The blurb: [The main text is finished]. Wen Yu had a hard time gaining some fame in the entertainment industry. One day, she was set up and fell into disfavor, becoming hated by the entire internet...
Chapter 7 Even at a time like this, someone still dares to cancel the live stream in another world…
Outside the window was a foreign land with unfamiliar blue skies and white clouds. The sky was clear, and sunlight shone through the slightly open white curtains onto the floor of the ward.
Wen Yu lay quietly on the hospital bed, her eyes closed, her long eyelashes casting a small shadow under her eyes.
Her breathing was shallow and even, her face serene, as if she were simply lost in a beautiful dream she didn't want to wake up from.
The only sound in the ward was the occasional ticking of the medical equipment.
The mother, Wen Yan, sat on the edge of the bed, holding a wooden comb in her hand, slowly combing her daughter's long, black hair, her movements so gentle they were almost reverent.
Anyone could see that Wen Yu had eyes that were seven-tenths similar to hers, and a smile that seemed to emanate from her even when she didn't speak. But now, only sorrow remained in her eyes, a far cry from what they once were.
All the contract termination and compensation disputes caused by that program called "Field" were handled by her and her husband Yu Ning, along with their agent, after their daughter fell into a coma.
Now everything has settled down, but their daughter still refuses to open her eyes.
Even more frightening is that they took Wen Yu everywhere seeking medical treatment, even traveling from China to abroad.
Even with the world's top doctors and the most advanced equipment, they couldn't find the root cause of her dormancy.
Wen Yan knew that if it was a curable disease, the cause could always be found.
If the cause of the illness cannot be found, does that mean... forever?
The idea was so terrifying that she didn't even dare to think about it.
She could only wait day after day, hoping that one day her daughter would quietly open her eyes, smile at her, and call out "Mom" again.
The ward door was gently pushed open, and Wen Yan turned around to see Wen Yu's father, Yu Ning, walking in with a thermos food container.
He immediately saw the overwhelming weight in his wife's eyes, a weight that seemed to be crushing her.
He sighed silently, placed the food box on the bedside table, raised his hand and placed it on Wen Yan's slightly trembling shoulder, his voice filled with undisguised exhaustion: "Ayan, eat something."
It was said to her, and also to myself.
He also spent a whole day trying to find a doctor for his daughter, but to no avail.
The food box contained soups and dishes carefully prepared by the nanny, but at that moment they tasted like cardboard.
The two ate in silence, their mechanical eating seeming merely a means to sustain their lives.
Since Wen Yu collapsed, they have felt as if all their energy and spirit have been drained away.
They turned down all their jobs and took their daughter to various hospitals, trying even the faintest of hopes. They even started praying to gods and Buddhas, begging God to spare their child.
But in the outside world, the daughter's reputation had already plummeted.
They knew perfectly well that the storm that erupted on the show was inseparable from the show's production team and other artists' teams taking advantage of their misfortune.
In this circle that relies on traffic and hype, it is the norm to belittle the weak and praise the strong, and they are powerless to refute it or reverse it.
The two decided to completely cut off their connection with the internet, as seeing the flood of insults and speculations online would only exacerbate their despair.
Yu Ning took a deep breath, forcing herself to cheer up: "Ayan, I asked a former colleague to contact a top international brain science expert. He's said to be very accomplished in the field of consciousness. Maybe we can take Xiaoyu with us..."
Before she could finish speaking, Wen Yan's phone, which was on the bedside table, silently lit up and began to vibrate.
Her long-term caregiver work had made her accustomed to silence.
Wen Yan looked up and glanced at the caller ID.
She is Wen Yu's agent, Chen Xiayun.
This capable woman notified them immediately after Wen Yu's accident and has maintained contact with them ever since, frequently inquiring about Wen Yu's treatment progress and sending them potentially useful information.
Wen Yan's heart inexplicably clenched for a moment.
The day Wen Yu collapsed, it was Chen Xiayun who called her, and she still feels a bit scared.
She walked to the quiet, deserted stairwell with her phone before pressing the answer button: "Hello, Xia Yun?"
