendant to log off.

Xie Yang quickly followed and said, "I'm not going home this weekend, I'll stay with you to operate the private server!"

"Okay, I'll bring you along then," Chen Guiliang agreed.

This week was the end of the month, and the third-year high school students had two days off, making it convenient for students from villages and towns to go home and get living expenses.

By the second semester of the third year of high school, time would become even tighter: half a day off on regular weekends, and one day off at the end of the month.

Halfway back to school, Tao Xue called: "Nephew, let's take a taxi together after school this afternoon. My brother said the fare can be reimbursed by him."

"Then wait at the school gate, we'll contact each other by phone then," Chen Guiliang said.

Tao Xue laughed, "I'll wait for you. Haha, our last class on Friday is physical education."

After a couple more sentences, Chen Guiliang hung up the phone.

A bus drove by, and he saw Bian Guanyue sitting by the window, smiling and waving at him.

Walking back to school, he entered the classroom.

Bian Guanyue was already studying, asking her deskmate Wu Meng for help with a math problem.

"Morning," Chen Guiliang said as he passed the first row.

Bian Guanyue looked up and asked Chen Guiliang, "Want some small potatoes?"

Wu Meng also looked up, showing a shy smile, and then continued explaining the problem.

Chen Guiliang used a toothpick to pick up a piece of potato, put it in his mouth without touching his teeth, and casually put the toothpick back: "It tastes good."

"Bought it at the school gate," Bian Guanyue said.

Xie Yang already considered Bian Guanyue his sister-in-law, so she wasn't an outsider, and he also grabbed a piece of potato to eat.

Returning to his seat, Chen Guiliang immediately started doing problems.

His study progress was quite good.

Although he spent two to three hours every day discussing the private server's operation, Chen Guiliang listened attentively in class and tried to do more practice papers after class.

Every morning, he also memorized 10 English words and reviewed them again in the evening.

He had the memory of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old and the comprehension of a forty-year-old. Moreover, he had already learned those contents, and a little review brought back the impression.

He was able to grasp some knowledge points every day.

Steadily improving!

Chen Guiliang quickly immersed himself in the ocean of knowledge, but Xie Yang kept thinking about the private server launching tonight.

It seemed like there were nails on the bench; this guy really couldn't sit still. He ran over to Chen Guiliang and said, "You're still in the mood to do problems?"

Chen Guiliang was flipping through his history textbook, writing answers on the practice paper while silently memorizing the key points of the big question. "If you're not serious in your third year of high school, are you planning on repeating?"

"Shouldn't you be more focused on the private server? That's a man's career!" Xie Yang said anxiously.

Chen Guiliang retorted, "How can I focus now? Just sit in the classroom and worry?"

Xie Yang suggested, "How about we skip class this afternoon and go to the internet cafe, and keep an eye on those forums?"

"No need, just wait until school is over," Chen Guiliang continued doing his problems.

Xie Yang sat next to Chen Guiliang for a few minutes, felt bored, and looked at his other roommates. He found that besides himself doing nothing, the guys in 302 were actually all studying!

Even Xu Haibo, who was addicted to novels, rarely rented novels to read anymore after the teacher started review classes.

A sense of guilt suddenly arose in Xie Yang.

Everyone else was studying, only he was still playing.

Damn it!

He quickly returned to his seat, took out a few sets of practice papers, randomly picked one, and slowly started doing the problems.

Xie Yang was actually very smart. His middle school exam score was within the top 200 in the city, and in his first year of high school, he was assigned to the best experimental class, Class 1. Due to his addiction to novels and games, he was forced to choose the liberal arts stream in his second year.

At his most extreme, Xie Yang stayed up all night at the internet cafe for two consecutive weeks, and slept through all his classes during the day.

Because staying up all night was cheap, 5 yuan could get him a whole night of gaming, and occasionally he could even play for an extra hour or two for free.

Even without listening to classes and copying all his daily homework, Xie Yang could still consistently get into a second-tier university.

And Yang Hao, the most diligent person in dormitory 302, unfortunately performed poorly and only got into a third-tier university...

Patiently finishing a set of practice papers, Xie Yang ran over to Chen Guiliang again. "How about you call Boss Tao again and ask him what the situation is now?"

Chen Guiliang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You're more anxious than I am."

"I'm not anxious," Xie Yang smiled awkwardly.

This guy went back to doing his problems again, occasionally turning his head to look at Chen Guiliang, his admiration growing. Brother Chen is the one who does great things, remaining calm even when Mount Tai collapses before him. I also need to cultivate this kind of steady demeanor. I'm not anxious, I'm not anxious. Do the problems!

Finally, school was over.

Xie Yang couldn't wait to stand up and shouted at Chen Guiliang, "Let's go, let's go!"

Chen Guiliang slowly tidied his desk, stuffed a few sets of practice papers into his backpack, and was dragged by Xie Yang as they ran out of the classroom.

Zheng Feng, on the other hand, quickly ran towards Bian Guanyue.

