amaotonovel Chapter 1607 The Great Demon King Returns
Chapter 1607 The Great Demon King Returns
One hour later.
When the three of them came out of LUNA restaurant, the cruise ships on the Huangpu River had thinned out, with only a few scattered lights floating in the distance. The wind was a bit stronger than during the day, causing the hem of Lin Zhanqiao's thin trench coat to flutter. She reached out to hold it down and used the other hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
Qin Hao stood at the restaurant entrance and took out his phone to check the time.
"It's getting late, shall I give you a ride?"
As soon as she said it, Lin Zhanqiao laughed.
That smile had a hint of mischief in it; his eyes curved upwards, and the corners of his mouth turned up, clearly showing the smugness of having caught someone red-handed.
"Give us a ride?" She looked Qin Hao up and down. "You haven't even bought a car, how are you going to give us a ride? By taxi?"
Qin Hao choked for a moment.
He had only been back in China for a few days, staying in a hotel and relying entirely on his own two feet and ride-hailing services to get around; he definitely hadn't bought a car. This remark, when Lin Zhanqiao pointed it out, was quite painful.
"Alright, alright." Qin Hao wasn't annoyed. He turned to Zhou Mei, his tone regretful as if he'd missed something momentous: "Next time, I'll treat you to dinner alone, without this third wheel."
Zhou Mei covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes curving into crescents, neither agreeing nor refusing.
Lin Zhanqiao grabbed Zhou Mei's arm and pulled her towards the roadside, throwing out a sentence without looking back: "You're not allowed to go out with this guy alone anymore. He's not a good person."
Qin Hao stood there, watching the two women's retreating figures, his lips twitching. He took out his phone and hailed a taxi, then sent He Han a message while waiting: "Lin Zhanqiao, how did you put up with such a sharp tongue for so long?"
He Han replied almost instantly: "This is true love, you wouldn't understand."
"That's what simps usually say!" Qin Hao snorted, put his phone back in his pocket, and completely ignored He Han's video call request.
-
Meanwhile, Lin Zhanqiao and Zhou Mei walked along the riverbank for a while. The night wind, carrying the fishy smell of the river, blew over them, making Zhou Mei shrink her neck and pull her shirt collar tighter.
Lin Zhanqiao glared at her.
"Weren't you only interested in married men? How come you've developed a taste for this now?"
Zhou Mei didn't stop walking. She turned her head to look at her, a lazy yet sly smile on her face: "Isn't this exactly what you wanted? You've always been urging me to change my ways, and now that I've changed, you're not happy."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Lin Zhanqiao's face, then her voice suddenly lowered, tinged with a hint of mischief: "Could it be that you've fallen for someone else? I'll have to have a serious talk with He Han about that."
"Who's fallen for someone else!" Lin Zhanqiao spat, quickening her pace. "We're talking about your business, stop changing the subject."
Zhou Mei laughed out loud, not pursuing the topic any further. Her high heels tapped a few times on the stone pavement. She stopped, turned around, her smile fading, and her expression becoming more serious.
"First of all, I want to make it clear—I am not only interested in married men."
She held up one finger and waved it in front of Lin Zhanqiao.
"She's more interested in mature and attractive men."
“Your friend is quite nice.” Zhou Mei slowed her speech, as if savoring the flavor of a dish: “Mature and steady, witty and humorous, handsome, and with a great physique…”
He got more and more excited as he talked.
Lin Zhanqiao couldn't take it anymore and raised her hand to make a "T" shape in front of her—"Stop—you're practically drooling, is it really that bad? I don't see any good qualities in Lao Qin at all!"
"This is what they call 'the darkest place is under the lamp.'"
Zhou Mei chuckled, put her arm around Lin Zhanqiao's shoulder, leaned against him, and acted coquettishly.
"However, if you really intend to fall for someone else, I can grant your wish—"
"Get away!" Lin Zhanqiao shoved her head away. "Do you think everyone's like you, unable to move when they see a handsome guy?"
Zhou Mei was pushed and stumbled, but she wasn't annoyed. She just smiled and stood up straight again.
The two continued walking. The river breeze carried the distant ferry whistle, long and deep, like a sigh.
After laughing and joking for a while, Lin Zhanqiao suddenly fell silent.
Her pace slowed, and the smile on her face gradually faded, replaced by an unusual seriousness. Zhou Mei, walking beside her, noticed this change but didn't rush to speak; she simply turned her head to glance at her.
"Seriously, Zhou Mei."
Lin Zhanqiao lowered her voice, becoming somewhat solemn.
