Chapter 41 The Bamboo Family Army Sets Off, Leaving Not a Blade of Grass Alive

The three words "Zhu Family Army" were like they had been injected with a frenzied magic.

Accompanied by screenshots of ten-thousand-yuan red envelopes and the near-manic bragging of those who had snatched them, they spread at a viral, fission-like speed across the Douyin platform and the entire internet!

This was no longer a simple fan support event.

It had evolved into a fanatical movement driven by real money, sweeping across the entire web!

The power of a single tycoon, the power of countless sums of money, was indeed enough to leverage a frenzied harvest of the popularity rankings.

It mobilized countless people to exercise their subjective initiative, starting a wild, plague-like spread.

It whipped up an unimaginable, stormy tidal wave on the Douyin platform!

Tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of users, after truly snatching those massive red envelopes that far exceeded expectations, instantly underwent a transformation of identity.

They were no longer fans of just any streamer.

In fact, many of them had no interest in Ruan Mianmian at all.

Their loyalty belonged to only one person!

—That "Emperor Zhu," who scattered money like rain with a wave of his hand, a tycoon without humanity!

"Wherever Emperor Zhu points, I strike!"

"I have no regrets joining the Zhu family in this life!"

"The Zhu Family Army marches!"

"Fight for Emperor Zhu!"

"From now on, whoever dares to speak ill of Emperor Zhu is my enemy!"

"Whatever Emperor Zhu tells me to do, I will do it!!"

"Damn it, let's fight them!"

"Let me show you the dominance of the Zhu Family Army! Brothers and sisters, stand up!!"

"Family! Start charging the rankings!!!"

Such slogans flooded every group chat and social media platform.

They organized themselves spontaneously, with clear divisions of labor.

Some continued to crazily send popularity tickets to Ruan Mianmian.

Others, like a well-trained army, began to execute the next mission—the march!

Planting the flag of the "Zhu Family Army" throughout the barrage sections of every popular Douyin livestream!

They wanted to directly occupy the entire Douyin livestreaming sector!

This terrifying force, condensed by pure money, had mobilization and execution capabilities far exceeding any traditional fan group, even rivaling professional internet trolls.

The efficiency was incredibly exaggerated!

The popularity continued to soar at a despair-inducing speed!

Ruan Mianmian's popularity ranking, as if equipped with rocket boosters, marched forward triumphantly, crushing one former "great god" after another.

Leaving countless insiders and netizens stunned and deeply shocked.

No one knew when this carnival would stop.

Could they really reach the top?

No, that's impossible.

Even with Ruan Mianmian and the Zhu Family Army, it's impossible to create such a miracle, right?

Just making it into the top ten this time would already be a huge miracle!

...

"Family! Pay attention to the ingredient list of this product; it is absolutely a high-quality, conscientious item!"

"Today, the price in the livestream room is at a historic low!"

"Three, two, one! Post the link!"

A top-tier streamer with tens of millions of fans, "Brother Hui," was speaking eloquently and passionately about the product.

The number of online viewers in his livestream room was consistently stable at over two hundred thousand, ranking eighth on the popularity chart.

The operations team was closely watching the constantly jumping transaction numbers in the background; everything was orderly and lively but not chaotic.

Suddenly!

Without any warning, the public barrage of the livestream was completely submerged by a uniform yet incredibly unfamiliar torrent!

"The Zhu Family Army marches! Leaving nothing behind!"

"Long live Emperor Zhu!"

"Hello Brother Hui, goodbye Brother Hui!"

"Just passing by, checking in for Emperor Zhu!"

"Popularity tickets already sent to Mianmian, sorry Brother Hui!"

"Brothers, charge! Next target!"

"Zhu Family Army passing through, excuse us!"

"Hahahaha! I'm here! I am a soldier of Emperor Zhu! Who else is there?!"

Countless similar barrages rolled in like a tsunami, instantly washing away the normal barrages regarding product inquiries, bargaining, and purchases without a trace!

