Still Breaking the Mold, Just Wait for the Lawyer's Letter

Feng Tao stared at the feedback information and said, "Total downloads have exceeded 3100. District 1 is completely frozen, and District 2 is also under a lot of pressure. Many players from District 1 are directly switching to District 5, probably guessing that District 5 will be the smoothest..."

Yang Yuhui said, "I'm chatting with some network administrators. One network administrator said that in his internet cafe, four or five players agreed to play our private server together. As they played, they attracted those playing the official version next to them, and now there are seventeen or eighteen people playing 'Legend of the Abyss' in his internet cafe!"

"How many more people can Districts 3, 4, and 5 accommodate?" Tao Chenggang asked.

Feng Tao said, "In just these few minutes, District 5 is also almost full, likely due to players transferring from the laggy District 1. Districts 3 and 4 are still relatively smooth, but together they can only accommodate four or five hundred people. The download count is still rising!"

Tao Chengang instructed, "Contact the major private server forums and immediately cut off the download links!"

17173 did not provide an official download link. After all, it was a legitimate portal website and could not openly provide download services for private servers.

Moreover, at the end of 2003, it was not possible to attach hyperlinks or attachments to posts and replies.

The download link for "Legend of the Abyss" was posted on private server forums like 17577, 7GG, and Ledou. Tao Chengang had paid these major forums for promotion.

Just as Yang Yuhui was contacting the forums to cut off the downloads, Chen Guiliang was typing furiously and posting:

"555555, I'm going to cry myself to death, why are there so many players? The Little Tyrant Server I rented isn't enough."

"Oh my god, you guys are too awesome. Brothers and sisters, I'm very sorry today, but I have to turn off the download, otherwise, this game is unplayable!"

Immediately after, Chen Guiliang switched to a different account and replied in the game update log: "Who was it just now who said a 5000-person server was more than enough? And said he was really awesome. You're awesome my foot!"

He copied the content and sent it to the leader of the internet trolls, adding a few words, "Those below, maintain formation": "Don't say anything else, just copy and paste this reply!"

Soon, the replies in the post were all the same, instantly soaring up twenty or thirty floors: "With such a large server capacity, it must be more than enough. I'm really awesome! Those below, maintain formation."

Feng Tao shouted, "It's lagging, Districts 2 and 5 are completely lagging, and Districts 3 and 4 are almost full."

"Didn't we cut off the download links?" Tao Chengang asked.

Feng Tao said, "When Yang Yu contacted the forums to cut the links, the download count surged by over 400 again. They must have been downloading for a while and just finished. And those internet cafes, one download can install it on dozens of computers, the actual number of players is definitely much higher than the download count!"

Chen Guiliang comforted, "It's okay. Many netizens are just here to join the fun, and some are deliberately playing private servers to get back at Shanda. They'll leave after a while."

As they were talking, all five districts were full.

Xie Yang had been staring at the forum and anxiously shouted, "Many netizens are starting to curse."

Feng Tao said, "They're cursing in the game too."

Chen Guiliang glanced at the forum replies and found that those complaining about the game being too laggy weren't using very strong language. Some were even gloating.

The ones truly raging and cursing were the netizens who couldn't download and hadn't gotten into the game yet.

You can put yourself in their shoes: You get home from work on Friday, excited to download the game. Your internet speed is dead slow, and you finally download it to 99%, when suddenly the download link is cut off...

Wouldn't you start cursing?

Chen Guiliang quickly instructed, "In those two hot posts, keep switching accounts and copying and pasting the previous reply. Don't argue with the netizens, drown them out with uniform replies! Also, post a game announcement apologizing, explaining the reason in detail, and ask them to chat on the forum."

Xie Yang and the other internet trolls immediately took action.

Not long after, Xie Yang was surprised to find that the public opinion had actually changed.

Netizens gradually shifted from initial complaints and curses to mainly teasing and joking, and they also started copying and pasting the line: "Haha, with such a large server capacity, it must be more than enough. I'm really awesome! Those below, maintain formation."

There were also a few clever ones deliberately causing trouble: "Hey, I just want to break the formation. Come and hit me, come and hit me through the internet cable."

Xie Yang was deeply shocked and asked, "Brother Chen, did you anticipate this situation early on, so you posted ahead of time to brag about yourself? And then had us quote your self-bragging content to guide the players' opinions towards sarcasm and teasing?"

