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墨書 Inktalez
Far away, in Binhai.
At the Information Processing Center of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, as the workday was winding down, the automatic fax machine at the comprehensive duty desk beeped, slowly spitting out a fax with a cooperation receipt from the Foreign Affairs Office.
The receiving clerk followed the protocol and hurriedly took the fax to the office of the director of the Information Center. The receipt from the Provincial Department and Foreign Affairs Office mostly contained information related to transnational cases, which had a specific processing channel. However, what the director saw was merely a resume of an international student. He promptly signed off on it, directing it to the 402 Special Case Team for handling.
In the vast city of Binhai, no one could clearly state how many various special case teams were organized by different police departments each year. However, records could be found at the Information Center. The receiving clerk sent out the information and soon noticed a handsome stranger he had never seen before taking the fax.
The name he signed was Guo Wei. The receiving clerk casually asked his colleague Guan Yiqing about him, and she replied that she certainly knew him; they were in the same special case team. At this point, he glanced at the fax but saw that there was no further information, prompting him to rush off with it.
It was strange; it was just a resume of an ordinary international student. Was it really that surprising? There were probably hundreds of thousands of such people in Binhai that year.
This rushing Guo Wei was indeed the same person whom psychologist Feng Changxiang had met. He had received a cooperation notice from the Shanbei Provincial Office and was following leads for investigation. Unexpectedly, he stumbled upon a story about a wealthy second-generation individual being dealt with by his father. He was tasked with checking overseas records but did not anticipate uncovering something astonishing.
“Hey, Yi Qing… Yi Qing…”
“Hmm? Guo Wei, what brings you here?”
“I’m here to submit an equipment list. I just got notified by our team to pick up a fax regarding that person we’re investigating together, Mulin Shen.”
“Wow, I hope this guy doesn’t have a criminal record abroad!”
“You’ll be more surprised than that.”
“Get in.”
At the entrance, they ran into Guan Yiqing, known as the Police Flower of the City Bureau's Information Center. She had been temporarily assigned to work with the 402 Special Case Team recently. Strictly speaking, cases from Shaanxi Province were connected horizontally with Team 402. She took a glance at the fax in Guo Wei’s hand as she sat in the driver’s seat and was immediately captivated.
“Interesting, isn’t it?” Guo Wei asked with a smile.
"Oh, I understand now. Mulin Shen brought back a fake diploma from Lincoln University to deliberately provoke his father... In reality, he was studying psychology at Tulsa University in Oklahoma," Guan Yiqing realized. The verifiable resume couldn't be fake, while that dubious university diploma was likely bought without him ever attending. But the problem still remained. Curiously, she asked, "No graduation? This troublesome kid, why does he always leave things half-finished? What's the reason?"
"That's not traceable. The only thing we found is that he returned to the country at the end of last year, and his visa hadn't expired yet," Guo Wei replied.
Guan Yiqing held several pages of the fax, puzzled. She couldn't comprehend the world of the wealthy, but living so recklessly was truly baffling to her. She remarked, "So why are you so excited? What's the difference between this half-baked diploma and one from a dubious university? He even studied art, but that too was abandoned halfway."
"Look at this signature. Ai..." Guo Wei pointed out.
"Todd Lab? Like that name from First Blood?"
"What are you talking about? Professor Todd Lab has served on the board of the American Bar Association and is an authority in Judicial and Criminal Psychology. When I was at Police Academy, my instructor included his work on Abnormal Psychology in our reading list."
Guan Yiqing paused for a moment, biting her lip as if finding it amusing. "Why would someone studying criminal investigation read Abnormal Psychology?"
"That's also a part of Social Psychology... Don't look at me; look at his major," Guo Wei said.
"Are you testing me? I returned my English skills to my university teacher long ago," Guan Yiqing laughed, pointing at a pile of English resumes.
"Abnormal Psychology... translated means: Abnormal Psychology. He is the only Chinese student in this major established for twenty-one years. Look at the second page; his score in Abnormal Psychology is excellent," Guo Wei exclaimed in surprise.
"There's even a study on abnormality? I thought only those involved in Criminal Investigation studied this. What's it for?" Guan Yiqing asked.
"It mainly studies abnormalities in human psychology and behavior, including cognitive activities, emotional activities, motivations and volitional behaviors, intelligence, and personality traits. The criminal investigation you mentioned is just one area; it's more commonly applied in treating mental illnesses... You might not know this, but the FBI's entrance exam includes a psychopathy test where an expert can assess your experiences, behaviors, performances, language, and more to determine if you have any psychological tendencies that contradict professional ethics or laws..." Guo Wei spoke confidently.
