It's definitely a scam call!
Having heard this, Qin Mu was now certain. This call was a scam targeting elderly people. Thus, the middle-aged man on the phone, once connected, immediately put Zhang Qingyuan under various pressures, breaking his psychological defenses and making him panic and utterly flustered. With guidance throughout the call, handling everything based on "regulations" and "proper procedures," Old Zhang didn't have a moment to think it through. Especially since the man directly mentioned all sorts of personal information about Old Zhang and his family. This made the already naive elderly man even more convinced of his identity.
In fact, nowadays, information leaks are rampant in society. All sorts of platforms trade information, so getting hold of the Old Zhang Family's identity information isn't difficult. This is a premeditated, well-researched phone scam!
Qin Mu took a deep breath. He grew increasingly outraged by the fraudsters' despicable tactics. Young people have a smaller chance of being deceived, but the elderly are completely unaware of society's schemes. The basic phones they use are also unable to install the national anti-fraud app. They are precisely the primary targets of these scams.
"One hundred thousand yuan?" Old Zhang lamented, his face turning ugly as he listened to the middle-aged man on the phone. "Where am I going to find so much money? I've saved up my pension for ten years, and I only have thirty thousand yuan!"
"If the funds aren't unfrozen quickly, then Zhang Tianmin will have to remain in criminal detention," the cold voice of the middle-aged man came through the phone.
Just that one sentence made Old Zhang panic all over again.
The elderly folks in the same courtyard exchanged glances, then stepped forward with a strong sense of solidarity.
"Old Zhang, I've still got twenty thousand yuan in my pension, take it. Saving your son is what matters."
"Yeah, I've got a bit over ten thousand here too. I don't use it much anyway."
"My son just gave me several hundred yuan last week, you take it first…"
One by one, the elderly folks stepped forward, starting to crowdfund one hundred thousand yuan for Old Zhang. Some brought their passbooks; others brought cash directly. They lived in the retirement home together, without competing interests, and had very solid relationships. So, when they saw Old Zhang in trouble, they all offered a helping hand enthusiastically.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you all…" Old Zhang's hands trembled as he looked around, overcome with emotion.
Soon, he had gathered the one hundred thousand yuan.
"Have you gathered the money?" the middle-aged man's voice continued from the basic phone. "Since you've gathered it, then quickly transfer it to bank account xxxxxxxxx. Within seven business days of receiving the money, we will unfreeze all properties under Zhang Tianmin's name."
Old Zhang nodded hastily. Then, holding his passbook and the cash, he looked at Qin Mu for help. In the retirement home, Qin Mu was the only young person. He wanted Qin Mu's help with the transfer.
At this scene, the corners of Qin Mu's mouth involuntarily twitched.
Freaking transfer! This practically confirmed that the person on the other end was a ravenous wolf. Was he supposed to make a transfer to them?
He took another deep breath. Just as he was about to advise Zhang Qingyuan and expose the scammer's identity, suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.
"DING! A scam incident has been detected near the Host. System binding in progress!"
"DING! System binding complete, but a Prerequisite Task must be completed to activate the System!"
"DING! Based on the Current Event, three Prerequisite Tasks are now issued:
1. Decisively expose the real identity of the scammer and help Zhang Qingyuan and others recover their losses.
2. Pretend to comply with the scammer while secretly alerting the police to bring the scammer to justice.
3. Take the scam call seriously, making the scammer initiate a police report and fall into their own trap."
"DING! Each Prerequisite Task will unlock different rewards!!"
An ethereal panel appeared before him. Qin Mu stood there, stunned.
Three years. And unexpectedly, it was a scam call that activated the System. But to activate the System, a Prerequisite Task needed to be completed. Now, he had three options before him.
The first option was the easiest: just expose the scammer and recover the losses. But by doing that, it would mean letting the scammer off too easily. This was just what he could see in his vicinity. In corners he couldn't see, this group of scammers might have swindled countless elderly people of their life savings.
And the second option… would require stalling the scammer, then alerting the police and having them catch the scammer. But… he was well aware that these fraudsters' scam calls had undergone more than a dozen rounds of IP switching and rerouting. Even within the country, the police would find it extremely difficult to track down their whereabouts. It would most likely end in nothing being done. This was one of the reasons why phone scams were so rampant domestically.
Lastly, there was only the third option left.
"DING! Please make a decision quickly, Host!"
Suddenly, the voice in his mind urged him once more.
"I choose three!"
Without hesitation, Qin Mu decisively chose the third option.
This choice… making the fraudsters fall into their own trap, might seem a bit far-fetched. But… he still wanted to take them on seriously. He didn't want to let these scammers off so easily! In this world where people tended to let things slide, there always needed to be a few who took things seriously.
"DING! Congratulations, Host, for making choice three and activating the Seriousness System!"
"DING! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the Advanced Voice Disguise skill!"
"DING! This skill allows you to mimic any voice you have heard, deceiving both heaven and earth. Please use it with caution, Host!"
At the same time, Qin Mu noticed an invisible light flickering. His throat moved slightly.
It seemed… he could now easily imitate any voice!