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Where it begins, there it ends. This is the best conclusion.
It's been many years since I last visited Ruili. Compared to back then, it's much more desolate. Perhaps there are too many ways to get rich in this world now, and no one believes rumors like 'one cut to poverty, one cut to riches, one cut wrapped in burlap.'
I've been wandering around Ruili for days. There aren't many schemes like Boss Xie's anymore, and no one falls for them.
There are more methods now. People generally make money through live streams, then use minor tricks on the stones, nothing too damaging. It fits the old saying: you can't lose money or get cheated for a single dollar.
The amounts are small, and those who are deceived can only count themselves unlucky.
...
After searching here for days, I haven't found anyone jumping off a building.
It's truly disappointing everyone. Where it begins, there it ends. This might be the best outcome, but it seems fate's direction isn't quite like that. The kind of encounters I and Lao Tie had back then are truly rare.
...
About a week later, I started to have thoughts of giving up. My beautiful wish was about to be shattered. Just as I was preparing to leave, I saw a girl on top of a building.
First published on Tag-read Novels
She looked to be in her early twenties, with dark skin and a thin, dry physique.
At this moment, she stood in the most conspicuous spot on the rooftop.
Finally, I encountered someone, but my heart wasn't at all at ease. Rushing from here to the top of the building and stopping a girl from jumping is not a simple task.
By the time I reached the rooftop, the girl had already one foot extended over the edge.
"Don't jump."
She sneered when she heard me and even gestured a middle finger.
"How about we make a bet?"
"What's the stake?"
I thought for a moment and said seriously, "There must be a reason for you to jump, right? If you have a grudge, I'll help you get revenge."
"No need, I don't have any grudges. I just genuinely don't want to live anymore."
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"I can give you money. How much do you want?"
"One million!"
"Deal!"
"Probably only rich people like you believe in the nonsense of saving a life being better than building a seven-story pagoda. I've changed my mind, ten million!"
"Alright, deal!"
Hearing my words, the girl rubbed her hands, leaped lightly from the edge of the building onto the rooftop, and then looked at me with a smile.
"If you're transferring that much, you must go to the bank."
"No problem."
"Do you have a card?"
"Yes!"
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"Then let's go!"
The girl and I went to the bank. Her skin was quite dark, and she wasn't particularly beautiful. Watching her corners of the mouth occasionally curl up, I was reminded of my senior sister who died ten years ago.
The girl wasn't as clever as my senior sister, but she wasn't stupid. She might not have high intelligence, but her emotional intelligence was more than enough to survive in this society.
...
We arrived at the bank. I made the transfer, and the girl's face lit up with joy when she saw ten million deposited into her account. As she turned to leave, I firmly grabbed her arm.
She looked at me with fear in her eyes: "What are you doing? You promised to give me the money, that's why I didn't jump."
"Answer a few questions for me, and I won't hold you responsible. If you answer well, I might even help you."
The girl looked somewhat wronged, but she wasn't strong enough to break free. Finally, with no other choice, she agreed.
"Where are your parents?"
"Dead!"
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"How did they die?"
"I don't know, they died long ago."
It seemed she was a child who had drifted in society for many years.
Seeing my silence, she said unhappily, "Are you done asking? If you are, I'm leaving."
"If I take you as a disciple, will you agree?"
The girl pointed at my nose and said, "Just you wanting to take me as a disciple? What can you teach me?"
"You should understand, as a 'little con artist' like you, that in the world of deception, there's the 'prime schemer,' the one who sets up the plays. I'll teach you how to scheme!"
The girl burst into laughter. If I hadn't held her, she would have rolled on the ground.
"You teach me how to scheme? You're the most foolish person I've ever conned, giving away ten million so easily, and then teaching me how to scheme."
...
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"You think you conned ten million from me?"
"It's all in my account!"
"Your accomplice, or rather, your leader. They found out I came here looking for someone to jump off a building. Because I myself jumped and learned my craft, leading to my current success, people who jump are especially important to me due to this sentiment."
"Right!"
"Then have you ever considered why I would tell others about my sentiment?"
