32-Year-Old Super Internet Addict Wang Gang's Follow-Up: Died After 10 Years of Obsession with Online Games, Referred to Games as "Really Interesting" on His Deathbed

As many netizens and readers were still actively donating money for his fate, at 10:53 PM on May 15th, this young man Wang Gang who had been gaming in Wuhan for 10 years quietly passed away at his home in Group Two of Zhangfeng Village, Tuoshi Town, Tianmen. He was not yet 32 years old. At the time of his death, apart from two bank cards with unknown passwords, he left behind more than 20 "Dungeon and Fighter" online game accounts.

Spent the last seven days at home

At around 5 PM yesterday, when the reporter arrived at Wang Gang's house, his body had already been cremated. Relatives and fellow villagers were gathered in front of his house, consoling Wang Gang's parents. Due to continuous hard work and excessive sorrow, Wang Gang's mother Sun Guoxiang was bedridden and receiving intravenous fluids at home.

From being sent back to his home which he had left for 10 years by an ambulance on May 8th until his death on the evening of the 15th, Wang Gang endured the final 7 days of his life in pain. Yesterday, Wang Gang's father Wang Daohong recalled the details of those 7 days and nights, still unable to hide the deep sadness in his heart: "It was too long, it felt like this week was longer and harder to endure than the 10 years I spent looking for Wang Gang."

After returning home, Wang Gang could only lie curled up on the bed on his side. Wang Daohong said that if he lay flat, Wang Gang would always complain of chest pain. Only by lying on his side could his severely damaged lungs be relieved of some pressure and alleviate his suffering. Due to his severe lung disease, Wang Gang struggled even with normal breathing and often needed the help of an oxygen bag.

Wang Gang's aunt said that he could only eat a little liquid food every day, such as milk and porridge, each time eating only half a bowl. Even if some shredded vegetables were added to the porridge, they had to be cooked thoroughly because the heavily ill Wang Gang almost had no strength to chew food. Even so, things that healthy people could do effortlessly, like eating and drinking, were difficult for Wang Gang. He often gasped for breath while drinking water through a straw.

Continuous hard work caused his mother to fall ill

When discharged from the Tianmen People's Hospital, the doctor recommended Jingzhou Tuberculosis Hospital to Wang Daohong. With the help of netizens, enthusiastic readers, and Wang Gang's university classmates, Wang Daohong raised several thousand yuan and rented a car on May 13th to take his son to Jingzhou. After detailed examinations and consultations by experts, they informed Wang Daohong that Wang Gang's condition was very serious, his body extremely weak, and the chances of successful treatment were already slim.

The heartbroken Wang Daohong returned home with his son that night. The continuous hard work had already made Wang Gang's mother fall ill, and the two elderly people had to drag their exhausted bodies to take care of their son struggling on the brink of death. Those few days, whenever the reporter contacted him, Wang Daohong always said: "I'm too tired, almost physically and mentally exhausted."

Said "That's interesting" before passing away

While Wang Daohong was still busy and worried about his son's condition, Wang Gang's life was quietly approaching its end. On the afternoon of the 15th, Wang Daohong suddenly noticed that Wang Gang, who had always been accustomed to lying on his side in bed, suddenly lay flat without complaining of pain as he used to. When he asked his son if he was in pain, his son only mumbled a few sounds and did not respond. Wang Daohong had a premonition of something ominous and tried to turn Wang Gang over, but found that he was no longer trying his best to cooperate with his movements as he used to. By evening, Wang Gang started talking nonsense, and Wang Daohong remembered that his son said "That's interesting." When he asked what was interesting, the reply was "You will never know," and after that, the words became unclear and indistinguishable.

At 10:53 PM on the 15th, Wang Gang's heartbeat stopped. At that time, there was nearly half a year left until his 32nd birthday (on the 17th day of the 10th lunar month).

Care

University classmates donated money for his treatment

Family received over 100 condolence calls

Recalling these 7 days, Wang Daohong often mentioned the word "tired." However, some phone calls and text messages of condolences let him feel the care from society.

