Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 358 Zhuang Tao'er

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"..."

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In the quiet conference room, several police officers looked at each other, bewildered.

On the projected screen in the conference room, the two swindlers' performance and their seductive tactics were played on a loop, over and over again, to the point that several police officers could even recite it by heart.

Upon closer inspection after calming down, the video reveals numerous flaws. Even though it's disguised as a live stream, it doesn't change the fact that it changed the background and edited multiple times. Even someone with a basic understanding can see that the editing is quite rough. The jagged edges of the figures and blurring are clearly visible, and the crude compositing and frame skipping are not things that can be easily masked by simply citing live stream stuttering.

However, what's worrying is that the target audience of this video is almost certainly people over sixty years old!

The elderly's lack of understanding and sensitivity to modern video technology, coupled with the mystical language and images conveyed, makes them unlikely to question anything. The two scammers were clearly using common tropes and rhetoric from fantasy novels, but how many people over sixty still read online novels? The concept of 'merit power,' even more unbelievable than Journey to the West or Investiture of the Gods, and its almost plausible closed-ended logic, had a predictable impact on their worldview. When faced with a complete set of scammers' arguments, seemingly without any apparent cost, the elderly's attraction and eventual fall for the scam were entirely predictable.

Just like the shock that the first kung fu movie with wire work had on the public, the miraculous healing effects of internal energy in martial arts movies, or the incredible miracles of the digital movie era, which one of them has not become a means for fraudsters to easily deceive others?

With the rise of video programs and the simplification and personalization of video shooting and editing, video fraud has long been one of the most common reports encountered by the police.

Previously, this kind of trick was mostly used in insurance industry PowerPoint presentations. No one expected that it would be developed by fraudsters.

Even the police didn't expect that someone could be so ingenious as to completely solve the problem of scammers who are unfamiliar with the tricks and don't know how to scam people with just a video! Scammers only need to know how to use a mobile phone and a projector to open a business and make money.

"Hehe... I really didn't expect that the tricks of online novels could be used to deceive the elderly! To be honest, it's just putting a shell on the most primitive rhetoric, yet it can actually fool the elderly so much?"

Xu Xiangjie rubbed his forehead, feeling that he shouldn't have come to the Municipal Bureau today.

He clearly had two days off, so why did he foolishly insist on staying until the Lantern Festival? His wife wanted to go back to her parents' home and his son wanted to see the lanterns, so he let them go! Now, all for the sake of family reunion on the Lantern Festival, he's run into this troublesome situation.

"It's not a matter of whether we want to or not!"

The head of the Economic Crime Investigation Division, named Wang Guofeng, tapped the table upon hearing this and said, "Everyone has seen the video. The suspects and the elderly victims are all clearly identified. I've already asked Shao Yongkang to help arrest them, so right now we need to consider more than just whether it's fraud or illegal fundraising. Of course, this is also very important. There's a big difference in sentencing between ordinary fraud and illegal fundraising, which is classified as fundraising fraud. Hmm... if the people are caught, the specific investigation can proceed slowly. The most important question now is... the extent to which this video has spread, or rather, its harmfulness. Is it just an isolated case in Zhangzhou City?"

Cao Chen shook his head and said, "It's unlikely to be an isolated case, after all, videos are too convenient and targeted. How could criminals go to such lengths to create a video disguised as a live stream and stop at just a few elderly people?"

"The priority now is to find out the identities of these two scammers. But the video is heavily filtered with beauty filters, and with the makeup and retouching, it's very difficult to identify them using facial recognition."

Xu Xiangjie sighed.

While facial recognition technology has become increasingly powerful with technological advancements, the corresponding beautification and photo editing functions have also become increasingly sophisticated and sophisticated. Even with increasingly clear surveillance in the real world, people's makeup skills seem to be growing rapidly, almost like magic. These techniques might be harmless if used only by individuals, but criminals also readily utilize them, creating a seemingly contradictory situation that adds considerable trouble for the police.

