Everything, absolutely everything, made him doubt again. The person on the other end was far too similar to a gang boss—their tone cruel, cold-blooded, and heartless.
At this moment... he had long since forgotten his original goal of swindling money. His mind was flooded with scenes from the call, replaying over and over. It was almost impossible to distinguish truth from falsehood.
「Half an hour later.」
He finally forced himself to calm down and took a deep breath. He shook his head vigorously.
"No, that's not right!"
"That was just a voice on the phone; it might not be real!"
"I can't scare myself!"
Even though the voice on the phone sounded incredibly real, he hadn't seen it with his own eyes; they might just be bluffing to deceive him. In their line of work, one must possess strong mental fortitude and resilience to pressure. He absolutely couldn't let himself be conned in return!
"My IP address has changed seven times, jumping almost every second, and the total call only lasted thirty minutes. Even the police couldn't possibly trace my location!" Shen Fei muttered.
His grim expression finally relaxed as he sat up straight again. He steadied his breathing, picked up another set of documents, and prepared to target another elderly person.
However, after that phone call, he no longer possessed the calm composure he'd had during previous scams. His voice even sounded a little unsteady.
"Hello, this is the Municipal Criminal Investigation Task Force. We are formally notifying you that your son, due to suspicion of criminal offenses, has been taken into criminal detention by us and is currently under investigation."
「At the same time.」
In Jin City, inside the nursing home.
"BEEP BEEP BEEP—"
Zhang Qingyuan listened to the busy signal from the senior's phone and finally processed what had happened, his face etched with panic and trepidation.
"It's over, it's all over! Why did the police hang up on me?"
"Will my son ever come back?"
"Xiao Qin, you... you... why did you impersonate me just now, and... and..." Zhang Qingyuan glared reproachfully at Qin Mu, his whole body trembling with anger, his words becoming jumbled.
By his side, Li Weiguo also looked at Qin Mu with some reproach. Just moments ago, Qin Mu had imitated his voice and even "killed" him off over the phone. Moreover, he had painted a thoroughly convincing portrait for the "police" of Zhang Qingyuan as an outlaw. If they hadn't witnessed it with their own eyes, they would never have believed Qin Mu could conjure such a realistic scene with his voice alone!
"Old Zhang, don't panic." Faced with their complaints, Qin Mu smiled faintly and patted Zhang Qingyuan's shoulder. After three years in the nursing home, he was very familiar with everyone, and they all spoke to each other informally. "Who said that call was from the police?"
Zhang Qingyuan was stunned. Still fuming, he couldn't help but look up at Qin Mu. He then heard Qin Mu continue, "Actually, that was a scam call."
As Qin Mu finished speaking, Zhang Qingyuan's eyes widened in disbelief. It wasn't just him; Li Weiguo and the other elderly residents in the nursing home also looked utterly bewildered. Clearly, not a single one of them had doubted the call's authenticity.
"You mean... that was a scammer? Pretending to be the police?" Stunned for a few seconds, Zhang Qingyuan swallowed hard and couldn't help asking, "But... how did he know my name, where I live, and my family's information?" He felt that, apart from the police, no one could possibly find out such details.
"Yeah, that person said he was from a special task force," another elder chimed in.
"His tone was so serious and official, just like on the news. How could it be fake?"
"Are you sure you didn't get it wrong?" Li Weiguo and several other elderly people also gathered around, voicing their doubts.
Seeing this, Qin Mu couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile. These elderly folks' thoughts... they're still stuck in the past, believing no one would dare impersonate the police. Their vigilance against such calls is far too low.
He then patiently explained to Zhang Qingyuan, Li Weiguo, and the others about the rampant problem of information leaks in modern society. However, after listening, Zhang Qingyuan and the others merely nodded, seeming to half-understand but not truly convinced.
In desperation, Qin Mu shrugged. "Why don't you try calling your son?"
Only then did Zhang Qingyuan realize what to do. He picked up his senior's phone and dialed the number he had known by heart for most of his life. About a dozen seconds later, the call connected.
"Hello? Dad? What is it now? Didn't we just talk a couple of days ago? I'm in a meeting right now." An impatient voice came from the other end.
But upon hearing this voice, the anxiety that had gripped Zhang Qingyuan's heart completely vanished. "No, nothing... I just felt like calling you."
After a few brief words, the person on the other end hastily hung up. Yet Zhang Qingyuan was beaming, his face wreathed in smiles once more.
"So it really was a scammer?"
At this point, Li Weiguo and the others were thoroughly convinced by Qin Mu's words. The speaker on the senior's phone had been very loud, and they had heard everything clearly. The caller had claimed Old Zhang's son was arrested, suspected of a criminal offense. Now it was obvious; it had all been a lie.
"Actually, when you encounter calls like this, the most important thing is not to panic. You must immediately try to confirm the truth of what they're saying," Qin Mu patiently advised the elderly residents. "Scammers exploit the fact that panic clouds judgment, aiming to deceive people within a few short hours."
Often, if people just take a moment to think, they'll realize it's a scam. However, skilled fraudsters excel at creating intense psychological pressure, causing their targets to lose their initiative and blindly follow instructions. And the more vulnerable elderly have gradually become their prime targets.
「At the same time,」
A voice sounded in Qin Mu's mind. Ethereal text appeared before his eyes.
"DING! Congratulations, Host, for interrupting the fraudster's plan, causing them panic and disarray. Preliminary Task completion: 40%."
"DING! Congratulations, Host. Current completion rate reward: 40 Luck Points."
"Friendly Reminder: The task target is still attempting fraud. Please continue your efforts, Host, and complete the Preliminary Task as soon as possible!"
Qin Mu frowned. This Option Three task I chose... it's only 40% complete. My whole act and counter-scare only managed to make them panic. More importantly... the scammer actually hasn't given up and is continuing to scam other people!