"Are you really planning to get to know Lao Qin properly, or are you just looking for a fling?"
Zhou Mei's steps were taken in quick succession.
The question came suddenly, but it wasn't entirely unexpected. She lowered her head, thought for a moment, and shrugged.
"Let's see how things go first. If it works out, we can be together; if not, we can break up. You haven't even started, and you're already dreaming of love at first sight and growing old together? Do you think you're writing a novel?"
But Lin Zhanqiao didn't laugh. She stopped, turned around, and faced Zhou Mei. The streetlight cast a warm yellow glow behind her, illuminating her expression clearly.
"Zhou Mei, you and Lao Qin have been my friends for many years."
She spoke slowly and deliberately, her voice not loud, but each word was delivered with conviction.
"I know Lao Qin. He seems mature and steady, and he's glib and frivolous, but actually... he's quite simple-minded."
Zhou Mei's smile froze.
The word "naive" seems somewhat incongruous when applied to Qin Hao.
But Zhou Mei soon realized that the "naivety" Lin Zhanqiao spoke of was not the kind of naivety that comes from being inexperienced in the ways of the world.
It's the kind of naivety that comes from relationships.
"If you feel it's not right, you must tell him decisively before he gets too involved."
Lin Zhanqiao looked into Zhou Mei's eyes, her tone more serious than ever before.
"I don't want to see you all turn against each other."
The river breeze blew again. Zhou Mei's curly hair was lifted by the wind, obscuring half of her face. She reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear, remaining silent for a few seconds.
"Okay, I will."
Seeing Lin Zhanqiao's serious tone, Zhou Mei also straightened up and nodded. This time, she made no further promises or evasive excuses.
Lin Zhanqiao glanced at her, said nothing more, and turned to continue walking forward.
The sounds of high heels and leather shoes echoed alternately along the empty riverbank.
Zhou Mei followed, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly spoke: "You're really worried about him."
It's not a question. It's a statement.
Lin Zhanqiao didn't turn around: "He's my friend."
"Just friends?"
"You're overthinking it."
Zhou Mei didn't press the matter further. She put her hands in her pockets and looked up at the sky. The Shanghai night sky was tinged red by the lights, and no stars could be seen, only a few blurry clouds moving slowly above the rooftops.
-
On the other side, when Uncle Fan returned to the headquarters of Dingqi.com, it was almost 11 o'clock.
The driver parked the car downstairs, and he stepped out, walking much faster than usual. When the elevator reached the twelfth floor, he didn't go back to his own office but went straight into the operations department.
The lights in the operations department were still on. A dozen or so employees were busy at their computer screens, the keyboards clattering away like in an internet cafe.
Uncle Fan's appearance suddenly silenced the keyboard sounds.
Everyone looked up at their boss's late-night visit, their expressions shifting from confusion to tension—Uncle Fan coming to the company at this hour meant either something incredibly good or something incredibly bad.
Uncle Fan didn't keep you in suspense.
He stood in the center of the operations department, looked around, and said only one sentence.
"Qin Hao is coming back."
The words had barely left his lips.
The operations department's reaction was like pouring a bucket of cold water into boiling oil—first a deathly silence, then an explosion.
"Really?!"
"Is Professor Qin Hao releasing a new book?!"
"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap—"
Some people jumped up from their chairs, some slammed their fists on the table, and some even bounced twice on their workstations. You have to understand, what kind of life did the Dingqi.com operations department endure during the two years Qin Hao was off-hit? Daily active users halved, paying users dwindled, promotional budgets were slashed again and again, and every time they prepared a data report, they looked gloomy. Now that Qin Hao is returning, what does that mean? It's like a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart!
Uncle Fan's lips twitched as he looked at the excitement on the faces of these people.
He knows these guys too well. They might be happy, but they might not be that motivated when it comes to actually getting the work done. He has to strike while the iron is hot.
"Sit down, everyone."
Uncle Fan raised his hand, and the noise immediately stopped. He pulled up a chair, sat down, crossed his legs, and spoke slowly and deliberately, but every word carried undeniable weight.
"From now on, the operations department is entering full wartime mode. Professor Qin Hao's new book is expected to launch in two weeks. During these two weeks, I want all promotional slots on Dingqi.com's channels to be completely dedicated to Professor Qin Hao's new book. This includes the app's splash screen, homepage banner, push notifications, social media, short video platforms, and KOL collaborations—not a single one can be overlooked."
"What about the budget?" asked Xiao Zhao, the operations manager.
"No upper limit."
