Chapter 136 The Internet is not a lawless place...
The staff at the VR experience center sighed, "Then we'll have to go through all the surveillance footage from this period."
"Langli Baitiao" did not appear in the video. To find out who he is, we can only watch all the videos of customers who have had disputes with the VR experience center during this period and try to see which one he is.
Xiao Zhuang was somewhat surprised: "Have there been many disputes lately?"
The staff member nodded with a wry smile: "That's more than ten times what it used to be."
Such disputes used to occur only once a month, but now they happen more than ten times a day.
"But it's really not a big deal," the staff member said dismissively. "Most of these disputes are caused by the players themselves. We've already warned them beforehand, so they won't have a significant impact."
Xiao Zhuang couldn't help but roll his eyes inwardly, and said seriously, "But it's already caused an impact!"
The staff member scratched his head: "I'll find a passage for you, and you'll understand what I mean."
He quickly filtered through the backend management system and clicked on a video file labeled "[Today/Refund Dispute/Resolved]".
The surveillance footage shows a stylishly dressed young man with a sour expression loudly complaining to a customer service representative in the rest area at the exit of the experience center.
"What a terrible experience! It's completely boring! I was kicked out shortly after I went in! This is definitely a equipment malfunction! You have to refund my money!" the man said agitatedly.
Because he came out early, there weren't many tourists around.
The customer service representative maintained a professional smile, her tone gentle yet firm: "Sir, please calm down. Our equipment is functioning normally. System logs show that your experience was interrupted because a security protocol was triggered."
"What safety agreement? What did I do? I didn't do anything!" The man's voice grew louder, sounding somewhat threatening but actually weak. "I was just having a normal experience! Don't try to fool me with some excuse! If you don't refund my money today, I'll file a complaint!"
The customer service representative remained calm and composed. She briefly operated the tablet in front of her, then looked up at the man and said clearly, "Sir, according to system records, in the 'Exile' segment, you selected the identity of 'fellow refugees.' In the scene, you attempted to snatch the only food package from an elderly person and pushed and verbally abused the person. This behavior is defined as violent robbery and harassment in the experience, which seriously violates Article 4, Section 2 of the 'User Experience Agreement' you agreed to before logging in. Therefore, the system has determined that you are not suitable to continue the experience and has terminated the connection."
The man's face flushed instantly, but he still argued, "So what... so what? It's just a game! And it's a chaotic world! What's wrong with grabbing some food? Isn't that normal? Your settings are just too unreasonable!"
The customer service representative shook her head slightly: "Sir, the purpose of the experience is to observe and feel, not to destroy or harm. Even in a virtual environment, we have zero tolerance for violence, robbery, and harassment. This is clearly stated in the agreement, and you only started the experience after checking the box to agree."
She paused, and seeing that the man still wanted to argue, she continued, "How about this, sir, if you disagree with our judgment, we can go to the office together to retrieve the video footage of your behavior during the experience for review. Our system backs up all experience records in order to handle disputes."
Upon hearing that there was a video recording, the man's imposing manner immediately crumbled, his eyes began to dart around, and his tone softened: "There's a video recording?"
"Yes, sir, this is to protect the rights of both parties." The customer service representative's smile remained unchanged.
"...Forget it, forget it!" The man immediately waved his hand, his expression extremely unnatural. "It's such a hassle over such a small amount of money! I guess I'm just unlucky. I won't come again next time!"
After saying that, he practically fled.
The surveillance video recording ends here.
The staff member turned off the video, looked at Xiao Zhuang, and shrugged: "Look, it's like this. Ninety-nine percent of those who come demanding refunds are people who have done something shady inside and think that since no one knows, they can take advantage of the situation. As soon as we mention the agreement and the recording, ninety-nine percent of them back down. That 'White Streak in the Waves' guy is probably in a similar situation."
After reading it, Xiao Zhuang suddenly realized what was going on. So this was what most of the so-called "disputes" were really like.
The experience center has a clear agreement in place beforehand, and the process is recorded using technical means, which is why it has the confidence to refuse unreasonable refund requests.
“I understand.” Xiao Zhuang nodded. “So the key to finding ‘White Streak in the Waves’ is to find the records of those accounts that were recently judged to have committed serious violations and banned by the system, and then check their experience videos?”
“That’s right!” The staff member snapped his fingers. “And a permanent ban is a very serious punishment. There aren’t many, so we should be able to find them quickly. Once we find the video, everything will be clear.”
That being said, it's not so easy to identify which one is the "white streak in the waves".
He not only blurred his face, but also used AI voice-over.
"That's really cunning," the staff member said, somewhat annoyed, and asked Xiao Zhuang, "Can't we at least briefly explain the situation?"
