Chapter 2468: Two Easy Marks
"Sir, would you like us to contact the nearby Enforcement Team to help you find them?" the staff member asked.
"Does the Enforcement Team handle that?" Xu Huo had recorded the footage. Not to mention that the Painting Woman had left voluntarily with someone else, even if she had been suddenly abducted, as long as it didn't threaten the local residents, the Enforcement Team probably wouldn't bother.
"Of course. This is a city with a very high safety rating. The Enforcement Team is also responsible for the personal safety of Outer Zone players, though it's not free of charge," the staff member said.
Xu Huo was a bit interested. He had the staff member contact the Enforcement Team, and sure enough, the team quickly sent two players over. They first asked about the circumstances of the "disappearance," collected a not-insignificant initial fee, and only then officially began the investigation.
First, based on the woman's physical characteristics, they found traces of her in the nearby surveillance footage. However, due to investigation permission issues, the two of them had to coordinate with the Enforcement Team in another area before they could continue tracking her through the surveillance equipment.
Second, they sent an internal message to Enforcement Team members in the vicinity, asking them to keep an eye out for the Painting Woman and that woman. If they encountered them, they were to lock onto them but not alert them.
Finally, they took Xu Huo personally to handle the coordination matters.
To be fair, their efficiency was quite high, and the various departments cooperated well. There was no deliberate delay, nor were there issues with permissions being blocked at every level. So they quickly learned the subsequent itinerary of the Painting Woman and that woman.
Rather than calling that woman a swindler, it would be more accurate to call her a shopping guide. She took the Painting Woman to several luxury goods stores. Each time they came out, the Painting Woman either had a few more bags in her hands or a couple more accessories on her person. After shopping, the woman took her to a welfare home and had her donate money.
That's right, she had her donate money. The equipment recorded the entire process.
The woman talked a mile a minute as she accompanied the Painting Woman into the welfare home. The children of all ages inside, wearing the standard uniforms issued by the government, lined up to perform a show for her. Then they presented handmade crafts. Finally, they opened a terminal device and projected a large banner reading "Thank you, kind benefactor, for supporting XX Welfare Home" above the welfare home building. This scrolled alongside the children's heartfelt wishes like "Wishing big sister eternal happiness" and "Big sister is beautiful and kind."
The Painting Woman watched the show, listened to the children's sweet words, pulled out her terminal, and transferred a large sum of money to the welfare home.
Thought that was the end?
How naive.
After the luxury spending and the charitable donation, the "shopping guide" transformed into a "tour guide" and took the Painting Woman to an entertainment venue.
Thanks to technological advancements, the "signboards" these entertainment venues displayed at their entrances looked no different from real people—faces were faces, muscles were muscles, half-hidden and half-exposed, stirring the imagination.
The Painting Woman went to an entertainment venue specifically for women. It was a private space, so surveillance equipment couldn't get in. But just based on the fact that she went in and stayed for so long without coming out, it was likely she was having too much fun to think of leaving.
"This young lady should be fine," the two Enforcement Team members dutifully accompanied Xu Huo on this trip. They found the Painting Woman in a private room, happily spending money. The woman who had led her there was nowhere to be seen.
Seeing Xu Huo, the Painting Woman immediately pushed the man beside her away, ran over to him, pointed at the floating holographic menu, and asked him which one looked better.
"Since the person has been found, our job here is done," one of the Enforcement Team members said with a smile. "You can settle the remaining balance on your terminal."
With that, they hurried off without stopping.
"Look." The Painting Woman shoved the menu in front of him again.
"Look at what?" Xu Huo said with a wry smile. "Look at two easy marks?"
Having traveled through so many districts, this was the first time he'd encountered the Enforcement Team leading the charge in fleecing people.
Of course, the entire process was suggestive rather than coercive, so it couldn't be entirely called a scam. After all, they did do some work.
Coldly rejecting the Painting Woman's suggestion to "play a little longer," Xu Huo took her back to the hotel.
The staff member came up to greet them. Xu Huo didn't pursue the matter of the Enforcement Team leading him on a wild goose chase. Instead, he asked if there had been people watching the hotel all along.
The staff member, feeling obligated since he'd taken the money, revealed a bit about the locals' tactics.
Some locals would pick out guests who seemed "rich but gullible" and take them out to spend money. This process was, of course, mutually agreeable, and they wouldn't actually coerce Outer Zone players—besides players, the Yongxing Hotel also housed quite a few wealthy tourists visiting Zone 001.
Of course, this was just one part of it. Some people would take the opportunity to gouge customers, even causing serious consequences. But because these people were from other zones, it was hard to say whether they had died, gone missing, or left on their own. Zone 001's laws had specific provisions for foreign tourists, which led to the final compromise of the Enforcement Team handling matters for a fee. By using the Enforcement Team's Message Collection Terminal system, those in need could pay out of their own pockets. This both facilitated things for Outer Zone tourists and reduced the pressure on the Enforcement Team.
Xu Huo sensed a different implication from this. "Some people specifically target Outer Zone residents?"
The staff member gave him a meaningful smile. "There are so many players. It's not surprising that a few of them engage in criminal activities."
Xu Huo nodded, gave him another tip, and then returned to the room with the Painting Woman.
The Painting Woman hadn't gone out purely for fun. After putting her things down, she spilled the beans like a bag of marbles, telling him that several groups of people had actually been following him along the way. Some looked like ordinary people, but a few were formidable players.
The Painting Woman wasn't stupid. She could still tell whether someone had malicious intent. Logically speaking, since she had followed that woman to so many places, even if the woman had accomplices, they wouldn't have needed to send additional people to tail her. So the ones who followed along the way could only be another group.
In fact, it wasn't just them being followed. Those people seemed to be casting a wide net, as if they were selecting targets. They didn't follow anyone all the way to the end.
"Saying it's 'following' is a bit of a stretch," Xu Huo said. The people he had encountered at the library earlier, and the ones watching outside the Yongxing Hotel—they seemed more like they had a fixed surveillance range. They didn't target a specific player. Instead, anyone who entered a certain area would attract their attention. Some they followed for a while, others for a shorter time, as if they were indiscriminately collecting information on everyone.
This seemed more like a screening process.
The Enforcement Team charging money to run errands for Outer Zone residents, along with Zone 001's laws and regulations concerning Outer Zone players, was likely a chain reaction caused by this situation. If the problem weren't serious enough, the Enforcement Team wouldn't have needed to add extra work.
Not being able to commit crimes against local residents, turning their sights on those kite-like Outer Zone residents to avoid direct conflict with the Enforcement Team and the District Government—that was a normal line of thinking. But if it had reached the point where the District Government had to take measures, then it probably wasn't a small-scale issue. This city... and even this entire district, might be the same.