I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 424
Chapter 424: Dongdong’s Little Round Hat
The sudden physical altercation plunged the entire male dormitory into dead silence.
It was evident that the dorm leader, nicknamed “Baldy,” was furious. He, along with another slender boy, was familiar with our café, though not to the extent of being fans. The actions of “Grumpy Old Dragon” were infuriating to young, hot-blooded males like them.
What enraged them the most wasn’t just that “Grumpy Old Dragon” was profiting from black traffic but that he hid his actions from his close friends, knowing full well that the dorm leader and one other friend were small fans of the café. Even after being confronted offline, he refused to admit his actions and made those statements.
If “Grumpy Old Dragon” had committed other illegal activities online, even if the target wasn’t the café but another restaurant or trendy shop they weren’t familiar with, the dorm leader probably wouldn’t be this furious.
This behavior is similar to everyone in the dorm playing a particular game, where the dorm leader and the slender boy had bought accounts online only to have them reclaimed. They had ranted about it several times, cursing the reclaimers, only to find out that one of their own dormmates was exploiting the same loophole to scam money.
“I’ve been watching a lot of videos lately about people finding back their lost accounts offline. There are videos about all sorts of games, like Genshin Impact, APEX, and Journey to the West. Those reclaimers started out just like you.”
After a moment of silence, the bespectacled boy behind “Baldy” spoke calmly.
“They all act the same: they don’t reply to texts, don’t answer calls, block people, and are arrogant if you add them on WeChat, shouting ‘just try and get me arrested,’ thinking no one will really come after them or find them. But every time… when those video creators really traveled thousands of miles to find the scammers’ homes, their reactions were almost always the same – obedient and panicked, babbling nonsense.”
He squatted down and faced “Grumpy Old Dragon”.
“I used to think, just like some of the comments or bullet chats on those videos, that it might be scripted, with the reclaimers and offline personnel acting it out. But now… I don’t doubt it anymore. I never expected something similar to happen right here.”
“Are you really that stupid?”
The slender boy holding down “Grumpy Old Dragon” spoke with a tone of exasperation. “I’ve told the dorm leader more than once that the café has been heavily smeared recently because it’s become popular. The dorm leader also said he hates those online trolls, right? Why would you do this? Unless you really have evidence?”
?What the hell, is this a real offline bust??
At the same time, my earphones also played the AI-generated voice reading out bullet chats:
?Is this the ‘Grumpy Old Dragon’? I’ve reported his videos, but the site doesn’t seem to care?
?A college student? Making extra cash??
?Should we investigate if someone is behind him? Usually, university students are either dumb or being incited.?
?By the way, how did Nuo’er know that his computer saved the account password??
?Nuo’er has Xiao Mo’s help. Xiao Mo… I won’t say much, but she definitely has a significant background. I’d believe it if you told me Xiao Mo could use magic.?
Under all of our gazes, “Grumpy Old Dragon” barely lifted his head, not daring to look at me but only at his dorm leader.
“I… I just wanted to make some extra money, I didn’t think about anything else… I… I actually have many accounts, not just this one…”
“So, you mean you’re not only targeting the café?”
Baldy frowned, “No wonder. You’ve been talking about how much you make from online part-time jobs, and I actually thought it was legitimate work. I didn’t expect it to be this.”
With that, Baldy picked up the mouse again and clicked on “Account Management”.
“Indeed, you have five accounts just on Tongmeng. This is your main account, I know. What about this one?”
Switching to one of the smaller accounts, Baldy clicked on “Creator Center”:
?These ten movies are more thrilling than adult films, the last one 99% of people haven’t seen…?
?Better than Naruto! Why is Boruto a masterpiece? Everyone overlooked this detail, it’s simply amazing…?
?Why are women advocating for feminism nowadays? Men don’t understand the hardships of women…?
“Oh, great, you’re also stirring up conflicts, huh? This video has a lot of views, over a million plays.”
“And this one… ‘Why are foreigners physically superior to us? It’s because they often eat this…’ What nonsense is this?”
“All these videos are either nonsense or inciting conflict, and it seems this account makes more money? The creator incentives are already several thousand yuan.”
After briefly reviewing the videos on this smaller account, Baldy turned to “Grumpy Old Dragon”.
“Sixth Brother, you understand how to drive traffic. All your videos have tons of heated arguments in the comments.”
“That’s because some website algorithms push videos to the homepage whenever there are new comments,” Grumpy Old Dragon said in a hoarse voice. “So, the more controversial the video, the higher the traffic and the greater the revenue.”
“Are you that desperate for money?”
Saying this, Baldy seemed to realize something and tossed the mouse aside.
“Forget it, this might fall into a gray area. If you want to make money this way, I can’t stop you. But targeting someone else’s café… did you forget that the Shangjing Café is right here in our Shenzhen City?”
Baldy glanced at me and Xiao Mo, “Nuo’er, Xiao Mo, how much did his actions cost you?”
