My Unconventional Online Dating - Chapter 63

The colleague tried to justify herself: “I’m not threatening you, I’m just stating a fact.”

Xiao Nianyuan stared at her without saying a word. The colleague grew uneasy under her gaze and remembered that Pu Pengdan also worked at the company. If Xiao Nianyuan really reported this, the game, which was currently on the rise, could face severe backlash, leading to a significant drop in revenue. No matter how good the PR was, the accusation of “privacy violation” alone could be enough to shut the game down completely.

The colleague forced a smile, determined not to show any weakness.

Xiao Nianyuan said, “She will support me in this.”

Before the colleague could respond, Xiao Nianyuan continued, “I just want to know what happened to Sky City. If you have nothing to hide, why was the original Sky City replaced? I’ve been to both the old and new versions—they’re completely different. And I have recordings to prove it.”

The colleague couldn’t hold her ground any longer and sighed in defeat. “Don’t make this difficult for me. If I tell you, I’ll lose my job too.”

“If telling me would get you fired, then go discuss with them how to respond to my questions. I know your company has a PR department—there are plenty of ways to deal with me. But my stance remains the same: unless you explain what happened to the original Sky City, I won’t back down.”

Other colleagues noticed the tension and came over, intending to intervene.

Xiao Nianyuan glanced at them. “Are you all part of the team violating players’ privacy?”

Those who heard her immediately froze, looking confusedly at the colleague standing beside Xiao Nianyuan.

The colleague sighed again. “Just wait a moment. We—I mean, I—need to discuss this with them.”

Xiao Nianyuan’s tone was calm, but the colleague felt a chill. The most dangerous opponents were those who stayed composed in critical moments. Xiao Nianyuan was no longer the person who had come to visit her mother yesterday—now, she stood firmly on the side of the players.

She hadn’t framed this as a personal privacy violation but emphasized the violation of players’ rights. The colleague had to tread carefully—this wasn’t just about the company’s future but also her own job. One wrong move, and she’d be unemployed. With the current high unemployment rate, a job this good was hard to come by. She didn’t want to end up jobless.

Xiao Nianyuan nodded. “How long until I get an answer?”

The colleague hesitated. “Tomorrow.”

Xiao Nianyuan looked at her quietly. “I can’t come to the company tomorrow.”

“I’ll come down to meet you,” the colleague assured her. “I won’t let them stop you at the door.”

“And if I am stopped?” Xiao Nianyuan smiled. “Does that mean I’m free to talk about what happened here today?”

The colleague groaned, completely overwhelmed. Were all college students this difficult to handle these days?

She took a deep breath. “Wait here for a moment.”

With that, she pulled aside the colleagues who had been watching and whispered something to them. A few of them glanced furtively at Xiao Nianyuan.

Xiao Nianyuan stood unfazed, indifferent to their conversation.

Before long, someone approached and extended a hand. “Hello, I’m the person in charge here. I heard you wanted to know why the original Sky City design was scrapped?”

Xiao Nianyuan shook her hand briefly before letting go, waiting silently for a response.

The person in charge gestured. “Let’s discuss this inside.”

She led Xiao Nianyuan into a large conference room. Xiao Nianyuan took a seat, while the person in charge sat opposite her and began, “Sky City had bugs before, so we had no choice but to rebuild it. As for the issue of player privacy violations you mentioned, it was due to data errors.”

Noticing Xiao Nianyuan’s silence, the person in charge tentatively added, “That’s the situation. The game didn’t illegally collect player information—it was all a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?” Xiao Nianyuan asked skeptically. “If it was just a misunderstanding, why not stick to the original plan? Why can’t the original Sky City NPCs be used anymore?”

“We wanted to avoid further misunderstandings,” the person in charge replied with an awkward smile.

Xiao Nianyuan sighed. “I see. I thought there might be issues with Sky City’s NPCs too, that other NPCs were secretly violating user privacy.”

“Of course not! Our company would never do such things.”

Despite Xiao Nianyuan’s repeated hints, the person in charge played dumb. Xiao Nianyuan stood up and said, “Alright, I know what to say now.”

On the other side, Yin Peilan, hearing Xiao Nianyuan’s seemingly compliant tone, asked in surprise, “You’re just letting it go? You actually believe what she said?”