Three words, light and airy, but when they landed in the ears of everyone in the operations department, they were louder than thunder.
No upper limit.
These four characters have only appeared twice in the history of Dingqi.com—the first time was when He Han Fengshen's best-selling novel, and the second time was when Qin Hao's "The Great Feng Watchman" was released.
Now, for the third time.
"Mr. Fan," Xiao Zhao swallowed, "the specific promotion plan—"
"You can decide on the plan yourselves. Produce a first draft tonight and give it to me for review at 10 AM tomorrow."
Uncle Fan stood up and patted off non-existent dust from his pants.
"Success is the only option; failure is not an option."
After saying that, he turned and left. The sound of his leather shoes on the floor was steady and powerful, each step unhurried, like an old knife being drawn from its sheath.
After a brief silence, the operations department erupted in cheers.
-
For the next two weeks, Dingqi.com's promotion can be described in four words: sparing no expense.
The app's splash screen has been changed to a teaser poster for Qin Hao's new book: a black background with gold lettering, featuring a single character for "sword" sculpted like a knife and axe, horizontally positioned in the center, with a line of smaller text below: "The Chief Steward returns, his sword pointing to the heavens." The homepage banner carousel occupies all three slots, and push notifications pop up every few days, from "Teacher Qin Hao's new work is coming soon" to "Seven days to go" and then to "Three days to go," effectively raising the expectations of a group of longtime readers to their throats.
On social media, Dingqi.com's official account posted more than a dozen Weibo posts, and the hashtag #QinHaoReturns# garnered over 100 million views in three days.
Short video platforms were also busy, hiring about a dozen KOLs from the online literature section to create promotional videos. Some analyzed the style of Qin Hao's first five works, some predicted the theme of the new book, and some simply urged for updates—"It's been two years. Do you know how I've spent these two years?" One video received hundreds of thousands of comments, all saying things like "Finally, he's back," "Please release it soon," and "My youth is back."
Interestingly, readers were not annoyed by the overwhelming advertisements; instead, they flocked to the comment sections of Qin Hao's previous works to leave messages, as if they were sending off their generals to war.
"Hurry up, you've been out there partying for two years. Do you know how I've spent these past two years?"
"Nothing more to say, I'm ordering them all as soon as they're released."
"I'm broke lately, so let's start with a Silver Alliance donation for my new book launch!"
Suddenly, the long-dormant online literature circle became lively again.
Dingqi.com's daily active users began to climb slowly but steadily, from eight million to nine million, and then to nine and a half million. Most of this new traffic came from old users who downloaded the app again after seeing the news of Qin Hao's return.
As Uncle Fan looked at the daily data reports, his smile grew wider each day.
But for other top authors on Dingqi.com, the news of Qin Hao's return was like a bolt from the blue.
The Dingqi.com author group has been buzzing non-stop for the past two weeks.
"Sigh, what kind of fate is this? I spent half a year preparing my new book, hoping to top the bestseller list, but I never expected to run into that freak, 'Manager.'"
The message was sent by "March Rain," a top author on Dingqi.com who specializes in urban fiction. His first two books were quite successful, and his new book is a sincere work he's been holding back. Unfortunately, the release date of his new book coincides with Qin Hao's.
"Why are you calling it a collision when you haven't even released it yet? Just postpone it for a month," someone suggested.
"I'm the one who's truly miserable, okay? My new book was just released a week ago, and the data was just starting to pick up, and now it's completely hopeless."
This comes from another renowned author, "Beichen," who writes in the fantasy genre—coincidentally, Qin Hao's new book is also in the fantasy genre. Going head-on into the same arena is basically like a bicycle trying to crash into a tank.
"What's there to be afraid of? When two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave one wins! Let's get him!"
The person who said this was "Iron Hand," a veteran writer on Dingqi.com who writes military-themed articles. He doesn't compete with Qin Hao in this field, so it's easy for him to talk without understanding the situation.
"You make it sound so easy," Bei Chen replied instantly. "If it were He Han, I could still put up a fight, but how can I compete with this guy? His writing quality is better than yours, his typing speed is far superior, and his fanbase is so vast, he'll leave me utterly crushed."
After the message was sent, the group fell silent.
Yes. Against anyone else, these established authors might not be without a fighting chance. The online literature world has never lacked dark horses or stories of the underdog triumphing over the strong. But their opponent is Qin Hao—the one who updates at least 20,000 words a day, whose five works are all considered masterpieces, and whose first-day subscription record remains unbroken.
Fight him? Fight with what?
The group chat was quiet for a while before Iron Hand finally broke the silence.