The number of online viewers in the livestream room began to soar strangely, but the interaction completely deviated from the topic.

The growth of transaction volume instantly came to a standstill!

"This... what is going on?!"

The professional smile on Brother Hui's face froze as he looked at the completely out-of-control barrage, feeling at a loss for a moment.

"Family? What are you spamming? Zhu Family Army? What is that?"

"Stop messing around, look at the product! This one is really a great deal! What I'm giving everyone is a rock-bottom price for family!"

"You won't lose out, you won't be fooled!"

He tried to bring the rhythm back, but it was completely futile.

Those "Zhu Family Army" barrages ignored him completely, still crazily flooding the screen.

Just then, his operations assistant rushed over with a pale face, not caring if they were on camera, and whispered urgently.

"Brother Hui! It's bad! We lost our eighth place on the popularity chart!"

"What?!"

Brother Hui exclaimed, almost jumping up.

"Lost it? Who overtook us? Was it Old Chen next door or Damei?"

The assistant's voice was tearful.

"Neither... it's a... a beauty streamer named Ruan Mianmian... She's still a newbie streamer, just created her account less than a month ago, and her total followers haven't even broken one million!"

"Beauty section?!?"

Brother Hui's voice suddenly rose, full of disbelief.

"What kind of international joke is this! Someone from the beauty section can overtake me?"

"Aren't they all relying on a few big brothers to gift them? Since when is it so easy to get on the popularity chart?!"

"We are talking about the overall popularity chart! How could it be so simple?!"

He felt as if he had heard a huge joke, but looking at the assistant's desperate expression and the "Zhu Family Army" still crazily flooding the screen in the livestream room, an absurd and cold premonition instantly shot up his spine.

Douyin... Since when did such an outrageous big shot come here?! Who exactly is Emperor Zhu! Such a big show of force?!

...

"Oh! Brothers save me, save me! On the right, on the right! Someone is sneaking up!!"

The top female streamer in the gaming section, "Dai Xiaomeng," was focused intently on her screen, controlling her game character.

In her livestream room with 18 million fans, the barrage was originally discussing the battle situation enthusiastically.

Suddenly, the style of the barrage changed abruptly!

"Zhu Family Army airdrop! Old woman, be careful!"

"Report! This place has been taken over by the Zhu Family Army!"

"Dai Xiaomeng? Not bad, I'll patronize you next time, but the mission is urgent now!"

"A soldier under Emperor Zhu passing through!"

"Popularity chart +1, mission accomplished! Retreat!"

"Captured! The old woman's position is about to be captured!"

"Brothers! Let's go to the next livestream room!"

The dense "Zhu Family Army" barrages were like a swarm of locusts, instantly drowning out all game discussions.

"Ah?! What the hell?!"

Dai Xiaomeng was startled by this sudden torrent of barrages, her focus slipping, and her controls jerked.

The game character was instantly exposed to the enemy's muzzle.

The screen suddenly turned gray—dead on arrival!

It was actually a death on arrival that she hadn't seen in a long time!

"Wow!!!"

Dai Xiaomeng screamed in anger and ripped off her headphones, staring at the completely out-of-control barrage with a confused face.

"What Zhu Family Army? What kind of plane are you guys flying? Who came? What is all this?"

She was completely confused about the situation and quickly picked up her phone to open the Douyin overall popularity chart.

With just one glance, she froze, her pretty little mouth hanging open in an 'O' shape.

She saw that she, who had been firmly in sixth place, had now fallen to seventh!

And the name that had pushed her down was a completely unfamiliar ID— "Ruan Mianmian"!

From the beauty section!

"Ruan... Ruan Mianmian? Who is this?"

Dai Xiaomeng looked up blankly at the livestream camera.

"Brothers, which deity is this Ruan Mianmian? When did she ascend!?"

"Since when did such a person appear in the beauty section? How come I've never heard of her?"

