Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
At four o'clock in the morning, all interrogations were halted. The special task force, in collaboration with local authorities, focused their efforts on sorting out the chaotic accounts.
Outside, personnel identification continued. The media flocked to cover this rare news story, with even reporters from neighboring provinces joining in. Online discussions were already buzzing, and the Provincial Capital Task Force began preparing for a press conference that day. Journalists from various departments were summoned to work overnight on the public announcement regarding the Case Situation.
By six o'clock, aside from those detained in Tongguan, more than ten key suspects led by Tu Shenhao and He Yuguo were transferred to a different location for custody. This unusual decision revealed a lack of trust in the local police. The leadership of the City Bureau reported this to the Provincial Task Force late at night and learned that it was personnel from the Provincial Department who had come to take custody. They wisely chose to remain silent, as insiders speculated that either the Case Situation was significant or it had been repeated multiple times.
At this point, railway police were also mobilized. Additional train cars were added from Yu Lin, Yanchuan, Fuxian, and other locations to gradually return Pyramid Scheme participants. It was feared that there were more victims than just them. Police forces from multiple regions were stretched thin; nearly half of the personnel from the most basic police stations were reassigned to handle this situation.
The harm caused by this widespread cancer affecting the entire province was being eradicated at lightning speed.
By six o'clock, the final draft emerged from the exhausted journalists' hands. The Pyramid Scheme gang led by Tu Shenhao, He Yuguo, and Ma Bufang had meticulously planned a scheme involving deceptive practices. They entangled dozens of notorious Pyramid Scheme members and expanded their network across more than ten cities in the region. Through brainwashing tactics, they amassed wealth while diverting police attention. Near the provincial border in Tongguan City, they fabricated operations under the guise of Wei Heng Business Investment, intensifying their financial crimes under the pretense of "capital operations."
This story was already astonishing enough; even if key details were omitted, its shock value remained intact due to real data supporting Group A's findings. On June 22nd, a special operation against Illegal Pyramid Schemes dismantled 27 dens and captured over 120 managerial-level leaders while rescuing more than 9,400 individuals involved in these schemes. Illegal funds confiscated across various locations exceeded 50 million yuan.
At eight o'clock in the morning, a press conference held by the Shaanxi Provincial Public Security Department announced that once this case was made public, it quickly topped headlines on major national websites and media outlets. Such a large-scale Pyramid Scheme incident occurring in an inland province left observers astonished.
At nine o'clock in the morning, an unmarked SUV drove into the bustling square of the Provincial Capital's West Railway Station.
The area had become a sea of police cars and officers. From the square to the waiting hall and boarding areas, police formed human corridors counting heads while shouting hoarsely to maintain order. Compared to other regions, the few hundred people involved in suburban spots around the Provincial Capital seemed insignificant; however, they had caused considerable chaos. The previous day saw all members of the provincial security task force mobilized to suppress these Pyramid Scheme members who had threatened to besiege the city government.
Looking out the car window, Xiao Mu saw men and women still dressed in cheap suits, carrying simple luggage. The only difference was that the fervent expressions on their faces had been replaced by a sense of despair. As they shouted at each other, they shuffled along slowly. Xiao Mu's gaze fell upon a tall figure from the Tagou Martial Arts School, who stood a head taller than the police officers escorting him. Xiao Mu couldn't fathom how he had ended up in the Provincial Capital, but the imposing physique and angry expression made Xiao Mu feel as if he had been stabbed in the heart, leaving him quite uncomfortable.
Inside the car were familiar faces: Lian Qiang, Ma Fenghuo, and the driver, along with Zhang Quan. There was no sign of joy on their faces despite the major case being solved. The victims of this Pyramid Scheme numbered in the hundreds or thousands, and their plight was enough to dull any emotions in Xiao Mu's heart beyond pity.
"This is the last batch," Ma Fenghuo said softly.
"There have been several incidents; it turned into a fight while we were trying to persuade them. We're lucky compared to others," the driver replied.
Lian Qiang seemed still weary from returning overnight. He scoffed, "Taking down the gang organization might bring peace for a few years... I just don’t understand why people can’t live good lives. A few years ago, it was the same with those cults—no farming, no work, just learning some nonsense every day until they drove themselves crazy."
"Where there is darkness, there is light; where there are police, there are criminals. Society exists because of these oppositions; without conflict or right and wrong, life and existence would lose their meaning," Zhang Quan unexpectedly mused.
Everyone looked at him, seemingly surprised that this rough man had been influenced by Xiao Mu's culture.
Instead, it was Xiao Mu who grew impatient and said, "Let’s go already. What’s the point of talking about this nonsense?"