"Alright, alright, stop being so down. The online novel community is only so big; he can't handle it all by himself."
That makes sense, but psychologically it just doesn't feel right. And no one can do anything about Qin Hao. That's how the online novel industry is: the winner takes all, and readers' subscriptions don't lie.
-
Half a month is neither a long nor a short time.
Amidst all this commotion, Qin Hao's new book, "Sword Comes," was finally officially released.
Compared to Feng Huo's original novel, Qin Hao's version of "Sword Comes" has undergone some modifications. The original version had over 13 million words, which, frankly, was too long.
"Feng Huo" is a talented writer, but he's too obsessed with spouting grand principles and pedantry. He frequently throws in anecdotes and philosophical pronouncements, which, while insightful, don't appeal to the average online reader.
Online novels thrive on fast pace. If you're going to fight, then fight! Why all the nonsense? Might makes right!
Qin Hao streamlined all the tedious parts, reducing the original length of over 13 million words to 6.8 million words.
Six million eight hundred thousand words. At a rate of 20,000 words per day, it would take about a year to finish.
On the day of the release, Qin Hao uploaded 30,000 words directly.
Thirty thousand words, ten chapters.
For other authors, it might take a week to produce this much work. But for Qin Hao, this is just half a day's work.
Ten chapters are enough for readers to grasp the basic structure of a web novel. Chen Ping'an, a boy from a small town, has a troubled life, burdened by the grudges of his parents, struggling to survive in Mud Bottle Alley. He is clumsy, stubborn, and not very bright, but he has an indomitable spirit deep down. The pace of the first few chapters isn't too fast, but Qin Hao's description of Lizhu Cave is incredibly vivid—the faces of the petty people and neighbors are all portrayed with remarkable realism, as if the entire alley has been brought to life on the page.
When the part where Chen Ping'an kills Cai Jinjian came out, the book review section exploded.
"Holy crap! That felt good! Chen Ping'an, that kid, finally showed his true colors after holding back for so long!"
"Although the word count is still too short and some parts are not fully developed, leaving some readers a bit confused, it's still the familiar formula and flavor. Loyal fans of 'Snowy Peak', gather here!"
"As expected of the chief editor, even after a two-year hiatus, his writing skills remain as masterful as ever. I have only one wish—to update soon!"
"I watched Cai Jinjian's scene three times, and each time I watched it, I got more and more hooked. The director's skill in writing action scenes has improved again; it's clean, crisp, and without any unnecessary dragging."
"Hmm... how should I put it? It feels a bit different from 'Snowy Landscape,' but I can't quite put my finger on why. 'Snowy Landscape' has that desolate, lonely feeling of a vast desert, while 'Sword Comes' feels more like a young boy crawling out of the mud. I like it."
For fans of "Sword Comes," it's undoubtedly the food they've been eagerly awaiting. As for fans of Qin Hao's other books, although they might be slightly disappointed, they still appreciate the quality of Qin Hao's new book.
Dingqi.com meeting room.
Uncle Fan personally oversaw the operation.
Several laptops were placed on the long conference table, and the large screen displayed real-time data curves for "Sword Comes." Number of favorites, number of followers, number of comments, number of donations—every statistic was jumping around, like an electrocardiogram, never stopping.
Old Wu from the tech department, along with two engineers, stood guard in a corner, ready to handle any server load. Xiao Zhao, the operations manager, sat to Uncle Fan's right, quietly reporting the latest data every ten minutes.
"Mr. Fan, the number of favorites has exceeded 200,000."
"Um."
"The follow-up reading rate is 47.2%."
"Um."
"The number of comments has surpassed 50,000."
"Um."
Uncle Fan's response was brief and restrained. His fingers unconsciously rubbed the watch strap on his left wrist—a habitual gesture he made when nervous, ever since the night "The Great Feng Night Watchman" went on sale.
Time passed by, second by second.
At 8 PM, the collection count reached 300,000. At 9 PM, it reached 350,000. At 10 PM, it reached 420,000. At 11 PM, it reached 470,000.
The data curve drew a beautiful upward arc on the screen, showing no sign of falling back.
By 1 a.m., the changes in various data finally stabilized. Readers had read what they wanted to read, given what they wanted to give, and went to sleep, so the curve began to flatten.
Uncle Fan stared at the screen for a full two minutes.
Then, the tense look on his face finally disappeared, replaced by a smile—a relieved, heartfelt smile, with the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothing out.
"Well done. Everyone worked hard."