“Such a cunning person must have thought of this,” Xiao Zhuang disagreed. “If we just give a vague explanation or randomly release someone else’s video, he will definitely hold on to it and might even turn around and accuse us of framing him with a random video. In that case, even if we are innocent, it will be even harder to explain, and public opinion will easily be swayed.”
Public relations, after all, must be effective and leave no loopholes for the other party to argue against.
"Okay, let's look for it first." The staff member sighed and began to sift through the records of recently permanently banned accounts in the background.
......
Meanwhile, in a private room of an internet cafe in a neighboring city, "White Streak in the Waves"—a young man whose real name is Liu Tao—was smoking a cigarette and smugly contacting several other people who had also been punished by the Qinghe VR Experience Center through a chat group.
"Brothers, see? The post is trending! A lot of people are cursing that lousy tourist attraction!" Liu Tao typed rapidly. "Let's add fuel to the fire and post on more platforms, accusing them of using terrible equipment, randomly banning accounts, and refusing to refund money!"
The other people in the group hesitated.
"Brother Tao, is this okay? I really did want to... cough, I went a bit too far," replied a user with the ID "Invincible Iron Fist." He was actually the guy in the "White Stripe in the Waves" video who tried to steal Li Guinian's clothes but ended up getting punished.
The White Streak in the Waves used his own experiences, but remained tight-lipped about them.
"What are you afraid of?" Liu Tao replied dismissively. "We haven't even shown our faces, how can they find out who it is? We'll stick to the fact that it's an equipment problem, and they won't be able to provide any evidence. In the end, they'll definitely have to pay us to settle things."
"If they find someone else's video and pin it on us, that's a clear invasion of privacy! Hehehe, maybe we can even get more money from them then."
Yes, "White Streak in the Waves" was primarily after money. He planned to wait for the public opinion to build up before contacting Qinghe Ancient Town.
Delete the post? Sure, pay me!
Another user with the ID "大唐游侠" seemed to be persuaded: "That makes sense. I pushed that NPC selling steamed buns, hoping to steal a bun, and I got banned. Who would believe that reason? Let's all stick to the same story and say that the screen lag and high latency caused us to lose control."
"That's right!" Liu Tao got even more excited when someone agreed. "There are more of us, and we're louder. Those with nothing to lose aren't afraid of those in shoes. They're most afraid of this kind of negative publicity. We'll go to the entrance of the ancient town together and make a scene in front of all the other customers. Let's see what they do then! If they don't pay, we'll make a scene so loud that all the tourists coming in can see!"
The more they talked, the more confident they became, as if they could already see the refund or even additional compensation in their hands. They were smug, thinking they had found the weakness of Qinghe Ancient Town.
Just as they were excitedly discussing which platforms to post on and when to "protect their rights" offline, someone in the group suddenly sent them a link.
"Holy crap! Look! The Qinghe Ancient Town government has issued a notice!"
Liu Tao's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly clicked on the link.
The link redirected directly to the official social media page of the Qinghe VR Experience Center. The latest announcement featured an exceptionally concise and powerful title:
[A formal statement and explanation regarding the false accusations made by user "浪里白条"]
The announcement itself is concise and to the point:
Recently, a user surnamed Liu (online ID "浪里白条") posted videos and articles on various platforms, claiming that he was unjustly banned and unable to get a refund while experiencing VR in Qinghe Ancient Town. We take this matter very seriously and, after strict verification, hereby issue the following statement:
User Liu experienced the 'exile' segment on X month X day at X hour, and chose the identity of 'refugee'.
The system logs and video recordings clearly show that the user did not engage in the simple interaction he claimed, but rather committed explicit virtual indecent acts against a female NPC in the game.
This behavior seriously violated Article 3.5 of the User Experience Agreement, which prohibits any form of sexual harassment, and Article 5.1, which prohibits any insulting or harmful behavior towards NPCs. It crossed the facility's safety red line, and the system immediately terminated the user's experience and permanently banned them in accordance with the agreement. This action is compliant and reasonable...
The official account also released a video with its image blurred.
It is clearly visible that the refugee played by Langli Baitiao left Chang'an with the main force when the city was ablaze. On the way, he happened to be traveling with a widow who was with a girl of eleven or twelve years old.
After about two or three minutes, he had probably gotten used to the gameplay and became bolder. He started to make unwanted advances towards the widow through casual interactions, such as shaking her hand when receiving something.
After a while, he became even bolder and actually grabbed the widow, intending to commit an indecent act.
Then, the next second, he was kicked out.
Regarding user Liu's unreasonable refund request after the trial, customer service has explicitly refused in accordance with the agreement. His subsequent actions of spreading false information online and maliciously defaming the reputation of Qinghe Ancient Town constitute defamation. We have secured evidence and reserve the right to pursue legal action.
