Chapter 275

"It was also because I was clearly seen that I gained the strength to love, to see, and to give. In the game, I learned to be brave, made friends, and experienced the feeling of being firmly chosen...

I laughed and cried with these characters, and experienced countless challenges and difficulties. These experiences made me understand that the game is not just a virtual world; it is a place where we can find our true selves."

Qiao Suisui raised her eyes, her gaze firm. People in front of the screen forgot to breathe, following the twists and turns of her emotions.

"But now, my game world is being erased, and I cannot let it just disappear like this. Most importantly, if today I, an ordinary player, can encounter such a situation, how do you know the next one won't be you?"

Her voice was firm and powerful, conveying her belief to everyone: "I hope you can join me in resisting INF Company's power to erase game worlds. For the sake of our game world, for the time we have invested, and for those who have found strength and hope in the game, make a little effort. Perhaps it's just a small bit of support, but to us, it means everything."

"President Han, our live-stream room is currently number one on the rankings!"

"President Han, people in the background are constantly asking about the erasure of 002, how should we reply?"

"It's 50,000 people! There are over 200,000 comments! President Han, how do we respond?"

The man in the suit stood in front of the huge electronic screen, leaning against the desk, facing Qiao Suisui's face on the screen.

All the employees were frantic, the secretary sweating on his forehead, glancing nervously at President Han's expression, and the next second, he was stunned.

President Han, who he thought would be furious, was currently smiling as he watched the screen.

The secretary swallowed, looked down at the real-time stock market situation on his iPad, thinking: I wonder if he'll still be able to smile if he sees this... In the comment section of the live-stream, a large-scale discussion erupted. The comments were as thick as a city wall, making it impossible to see what was actually written.

【No wonder the person changed suddenly today, INF, I advise you to act like a human.】

【Why erase 002?】

【Woooooo, my Daddy Luka, why can't I get this man?】

【Support 002!!!!】

【Why erase, why erase, why erase?】

【Don't you guys find it scary? Even if this game was made by this company, how dare they just delete an account like that?】

【Blind student, you've found the point! Doesn't this violate the game rules? Do we players have no human rights?】

【If this is the case, how can I feel safe spending money?】

【Wait, after all that, 002 didn't even say why she was being erased, right? She couldn't have been erased for no reason, could she?】

【Here we go again, victim-blaming, go die, person above.】

Amidst the comments of arguing and mutual insults, one netizen gave their own serious analysis—

【Just looking at this ID, 002 must be a beta tester. Her game progress must be faster than later players, and in previous live-streams, she was the first person to collect all five men. And I saw in a guide that Anubis's route is very difficult because this guy dies at the drop of a hat, so she must have cleared it. Could it be related to her clearing operation, and she was deleted for violating rules?】

【Ah, that makes sense, but what operation would lead to a direct account deletion?】

【Must be using hacks.】

An employee quickly finished typing and said to his superior, "I've started a narrative, at least public opinion won't be one-sided anymore."

"Good, get some more trolls in there, steer the public opinion toward 002's rule-breaking operations."

"Despicable!"

Ye Xi clearly saw the suddenly appearing comments steering the narrative, and she said to Qiao Suisui, "We can't go on like this, let's release the evidence of the supervisor's rule-breaking."

Qiao Suisui shook her head. "It's only useful when the leverage is in our hands. If we release it, it's equivalent to a complete fallout with INF, and we don't have the winning odds." "Then—"

Before Ye Xi could finish speaking, the door was kicked open by several guards.

Qiao Suisui and Ye Xi immediately became tense. Several guards in black uniforms flooded into the room, their expressions cold, holding electric batons, clearly having received new orders.

The guards who arrived were all big guys over 1.9 meters tall. The leader said something into his headset and then stepped forward.

Han Chen's voice came through his walkie-talkie: "Catch them, bring them up."

Qiao Suisui knew this wasn't the game world, she couldn't fight them, so she glanced at the live-stream, and the next second, a look of panic and helplessness appeared on her face as she kept backing away.

Ye Xi also held her computer tightly in her arms, looking at the front vigilantly.

The guards ignored their reactions, not even saying a word, and stepped forward to try to control them. Qiao Suisui and Ye Xi struggled desperately.

"Stop! What you're doing is illegal!" Ye Xi shouted angrily, but her voice was quickly suppressed.

Qiao Suisui was roughly pressed to the ground, and she felt a sharp pain in her wrist. Her phone slipped from her pocket, the screen still showing the ongoing live-stream.

"What you're doing will only make more people see your ugly deeds!" Qiao Suisui said through gritted teeth.

The lead guard sneered and stepped directly on her phone, and the live-stream screen went black. However, the live-stream signal was not interrupted, and the entire process was still being recorded and transmitted.

The guard signaled for the others to take Qiao Suisui and Ye Xi away. Qiao Suisui was forcibly dragged out of the room, but she still gritted her teeth, refusing to bow her head. Ye Xi struggled desperately on the side, trying to break free, but to no avail. The guards didn't stop, instead using more force to drag them out.

Soon they were taken to the 23rd floor.

Different from the stuffy, airless room just now, this was a clean and bright conference room, but with Han Chen's arrival, the entire transparent glass turned opaque the second he pressed a remote control.

Ye Xi and Qiao Suisui were locked in two separate conference rooms.

Han Chen was watching her at his leisure, not saying a word.

The guard handed him a phone with a shattered screen.

Han Chen took it and threw it on the table with a smile.

"Do you think you can change anything by starting a live-stream? Miss Qiao, is this your first day on the internet? Don't you know that netizens' memories are like goldfish? They'll forget what happened today by tomorrow. You're counting on these blind, conformist goldfish to seek justice for you? How naive."

Qiao Suisui knew that Han Chen had never taken her seriously from the beginning.

But there wasn't a trace of panic in her eyes; on the contrary, she was exceptionally calm.

"Stop the erasure program now."

Han Chen acted as if he had heard a joke. "Are you okay? What leverage do you have to negotiate with me?"

He seemed to have thought of something, looked at Qiao Suisui with a smile, and said, "Or are you hoping I'll sue Ye Xi for stealing trade secrets? She's someone worth looking into."

Ye Xi was a hacker, her background wouldn't be entirely clean.

Han Chen looked at her curiously, his expression innocent. "I really want to know, how solid is your friendship?"

(End of chapter)