Chapter 596: Chapter 564: Permanent Residents of the Virtual World_2
“Whew~” Lincoln, sitting in place, let out a long sigh.
If Randall didn’t run away, he would want to run away himself; this was too awkward.
But this matter couldn’t be ignored. Besides, it was for their own good.
This was not just a self-consolation of a capitalist—this statement couldn’t be more accurate.
Lincoln hadn’t forgotten about Little Chun’s illness. Even though her mood had improved significantly during this period, actively cooperating with treatment and exercise, the progression of her illness had slowed down considerably.
But there still wasn’t any hope for improvement.
Sooner or later, when Little Chun couldn’t control her body at all, she might become a real “permanent resident of the virtual world.”
At that time, they would definitely want to make love in the rain with their significant other and do the most intimate things, right?
—Considering the size of Cloud Dream now, it was even possible that some people were already in this state.
Thinking about it, Lincoln felt a sudden shock!
He suddenly thought of an issue: Cloud Dream’s Anti-addiction System!
If there were such people who could only move their neck and above, would the 8 hours offline caused by the virtual world be even more painful?
“Mavis!” Lincoln didn’t want to delay for a single minute upon thinking of this issue.
“Mavis is here!” Mavis was always ready to respond.
“Do we have any feedback from users with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?”
“Hold on, Mavis will check!” Mavis blinked and quickly searched for any missed information using keywords from the processed player feedbacks.
Although Cloud Dream’s customer service team had a triple-filtering mechanism, random spot checks, and manual interventions triggered by repeated feedback to fill the gaps, it was still impossible to guarantee perfection.
Moreover, customer service followed the rules, and their authority was limited.
Not all Cloud Dream employees enjoyed the company’s freedom. The only advantage of Cloud Dream’s customer service compared to its counterparts was the comprehensive benefits and guarantees.
So if there were really niche problems unrelated to Cloud Dream’s responsibilities that weren’t reported multiple times, they could indeed be overlooked.
Watching Mavis quickly search for information, Lincoln thought of another issue: “Mavis, do we have any users who are online for 16 hours a day? I mean a full 16 hours, continuously, without logging off?”
This time Mavis responded much faster: “Yes!”
“Good heavens!” Lincoln was surprised. Weren’t these people practically permanent residents of the virtual world?
After all, they spent more time in the virtual world than in reality.
“Put together a report on these people’s information.”
Lincoln planned to look into these people’s situations and, if necessary, remove their time constraints.
Of course, there was a prerequisite: they must have no other choice and couldn’t be physically healthy people who played games all day while getting IV drips, catheters, and hiring caregivers. That would be too outrageous!
But no one should be that crazy.
*
On the other side, Randall went through the Teleportation Gate but didn’t immediately look for Little Chun; instead, he returned to his virtual house.
Sitting on the single sofa, he felt a sudden surge of heartache and suddenly tears welled up in his eyes without any warning.
Why did he support what Lincoln was doing?
Because as a family member of an ALS patient, this really was a personal matter for him.
In fact, he and Little Chun hadn’t done those intimate activities in a long time.
—Of course, he didn’t feel heartbroken because of that.
What truly troubled and almost broke him was always Little Chun’s illness itself.
As the disease had progressed to its current state, he almost treated Little Chun like a glass doll, not daring to do any intense activities.
Not only were exercise and diet carefully planned, but the replenishment and consumption of nutrients were also calculated very meticulously.
During the weekend, he had to diligently study new drug research and therapies related to rare diseases, planning to invest in new drug research and development teams, specifically focusing on research for ALS.
Although studies have shown that the research and development cost of new drugs for rare diseases is only about half of that for common diseases, it still requires billions in investment.
The cost could be lower or higher for specific individuals with the disease; it’s all uncertain.
Not to mention, there is always the possibility of complete failure and all investment going down the drain.
The confidence and determination he displayed in front of Little Chun were all pretense.
In Randall’s perception, his life in recent years seems to be sliding down a slope, unstoppable and slowly heading towards an abyss.
After coming to the virtual world, things have indeed improved:
The slope has become less steep – Little Chun’s mood has greatly improved, and she actively cooperates with her treatment, slowing down the deterioration of her condition.
The abyss has become less frightening – even if Little Chun can only be bedridden and cannot take care of herself, she can still live freely in the virtual world.
And he has glimpsed at a lifesaving straw – investing in new drug R&D.
But their situation on the “slope” has not fundamentally changed.
Although Lincoln’s conversation was short and did not touch on Little Chun’s condition, Randall noticed Lincoln’s hesitations and attempts to speak several times.
It was evident that he considered their situation while doing this thing.
It might even be one of the reasons why Little Chun’s condition prompted him to do this thing.
This sudden outburst from Randall was influenced by emotions he had suppressed for a long time.
But strangely, after wiping away his tears, he felt a genuine sense of comfort.
He couldn’t say exactly why – was it the hope of a more realistic and beautiful virtual world in the future? Or was it the feeling of relief from the helplessness of isolation, knowing someone was there to help?
Randall couldn’t tell.
But he felt a long-lost sense of relaxation, as if a heavy stone in his heart had been momentarily moved, giving him a brief opportunity to catch his breath.
At the same time, he was also reminded once again: even if you are on a “slope,” you can choose not to stare at the abyss, but instead to live more in the present and create more beautiful things.
Having adjusted his mood and put on a smile, Randall opened the Teleportation Gate once more to find Little Chun.
*
In reality, at the Cloud Dream Office.
After completing all the onboarding procedures, Jason timely asked Quentina, “Does Cloud Dream’s public relations department still need employees?”
He promised Gary he wouldn’t forget.
Quentina looked at Jason strangely and replied, “Cloud Dream doesn’t have a public relations department.”
“No?” Jason was puzzled, “What do you do when there are public relations issues?”
He thought about the incidents that had happened online before and couldn’t help but twitch in the corner of his eye, “You don’t mean the boss personally handles every situation, do you?”
Quentina thought about it and answered, “Not all of them. If you have to say, Cloud Dream actually has a department that frequently interacts with users. To some extent, it plays a public relations role.”
“What department?” Jason was very curious.
“Look over there.” Quentina tipped her chin for Jason to look, “Do you see her?”
Jason looked over and saw Cheryl with a sports camera on her head, holding Milkshake and another cat in her arms, a liquid-like white cat lying on her neck, and a group of cats and dogs howling behind her.
“That’s Cheryl, the Pet Department Manager of Cloud Dream. All of the cats and dogs, pet employees, are under her supervision. For most minor issues, the cute pets show up and just being adorable resolves the problem.”
Jason twisted his stiff neck, turned his head back with difficulty, and only uttered one sound:
“Huh?”
You guys really do public relations with dogs on leashes?
How is he supposed to report back to Gary about this?