We are committed to providing a high-quality, healthy, and safe experience environment, and have zero tolerance for any violations. Although the VR experience is virtual, each user faces the weight of real history and emotions. Each NPC embodies the joys, sorrows, and dignity left deep in the memories of our ancestors.
We cherish history and respect every participant, but we will never tolerate any behavior that uses "virtual" as an excuse to engage in vulgar, obscene, or violent acts!
Liu Tao's face immediately darkened.
He could tell, of course, that it was a fragment of his experience back then. He didn't expect that Qinghe Ancient Town would actually be found, and so quickly.
He quickly scrolled down and immediately saw the comments section growing like a snowball:
[My God, this is disgusting! Can those creatures that only think with their lower bodies just get off this planet?!]
[Ugh, this disgusting guy thinks there are no laws in the virtual world and that he can do whatever he wants? He even has the nerve to come online and cry foul?! You can only imagine what kind of scumbag he is in real life.]
He should have been kicked out the moment he shook hands with that widow; he got off too easily!
[Support Qinghe Ancient Town! Good job blocking them! Permanently blacklist them! I also support Qinghe Ancient Town in suing them!]
[And you even lied and said you just wanted to steal Li Guinian's clothes? What? You're ashamed to admit what you did?]
[I feel so relaxed. To be honest, I was worried about this when I first saw the interactive features in the VR experience center, because the characters are so realistic, and I was sure some people would try to take advantage of it. That's exactly what I was worried about. Now that I know the game has this kind of protection mechanism, it's so great!]
Liu Tao stared at the announcement on his computer screen and the rapidly growing number of comments criticizing him. He was furious, oblivious to the cigarette he was holding falling onto the keyboard.
The once lively discussion in the encrypted chat group next to him suddenly fell silent.
Several seconds later, "Invincible Iron Fist" silently left the group chat. Before leaving, he said sarcastically, "So that's why you didn't use your own experiences to post videos, but instead used mine. Oh, I see."
Immediately afterwards, "Da Tang Youxia" also left the group chat.
Liu Tao was furious, but he was more worried about the upcoming lawyer's letter from Qinghe Ancient Town.
......
"Sue him!" Lu Xiaoqi said seriously. "We must sue him! This kind of scumbag needs to be taught a lesson."
She is not someone who believes in "forgiving others when possible".
The legal representative immediately nodded: "Understood."
Lu Xiaoqi asked Xiao Zhuang with a smile, "How did you manage to spot the 'White Streak in the Waves' from that pile of videos?"
Actually, she had been paying attention to this matter at first. She originally wanted the system to help find this person, but then she thought that she couldn't take on everything herself, and she couldn't rely on the system for everything, which would be bad.
So she pretended not to know and waited to see how they handled it. If they really couldn't figure it out, then she would step in herself.
Unexpectedly, the public relations department gave her a pleasant surprise.
Xiao Zhuang laughed and said, "It's quite a coincidence. He was too clever for his own good and ended up making a mistake. Although he used AI dubbing and facial mosaic, he overlooked a detail: the background of the video he recorded."
"Background?" Lu Xiaoqi raised an eyebrow curiously.
“Yes,” Xiao Zhuang nodded and explained, “Although the main body of his video was blurred, the background wasn’t cleaned up, and you could vaguely see the environment behind him. It was a distinctive light gray wall with a small decorative painting on it bearing the logo of a certain e-sports team, and a slightly worn dark blue backpack in the corner.”
"We figured it was most likely in a private room at an internet cafe or his own room. But internet cafe private rooms are usually uniformly decorated and rarely have personal belongings, so it's more likely to be his own room. So we screened out all the accounts that had been permanently banned recently and that still had some basic information from when they were registered and used the service."
"And then?" Lu Xiaoqi asked with interest.
"Then we resorted to the brute force method," Xiao Zhuang shrugged. "We checked all the videos of the banned accounts one by one, mainly focusing on the part where they just left the VR experience center. At that time, the players had just taken off their helmets, so we could observe their clothing, especially their sleeves, watches, or accessories. In 'White Streak in the Waves' video, although his face was covered, his arms and hand movements were exposed. He was wearing a very distinctive gray-green hoodie with a noticeable white stripe on the cuff..."
Over the past few days, she compared the data one by one in the monitoring room of the experience center and indeed found a user named Liu Tao. He was wearing the same gray-green hoodie with white stripes on the cuffs when he left the experience center. Moreover, he looked very unhappy when he left, and he was cursing under his breath, which was completely different from the state of the players who finished their experience normally.
Xiao Zhuang and his staff then checked his experience time and other details against the system's backend records and found that they all matched.
