Chapter 243 - 240: Debunking Street Scams

Chapter 243: Chapter 240: Debunking Street Scams

"Brother Fan, I was just asking if you guys wanted to go to the Old Street."

Wang Zibo sighed and had no choice but to repeat himself.

"Oh, right..."

Gu Yifan thought for a moment. "Hold on, let me ask your sister-in-law."

With that, he turned to look at Su Qinghe on the sofa.

At that moment, Su Qinghe’s face turned beet red at Gu Yifan’s "your sister-in-law."

’What nonsense is that Bully spouting!’

’I could just die of embarrassment!’

Despite her thoughts, her heart was filled with a sweet, bubbly feeling.

"Hey... Su Hanhan, Wang Zibo asked if we want to go wander around the Old Street. He said there are some National Day activities going on."

Gu Yifan said to Su Qinghe.

"Oh, I see..."

Su Qinghe’s cheeks were flushed. She thought for a moment before saying softly, "I’ll... I’ll listen to you."

"Ooh~"

...

Since it was the National Day holiday, the roads were packed with people and traffic was heavy. They were stuck in one traffic jam after another.

「An hour later.」

The trio finally arrived at the Old Street by taxi.

Wang Zibo was practically bouncing with excitement as they got out of the car. After Gu Yifan paid the fare, the three of them headed in.

The Old Street was one of the more famous streets in Mountain City.

It covered a large area and was essentially a sprawling market with a vast range of goods.

You could find just about anything for sale along the entire length of the Old Street.

The street was now a surging tide of people. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a dense sea of heads.

Seeing the scene, Gu Yifan was already starting to regret coming out. ’Dammit,’ he thought, ’this isn’t a fun outing, it’s a head-counting expedition!’

But since they were already here, it would be a total waste of the taxi fare if they didn’t at least take a look around.

Besides, he was here on a mission from the system.

The system’s missions weren’t mandatory, but Gu Yifan thought to himself that it was about time he gave Su Qinghe a proper gift.

After all, he hadn’t given her any truly meaningful gifts since they officially started dating.

’If I can find a decent piece of raw jadeite today, it would be perfect for making her a pendant or a bracelet.’

"Let’s go!"

"Let’s go check it out!"

Gu Yifan declared with a grand wave of his hand.

With that, he took Su Qinghe’s hand. Wang Zibo followed behind them as the trio plunged into the crowd on the Old Street.

As soon as they entered, they were captivated by all the strange little trinkets lining both sides of the street.

The place was huge. The street stretched on and on, with no end in sight.

Both sides of the street were already lined with stalls selling all sorts of goods. Further in, there were also many shops selling antiques and other curiosities.

In short, the market was a collection of goods from all over the country. It had practically everything; the only limit was your imagination.

Sure enough, Wang Zibo was immediately drawn to a roadside stall selling calligraphy and paintings—especially the piece of erotic art displayed in the most prominent spot.

The sight left him utterly dumbfounded.

’Holy shit!’

’People back then were really wild!’

’Even people today probably couldn’t come up with those moves and details!’

After walking a few steps further, Gu Yifan’s attention was caught by a stall surrounded by a crowd of onlookers.

The trio went closer for a look. On the stall was a cardboard box containing several small mice. A number of holes had been cut into the bottom of the box, with amounts ranging from ten to one hundred yuan written above them.

"Ten yuan for one try, fifty for six!"

The stall owner kept shouting his pitch: for ten yuan, you pick a mouse, and if it runs into one of the holes, you win the amount written above it.

A crowd had gathered around the stall, watching the little mice scurry around inside the box.

Several people had already played. Some won nothing, while others had supposedly won several hundred yuan.

Gu Yifan took one look.

’Heh!’

’Isn’t this just one of those common street scams from my past life?’

’Back in my previous life, with anti-scam awareness being so widespread, even an elementary school kid would know this was a rip-off!’

’The mice are trained. The owner just has to dab a potion with a specific scent over the desired hole, and the mouse will go right for it.’

’It’s basically a surefire way to make a profit!’

’And as for the few people who supposedly won hundreds of yuan? They’re obviously shills, no doubt about it.’

Gu Yifan couldn’t believe he was running into this kind of scam here.

Meanwhile, Wang Zibo looked completely intrigued, and even Su Qinghe was watching with a curious expression.

"Brother Fan, this looks fun. Why don’t... we play a few rounds?"

Wang Zibo whispered, his voice low enough for only their group to hear.

"Er..."

Gu Yifan froze for a second. ’Play a few rounds...?’

’Why does that sound so weird?’

"Don’t. It’s a scam."

Although the other two were a little confused, they chose to trust Gu Yifan since he was so certain.

Even though it wasn’t his business, Gu Yifan decided to expose the scam to prevent more people from getting cheated.

He quietly told Su Qinghe to call the police.

Then, Gu Yifan stepped forward and said to the stall owner, "Hey, boss, can I pick the mouse myself?"

The stall owner froze for a moment. When he processed the request, his face filled with hesitation.

Gu Yifan smirked, a teasing look on his face. "What’s the matter, boss? Is that too much to ask?"

"Since you’re not saying anything, can I assume there’s something fishy going on?"

The stall owner glanced at Gu Yifan, looking conflicted.

At that, the people nearby started to chime in.

"Hey, boss, there isn’t actually something fishy going on, is there?"

"You were the one picking the mice for us when we played just now!"

"That’s right! Hurry up, I want to play again, and I want to pick my own mouse this time!"

"Son of a bitch! I just lost several hundred yuan in a row here. You motherfucker, are you really running a scam?!"

Hearing the crowd’s outcry, the stall owner’s expression grew even more panicked.

Now, all the onlookers were convinced that something shady was definitely going on.

The stall owner exchanged a glance with the few shills next to him and hurriedly announced,

"That’s all for today, we’re closing up shop."

With that, they started packing up to make a run for it.

How could Gu Yifan let him get away? He’d already had the police called!

He stepped forward, blocking the stall owner’s path.

Seeing Gu Yifan’s actions, the onlookers also swarmed in, surrounding the stall owner.

Now everyone knew the stall owner was a fraud.

Gu Yifan said to the stall owner with contempt.

"The police will be here any minute. I’d advise you to just stay put. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what this crowd might do to you."

Seeing that things were going south, the shills quietly slipped out of the crowd and bolted. Gu Yifan didn’t bother chasing them; he was afraid that in the ensuing chaos, people might get hurt.

Besides, now that they had the ringleader, the others likely wouldn’t get away.

It was the National Day holiday, so the place was packed, but most people were probably just here for the spectacle.

After all, loving a good spectacle is practically a national tradition in Dragon Country...