Translator:
_Min_
Editor:
Caron_
Under the user agreement, the Phantom helmet sold by Future Technology and the associated services such as Godly Land and virtual reality community were all online content provided by quantum computer servers.
If Future Technology stopped providing virtual reality service, then the entire virtual reality network would be halted. Everyone who logged onto the Phantom would be staring at a white cube while faced with unusable applications.
They couldnât even surf the web!
If somebody wanted to restore the virtual reality network, they would have to get a quantum computer first!
With a company like Future Technology that produced both the hardware and content, it was scary when the company decided to act ruthlessly. Youâre researching my equipment? Then Iâll stop providing the content as well! Itâll be available as soon as youâre done the investigation.
If Phantom could only be used to play games, Jiang Chen wouldnât dare to pull the plug. If it was just a console, it wouldnât be a big deal to live without it and wouldnât influence the country at all, but after a year of development, Phantomâs functionality was no longer just a âconsole.â
Perhaps one year ago it was, but it definitely wasnât now.
When the virtual community functionality was introduced half a year ago, the immersive virtual reality technology began to expand into peopleâs social networks, personal lives, and even work. A lot of private enterprises used the chatroom function as a tool for remote conferences. A lot of educational institutions even used the virtual community as a tool for remote educationâŠ
Just in a year,?people were already accustomed to living with virtual life. People reserved their waking hours for their family and real-life friends and shifted their internet-surfing time to after they slept to connect their dreams with the virtual world. Once they woke up from their REM sleep the next morning, they would be ready to tackle the day againâŠ
Now that Future Technology announced the temporary suspension of the virtual reality service, it meant all peopleâs previously-established habits would be broken.
With the release of the news, UA netizens immediately became rattled.
Without virtual reality, some people even developed amnesia â they felt something was missing during their sleep. Before, they could sleep with the press of a button. Now, they had to resort to old-fashioned methods of manually falling asleep on their beds. Some people who really couldnât sleep had to put on the helmet, press the button, and stare blankly at the white cube out of desperation.
Life without virtual reality was torture!
And the Department of Justice who launched the anti-trust investigation immediately became the publicâs target.
âFu*k the politics behind this!â
âGet rid of protectionism, screw the capitalists! Give us virtual reality back!â
âThereâs definitely some shady businesses behind this. Let me guess how much was paid to the Capital.â
The Capital desperately tried to explain to the public that the anti-trust investigation against Future Technology was within reason. However, Future Groupâs lawyer stated that an anti-trust investigation against a company formed less than two years ago with a product less than a year old was unprecedented.
The legal representative Brown Kerning, responsible for the defense against the Department of Justice, sent out a tweet and mocked his opponent.
âThis is probably the most interesting case Iâve worked on in over ten years of working. My defendant didnât even manage to digest the market share, yet theyâre suspected of preventing other companies from entering the market?â
The tweet led to tens of thousands of retweets and even led to heated debates on talk shows.
Obviously, the UA public wasnât buying the anti-trust investigation.
Therefore, the Department of Justice was withstanding a great amount of pressure to collect evidence and prepare for the prosecution.
But before events developed further, with intentional guidance from Future Technology, disability organizations, Black rights activists, obesity patients and all kinds of people went on a massive protest.
âUsing Phantom, it was the first time I saw color in this world. Although I know it was fake, it couldnât feel more real to me. It was the first time I saw my wife. Although she wasnât as beautiful as I imagined, I still love her⊠Now with Phantom, I can only stare at a blank wall. Future Technology opened the window and also closed the window for their interests,â a blind individual protested in front of the camera.
âThereâs no racism in the virtual world. I can change myself at my own whim, but you took away my ability to do that, so Iâm here protesting against you,â an equality rights activist said.
âGive virtual reality back to us! At least in the virtual world, no one cares about my weight nor does anyone call me fat behind my back! No one mocks me and says: âHey, Cook, have you been on a plane before? How many tickets did you need to buy?â This isnât funny!â A 400-pound, obese individual yelled in front of the Capital.
In a country where political correctness was above all else, if a disabled person criticized the president, the president not only had to apologize, but even the media would continue the criticism. Some people even jokingly said that a lesbian, colored person had a higher chance of being hired because once rejected, the company would be suspected of discrimination.
But needless to say, most people bought into it. Although it was far-fetched to unite virtual reality and discrimination, Future Group did an excellent job of driving public opinion.
Political correctness took politics as hostage.
With the one-sided public opinion, the Department of Justice had to withstand pressure from the Capital.
Therefore, the Minister at the Department of Justice, Lincoln, had to put his differences aside and spoke with Jiang Chen.
âThe investigation is a separate thing. Can you resume service?â
Jiang Chen said with a serious face, âNo! Weâre actively cooperating with your countryâs political system. Before the anti-trust issue is cleared from our name, we wonât do anything that could tamper with the law!â
The poor minister was about to cry as he explained: âThe anti-trust investigation doesnât mean you canât operate; you just need to temporarily suspend the sales of Phantom in UA!â
âNo! Our virtual reality network is part of the technological services provided by Future Technology. To avoid interfering with the evidence-gathering process, weâre willing to suspend our service to abide by the rules of the law!â
Lincoln said with irritation, âWhat kind of logic is this? Who demanded you to do this?â
Jiang Chen said with a stern voice, âDonât be like this, Mr. Minster. We are a company and suspending service means weâre losing profits. We feel more urgency than you for this incident to be resolved! Weâll wait for the decision and I hope you can patiently wait for us to resume our service.
Lincoln was dumbfounded.
It was like the sun had risen in the west; since when did corporations ask government agencies to wait patiently? Werenât they supposed to be the ones who said that?
As soon as Jiang Chen hung up, he couldnât hold his laughter in and burst out laughing.
âYouâre laughing? Now that Phantom sales have completely halted in UA, what are you going to do?â Xia Shiyu rolled her eyes at the hysterical Jiang Chen.
âDonât worry. It wonât be long before sales explode.â Jiang Chen made an explosion gesture and smiled at her. âThe suspension of virtual reality service doesnât only put pressure on the Capital â it also serves as an advertisement for our product.â
âThe cost is quite high.â
âWhat can you do? Sucks for us to fight B City Consortium.â
âIâm worried that if the Capital can withstand the pressure of the controversy and continue the anti-trust investigation to the end, weâll be the ones losing since theyâre a government agency and weâre a for-profit company,â Xia Shiyu hesitantly said.
âThatâs impossible because B City Consortium canât withstand this anymore. Theyâre the root of the anti-trust investigation. As long as they accept defeat, the Department of Justice wonât persist,â Jiang Chen said without hesitation
He smiled and continued.
âAnd the most critical thing is that our product is irreplaceable.â
Even if they temporarily lost some revenue, no one would be able to replace Future Technology.
That was the trump card Jiang Chen was depending on!