"Ah~" The girl blinked, stunned.
I smiled. On the first day I arrived here, I had already sensed a change in the world. Gambling on stones wasn't as popular anymore, and fewer people were going bankrupt over it.
Perhaps the most significant reason is the sheer variety of things people play with now, the endless array of accessories, and the constant influx of black technology. Those who forge things can make a stone look like high-quality jade, and they'll even frankly admit it's fake.
As fewer people value jade, and the elderly who love jade become more reluctant to spend money, gambling on stones has fallen into decline!
...
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On the first day, I saw this trend. There was no need to stay here for seven days. Just as I was contacting my secretary to book plane tickets, I saw this girl.
Years of cultivation had given me fiery eyes. I could tell at a glance that this girl was one of us.
They weren't an organization, but a criminal syndicate. People usually called them 'old thieves' or 'con artists' online. It was a group with clear divisions of labor.
There was the host who set up the schemes, the one who gathered information, the performers, and the escape artists.
This accidental discovery made me happy.
...
Regarding how Lao Gui and I met, I always thought it wasn't a coincidence. But now, looking back, things might not be so simple. Perhaps at the time, Lao Gui was looking for someone who was at least somewhat presentable, not as clever as Cao Qian, but at least possessing the intelligence of Lin Han or Yu Xiaoluo.
However, fate arranged for us to meet. I jumped, he saved me, and to prevent this event from becoming a tragedy in my life, he taught me how to scheme.
The mission had to be completed, but fate is not something one person can control alone.
...
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Since I had discovered their trickery, naturally, I couldn't let them off the hook. So, I pretended to be looking for someone to jump off a building while secretly investigating their background.
Compared to my current abilities, overturning this criminal syndicate would be as easy as flipping a hand.
However, I didn't do that. Instead, I leaked information, letting everyone know that I was a wealthy individual with peculiar habits.
Their syndicate had people dedicated to gathering information, and they naturally picked up on it. Indeed, the people designing schemes now are very different from before; they are highly professional.
First, they investigated my identity and confirmed that I was a wealthy recluse.
Then, they inquired on the streets about my hobbies and my desire to save someone contemplating suicide.
Thus, the girl was positioned on the rooftop in a prominent location, making her visible to everyone. As agreed, she first asked for a million, and when I didn't haggle, she immediately raised it to ten million.
The amount of money didn't matter to me, as it wasn't mine. It belonged to Ke Yingying, and it was also a black account that was under surveillance. Regardless of which account this account transacted with, both were frozen.
Because they knew I was wealthy, the girl brought the card containing the main funds. This means they not only failed to scam my money but also locked up the account, preventing even their own funds from being accessed.
...
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The girl realized what had happened and exclaimed, "You tricked us!"
"Yes!"
"Are you a police officer?"
"No! But I interact with the police frequently."
"Let me go, let me leave!"
"Think carefully, if you escape, will your boss let you off? If you think he will, then leave now."
After speaking, I released her hand.
The girl didn't leave, her brow furrowed as she looked at me. She was smart and quickly guessed my intention: "You want me to be a traitor?"
"In this syndicate, does anyone treat you like family?"
"No, who would treat others like family? This society is a jungle, survival of the fittest."
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"Since you are merely someone else's prey, what does betrayal mean?"
Through days of observation, I knew the girl was intelligent and kind.
She pondered for a while and then asked seriously, "What do you want me to do?"
"What do you want to do?"
My approach confused the girl. She looked at me in surprise, and I added, "You understand them better than I do. How can you deal with them to ensure your future life is not disturbed by them?"
"They are all seasoned veterans; you can't defeat them just by imagining it."
"Not imagination. I will pay for all your plans."
The girl thought for a long time and finally agreed. She gave me a plan, which, in my eyes, was riddled with loopholes. Nevertheless, I readily accepted.
After getting my approval, she suddenly asked, "If the plan doesn't succeed, how will I repay you? Can it be installments?"
Hearing this, I felt a peculiar sense of familiarity.
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I remembered that Lao Gui and I seemed to have had a similar conversation.