He stood up and scanned the faces in the conference room, all of whom had bloodshot eyes.
"This month's bonus is doubled."
"good--!"
A burst of cheers.
Zhou Zhengyang, sitting to Uncle Fan's left, chimed in at the opportune moment: "We were just doing our job. It was mainly thanks to you, President Fan, that we signed Qin Hao and cracked this tough nut."
"Go away, stop flattering me." Uncle Fan chuckled and scolded, but his smile only deepened.
He paced back and forth in the conference room, his smile fading, and said seriously, "After Professor Qin Hao's new book is released, our Dingqi.com's traffic will definitely experience an explosive growth. The technical department must ensure that there are no problems with the servers and prepare several contingency plans."
Old Wu nodded: "Don't worry, Mr. Fan, we've prepared three contingency plans, and the server capacity has already been expanded."
"Hmm." Uncle Fan walked back to his seat, picked up his coat, and draped it over his arm. "Also, the operations department's promotion plan for tomorrow will proceed as scheduled. Don't let your guard down just because the data is good. The first day's data is just the starting point; the real test is yet to come."
"clear."
Uncle Fan nodded, pushed open the door, and went out. The corridor lights were stark white, but his steps were much lighter, his leather shoes making a crisp sound on the marble floor.
-
The next day, a reader woke up, opened the Dingqi.com app, and almost thought he was seeing things.
"Sword Comes" garnered 500,000 favorites in less than 24 hours after its release.
Keep in mind, this book only has 30,000 words published so far. 30,000 words isn't even the length of a novella; for most authors, it might not even meet the minimum requirements for a contract. But for Qin Hao, 30,000 words is enough.
500,000 favorites, 30,000 words.
This ratio is absolutely terrifying.
But what happened next was even more shocking.
This novel, which hasn't even been released yet, has already topped the bestseller list.
That's right, not the new release list, but the bestseller list—the list that usually only newly released works can break into. "Sword Comes" doesn't even have VIP chapters yet, but relying solely on readers' donations, it has managed to squeeze out a bunch of established authors' millions of words of paid works.
This is not finished.
One reader clicked on the reader rankings for "Sword Comes" and couldn't take their eyes off it.
The top ten are all Gold Alliance Leaders.
The reader at the top of the list, whose ID is "Ping An Da Dao," directly gifted three Gold Alliance members. Three! Three hundred thousand yuan in real money, thrown away without batting an eye. From second to tenth place, each person had at least one Gold Alliance member, and there were over a hundred Silver Alliance members. As for those who gifted Alliance Leaders and Branch Leaders, they were simply too numerous to count.
It's important to know that being a Gold Alliance Member on Dingqi.com isn't cheap. A Gold Alliance Member costs 100,000 RMB, and a Silver Alliance Member costs 10,000 RMB. This is real money support, not some virtual item. Other authors would boast about having just one Silver Alliance Member, but for Qin Hao, a Silver Alliance Member would only get him into the top 100.
In the book review section, someone posted a thread titled—
"Everyone's saying the economy's been bad lately and everyone's reluctant to spend money, right? How come it seems like I'm the only one without money?"
The comments section exploded.
"Here's a little-known fact: the number of billionaires has been increasing in recent years."
"I'm just a Silver Alliance member, yet I'm ranked over ninety. Where's the prestige? I spent at least ten thousand yuan!"
"Stop talking, everyone. I tipped five hundred yuan, and it didn't even make a ripple. I had to scroll through several pages of the reader rankings to find myself."
"Sigh, it's the same old recipe, the same old taste. The Great Demon King is back."
"I'm back."
These three words, like some kind of code, filled the entire book review section.
-
Meanwhile, the Dingqi.com author group was completely silent.
Bei Chen stared at the data for "Sword Comes" for ten minutes, then silently changed the update time of his new book from two chapters a day to one chapter.
March Rain posted a wry smile emoji with the caption: "I'm posting it next month. I can't afford to mess with them, really."
Iron Hand, however, remained defiant: "What's the panic? The manager can't possibly suck all the readers away—"
Before he could finish speaking, someone in the group shared a screenshot. It was the ranking of the best-selling list for "Sword Comes"—the difference between the first and second place wasn't just one or two times, it was ten times.
Iron Hand remained silent.
The group messages scrolled a few times, and someone posted: "The new section is going to be dominated by the rankings again."
No one responded.
Silence spread, like a river freezing over in winter, starting from a point and slowly freezing the entire river.
Only one message quietly surfaced in the silence.
That was issued by He Hanfa.
Only four words—
"Welcome back." (End of Chapter)