Chapter 115 (Chapter 115) Gone Mad
When the ancient town was upgraded, Lu Xiaoqi not only received ten million yuan in cash, but also a treasure box.
She originally intended to open the treasure box, but then she received a call from Xiao Meiyun. Afterwards, they talked about the Dragon Boat Festival and the internet, and she completely forgot about the treasure box.
It wasn't until after the Dragon Boat Festival and Children's Day activities ended today that she remembered she had won a treasure chest.
Su Jun had just finished queuing and returned, handing her the milk tea he was holding.
Just after they finished eating, the fireworks ended, and most of the tourists in the ancient town were preparing to leave. So the two decided to walk back from Zone Two. Su Jun queued up to buy milk tea.
While Lu Xiaoqi was waiting, she overheard the girls around her secretly discussing him.
"Is this Su Zirong?"
"It seems so! Wow, he looks even more handsome in real life than in the videos!"
"Should we go up and ask for their WeChat?"
"Go ahead, go ahead, maybe they'll be willing to give it to you."
So, Lu Xiaoqi watched as one of the girls mustered up the courage to step forward and ask Su Jun for his contact information. After exchanging a few words, the girl returned somewhat disappointed, shaking her head at the other girls.
"Sigh, male gods are just so aloof."
"But it's actually not so bad. If he were to give out his WeChat ID so generously, I would start to doubt his character."
The girl who had just asked for his contact information immediately perked up again: "You're right."
So, after receiving the milk tea, Lu Xiaoqi and Su Jun immediately disappeared into the crowd.
"Does it feel good to be famous?" Lu Xiaoqi teased him. "Like I always say, if you become rich and powerful, don't forget me, Young Master Su!"
It was because of this sentence that she managed to get Su Jun to cook a big meal that evening—Song Wu Sao would cook herself, and Su Jun would pay the bill.
Su Jun looked somewhat helpless and gently tapped her on the head: "You're the big boss."
He thought for a moment and answered seriously, "Actually, it's fine, it doesn't affect my daily life."
Lu Xiaoqi thought to herself: It's mainly because your daily life is too simple...
Liu Chan told her that after Su Jun became famous, he followed the same path as Zhao Feiyan. Many brands and production teams approached him hoping that he would leave the ancient town to film or participate in some events. At that time, Zhao Feiyan cooperated, but Su Jun basically refused them all.
This means his current income consists only of the revenue share from video streaming and product showcases, amounting to only around 100,000 yuan per month, which is completely inconsistent with his appearance.
Liu Chan harbored considerable resentment about this.
But Lu Xiaoqi understood Su Jun's thoughts. He was solely focused on creating the water puppet and didn't want to concern himself with anything else. To some extent, these ancient people she summoned were relatively pure-hearted; perhaps because they all possessed skills, they progressed steadily and reliably.
Su Jun took her back, stood downstairs for a while, and only returned to his own place after seeing the lights on the second floor come on.
Halfway there, he suddenly remembered that when the girl asked him for his WeChat, Lu Xiaoqi seemed to be watching with a smile. Her smile was so natural, even showing a hint of amusement.
He paused, his steps unconsciously halting. Su Jun lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes casting a small shadow beneath them. In the night, his shadow was stretched long by the streetlights, making him appear somewhat lonely.
"Hoo—" Su Jun exhaled softly. The night air had a crisp scent, but it couldn't dispel the inexplicable stagnation in his heart.
In the small building behind him.
Suddenly, the system said in Lu Xiaoqi's mind: "Player, Su Jun stood downstairs for a few minutes before leaving."
Lu Xiaoqi gave a forced smile: "...Are you planning to switch careers and become a detective?"
However, she had to admit that when the system said those words, her heart was filled with ripples of emotion, and a hint of sweetness.
System: "...I'm just experiencing human emotions."
Lu Xiaoqi countered, "So, what did you sense?"
System: "No, human emotions are too complex."
Lu Xiaoqi paused for a moment, then tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Yes, human emotions are far too complex. For example, she vaguely understood Su Jun's feelings, but pretended not to know because of her many subtle worries, fears, and concerns. And Su Jun was perhaps the same way.