The driver chuckled as he pulled out onto the airport road. Zhang Quan asked him, "What are your thoughts?"
"What do you expect me to think?" Xiao Mu retorted.
"I hope you understand that even the most pitiable bad person is still a bad person. Most of what they do is wrong; bad people should be punished. Otherwise, we can't talk about fairness in this world," Zhang Quan stated. Xiao Mu rolled his eyes in rebuttal: "Has there ever been fairness in this world? I have nothing to do with this; you all dragged me into it... After such a big incident, you almost arrested me again. How old is Jia Fangfei? Can she really control such a large gang? By basic logic, she shouldn't be considered the mastermind! If she’s merely an accomplice and still labeled as a key suspect by you all, is that called fairness?"
After a few heated exchanges, Zhang Quan was left speechless; Xiao Mu's twisted reasoning seemed more compelling. Seeing that Xiao Mu was upset, Ma Fenghuo advised gently, "Didn’t the leadership say they would investigate Jia Fangfei’s case? Once verified and classified properly, they’ll handle it according to the law. If she really isn’t heavily involved in any crime, it shouldn’t be a big issue."
The crux of the matter lay with Jia Fangfei; it was hard to see how deep their relationship had developed over just two days of her being asleep. Xiao Mu risked imprisonment to protect her and succeeded; no evidence of ill-gotten gains was found on him. Jia Fangfei denied any involvement with money matters outright, and Pyramid Scheme organizations never signed anything when taking money. It seemed unlikely they could pin any charges related to illegal Pyramid Scheme activities on her after all.
This actually brought more trouble to the police. Zhang Quan thought, "We've already given them enough leeway. Don't push your luck. Even if it's not about informants, if one of our own makes a mistake, I’ll end up in confinement, suspended, and writing self-reflections."
"Who’s pushing their luck? Let’s stick to the facts. Why are you fixating on someone else's mistakes? How serious could it be? Even if there was a mistake, it’s balanced out by their merits," Xiao Mu replied. Lian Qiang couldn’t accept this and asked, "What merits does she have?"
"My merits! Aren't my merits enough to offset her mistakes?" Xiao Mu said.
The whole car burst into laughter. After spending a few days with the group, Xiao Mu's skills in being unreasonable had greatly improved; he was clearly just making a fuss. The others ignored him. If it weren't for the fact that he had genuinely contributed, they would have pinned him down and given him a good beating.
But silence fell again, creating a heavy atmosphere. They had to admit that Xiao Mu indeed had a lot on his mind. After walking a short distance, Lian Qiang curiously asked, "Linzi, I just don’t get it. It was just a casual encounter; why are you taking it so seriously?"
"To put it simply, if you mess with a street girl like that, how can you not give her some money?" Xiao Mu replied. The others perked up their ears and turned to look at him with curiosity, as if they thought Xiao Mu's taste shouldn't be so low. He continued, "You all know what happened between us. Actually, seduction is beyond the script... She didn’t need to do anything at all. I was alone with nowhere to run; there were people watching me on both sides and pressure from Tu Shenhao above me. Even if she did nothing, I still had to follow the script they set for me."
"What do you mean?" Ma Fenghuo didn’t understand.
"It means... it was just affection. She liked me, and I liked her too. Even if it was just a fleeting romance, it came from genuine feelings rather than any ulterior motive... She always regarded me as a peer. Although she’s a con artist, am I not an even worse con artist? Not only did I deceive her trust but also tricked her into bed, and in the end, I betrayed her by handing her over to the police... I hesitated for a long time back then; ultimately, I couldn't bring myself to push her into that pit. She would hate me for life once she knew the truth," Xiao Mu said. When it came to women, he could never be ruthless.
"No matter what you do, she will hate you for life," Zhang Quan remarked.
"The difference is that I can find peace of mind... Why should I talk about feelings with you? You wouldn’t understand," Xiao Mu replied quietly.
"Then... let’s talk about the case situation. What clues have you found? How did you know the mastermind took the money and ran?" Lian Qiang asked.
"Exactly! How did you come to think of Lu the Madman back then? It would have been great if you had said something earlier," Zhang Quan lamented.
"This is the characteristic of high-IQ crime. From a criminal perspective, if they succeed, their gang profits significantly; if they fail, they still profit personally—either achieving their primary goal or secondary goals—ensuring they remain unscathed behind the scenes... From the police's perspective, even if you caught him on the day of action, he would still be seen as a madman and wouldn’t be the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. Of course, if he sensed danger, the Tongguan case wouldn’t have happened at all... He would only commit crimes when he felt absolutely safe and out of your sight. So knowing it was him earlier wouldn’t have helped; you've caught him countless times already without securing any convictions," Xiao Mu explained.
