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墨書 Inktalez
Just as I was about to continue, the person in Gu Chen's hand suddenly exclaimed, "Why not? This is a project under the national 58 Plan, part of the country's macroeconomic regulation. The teachers have all told us this; it has been approved by the state. Back then, the country even defeated the Japanese Invaders. If this were a Pyramid Scheme, do you think the government couldn't eliminate it?"
"I’m with you!" This person was filled with righteous indignation. "What you’re doing is an insult, it’s slander. It’s because of so many foolish people like you that we have to tread carefully. Today we sleep on the floor, tomorrow we become Boss. With so many luxury cars from out of town in Dongxing City, do you think they just appeared? It’s all because outsiders are making money here! Give me five years, and I can earn ten million, fifty million!"
Looking at this person, I shook my head helplessly.
"There are several steps to brainwashing," I began. "In an environment conducive to brainwashing, just a few steps can make a smart person believe in a Pyramid Scheme as firmly as this brother here. The first point is to ignite these people's desire to make money. Everyone who comes to Dongxing City wants to get rich. Once a person sees making money as their goal, they are not far from falling into a trap."
I looked at this person and asked, "Aren't you here in Dongxing City to make money?"
"Of course!" he replied. "Who doesn’t want to make money?"
I shrugged and continued, "Alright, that’s the foundation for whether someone can be brainwashed. If you don’t want to make money at all, then nothing matters. Next is to deprive you of the opportunity and time to think. They will hire people who look like professors to teach you. In class, they won’t give you any time to think. They will only present conclusions while filling the gaps with terms you've never heard before. Before you know it, they jump to the next topic, leaving you dazed and confused; in the end, you only remember what others told you as conclusions without understanding how they arrived at them."
"Do you know what your company’s model structure and operational framework are?" I asked.
The person frowned and said, "What are you talking about? This is a means of state regulation; what structure or framework are you referring to?"
I replied, "This is a typical manifestation—only knowing the conclusion but not understanding the process—and thinking that because this project is impressive, the process must be complicated. The third point is the Pygmalion Effect."
"What’s that?" Gu Chen asked.
I explained, "Pygmalion Effect, also known as the expectation effect. To put it simply, if you can do it, then great; if not, that’s fine too. If countless people tell you that you can earn ten million in five years, you'll genuinely believe that you can."
"The last point is to eliminate individuality." I raised a finger and said, "If dark-minded teachers want to dislike a mischievous child, they have a deadly weapon: using other students to isolate that child. The simplest method is to ignore him no matter what he does; before long, he will definitely feel different from others."
"And then," I shook my head, "you don’t have to do anything; he will naturally obey your commands. In a Pyramid Scheme, there will always be an atmosphere of warmth and family—like playing games together or hugging each other while sharing personal stories on stage. If someone misbehaves, all you need to do is lead everyone in ignoring him. Soon enough, individual willpower will be drowned out by collective will."
Gu Chen listened with fascination.
I continued, "So confinement and brainwashing have always been the unbreakable rules of a Pyramid Scheme. After just a few weeks, you'll be utterly convinced and willing to borrow money to invest. At that point, even if they try to kick you out, you probably won't leave. Am I right?"
"You're full of crap!" The man in Gu Chen's hands retorted. "People like you exist in this world! You don't want to put in the effort or make money, yet you want to stop others from earning. I really don't understand why there are such vicious people like you in this world. You who rely on others and don't help your friends are nothing but parasites in society."
I patted Gu Chen on the shoulder and said, "Let him go. Even if he gets caught, he'll just be educated and released again. After that, he'll continue to join the organization, and the cycle goes on. For every group that gets taken down, another one will emerge. As long as human nature cannot be eradicated, these Pyramid Schemes will never be completely eliminated. The country can drive away the Japanese Invaders, but can it change human nature?"
Just as Gu Chen was about to let him go, I spoke up again, "I can let you go back to continue making money, but you need to tell me one thing."
"I won't tell you our company's other addresses!" The man had a look of defiance on his face.
I shook my head and pointed at Lu Xiangyang, who was still curled up on the ground. "When did this person arrive at your company?"
"If I tell you, will you let me go?" The man seemed skeptical.
"That's right." I nodded.
"He was brought in two weeks ago," the man replied.
I nodded again. If he had been brought into the Pyramid Scheme two weeks ago, then Lu Xiangyang couldn't possibly be the one behind everything. The entire line of inquiry centered around Lu Xiangyang as the Murderer had completely broken off. But if Lu Xiangyang wasn't back for revenge, then who was the Murderer?
Lost in thought, the man had already run far away.