"Alright, alright. You say I wouldn't understand anyway; just send it over to them... Oh right, Guo Wei, why is Shaanxi Province so concerned about Mulin Shen?" Guan Yiqing asked curiously as she twisted the car key to start the engine.
"Based on the identity of another escapee on the Pyramid Scheme list—Lu Hongbo—they escaped together. So I suspect Shaanxi Province is looking for an informant. This fax might be their best choice," Guo Wei explained. A stone from another mountain could be used to polish jade; this half-finished psychology student would surely be a valuable asset.
"Well, this rich second generation is going to have a tough time," she chuckled.
Guan Yiqing smiled and said, based on common sense, the people targeted by the police would likely end up with this result. From experience, it was clear that no matter who was under scrutiny, the outcome would not be good.
The car drove out of the Public Security Bureau's Courtyard, and the two headed towards the task force set up at the Economic Investigation Bureau. The lead they had just received was transmitted to a terminal at the Shaanxi Provincial Public Security half an hour later...
At this moment, Xiao Mu had no idea that he was also being watched by another organization, in addition to those he was unaware of behind him.
Li Quan and his group finished their business and headed straight for Nanwei Town. After wrapping up in Nanwei, they rushed to Xiwu, staying overnight in Huxian. The next day, they continued on to Qin Du and Yun Yang. As dusk approached, it seemed they would have to spend the night in Sanyuan County. Because of their obedient behavior along the way, Big Mouth had already informed them of their route.
From a location perspective, Xiao Mu couldn't help but admire the planning behind this Pyramid Scheme. The grassroots organizations were all established at the county and town levels, with small groups of eight to ten people and larger organizations consisting of twenty or thirty individuals. If viewed on a map, it resembled a rural encirclement of urban areas. It appeared that the organizers were quite knowledgeable about the principles of grassroots organizational development, choosing to set up in areas where the Police Force was weak and management lax.
From an organizational standpoint, Xiao Mu further admired these individuals' methods. People from all walks of life came together to form a so-called "big family," managing to blend into one cohesive unit where men and women did not interfere with each other—a feat not easily accomplished. He had accompanied Professor Lu to visit a large organization in Huxian; their management was exceptionally well-structured, with toothbrushes and basins neatly arranged, military-style bedding management, and a clean three-story building adorned with slogans everywhere. The members wore expressions of happiness that hardly suggested they had been deceived into joining.
Poor sleeping conditions? Not at all; a slogan on the wall read: "Sleep on the floor today, become the Boss tomorrow."
Bad food? Not likely. They would proudly declare: "Afraid of hardship? A lifetime of suffering awaits. Not afraid of hardship? Wealth and status are guaranteed."
Was life dull? Far from it; they would take turns telling jokes or singing songs and reciting poetry—creating an atmosphere of warmth within the collective.
Compared to the legendary "den of evil," visiting this place was certainly a revelation. However, Xiao Mu understood that this situation might be even more severe than a den of evil because passive mistakes made by individuals were not the same as active choices. These people showed no signs of passivity whatsoever.
Only halfway through their journey did he learn the truth: these individuals had already undergone Brainwashing and were merely waiting for a final stimulus to complete their purchases. Importantly, purchasing was entirely voluntary; there was no stealing or robbing involved—everyone willingly handed over their money for purchases.
No money?
That wasn't an issue. The leading junior manager would instruct you on how to ask your family for money. For recent graduates, they could say they found a job and needed to settle down. Businesspeople could claim they found a business opportunity and required some working capital. If all else failed, one could simply say they had fallen seriously ill and were hospitalized... There were always ways to teach you how to borrow money from parents, family members, or friends.
Are you afraid of being taken advantage of?
Oh, look at you, so naive. Three to four thousand isn’t even enough for a migrant worker's monthly salary. What kind of loss or trickery are you worried about? How long have you been here? Everyone shares the expenses equally, and the management is so regulated. If they wanted to deceive you, they would have done it long ago. It's not me who collects the money; only the General Manager of the company can do that. Salaries are paid to managers of different levels every month. Why would they care about your little amount?
Worried that you won't be able to develop your downline and earn money?
That’s even less of a concern! I’ll teach you. Learn from me—classmates, colleagues, fellow townsfolk, peers—there’s bound to be someone among the "Five Great Similarities" that you can find. You’re just starting out, so of course, you should seek help from familiar faces. Family helps family, friends help friends; if you don’t ask them, who will you ask? Just think about it: if you recruit three people to join, and they each bring in a few more, you'll break even and start making a profit... Our company has had people earning over eleven thousand a month within six months.
These things really aren’t mysterious; they just require constant psychological suggestion and highly targeted activities, and then it becomes frightening.
