Chapter 23: A New Game

"You're lying again! You don't have a classmate like that at all!"

Zhang Yang stared at the reply on the QQ screen. He sat in front of the computer, pondering for a long time, but still couldn't figure out what had gone wrong with his conversation.

More importantly, he was the one giving away the prize! That was twenty thousand yuan in cash! Even nowadays, let alone back then, plenty of people would be salivating over that twenty thousand, wouldn't they? What did his profile picture have to do with anything? It was just a random image from the internet, a picture of a bespectacled girl that had been popular on various forums a few years ago. So what? Did that affect your ability to collect twenty thousand yuan? Was this person out of their mind? Why were they sticking their nose into other people's business?

Player Willow Leaf: "I feel that using someone else's image to gain attention for yourself is very wrong..."

Seeing that Zhang Yang hadn't replied for a long time, the person messaged again. Zhang Yang glared at the chat box.

???

Had he run into a "Saint Mother" type?

Player Willow Leaf: "I think you should apologize to the person in the photo and get their permission to use it. Only if they agree can you use it..."

"..."

The Saint Mother was at it again? The person in the photo? He didn't even know who the person was, so what was he supposed to apologize for? Why was it any of their business whose photo he used?

After staring at the chat box for a long time, Zhang Yang took a deep breath and turned to Wu Zhuang, who was sitting next to him, also looking dazed and seemingly holding something back.

"Old Wu, when you run into a player like this..."

"Actually, this world is full of all kinds of players. The online world is just a microcosm..."

"Of course, we can't rule out these 'Saint Mother' types. Such players always worry about the 'victims,' even when there aren't any victims at all..."

"For instance, after watching movies about aliens invading Earth, some Saint Mother players with twisted logic will say, 'Oh, the aliens are so pitiful, we shouldn't defend ourselves against them...'"

"Of course, we can't deny that using a random internet image is indeed a bit improper..."

"When dealing with people like this, we can't reason with them; we can only play along..."

"..."

Zhang Yang gave a light cough and let out a long sigh of relief. Then...

Customer Service Xiao Wei: "I'm sorry. If I ever meet the person in the photo, I will seek her consent and apologize properly... For now, can I proceed with your prize? Can we meet in person?"

Player Willow Leaf: "Change your avatar first!"

"..." Zhang Yang's face darkened. *I'm the one giving you money, why is it acting like I'm begging to give it to you? Take it or leave it! I'm done dealing with this.*

Customer Service Xiao Wei: "Sir, do you confirm you want the prize? If you choose to forfeit..."

Player Willow Leaf: "That's not what I meant. I mean, you must take responsibility for this matter!"

Customer Service Xiao Wei: "Beep, beep, beep. Switching to smart chat. If you do not confirm within ten seconds, it will be considered a forfeiture of the prize..."

Customer Service Xiao Wei: "Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

Player Willow Leaf: "..."

Customer Service Xiao Wei: "One... The player failed to confirm in time. The system defaults to a forfeiture of the prize. Thank you for your support of our company!"

Player Willow Leaf: "Hey, hey, hey?"

Customer Service Xiao Wei: "Note: The system will award the prize to the next player who completes the task..."

After sending this, Zhang Yang immediately logged out of the chat window and turned to look at Wu Zhuang. "Old Wu, when we have the initiative, we must never let others lead us by the nose, especially these players with bizarre logic. We need to handle things strictly by the book. We're the ones giving away money; are we afraid we won't be able to give it away? In the future, if we encounter similar situations, we should minimize chatting with these people; it's bad for our IQ. Alright, Old Wu, take a screenshot here. If any forum users ask, show them the screenshot. It was this person who chose to forfeit, not us refusing to pay..."

"Understood, Boss Zhang."

The burly man from the Northeast, Wu Zhuang, nodded subconsciously and sat back down.

Under the lights, the moment Zhang Yang turned to head back to his office, the more he thought about it, the more he felt this guy was a weirdo! How could there be such a nosy person with such strange priorities?

