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墨書 Inktalez
Gently tearing down the small advertisement for "Rich Woman Surrogacy" from the door of the restroom, Ma Fenghuo stepped out of the Service Station, his legs feeling numb, and climbed into the car.
Inside the car was no better; it felt stifling like a sauna. The driver and Lian Qiang were both wiping sweat off their brows. With the information handed over by Xiao Mu, Lian Qiang snapped a quick photo to send back home.
The details were thorough: the small manager responsible for the hideout, the General Manager who handled the money, the personnel structure, how many orders had been placed, which teaching materials were used, and how long it had been running. This intelligence, combined with covertly taken photos, would serve as evidence for future convictions.
Old Horse rubbed his legs and cursed, “Qiangzi, it’s your turn next time. This is a real deal, no fakes here. I’ve been squatting in this stinky pit for over half an hour; my legs are about to give out.”
The driver chuckled. Old Horse slapped him on the arm in frustration and threatened him. Lian Qiang wiped his sweat and said, “Do you think we’re comfortable? The temperature in this car is nearly forty degrees! We can’t even show our faces. Just thinking about it makes me want to be an informant too. Look at that guy; he gets to stroll around with beautiful women every day and has everything he wants.”
“By the way… that kid gave me several hundred bucks,” Old Horse said as he pulled out some cash to count. Before he could finish counting, two hands reached over to grab it. Everyone wanted a share of free money. The driver sighed, “What’s going on here? We need informants to bail us out.”
“That kid is really something… Pyramid Scheme isn’t bad either; they’re handing out subsidies now. I’ll treat everyone tonight,” Lian Qiang said happily.
Old Horse tried to snatch back the cash but Lian Qiang dodged him. The driver simply jumped out of the car to buy a few bottles of cold drinks. The group shared them, and just as they began to feel a bit cooler in the heat, they spotted a stunning woman stepping out.
Dressed in a long Noble Purple gown with cascading curls framing her face, she revealed her fair neck and shoulders. With each step she took towards the vehicle, her graceful demeanor captivated them as she opened the door and got inside.
“What a beautiful girl! Hey, how old do you think she is?” Lian Qiang asked.
“Thirty-six,” the driver replied after taking a sip of water, struggling to speak.
“She doesn’t look that old,” Ma Fenghuo remarked.
"I was talking about her bust size, 36D," the driver corrected.
The three of them chuckled together, and Ma Fenghuo remarked, "You were originally a beauty, but look at what you've become."
"Hey, Brother Ma, how many years do you think she'll get if she's convicted?" the driver asked curiously.
"Hard to say. If she's involved in organizing and participating, it could be serious. But if it's just about giving lectures for fees, it would be lighter—at most, they'll confiscate her illegal earnings and give her a public security penalty," Ma Fenghuo replied. The laws regarding pyramid schemes were not severe; they were quite lenient.
"That's too light to serve as a deterrent. She'll be out in no time and right back to giving lectures," Lian Qiang said, showing no fondness for the beauty.
"So, Brother Qiang, what kind of character do you think she is?" the driver asked again with curiosity.
"Not a significant character. Anyone you can see at the front desk won't be a big player," Lian Qiang said, drawing from his experience as a police officer. At this point, Ma Fenghuo glanced at the information transmitted by Xiao Mu and brought up an even more concerning matter: "These characters are hard to catch. Look at this—Zhang Fei, Liu Bei, Xu Da, Ma Bufang... Today we even have Dong Zhuo. If we gather a few more, we'll have the Romance of the Three Kingdoms."
"Exactly. They're all using aliases. Xiao Mu and 3326 can't identify them, and these guys are crafty. If we can't confirm their identities, future arrests will be problematic," Lian Qiang added. The hardest part about catching pyramid scheme operators was dealing with those general managers who used aliases; as for the lower-level managers, even if they were caught, they would find ways to return home since most of them had received training and had no direct involvement in embezzlement.
"When are we going to make a move? This crop of leeks has been harvested quickly; if they run off with our money, we'll be left dumbfounded," the driver said.
"Just keep an eye on them. No need to say much; with the dens we've been following... we won't let a third-rate achievement slip away," Ma Fenghuo stated. However, Lian Qiang responded pessimistically: "Let's just forget it; the reward is only a few thousand bucks split among the team. In hand, it'll only be a few hundred—less than what our informants throw around."