Hearing this, the others also looked at Chen Guiliang.

Chen Guiliang explained, "Cursing a game is different from cursing a person. I posted ahead of time as the private server operator, and deliberately bragged about myself to leave a handle. This was to give netizens a target to vent their anger, to shift their focus, and to give them a way out. Especially those netizens who downloaded over 50% but suddenly couldn't continue downloading, they are extremely angry right now."

Tao Chengang immediately understood: "Guide netizens to shift from cursing the game to cursing the person operating the game. And this person has been calling netizens brothers and sisters before, and deliberately bragging about himself like a clown. It's like a good friend messed things up, and messed it up in a particularly funny and ridiculous way. At this time, you can shift from cursing to teasing and mocking. After teasing and mocking, everyone is still friends!"

"Right," Chen Guiliang said, "These netizens, because of the posts from the past few days, were already biased towards us. Most people actually didn't directly start cursing. Their anger is only temporary. As long as we don't continue to provoke them, a little trick can shift their attention."

Chen Guiliang added, "In addition, it can also give them a sense of vanity. This makes them feel that the game being too laggy and the download being cut off is not because we did something wrong, but because their power is too strong. They will feel that they are particularly awesome, actually being able to crash a private server."

"Amazing!"

Xie Yang was full of admiration. He felt that he had learned something new again.

Yang Yuhui exclaimed, "Damn, how did your brain grow like that?"

Feng Tao laughed heartily, "He's my nephew, just as smart as me."

The others in the room also exclaimed how awesome he was.

Tao Xue originally didn't understand anything about private servers and wasn't interested in games.

She had been wandering around the room bored, but at this moment, hearing everyone praising Chen Guiliang, Tao Xue also inexplicably felt that Chen Guiliang was particularly amazing.

Chen Guiliang continued to reply to posts: "55555, curse me. I'm so silly and naive, I thought a 5000-person server would be enough, I didn't expect my brothers and sisters to be so awesome. I've already rented a new server, and a new district will open tomorrow! How many people are coming to play tonight? The Little Tyrant Server was crashed by you guys. Do you have to be this awesome?"

Chen Guiliang switched accounts again and replied: "I'm really awesome, the server is more than enough. Maintain formation."

He also sent a message to the internet trolls on QQ: "Hurry up, copy this sentence and continue replying! The previous one was too long, after netizens get familiar with it, switch to this shorter one."

Tao Chengang thought about the changes in the length of the replies and looked at the calm and composed Chen Guiliang, marveling in his heart: This kid is a born leader!

Chen Guiliang continued to look at the posts and found that many people were replying "Little Tyrant Server made me laugh to death."

He immediately realized that this meme didn't exist yet and instructed the internet trolls: "Hurry up and spam: Little Tyrant Server, made me laugh my ass off. Maintain formation!"

Immediately after, Chen Guiliang looked back at his own posts and had the internet trolls use the "so silly and naive" line he had just mentioned as a meme.

At this time, the "pay attention to formation" trend wasn't popular on forums yet.

Under the guidance of the internet trolls, netizens found it quite amusing.

For a while, the major gaming forums became lively and full of laughter, with netizens endlessly enjoying the memes.

Chen Guiliang, posing as a netizen whose download link had been cut off, guided similar players to completely change their thoughts and emotions. That is, the power of us netizens is incredibly strong, so much so that the private server doesn't even dare to keep the link open!

Those who couldn't stand the server being too laggy, and those who couldn't download the game, all started playing the building-stacking game.

Looking around, the replies were all "pay attention to formation."

It seemed that stacking buildings and flooding the forum like this was more fun than playing the game directly.

Tianya Forum.

A post appeared: Private Server Causes a Huge Blunder, the Little Tyrant Server Almost Made Me Die Laughing.

"I just got home from work and opened my computer to download 'Legend of the Abyss'. Don't even get me started on the download speed, damn it. I finally downloaded it to 42%, and suddenly it prompted that I couldn't continue downloading. I went to the forum and saw that many people were complaining, the download link had been cut off."

"I went back to look at the post, I originally wanted to curse, but I was so amused I almost died laughing. The guy who set up this private server claimed that the server could accommodate 5000 people, and said it was more than enough, and that he was particularly awesome. The server was so laggy it crashed, and this guy is now being cursed at so much he doesn't dare to show his face, the posts are all uniformly 'pay attention to formation'."