I sighed and said, "If blinded by money, postdocs and students might just differ by name."
"Get him up," I said while looking at Lu Xiangyang.
Gu Chen kicked Lu Xiangyang and said, "Stop playing dead; the person has already run away."
Lu Xiangyang finally lifted his head, and I saw that his face was bruised and swollen, clearly having taken quite a beating.
“Damn it, damn it…”
Then Lu Xiangyang told us about what had happened to him over the past two weeks.
It turned out that the revenge he spoke of stemmed from a game of League of Legends, where he was "abused" by another player who was using cheats. Lu Xiangyang, feeling wronged, sought out this player. They agreed to face off in a match, with the loser having to kneel and bow three times while calling the winner "Daddy."
With his fiery temper, Lu Xiangyang readily accepted the challenge. They set a date for the match—two Saturdays ago. He had it all planned out: he would go to the other person's house for the weekend and return without missing any classes.
We asked Lu Xiangyang why he hadn’t mentioned this to his girlfriend or best friend. He explained that he wanted to keep it under wraps; if he lost and had to call someone "Daddy" in public, how could he ever hold his head high again? So before leaving, he said nothing about what he was going to do, only that he sought revenge.
We were left helpless; it turned out that Lu Xiangyang's quest for revenge was merely because of a game. Zhao Mingkun and I had speculated for so long, thinking it was something deeper related to his sister. But perhaps this was for the best—if Lu Xiangyang could forget about his sister, he wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. He was only ten years old at the time, and after all these years, forgetting Lu Zhiqiu seemed quite normal.
Lu Xiangyang continued his story.
He had planned everything: if he lost, he would return in disgrace; if he won, he could show off. He arrived early at the train station and wandered around aimlessly out of boredom. At that moment, he noticed some people holding up signs. Although his family spoiled him, Lu Xiangyang had spent all his pocket money on the train ticket and had no money left. He wanted to earn some cash without asking his family again, so this idea crossed his mind.
Thinking this way, Lu Xiangyang approached them. The process was almost identical to what Gu Chen had experienced; they took him to see their work environment. Since it was still early, he decided to follow them. However, as they walked further away from the main area, Lu Xiangyang began to feel scared and wanted to leave but found himself unable to escape as they surrounded him.
He thought he was being kidnapped until they arrived at a place filled with people in a courtyard. Suddenly, he realized where he was. As a high school student who had learned about pyramid schemes in political science class, he recognized it immediately.
But Lu Xiangyang was still too young; he thought he could persuade others to leave with him. Instead of helping, every time he brought up leaving, it resulted in him getting beaten up by those people. After a week of this ordeal, Lu Xiangyang felt like his life was ruined.
He couldn’t believe that what started as an attempt to earn some pocket money ended with him being imprisoned for two weeks. He stopped resisting altogether and drifted through each day in a daze. However, being just a high school student without any means of making money—and considering that his family wasn’t lacking financially—he realized that selling their house could easily net them millions.
So Lu Xiangyang hadn’t been brainwashed; instead, he mechanically followed others while feeling like his life would be forever ruined here.
Unexpectedly, a big man walked into the courtyard. When he saw me, he grabbed my hand and kicked open the door, rushing outside. The people involved in the Pyramid Scheme only reacted after the two of us had already left. Then, the men inside the house chased after us, with the big man urging me to run ahead while he took up the rear.
The big man that Lu Xiangyang mentioned was none other than Gu Chen.
On the way, Gu Chen fought ten of them alone, clashing with those involved in the Pyramid Scheme. However, another group was chasing Lu Xiangyang. In a panic, Lu Xiangyang darted into an alley. Gu Chen fought while retreating and managed to slip into the alley as well. The two of them hid there for a while, during which Gu Chen took the opportunity to call us.
But there were too many of them. Just as Gu Chen was about to lead Lu Xiangyang away, they blocked the entrance of the alley.
By the time we arrived, Gu Chen had already fought with those people once, while Lu Xiangyang lay on the ground pretending to be dead.
Lu Xiangyang said, "That was really close! If you had come any later, we would have been caught."
This could truly be considered a fantastical adventure for young Lu Xiangyang, as a simple game led to such a series of events.
However, Lu Xiangyang was definitely not the murderer. What Flying Head Man or witchcraft? How could such things possibly exist in this world?
I sighed and said, "Did your parents not love you enough? Why go through all this trouble to earn money? A hundred bucks isn't much for your family, right?"
"Money earned by myself feels different from money given to me," Lu Xiangyang replied.
"What for?" I asked. "What do you need to earn money for?"
No matter how we pressed him, Lu Xiangyang refused to say what he intended to do with his earnings.
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