Chapter 114: Chapter 112: Just Right to Take Them All Out in One Go (Please Subscribe)
As dusk fell, the hustle and bustle of the city gradually receded.
Street-side food stalls, like newly lit lanterns, brighten the nighttime corners. Inside the shops, simple folding wooden tables are placed haphazardly, and the owner busily stirs the wok, the clanging of the iron pan against the spatula rising and falling continuously.
All sorts of people crowded the area, a cacophony of noise.
However, with the arrival of a police car and two officers, the bustling food stalls suddenly quieted down, as if in the student days when the noisy classroom would fall silent at the sight of the teacher stepping in.
Old Lin’s Food Stall, in a corner.
The two police officers headed straight for Lin Chuan, drawing the attention of everyone at the food stalls to his location.
Fortunately, Lin Chuan had plenty of experience dealing with such situations.
The people who came were also familiar faces.
Indeed, when you have someone looking out for you from above, you just feel more confident.
“Officer Shen, have you eaten yet?” Lin Chuan asked with a smile.
“Not yet. The station has been working overtime because of your case,” responded Shen Qianqian with a frown, pursing her lips.
“Comrades, why don’t we eat together first?” Lin Chuan lifted his head, looked at the two officers, and patted the empty stool next to him, issuing an invitation to join him for a meal.
“Comrade Lin Chuan, we are still on duty,” Shen Qianqian replied with a smile.
Lin Chuan let out a dry laugh, “You’re fast. I just took down my book, and here you are.”
Pointing to Wang Zikai beside her, Shen Qianqian said with a laugh, “He reported it to Qiqi, so I came over directly.”
After taking a sip of tea, Lin Chuan stood up, chuckled, and said, “Well, I won’t delay your work. I’ll cooperate with your investigation. Do you need to cuff me?”
With a smile that lit up her face, Shen Qianqian chided, “Comrade Lin Chuan, you are now a treasure to Anling. Who would dare to cuff you? We’re just inviting you back for a chat.”
“It’s not an arrest or a subpoena?” Lin Chuan raised an eyebrow.
Shen Qianqian nodded, “That’s right, we’re ‘inviting’ you.”
Standing nearby, Wang Zikai gave a thumbs up, “Old Lin, you’ve got some serious clout now, even Officer Shen is here to invite you!”
Lin Chuan spat in jest and retorted, “Shall I ‘invite’ you then?”
“No, no, no!”
Wang Zikai shook his head repeatedly, “I dare not. Not everyone can walk in and out like you can.”
Lin Chuan quirked his lips, “I abide by the law, why shouldn’t I be able to come out?”
“Alright, get going and come back soon,” Wang Zikai said with a grin.
“Comrade Lin Chuan, don’t be nervous, it’s just like going home,” Shen Qianqian said with a wink and a laugh.
Two black lines instantly appeared on Lin Chuan’s face.
This ‘home’ is definitely not one to return to!
What kind of good person goes home only to end up at the police station?
“Let’s go, it shouldn’t take too long,” Shen Qianqian said with a laugh.
Lin Chuan nodded and then got into the police car with Shen Qianqian.
The dazzling headlights of the police car shone on the road to Anling Police Station, and soon after, Lin Chuan stepped out of the car and entered the police station as if he was walking on a familiar path.
Truth be told.
He was quite familiar with this place.
Walking through the spacious and brightly lit corridors, the walls adorned with various honors and distinguished deeds, and then further on, the various functional rooms.
“That is the Criminal Investigation Detachment area,” Shen Qianqian said with a smile, walking beside Lin Chuan.
The Anti-Fraud Center is part of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, but it has a somewhat more independent office area.
“I’m not too familiar with the Anti-Fraud Center.”
Lin Chuan said with an embarrassed smile.
“Come with me,” Shen Qianqian led the way in front, and soon brought Lin Chuan into the reception room of the Anti-Fraud Center.
