FPE Chapter 21

The Park Director is Happy

Hearing his two hired thugs say this, Boss Wu came to his senses as well. Right — he had spent a lot of money equipping them with signal jammers. Not only had the two of them deliberately avoided security cameras the entire way, but even if they had walked brazenly right under the cameras, the jammers would have ensured those cameras recorded nothing. So why had the police come to his door?

It must have been because these two had been careless when leaving, got spotted by someone, and were tailed all the way back to the company, bringing this trouble right to him.

Boss Wu lowered his voice and snapped, “What do we do now?”

The two thugs weren’t doing this kind of thing for the first time. They thumped their chests and assured him, “Boss, don’t worry. They have no evidence. As long as we all keep our mouths shut and deny everything, nothing will come of it.”

Boss Wu pressed further, “What if there are eyewitnesses?”

The two thugs replied, “Eyewitnesses mean nothing. There’s no physical evidence anyway — we can turn it around and sue them for defamation!”

Boss Wu decided to trust in the professional competence of career criminals.

Convinced the trip to the station would go without a hitch, Boss Wu was perfectly relaxed — until they arrived at the police station, where a straight-faced officer said sternly, “We received a report from Fantasy Amusement Park. According to the park’s responsible party, two individuals stole a valuable item from the park — a crate of holographic glasses — and delivered said crate to you. Fantasy Amusement Park’s management suspects you of instigating the crime, and has provided evidence.”

Boss Wu was just about to say there was no way they could have evidence, when the officer briskly slapped down a segment of security footage. It captured the entire trail of both thugs from the moment they entered the park — including their full exit process after stealing from the park’s storage warehouse. 4K ultra-high-definition on a large screen; the faces of the two thugs were as crisp as a television drama, and the audio was recorded with exceptional clarity. You could even hear lines like “Boss Wu said to deliver it at such-and-such a time,” and so on. Boss Wu hadn’t even finished watching before he was completely dumbstruck.

Immediately after, the officer threw down Boss Wu’s recently dispatched international shipping records and payment receipts, and said to him, “Boss Wu, you are suspected of instigating a crime and trafficking stolen goods of an extraordinarily large value. The maximum sentence is ten or more years, along with confiscation of all illegal proceeds. You’d better find yourself a lawyer soon.”

Boss Wu collapsed into his chair.

At the same time, in separate interrogation rooms, the two thugs were yelling, “Impossible! The place we went had absolutely no cameras! This must be fake — it must be special effects the park made up!”

The officers were thoroughly exasperated. They announced that the two men were guilty of theft and, given their existing criminal records, faced multiple compounding charges — they wouldn’t be walking out for years. After dealing with the two thugs, who were busy yelling at each other and trying to blame Boss Wu, the officers closed the case and contacted Fantasy Amusement Park.

The following day, Jin’an City Television broadcast a report on Fantasy Amusement Park.

“Yesterday, police in the Xinghu District of Jin’an City cracked a theft case involving an extraordinarily large sum. Suspect Wu, the alleged instigator, directed suspects Cai and Li to steal a crate of holographic glasses from Fantasy Amusement Park. It is understood that the crate contained 50 pairs of holographic glasses, which Wu sold abroad at 60,000 yuan per pair, for a total illegal profit of three million yuan…”

Netizens who saw the news were stunned.

“What kind of person does this?! This is about as bad as trafficking cultural relics!”

“The glasses from Fantasy Amusement Park might not be cultural relics, but these are holographic glasses. Sure, when I visited the park they looked and felt like plastic glasses, but anyone with half a brain knows they’re not ordinary plastic! There must be incredibly advanced technology inside. We finally had someone in our country develop this, and it got sold off overseas by this person — has he lost his mind over money?”

“It’s not just about losing his mind over money — I’d call him a traitor. Our country has been through so many rounds of foreign tech blockades. We finally had something to surpass them with, and someone like this turns around and sells it out. Traitors like him deserve to be shot!”

“I know this guy surnamed Wu — even with the blur, people who know him can still tell. He runs a small company in Jin’an City. When Fantasy Amusement Park first got famous, he wanted a share of the profits. The park director refused, and apparently he held a grudge and stole the glasses to sell them. He must have been so jealous of the park’s success his eyes bled!”