“Well…”
I said, embarrassed, “It’s hard to calculate the exact loss. We spent a lot of time debunking the rumors, so we just hope he stops his illegal activities and issues a public apology. But every time we tried to message him, we got blocked, so we had no choice but to come here. These slanderous rumors have indeed caused us significant losses.”
It’s difficult to calculate the visible income since we can’t conduct a nationwide survey to determine how many people avoided the café after watching his videos. However, we can account for the hidden losses.
For instance, I’ve spent a lot of time debunking the rumors by making videos, issuing announcements and statements, and answering questions and doubts from people in groups or those who visit the café daily. The time consumed in these activities is a loss in itself.
If I had used that time for my own work or to fix another bug in the café’s system or come up with a new menu item, it could have brought in significant income. Moreover, the emotional toll of being slandered, the “emotional loss,” is also immeasurable.
His numerous videos have generated a lot of negative emotions among our café’s fans, which can’t be quantified. What we can confirm now is that “Grumpy Old Dragon” targeted the café purely for financial gain.
He would latch onto any topic that could generate traffic and income. Today, if a street vendor’s cart is confiscated by city management, he’d post a video titled “Why is life so hard for ordinary people?” Tomorrow, if a student is called a simp for buying tissues for a girl, he’d post something like “Little Princess vs. Simp: It Takes Two to Tango.”
His strategy is to generate controversy and heated debates in the comments, regardless of whether the viewers are comfortable with it or not. As long as it brings traffic and money, he doesn’t care.
The reason he targeted our café is simply because it was recently included in Shenzhen City’s key development projects, received significant support from the city, and became a popular tourist spot. Slandering the café would generate traffic.
“I’m really sorry. He’s usually quite normal, we had no idea he was doing this online.”
Baldy looked at me and Xiao Mo with an apologetic expression. “So, what do you plan to do with him?”
“Our request is for him to delete the videos and issue an apology statement.”
I looked at the other guys. “No need for this, let him go.”
?Why let him go? The online environment is a mess because of people like him. Just report him and get him arrested.?
?People like him will get caught by other businesses if not by Nuo’er.?
?Unfortunately, traffic brings revenue, so this behavior is tolerated.?
?He should be thankful Nuo’er came to him first. With his daily antics, he’ll eventually cross someone he shouldn’t. Dirty money always leads to trouble.?
As the audience in my earphones pointed out, there was indeed a “magical” element to how we found “Grumpy Old Dragon” today. Normally, searching online wouldn’t reveal that “this person has saved all their account passwords on their computer.”
This information came from Gabriel, who hacked into his system when his computer was on, gathered enough evidence, and then sent me and Xiao Mo over.
In other words, even if the dorm leader “Baldy” hadn’t opened Grumpy Old Dragon’s computer in front of the livestream audience, the evidence we had was already sufficient to report him and get him arrested.
“I’m sorry, I was wrong…”
After the boys released him, “Grumpy Old Dragon” looked down and cautiously glanced at Xiao Mo and me.
“I… I didn’t realize it would cause you so much trouble. I’ll delete the videos right now.”
?Now he knows how to apologize? What did he say on WeChat earlier? Did anyone record it??
?I recorded a video. He said… ‘Who do you think you are? For women like you, I’ll take on as many as come.’?
?Why is he so timid now? I liked his defiant attitude at the beginning.?
?Nuo’er doesn’t seem to want to make things difficult for him, but I can’t stand it. I want to call the police.?
?Actually, there’s no need to call the police. After this incident, he probably won’t be able to stay in the dorm. Plus, Nuo’er is live streaming, so when all the clips go viral, his classmates and relatives will likely find out.?
?Yeah, as long as he’s still in Shenzhen City, people around him will gradually shun him. This kind of slow torment is worse than getting arrested.?
“Alright, let’s not make the atmosphere so tense!”
Seeing that “Grumpy Old Dragon” had already started quietly deleting the videos on his computer, I clapped my hands and turned to the boys.
“Come on, try the cake I made. It’s a new product that hasn’t been launched in the café yet! Try it and give me some feedback!”
As I spoke, I took a small cake and a small fork, handing them to the dorm leader, Baldy Brother.
“We’re tentatively calling this ‘Dongdong’s Little Round Hat.’ Give it a try?”
This cake was indeed made by me and is indeed a new product from the café. Unlike previous new items from the café, the cream in this cake contains the juice of a fruit from another world called “Dongdong.” This “Dongdong” was originally grown in the garden of the Diwutith Empire, and it’s currently the harvest season.
Its appearance resembles Earth’s fog lotus, but its color is a light blue, similar to the color of ice crystals in winter. It has semi-transparent flesh with a large pit in the center, surrounded by juicy flesh.
The taste of this fruit is hard to describe. It feels a bit like eating cold watermelon in the summer. Its texture is “icy,” much like mint, giving a very cool sensation in the mouth combined with the sweet taste of watermelon, making it particularly refreshing.
The café’s previous small cakes used a locally popular “ice cream cream,” which tastes very much like ice cream. Adding this “Winter Fruit” gives the illusion that it might actually be ice cream at first bite.
