The glass walls of the new Tianyu Technologies office reflected the golden glow of the rising sun.
For the first time since the company was registered, the office was no longer empty.
Rows of desks were occupied.
Computer monitors glowed with code editors and server dashboards.
Conversations between engineers echoed through the workspace.
It was the first working day of Tianyu Technologies.
Morning — The First Team
Lin Tianyu stood near the window overlooking the city.
Behind him, several young engineers were busy setting up development environments.
Zhao Ming walked toward him with a tablet.
"The first team is small," Zhao Ming said.
"But they're good."
Lin Tianyu glanced across the office.
Five developers.
Two AI engineers.
One server infrastructure specialist.
It wasn't a large team.
But it was enough to start building something real.
Inside his mind, the Corporate AI Management System displayed the updated status.
CORPORATE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Company: Tianyu Technologies
Employees: 8
Departments Active:
• Software Development
• AI Research
• Infrastructure
Lin Tianyu nodded.
"Good start."
Zhao Ming smiled slightly.
"You're surprisingly calm."
"Most founders panic on the first day."
Lin Tianyu replied simply.
"Because they're uncertain."
Zhao Ming raised an eyebrow.
"And you're not?"
Lin Tianyu looked at the skyline outside the window.
"No."
Aurora AI Continues Growing
At that moment, Wang Hao rushed into the office holding a laptop.
"You guys need to see this."
He placed the laptop on the table.
Aurora AI's user dashboard appeared on the screen.
The number was climbing rapidly.
Users: 865,000
One of the engineers looked shocked.
"That growth rate is insane."
Another developer added quietly:
"We're going viral."
Aurora AI had just been featured on a popular technology news website.
Thousands of new users were downloading the application every hour.
Wang Hao refreshed the dashboard.
The number changed again.
Users: 912,000
Inside Lin Tianyu's mind, the system interface appeared.
SYSTEM NOTICE
Aurora AI Growth Rate: Extremely High
Next Influence Threshold Approaching
Lin Tianyu remained calm.
But internally, he knew the next milestone would be important.
One million users.
That was the point where Aurora AI would stop being a student project and become a real technology product.
A Familiar Face
Later that afternoon, someone arrived at the office reception.
When Lin Tianyu walked toward the entrance, he was slightly surprised.
"Chen Xiaoyu?"
She smiled.
"I heard your company was hiring."
Wang Hao—standing nearby—grinned widely.
"This is fate."
Chen Xiaoyu rolled her eyes.
"I'm serious."
She looked at Lin Tianyu.
"I studied data science."
"And your AI system is fascinating."
Lin Tianyu studied her quietly.
He knew Chen Xiaoyu was talented.
And having someone trustworthy inside the company was valuable.
"Alright," he said finally.
"You can join the AI research team."
Chen Xiaoyu smiled brightly.
"Thank you."
Wang Hao whispered quietly beside him.
"Best hiring decision ever."
Lin Tianyu ignored him.
But the office suddenly felt slightly more lively.
Wang Jun's Next Move
Across the city, inside a luxury office building, Wang Jun slammed his hand on the desk.
"How is this possible?"
Aurora AI's growth chart continued climbing upward.
His earlier legal complaint had slowed the investigation slightly.
But it hadn't stopped the application.
One of his assistants spoke nervously.
"The users already passed nine hundred thousand."
Wang Jun's expression darkened.
"That idiot is becoming a real competitor."
He leaned back slowly.
"Contact NovaTech."
The assistant looked surprised.
"You want to cooperate with them?"
Wang Jun nodded coldly.
"Yes."
"If we can't crush him alone…"
"…we'll bring bigger enemies."
The First Million
Back in the Tianyu Technologies office, the entire team was watching the user dashboard.
The number was moving closer.
972,000.
981,000.
995,000.
The room grew quiet.
Then suddenly—
The number changed.
1,000,000 users
Wang Hao shouted loudly.
"ONE MILLION!"
The entire office erupted into cheers.
Inside Lin Tianyu's mind, the system interface appeared instantly.
SYSTEM NOTICE
Aurora AI User Milestone Achieved
1,000,000 Active Users
Influence Level Increased
Another panel followed.
NEW MISSION AVAILABLE
Mission: Expand Aurora AI Platform
Objective
Reach 10,000,000 users
Reward
• ¥50,000,000
• Global AI Infrastructure Blueprint
• Technology Points +1000
Lin Tianyu's eyes flickered slightly.
Ten million users.
That was no longer a startup.
That was a major platform.
A New Rival Appears
At that exact moment, Zhao Ming received another report.
He read it carefully.
Then looked at Lin Tianyu.
"We have competition."
"NovaTech."
Lin Tianyu frowned slightly.
"A big company?"
"One of the biggest technology firms in the region."
"And they're launching their own AI productivity platform."
Wang Hao groaned.
"Already?"
Zhao Ming nodded.
"They saw Aurora AI's growth."
"And they're responding."
Lin Tianyu walked slowly toward the window.
Outside, the city lights began turning on as evening approached.
His voice was calm.
"Good."
Zhao Ming looked surprised.
"You're not worried?"
Lin Tianyu shook his head.
"Competition is normal."
He smiled slightly.
"And they're already late."
Night — The Next Vision
Later that night, the office had become quiet again.
Most of the engineers had gone home.
Only Lin Tianyu remained near the window.
Inside his mind, the Technology Tree appeared again.
Branches stretched endlessly.
Artificial intelligence.
Operating systems.
Biotechnology.
Energy systems.
Ocean exploration.
Space infrastructure.
Aurora AI was only the first step.
Lin Tianyu looked out over the glowing city.
His voice was quiet.
"The real empire…"
"…is just beginning."