Chapter Eleven: Zeyue Chinese Network
In the University of Science and Technology’s laboratory, the earliest founding members of ZeYue, led by Zhao Zejun, sat before their computers, closely monitoring the website’s front-end and back-end changes.
“New book created…”
“New book created…”
“Account registered…”
“Account level upgraded…”
“Favorites added…”
“Page views reached 1,000…”
One by one, traces of user activities flashed rapidly across the control panel.
At present, ZeYue was only open to authors, since the library was empty; no matter how good the website was, without books, it was useless.
On the project team members’ screens, pop-up windows kept appearing.
“Admin, how do I use the new chapter creation feature?”
“Ah, I typed the wrong novel title! Admin, please help me fix it!”
“Cover image, please, admin!”
“What does author level mean? How do I advance?”
“Huh? A tipping feature? What is that for?”
“Admin, why do I have to fill in identity and bank account information? Is the site paying out money?”
Click-clack… The sound of furious typing filled the lab as the project team members interacted with the new authors, answering questions and explaining how to use the website.
...
Within three days, the once empty ZeYue library had grown to over four hundred stored books, including well-known novels from the Rogue series. New novels continued to surge in number.
Although a total of four hundred books wasn’t large, it was enough to fill all the recommendation slots, with a batch more waiting for the next round of promotion. The site was no longer an empty shell but had taken shape.
Meanwhile, at TaiNan’s Huanjian Literary Alliance, nine prominent new-generation online novelists led by Xue Yun, along with a large number of ordinary writers, simultaneously released a major announcement:
“Dear readers,
The continuation of the novel will be updated on ZeYue Chinese Network. I myself will continue to create there...
To make up for the earlier hiatus, starting today at 3:30 PM, this book will update ten chapters in a row on ZeYue Chinese Network. Please stay tuned...”
A mass defection!
Not just declarations of departure, many authors also enthusiastically promoted the newly established ZeYue Chinese Network, providing it with free publicity.
“Zhao Zejun, founder of ZeYue Chinese Network, is known as the godfather of the online novel world, having cultivated a host of outstanding writers such as Xue Yun, Cat Who Doesn’t Eat Fish, and Linglong, and participated in penning famed works like the Rogue series...
ZeYue Chinese Network has invested heavily, employing the top tech team from the University of Science and Technology, renting premier server facilities in China, boasting a 100-megabit bandwidth with high stability and robust anti-attack capabilities, striving to provide readers a stable and comfortable novel-reading environment...”
If it were only one or two authors—even a towering figure like Xue Yun—the readers’ focus would mostly remain on the individual.
But when a whole batch of elite and ordinary authors defected in a single day to the same website, even issuing nearly identical declarations, readers’ attention naturally gravitated toward the “ZeYue Chinese Network.”
What was the true background of this site? How could it pull so many top-tier talents from Huanjian at once?
And this so-called godfather of online novels—sounds impressive indeed.
The greatest advantage of the internet age was convenience. To learn about a website or event, there was no longer any need for word-of-mouth or long journeys.
A simple click and a quick Baidu search would reveal all the necessary information.
Some readers came seeking the novels they had been following; more came out of curiosity about ZeYue, clicking open the site.
The website’s first impression was refreshingly clean!
No flashy, drifting advertisements; no confusing, cluttered layouts. The pages were crisp and stable. Upon entering, clear categories such as Martial Arts, Immortal Cultivation, Fantasy, Supernatural, and Urban Novels appeared front and center. Purely data-driven rankings displayed excellent books lined up on both sides, allowing readers to easily find novels suited to their tastes and quality preferences.
At the top of the charts were several novels recently exploding in popularity online.
Soon, many readers noticed that ZeYue Chinese Network had some interesting small features beyond just novels.
For example, recommendation votes.
Clicking to recommend a favorite book brought up a prompt requiring account registration.
Registering was simple enough, so readers signed up to support their beloved novels. After registration, voting became possible.
Voting represented support; naturally, readers wanted to cast multiple votes for their favorite books. The site offered options of one, three, or five votes at a time.
“Your reader level is LV1. Upgrading will grant more recommendation votes. See reader account instructions for details…”
The instructions proved addictive. Readers realized their accounts could level up like in online games by completing various engaging tasks.
Tasks were simple—bookmarking books, logging in, voting, commenting—all closely tied to site functions. Completing these quickly upgraded a reader’s account to level 2, granting an additional recommendation vote and familiarizing them with the site’s features.
A small medal popped up with a “ding”: Congratulations on reaching LV2! You may now choose a profession and change your avatar to personalize your reader account.
Professions included Angelic, Demonic, Immortal, and Beast Warrior paths…
The appeal of games lay in their leveling systems—gaining rewards and advantages at higher ranks encouraged players to invest time and energy exploring. ZeYue’s leveling system echoed this, soon captivating many new readers, sparking a race to level up.
...
The site had been officially open to readers for less than a day, yet data surged explosively.
“Mr. Zhao, the site’s visits have surpassed 60,000 and continue to climb swiftly…”
“Registered readers have passed 4,000…”
“The first LV3 reader has appeared…”
“The rankings have auto-updated based on reader data; the top-ranked ‘Sword Chronicles of Flowery Blossoms’ is nearing 50,000 points…”
...
Thanks to the first wave of superstar authors joining, ZeYue’s traffic soared just half a day after launch, entering the domestic website rankings. Though still low, it had already surpassed many small but somewhat known Chinese novel websites.
News spread rapidly online. As more authors and readers flocked, ZeYue gained wider recognition. Over the next few days, visits and registrations maintained staggering growth, with registrations easily exceeding 10,000 on the very first day.
In the domestic novel site rankings, ZeYue Chinese Network’s ascent resembled the explosive rise of Xue Yun’s first “Rogue” novel—a rocket shooting skyward. Only Qidian and Huanjian could still hold it down. Qidian had several times ZeYue’s registered users, while Huanjian led by an order of magnitude.
The previously obscure ZeYue’s rapid surge finally caught the attention and concern of senior executives at Huanjian and Qidian.
Especially Huanjian!