This can be considered an eccentric character. Now that I think about it, I really admire Lu the Madman. Behind the scenes, he plotted with Tu Shenhao, while on the front lines, he swaggered around as a lecturer, deceiving everyone. When caught by the police, he pretended to be insane and played the fool. As soon as he was released, he continued his activities. Who could guard against someone like that?
"Impressive," Lian Qiang said solemnly.
"Of course it's impressive. The first time he saw me, he figured out that I had lived abroad for a long time and came from a good family. He even knew my mother had passed away... I should have realized that someone so astute couldn't possibly be an ordinary person, and there's no way he would have been inexplicably pushed out of the game," Xiao Mu replied.
"No, I meant you are impressive," Lian Qiang said, giving Xiao Mu a thumbs up.
"Don't flatter me. I'm still a step behind him. At least I was fooled by Baldy at that time; I always felt something was off about him but couldn't pinpoint why. Now I'm starting to suspect that Lu the Madman deliberately brought us both into the group. With his sharp eyes, he couldn't have missed the flaws in you," Xiao Mu said, looking at Zhang Quan with suspicion. Zhang Quan asked incredulously, "Are you saying he could tell I'm an undercover agent? If he knew that, why would he bring me into the gang? Wouldn't that be inviting trouble?"
The others laughed, but Xiao Mu pondered thoughtfully: "What if that's true? Think about it—after twenty years of living like this, with a broken family and constantly being chased by the police, who wouldn't grow tired of such a life? If there were an opportunity to get a large sum of money and live comfortably as a wealthy retiree, why not take it? Losing over ten million... With this case's success and the gang's profit-sharing model, he wouldn't even get that much."
"Are you saying he sold out the Criminals?" Ma Fenghuo asked in surprise.
"Is that really surprising? Tu Shenhao only held out for a few hours before betraying him. And when he betrays and sends these people to prison, by the time they come out, everything will have changed. It's perfect—there's no direct evidence against him; based solely on Tu Shenhao's testimony, they can't even issue a wanted notice... With such deep arrangements, by the time the police figure it all out, he'll have long since fled... I can even speculate that right now, Lu the Madman might be hiding in some corner waiting to see how the Shaanxi Province Major Pyramid Scheme Case unfolds," Xiao Mu said.
Everyone felt a chill at his words; however, this made Zhang Quan exhale in relief as he added: "As long as he's watching, that's fine. Tu Shenhao and He Yuguo have become the masterminds—exactly what he wants to see."
"Of course. The police probably don't want to admit they were fooled by a madman who ended up making off with a fortune," Xiao Mu remarked.
There was another jab in his words; Zhang Quan shot him a glare and said: "Can't you go one day without mocking us?"
"I won't die from it; it's just uncomfortable to live like this... So who’s in charge this time? Let's vote democratically," Xiao Mu asked.
Three fingers pointed at him simultaneously. Despite their banter, after everything they had been through, they had already been won over by Xiao Mu's quirky charm. Seeing his smiling face now, he grandly declared: "Then I won't hold back! We need to set some rules—just one rule: anyone who dares to say something unpleasant to me will have their share of food deducted... And anyone who makes me unhappy better watch out; I might just slip away halfway through! After all, I'm not a suspect; you can't do anything about me."
"Hey, hey, right, how could that be?" Lian Qiang forced a smile.
"It's fine, Linzi. If he dares to insult you again, we'll hold him down and let you take your shot," Ma Fenghuo said, trying to cheer the young man up.
Xiao Mu chuckled mischievously, his whole body trembling with laughter. He glanced at Zhang Quan and shifted his body closer, asking, "Baldy, did you see? You've already been sold out."
"Shut up, you little brat. It won't matter what happens; I swear I'll take you down on the way," Zhang Quan threatened with a twitching face. Such words no longer intimidated Xiao Mu, who laughed and retorted, "So what you're saying is that once there's a result, I can take you down too, and that would be fair?"
Zhang Quan stopped talking nonsense and went straight for Xiao Mu's throat. However, Xiao Mu was quicker; he reached under Zhang Quan's arms and started tickling him. The burly Zhang Quan was surprisingly sensitive to this and shrank back with laughter, earning him the label of a cowardly man afraid of being molested from Xiao Mu.
Laughter filled the air as they drove to the airport. The driver dropped the four of them off at their flight before hurrying back.
This was the last-ditch effort to salvage the situation. The three who had been tracking Xiao Mu were now on the hunt for the traces left by Lu the Madman. The task force operated as usual, but these individuals had been removed from the operation as if they had never existed. The news that had already made headlines implicated Tu Shenhao and He Yuguo as masterminds, raising urgent questions about their involvement...
Comment 0 Comment Count