"Oh, and he also said he was so silly and naive, he rented a Little Tyrant Server. Little Tyrant is really a fitting image..."

"The netizens in the game forum are all so talented, the more I read, the more I want to laugh... Here's a link, let's all go join the fun."

In this era where staying up all night in chat rooms didn't feel tiring, where chatting with strangers on QQ for a whole day was possible, slightly interesting events could easily attract a large number of netizens to watch.

Before long, replies appeared on the game forum.

"Tianya netizen was here. I'm really awesome, pay attention to formation."

"Xici Hutong netizen was here. I'm really awesome, pay attention to formation."

"Shuimu Tsinghua BBS netizen was here. I'm really awesome, pay attention to formation."

"Mop netizen..."

These guys were really not hired by the internet trolls!

Many of them had never even played online games, they just came to check in and join the fun.

This server lag crisis, under Chen Guiliang's deliberate guidance, had turned into a so-called blunder.

Moreover, it directly created four hot memes: "I'm really awesome," "pay attention to formation," "so silly and naive," and "Little Tyrant Server."

The duty staff at 17173 noticed a surge in website traffic and quickly called their supervisor to seize the opportunity to expand their influence.

They didn't care what Shanda thought, nor did they care about the fate of "Legend of the Abyss." That night, they rushed out an article and put it on the homepage: Private Server Causes a Blunder, Attracting Enthusiastic Attention from Netizens Nationwide.

After this news article was placed on the homepage, many netizens who didn't play private servers also came to read the posts out of curiosity.

The more they read, the more interesting they found it, and they simply stayed on the forum to flood and play with memes. Many people even waited for the download to resume before going to "Legend of the Abyss" to see what this private server looked like.

And on major forums and university BBS, in posts unrelated to games, "I'm really awesome" and "pay attention to formation" also began to appear.

Netizens who were unaware of this felt very confused and quickly asked what was going on.

It was still spreading!

It even spread to reality.

"Popular Software" was conducting relevant research and statistics to publish the "2003 China Computer Game Industry Report" on New Year's Day next year.

Data from game manufacturers and sales outlets would not be available until the end of December.

But they had already started interviewing industry professionals and players, one of which was interviewing active users of game forums. They also collaborated with 17173 to conduct a survey questionnaire.

Editor Lao Wei was responsible for interviewing online game users, and the evenings of the three weekend days were the most convenient time to act.

He logged onto the website and hadn't browsed for long before he saw those hot posts. He quickly asked about the cause and effect, and then quickly browsed the posts and replies.

Lao Wei's eyes lit up as he read. He thought he could write an article to report on it, and he had even already conceived the content.

That is, two Legend players who loved games, due to their nostalgia for their gaming years and old friends, decided to create a private server after getting drunk. They announced their idea on the forum, which resonated with a large number of netizens, and ultimately caused a series of hilarious events, and also created a bunch of popular terms such as "game refugees," "internet orphans," "Little Tyrant Server," "I'm really awesome," "pay attention to formation," and "so silly and naive."

Of course, they also needed to discuss the legality of private servers and call on relevant departments to improve the law, so as to increase the depth of the report.

This kind of magazine article was liked by many readers.

Because countless people across the country couldn't access the internet every day.

Some magazines even directly copied forum posts, which could still make readers read with relish.

Chen Guiliang looked at the news article on the homepage of 17173 and said after a long silence, "Brother Gang, let's wait for Shanda's lawyer's letter or phone call."

Tao Chenggang puffed on his Huazi cigarette in silence, unsure whether to be happy or annoyed: "What do you think Shanda will do?"

"Who knows?" Chen Guiliang said.

Feng Tao suddenly shouted from the side, "Several zones aren't lagging much anymore. It's probably because the netizens who were just watching the fun have left the game. And some people who got disconnected simply went to the forum to stack buildings."

Yang Yuhui said, "Brother Gang, the editor of 'Popular Software' added me on QQ and said they wanted to interview us."

Tao Chenggang: "..."

Chen Guiliang: "..."

They still didn't know that the private server community had already exploded.

At this very moment, all their peers running private servers were paying close attention to "Legend of the Abyss."

They couldn't afford not to pay attention; the topic was too hot, and they weren't blind.