“This kind of person is truly terrifying — destroying others and themselves in the process.”

The second half of the report featured an interview with the Fantasy Amusement Park director. The young director had a taut expression, the flesh of his cheeks twitching involuntarily from time to time. When the reporter asked about his feelings and thoughts, he kept his face stiff and said, “By the time we discovered the theft, it was already very late. The glasses couldn’t be recovered. I was very… um, upset. But everyone can rest assured — the losses are not severe. The suspects have already compensated us for the illegal proceeds… Please don’t worry, our team is urgently researching naked-eye holographic technology, and we believe it will be ready for everyone before long. However, because of this incident, the park will need to suspend operations for another three days. We apologize for any inconvenience…”

When netizens saw that the park, which had already been closed for two days, was going to suspend operations for another three days, they cried out in dismay.

The comment section was flooded with crying memes, and the barrage of comments was filled with protests.

“I’m literally crying. I’m a local from Jin’an City, and I even live in Xinghu District. My whole family’s already been, but I’m the only one who hasn’t gone yet. I finally took time off and was planning to go tomorrow — and now the park is suspending operations again tomorrow… I’m so angry I could bite that glasses thief to death!”

“Everyone look at the park director’s expression. Oh my god, I can feel that his facial muscles aren’t normal — he must be on the verge of crying and desperately holding it in!”

“The losses must be severe. Even decent AR glasses cost tens of thousands of yuan, and the experience is nowhere near holographic. The holographic glasses at Fantasy Amusement Park are so lightweight yet so powerful — obviously they weren’t cheap to make. And they got sold off for a measly 60,000 per pair. If that were me, I’d throttle that glasses thief!”

“Last time I visited the park, people were already lining up to get in — even tickets for the Magic Beast Viewing Corridor were sold out. Part of it is that the park is small, but surely there’s also the issue of not having enough holographic glasses to go around. Hope the park director takes it easy — your health is more important. Grief takes a toll on the body!”

“The park’s ticket prices were already dirt cheap to begin with. Even if they doubled the price after reopening it still wouldn’t cover the costs, right? I remember in an earlier interview the park director said the entire team sold their homes and cars just to fund the holographic technology research. Who knows how long it’ll take to recoup the costs — three million yuan couldn’t possibly cover the loss of those holographic glasses.”

“My heart aches for the park director. Why do people like this exist, crushing the fruits of a young person’s hard work?”

—-

The comment section was filled with grief on the park director’s behalf. The park director, who had been laughing all day to the point where his cheeks were aching, read through these comments and nearly posted “I just made three million out of nowhere and I’ve been laughing so hard my cheeks hurt.” He rubbed his face and quickly posted updates across the park’s official blog and video platform accounts: Everyone doesn’t need to worry. The losses really aren’t serious. I’m not upset at all — I’m actually quite happy.

Comment section: “It’s over. The park director has lost it from grief and is talking nonsense.”

“Park director, are you really happy? Maybe you should see a doctor? Please don’t misunderstand — I don’t think there’s something wrong with you. I just think the psychological pressure might be getting to you.”

“Park director, it’s okay to feel sad, it’s okay to cry. Men cry — that’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Chi Yizhen: ……

Why do these netizens have such vivid imaginations?

He considered posting another update to reassure everyone, typed a few words, then felt it would be useless anyway. He deleted what he’d written and instead posted an announcement: [Fantasy Amusement Park will resume operations on August 3rd. We will be adding two brand-new holographic experience zones, extending the Magic Beast Viewing Corridor, fully eliminating holographic glasses in favor of a breathtaking naked-eye holographic experience, and adjusting ticket prices to 50 yuan (with no additional charges for any attractions after entry). We look forward to welcoming everyone.]

The moment this update went live, netizens erupted with excitement. After all, most people cared far more about their own entertainment than about a park director they had no personal connection to, and they flooded the comment section enthusiastically demanding more previews and teasers.

Seeing this, Chi Yizhen let out a breath of relief.

What a shame though — he had originally planned to give everyone a surprise when the park reopened.