"I tell you, you really have issues recognizing people. Do you even know who those organization members are? Believe me or not, I could slap you," Old Horse said as he reached out to knock some sense into this backward thinker. The driver noticed that they had finished eating and quickly warned them before the vehicle moved ahead, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far from their target as they continued their long surveillance journey...
“News has come in, another hideout has been discovered: Fuxian, West Gate, Nursing Home.”
The Confidential Officer excitedly reported to several leaders returning from lunch. Real-time transmissions were in place, with photos of the members taken covertly and videos extracted from monitored locations, all being compared against the General Manager based on the physical characteristics provided by the “informant.”
“Wow, another Dong Zhuo has appeared… oh dear, this is quite a headache,” said Ye Tianshu. Fan Wenjie glanced at the briefing and handed it to the invited Director Luo. Luo Guanquan smiled and said, “In a Pyramid Scheme, if there aren’t a few aliases, they don’t even count as upper-level members. These are their Backbone, and when it comes to arrests, these individuals will be key targets. Most of the unspent internal funds are in their hands.”
“The problem is, there are still several physical characteristics that don’t match up. We don’t know if it’s due to gaps in the surveillance or if these people are just good at hiding,” replied Ye Tianshu.
“So right now, the most critical issue is confirming these identities and similar details; discussing arrests is still premature,” Luo Guanquan had already gotten into character. After reviewing the Case Situation during lunch and discussing for a long time, he clarified his thoughts and asked a previously overlooked question: “Continuing from our discussion during lunch, I brought several examples of solved Pyramid Scheme cases. Comparing them with this case in your province, what’s your initial impression if we lay out the timeline and Case Situation progression?”
Director Luo was meticulous, creating a detailed timeline. At a glance, after the escape from the Mental Hospital on May 18th, within the first ten days, over ten hideouts around the Provincial Capital were quickly exposed. In the following ten days, hideouts in six cities and twelve counties sprang up like mushrooms after rain. By the time they reached Fuxian, 34 hideouts of various sizes had been identified, along with the aliases of those General Managers, all listed.
“It seems… a bit too easy?” remarked Fan Wenjie. In neighboring provinces with similar cases, it usually required a massive Police Force combined with reports from citizens and informants to prevent such occurrences. Reflecting on this case in Shaanxi Province, it seemed that their achievements came too easily.
“This particular 3326 Undercover Officer is a commendable undercover agent borrowed from a brother unit out of province; he has participated in many major cases… Moreover, our informant is quite special; he graduated with a psychology degree from Oklahoma, United States, and has a very unique perspective—we’ve all experienced it firsthand,” said Ye Tianshu, implying that their side's strength was significant.
“I’m not doubting your results; rather, based on my experience, I feel like something is being overlooked… By the way, where is Lu Hongbo?” asked Director Luo.
The Confidential Officer checked his computer and noted from the log records that there was a mark for Field Duty. He promptly reported, “He’s right in the Provincial Capital, hasn’t moved these past few days.”
“That’s how it is; Lu the Madman knows we would monitor him closely, so he pushed that Red Line Informant into his position to replace him and is touring with another Chief Lecturer, Yang Menglu. …Yang Menglu is also an alias; according to our investigation, he is a soprano singer from a dance troupe in Hubei City. There’s no criminal record found, but he has likely been involved in the Pyramid Scheme for quite some time,” explained Ye Tianshu.
Director Luo furrowed his brow in contemplation, suddenly faced with the question: "If you say Lu the Madman isn't insane, I might not believe it; but if you say Lu the Madman would give up his career, then I find that even harder to accept. I've dealt with many core members of Pyramid Schemes who have been brainwashed, and those people are so fanatical that they would continue their endeavors even if it meant drinking plain water."
The question arose: did Lu the Madman have ulterior motives?
But he was a madman, wasn't he? After more than a decade of rivalry, no one expected this lunatic to suddenly come to his senses.
Ye Tianshu ordered Field Duty to report immediately. Soon, they returned with some key information: hotels, restaurants, KTVs, clubs, and hospitals—these five elements made up the madman's life. The crucial point was the hospital; he had purchased various medications under different identities. Special Operations had retrieved the prescription stubs, which were for antidepressants.
Indeed, he was a patient. He was well aware of his condition; even if he lived in a state of drunken stupor, there was nothing surprising about the scum that existed in society. Lu the Madman wasn't even among the worst; at least he was discerning and sought high-end women from clubs.
Another hidden question arose when Director Fan Wenjie asked curiously, "Who is funding such extravagant expenses?"