It was enough... Recalling the conversation, Zhang Yang suddenly wanted to smack that person. If you're such a Saint Mother, why don't you go save the world?

"Pity... as a civilized person, I really can't do anything about such a weirdo in reality..."

Later, Zhang Yang opened his computer to browse the sales figures of *Desert Bicycle*. While scrolling, he saw a news story about a "spoiled brat smashing a car window, the owner coming to reason with them, and the mother scolding the owner for parking in that spot, claiming it interfered with her child's play, and then refusing to pay for damages."

Netizens were absolutely disgusted by such things! Zhang Yang shook his head, suddenly feeling that there were indeed many weirdos in this world.

Then! He froze, and a flash of inspiration hit him. He immediately grabbed a pen and paper and started writing furiously. After he finished, he reviewed it and picked up the phone.

"Old Zhao, Old Zhong, come over here. We're starting a new game..."

"..."

...

"What is wrong with this person!"

"I never said I didn't want the prize!"

"I was just discussing the matter at hand. Was I wrong?"

"You just randomly use other people's photos; that's just wrong!"

"I reminded him, and instead, he treated me like I was being unreasonable. What's that supposed to mean? I'm not being unreasonable; I'm fighting for my rights. I just asked you to change your avatar. You're the one stealing someone else's photo, so why are you acting like you're in the right?"

"Wait, this guy doesn't seem to know it's my photo?"

"So..."

In the hotel, the young girl first pounded her pillow in anger, gritting her teeth at her laptop, wishing she could drag the person inside out and tear them apart. She tried sending several messages, but found she had been blocked. She was so angry she wanted to smash the computer.

But then, as if realizing something, she suddenly felt embarrassed. Looking back at her chat history, it did seem like she was the one being unreasonable.

*Forget it, forget it!* She wouldn't think about it anymore. She would go try out games from other domestic companies instead. She adjusted her glasses, smoothed her hair, crossed her long, fair legs on the bed, opened her laptop, and downloaded another hit game released in May by "Earth Network," *War of Warcraft*.

Although the game had only just been released, it already showed signs of dominating the Chinese gaming scene. She was determined to play and review it.

The night passed quickly. *War of Warcraft* was indeed very addictive. By the early hours of the morning, the girl was still galloping through dungeons, and it wasn't until morning that she reluctantly logged off. Her mind was filled with exquisite 3D concepts and countless monster simulations.

"It seems the biggest rival for Wrangler right now is *War of Warcraft*, along with Earth Network's *Interstellar Mission*..."

She pushed up her glasses, made a note of the appealing aspects of these two games, and yawned. It was time to rest. After she woke up, she would go to these two companies for a field inspection to see if there were any management loopholes.

Before resting, she browsed the forum as usual to check the pulse of the players. Just then...

"Universe Technology's new game project is launching. Is another hit game about to be born?"

"..."

She clicked on it subconsciously. Then...

"Are you very annoyed by spoiled brats who constantly cause trouble and make your life difficult? And when you say the child is wrong, the parent says, 'He's just a child'?"

"Are you annoyed by that boss who makes you work overtime and acts like a jerk all day?"

"Are you disgusted by the 'Saint Mothers' in TV dramas? Where the protagonist is about to kill the villain, only to be stopped by the Saint Mother heroine, leading to a disaster?"

"Are you disgusted by nosy people? You accidentally use someone else's thing, and before the owner even says anything, this person pops up and nags at you? Telling you that you must apologize and acting all nosy?"

"..."

"Are you often forced to deal with these people you hate, but can't beat up in reality?"

"Come to me!"

"I'll make you feel good! Feel amazing! Feel like you're flying!"

"..."

As she read the promotional copy, especially the word "nosy," she widened her eyes! She was instantly wide awake!

*Wait! Is this guy talking about me? Saying I'm being nosy? Did he put me in the game?*