Xiao Mu was fortunate enough to review the internal materials provided by Boss He Yuguo. It was a standard seven-day brainwashing method that starts by eliminating fear from day one in the industry, gradually helping you find balance, explaining that it’s not illegal, and then making you feel a sense of novelty and belonging. When you no longer resist merging into this organization, that’s when your downfall begins.
It’s like boiling a frog in warm water—gradually and systematically inducing compliance. When you're fearful, they provide warmth like family; when you're unbalanced, they show you people who are even more outstanding joining; when you resist, they make you feel the collective threat to the individual. They exploit human nature's tendency to seek benefits and avoid harm while nurturing the desire for wealth through a closed environment, naturally creating one pyramid scheme after another.
Xiao Mu leaned back slightly and turned off Boss He Yuguo's tablet. This was the simplest example he had learned in psychology, once studied in the context of the wildly popular variant direct selling model. However, it didn’t compare to his personal experiences—the innocent, pained, bewildered faces had all been industrially transformed into expressions of pathological excitement.
He couldn’t help but think that just like industrial alcohol mixed with liquor or shoe glue used in pharmaceuticals or Sudan red posing as chili powder—this was a unique innovation belonging to the children of Huaxia. It combined theories from psychology, behavioral science, economics, motivational studies, and more with the cunning of street con artists to successfully create such a monstrosity.
What worried him wasn’t the monstrosity itself but rather that he was currently inside its belly. Looking up, he saw Big Mouth and Big Head watching him intently. Big Mouth had a gap-toothed grin leaking air while Big Head's eyes sparkled with suspicion as if fearing he might claim the tablet for himself. As soon as Xiao Mu turned it off, Big Head asked, “Did you finish looking?”
“I did,” Xiao Mu replied.
Big Head cautiously retrieved the tablet and said, “You read pretty quickly. Just be careful; this is internal material—do not share it outside.”
At that moment, Big Mouth stared at him intently and asked inquisitively, “Was it difficult? How much did you understand?”
“Oh.” Xiao Mu felt a chill run down his spine as he realized his performance would be reported truthfully. He changed his expression to one of solemnity and reverence as he said, “It’s profound and extensive; the ideas are surprising, the design is reasonable, and the methods are exquisite. In practice, it’s remarkably effective—this Ponzi scheme doesn’t even come close! It should be promoted globally; it's truly one of the greatest practices in psychology of the twenty-first century.” Xiao Mu spoke eloquently without holding back his praise.
“Wait a minute; slow down—I didn’t understand what you just said,” Big Head interrupted him. How was he supposed to report this?
"Let me tell you, what kind of Ponzi scheme is this? Who is Ponzi anyway?" Gap-toothed reminded.
Xiao Mu was taken aback, then said seriously, "Pang the Grand Tutor. Haven't you seen Yang Family Generals? Pang deceived the Yang Family Generals."
"Oh, that was a treacherous minister; he can't be compared to our Boss He," Big Head replied.
"That's right, Boss He is much better than Ponzi," Xiao Mu said solemnly.
Baldy, who was driving, kept biting his lip and laughing. Listening to Xiao Mu tease the two hefty fellows, he cautiously said as the car slowed down, "Stop talking; the boss is getting out."
The two cars stopped by the roadside. Dusk was approaching, and they had already entered Huxian County. The three in the front car got out to stretch their limbs. Boss He waved, and the two of them hurried down to report in whispers. Seeing Boss He frown slightly, Baldy guessed that their report was probably muddled. Seizing the opportunity, he said, "Linzi, they must have asked you to contact the members; they probably want to train you as a lecturer."
"Sounds like a challenging profession," Xiao Mu chuckled.
Baldy glanced back with a complicated expression. Xiao Mu's cheerful demeanor didn't seem fake, which seemed to reassure him. Noncommittally, he said, "If you're not bothered by it, that's good."
Xiao Mu also felt that Baldy wasn't as foolish as he appeared. However, developing fondness and reliance on him at this moment was already difficult. He chose to remain silent. After a moment, two subordinates called for Xiao Mu to get out of the car. Boss He, Yang Menglu, and Lu the Madman stood in a triangle formation, waiting to assess Xiao Mu's learning from the journey.
"Do you need me to report my learning outcomes?" Xiao Mu asked.
"Sure! I really want to hear about it," Yang Menglu smiled, revealing a row of neat white teeth. She reached out to stroke Xiao Mu's arm affectionately like an older sister. Xiao Mu elegantly bowed and took her hand, gently kissing the back of it. This made Lu the Madman explode with rage as he shouted, "What the hell! Is this even allowed?"