So they kept each other company, but never confessed their feelings. More than friends, less than lovers.
The system asked curiously, "What are the players' concerns?"
“There are a lot…” She suddenly stopped, snorted, “I’m not going to discuss these things with you.”
"Let's not talk about that anymore." Lu Xiaoqi cleared her mind of these chaotic thoughts, and remembering that she could still open a treasure box, she immediately became happy again. "Hurry up and draw, hurry up and draw! I think the great god Qu Yuan will definitely bless me today!"
After bathing and burning incense—the mosquito-repelling herbal incense given by Zhang Zhongjing—Lu Xiaoqi reverently opened the treasure box.
A flash of golden light appeared, and the system notification sounded: "Congratulations, player, you have obtained a VR Experience Center Upgrade Card."
A card appeared in Lu Xiaoqi's card slot. After clicking on it, she obtained the following information:
This card can be used in VR experience centers, with an upgrade time of 48 hours.
[Upgraded features: I. The number of experience capsules in the venue has been increased from 20 to 40; II. Translation functionality has been added to the experience capsules; III. Video functionality can be added to all VR segments, and external devices can be connected to the headset via Bluetooth for real-time live streaming.]
Lu Xiaoqi raised her eyebrows: "Not bad."
It was a small surprise.
What she really wanted was a special building card, preferably a ready-made ancient-style hotel, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. However, the VR experience center upgrade was pretty good. VR experience centers are indeed popular now, but Lu Xiaoqi always felt that they weren't as popular as they should be, mainly because they couldn't record videos, stream live, or take screenshots.
Now, this problem can finally be solved.
Without delay, she went to Zone 1 after breakfast the next day and used the trial card at the VR experience center. Reassuringly, the upgrade didn't affect normal use; it simply involved adding a fence around the existing area.
"Want to upgrade?" a tourist in line asked in surprise when he saw the sign.
The staff member's smile remained unchanged: "Yes, it will only take two days, and then there will be more experience cabins."
He was actually quite confused; he had just arrived at his post that morning when he received this last-minute notice from his superiors. But then he thought, given that this involved top-secret high-tech work, they probably started construction in the middle of the night, so he could understand.
"That's great!" the tourists exclaimed happily. "The queuing time can be reduced by half."
His companion, who was scrolling through his phone, looked up when he heard this and gave a wry smile: "I don't think so."
She pointed to her phone: "The official announcement also says that the upgraded VR experience center can capture videos and stream them..."
The two exchanged a glance, both understanding the meaning—this would definitely attract even more traffic!
"Let's go on a few more trips today!" the boy immediately decided.
The girl nodded resolutely.
......
Justin and Benjamin had already left Qinghe City. Their next step was to stay in Suzhou for a day, then return to Shanghai for one night, and then fly back home.
The gardens in Suzhou are beautiful, and you can even listen to Suzhou storytelling and ballad singing, but the viewership in the live stream wasn't as high as it was in Qinghe Ancient Town. Eventually, Justin simply stopped watching the live stream and spent the day leisurely strolling around with Benjamin.
Back at the hotel, Justin happened to see an announcement about Qinghe Ancient Town.
"SHIT!" he cried out in frustration.
Why did they release this announcement right after he left and was about to return to China?!
He couldn't wait to take the high-speed train back!
Benjamin frowned: "Our plane tickets are already booked, and they're not a small amount."
“And nobody brings this up anymore, right?” Benjamin continued to persuade him. He was a typical engineering student who always followed a plan and disliked unexpected events. “In that case, let’s just move on. Anyway, you got some good data.”
Justin's live stream did get good numbers, and many people even took screenshots of Xiao Zhuang's retort during the stream and shared them online. Currently, "Reversing the Heavenly Gang" and "Fireflies teaching the sun how to shine" are showing signs of becoming popular. Everyone thinks that Chinese people are really good at cursing and are very humorous, and they are willing to play along with this meme.
However, in every comment section, there are always Korean IPs trying to break through the defenses.
Justin sighed: "I'm just a little resentful... why now of all times?"
Benjamin patted him on the shoulder; this was something he had to figure out for himself.