When the seats were adjusted, the happiest person was Zheng Feng. He felt that his chance had come again—Chen Guiliang couldn't be desk mates with Bian Guanyue, but he could continue to walk Bian Guanyue home after school.

Chen Guiliang actually admired this guy quite a bit.

Because every day when Zheng Feng waited for Bian Guanyue at the bus stop, he actually used the waiting time to squat by the roadside and do problems, managing to date and study at the same time.

"Are you guys in a hurry?" Bian Guanyue asked.

Xie Yang dragged Chen Guiliang and continued running. "We have important things to do!"

Zheng Feng took the opportunity to say to Bian Guanyue, "They must be going to the internet cafe to play games."

Bian Guanyue didn't respond.

Quickly arriving at the school gate, Chen Guiliang called Tao Xue. "Where are you? It's full of people here, I can't see you."

On the last Friday of every month, at least four to five thousand students went home (the entire school had nearly 6,000 students).

"Here, here!"

Tao Xue was already submerged in the crowd. She stepped onto the roadside green belt, jumping and waving while shouting loudly.

Chen Guiliang and Xie Yang walked over to meet up.

Tao Xue said, "It's hard to get a taxi, let's walk for a bit first."

There were too many students waiting for buses. Buses came one after another, quickly filled with students, and drove away with difficulty.

It was difficult because of the traffic jam.

There were private cars picking up children, as well as illegally operating vans, all jammed together in a mess, making it very difficult to turn around.

The three of them walked towards the internet cafe street and soon encountered a taxi heading towards the school.

"Master, to the city!" Tao Xue got into the passenger seat.

The driver thought he had misheard and kindly reminded her, "From here to the city, the meter will be at least 25 yuan. Also, I don't take the county road."

"Drive, drive, someone's paying," Tao Xue said confidently, ripping off her own brother.

"Hold on tight!"

The driver started the meter and stepped on the accelerator while also sharply turning the steering wheel to make a U-turn.

When Chen Guiliang and Bian Guanyue took the county road, it took them three hours to reach the city. This driver took the provincial road and sped all the way, taking only half an hour, making it feel like he was driving on a highway.

"Brother, we're here."

"Go wait at Lin San Xiao Chao, I've booked two tables."

More than ten minutes later, Tao Chenggang arrived at the small restaurant with eight or nine people in a flurry.

Yang Yuhui, always talkative, slapped Chen Guiliang on the shoulder and exclaimed loudly, "Holy crap, you're looking good! Haven't seen you in half a month and you've turned into a handsome guy!"

Tao Xue stood beside him and said, "I saw you a few days ago and thought I had the wrong person."

As she spoke, she tilted her head and looked at Chen Guiliang again.

"Compared to Brother Yang, I'm still a bit lacking in handsomeness," Chen Guiliang said with a smile.

Yang Yuhui was very pleased to hear this and laughed heartily, "That's right, you have good taste. Your uncle is no good, he always says I'm ugly."

Feng Tao said, "What are you handsome about?"

Tao Chenggang smiled and shook hands with Chen Guiliang: "The various armies have finally converged. Let's have a big night tonight!"

"Brother Gang, this is my good brother Xie Yang. He was also helping post threads a few days ago," Chen Guiliang introduced.

Xie Yang quickly greeted him, "Hello, Mr. Tao."

Tao Chenggang shook his hand warmly and said, "Guiliang's brother is my brother. Work hard, and I'll give you a red envelope later!"

Xie Yang was flattered. He was just a poor student and didn't expect the boss to value him so much.

Tao Chenggang then introduced the others.

Two of them were the internet cafe managers from when he opened his first internet cafe and had been following Tao Chenggang for two or three years.

Three others were the leaders of the internet trolls Yang Yuhui had selected from the studio.

The remaining two were Tao Chenggang's former neighbors and childhood friends, who were currently just getting by in a state-owned enterprise that was about to go bankrupt.

Two dining tables were moved and put together. As soon as a cold dish was served, Tao Chenggang raised his cup and said, "We're not drinking alcohol today. I'll toast you brothers with tea instead of wine. May our private server be packed every day!"

"Cheers!"

Before Tao Chenggang could even drink his tea, the person on duty called: "Mr. Tao, the number of game downloads has surged! It has already exceeded eight hundred!"

"Good, you keep watching. I'll pack you back some big fish and meat," Tao Chengang was even more excited.

He hung up the phone and said to Chen Guiliang, "The total number of downloads on the major private server forums has exceeded eight hundred."

Chen Guiliang pondered, "This is the time when office workers are returning home. In big cities, the commute time is longer, so the peak download period hasn't actually arrived yet. I'm worried that the 5,000-person server capacity might not be enough."

"How is that possible?" Yang Yuhui said, "Some official games only have five or six thousand concurrent online players. Games that can exceed ten thousand are already considered popular."

Tao Chenggang said, "It's too late to rent a temporary server now."

Chen Guiliang said, "Hopefully it won't lag."

In this era, there was already a game queuing system, but that was considered "cutting-edge" technology and was very immature.

Chen Guiliang's private server naturally couldn't queue.

If a large number of players flooded in at the same time, the scene would be too beautiful to imagine