"Do you think I'm a loan shark? If you fail, will your boss let you off? Little sister, you need to understand, who among those who can scheme doesn't have a few lives on their hands?"
After speaking, I watched the girl's reaction, staring at her.
I wasn't trying to see her reaction, just to see how I had reacted back then.
The girl's brow furrowed, her mind struggling. I added, "Continue?"
"Damn it!"
Following the first step of the plan, I called Luo Bo to unfreeze the locked account and then had the girl take the ten million back to gain her boss's trust.
"Releasing these ten million is like putting the fish back into the water. You need to think carefully," Luo Bo said over the phone.
"Release it!"
"What if she really runs away?"
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"Don't we have many fish at home?"
Luo Bo said angrily, "I won't manage it anymore. You'll bear the consequences."
I hung up the phone and added, "Are you going through menopause? Why are you so nagging?"
The girl's eyes widened as she looked at me. I smiled and said, "Go ahead, it's unfrozen. Your stage begins now."
...
The subsequent developments were ordinary. She made the plans, and I provided the money and resources. The con artist syndicate was walking step by step into a trap. The girl treaded carefully, moving forward with determination.
But in my eyes, she still had a hurdle to overcome. As I said, those who scheme often find themselves in dead ends. Who among them doesn't have a few lives on their hands?
Indeed...
What was bound to come, has come!
The con artist syndicate discovered the girl's deception and hired killers to end her life.
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...
"What's going on?"
The girl was saved from the brink of death by me. To be precise, the people sent to kill her turned against them.
Instead of answering her question directly, I said to the two killers, "Please thank Mr. Ke for me."
The two killers respectfully bowed to me and then turned to leave.
The girl understood and exclaimed, "Is this your stratagem of the mantis stalking the cicada, with the oriole behind?"
"In the world of schemers, there are countless people who can play the mantis stalking the cicada with the oriole behind. However, people like me never confine ourselves to the 'form' of a scheme. As long as you remember that 'all things in heaven and earth do not belong to me, but all things in heaven and earth can be used by me,' any difficulty can be overcome."
"All things in heaven and earth do not belong to me, but all things in heaven and earth can be used by me. Can anyone truly achieve this?"
I smiled. This girl's reaction was exactly like mine back then. I waved my hand, "Go. Deal with that boss, and do what you want to do."
A con artist syndicate was destroyed by a young girl. This all seems like a coincidence, but as long as I appeared, it was inevitable.
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...
Lao Gui and I sat in a restaurant, eating steamed chicken soup pot.
"That child has returned all the money she swindled over the years with the con artists."
"That's good!" Lao Gui replied with a smile.
Looking at Lao Gui, I asked him seriously, "If I hadn't returned the money back then, if I hadn't played the hero and kept the over four million for myself, would I never have met you?"
"Yes!"
"Teacher Wang Ren said, 'Dao comes before method.' Why did you only teach method and not mention Dao?"
"Anyone can learn the method. Your senior sister does better than you in that regard. But the Dao I desire is not something everyone possesses. A kind person can be deceived, but if a person lacks kindness, they will ultimately be irredeemably damned and fall into a dead end."
After speaking, Lao Gui sighed.
"Was Elder Wen De teaching you like this back then? In fact, I already know your and your fellow disciples' past. But before you joined, did you also undergo similar trials like me?"
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"If you want to know, order another steamed chicken soup pot."
"Don't you have money? You're going to starve to death."
"I told my wife I wouldn't be a greedy ghost anymore, but if you invite me, it's inconvenient for me to refuse."
Hearing him say this, I gave him a huge eye-roll: "Just keep your stories to yourselves, what about your body? Still eating and drinking excessively."
Just then, the kind girl, who had disappeared from our sight earlier, returned. Judging by the direction, it was the way I and she parted.
"She will definitely find you," Lao Gui said with a smile.
"Yes, this is destiny. Just like you found Elder Wen De, and I found you. When she finds me, it will be a new story."
Watching the girl's receding figure, Lao Gui suddenly asked, "What's that girl's name?"
"Wu Xiaoqian!"
《The End》