Fifty Million People Watch the Press Conference!

At 7:30 p.m. on June 10, Huang Family Cuisine Grand Restaurant.

A large screen hung on the wall, playing the livestream room for the Brain-like Chip Company's press conference. The livestream had not yet begun, and guests were filing into the venue, including many celebrities and public figures. The lineup rivaled an awards ceremony.

With half an hour left until the press conference began, the livestream room had already surged to ten million viewers. The comments were playing a game of "spot the celebrity," scrolling furiously:

"Holy crap, wasn't that the Thousand-Faced Movie Emperor just now? Is that the Crosstalk Performer who's been really popular lately beside him?"

"So many Ten Million Fans UP Hosts! Basically every big name in tech I follow showed up!"

"Wei Liqun! Wait, why is Wei Liqun sitting in the audience?"

"I spotted several CEOs worth tens of billions. This looks like a business forum!"

"Huh? Is that Grammy winner with the afro in the back row?"

"I saw two Olympic Shooting Champions and a Swimming Champion. Are they endorsing it?"

The netizens excitedly searched the livestream footage for celebrities. An unexpected face would occasionally emerge from some obscure corner, and the comments would erupt in a flurry of excitement.

People were also gradually taking their seats in the restaurant. More than a dozen large dining tables had been set up in the hall. The R&D team members arrived in casual clothes, their faces glowing with excitement. Some sat by the tables and chattered away, while others chased each other around like children.

After a while, the doors opened again, and a flash of red appeared.

Xiang Xiaotong made her entrance in full formal attire. She wore a luxurious off-the-shoulder red gown, her shoulders, neck, and cheeks pale and smooth as jade. Under the lights, she was dazzlingly beautiful. The noisy hall was instantly stunned by the noble aura of this peerless beauty. After two seconds of silence, everyone began shouting and cheering, setting off a wave of piercing screams!

Xiang Xiaotong blushed slightly and beamed. She was clearly quite pleased by everyone's amazement.

Song He entered right afterward, and the cries of surprise instantly turned into a massive chorus of boos, full of disappointment.

Song He was dressed sloppily and casually, in shorts and a white T-shirt, with flip-flops on his feet. He strolled in with his phone clutched in one hand.

In truth, he was undeniably the ruggedly handsome type. His loose casual clothes vaguely outlined his muscular physique, but with Xiang Xiaotong's dazzling appearance preceding him, he amounted to nothing after showing up in flip-flops.

Song He was baffled the moment he walked in. Why were these subordinates booing? Shouldn't there be applause when they saw their Boss?

Then he turned and spotted Xiang Xiaotong. His mouth fell open in shock, and he stared at her blankly for a long while.

Xiang Xiaotong was already charming enough normally, but dressed up like this, her goddess-like aura was completely maxed out!

"Is it polite to stare like that?" Xiang Xiaotong smiled smugly. "You're far too informal. This is a world-changing new product, and we'll be taking a group photo later. You came in slippers?"

"How was I supposed to know you'd dress up this beautifully? It's like the Press Conference is being held here!" Song He stood there dazed. "What a miscalculation! If I'd known, I would've put on something handsome too!"

The teacher and student took their seats, and Lou Jinghui immediately handed over a microphone.

Song He tapped the microphone. "Everyone, quiet down a little. I'm announcing tonight's bonus rules!"

The hall immediately fell silent. Hundreds of people stared eagerly at their Boss, holding their breath.

"Tonight's bonuses aren't part of the project bonuses. They're just a little extra incentive, an additional perk!"

"After the Press Conference has been underway for a while, the online store will release the purchase page for the Dream Control Helmet!"

"The bonuses will rise with sales! For every 10,000 Dream Control Helmets sold, everyone here will get a 10,000 bonus. If one million are sold, everyone gets a one-million bonus. The deadline is midnight tonight, and there's no upper limit!"

Before Song He had even finished speaking, the entire hall erupted!

Hundreds of people screamed wildly, shouting at the top of their lungs, "Long live Boss!"

Song He and Xiang Xiaotong covered their ears at the same time. The noise was too piercing. Money's stimulant effect was remarkable—the entire R&D team looked as if they had been injected with adrenaline.

At most, it was only a few million. He could not understand what they were getting so excited about.

After the monkey-like shrieking finally subsided, waiters pushed food carts into the hall and began serving dishes.

Everyone picked up their chopsticks and began eating ravenously in unspoken agreement, eager to fill up so they could quietly enjoy the New Product Launch Event livestream later.

"Boss's bonus rules are way too exciting. How many helmets do you think we'll sell tonight?"

"Conservatively, one million tonight. The entire internet knows the Brain-like Chip Company is Chenghuang and Neuron's child now. Once the connection goes live, sales will definitely explode!"

"More than that! I bet on two million! Lots of overseas markets are launching simultaneously. If we can't even sell two million in one night, that'd be a complete failure!"

"It's expensive. This isn't Napa Cabbage. A lot of people who want one will definitely wait and see first. Only truly rich people would dare place an order tonight! I'm estimating 1.5 million!"

"You're underestimating how many rich people there are. I'm calling four million!"

"That's ridiculous. Where'd you get that kind of nerve? If we sell four million tonight, I... I'll crawl around the floor once!"

