Just imagine—if one day, hundreds of thousands of people shouted "Penguin" together, Tenghua might wake up laughing in his sleep.
Even though Penguin is one of the biggest tech companies globally, it's rare for players to support them with true enthusiasm—most of the time, it's scolding instead.
At that moment, it wasn't just Tenghua who was stunned. Executives from other tech giants were equally shocked. Sure, their platforms host millions of concurrent users—but having over 100,000 players gathered in a single venue, behaving as if they were physically there, was something they had never dared to imagine.
And the fact that New World pulled this off? That was even more astonishing.
While the suits were deep in thought, the average players were simply ecstatic. When they realized how many people were online and gathered, they couldn't help but shout:
"The old thief is insane! How did he bring us all together like this?!"
"This is freaking awesome!"
"Hey bro, where you from? I'm from Henan!"
"Haha! I'm from Yucheng! We've gotta be fate—add me after the conference!"
Friendships formed on the spot. People chatted based on location, language, or just vibe. Even players from different countries managed to greet each other using English—or increasingly, Chinese.
The rise of New World had sparked a global wave of Chinese learning. English's dominance as the world's universal language was being challenged.
Now, it wasn't strange to hear an Italian and a Frenchman greeting each other in Mandarin.
Over 300 million players were participating in this game conference. Zhou Che had assigned everyone into over 2,000 channels—each one being a massive virtual venue. And to keep things orderly, players were confined to their seating areas.
As the buzzing stadiums filled with excited chatter, the lights across all 2,000 venues suddenly shut off, plunging everything into darkness.
Then—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Massive spotlights ignited overhead—but rather than shining down on the stage, they pointed upward… into the sky.
"Wait, what's going on now?!"
"Look up!"
The players went silent. Everyone tilted their heads skyward.
Suddenly, a booming, energetic BGM started playing:
"BATTLE WITHOUT HONOR OR HUMANITY."
"Whoa! This track's fire!"
"This feels like a boss is about to appear!"
"The old thief's got serious music taste!"
This world didn't have the movie Kill Bill—so the iconic BGM was completely new to players, and they were instantly hooked.
And right as the music crescendoed, a shape appeared in the sky.
A massive silhouette… spiraling downward…
Until finally—everyone saw it.
"It's the Ancient Leviathan!!"
"Oh my god—it's coming from the sky this time?!"
"That's insane!!"
The massive creature roared, and the sky above the stadium darkened. The ancient beast's titanic form stretched overhead like a living wall, casting a shadow over the entire arena.
Its enormous head dipped into the stadium, filling nearly the whole space. Some players close to it could even touch the creature's rough, cold skin.
"Holy crap—it's so close!"
"I can't believe I'm standing next to this thing!"
"Wait... LOOK! Someone's on its head!"
Atop the beast's head stood a young man with blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and chiseled features.
It was Zhou Che—his avatar, that is.
The ancient Leviathan bowed its head reverently, placing Zhou Che right at the heart of the stadium.
"What the hell?! He's riding the Leviathan again?!"
"First the Sea Dragon, now this?!"
"This man's got no chill!"
"This is next-level flexing! I'm jealous!"
Even Sister Zhou, watching from a corner, muttered, "Xiao Che, why do you always get to be the one showing off?"
Not even the CEOs—Tenghua, Musk, or the rest—could hide their admiration. Despite pretending to be unimpressed, the truth was, this scene stirred a long-lost fire in them.
Who wouldn't want to ride a dragon?
In over 2,000 virtual venues, applause and cheers erupted.
Zhou Che's avatar, now in a sharp suit with a mic in hand, smiled and shouted:
"Welcome, everyone, to the first New World Game Conference!"
The players roared back in response.
He took a massive leap from the Leviathan's head, landing with perfect ease at the center of the stage.
"Before we begin," he said, "Let's give a big thank-you to our special guest—Ancient Leviathan—for the ride!"
Players clapped and laughed. The massive creature gave a toothy grin—though a terrifying one—and then flew back into the sky.
Sunlight returned, and all eyes turned to Zhou Che on stage.
"I know some of you are upset," he said, chuckling. "You're wondering, why does my avatar look so good… while you all look like default character shadows?"
That drew immediate laughter and complaints from players:
"Yeah! We want faces too!"
"Why are we all little black stick figures?!"
"Give us proper models, old thief!"
Zhou Che smirked. "You know why? Because this is my world… and I can do whatever I want!"
"BOOOO!!!"
"Arrogant jerk!"
"If we weren't locked in our seats, I'd jump you right now!"
Still laughing, Zhou Che waved again. "Okay, okay, I'm joking! Of course I'll give you faces!"
"Really?!"
"YESSS!!!"
"Old thief, I take it all back—I love you!"
Zhou Che continued:
"Let me introduce the first big feature of the New World platform: Full Avatar Customization!"
Suddenly, each player was presented with a virtual mirror and a comprehensive customization menu: height, weight, facial features, skin tone, clothes, hair—everything!
"Design yourself however you want!" Zhou Che declared. "Make yourself as beautiful, badass, or bizarre as you like!"
The stadium erupted again.
"I'm making myself look like Young Louis Koo!"
"I'm going full Brad Pitt!"
"Forget that—I'm making myself hotter than the old thief!"
"This is insane—skin textures and all?! FOR FREE?!"
"The old thief really is the GOAT!"
In no time, players started experimenting and customizing their avatars—no longer just silhouettes, but living, breathing virtual personal.
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