Chapter Thirty-Seven Convinced Beyond a Doubt

The entity that acquired Huanjian was a publishing group from a southern province, backed by the government. The exact purchase price was undisclosed, with various versions circulating online—some claiming around one million, others three to four million. What remained certain, however, was that it was well under five million.

Interestingly, while Huanjian underwent massive upheaval, the attention of industry insiders was firmly fixed on Zeyue and Zhao Zejun.

In just over half a year, an ordinary college freshman with zero background had beaten the long-standing industry giant into complete submission, stripping away its armor and leaving it entirely defenseless, ultimately forcing the company to sell its website and exit the stage in disgrace.

Anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of the industry knew that Huanjian was finished.

Government backing would certainly confer new advantages, but for an emerging internet industry, rigidity, backwardness, conservatism, and bureaucracy were fatal constraints. Future Huanjian might excel in some niche domain as a specialized web novel platform, but it no longer possessed the capacity to contend for supremacy on the grand stage.

It truly proved the old saying: the waves behind drive the waves ahead, and the waves ahead die on the beach.

Where on earth had this "genius" sprung from?

Onlookers felt astonishment, admiration, and a creeping sense of unease. Competitors within the same industry, including Qidian, were overwhelmed by a profound sense of shared sorrow, akin to a fox mourning the death of a rabbit.

Meanwhile, at Zeyue Chinese Network, a simple welcome meeting was underway.

Zhao Zejun’s voice echoed in the conference room: "Everyone, please join me in a round of applause to welcome Comrade Li Wu to the Zeyue Chinese Network family."

Li Wu—not many people had heard this name. Forget the young staffers at Zeyue; even industry veterans might not recognize it.

However, if one mentioned his online moniker, virtually everyone within the web novel industry knew it by heart.

Li Wu, known online as Rizhao, was the supreme chief moderator in charge of Huanjian’s operations and one of its shareholders—or rather, a former shareholder of Huanjian.

The Zeyue employees present exchanged bewildered glances.

Ahead of today's meeting, Zhao Zejun had given advance notice that he would introduce a "new colleague" to everyone.

For Boss Zhao to personally convene a meeting and introduce a newcomer with such solemnity meant the person had to be a heavyweight. Before the meeting, employees had been wildly guessing who it could be.

Yet even the wildest imaginations failed to predict the arrival of Rizhao, the founding father of the web novel industry.

That was correct—the founding father of web novels. Even after the emergence of Zhao Zejun, who had sparked a series of web novel miracles and earned the title of "Godfather of Web Novels," Rizhao remained the undisputed father of the medium.

As the name suggested, a godfather was the most powerful figure in an industry, wielding supreme authority and influence, capable of deciding fates with a single word.

Yet the title of godfather could change hands; whoever was strongest held the title.

Only the title of "father" could never change.

Applying the word "father" to Rizhao’s relationship with web novels was entirely justified. He was among the very first in the country to professionally engage in the research, promotion, management, and development of web novels.

Before Zhao Zejun, web novels had not yet entered a formalized, professional stage, and before Rizhao, the web novel industry simply did not exist. In terms of seniority, Rizhao’s tenure surpassed that of virtually every current practitioner.

Huanjian Chinese Network was originally founded by Rizhao, and Kong Decheng’s investment had been personally secured through Rizhao’s negotiations. Afterward, almost entirely through Rizhao’s individual efforts, Huanjian grew from a minor website into the reigning industry leader, dominating the throne for years and bringing the entire industry into the mainstream spotlight.

He was a primordial deity of the industry.

No one had anticipated that Zhao Zejun could actually invite such an ancient deity to join Zeyue. One had to realize that Rizhao’s industry standing was no lower than Zhao Zejun’s. More importantly, he was part of Huanjian’s original core team. The bitter melee between Huanjian, Qidian, and Zeyue had been a bloodbath filled with deep grievances—especially with Zeyue, whose successive heavy blows had ultimately driven Huanjian to the brink of ruin.

Anyone might theoretically join Zeyue, but Rizhao was the absolute exception. To put it bluntly, Zhao Zejun had practically killed Rizhao’s "biological child" with his own hands and stifled his life's work.

Amid warm applause, Rizhao stood up from the first seat on the left side of the oblong conference table, turned slightly, and bowed slightly to the Zeyue employees.

"Hello, colleagues. While I was still at Huanjian, I long heard of your esteemed reputations. Today, we finally meet, and I look after your continued guidance in the future."

Having said this, Rizhao glanced at Zhao Zejun, turned back to face the crowd with a faint smile, and continued, "I imagine you must all be wondering why the sworn enemy of Zeyue has come here to work. Is this fellow harboring malicious intentions, playing a game of Internal Affairs? Or perhaps, now that Huanjian has been acquired and I can no longer make a living there, I’ve come to Zeyue to beg for scraps."

His words struck a chord, and everyone in the room burst into laughter. Zhao Zejun waved his hand and told the crowd, "These are just jokes, please don't take them seriously. Given Rizhao's experience and standing in the industry, countless websites would fight tooth and nail to have him." Pausing briefly, he turned to Rizhao and said with a serious expression, "President Li, put your mind at ease. Your coming to Zeyue is our fortune, and I am deeply gratified. Zeyue is a young and energetic team; you can rest assured."

"President Zhao, I believe that, otherwise I wouldn't be here," Rizhao nodded slightly. "However, since we will be working together from now on, I’d like to take this opportunity to clear the air so we can coordinate better in the future and unite our efforts for Zeyue’s tomorrow."

"Proceed," Zhao Zejun nodded.

The people in the conference room were captivated by the exchange. Rizhao joining Zeyue clearly had a backstory.

Rizhao then continued, "You may not know this, but after President Zhao and I first met, we made a wager: if Zeyue defeated Huanjian in market competition, I would join President Zhao's camp; conversely, President Zhao and Zeyue would be absorbed into Huanjian."

An uproar swept through the conference room. No one had expected such a backstory.

President Zhao certainly had immense nerve. If he had slipped up and been crushed by Huanjian, wouldn't today's situation be completely reversed?

"As for the outcome, it is now plain for all to see," Rizhao paused. "In fact, ever since my first conversation with President Zhao, I had a premonition that Huanjian was no match for Zeyue. President Zhao’s understanding of the web novel industry far exceeded my imagination, and his vision for the future of the industry renewed my confidence in it once again. Afterward, Zeyue proved with concrete achievements that not a single word President Zhao uttered was false. Therefore..."

He turned and nodded respectfully to Zhao Zejun: "President Zhao, I accept defeat in this wager with utter conviction. From this day forward, I am proud to be a part of Zeyue, and I will contribute my strength alongside everyone else for the future of web novels, witnessing the glorious enterprise of web literature hand in hand with Zeyue!"

Zhao Zejun stared at Rizhao for a solid three or four seconds before taking the lead in gently applauding.

Immediately following, the office erupted into dense and enthusiastic applause.

"Wishing us a pleasant cooperation." Zhao Zejun stood up, extended his hand, and shook Rizhao’s firmly.

Amid the applause, Zhao Zejun proceeded to announce a heavyweight piece of news.

Starting from today, Rizhao would assume the position of Editorial Department Director at Zeyue Chinese Network, taking charge of website editor management and training, as well as making the final calls on several heavyweight recommendations.

Concurrently, Zeyue established the Planning and Operations Department, with Zhao Zejun holding the concurrent title of Operations Director, and Rizhao serving as Deputy Director, holding actual responsibility for the commercial operations of the Zeyue Chinese Network.