On the other end of the phone, Chen Xiayun's voice came through the receiver, but it was tinged with excitement: "Sister Yan...we, we found a live streaming room online that is related to Wen Yu."
Wen Yan frowned, a surge of anger rising within her.
Even at a time like this, who would dare to exploit her daughter?
She frowned and said, "Live stream? What live stream? Xiaoyu clearly..."
"It's a wilderness survival livestream using her name!" Chen Xiayun spoke quickly, as if trying to finish her sentence in one breath. "This livestream has been running for a while now, and it consistently has tens of thousands of viewers watching every day..."
"Absurd!" Wen Yan's voice suddenly rose, a surge of offended anger welling up inside her. "My daughter is lying right here, and those liars actually dare to..."
Is it AI face-swapping?
Or is it just a makeup blogger's imitation show?
These streamers are absolutely ruthless in their pursuit of traffic!
"No, Sister Yan!" Chen Xiayun interrupted her urgently, "This live stream started exactly one month after Xiaoyu fell into a coma. If they wanted to ride the wave of popularity, why wait until the storm had passed? Besides, hardly anyone watched this live stream at first; everyone thought it was fake!"
“More importantly,” she took a deep breath, “the background in that live stream felt…like something from our time.”
"Doesn't look like modern times?" Wen Yan was stunned.
“The villagers in the live stream said that the place they live in is called the ‘Da Yin Dynasty’,” Chen Xiayun said, lowering her voice even further. “But I’ve searched through all the historical records, and there’s absolutely no record of this dynasty in history!”
“That could also be a fictional background in the script…” Wen Yan’s anger was replaced by a hint of doubt.
“But, Sister Yan…” Chen Xiayun’s voice trembled even more violently, as if she had used up all her strength to say the next sentence, “Go and watch that live stream.”
"I think that's Xiaoyu."
Wen Yan's fingers tightened instantly as she gripped her phone.
Chen Xiayun is not someone who easily loses her temper.
Her saying such things suggests either that she has discovered a truth that would overturn their understanding, or that she herself is on the verge of collapse.
After hanging up the phone, Wen Yan felt completely drained and walked back to the ward, standing by her daughter's bedside.
Wen Yu remained asleep, her face calm and her breathing even and deep, showing no signs of illness. She slept quietly, unwilling to wake up, as if all the noise and commotion outside had nothing to do with her.
Wen Yan lowered her head, looking at the live stream link sent by Chen Xiayun on her phone screen. Her fingertip hovered above the screen, hesitant to click.
She was afraid.
I'm afraid that clicking on it will reveal a clumsy imitation, yet another desecration of my daughter's image.
But what she feared even more was clicking on it and seeing her beloved daughter struggling to survive in another world she couldn't reach.
What should she do?
In the end, a faint glimmer of hope overcame the heavy fear weighing on her heart.
Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, she'd still want to try.
The same applies to seeking medical treatment, and it remains the same now.
She didn't have the courage to face it herself, so she clicked on the link, her hands trembling as she handed her phone to her husband beside the hospital bed, her voice hoarse: "Dad, take a look at this... what is it?"
----
It was no accident that Chen Xiayun discovered this live stream.
She worked day and night to clean up all the mess left after Wen Yu fell into a coma, leaving her completely exhausted.
She announced that Wen Yu was temporarily leaving the entertainment industry. As for the fact that Wen Yu had fallen into a coma, Wen Yu's parents asked her not to announce it to the public.
They hope that one day their daughter will be able to come back on her own and return to the stage she loves.
However, after contacting each other privately many times, the news they received was not optimistic. Wen Yu had been in a coma since that day, and even the doctors were helpless.
One late night, a colleague she knew in the industry suddenly sent her a link, exclaiming in shock, "Sister Chen, take a look at this! Isn't the streamer in this live stream Wen Yu? Didn't she say she was retiring from the entertainment industry?"
In that instant, Chen Xiayun's heart sank.
Is this ever going to end?
The person is lying unconscious in the hospital, and you guys are still trying to exploit their popularity?
She clicked on the link, seething with anger.
The few seconds it took for the page to load seemed incredibly long to her.
When the image became clear, the first thing that caught her eye was the number of online users in the upper right corner.
