The virtual empire starts from the game

Chapter 684 Gossip Storm! "Exclusive Girlfriend Auction"

[I simply can't believe my wife of six years is cheating on me with another man, and it's even an online romance! I'm about to break down!]
[After a six-year relationship, I never imagined it wouldn't last. My boyfriend has disappointed me so much.]
[On our wedding anniversary, I unexpectedly discovered my wife's infidelity. After questioning her, I learned our daughter isn't even mine. This is truly a bolt from the blue… I'm filing for divorce tomorrow.]
[I knew online dating was unreliable! He was dating six girls online at the same time! If it weren't for today... I don't know when I would have found out. What a scumbag! I'll never believe in love again.]
……

At first, this content was scattered and didn't attract much attention.

Netizens who saw these posts were excitedly watching the drama unfold.

The comments that popped up in the comment section were all from people who loved to watch the drama unfold:
"Your partner cheated on you? Aren't you going to stand up and kick them?"

"Still in a long-term relationship? Six years. If you really liked each other, your kids would be old enough to run errands by now! You're not even married yet, it's only a matter of time before you break up."

"Simultaneously engaging in online romances with six people? What kind of online dating master is that! They should offer courses! This is truly valuable paid knowledge!"

……

Besides these purely spectacle-seeking comments, another classic question frequently appears in these types of posts:
How did you discover your partner was cheating?

How to discover your partner's infidelity and how the conflict erupts afterward is always the most captivating part of this kind of gossip.

However, the gossip that has surfaced only focuses on the conflicts that followed the discovery and the decisions to break up or divorce, while remaining completely silent on the question of "how the discovery was made."

When pressed for an answer, all I could say was "an accidental discovery."

This evasive attitude inevitably aroused doubts among the onlookers, leading them to question the veracity of the matter.

There's no way around it; there are just too many news reversals on the internet these days. Being cautious about placing your trust has become a mandatory lesson for every netizen.

However, they didn't doubt it for long.

As night falls, this kind of gossip begins to see explosive growth!
Moreover, users of all internet platforms simultaneously felt this surge—

Weiguang, Hongshu, Pilipili, Mengjin, Bitbiter...

On various internet platforms, stories of men and women hurt by scumbags and scumbags are constantly emerging.

The forms of exposure are also becoming increasingly diverse:

From simple text-based posts to real-life snapshots with accompanying images, to dozens of pages of PDF documents proving infidelity, and short videos of physical altercations and verbal abuse...

And then there are the indispensable videos, accompanied by sad background music, where the protagonist grieves and weeps while recounting their heartbreak and despair after being betrayed…

They come in all forms.

It was truly a scene of a hundred flowers blooming and a dazzling array of colors.

By 8 p.m., the relevant keywords had already climbed to the top of the trending search lists on almost all platforms.

By this time, the entire internet had realized something was wrong.

—There are so many melons, and they're so densely packed!
There's so much food that we can't possibly eat it all.

Such a concentrated outbreak is definitely not a coincidence!

But before netizens could find the root of the problem, an even bigger bombshell dropped online, causing a sensation across the entire internet—

Singer Huang Mansheng, known in the entertainment industry for her loving relationship with her husband, suddenly accused him of infidelity!
She wrote a long essay of 800 words, recounting the bits and pieces of their four years together, using these warm memories to express her shock and surprise when she discovered his infidelity.

They even used phrases like "the sky is falling and the earth is cracking" and "struck by five thunderbolts" to express their heart-wrenching pain and despair.

In the end, she said resolutely:
"Things have come to this point, our marriage has come to an end, and I can never tolerate my lover's infidelity."

"Just consider it that I loved the wrong person."

Huang Mansheng's long "divorce declaration" almost instantly became a trending topic, putting Kong Mingyu in the spotlight.

In an instant, her fans, followers, and a large number of casual netizens rushed to Kong Mingyu's homepage in righteous indignation, scolding him mercilessly and denouncing him as a scumbag who betrayed the queen of pop's sincere heart!
The deafening roar of curses lasted for a full 10 minutes.

Then, famous actor Kong Mingyu also stepped forward and released a statement.

This statement is shorter than Huang Mansheng's, only a little over 500 words, but its content is completely opposite—

He said he was completely deceived by Huang Mansheng. He had worked diligently for his family and relationship for several years, but she cheated on him behind his back!