Inside the reception room.
Director Zhou Tong of the Anti-Fraud Center had already prepared tea. When he saw Lin Chuan arrive, he stood up to greet him with a smile, “Comrade Lin Chuan, the incident happened suddenly, and we had to ask you to come.”
Zhou Tong, a middle-aged man with a crew cut, slightly dark skin, heavy bags under his eyes, and thinning hair.
It was clear that fighting fraud was a draining and strenuous task.
“Director Zhou, cooperating with the investigation is my duty,” Lin Chuan said with a smile, having had contact with Zhou Tong when developing the anti-fraud app.
“Please, have a seat,” Zhou Tong extended his hand, motioning Lin Chuan to sit, then poured him a cup of tea before saying, “Comrade Lin Chuan, we received an order from the higher-ups that someone accused you of collaborating with a factory area to engage in fraud activities.”
“Engaging in fraud activities?”
Lin Chuan’s eyebrows shot up, slightly surprised.
Zhou Tong took a sip of tea and laughed, “It indeed seems absurd. However, the so-called ‘evidence’ was submitted to the Cyberspace Administration, which led to the removal of your novel ‘All-In.’ As a result, the Anling Anti-Fraud Center received orders to investigate according to the law.”
Lin Chuan suddenly understood.
No wonder his novel was taken down. Being reported to the Cyberspace Administration was indeed not something Sailing Novel could shield against.
However, the charge of ‘engaging in fraud activities’ was a bit far-fetched.
Not only had Lin Chuan not engaged in fraud, but he had also been involved in the anti-fraud business—developing an anti-fraud app.
And it was in collaboration with the Anling Police Station.
Righteous and legitimate!
If the accusation had been of a different crime, perhaps both Anling Police Station and Lin Chuan might have had to expend some effort. But the charge of ‘engaging in fraud activities’ was absolutely impossible.
When Anling Police Station collaborated with Lin Chuan, authorizing him to lead the development of the anti-fraud app, they had conducted a background check on him.
In short, reliable!
Zhou Tong continued, “When we received the notice today, we once again conducted the necessary investigation. Comrade Shen Qianqian is familiar with your situation. She and I examined the evidence for authenticity and determined it to be forged. So, we invited you here tonight to conduct a routine investigation and, as the director instructed, to check if you have any enemies.”
Having heard this, Lin Chuan had a rough understanding of the whole affair.
This time, it was a case of malicious reporting.
The accuser even went to the trouble of forging related evidence, which led to the novel being removed and the person being invited to the police station for a chat.
Lin Chuan pondered for a moment, then asked, “What about Director Zhang?”
“Director Zhang had something come up and specifically instructed Officer Shen and me to receive you,” Zhou Tong said with a sip of tea, smiling.
Shen Qianqian was sitting on the side, nodding as well, “Director Zhang has instructed that you can discuss anything with Director Zhou.”
Lin Chuan nodded slightly, glanced at Zhou Tong, and spoke, “I shouldn’t have any personal grudges with anyone, but I might have some friction with certain organizations.”
“Elaborate, and I will report the details to Director Zhang,” Zhou Tong said.
Lin Chuan smiled and responded, “Director Zhang knows about it too, AW, and a factory area in the Myanmar area, where Officer Shen and I arrested their 15 external agents in Lincang not long ago.”
Zhou Tong took notes one by one.
Zhang Biao had specifically instructed him to ensure Lin Chuan’s safety, so someone reporting Lin Chuan indicated that someone wanted to target him.
This was a dangerous signal.
Therefore, Zhang Biao paid particular attention to it.
Zhou Tong refilled Lin Chuan’s tea and brought up another matter, “How’s the development process of the anti-fraud app going?”
Lin Chuan pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, “Currently, it’s undergoing relevant testing and is expected to be completed within three days.”
“That’s excellent.”
Zhou Tong’s eyes lit up, “I’ll start contacting the app stores right away and begin the pre-launch promotion for the anti-fraud app.”