In the world of crime, there is no free lunch and no handouts. Director Luo replied, "That's the problem. In my experience, anyone who shows up is not the organizer. The organizers are skilled at remote manipulation. This means he won't appear at any of these known hideouts; he won't be on this list."
This felt like a bucket of cold water poured over them, and it was accurate. Ye Tianshu and Fan Wenjie suddenly looked a bit disheartened.
"Let's set aside who this organizer is and where they might be for now. Given the current amount of information we have, we can't explain that question. Instead, let's focus on something simpler and return to the timeline of A Group. I ask this: what is he planning? In just twenty days, he's pushed through a procurement in one province with uncertain newcomers. Even if they are optimistic about this newcomer, it doesn't add up... Think about it—how could a tightly structured organization allow an uncertain newcomer to rise to their core so quickly?" Director Luo expressed doubt about that Red Line Informant.
"That informant is definitely reliable; he has nothing to do with this matter. It was Lu Hongbo who encountered him at the Mental Hospital," Ye Tianshu reminded him.
"Has there been any slip-up?" Director Luo inquired.
"He tried to escape but was caught again. We arranged that," Ye Tianshu replied.
The detail made Luo Guanquan's heart ache even more. He furrowed his brow tightly, struggling in confusion, and at the exit, he spoke uncertainly, "Then there's no point in expecting trust. In such an organization, there is only exploitation, not trust... Look at how quickly things are advancing. According to the informant's feedback, the subscription amounts are unusually high—some in the tens of thousands, others in the hundreds of thousands... Let me boldly say this: such a large amount is hardly worth mentioning. The reason why a pyramid scheme is so tightly organized, aside from brainwashing, is that the money obtained isn't solely pocketed by Old A at the top of the pyramid; it is distributed and consumed in layers. This means that this small group at the top shares the spoils... So when you consider this amount collectively, there’s hardly anything left."
Fan Wenjie’s expression changed abruptly. "Are you suggesting there’s a larger scheme at play?"
"It should be," Luo Guanquan replied. "From their direction of movement, after years of continuous strikes against them, their organizational capabilities have been improving. When setting up their central hideouts, they wouldn’t choose developed first-tier cities; they wouldn’t select provincial capitals where police forces are concentrated either... If they were to choose, it would definitely be a second or third-tier city that is convenient for transportation, economically moderate, and geographically favorable for escape... I suspect their endpoint is about 120 kilometers south of Fuxian."
Director Luo pointed heavily at a city name on the administrative map: Tongguan.
A tourist city with a gathering of outsiders, located at the junction of Shanxi, Henan, and Shaanxi provinces—could there be an even larger hideout here?
"Don’t you think that twenty days of continuous subscriptions and lectures for that Red Line Informant is also a form of brainwashing? From my experience, when they select core members, their methods are quite strict and bizarre. Those who fall into our hands are hardliners..." Luo Guanquan said seriously, showing no signs of ease.
"So you mean that the rapid progress is because they are testing newcomers?" Ye Tianshu asked curiously.
"If we go any further, we’ll be out of the province. So whether they qualify or not... will soon be revealed," Luo Guanquan replied.
At that moment, Ye Tianshu could no longer sit still. He directly contacted the vehicle that was following them; it had just exited the highway at Zhiyang Exit and everything seemed normal.
But was it really normal? Why didn’t they go directly to Tongguan? Instead, they chose to exit at a relatively remote town?
The three decision-makers in the task force fell silent...
The time they got off the highway was one in the afternoon. Pulling over to take a break, Yang Menglu stepped out of the car and stretched her arms. The others had jumped into a nearby bush to relieve themselves. It was scorching hot, like being at a massive barbecue, and the sun made their skin burn painfully. Walking on the asphalt felt like walking on soft marshmallows; it was so hot that they could easily sink into a pothole.
"Come on, let me drive. You take a break," Yang Beauty said as she settled into the driver's seat, showing consideration for Baldy.
Baldy didn’t insist. He knew that only Yang Beauty was familiar with where they were going, where to stop, and how to get there. He took a seat in the back, shifting his weight and pushing Xiao Mu into the corner. Xiao Mu gasped in surprise, "Sister Yang, how about I drive? Baldy is up to no good again."
"Haha... then you can experience my feelings," Yang Menglu retorted without paying him any mind.
Big Head and Big Mouth laughed heartily, taking pleasure in Xiao Mu's predicament. Zhang Quan sneered, "Look at your face! Who the hell has done anything to you?"
As he cursed, he rolled up his sleeves. However, Xiao Mu's eyes widened in shock as Baldy's fingernail traced along his dark, rough arm, leaving white lines that formed words: Be careful, something's about to happen.
