Chapter 6

November 22nd, morning.

Zilin's life at the internet addiction rehabilitation center officially began.

His roommate woke up promptly at six o'clock, thanks to his biological clock, with no intention of lingering in bed. As soon as he woke up, he got up and immediately came to Zilin's bed to "wake him up."

Although Zilin was already awake, he still pretended to be drowsy, yawning and lazily getting up.

During the process of dressing and washing up, the two began to chat.

Zilin's roommate was named Wang Yong; yes, a name as common as John Smith, still in use in the 23rd century and one of the most frequently used names.

Wang Yong was seventeen years old, a second-year high school student, with a slender and weak build. Due to his love for gaming and poor academic performance, his parents chose an auspicious day to "trick" him into this center for "correction." At school, he was temporarily suspended, and he could only return to his studies after being "reformed."

Wang Yong didn't mention much of this basic information during their conversation, but it didn't matter because Zilin had already read his file. Even if Wang Yong said nothing, Zilin knew everything about him.

Compared to his own situation, Wang Yong spent more time telling Zilin about the things to pay attention to in the center: for example, not to resist the dorm supervisor, not to talk back, and to do whatever the dorm supervisor tells you; not to do anything conspicuous, not to violate any rules, and not to show any intense emotions, etc.

Of course, the most important rule was—absolutely no questioning, defying, or disrespecting Professor Tang.

Here, it's worth mentioning Professor Tang.

His name is Tang Jiucheng, a native of Linyi, born in June 2162.

Before the age of forty, his resume was nothing special: he graduated from a public school, became a resident physician at a local specialty hospital, and spent about twenty years to become the head of a department... In Zilin's words, a typical mediocre person.

Logically, with his academic level and social status, he could have worked for another twenty years and retired as a deputy director or even director.

However, he was clearly not content with that.

At the beginning of 2206, Professor Tang suddenly resigned from his hospital, and with an unknown source of funding, he founded the Sunshine Youth Behavior Correction Center.

In the following two to three years, he became a major figure in Linyi; not only did he publish several academic papers on "internet addiction" recognized by authoritative institutions, but he also received extensive coverage and promotion from federal official media... This made his center a well-known institution throughout Long County, attracting parents from all over.

And Professor Tang's center did not disappoint; to date, he has transformed a large number of "internet-addicted teenagers" into "qualified elites."

To be fair, his so-called "academic views" are not sophisticated, even quite foolish, but as a service product for the intellectually challenged, this system is sufficient.

Tang Jiucheng's "treatment and correction" can be simply summarized as—religious brainwashing combined with animal training.

First, he defined "internet addiction," a term with no recognized medical definition, as a disease; then he used electric shocks to force all the teenagers sent to his center to admit they had internet addiction; next, he used the threat of electric shocks to force "patients" to follow his rules and accept his views...

This system is similar to the tactics used during the Crusades, where the form is "I have determined that my god is the only one, and if you believe in others, you deserve to die, so I come to destroy you in the name of justice."

He himself doesn't believe in this, but you must acknowledge it because if you don't, he can't operate.

So how does he operate? By using electric shocks.

Electric shocks are a typical "negative reinforcement" (i.e., punishment for behaviors that do not align with organizational goals, to weaken or eliminate these behaviors and ensure the achievement of goals without interference).

Saying it's "animal training" is also not entirely accurate, as training animals typically involves "positive reinforcement" or a combination of positive and negative reinforcement. A simple example is... giving food for correct actions and whipping for incorrect actions, forming a conditioned reflex.

But Professor Tang seems to be adept only at using electric shocks, as they are effective.

If you make him lie there and shock him until he admits to having internet addiction, he will eventually admit it; as long as the shocks are applied correctly, he can even make you admit you're a dog, and if you don't admit it after a day, he considers it a loss.

Of course, relying solely on this method, his center or the "youth behavior correction" industry cannot sustain itself long-term; electric shocks are just a means, and means can change. You can use electric shocks today and waterboarding tomorrow... as long as the government doesn't interfere.

However, for an industry to survive and continue, it needs more than just methods; the most important factor is market demand.

If "prostitution" is a service industry based on human instinctual needs, then "internet addiction centers" are a haven for "educational failures."

Professor Tang's true brilliance lies not in his methods but in this—psychologically, he shifts the blame that should be on parents to a fictional illness, to the internet, games, and society; physiologically, he uses negative reinforcement to "reform" the "patients."

In other words, parents can send their children to the center to absolve themselves of responsibility and receive the desired "results" when they pick them up; ultimately, they can feel justified and satisfied, telling themselves, "I am not wrong, my child is not wrong, it's the fault of various objective factors, and these factors have been 'corrected' by Professor Tang."

Such "service" naturally satisfies the consumers, and since the customers are satisfied, the business can continue.

Thus, Professor Tang's center has been operating for over a decade, and he himself has been hailed as the "savior of internet and socially corrupted youth," achieving both fame and fortune.

Especially within the center, Tang Jiucheng is almost a god-like figure; staff members bow and scrape when they see him, and patients must bow ninety degrees when they see him; if not for fear of government attention, he might have already required patients to kneel and bow to him.

"Assembly time, all allies please gather in the corridor... Assembly time, all allies..."

While talking with Wang Yong, it was already 6:30.