At least, I find it particularly delicious, and Xiao Mo, Fei Luo, and Gabriel also couldn’t stop praising it after they tried it. I brought these small cakes today to alleviate the awkward atmosphere in the dorm after the “Grumpy Old Dragon” was exposed and to use this live broadcast as an opportunity to promote the new product.
I quickly glanced at the popularity of the “Little Xia Nuo Does Not Hide in the Cardboard Box” live broadcast and saw that it had already increased to over 300,000 viewers.
?Understood, if I post videos defaming the café, Nuo’er will come to my door, and I’ll get to try new cakes. I’m getting ready now.?
?I advise you not to do that, brother. Getting into trouble with Nuo’er and Xiao Mo just for a new cake isn’t worth it.?
?Just joking, but I still envy them. It would be great if Nuo’er and Xiao Mo came to our dorm to surprise us.?
?Why does it seem like Nuo’er can do everything? I thought she only knew how to cook, not make desserts.?
?You think the recently popular new drink, Kirara, just appeared out of nowhere? It was made by Nuo’er.?
“Oh, oh, I’ll try it.”
Seeing that I didn’t seem to intend to call the police, Baldy Brother took the cake I handed over.
“You… you can deal with him however you want. We’ve been in the same dorm for years, but this behavior is clearly illegal…”
“Really, it’s not necessary.” I shook my head repeatedly. “This matter can be big or small. You’re all classmates, there’s no need to make it so tense.”
Actually, it was already very tense.
I thought to myself quietly.
We came here today for a live broadcast and had already given this person several chances.
He blocked our calls, ignored our messages, and after adding him on WeChat and explaining everything, he still threatened us with foul language.
Today’s incident will pass, and once “recording man” in the livestream uploads the video, if it gets shared in WeChat groups or QQ groups, this person will definitely become famous. For other marketing self-media accounts that have been smearing the café during this time, these videos will also serve to intimidate and deter.
Anyway, our goal has been achieved: debunking rumors, obtaining an apology, and completing the public relations work. As for this “Grumpy Old Dragon”… I feel the disdain from classmates and the indifference from dorm mates who live together every day might be more unbearable than days spent in a detention center.
If he were smarter…
“No, it’s my fault. I… I understand.” In the dorm, after listening to my words, “Grumpy Old Dragon” turned around. “I’ll get ready in a moment. I’ll surrender this afternoon.”
Well, he said he would surrender himself. I didn’t say anything.
“If you want to earn money, didn’t the school library always need people? If you think it’s too little, you can do delivery or the milk tea shop at our doorstep is also hiring part-time. Instead of doing this, I don’t know what to say to you.”
Baldy Brother gave this person a white-eyed glance. “Nuo’er said forget it, I can’t be bothered with you either. Do whatever you want. Let me try this cake…”
After saying that, Baldy Brother picked up a fork, cut a small piece of cake, and put it in his mouth.
“Mmm?!” The next second, he widened his eyes. “What… what is this taste? It’s cool, but not frozen. I’ve never tasted this flavor before. Wow, is this really made by you, Nuo’er?”
“Yes, it is.”
“This is… incredible.” Baldy Brother looked genuinely impressed. “Besides the strawberries on top, what else did you add to this cake? It’s cool and refreshing, not frozen, and there’s a fruity fragrance that I can’t quite identify. It’s delicious, really.”
“Well, it’s a new product after all. As for the recipe, that’s our secret.”
I picked up the other cakes and distributed them to the people around me. Then, I took one of the last two small cakes and handed it to “Grumpy Old Dragon” in front of the computer.
“You should try it too. Don’t worry, it’s absolutely clean and hygienic. If you’re concerned, you can have it tested. We’ll cover the testing fee.”
Honestly, I wasn’t keen on covering the entire testing fee. It’s quite expensive, tens of thousands. But I knew this person wouldn’t actually go get it tested.
“Ah… oh, thank you.” After hesitating for a moment, the young man in front of me finally took the cake. “Thank you, and… I’m sorry.”
“No problem, misunderstandings cleared up, that’s what matters. Oh, by the way…”
I took out several coupons from my skirt pocket. “These are coupons for the café’s recent promotions. You can get a 10% discount with this coupon at the café. Some new items, like the recent Kirara beverage and this Dongdong’s Little Round Hat cake, can get an additional 2 yuan off. If you have time, you should come and try them!”
“Alright, alright, we’ll definitely come next week when we’re free,” Baldy Brother said, looking somewhat touched. He took another bite of the cake and then gestured to his dormmates.
“You guys should try it too. I’m not exaggerating, I don’t usually like sweets, but this… this is really delicious.”
“Is it really that good?” Glasses Guy furrowed his brows, took the fork, and sampled a bit of the cake.
“Wow!” The next moment, his expression relaxed. “What kind of sorcery is this?”
“See, I wasn’t exaggerating,” Baldy Brother said proudly.
“Next time we go to the café, we’ll order this.”
“……”
……