A woman who went missing ten years ago, and was presumed dead, has been found alive and well playing games in an internet café.
The woman, called Xiao Yun, left home at age 14 after arguing with her mum.
She went missing and was presumed dead but was found by police on November 20 after a routine check on an internet café in the early hours of the morning.
Xiao Yun, who’d been using a fake identity card to avoid being found, was taken to police station where she revealed that she’d been living in internet cafés for the past decade.
Being a fan of the online shooter CrossFire, she spent her days gaming and slept in cafes and bath houses.
To pay her way, she relied on handouts from other customers but did occasionally work as a cashier.
The police fined her 1,000 yuan (£103) and after some resistance from the woman, contacted her parents so they could be reunited with their long-lost daughter.
Her family said they never changed their phone number in the hopes that their daughter would get in touch.
Her mother told The Qianjiang Evening News:
I have a stubborn personality and a short temper, so I used to scold her. But it’s been 10 years and now she’s an adult. I will never scold her again.
China seems to have a bit of a problem with people living in internet cafes, in 2013 a man was found to have spent six years in an internet cafe playing an online video game.
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.