Chapter 33 Community Warmth
In the early morning hours of that day, a Weibo user named "In Jin'an" suddenly posted a short post, lamenting an experience from his childhood. "By the way, old Jin'an residents know that place used to be a snake den! Back when urban construction was underway, excavators dug and a bunch of venomous snakes emerged. It was terrifying! The foreman back then used all sorts of methods, like realgar powder and traps, to clear out a wave of them, but soon many more appeared. The stubborn residents cling to the area, their evil nature truly unsettling. The older generation was wary of this, so they didn't dare develop the area. But all these years later, it's become so lively. I wonder if outsiders would dare to go in now that they know the story of that place."
"Shenzai Jinan" was originally a relatively unknown figure with only a few hundred followers. Weibo posts by such users generally don't attract much interaction; a few comments are considered lively. But soon after his post was published, many netizens claiming to be from Jinan came to comment, like, and repost it.
Within an hour, there were hundreds of comments. A few hours later, the number of comments exceeded 10,000. Shares and likes also soared, quickly becoming a trending topic. From early morning until 9 a.m., the topic "Jin'an Snake Cave" was trending, ranking in the upper mid-range. It wasn't particularly high-profile, but it was also hard to ignore. It seemed like netizens had spontaneously generated the buzz.
It was summer vacation, and Zhang Minmin woke up early, ran, and memorized some vocabulary. Then, she sat at her desk, eating breakfast while browsing her phone. She enjoyed checking Weibo's trending search list, believing it helped her stay informed about current events. As a native of Jin'an, she was naturally drawn to the trending search terms related to her hometown.
Zhang Minmin clicked on it and saw the lively comment section under the short article "Being in Jinan".
"Oh my god, is the blogger telling the truth or making it up? This is too bizarre."
"在晋安" quickly replied: If you don't believe it, just think I'm making up a story.
And under this reply, there are more voices from netizens:
"Is there anyone who doesn't know? The exiles to the southern barbarian lands mentioned in TV dramas and textbooks are referring to Jin'an. This place was very hot in ancient times, with many insects, poisonous snakes, and miasma. Those who were exiled there either escaped early due to connections or died of illness within a few years."
"I know about this, too. My grandfather told me about it when I was a kid. He said there used to be a lot of poisonous snakes in Jinan. He said one family built their house over a snake den, ignoring advice. They thought they could just get rid of the den, but in the middle of the night, the whole family was bitten to death by venomous snakes. Snakes are cold-blooded animals that hold grudges the most!"
"Humans are born with a gene that makes them afraid of snakes. Most people are still very afraid of snakes."
"Blogger, I'm also in Jin'an now. Can you tell me what that place is? I'll be careful to go around it."
@身在晋安: "I won't tell you where it is, those who understand will understand. But don't worry, most people in Jinan are warm and friendly, and they won't specifically point you to a bad place."
"The blogger is being too cautious. Isn't that a fantasy paradise? It's been trending online lately, so I took my wife and kids there. Who knew we'd get bit by a snake right after entering Jasmine Town? The kids were crying their hearts out, and as a dad, I was heartbroken."
This netizen's message immediately aroused a lot of sympathy, and many people asked about the follow-up. Zhang Minmin was also shocked and hurriedly clicked on the account, but it showed that the account had been cancelled.
But then a lot of sarcastic remarks came out, saying that there was a huge force behind Fantasy Park, that the boss of Fantasy Park was a tyrant, and that the boss of Fantasy Park had all the power in the local area. It was as outrageous as it could be.
"I'm also a local. I can only say that Fantasy Paradise's technology is really good, but the boss is really ruthless. I dare not say too much, I'm afraid my account will also be cancelled."
"I can understand the blogger. We're just talking anonymously online. Locals, everyone knows there's a powerful force behind Fantasy Park. The whole story about inheriting grandma's last wish and selling houses and cars to run the business is all fake. They just created this persona for everyone to see. Did you know about that Beizhan up figure, Jiang Zharen? He's in jail. He was reported for pimping, but in fact, he was framed by Fantasy Park for being too honest. And the boss of the small private company that was in the news earlier was said to have stolen holographic glasses and sold them abroad. Anyone who's been to Fantasy Park knows that holographic glasses look like plastic glasses. What boss abroad is so stupid as to give away millions before even getting the goods? They were all put in jail by Fantasy Park. Fantasy Park has a holographic presence in Jinan, with collusion between officials and businessmen. Even the TV stations are personally supporting them."
