Of course, to show that he wasn't someone who sought petty advantages, this vlogger explained the situation to the staff in person. The staff, in turn, were very amiable and returned the computer, and that was the end of it.
Little did they know, this video unexpectedly achieved an extremely high playback count, surpassing ten million views and becoming a viral sensation across the entire internet.
Naturally, some people then wanted to follow suit. However, simply copying the template wouldn't garner more traffic, so the imitators decided to take the scheme a step further.
Initially, the first batch of imitators chose to make the computer cases look the same, almost completely erasing the original labels and leaving some labels from other brands, just to see if the staff could spot the difference.
The result was that they were still replaced on the spot with no discernible difference.
So, the second batch of imitators decided to go even further. The computer cases were still identical to those of Fantasy Computer, but the internal components were completely different from a genuine Fantasy Computer. As long as the staff glanced inside through the case window, they would definitely notice that it wasn't a Fantasy Computer case at all.
To their surprise, the staff still showed no reaction and proceeded with the replacement.
By the third batch, many vloggers directly brought over Apple computers with their distinctive cases. This time, the staff did pause for a moment. After making a phone call to inquire, they handed the vlogger a statement.
This statement was pre-written, declaring that the computer was originally a Fantasy Computer, but its host case had been replaced later. The vlogger only needed to sign on the spot to complete the exchange.
Good heavens, it was so convenient that it was practically a giveaway.
Of course, there was one strict rule Fantasy Computer enforced: each exchange required the registration of personal information, including a unique social security code, and the creation of a personal user profile through facial recognition.
Later, some vloggers tested this and found that once an individual had exchanged a computer and completed their user profile, they could not recall another computer a second time.
When this secret was exposed online, Europeans went wild. They began frantically collecting old computers of various brands. If they didn't have them at home, they went to secondhand markets to buy them. Once the secondhand markets were emptied, they directly scoured recycling centers. In any case, they found every possible way to get their hands on a discarded computer and take it to a Fantasy Computer recall point to receive a brand-new Quinary computer.
And so, by March 2017, this recall campaign reached its peak. In just three months across Europe, over 30 million computers were recalled by Fantasy Computer and exchanged for the latest Quinary computers.
This number also surpassed the total number of computers Fantasy Computer had sold in Europe over the past decade.
However, according to statistics, Europe's total population was 400 million, with 120 million computer users. Since the start of the recall campaign, and as of May 2017, Fantasy Computer had recalled and replaced over 60 million computers in total.
Because every recalled computer was necessarily matched with a real person, this meant that Fantasy Computer and its underlying Quinary computer had directly gained 60 million users.
Therefore, many users might have just been following the trend or seeking a small advantage. Even when they had no need for a computer, they still went to exchange for a Quinary computer. This, however, was the most terrifying aspect.
These users, who did not normally use computers, would not likely let their new computers gather dust at home. Thus, they would more or less start using them.
Furthermore, they had no prior habit of using Windows system computers, so there was naturally no barrier to switching systems. They could very easily and without any psychological hesitation use a Lingyun system computer.
Moreover, since the Lingyun system was itself converted from the Lingxiao system for personal terminals, the user habits for both systems were essentially the same. This allowed personal terminal users to seamlessly transition to Lingyun system users, and these new users directly became loyal users of the Lingyun system.
As for those who already owned computers, although they would most likely continue to use their Windows systems daily, having an extra Lingyun system computer at home meant they would use it from time to time. This would at least cultivate their acceptance of the Lingyun system. In the future, as the Lingyun system became increasingly refined and even encompassed all the functionalities and software of the Windows system, these users could then directly switch their allegiance.
In fact, according to later investigations by Microsoft, over 4 million original Windows users were gradually changing their usage habits, switching from their daily Windows system computers to Lingyun system computers.
These 4 million users were quite polarized: one group consisted of users who rarely used computers, while the other group comprised users with extremely advanced computer knowledge.