What could it be? Suddenly getting off at the town exit and switching drivers… Damn it, they had just turned sharply and were now back on a county road.
"Bald Brother, can you move over a bit? You're taking up so much space on purpose!" Xiao Mu pushed against Baldy and scratched his arm with his fingernail, forming a question mark.
What did that mean? Baldy responded straightforwardly by shaking his head; he didn’t know. Then he licked his palm and wiped it on his arm, rubbing off some old dirt that instantly erased the secret.
Ugh, that disgusted Xiao Mu so much that he forgot his fear. He pushed Baldy again, "Get lost! If you don't move, are you trying to make me jump out of the car?"
Just as they were making a fuss, an ear-piercing siren suddenly blared. A police car resembling an extended Wuling van came roaring out from the roadside and blocked their vehicle's path aggressively. A uniformed officer jumped out along with several undercover officers who rushed toward the recently stopped car, banging on it fiercely while shouting for them to get out.
Yang Menglu was taken by surprise when someone opened the car door and yanked her out, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground. Xiao Mu rushed down in anger, but Zhang Quan couldn't intervene in time. Xiao Mu hurriedly helped Yang Beauty up, fuming as he exclaimed, "Hey, what's going on? Just because you're wearing a police uniform, you think you're something special? Bullying a woman?"
"That's her, cuff her," the leader said, holding up a photo and pointing at Yang Menglu. Two officers in uniform grabbed her by the arms and cuffed her. As Xiao Mu struggled for a moment, the leader seized him and slapped him hard across the face, making stars appear in his vision. Furious, Xiao Mu shouted, "I’ll f*** your whole family! I’ll report you; I have friends in the police..."
The response was swift—a kick sent him tumbling to the ground as they dragged him away.
Unlike the still-bickering Xiao Mu, the others were much more subdued. They got out of the car and squatted down with their heads held low, cuffed together. Then the police car sped off with their vehicle in tow.
Under the blazing midday sun, on a remote stretch of highway where such incidents rarely occurred, the police car raced down the sparsely populated county road and quickly vanished from sight.
Almost brushing past them, no one dared to follow openly. A distant vehicle captured this scene on camera. Incidents of police cars colliding while on duty were common, but this felt suspicious. Zhi Yang was just a small town—one that even Pyramid Scheme wouldn’t bother with—so why would they target such suspects?
Lian Qiang compared the police car's license plate with the badge number of an officer captured in his camera. The signal was poor in this area; they had to climb to higher ground to get any reception. He initially thought it was a case being handled by a brother unit until he saw the results and his face turned pale as he screamed.
"What? Oh my god, a fake police car?" Ma Fenghuo exclaimed, stunned.
Lian Qiang looked around at the mountainous surroundings and said nervously, "This is bad; we’re far from authority here. We might end up tied up ourselves."
The driver chuckled and said, "You guys have to admit, this fake police act is really convincing; I didn’t suspect anything at all."
After giving the driver a slap on the back of his head, Lian Qiang quickly reported this sudden turn of events back home...
"Wait... Team Leader Ye, please calm down."
Luo Guanquan, feeling anxious, stood up to block Ye Tianshu. Upon hearing the news about the Fake Police enforcement, both Ye Tianshu and Fan Wenjie were filled with rage. This was embarrassing in front of their counterparts from other provinces.
"Team Leader Ye, think carefully. If this is a test and a large group of police shows up at that location, you would have given them the correct answer. All our previous efforts would be in vain..." Luo Guanquan stopped Ye Tianshu, speaking seriously. "This actually brings us to the main point, indicating that your effective work has brought you close to the core of the Pyramid Scheme gang."
Ye Tianshu was taken aback and glanced at Fan Wenjie for confirmation. Old Fan said, "Director Luo is right; we were too optimistic."
"But our informant is too young. Can he handle it? If he can't hold up, all our arrangements over the past few months will be wasted," Ye Tianshu said, feeling guilty and unable to shake off his concern for that young Quirky Sprite. He was indeed too young for this kind of confrontation.
"But we can't lose because we aren't thinking clearly... Come on, sit down. Let's prepare for the worst," Fan Wenjie said.
The trio discussed the situation, analyzing it with the substantial information support from the project team. They ultimately decided to adopt a hands-off approach regarding the suddenly vanished target in Zhi Yang Town. Not only did they deploy the local Police Force, but they also withdrew the tracking A Group...
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