Yang Menglu laughed without a care and seemed to enjoy Xiao Mu's gesture of kissing her hand. Old He couldn't hold back any longer and urged Xiao Mu, "Hey, I don't have time for this nonsense; we're almost at Huxian. If you can't keep up your end of the deal, we'll hold you accountable for our losses."
"Right! Don't expect beauties like Yang Lecturer to accompany you; you'll have to endure Baldy's kind of treatment instead," Professor Lu said fiercely, looking like he also admired Yang Menglu. However, Yang Menglu kindly patted Xiao Mu's shoulder and asked, "Don't be afraid; tell me what you've experienced."
"What experience could there be? It's just a scam. You deceive me; I deceive him; he deceives another person. In fact, everyone knows they're being scammed but continues to deceive others due to some twisted mindset. No one thinks their intelligence is lower than anyone else's; they all believe that if they can scam a few more bucks back, they might even make a profit... thus forming this layered scam," Xiao Mu explained.
Old He widened his eyes in shock and angered expression while Yang Menglu was stunned. Indeed clever but still too young and overly smart for her own good—how could one possibly speak the truth about such matters?
Lu the Madman chuckled heartily and slapped Xiao Mu on the back, saying, "You hit the nail on the head. But today, if you don't play the role of a con artist well, Old He, how will you be dealt with?"
"Strip him down, give him a hundred lashes, and no food for three days," Boss He threatened with a serious expression, his mustache twitching. Xiao Mu's mouth dropped open in shock. He fearfully grabbed Yang Menglu's hand and hid behind her as if she were a shield. Yang Menglu laughed and scolded, "Don't scare him... Linzi, listen to me. Just perform well. Right now, we are in dire need of a Chief Lecturer, and it's hard to find someone like you."
"That's not too difficult. It's just repeating what you all say, and then Yang Beauty can play the role of a decoy. Everything will be fine," Xiao Mu said as he linked arms with Yang Menglu, eager to make his entrance with the beautiful woman.
Boss He grinned slyly while Lu the Madman smirked. He asked, "I remember you once said that nothing can guarantee a hundred percent success rate. In fact, this scam can fail sometimes. Just look at the lecture notes you saw earlier: premium, average, subpar, and inferior. Do you remember?"
The five categories were for recruiting people, while the four grades were for positioning those who were recruited. Premium members could potentially develop into core members; average ones could bring in profits; subpar ones were practically broke with little to no profit; as for inferior ones, they had various issues that made them impossible to brainwash. Xiao Mu nodded and said, "I remember. The success rate of your applications is quite high."
"Those are all premium and average members who have already been assimilated into small groups. The application rate is high; don't you know why?" Boss He replied.
Xiao Mu smiled. There were indeed decoys involved here—like Professor Lu and Yang Lecturer leading by example or junior managers showcasing their core members—creating an atmosphere where everyone rushed to apply was essential; otherwise, how could they deceive those newcomers?
Xiao Mu didn't expose it but smiled and said, "That's still pretty high."
"Of course it's high; they're all premium and average members. But what you've seen are all..." Lu the Madman laughed while Boss He added, "are all inferior ones."
Xiao Mu was taken aback, cursing those two schemers inwardly. This was a direct test; they were pushing him into a pit.
"Be careful; if you say something wrong, they'll pin you down and beat you up like in a mental hospital. No one will help you then," Lu the Madman chimed in, amused by Xiao Mu's shocked expression. The two of them got into the car together while Yang Menglu slowly released her hold on Xiao Mu's arm and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead—a handshake of encouragement followed by smiles as they got into the car.
As both cars started moving, Gap-toothed and Big Head in the back seat were astonished. Gap-toothed exclaimed enviously, "Wow! Yang Lecturer actually kissed him!"
"What was it like?" Big Head asked with sparkling eyes, filled with envy.
"It felt pretty great," Xiao Mu replied, exaggerating his excitement to further stimulate his friends.
Big Head mentioned that when Yang Lecturer usually invited someone over, her fee was calculated by the hour—often totaling over a thousand dollars. Gap-toothed added that just based on her charm alone, she could easily earn over ten thousand a year; her skills were incredibly valuable. As long as she made an appearance, the application rates soared dramatically.
Xiao Mu chimed in with a smile, "I think if Yang Beauty's mouth were to be opened... well, it would be worth even more."
"Opened?" Big Head was taken aback.
"Opened... what?" Gap-toothed asked curiously.
"Just break down the word and understand it," Xiao Mu said seriously, sitting up straight and speaking elegantly.
The two of them, being somewhat illiterate, took a while to grasp the meaning. Then they burst into uproarious laughter, causing Baldy, who was driving, to tremble with amusement.
As the car drove into the county town, the laughter still echoed. What was originally a headache for seasoned veterans began with this novice who was sharpening his tools at the last moment...
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