On the day our newspaper reported on Wang Gang's story on May 10th, Wang Gang's father Wang Daohong received over 100 calls. Not only did citizens express concern and condolences, but at least five citizens expressed willingness to donate. A university classmate of Wang Gang in Wuhan and multiple classmates in southern coastal provinces contacted each other and raised several thousand yuan for Wang Gang's treatment, allowing Wang Daohong to take his son to Jingzhou for treatment. Fellow villagers from Group Two of Zhangfeng Village, Tuoshi Town, despite their own poverty, also donated over 1,000 yuan for Wang Gang.

Wang Daohong's biggest regret was that he never knew how his son had spent the past 10 years in Wuhan. He had tried to have a heartfelt conversation with his son, but Wang Gang always began to breathe heavily after saying just a few words and couldn't express complete thoughts.

Wang Daohong said that after coming home, Wang Gang once expressed regret. He had twice tried to write letters to his family to tell them about his situation in Wuhan and wanting to return home, but both times he couldn't finish writing halfway through and ended up tearing up the letter and throwing it into the trash can. When Wang Daohong found him, Wang Gang had almost nothing on him, and even the two pieces of clothing he wore were bought by the staff at the shelter.

And Wang Gang's uncle, besides being sad, was more concerned about other children who were addicted to online games. He said that in the nearby Zhanggang Town, during weekends, the internet cafes were filled with elementary school children, and sometimes there wouldn't even be any space left if you came late. "The police checked, but they closed down and reopened again, like playing hide-and-seek."

Sigh

"These accounts are like money trees"

Wang Gang never revealed the passwords of his game accounts before he passed away

Wang Gang was buried in the village cemetery. A tombstone marked the final resting place of this young life.

At Wang Gang's home, the reporter saw that in the 10 years he spent in Wuhan, he didn't leave a single photo behind. The only photo the family could find was one taken during his high school days at Tianmen Middle School. Later, the only photos were those taken by our reporter on May 9th in the ward of Tianmen People's Hospital where he was with his mother.

Wang Daohong said that almost none of his son's belongings remained at home. The textbooks from his university days were never brought back; his ID card was lost, and there was no record of renewal at the police station; there were two bank cards whose passwords were unknown, and without an ID card, they couldn't be reported lost; the only things left were more than 20 game accounts.

Someone had sent a text message offering to buy these accounts, and Wang Daohong wanted to raise some money for his son's treatment, but when he discussed it with his son, he was immediately refused. Despite his difficulty speaking, his son firmly said one sentence: "These accounts are like money trees!"

Wang Daohong said that his son regarded these accounts as very precious and never revealed any information about the passwords until the end. Now, with Wang Gang's passing, these game accounts have become sealed-off "heritage." No one knows how to activate them, and Wang Daohong himself isn't clear about what use these accounts have. Even after the reporter explained it in detail to him, he still indicated that there was no need to deal with these accounts anymore.

Brief self-narration, netizen reminiscences

Reconstructing Wang Gang's ten-year "gaming life"

Chutian Metropolis Daily Chief Reporter Zhong Nan, This Paper's Reporters Chen Qian, Ge Hao Yi

"Games are ultimately games, don't get addicted unless you yourself are just a piece of data..." — Netizen "Dragon ScaleのInjury"

Wang Gang has gone, carrying with him the pain of his ten-year "gaming life."

Ten years, for someone who is not yet 32 years old, represents one-third of his life. And these ten years happened to be the most beautiful and youthful period of his life. How did he spend these ten years? How did he gradually sink into the abyss of online games, unable to extricate himself, eventually becoming seriously ill? This is what we, and countless readers, have been concerned about.

After returning home, he was in critical condition and had great difficulty breathing, unable or unwilling to talk in detail about his experiences. In recent days, the reporter has been continuously pursuing answers and, by yesterday, finally pieced together his ten-year life journey through his brief self-narration, family recollections, and introductions from netizens.

He once appeared very healthy

Netizen "Ning Bu Kong" claimed in a forum post that around 2005, he met Wang Gang on a "game forum." At that time, Wang was an administrator of a game forum and an expert at "Romance of the Three Kingdoms Chronicles."

According to Wang Gang's own recollection, due to his addiction to online games, he dropped out of a university in Wuhan in 2001. After briefly returning home, he went back to Wuhan. Because of difficulties finding a job, he spent all the hundreds of yuan he had and fell to the point of borrowing money from former classmates to survive. During the Spring Festival of 2002, he actually spent it in a dormitory at his alma mater. Due to immense psychological pressure, he was unwilling and afraid to contact his family.