Seeing that more and more netizens who were unaware of the truth were developing a negative impression towards Fantasy Park due to the instigation of these contents, Zhang Minmin was so angry that she slammed her chopsticks on the table.
Zhang's mother, who was also eating, glanced at her and said, "If you have any problem, just throw the pillow. These chopsticks are made of ceramic. Be careful not to hurt your hands if you break them."
Before Zhang Minmin could say anything, her father suddenly called out, "Hey, girl, are you going to Fantasy Park today? I'm telling you, don't go. Fantasy Park has gone bankrupt!"
As he said that, he held up the content on Weibo in front of Zhang Minmin. Zhang Minmin knew what it was without even looking at it. She said, "Dad, my classmates and I have been to Fantasy Park many times. There is no such thing at all. This is a rumor."
Zhang's mother also said, "The news on the Internet is half true and half false, so don't just believe it."
After being scolded by his wife and daughter, Zhang's father did not feel embarrassed. He just had the typical bystander mentality, watching for fun and forgetting about it soon. However, he still warned his daughter, "Why don't you go for the next few days and see what happens next."
Before Zhang's father could finish his words, Zhang Minmin exclaimed, holding up her phone and saying, "Fantasy Park officials have come out to refute the rumors! They're so quick!"
***
Haishi, headquarters of Yingda Technology Group
The boss, Mr. Chen, is also paying attention to the news about Fantasy Park at this moment.
Not long ago, he condescended to personally visit Jin'an City. After witnessing the stunning holographic technology at Fantasy Park, he was eager to acquire it. However, Fantasy Park's attitude was unbridled. Even the owner didn't show up, and an online customer service representative rejected his request. This left Mr. Chen feeling humiliated and furious. Back in Hai City, he became increasingly upset. Holographic technology was a lucrative prospect, and current domestic technology couldn't even achieve glasses-free 3D. Now they were just opening a theme park, but what if they wanted to expand into the mobile phone and gaming industries in the future? That was the bulk of Inda Technology's profits!
Although Fantasy Park was short on cash, they had rejected Yingda Technology. They must be hoping to collude with Hongxuan Technology. If the two sides joined forces, Hongxuan Technology would gain access to Fantasy Park's technology, and wouldn't that crush Yingda Technology in a matter of minutes? As the saying goes, to destroy someone's financial resources is like killing their parents. When it comes to this, no one can remain calm. However, Mr. Chen didn't take Fantasy Park too seriously. After all, Yingda Technology was so large that taking down a smaller park would be a piece of cake. They could easily crush it with just a few tricks.
However, Mr. Chen did not expect that such a small theme park would be so cautious. No loopholes could be found in the various procedures and certificates, fire safety, etc. Since the fair means did not work, he could only resort to unorthodox methods.
The company had already notified the media and all the manuscripts were ready. Some employees even entered the Fantasy Park early in the morning to film, preparing to wait for tourists to be bitten by snakes and then trigger multiple reactions to immediately ruin the Fantasy Park and put it into bankruptcy. However, he waited and waited, and the Fantasy Park continued its business as usual today. Everything was calm and nothing was said.
Before Mr. Chen could figure out what was going on, he saw that the official account of Fantasy Park released a surveillance video of someone throwing snakes at people, saying that they had used technology to restore the appearance of the five people who threw the snakes. The police were coming to arrest them, and they believed that the person who bribed them behind the scenes would be caught soon.
@FantasyPark: Considering the snake-throwing incident last night and the many rumors today, we suspect this is a conspiracy against FantasyPark and have submitted evidence to the authorities.
Mr. Chen's heart skipped a beat, and without warning, he launched into a rage at his subordinates. "Didn't you say that this shabby little paradise isn't patrolled? Didn't you say that everything went smoothly for those five people?"
The subordinate was startled and quickly said, "Don't worry, we're very cautious. They can't find anything against us. They have no evidence. As for the online media, the online troll army has it under control. The attention has been dispersed, and the ones that have a lot of attention don't mention the name of Fantasy Park. Even if the name is mentioned, the attention doesn't meet the standard for conviction."
As the saying goes, it takes one mouth to spread a rumor, but it takes a lot of mouth to refute it. As long as this information is still circulating on the Internet, the reputation of Fantasy Park will not be good.
However, just when the people at Yingda Technology were relieved, the central government suddenly issued a long notice. The content was very rigorous, but in a nutshell, it was to maintain network security and social stability. Starting today, the location of the network IP address must be displayed.