"If we had known, we wouldn't have stayed in Japan for so long," Justin sighed. They had stayed in Japan for a full two weeks.
For these Western white people, the islands of Southeast Asia and Japan were practically their entire imagination of Asia. Coming to China, on the other hand, fell into the relatively "adventurous" category.
Benjamin couldn't help but nod: "I never imagined that China could be so fun."
It's worth spending more time exploring it thoroughly.
......
The day the VR experience center was upgraded.
Xiao Yang, who works at the ticket checkpoint of Qinghe Ancient Town, arrived early and yawned. The work at the ticket checkpoint is relatively busy among the various front-line departments in the ancient town, especially since the ticketing system of Qinghe Ancient Town has changed this month. Originally, it was a full-day reservation system, but now, in order to facilitate tourists who are not familiar with reservations or even mobile phone functions, an offline ticket purchase and queuing mechanism has been added.
However, since there are no discounts for offline tickets, not many people have used them yet, except for tourists who are really in a hurry.
In addition, the ancient town has relaxed its visitor flow restrictions, changing from limiting the number of dead to monitoring visitor flow with five dynamic levels: "Comfortable," "Moderate," "Busy," "Crowded," and "Saturated." These levels are displayed on the ticketing app and also shown on the large screen at the ticket office, allowing visitors to be prepared. When the area reaches the "Crowded" level, the authorities will limit the number of tickets that can be purchased on-site.
But so far, this phenomenon has not occurred. Xiao Yang guesses it will probably happen during the next Golden Week holiday.
But she was shocked when she arrived today!
Even before the official opening time, long, winding queues had already formed in front of the ticket windows, stretching far and wide, with crowds and noise audible from a distance. The scene was comparable to the Spring Festival travel rush for tickets!
There were queues before, but it wasn't as exaggerated as it is now.
Moreover, today is a workday after the holiday.
"What's going on?" Xiao Yang quickly grabbed a colleague who was walking by.
"It's all for the VR pavilion!" My colleague spoke rapidly, looking incredulous. "That new recording function! Someone online started spreading rumors that the first batch of users could capture rare scenes or hidden easter eggs, and all the VR enthusiasts, internet celebrities, and livestreamers have gone crazy! Our pre-order tickets for today sold out instantly, and now everyone's crowding into the physical store. The ticket counter staff are practically hoarse from shouting!"
Xiao Yang ran to the real-time crowd flow screen at the entrance, only to see the indicator light jump from the usual "comfortable" to a glaring red "crowded"! And this was only the first day of the park!
Traffic volume on weekdays is usually at the "busy" level.
She squeezed her way to the ticket window and, sure enough, heard the ticket seller repeatedly announcing through a somewhat hoarse megaphone: "Attention, visitors! The park is currently experiencing a 'busy' flow of people. The VR experience hall is expected to have a wait time of over two hours. Purchasing tickets now may result in a very poor experience. We suggest you reconsider or come back another day."
However, the people in the line almost ignored it.
"Two hours it is, let's line up! We have to be the first to get a picture!"
"The night is long and things can change; who knows if it will still have the same effect tomorrow!"
"We're already here! This is the last step!"
A frenzied atmosphere permeated the queue. The June weather was rather hot, and the dense crowd, coupled with the long wait and anxious state of mind, quickly led to minor frictions.
"Hey! Why are you pushing and shoving? Don't you have any manners?"
"Who stepped on my foot! Can't you watch where you're going?!"
"I was clearly at the front of the line! How dare you cut in line!"
A young man nearly bumped into an elderly person after being shoved by someone behind him. The two immediately started arguing, their voices growing louder and causing a commotion in the queue. Xiao Yang reacted quickly, immediately having security personnel intervene to mediate, preventing the situation from escalating. However, a tense and agitated atmosphere had already spread among the people queuing.
"No, we need to limit the number of tickets." Xiao Yang immediately realized this and then contacted his boss.
In the scenic area's monitoring and command center, Lu Xiaoqi, Song Meina, and others also saw the spectacular queue at the entrance.
Song Meina gasped: Is this the true power of a VR experience center?