"Please ask the cybersecurity team for help. It would be best if they could also monitor the internet to see if similar videos or pictures are circulating." Wang Guofeng thought for a moment, then looked up at the policewoman sitting opposite him and said, "Xiao Tao'er, the task of interrogating Zhang Yanxia is assigned to you. Make sure you find out how they obtained this video. In addition, how much this video cost and whether it is continuously charged are also key to determining the other party's intentions."

The woman named Zhuang Tao looked like she had just graduated from university and had a rather youthful appearance.

She wasn't tall, but her presence was quite imposing. Hearing this, she clenched her fist and confidently said, "Don't worry, I'll get everything out of her! But Captain Wang, if we confirm that Zhang Yanxia isn't a first-time fraudster, then tallying the number of victims and the amount defrauded will be a huge undertaking. Our team only has seven or eight people left now, and you're going to investigate such a major case as the mastermind? Can I handle it alone? Should we call back our colleagues who are away on business?"

"Heh... How could that be? Your case is one thing, but theirs is just as important! If we're short-handed, we'll find a way. There's no reason to ask someone to give up halfway just to come back and help you."

Cao Chen sneered.

Zhuang Tao wasn't angry. She calmly said, "But we need to understand one thing! There's a big difference between the elderly and ordinary adults. Most adults can bear being scammed on their own. But many elderly people might suffer health problems from such a blow! These people who have been scammed are basically saving their retirement funds or their life savings. To put it bluntly, if a few people commit suicide, none of us can afford it!"

Cao Chen paused, staring at Zhuang Tao in astonishment, then laughed angrily: "You're an economic crime investigator! Not a community counselor! The focus right now is solving the case, can you please understand the priorities? Even if someone really committed suicide, are we to blame? Did we let him fall for our scam? Zhuang Tao, please wake up! You're a police officer, not God! Your job is to arrest the criminals, and do your best in everything else! To be honest, in our economic crime investigation work, it's common for suspects to squander the vast majority of the money they've obtained. We've seen it too many times! Almost 100%! If this happens, and the victims can't get their money back, are you going to be responsible for every single one of them?"

Zhuang Tao was also stunned, and after a long while, she said aggrievedly, "But... if we work a little harder, we can always recover more of that money, right? Captain Wang, I know two colleagues are in charge of cold cases that are basically pointless. The person has been caught, but he has spent all his money. Why should we bother to collect his past records when the case has reached this point? We might as well call them back and give me a hand."

"Hmm...that makes sense."

Wang Guofeng rested her chin on her hands, pondered for a moment, and nodded, saying, "Since that's the case, and since you're too busy, Zhuang Tao, you shouldn't get involved in this case. Go to Longquan Police Station and help them investigate and collect information about the victims."

"Hey?"

Zhuang Tao was stunned.

She looked up at Wang Guofeng in astonishment, but the guy's expressionless and serious demeanor suggested he wasn't joking.

"Ok!"

Wang Guofeng nodded his chin, indicating that she could leave.

'Snapped! '

The petite policewoman slammed her hand hard on the table.

She stormed out of the meeting room, nearly bumping into a man and a cat who were about to enter. Not knowing what these two strangers were up to, Zhuang Tao glared angrily at Zhang Yong before storming off.

Watching the girl storm off, the others in the conference room exchanged bewildered glances.

Xu Xiangjie, who had initially clashed with Zhuang Tao, became uneasy and hesitated before saying to Wang Guofeng, "Captain, isn't this a bit inappropriate? To be honest, Tao'er is only a little soft-hearted; it's not like she deserves to be demoted over something like this, is it?"

"She's not suited to be an economic crime investigator."

Wang Guofeng shook his head, expressionless, and said, "Her heart is too soft; she's not suited to be a criminal investigator. Besides, in our economic crime investigation department, no matter how many cases we solve, how many have good outcomes? Money just disappears so quickly! And it's so difficult to recover the victims' losses. To be honest, we all know this, and it hurts every time we see the victims' despair. But no matter what, we have to tell ourselves again and again that these are all minor details. Sigh... To be honest, those in economic crime investigation must be heartless! Those who spend their life savings on a house, only to end up with nowhere to shelter, what can we do even if we sympathize?"