This notice was released quickly and implemented quickly. Silently, the blogger nicknamed "In Jinan" was exposed. His IP address was shown in Haishi. Not only him, but also all the accounts under that topic claiming to be locals of Jinan were exposed. The IP addresses were from all over the country, but not Jinan.
At this moment, both the bystanders and fans of Fantasy Park on the Internet were excited, and they all ran to the account of "In Jinan" to have fun as if it were New Year's Day.
"Didn't you say you've always lived in Jin'an? Didn't you say you're a Jin'an native? Why did your IP end up in Hai City?"
"I've been watching it all morning and I've felt something is amiss. Everyone knows that children are not allowed in the Fantasy Park. And the father is heartbroken when a child gets bit by a snake. It's hilarious."
"Fantasy Park is so tough! What were those people who cast the snakes thinking? Fantasy Park is so high-tech, how could you have tricked it?"
"Speaking of children being banned from the park... I heard that Fantasyland is going to open a children's area. Is that true? Any information?"
So the topic shifted from mocking the rumormongers to the children's play area, and netizens quickly started a new topic, asking Fantasy Park to speed up the development of the children's area, as they couldn't wait to bring their children to play.
When netizens were excited, Jinan City TV once again seized the opportunity and went to the park for an interview, but this time the beginning was a collection of passers-by's highlights.
The TV station interviewed real locals, both young and old. The young people said they had never heard of any snake cave in Jinan City. An old lady said that snakes were indeed dug out from a place many years ago, but it was not the Fantasy Park. The reason why Xinghu District has not been able to develop is not because of the snake cave rumors, but because the local government is too poor.
Seeing this, netizens couldn't hold back their laughter.
“Hahaha, the local government is so poor, and the old lady is so real!”
"Looking at the disgusted expression on the old lady's face, I can already foresee the birth of a new wave of emoticons."
The person being interviewed right after the old lady was an uncle named Wang. Standing at the gate of Fantasyland, he pointed at the large red banner and proudly said, "See this? The director asked me to customize this... What? The director has someone behind him? No, he's just a poor kid who lost his parents when he was young. His grandmother raised him, and I'm his neighbor. I've watched him grow up!" Uncle Wang spoke eloquently, "When the park reopened, I was optimistic about this kid. I thought he would definitely make it big, and he has become big now, hasn't he? It just makes people jealous, but there's nothing we can do about it. My nephew is just so outstanding!"
In just a few words, they went from being neighbors to being nephews. Before netizens could react, the old lady suddenly appeared in the picture and grabbed Uncle Wang's ear with one hand. She pinched him and made him scream while scolding him, "You bastard, you dare to lie in front of the whole country? When they opened the park, you laughed at them and said they wouldn't last long..."
Uncle Wang cried out, "Mom! You know the whole country is watching, can't you just give me some face?"
The mother and son walked away arguing, leaving reporter Fang Jiu speechless.
The comments were full of hahaha, and people said that every interview at Jinan TV station was full of surprises. Some people even made emoticons of Uncle Wang's performance before and after, with the classic caption: He used to be a king, and then his mother came.
It turns out this person’s last name is Wang. After netizens discovered this, there was another wave of team building, and the comment section and barrage were as lively as if it were Chinese New Year.
At the end of the video, the reporter interviewed the director of the park.
Fang Jiu said, "I heard that the park will soon open a children's area. When can we see it?"
The young director took off his glasses. Without them, everyone realized that this previously gentle director had a pair of glasses that were so bright that they looked sharp. He said, "We are indeed planning to open a children's area. In fact, the design has been completed a long time ago, but we just lacked funds... Construction started last night, and it will be open to the public in two days at the latest. Then, children are welcome to come and play in the park!"
Two days! Fantasy Park is so efficient!
Netizens were amazed and thought that with such advanced technology that holography can be achieved, it is not surprising to build a children's area within two days.
…
Yingda Technology spent a lot of money on publicity in the early stage, but not only did it not damage the reputation of Fantasy Park, but it was slapped in the face, and the park won more sympathy and attention, and gave others a wave of publicity for the children's area for nothing. When Mr. Chen of Yingda Technology saw this scene, he was so angry that his nose was crooked.
But before he could think of any way to deal with Fantasy Park, someone knocked on the office door.
Mr. Chen said impatiently: "Who is it? Didn't I tell you not to disturb us?" He was also wondering, didn't the secretary make arrangements in advance?
But then I heard a strange voice coming from outside, "Hello, the community is sending warmth."
What the hell?
Mr. Chen was about to curse when he suddenly thought of something and his legs went weak.
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