If it weren't for the clues being discovered in the virtual world, we probably would still be in the dark!

I wanted to handle this discreetly and save face for both of us, but the other party unexpectedly made false accusations first.

Moreover, their distortion of the truth and wanton slander are utterly shameless!
It has already caused enormous damage to his reputation, so...

Prepare to go to court!
……

The moment this statement was released, netizens were stunned.

Both parties accuse the other of cheating. Who should you believe?

Fans of both sides can blindly support their idols, but netizens and casual observers can't!
Even when conducting internet trials, evidence is still required!

In this day and age, short essays alone are not enough.

The problem is that neither side has produced any evidence.

This has caused great distress to netizens regarding the case, so everyone has been urging them to produce evidence, provide solid proof, and completely destroy the other party!
However, Huang Mansheng, Kong Mingyu, and their respective fans only engaged in verbal sparring or produced some unsubstantiated rumors, without ever providing any strong evidence.

—If we really present the evidence, it won't just be a contest against the other side, but a contest against Zhu Meng and Xu Meng!
They can't afford to mess with Zhumeng.

Fortunately, netizens' enthusiasm for gossip was far less enduring than that of the fans of both sides, and they were quickly drawn to new juicy tidbits.

Another actor has issued a statement saying that their relationship has broken down.

Next up is Bit Bites, a major internet celebrity with over ten million followers.

Then there's a content creator on Pilipili with 300 million followers who specializes in filming couple-themed content.

……

All sorts of gossip are gushing out!

Netizens were overwhelmed with the sheer variety of gossip, and were completely stuffed with the drama!
Even more outrageous, netizens in Xia Kingdom quickly discovered—

This unusual outbreak of emotional gossip did not only occur in the Xia Kingdom.

Looking up, I see the United States, the United Kingdom, Izumo, Baekje, Europe...

Netizens all over the world are accusing their partners of cheating!

Celebrity and internet celebrity cheating scandals are popping up one after another...

I can't even see it!

At this point, even the most oblivious netizens would find it hard to believe that this is normal.

"Aren't there too many melons here today? Slow down, we can't possibly eat them all!"

"No, is today some kind of International Infidelity Day?"

"No, it should be called the [International Infidelity Exposure Festival]!"

"Stop making up holidays out of nowhere! What's going on? There's so much gossip, but nobody says how they found out. That's not normal, is it?"

"Such a large-scale event cannot be a coincidence; there must be someone with the resources to orchestrate it!"

"Could it be Dream Building? They want to sell lifelike robots that will never betray you? If they're going to do that, they should at least make a male robot!"

……

The reasoning and conclusion are both wrong.

But she successfully guessed the "mastermind" behind it all. Xu Meng was still engrossed in the game and didn't notice this shift in the situation.

But the brave sniper and Huan Yue, who had barely finished broadcasting for the required time and hurriedly ended their broadcast, immediately noticed this situation—they didn't have time to eat after their broadcast, but they did get to enjoy the gossip on the internet.

After consuming the hottest gossip, they immediately realized:
This must be related to the Dream Building test!
Realizing that the top-secret test "might have a pitfall," they quickly calmed down and carefully read through the patch instructions.

Comparing this to the online frenzy surrounding "discovering your partner's infidelity," they quickly guessed the truth—

This feature mostly restricts male and female users to one-on-one pairings.

Once bound to an object, it cannot be bound to a second one.

If someone accidentally gets involved with a lover, it's almost certain that their partner will find out!
After figuring it out, the two relaxed.

Especially the brave sniper.

He was actually after the virtual wife, but when he found out it wasn't possible, he was immediately disappointed.

As for a real girlfriend...

He only has half.

He and his girlfriend are still in a virtual online relationship. Although they are very close and have a lot of intimate contact in the virtual world, they have only exchanged gifts and met in person through holographic images in real life.

We haven't had a chance to meet in person yet.

In the context of the increasing integration of the virtual world and real society, this kind of thing is actually quite common.

However, for them, they are still a little short of time before taking the final step.

Even if it's just the final step in the virtual world, they weren't mentally prepared.

So even though they unlocked the feature, they only made a holographic call, confirmed things with each other, and then temporarily skipped the topic.

The first time you're intimate, you need a good time and atmosphere.

As for the Illusionary Moon...