Starting in 2002, introduced by a fellow townsman from Tianmen, he began buying used books around Central China Normal University, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan University, etc., earning meager income that barely allowed him to get by. This situation continued until 2006, lasting four years.

During this period, he frequently visited game arcades and internet cafes around these universities, spending a large amount of time on a game called "Romance of the Three Kingdoms Chronicles."

From 2006 to 2008, Wang Gang worked at a game arcade near Zhuodaquan. Netizen "Lijian Xiaodao" became friends with Wang Gang through a game forum in 2006 and often met up with him. "Lijian Xiaodao" recalled that at that time, Wang Gang looked quite healthy, shy and introverted. Whenever they met, apart from discussing games, Wang was unwilling to talk about other topics and rarely mentioned his own experiences.

He broke ties with good friends over games

There was a small incident that left a deep impression on "Lijian Xiaodao": One day in 2007, a friend living with Wang Gang casually mentioned something along the lines of "you can't rely on gaming for your whole life," causing Wang Gang to lose his temper and immediately move out of the shared apartment, severing ties with that friend. "Lijian Xiaodao" recalled that after June 2008, when Wang Gang started playing "Dungeon and Fighter," he seemed to vanish, and they rarely met again. Wang Gang's last appearance was on October 1st, 2009, when Wuhan began requiring registration with an ID card to access the internet, and he asked to borrow "Lijian Xiaodao's" ID card, but was refused, and then lost contact.

Netizen "Ning Bu Kong" said that in November 2010, someone in the gaming group mentioned that Wang Gang had developed bronchitis and it was somewhat severe; during this year's Spring Festival, Wang Gang privately chatted with him, asking for a loan to buy new clothes for the holiday; on the 1st of this month, Wang asked him for another 200 yuan loan, saying he would repay it after July, and insisted that he must help him.

It wasn't until the 10th of this month that netizens learned through online news reports that Wang Gang had spent seven months and more in a sofa-equipped internet cafe, gaming day and night until he became critically ill and returned home in a pitiful state. It was then that they also learned about Wang Gang's deeply hidden background and his decade-long absence from home.

We should not merely linger in heavy sighs

Chutian Metropolis Daily Commentator Chen Yong

Wang Gang is gone, and society's attention and assistance came too late, ultimately failing to save him from death's grip.

At thirty, a life that should have blossomed beautifully faded away prematurely, leaving us deeply lamenting and grieving. The lighthouse of hope kept by his parents still shines, but the lost child will never return. The two elders, having lost their beloved son, are white-haired and broken-hearted, with his mother even bedridden.

We cannot bear to see life wither this way, and we must face the cruel reality behind it.

Wang Gang's death profoundly tells us that being addicted to online games and frequenting internet cafes not only hinders growth but can truly cost lives.

Escaping reality, wielding power in cyberspace, might provide some psychological comfort. But over the course of ten years, day after day, all of his time was wasted in smoky internet cafes, the reasons for which only Wang Gang himself understands clearly. According to statistical data, among first-time tuberculosis patients aged 15-35, 80% frequently visit internet cafes, and more than half of them are habitual "night owls."

Regarding Wang Gang's death, we should not simply remain stuck in a sigh. He warned the world with his life's cost, that internet addiction is as toxic as drugs. Although overcoming addiction depends on personal awareness, it cannot be denied that it is closely related to the profit-driven nature of internet cafe operators and the lack of supervision by relevant departments. In a certain sense, the latter is even a more terrifying killer, akin to injecting poison. Regulations such as the "Internet Access Service Business Place Management Regulations" prohibit minors from entering internet cafes and ban all-night operations, yet many internet cafes dare to violate these rules. Meanwhile, numerous illegal internet cafes pose various safety hazards, seriously threatening the physical and mental health of users. Strengthening the management of internet cafes has once again become urgent.

Let Wang Gang's death awaken the children who are addicted to internet cafes and help them return to normal life sooner. Let Wang Gang's death provoke self-reflection among internet cafe operators and self-questioning among regulators.