The group exchanged glances, their spirits dampened.

It must be admitted that Wang Guofeng was absolutely right. These days, money is just too easy to spend. As economic crime investigators, even if we solve a case, we rarely manage to recover all the stolen money. The larger the case, and the more people involved, the more sophisticated the methods the suspects use to hide the stolen money and the more meticulously they plan how to dispose of it. Many suspects have already decided how to handle the money before they even get their hands on it, making it extremely difficult for the police to recover it.

"Besides this case, even a fool knows that it's virtually impossible to recover all the money that was swindled out of. Zhuang Tao'er is only concerned with pitying those elderly people; she doesn't seem to remember the seriousness of this case at all."

Wang Guofeng was truly reluctant to let Zhuang Tao leave. Although the girl was soft-hearted, she was incredibly capable. She had fought hard to get Zhuang Tao from the Municipal Bureau, but in less than a year, she had to send her away with tears in her eyes.

Today's case is just a starting point; the main issue is that Zhuang Tao is truly unsuitable for handling economic crime investigations.

"I never knew being an economic crime investigator was so difficult! I thought they handled cases that weren't murderous or arson, and that life was easy and carefree. Turns out, not only do they have to travel all over the place, but they also have to put on a cold shoulder and face the accusations and insults from the victims..."

Standing at the door, Lin Ge sighed inwardly. Indeed, being a policeman is never easy, no matter what kind of job you're in. Take that girl named Zhuang Tao, for example; she's clearly a decisive and efficient person, she should be a good policeman.

"Why have you returned? Is there something you need?"

Wang Guofeng didn't recognize Zhang Yong, so she focused her attention on Lin Ge.

Lin Ge couldn't speak, so he looked up at Zhang Yong. How had this guy managed to get by in the Municipal Bureau all this time? He hadn't even become a familiar face to any of the branch captains?
"Here's the thing, I roughly know the identities of the two fraud suspects in the video in the case you're currently handling."

Zhang Yong didn't hide anything, and he was indeed one of the few people who happened to know the identities of the two fraudsters.

Zhang Yong had secretly remembered the two swindlers ever since they started scamming people in the building next to his house. He thought they had either behaved themselves or run away after a few months, but he never expected them to reappear and cause such a big problem.

From swindling elderly people by installing elevators to now carrying out a massive fraud case that could spread nationwide, these two con artists are becoming increasingly successful.

"A local from Zhangzhou?"

Wang Guofeng was stunned.

He had considered many possibilities, but the one he hadn't anticipated was that the suspect's connection to Zhang Yanxia behind the video might not have required an internet connection. Of course, this was also good news, indicating that the video might not have spread within the fraud community.

"Experimental video! The suspect may still be trying to perfect the video, after all, as it stands, the video still has many flaws and is not enough to make fraudsters across the country hand over their money."

Cao Chen made a rather unreliable guess.

"Why do you say that?"

Everyone looked at him.

"Because... there's a problem with the video format. I think if the suspects are considering making money through these videos, they wouldn't ignore the issues of hotlinking or resellers. Truly mature online products need anti-theft measures, at least watermarks or contact information. It's easy to leave these things on the live stream interface; I believe the suspects couldn't have overlooked that. So the reason they don't is likely because they're not ready to officially sell. Of course, it's also possible they're still in the process of building their reputation, but that would make a title or identifying feature even more necessary. Otherwise, even if a scammer really wants to buy, how would they find them?"

Cao Chen pointed to the projection screen in the secretly filmed video that Lin Ge had brought over and began analyzing it. Surprisingly, this guy was a reasoner, and he spoke eloquently, but it was hard to tell how credible his arguments were.

"Is it necessary to go through so much trouble?"

Lin Ge glanced at Cao Chen. Now that they knew the identities of the two swindlers, why not just search for and arrest them?
Even though the two con artists in the video were heavily disguised, Lin Ge had seen them on camera more than once in real life. Now, if they could find those key cameras, their identities would be immediately confirmed.