There are currently over 48,000 people watching the live stream, and the chat is quite active, with a group of people discussing it animatedly.
[I just arrived. How many acres of land has Wen Yu cleared today?]
Ah Yue works way too hard, he's definitely a tool person, hahaha.
When will the new map be released? I've been waiting for it for so long. I know this village inside and out. If we want resources, we'll have to expand outwards.
[The person upstairs is dreaming. They don't have the money, how can they expand? At the very least, they should wait until this land is cultivated before considering anything else.]
[If we don't expand outwards, there are other ways! The protagonist of the novel I read yesterday made his fortune by digging for wild delicacies and hunting in the mountains. Should Wen Yu give it a try too?]
[That's wishful thinking. In a famine like this, even the wild vegetables by the roadside have been eaten up. What delicacies would you possibly have left to eat? There are wolves in the mountains, but if they go there, they'll just be feeding the wolves!]
[Never mind, let's start farming.jpg]
The live stream finally finished loading, and Chen Xiayun's gaze was firmly fixed on the figure in the center of the screen.
Dust filled the air, and the sun was scorching.
In the center of the image, a woman wearing a coarse cloth shirt and trousers rolled up high, her face covered in sweat, is bent over, working hard... to plow the field?
Sweat soaked through her clothes, and her cheeks and bare arms were stained with mud from her work. But she was oblivious, continuing to work hard in the field, her wheat-colored skin gleaming in the sun.
Her movements weren't exactly standard; in fact, they were somewhat clumsy and laborious. But every time she swung the hoe, the muscles in her arms were clearly tense, unlike the female celebrity who couldn't even lift a hoe on the show back then.
It's Wen Yu!
Chen Xiayun's heart skipped a beat.
That face, that figure, that familiarity that even in its disheveled state couldn't hide... it was definitely Wen Yu.
She had taken care of her for five years, spending every day with her, and would never admit to making a mistake.
But how could that be?
Wen Yu is currently lying in a hospital room thousands of miles away in a foreign country, and has not opened her eyes for a long time.
So, who is this woman sweating profusely in the field?
Who is that half-grown child next to her, who is being ordered around and running errands, and who is calling her "Big Sister" with an admiring look on her face?
Wen Yu is an only child, so this streamer is definitely not her twin sister. Where did she get her brother from?
The truth was too absurd for her to believe, so she stared intently at the screen, trying to find even the slightest flaw in the AI synthesis.
Just then, the woman on the screen seemed to be drawn to something and stopped what she was doing.
She raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, and whether intentionally or unintentionally, looked towards the camera, revealing a tired yet exceptionally bright smile.
The comments paused for a moment, then resumed their heated discussion.
[She's quite pretty. If she had performed like this on the show, she wouldn't have been criticized by the whole internet. What a pity...]
[This doesn't seem like acting. She's gotten so tanned, and it was all live-streamed. Even if you cut the camera and used a body double, you couldn't pull it off.]
I love mature women with tanned skin! Can we have more women like this? ヽ(°▽°)ノ
[Sigh, how many celebrities in the entertainment industry are willing to plow the fields themselves? All that on TV shows is just for show. Anyway, I've changed my opinion of her a bit. Go Wen Yu!]
After the village got water, everyone washed up. I didn't expect A-Yue to be so handsome. Was he a child star somewhere? Maybe we'll see him in some drama someday...
Chen Xiayun could no longer remain calm.
That smile, that entire aura—no one else in the world could imitate it so perfectly.
This is Wenyu, a living, breathing piece of Wenyu.
Reason told her that this was impossible, but what she saw with her eyes left her no room for argument.
In search of even the faintest explanation, she sent the live stream link to a top AI identification expert she had worked with, her hands trembling.
The other party replied quickly: "After multi-dimensional analysis, the live stream has no trace of AI generation or deepfake, and is a real image capture."
Real-time image capture...
These six seemingly insignificant words almost shattered her understanding of the world.
Chen Xiayun sat in her office for a long time, trying to process the information conveyed by those words.
Finally, she picked up her phone and dialed Wen Yan's number.
No matter how bizarre the truth may be, as Wen Yu's mother, Wen Yan has the right to know all of this.
A note from the author:
----------------------