A woman, now 24, from the Chinese province of Zhejiang, left her home 10 years ago after a fight with her parents. Presumed dead by her family, Xiao Yun, was discovered by police on November 20th after a routine check of an Internet Café.
The woman was carrying a fake identity card and when questioned by police it was revealed that she had spent the past ten years living in Internet cafés. She spent her days playing the multiplayer, first-person shooting game Crossfire.
Occasionally Xiao Yun worked as a cashier in the cafés to earn some income but she usually relied on hand-outs from other café patrons. She said her grandparents raised her.
The police fined her 1,000 yuan (approx.€150) and after initial resistance from her, contacted her parents so they could be reunited with their long-lost daughter.
Her mother told the Qianjiang Evening News that she had not changed her phone number since Xiao Yun left home, in the hope that she would contact her.
"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," she said.