"If we hit four million, I'll crawl around once too. It's simply impossible!"

"What if it's five million? Would that mean crawling around twice?"

Amid the chaotic discussions guessing the sales figures, it was finally eight o'clock.

The noise vanished, and hundreds of people gazed eagerly up at the large screen.

The Press Conference venue went dark. After a brief silence, an enormous numerical countdown suddenly appeared!

Almost simultaneously, the audience at the Press Conference venue shouted the countdown, the livestream viewers spammed the countdown numbers, and the R&D team watching the livestream shouted in unison as well!

5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

Under the focused lights, a graceful young woman appeared. Dressed in a sharp black suit, she strode onto the stage!

"Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Brain-like Chip Company's first New Product Launch Event! I'm your host, Zhao Yiyi!"

Zhao Yiyi introduced herself with a confident tone and a bright smile, showing not the slightest hint of stage fright.

Though she had the delicate face of a young girl, her brows, eyes, and demeanor radiated powerful confidence. She possessed an overwhelming Aura on stage!

It was not because she was naturally gifted at hosting press conferences. Over the past month, she had rehearsed more than sixty times. After enough mock exams, she naturally remained calm and composed during the real one.

Thunderous applause broke out among the audience, along with a tidal wave of cheers. The excitement was no less than when Wei Liqun held a Press Conference!

"Do you think Wei Liqun is having mixed feelings right now?" Xiang Xiaotong leaned close to Song He's ear and whispered. "Tonight, he'll realize that the audiences at all his past press conferences weren't cheering for him. They were cheering for the company."

"Wei Liqun understood that a long time ago. He was already an old hand before joining Chenghuang!" Song He said.

The applause at the Press Conference venue gradually faded. Zhao Yiyi smiled sweetly and began speaking with a trace of excitement in her voice:

"There's an especially, especially large amount to announce tonight! I'm afraid I might forget my lines, so I'll try to explain everything as concisely and quickly as possible!"

"The amount of information will be enormous and dreamlike. I believe many people will find it difficult to sleep tonight after watching this Press Conference!"

"First, let me tell a classic idiom story from the Tang dynasty's Pillow Book."

"In the seventh year of Kaiyuan, a Daoist named Lu Weng was proficient in immortal arts. One day, Lu Weng met a young man named Lu Sheng at an inn. Lu Sheng lamented his impoverished life, so Lu Weng gave him a Celadon Pillow and told him to lie down and sleep."

"Lu Sheng lay down and, in a daze, saw a small hole in the pillow. The hole grew brighter and brighter. When he opened his eyes, he discovered that he had somehow returned home from the inn."

"A few months later, Lu Sheng had a romantic encounter and married a very beautiful wife. The following year, he took the imperial examination, passed as a jinshi, and entered the court as an official."

"In his twenties and thirties, Lu Sheng served as a local official. He improved irrigation projects for the local people and won their love. They even erected a monument honoring his achievements."

"In his forties and fifties, Lu Sheng was named a general and led troops against foreign enemies, recovering hundreds of li of territory. After returning triumphantly to court, he was appointed Minister of Revenue, awarded ten thousand taels of gold, and enjoyed limitless glory and immense wealth!"

"In his sixties and seventies, Lu Sheng became caught in fierce court struggles. He rose and fell repeatedly, at one point being thrown into prison and exiled to the frontier, where he lived in misery."

"At eighty, Lu Sheng was cleared of all charges and granted the title Duke of Yan. His descendants also succeeded in the imperial examinations, and his family flourished and grew powerful."

"At last, Lu Sheng became bedridden and passed away. But when he stretched and opened his eyes, he found himself back at that small inn from his youth. Lu Weng, who had given him the Celadon Pillow, was still sitting beside him!"

"While he had slept, the innkeeper had cooked a small pot of Yellow Millet Porridge. When he woke up and looked, that pot of Yellow Millet Porridge was not even done!"

"Lu Sheng was overwhelmed with melancholy. He asked Lu Weng whether those decades of vivid experiences had all been an empty dream. Lu Weng nodded and said that the glories, wealth, rises, and falls of life were nothing more than a grand dream."

After finishing the story, Zhao Yiyi deliberately fell silent for a moment. She swept her gaze across the venue and revealed an unfathomable smile.

The entire venue stirred. Everyone's appetite had been completely whetted!

Chenghuang's earlier Press Conference had used the same approach. Wei Liqun had told an excerpt from Journey to the West onstage, then brought out a miraculous product comparable to a prop from the story!

And now, Zhao Yiyi had told another story that left people's imaginations running wild!

"The livestream room has surpassed fifty million viewers. At this moment, more than fifty million users worldwide are watching this Press Conference," Zhao Yiyi said. "Now, let's reveal tonight's first product!"

"After arduous research and development, we have successfully created the Celadon Pillow from the story of Yellow Millet Dream!"

"Its name is the Dream Control Helmet!"

A massive image of the Dream Control Helmet appeared on the large screen. The pristine white helmet looked intensely futuristic, with the words "Dream Control Helmet" displayed beside it in multiple languages!

The Press Conference venue first fell silent, then instantly exploded into an uproar!