"We will identify the suspects, the Kanke brothers, and look for an opportunity to arrest them. Furthermore, we will cooperate with cybersecurity authorities to monitor or destroy all related videos online, preventing this video, which could breed countless fraudsters, from spreading further!"

Wang Guofeng raised her third finger: "Third, Lao Shao just sent me a message saying that Zhang Yanxia has been successfully arrested, but her lover Xu Yinghui is unexpectedly on the run. According to the interrogation, Xu Yinghui is the real mastermind behind this case of defrauding the elderly. How the video was obtained, how the fraud was planned, and how the stolen money was handled were all handled by Xu Yinghui. So this person must be found as soon as possible!"

Cao Chen was taken aback. "According to Jiang Zhong's description, Zhang Yanxia should be a very selfish and shameless woman. Why would she entrust all the embezzled money to Xu Yinghui?"

"Didn't I tell you, mistress! The two of you are not husband and wife, and in fact, you both have families."

Wang Guofeng glared at Cao Chen and patiently explained, "But it seems that because of the disharmony between the two families, Zhang Yanxia and Xu Yinghui hit it off. She used to sell cheap clothes at the farmers' market, but after getting involved with Xu Yinghui, she received his financial support and opened this health center. Later, her husband came to cause trouble and ask for money several times, and Xu Yinghui always protected her and dealt with it. Zhang Yanxia trusts Xu Yinghui completely."

"Perhaps, this is true love!"

Xu Xiangjie couldn't help but laugh.

Cao Chen glanced at Xu Xiangjie with disdain, then calmly analyzed, "In other words, this Xu Yinghui is more capable than we imagined. On the surface, he's just an ordinary partner in Zhang Yanxia's scam of the elderly. But considering Zhang Yanxia's abilities and their relationship, their master-servant dynamic might need to be reconsidered. Zhang Yanxia was easily arrested, so why was Xu Yinghui able to escape? Why didn't he take Zhang Yanxia with him? Was Xu Yinghui's attitude towards Zhang Yanxia not as good as we thought? Thinking deeper, does Xu Yinghui only have Zhang Yanxia as a lover? Perhaps the person who obtained the video is..."

'Bang!'

The conference room door was suddenly pushed open, and Zhuang Tao rushed in, panting: "Captain, I've got the information! Zhang Yanxia really didn't know anything about the source of the video, and even the escalation of the scam from luring the elderly to buy health products to fraud was all Xu Yinghui's idea! This guy is the real mastermind, we have to find him right away!"

Zhuang Tao rattled off a long string of words, leaving the other three people in the conference room stunned.

How could this girl even think of that?
Cao Chen couldn't help but look at Zhuang Tao with higher regard.

Wang Guofeng's face was as black as ink. He glared at his impolite subordinate and pointed fiercely at the door: "Who let you in? And who gave you permission to interrogate Zhang Yanxia on your own? Zhuang Tao'er, get out!"

"Oh!"

Zhuang Tao didn't argue, but calmly agreed, turned around and left, then closed the door.

Less than two seconds later, there was another knock on the conference room door. This time, Zhuang Tao pushed the door open and walked in very seriously, saluting Wang Guofeng and saying, "Director, Zhuang Tao has completed the initial interrogation of Zhang Yanxia as per your orders! This woman doesn't know the source of the video, only that it came from a friend of Xu Yinghui. In addition, Xu Yinghui also gave her a printed sheet with a complete script on how to explain the video."

"..."

Cao Chen and Xu Xiangjie exchanged glances, looking at Wang Guofeng, whose breathing had become heavy, and then at Zhuang Tao'er, whose face was serious and earnest. They felt that this girl had become quite interesting.

Where did she get the audacity to talk back to her boss?
Wang Guofeng was never someone to be trifled with; no one who dared to contradict him had ever managed to sit comfortably in his office. Was Zhuang Tao'er going to be sent by Wang Guofeng to the uninhabited areas of southern Xinjiang to eat sand?

(End of this chapter)