The former group typically used computers for gaming, more often playing games designed for personal terminals. These games could be directly transferred to the Lingyun system for use. Users could even use the built-in synchronization program of the Lingyun system to control their computer screens via their mobile phones. After using the Lingyun system for a while, they found that the Windows system held no appeal, and they promptly discarded their Windows system computers.
As for the latter group of highly experienced users, they discovered that the Lingyun system's chip possessed explosive capabilities in certain aspects. While its single-core processing power might not match traditional computers, in terms of multi-core processing power and the ability to synchronously handle various tasks, the Lingyun computer utterly crushed its competitors. For these extreme tech enthusiasts, this greatly enriched their user experience. Consequently, they began to switch their personal computers to Lingyun system computers.
They even disdained these free, standard-version recalled computers. Instead, they spent a fortune from China's Jiangnan Mall to order various high-end Lingyun series products, purchasing them at prices of tens of thousands of dollars to assemble the most powerful Lingyun machines of the current version.
Then, they happily discovered that the highest configuration version of the Lingyun machine, even its single-core capability, could outperform the strongest Intel chips, and its multi-core processing power was astonishingly satisfactory. Under such circumstances, how could computer geeks be willing to continue using their old binary computers?
Although many professional programs were still unusable, for these computer geeks, figuring out how to make these unusable programs functional again was their greatest pleasure.
Thus, by the time Microsoft began to truly acknowledge this change, Fantasy Computer had almost completed its strategic layout in the European market. A large number of Lingyun system computers had entered European households.
Following this were the demands for supporting products and iterative products for the Lingyun series. Every day, there were substantial purchase demands. However, due to the lack of local distributors, these users could only painstakingly purchase through overseas shopping websites.
Local European distributors, witnessing this situation, naturally could not allow such a lucrative opportunity to fall into the hands of others. They began to actively persuade local governments and institutions to allow them to import these Lingyun series products.
Although the European Union generally tended to appease the United States, it did not go to the extent of appeasing them like certain island nations, who would still lick their father's boots even if their entire population ate suspect meat or irradiated seafood. Therefore, facing the persistent demands of local forces, the relevant bans were quickly lifted. Lingyun series components began to appear in large quantities in various European electronics stores. Microsoft's painstakingly crafted layout was directly shattered.
However, Microsoft could do nothing about it. Upon learning of the entire situation, Microsoft's board of directors even voluntarily stated that they would not penalize the new CEO in any way.
After all, the opponent's tactics were too aggressive and too insurmountable. They were willing to give away computers worth billions, or even tens of billions, of dollars to users every month. Such a brute-force strategy of simply throwing money at the problem was truly unstoppable, and they could only accept defeat.
However, Microsoft could not allow the situation to continue developing. The board of directors demanded that Microsoft's CEO immediately present a counter-strategy, at the very least to stop the Jiangnan Group from using the recall system for its aggressive expansion.
If they were allowed to continue recalling computers in Europe like this, it was likely that all Windows computers in Europe would be directly replaced with Lingyun system computers.
The board of directors issuing orders was easy; a few words would suffice. But it made life difficult for the poor Microsoft CEO. He racked his brains and came up with several ideas, but they were all rejected.
Initially, the idea was to continue with audits in conjunction with local agencies. However, this proposal was immediately rejected because European local distributors had already united and agreed to import Lingyun system components in large quantities. If they played this card now, they would essentially be declaring war on all European local distributors!
If this strategy wouldn't work, then sue. Sue Fantasy Computer for recalling products that didn't belong to them. Although this reason for suing was unprecedented, it was factually correct.
However, this suggestion was quickly vetoed as well. Such commercial lawsuits typically took one to two years to conclude. During this period, the recall campaign would likely have already achieved its intended objectives.
Even if the court ruled in their favor, Fantasy Computer could simply announce the cessation of the recall campaign. It was likely that by then, they would no longer wish to continue with such unconditional subsidies. Microsoft would essentially be providing them with a reason to disengage, while simultaneously redirecting the anger of those Europeans who did not receive free computer exchanges onto themselves.