It would have been better if she hadn't asked, as this question was like lighting a powder keg!

Her original fans in the livestream room and the influx of "Zhu Family Army" instantly boiled over: "Old woman, are you on 2G internet? You haven't even heard of Emperor Zhu?"

"A hundred carnivals last night, another hundred tonight! Scattering money and red envelopes directly! Sweeping the popularity chart!"

"The new tycoon of the beauty section! Rich to the point of being inhuman!"

"The Zhu Family Army marches, leaving nothing behind! You haven't heard of it?"

"Dai-mei is out! The hottest person now is Emperor Zhu! The number one big tycoon on Douyin!"

"Really? Tipping two hundred Huazi in one night? And giving out cash red envelopes directly?"

"Search it yourself! It's all over the news! It's trending everywhere!"

Watching the crazy explanations in the barrage, Xiaomeng was completely dumbfounded, muttering to herself, "Oh my god... where did this super tycoon come from... the beauty section... the sky is about to change..."

"No, no, no, the entire Douyin overall popularity chart is about to completely change?"

"Hey? But what does this have to do with me? Let's start another round, start another round, brothers, let's continue!"

—Inside the livestream room of a well-known antique appraisal streamer, "Teacher Ma."

The atmosphere was originally serious and professional.

"Treasure friend, for this item of yours, let's look at the glaze, look at the base..."

"Oh, not bad, interesting, an authentic item..."

Teacher Ma was holding a magnifying glass, carefully examining the collection item connected by a netizen.

The barrage was also enthusiastically discussing jargon like "authentic," "fake," and "having a strong aftertaste."

Suddenly!

"Zhu Family Army was here!"

"Hello Teacher Ma, the item is nice, but we have to go!"

"Mission accomplished! Retreat!"

"Long live Emperor Zhu!"

"Passing by, supporting! Go Ruan Mianmian!"

"Charged another one! Hahahaha!"

"Is even Teacher Ma about to be surpassed?"

"As expected, the Zhu Family Army marches, leaving nothing behind!"

"Hahaha, so satisfying! So satisfying! Even Teacher Ma can't hold them off!"

The familiar "Zhu Family Army" flood of barrages arrived on time again, instantly destroying the original professional discussion atmosphere completely!

"Eh? Eh eh eh?"

Teacher Ma looked up in astonishment, adjusting his glasses, and looking at the rapidly scrolling barrages that had nothing to do with antique appraisal, he was completely stunned.

"This... what is the situation? Zhu Family Army? This... this is also very 'authentic'! Too authentic!"

"This aggressive team, where did they come from?"

He had been in the industry for many years and had seen all kinds of scenes, but this scene where the entire livestream barrage was instantly "captured" by a completely strange "army" was truly unheard of!

He had never seen it before!

The assistant quickly reminded him in a low voice on the side.

Teacher Ma then suddenly realized, quickly took out his phone to check the popularity chart, his expression changing from astonishment to shock, and finally, it turned into an expression of unbelievable emotion.

"Oh my! Incredible! Incredible!"

He sighed to the camera.

"Brothers, we have witnessed history today!"

"A newcomer from the beauty section, just like that... just climbed up like that? Directly reached second place on the overall popularity chart?!"

"My god! Who is this 'Emperor Zhu'? This energy... is too scary!"

He even couldn't help but cup his hands at the camera.

"Admirable, admirable! Boss Emperor Zhu, do you have time to come to our livestream room to hang out?"

"Help us take a look, what items can catch your eye? We have many good, authentic things here too!"

Besides the teasing, a trace of deep shock also flashed in Teacher Ma's eyes.

He understood that the landscape of Douyin would probably change completely starting tonight.

All of this was just because of one name—Hanzhu.

Wherever the Zhu Family Army passed, it was truly a mess, leaving nothing behind!

And on the overall popularity chart, Ruan Mianmian's ID name had quietly climbed to second place!

Just one step away from first place!!