Chapter 3: The Golden Age of Web Novels

However, Xu Heng is currently facing a major problem.

He has no capital!

That is to say, he has no startup funds. His family is not wealthy, and the money his parents give him each month after starting university is only enough for his expenses; plus, with dating, he hasn't saved a single cent after a year of university, and currently, his pockets only add up to about three hundred yuan.

Admittedly, he knows that as long as he enters the stock market this year, even a fool could rake in a sum of money before getting out.

But if his three hundred yuan goes in, even if he buys stocks that hit the daily limit all the way until November, he wouldn't earn more than a few hundred thousand, and if he invested this money, he wouldn't even have enough to eat.

Therefore, he still needs a simple and cost-free way to make money quickly, enough to earn the entry fee for the stock market.

Not much, twenty or thirty thousand is enough; by then, he could fish out a million in capital from this year's booming bull market and then retreat unscathed.

One million still has very high purchasing power in this era; whether buying a house or joining some industries that are about to explode in popularity, he could ensure he has no worries for the rest of his life.

"Did you read the latest chapter of *Top-Grade Servant*? That part where Brother San has a literary duel with Tao Dongcheng was so satisfying."

"Of course I read it! And it seems there's going to be a martial duel later; I wonder how Yu Da will write it from here."

"Tsk, it's good, but the updates are too slow. If I had money, I'd throw it at this update-dodging dog until they died."

While Xu Heng was thinking about how to earn his first pot of gold, Cheng Huaiyu and Zhao Gaoyang had unknowingly walked up behind him, the two of them chatting with their heads down, occasionally letting out lewd laughter.

*Jiading*? Yu Da?

Several unfamiliar yet very familiar terms drifted into Xu Heng's ears; he was stunned for just two seconds before he reacted.

That's right!

This year is 2007! The high-speed development period for web novels!

*Battle Through the Heavens*, *Soul Land*, and *Covering the Sky*—these web novels that were once at the height of their popularity—haven't even come out yet.

The hottest ones right now should be *Buddha's Origin and the Way*, which hasn't finished yet, and *Top-Grade Servant*, which has emerged as a dark horse this year; also, Gonggong's *Top-Grade Young Master* is exploding in popularity across the entire web.

In his past life, because of his profession, the way Xu Heng spent the most time killing boredom at work was reading novels, so he had read more or less all of the well-known ones.

He knows very well how big the web novel market is right now; compared to the web novels of later generations that were gradually replaced by short videos, web novels today can be called the overlords of the spiritual food world in the 2G to 3G era. As long as one knows how to grasp a few "satisfaction points," one can make money.

As for why Xu Heng knows so much, it is naturally because he joined the ranks of web novel writers in his past life; being a web writer is the only side job for a civil servant that is relatively easy to earn "rice" (money) with.

However, he joined after 2012, when web novels began to undergo large-scale rectification, where nothing below the neck could be written, gradually leading to later years in 2020 where even kissing couldn't be described in too much detail.

Xu Heng, who was bent on writing harem-style "big cannon" stories, was out of luck.

He got caught in the net.

Three consecutive urban rebirth novels that could have made money were banned, and he consciously withdrew from the market, which is also a great regret in his life.

But now it's different; it's 2007!

An era of wild growth for web novels, where you can do whatever you want without consequence.

And in this era, if you don't include some taboos, no one is even willing to read your novel!

Even something like the later pure fantasy *Battle Through the Heavens* contained quite a bit of "personal agendas."

Writing novels can make money!

Because of the unintentional reminder from Cheng Huaiyu and the other, Xu Heng realized the only industry currently available to him for cost-free money-making.

However, he didn't plan to copy web novels like *Battle Through the Heavens* verbatim; after all, the web novel era of *Battle Through the Heavens* was too long ago, and the last time he read those books dates back ten years to his past life. He couldn't remember many details at all, and the web novels he read more recently that he could remember might not necessarily be suitable for the current web novel market.

For example, single-heroine novels might be very popular in later generations, but they are a "poison point" right now. People reading novels today want the protagonist to take in everyone who has even the slightest connection to him; how could they accept a single-heroine story?

Or perhaps he could copy the later popular *Lord of the Mysteries*; he read *Lord of the Mysteries* seven or eight times and basically remembered the plot, but who could guarantee that Cthulhu-style Western fantasy would be popular in 2007?

In this era, there are no so-called "ten-year veteran bookworms" who like novels like *Lord of the Mysteries* that are refined in plot design and character development.

There are only young, restless boys who are dissatisfied with reality and like to "YY" (fantasize) in the world of web novels!

Once upon a time, Xu Heng was one of these restless boys, so he could better empathize with their feelings.

Having made up his mind, Xu Heng had already figured out a way to make money: write web novels, and they must be "satisfaction novels."

Copying is a dead end; it's better to go back to his old trade and stitch together two urban rebirth novels that would become huge hits in a few years.

Writing an urban rebirth novel now is too simple.

It only took Xu Heng a few minutes to conceive the general framework in his mind.

The male protagonist accidentally returns to high school, gains memory and physical strength stronger than the average person, and unexpectedly discovers he has clairvoyant powers; then comes the cliché but extremely popular "hero saves the beauty" plot for this era.

First, save three or five school beauties: one set as a rich second-generation with overwhelming family power and a haughty personality, one set as a poor child who is simple and innocent, and one set as a top student who is cold and unfathomable.

Then, get taken to the police station for fighting thugs to save a school beauty; inside the police station, there is a busty policewoman sister, and the two have all sorts of accidental sparks, but the policewoman sister has a very fiery temper and flirts with the male lead at every turn.

Later, continue saving the heroines; add more of those brainless villains—some rich second-generation eyeing the heroine's beauty, some thugs eyeing the heroine's family property, or encountering hijackers on a plane, or encountering a murderer while traveling.

Anyway, the more dangerous, the better.

Then, get injured and go to the hospital, where there are beautiful nurse sisters; write about their appearances, body movements, and flirting for a few hundred thousand words, and that will pass.

As for academic performance, since the male lead has a super memory, he naturally leaps from the bottom of the class to the top of the school; when receiving an award, the beautiful teacher looks at him with frequent, admiring eyes, and the two have an ambiguous, spark-filled relationship.

As for starting a business and getting rich later, there's no need to worry about that at all; he can make tens of millions or hundreds of millions from random scratch-offs or gambling on jade stones.

Then, the male lead releases his "kingly aura" again, and the wealthy lackeys kneel and hand over their family assets; if they don't, it doesn't matter, as those blind rich second-generation kids will definitely call their fathers after being taught a lesson by the protagonist.

The rich second-generation's father has a huge background, so the male lead goes through great pains to resolve their family, and incidentally takes over their family's industry.

Ah? You ask why the male lead can take their property and not turn it over to the state after getting them into the police station?

Don't ask such questions; no one will look into that in this era.

Writing an urban rebirth novel in 2007, just make it satisfying and that's it! Who needs a brain?

Even if you were willing to use your brain, those readers who only want to see satisfaction wouldn't be willing to use theirs!