Episode 16 recap: Everyone fell into the "chip removal" scam.
MicroTech prepared a dormitory for Chun Yu's father. When Chun Yu and Gao Xuan arrived at the dormitory, they found it in a mess, as if it had been ransacked. Xu Wen Ya's brother accidentally bumped into Nian Su Lan while delivering food, and during the claim process, she found out that he was Xu Wen Ya's brother, which made her reveal a sinister smile.
Gao Xuan's wooden smiley face stamp was missing, and Chun Yu searched for it together with him, unexpectedly discovering that he was a childhood companion. The boss of Tianji Corporation, considering that Chun Yu and the others wanted to remove the chip, stated that they would provide a more interesting gameplay. The boss of Tianji Corporation's identity was exposed, so he had no choice but to invite them into the office, and Chun Yu's demand was to wake up Qing You and for them to exit the game.
However, the boss of Tianji, Yan Ming Liang, claimed that he was not a disguised employee but was simply personally interested in research and development, and he self-righteously referred to Chun Yu and the others as part of the experimental process. Chun Yu made another request, but Yan Ming Liang unexpectedly asked them to come back in two days to have their chips removed and their consciousness released.
As Chun Yu and the others left, they couldn't help but feel that Yan Ming Liang's quick agreement must have a conspiracy behind it. Just as they left the company, they encountered the person who had reminded Chun Yu to leave the game quickly the first time they entered. Later, he was introduced by the person in charge and turned out to be just a character in the game. Gao Xuan took the opportunity to ask him if he was still playing the game, but the person didn't remember anything and said that he had been transferred from the department after recovering from an illness and was no longer involved in the affairs of the development department.
Gao Xuan privately told Chun Yu that there must be a connection between Yan Ming Liang and Nian Su Lan. Chun Yu immediately thought of his father's dormitory. The chairman discovered Chun Yu and Gao Xuan leaving through the surveillance footage. The reason for agreeing to remove the chips was that the system detected special data during the upgrade and indicated a change in gameplay.
Chun Yu and Gao Xuan arrived at their father's dormitory and found it in a mess, as if it had been searched through. They searched for useful documents while the chairman repeatedly watched game videos, searching for someone. Before leaving, Chun Yu discovered a family photo, and Gao Xuan suggested taking it with them, as she used to smile a lot when she was a child.
Nian Su Lan suggested to Xu Wen Ya that she livestream her job search, but Xu Wen Ya, considering the strong competition in livestreaming, did not want to record a cold type of program and proposed recording a food-related program instead. Nian Su Lan's proposal was rejected, and she started to feel resentment towards Xu Wen Ya.
Yang Ba Wan came to the restaurant to find Xiao Qin, expressing his desire to leave the game with Dou Dou. Xiao Qin had to analyze that Dou Dou in reality might be a highly skilled martial artist with a great physique, which made Yang Ba Wan realize the truth. Yang Ba Wan went to the playground and asked every girl if they knew Dou Dou. Nian Su Lan, who was rejected by Xu Wen Ya and failed to apologize to her friends, accidentally had her phone broken by a delivery person. The delivery person took out his phone for compensation, and the phone's screensaver showed a photo of Xu Wen Ya together with him. He borrowed the person's phone to make a call and discovered that Xu Wen Ya was his sister.
Xu Wen Ya angrily returned to the dormitory, and Chun Yu asked her what happened, but Xu Wen Ya didn't tell her. Yang Ba Wan, feeling disappointed for not finding Dou Dou, sat on the railing. Dou Dou comforted him and took out her phone to watch a video sent by her sister. From that angle, Yang Ba Wan noticed that Xiao Qin and Dou Dou had the same eyes and called out the name "Dou Dou." Xiao Qin reflexively agreed, but Yang Ba Wan saw through it. It turned out that the Dou Dou they had been desperately searching for was Xiao Qin.
Xiao Qin mistakenly thought that Yang Ba Wan was repulsed by his leg injury and left in sadness. Gao Xuan met with Chun Yu and believed that Yan Ming Liang must have a conspiracy. At this time, Xu Wen Ya argued with her brother, and Chun Yu noticed that she was being cyberbullied in the group because of her brother's identity. Her brother kept apologizing to her, but Xu Wen Ya threw away the fruit and cursed her brother away.
Her brother, feeling very sad, went to the rooftop and was mistaken by Chun Yu and Gao Xuan as wanting to jump off. They saved him and realized their misunderstanding. Afterward, her brother expressed that he would take care of Xu Wen Ya more. During the process of saving her brother, the wooden smiley face stamp fell from the bottom of the building. Gao Xuan deliberately mentioned the origin of the stamp and said it was unforgettable, which made Chun Yu's heart skip a beat, but she didn't admit that she was the one who gave it to him.
Seeing that she didn't remember, Gao Xuan pretended not to care and left. At night, he secretly returned to the bushes to look for the smiley face stamp. While searching, he remembered how Chun Yu cried when they separated in their childhood and made a promise to come back for her. Tianji Corporation agreed to remove the chips, and Gao Xuan informed the online friends, but they reminded him not to trust Tianji too much.
Yan Ming Liang used high technology to return consciousness to Qing You and the others in front of Chun Yu and the others. They only made a slight movement, and Yan Ming Liang took the opportunity to propose surgery. However, Gao Xuan asked Yan Ming Liang to pause and privately told Chun Yu that the employee they encountered at Tianji Corporation seemed to have lost his memory. He was worried that Qing You and the others would become like that too, but what worried him even more was that he couldn't remember Chun Yu. At that moment, Chun Yu pressed his hand a few times with a familiar pattern, revealing that it was their childhood Morse code. Chun Yu finally confessed her identity and gave him the smiley face stamp, saying she wouldn't forget her "Little Lei Ge" (Brother Lei).
Everyone decided to remove the chips and fantasized about the wonderful life after removal. The chip removal process began, and they saw the electric current flowing. They were once again taken into the game, while Xu Wen Ya was tied to a pillar with a dangling chainsaw above her head.
I can't take it anymore. There is clear evidence, and even the boss admitted it (just recording would be enough). Why not wake up Qing You and the others first? Haven't we seen enough of the Heavenly Machine's deceitfulness?
Do you really believe they will remove it as promised? The scene of removal is filled with Heavenly Machine's people. What's the point of playing these tricks? Where is your high intelligence now? 1. If they can't wake up Qing You, wouldn't that indirectly prove that they won't remove it for you?
2. If they do wake up, just call the police. There are witnesses and evidence. I'm truly speechless...