On the crowd monitoring screen, the light representing "crowded" remained on, and it felt like the light representing "saturation" would turn on soon.
"Boss, we need to limit the number of customers," she immediately said to Lu Xiaoqi.
The security manager nodded in agreement.
Lu Xiaoqi understood: "Okay, let's proceed according to the previously established plan."
These situations are all prepared in advance, and several departments have even rehearsed them, so it's not like they're completely without experience.
After receiving permission, Song Meina immediately grabbed the internal communicator: "Attention all departments, immediately activate the crowd control plan. Once today's quota is sold out at the offline ticket windows, immediately stop selling daytime tickets. At the same time, broadcast announcements and push notifications on the app to inform visitors that today's daytime tickets are sold out. Visitors who wish to enter the park can purchase evening tickets for tonight, and can enter the park after 5 pm!"
Not everyone stays out that late. Based on past experience, tourists start leaving town around 4 p.m.
The command was executed swiftly.
The ticket window made several announcements over the loudspeaker, advising tourists at the back of the line to move aside. Fifteen minutes later, a sign was posted saying, "Daytime tickets are sold out. Please look forward to the evening session." Because the situation was handled well, the crowd in line wasn't too agitated.
"What? It's gone? I've been waiting in line for so long!"
"Nightclubs? Does VR still have that effect in nightclubs?"
"Oh well, whatever, a nightclub it is, it's better than making a wasted trip."
"Luckily, we can still buy tickets for the night session. Let's find another place to rest and come back to queue in the afternoon."
Disappointment, complaints, and helplessness were mixed with a hint of relief—after all, there was still a chance. The long queue reluctantly dispersed.
Xiao Yang breathed a sigh of relief as the entrance pressure finally eased somewhat, but she was also secretly astonished: how could a screen recording and live streaming function have such a huge appeal? She glanced in the direction of the VR pavilion and began to feel sorry for the staff there.
My colleague shook his head with a smile: "Looks like our ancient town is going to be trending on social media again today."
......
Because Justin was learning Chinese, he frequently browsed Chinese websites and apps. So, the next day he saw many new posts about Qinghe Ancient Town.
At that time, he and Benjamin had already arrived in Shanghai and were heading to the airport that afternoon.
But after seeing those videos and posts, he had no desire to pack his bags at all!
Keywords and videos related to "Qinghe Ancient Town VR", "The strongest VR experience in history", "Travel through a thousand years", "Immersive history"... have almost dominated his recommendation page!
Justin took a deep breath and clicked on several highly viewed videos and live stream replays.
The video and live stream were indeed the VR scenes they experienced in Qinghe Ancient Town a few days ago; they were "first-person perspective" video clips recorded using VR equipment.
He saw the raging floodwaters of Dujiangyan, and the livestreaming host on the suspension bridge excitedly shouted, "Can you believe it? I really feel like I'm on this suspension bridge right now! Holy crap, stop shaking so much! I feel like I'm going to fall off!"
He also saw videos of Luoyang, the capital of China, recorded by a content creator. The magnificent ancient city, displaying its grandeur beneath the clouds, seemed as if such a majestic ancient metropolis truly existed in the world. The video editor didn't add any narration, but simply wrote: "It feels like I've really seen Luoyang, the capital of China a thousand years ago. I was awestruck the first time I experienced it, and now I can finally let you experience that awe too!"
Benjamin had just finished packing his suitcase and came over. He saw the screen on his tablet and was immediately captivated.
"Is this an ancient Chinese city? It's so magnificent..."
As an enthusiast of ancient architecture, he couldn't resist the temptation at all, and then he suddenly realized: "Wait, is this a VR version of Qinghe Ancient Town? Which character is it?"
Justin glanced at it: "Yuwen Kai".
The pronunciation was rather awkward and incoherent.
Benjamin slapped his forehead in frustration: "Oh my god, I missed it!"
He was watching videos about Dujiangyan because he had learned about this marvel of human history online. But he didn't expect there would also be videos about ancient cities and architecture!
The two of them started sitting and scrolling through their phones.