Earlier, Yin Peilan had thought Xiao Nianyuan knew what to do, but now it seemed she had been fooled so quickly. Yin Peilan grew anxious. “She’s lying to you! You should—”

Xiao Nianyuan gave a light cough, and Yin Peilan immediately fell silent. They had agreed that if Xiao Nianyuan coughed, Yin Peilan would stop talking. Though she didn’t understand why Xiao Nianyuan was so easily deceived, Yin Peilan quieted down. After all, this was Xiao Nianyuan’s decision, and if she didn’t want to pursue it further, Yin Peilan couldn’t interfere.

The person in charge smiled and stood up as well, but then Xiao Nianyuan continued, “I haven’t spoken to anyone about Sky City yet. When I go back, I’ll explain that the NPCs looking like players was just a misunderstanding.”

The person in charge’s smile froze. “You’re still going to talk about it?”

Xiao Nianyuan nodded matter-of-factly. “Of course. Before, spreading rumors without knowing the truth was wrong. But now that it’s clear, I’ll just state the facts.”

The person in charge wiped nonexistent sweat from her forehead. Despite the chilly air conditioning, she felt an inexplicable heat rising. If Xiao Nianyuan really spoke about this online, at least 90% of people would assume the game had something to hide, which was why Sky City had been replaced. That would cause major trouble.

With resignation, the person in charge asked, “Tell me what you want. How much compensation are you looking for?”

This student was difficult, but in the end, she was just a student. All this talk must be about money—what else could it be? The person in charge couldn’t imagine any other motive. Surely Xiao Nianyuan wasn’t doing all this just for players’ privacy? No one would go that far.

But she had underestimated Xiao Nianyuan. Her goal had always been Sky City itself. The answers she sought were in the original Sky City, and she needed it restored.

“I don’t want compensation.”

The person in charge chuckled. “If not compensation, then what?”

Xiao Nianyuan spoke slowly and clearly. “Tell me the truth. What really happened to the original Sky City?”

The person in charge studied Xiao Nianyuan’s expression, searching for sincerity. “I just want the truth,” Xiao Nianyuan repeated.

“It is indeed a bug,” the manager admitted helplessly. “Because of this bug, we had to shut it down. The NPCs in Sky City are based on real prototypes.”

Afraid Xiao Nianyuan might misunderstand, she quickly added, “We have authorization, but due to the bug, NPCs that resembled players accidentally appeared as you described.”

Xiao Nianyuan paused, then asked, “Since you have authorization, couldn’t you continue using them after fixing the bug?”

“It’s not that simple. We wanted to keep using them, but after discussion, we decided the risks were too high. It wasn’t suitable.”

Xiao Nianyuan asked pointedly, “Couldn’t you just say everything at once?”

The manager grew slightly flustered. “I’ve said all I can. What else do you want me to say?”

She hesitated, then glanced at the door before suddenly standing up to open it. Outside stood a woman with disheveled hair and pronounced dark circles under her eyes.

Caught eavesdropping, the woman showed no sign of panic. She said to the manager, “Let me explain it to her.”

The manager wavered, then warned in a low voice, “Don’t say anything reckless. I know you’re unhappy with the current decision, but this isn’t just your little game to play.”

“I know where to draw the line.”

After studying her for a moment, the manager left the meeting room to the two of them.

The woman didn’t look old, just somewhat worn out. She sat beside Xiao Nianyuan and, seeing her still standing, patted the chair next to her. “What do you want to ask?”

“About Sky City—”

“It’s not just about Sky City, is it?” the woman interrupted. “I heard your whole conversation. What are you really after?”

Having her ulterior motives seen through so easily, Xiao Nianyuan quietly sat down. After a long pause, she finally said, “I’m looking for someone.”

“Looking for someone?” The woman’s previously listless demeanor shifted slightly as she straightened up. “Who are you looking for?”

Xiao Nianyuan replied, “I’ve already told you enough.”

The woman fell silent, studying Xiao Nianyuan intently before pulling out a business card and sliding it across the table. “Whoever you’re searching for, at least our goals align in one regard.”

Xiao Nianyuan picked up the card. Ye Yushuang said softly, “We both want the original version of Sky City to be reinstated.”