“Most importantly,” Xiao Zhuang added with a hint of pride, “we even saw in one frame of his exit surveillance footage that the screen saver on his phone, which he casually placed on the rest area table, flashed by the logo of that e-sports team, exactly the same as the picture in the background of his video! That completely locked us down.”
After listening, Lu Xiaoqi couldn't help but applaud: "Well done! Xiao Zhuang, you guys were incredibly meticulous this time! Your observation and execution skills are amazing!"
Xiao Zhuang smiled sheepishly: "It was also good luck. If he had completely blurred the background or changed his clothes, it wouldn't have been so easy to find him. But even if we couldn't find such solid evidence, we actually had a backup plan."
"Oh? What backup plan?"
“Legal means,” Xiao Zhuang said seriously. “If all else fails, we plan to report it to the police and hire a lawyer to sue this ‘Langli Baitiao’ online ID for defamation. Although the process will be slower and requires the platform to provide real-name information, we will eventually be able to find him. However, that would be time-consuming and laborious, and the damage to us during the period of public opinion fermentation might be even greater. Fortunately, we don’t need to go to that point now.”
Lu Xiaoqi nodded in satisfaction, feeling that they had done a very good job this time, considering everything thoroughly. They had solved the problem quickly and accurately, and had also prepared for the worst.
She smiled and said, "You'll get a commendation this month, and your bonus will be doubled!"
Xiao Zhuang cheered, "Thank you, boss!"
During dinner that evening, Lu Xiaoqi told Su Jun about it, beaming with pride: "I've discovered I'm quite lucky. Whether it's you guys or them, everyone is so capable. I'm so fortunate!"
She was pleased that her subordinates were able to work independently and solve problems with their own wisdom and meticulousness, which made her feel more gratified and at ease than relying on the system.
Su Jun understood, of course, that "you" referred to them, people from ancient times, while "they" referred to the modern employees.
He shook his head: "It's not luck."
Lu Xiaoqi, who was biting her spoon, looked up with a confused look in her eyes: "Huh?"
Su Jun chuckled: "Have you ever thought that perhaps it's precisely because you're so outstanding that you attract outstanding people to gather around you?"
Lu Xiaoqi was a little embarrassed by his praise, but at the same time her eyes sparkled slightly. She liked this way of putting it!
“I think there’s some truth to what you said…” she said seriously, and then she laughed at herself.
......
The "White Streak in the Waves" incident ended without much fanfare. After Qinghe Ancient Town reported the incident to the police, they even posted related information on social media, with most comments expressing support. Because this incident caused such a stir, subsequent "disputes" involving VR experience centers have decreased sharply, showing a trend of gradually returning to previous levels.
Everyone understands that even in virtual space, we must abide by the law and public order and good morals, and not let the "evil" in our hearts run rampant.
All other affairs in Qinghe Ancient Town are also proceeding in an orderly manner.
By the end of February, when the weeping willows along the riverbank awoke from the cold winter and began to sprout new buds, Zhao Mengfu, Guan Daosheng, and the Dunhuang painters finally made some progress at the No. 6 District Resort Hotel.
"It's so exquisite!" Lu Xiaoqi looked up at the colorful paintings on the coffered ceiling of the hotel lobby and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
Because the lobby also contains murals and other decorations, the painted decorations in the lobby do not overshadow the main features. They are based on the Song Dynasty's polychrome style, with beautiful patterns and a balance of warm and cool colors. They inherit the noble and elegant style of the Tang Dynasty, but are more understated in their use of color, mainly using blue, green, and red.
To match the style of the Jiangnan water towns, the main hall is predominantly green, accented with vermilion, a style known in architectural design as "green edges and green spaces".
“This is what ‘dizziness’ is,” Yuwen Kai explained to Lu Xiaoqi, pointing to a spot.
Lu Xiaoqi looked at it, but she couldn't really understand it. She just thought it was very exquisite and good for her eyes.
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Kai chuckled, as if looking at his good-for-nothing granddaughter with a hint of indulgence in his eyes. He carefully explained to her, "Dizziness is actually a technique; overlapping dizziness, combined dizziness, and contrasting dizziness all fall under its category..."
After listening, she realized that it was simply about blending colors from dark to light to create a delicate and natural effect. Although she didn't understand these academic terms, her eye for detail had improved significantly over the past year of managing the ancient town, and these dazzling and elegant paintings were indeed very eye-catching.
"The masters are truly amazing," she praised the Dunhuang painters standing beside her.
The group of people were all taciturn, and after hurriedly bowing in apology, they could only manage to utter one sentence: "Miss Lu, you flatter me..."
Lu Xiaoqi smiled gently.
Zhao Mengfu arrived gracefully, while Guan Daosheng stood by with a smile; the two men were completely different in demeanor and manner of speaking.
"Young friend Lu has arrived? Perfect timing to take a look at this old man's murals!"
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