“Sounds good,” Lin Chuan nodded.
…
The night was hazy.
The evening breeze gently brushed by, the branches swayed, casting dancing shadows under the bright red flag at the Anling Police Station, where Lin Chuan and Shen Qianqian walked side by side.
Lin Chuan was ‘released without charges’.
Shen Qianqian had also finished her shift.
“Comrade Lin Chuan, our Anti-Fraud Center has submitted an explanation of the situation and the corresponding evidence to the Cyberspace Administration. Your novel should be unblocked soon,” Shen Qianqian spoke.
Lin Chuan nodded, “Thanks, Officer Shen.”
“I’m off duty now, and not on official business; you should call me ‘Qianqian’, not Officer Shen,” Shen Qianqian tucked her hair behind her ear, smiling lightly.
Lin Chuan flashed a grin, “Thanks, Qianqian.”
Shen Qianqian pressed her lips together, a smile curving on her face, “Comrade Lin Chuan, I’m just being truthful. If you were to commit any criminal acts, I would still handcuff you!”
“I’m very law-abiding; you won’t get the chance,” Lin Chuan laughed.
“I hope that’s true.”
Shen Qianqian smiled radiantly, “By the way, about tonight’s incident, who do you think reported you?”
As they walked, Lin Chuan shook his head, “I can’t be sure yet.”
Shen Qianqian’s eyebrows furrowed, “Are there any suspects?”
At this moment, the two arrived at the entrance of the police station.
Lin Chuan turned around, pondered for a moment, and then said, “There are suspects, indeed.”
“Let’s hear them.”
“First, both Ming and I participated in the anti-fraud essay competition, ranking in the top two. The novel’s perspective could easily become a point of contention, since it’s about factory fraudsters, so the accuser might be a peer,” Lin Chuan explained.
For non-plagiarized works, peer reporting wasn’t uncommon.
Lin Chuan had seen it all too often in the online literature circle, stemming from either competing interests or sheer jealousy.
“Peers…”
Shen Qianqian murmured, “What else?”
“I’m more inclined to suspect the second one, the people from the factory area in the Myanmar area,” Lin Chuan said with a smile.
“The Myanmar area factory… you mean, because we took down their network last time, they hold a grudge?” Shen Qianqian’s brows knit together slightly.
Lin Chuan shook his head, smiling, “That might be a reason, but the most likely one is that they didn’t want ‘All-In’ and ‘The Years I Was Tricked into the Factory Area’ to be read by more people.”
Shen Qianqian looked surprised, “You mean, their influence?”
“Exactly,” Lin Chuan nodded, “It’s not vain speculation. Both books allow readers to see the real situation inside the factories very vividly and have sparked much discussion, acting as an effective anti-fraud campaign.”
He had read Ming’s ‘The Years I Was Tricked into the Factory Area’; the portrayal of the factory was very realistic.
The parts of the factory Lin Chuan had experienced in the Virtual World closely resembled it.
So Lin Chuan was well aware of the strong effect such novels could have in literature-based anti-fraud efforts.
Of course, ‘All-In’ was no exception.
“Lin Chuan, if the factory honed in on you, that could be troublesome,” Shen Qianqian said with a half-furrowed brow, somewhat worriedly.
She pondered in her heart.
If it really was the work of the factory, could Lin Chuan really stand up to those cunning fraudsters?
“No trouble at all, if they dare to come knocking, I’ll take them out all at once.”
Lin Chuan smiled lightly, an air of nonchalance on his face,
but a touch of icy determination flashed in his eyes.
In the cover of night.
Shen Qianqian stood beside Lin Chuan, looking at his profile, taken aback. Ripples formed in her heart, spreading and reverberating continuously.
The way Lin Chuan looked then was very similar to his demeanor on that country road when facing 15 fraudsters.
Confidence!
Absolute confidence!
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