Benjamin not only saw the video of Luoyang, the capital city, but also the video of the Guanfeng Palace, which made him even more resentful that he hadn't chosen the character "Yuwen Kai" back then. He did a quick search and found out that Yuwen Kai was a great architect in ancient China.
Justin was using a translator to read the comments.
Holy crap! Is this the VR experience at Qinghe Ancient Town? It looks just like the real thing! So you guys weren't exaggerating after all.
But this is just a video, right? It's more like watching a movie?
No, no, no, it's completely different from watching a movie. The video might not give you the same feeling, but you'll understand when you watch their live stream. It's like you're completely immersed in the movie, like entering another new world. In short, highly recommended! Worth waiting in line for three hours.
[That sounds like a lot of fun, I'll make the arrangements.]
[Yes, absolutely worth it. And according to reliable sources, these productions are very historically accurate; you could even see it as a journey through time.]
Justin watched a few more live streams. It had only been a day, and there weren't many content creators streaming the streams yet, with only about ten minutes of content available. However, the number of streamers was already far ahead of the competition.
He saw in the live stream clips countless streamers shouting incoherently at the camera:
"None of you understand?! I just closed my eyes and I was transported to Hainan more than a thousand years ago!"
"This isn't VR! This is magic!"
"Was that the First Dragon just now? Mom, I saw the First Dragon!"
He also saw a livestreamer indignantly saying: "I told you guys this VR was awesome, haha, you didn't believe me and even went around saying I got paid. Today I'll show you what it means to be proven wrong!"
The comments section was filled with endless exclamations and apologies.
I apologize, please tell me how to get tickets?
[Do you have a strategy guide? Which ones are must-plays?]
I'm a country bumpkin, so I'll apologize first.
Justin's breathing quickened as he watched. Wasn't this exactly the effect he wanted? His fingers flew across the screen, clicking on video after video, a wave of regret washing over him.
“Oh... My... God…” he murmured to himself, his expression shifting unpredictably.
He glanced at his watch and quickly checked his phone's map and visa information.
A crazy plan instantly took shape in his mind.
“Ben! I’m not going back!” Justin suddenly said, his tone resolute.
Benjamin froze on the spot: "What are you doing? Our flight still has five hours..."
"Rebook, or cancel!" Justin spoke rapidly, already having come up with a solution. "Get a refund, I want to go to Hong Kong!"
His 144 visa-free entry has expired. He can regain the 144 visa-free entry by traveling to Hong Kong and then entering mainland China.
He became more and more excited as he spoke, almost dancing with joy: "This way, I can go back to Qinghe Ancient Town! I want to be the world's first overseas travel blogger to deeply experience and livestream this 'magic'! This is absolutely explosive content!"
And it can also make those fans who previously accused him of taking money apologize!
"Slap in the face"... I think that's how the word is used.
Benjamin was stunned by his friend's sudden and crazy plan, but as he looked at the constantly refreshing and astonishing VR videos on his phone, his breathing became rapid.
“You’re crazy!” Benjamin muttered, but his eyes gradually brightened. “But you’re a genius… I’ll be with you.”
Justin frowned; he didn't want to drag Benjamin into this: "You still have work to do when you get back."
Benjamin chuckled and waved his phone. "If I send these videos and live streams to my boss, he'll definitely let me stay here and experience it properly before going back. Maybe he'll even buy a plane ticket and fly over right away."
Benjamin originally intended to tell the company after he returned.
The two exchanged a glance and instantly reached an agreement. They immediately disposed of their existing plane tickets and bought round-trip tickets to Hong Kong for the day, going there at noon and returning in the evening. They were a bit tired, but they could enjoy VR again as quickly as possible.
By the time they arrived at Qinghe Ancient Town, it was already the next day. All the tickets had already been booked online, so they didn't even check into the hotel. They left their luggage there and went to queue up early.
This time, the queue was much longer than the last time they came.
Justin started a live stream: "See? I got some news that the VR in Qinghe Ancient Town can now be streamed live. So, I was originally going to fly back to China, but I changed my flight and came here instead, to show you what the world's number one VR is all about!"
He is no longer Justin, but Niu Gulu Stin!
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