He opened the "cosplay companion" group in his contacts, looking at the IDs of female companions like [Chacha], [Xiaowu], [Xingxing], [Aiko], etc., and fell into deep thought:
Who exactly was I "paired" with, and who did I receive the test qualification from?
After much thought, Huan Yue realized that most of these paid cosplayers seemed to be very proactive and their actions were quite intimate.

This gave him a headache.

Moreover, these people are essentially just engaging in borderline escort services; they don't actually provide special services. Even if they meet the criteria for unlocking the 18+ restrictions, they may not actually be willing to do such things with customers.

After all, skirting the edge is one thing, actually selling it is another.

Huan Yue thought for a moment and then simply closed the contacts.

He just wanted to get close to the anime characters that Dreamweaver hadn't made—especially the ones he used to really like—not to find a casual sex partner.

However, after he closed his contacts, he found more than 30 unusual emails in his inbox.

Checking emails after a live stream is a routine task for many streamers, and Huan Yue is no exception.

But today's email was unusually different—

[Brother Huan, do you still remember Xiaodie? Would you like to become closer to Xiaodie?]
[Brother Huan Yue, we unlocked a new feature together! Want to become adults together?]
Want Chacha to be your personal girlfriend? Sure!
[Brother, do you miss your beloved son? Let's do something fun together!]
……

Huan Yue leaned back, her pupils dilating in shock.

"WTF?"

He flipped through three pages, and almost all of them were these ambiguous emails.

He was certain that this was not a fraudulent advertisement, because Zhumeng was very strict about this kind of thing.

After reading a few letters with a puzzled look, he quickly realized that these were all escort services he had hired.

In the cosplay industry in Mansheng City, there are also some very serious cosplayers who spend most of their energy on recreating the character's makeup, personality, and even language habits. They are genuinely serious about cosplay, rather than simply looking for an excuse to make money by skirting the rules.

However, legitimate gaming companions obviously wouldn't send these kinds of emails.

Those who send emails like this are people looking for an excuse to make quick money.

Now, after the Dream Building update patch, they have keenly spotted a business opportunity—

They put themselves in others' shoes and quickly realized that their "sisters" and the "guests" they had accompanied had probably unlocked these restrictions.

So the service was upgraded immediately.

Then, those who acted quickly realized that this relationship was one-to-one and could not be turned into an open business.

But that doesn't stop them from making money.

They just had a sudden thought and came up with a crooked idea—

Send emails to clients who have provided borderline services and have deep pockets, inviting them to bid!
The person who bids the highest can buy out the real right to be intimate!

This is a VIP intimate privilege with one-on-one binding!

More stable than a one-time transaction, and more cost-effective than being a sugar daddy/sugar baby, this is an opportunity you shouldn't miss!
……

After reading several emails, Huan Yue understood the essence of the matter:
"What the hell is this cyber-first auction?! Are they trying to play with combing here?"

This is too abstract.

He silently deleted all the emails and blocked all the senders, leaving only those who were not too close to the truth, or those who were close but still had a bottom line – the "cleaners" – before he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"The current state of Mansheng City is just too chaotic!"

He couldn't help but sigh, "Girls from the world of anime and virtual reality are still the best!"

After saying that, she turned to Huo Huo's embrace to seek some solace.

……

If it weren't for the confidentiality requirements of Zhumeng, this outrageous "combing auction" would definitely have become known throughout the entire internet.

But now, it's just continuing silently...

Only a few reports were submitted to Zhumeng through the test page.

However, amidst a flood of complaints and grievances about infidelity, these few reports were quickly drowned out and made no waves at all.

When Xu Meng finished the game, the first thing she saw was a deluge of gossip about infidelity and cheating.

"Can anyone tell me... what exactly is this International Infidelity Day???"

Xu Meng was stunned when she saw these outrageous trending keywords, and it took her a while to realize what was going on.

But after thinking it over, it didn't seem like a big deal.

How can this be described as breaking up families and lovers?
This is clearly exposing the true colors of scumbags and helping victims to stop their losses and escape from these trashy people.

That's a truly meritorious deed!

As for what many netizens say, that this is all a conspiracy of his, all for the purpose of selling lifelike robots...

Xu Meng logged into her social media account and posted a message in response—

[You're welcome.]
Netizens were left with a lot of questions after seeing this seemingly random "You're welcome":
Who thanked you?

(End of this chapter)