At that moment, a deadpan recorded announcement sounded on time, accompanied by a strange "buzzing" noise that could be heard in every dormitory.

Upon hearing the assembly announcement, Zilin and Wang Yong immediately stopped talking, went out, and quickly walked to the corridor.

Since the dormitory only has a sink and no toilet, and one must go to the public toilet in the corridor for convenience, the electronic door of the dormitory can be freely opened with the fingerprints of the residents. Last night, the dorm supervisor brought Zilin in because he had just arrived, and the room assignment and fingerprint registration process was not yet complete; now that Wang Yong was awake, he was responsible for opening the door.

Two minutes after they arrived in the corridor, a dorm supervisor hurriedly walked through, inspecting the "patients" who had already lined up by room number.

"Hold your ally's hand, start... walk!" When the dorm supervisor reached the last room, he loudly issued the command.

In the center, "patients" are called "allies," a term invented by Professor Tang, who also requires all patients and their parents to call him "Uncle Tang."

"Maintain order! No whispering!" As the line began to move, the dorm supervisor followed at the back, sternly shouting.

Zilin had thoroughly investigated these daily routines.

At 6:30, the allies gather, and at 6:45, they go to the "activity room" on their floor to do "kneeling exercises." Initially, these exercises were done on the playground, but due to frequent escape attempts, they were moved indoors.

At 7:00, all allies gather in the cafeteria for breakfast, and at 7:30, they return to their classrooms on their floor for "classes." These "classes" are actually self-study sessions, with content mainly from Uncle Tang's textbooks, the center's internal rules and regulations, and past "evaluation class" content.

After three classes, it's lunchtime at noon, with a 45-minute lunch break, followed by the only one-hour free time of the day, although "free time" means you can only move within limited areas.

At 1:45, they regroup, and at 2:00, they go to the computer room to "surf the internet"—specifically, to visit websites and view content designated by Uncle Tang, for three more class periods.

At 5:00, they have dinner, and by 6:00, they must finish eating and return to their dormitories. After 6:00, they are not allowed to go out or visit other dormitories except to use the toilet, and the lights are turned off at 8:30 PM.

This is the basic daily routine of the correction center, with the exception of a "evaluation class" led by Uncle Tang on Sunday mornings. The rest of the six days follow this pattern.

Of course, the most critical point is: at any time and place, if your behavior meets the criteria for "treatment," you must immediately receive "treatment."

Since this was Zilin's first official day at the center, after doing the exercises and having breakfast, he was taken away by the dorm supervisor.

As expected, he was brought to the fifth floor and to "Uncle Tang."

"Sit." After Zilin entered the room, Professor Tang, sitting behind his desk, glanced at him indifferently and said this.

Zilin silently walked to the opposite side of the desk and sat down. The dorm supervisor who brought him in, the "doctor" who electrocuted him yesterday, stood behind him, staring at the back of his head.

"Zhou Ming... right?" Professor Tang, looking at the I-PEN virtual screen displaying the information, asked somewhat absentmindedly.

Zilin, of course, used a fake name and identity to come here.

"Yes." He replied.

"Do you know your situation?" Professor Tang asked again.

"Yes... internet addiction." Zilin responded.

"Hmm..." Professor Tang pondered, shifting his gaze to Zilin's face, "Why didn't you admit it when you first came in yesterday?"

"I..." Zilin thought about what would be a reasonable and satisfactory response, "I had a侥幸心理 (lucky mentality) and didn't want to accept treatment."

"Hmm." Professor Tang nodded, "Good, admitting you have a problem shows you have the desire to change, you just don't know the method." He paused, "Listen carefully, as long as you strictly follow the rules here and complete our program, I guarantee you will be cured."

"Okay." Zilin replied, "I will try my best..."

"What do you mean by 'try'?" The next second, Uncle Tang suddenly turned serious, "Can't you understand what I'm saying? I said strictly follow, which means you must do it. What kind of attitude is 'try'? In the center, we must 'follow orders and enforce prohibitions,' actions must be rule-bound and highly executed, not 'try' to get by."

"Understood..." Zilin immediately put on a frightened expression and quickly added, "I... I will definitely do it, and strictly follow the rules."

Professor Tang stared at him for a few more seconds, thought for a moment, and then said, "Alright, with your attitude, you should go for 'treatment,' but since you're new and compared to other new allies, you are relatively... more aware, you can go back to your dormitory today, memorize the rules and regulations, and start activities with other allies tomorrow."

"Yes..." Zilin put on a relieved expression, "Thank you, Professor Tang."

"Oh~" Professor Tang waved his hand, "Don't call me that, I am very approachable. The allies here call me Uncle Tang, you can call me that too."

He used the word "can," but in reality... if you don't call him that, he will find a reason to electrocute you.

Zilin was also very savvy and quickly called him Uncle Tang, then followed the dorm supervisor out.

The journey back was silent.

Back in the dormitory, Zilin found that his fingerprint could now open the door of his dormitory. He closed the door, placed the stack of paper documents he had received from the office on the table, and began to flip through them page by page.

While flipping, he wasn't actually "reading" because he had already learned and memorized all the content before entering the center. Flipping... was just to create the appearance of having "read" them. If someone later discovered that the documents he received were still new and he knew all the rules, it would raise suspicion.

Therefore, while flipping through the papers, Z