Although the streets of Nanning were filled with various banners, such as 'Any Promotion of the 1040 Project is a Pyramid Scheme,' 'Any Payment of 69,800 is a Scam'… and so forth, they were everywhere. Yet, no one believed these, but still, some people took them seriously.

"Damn it, the entire city is involved in pyramid selling." Lu Dapao cursed out loud.

"Yeah!" Lin Chuan nodded in agreement.

"Bro Chuan, why isn't the government taking action?" Zhou Kai asked puzzledly: "I specifically searched online, and many people have fallen into such traps, becoming utterly bankrupt isn't uncommon."

"You expect the government to intervene?" Lin Chuan sneered: "The government would rather have more people participating in this."

"Why?" Zhou Kai was even more puzzled.

"With the influx of external capital into the local area, that's when the local economy can be revitalized," Lin Chuan snorted lightly and continued: "Moreover, with a large number of outsiders flooding into the local area, they need to eat, drink, and live, right? All these are expenditures that in turn drive the local economy. Do you think with such huge economic benefits, the government will step in?"

"This…" Zhou Kai furrowed his brows and said: "But, it is illegal after all!"

"When did the state declare it illegal?" Lin Chuan sneered: "As early as in the nineties, pyramid schemes were introduced from abroad by the country, only to be banned a few years later when they realized it could collapse the national economy. Furthermore, the more you try to prohibit something, the harder it is to eradicate it."

"You're right," Zhou Kai nodded.

Following the navigation, they soon approached an old building.

When they reached the area with old buildings, the navigation indicated that they had arrived at the destination. After arriving, they quickly stepped out of the car. Zhou Kai curiously looked around and questioned, "Could Liu Cheng be nearby?"

"Perhaps," Lin Chuan nodded and responded: "Or perhaps, he tricked you!"

"He's in Nanning!" Zhou Kai stated firmly: "When he posted in his WeChat Moments, I already saw his address, it's definitely in Nanning, no mistake."

"But Nanjing is so large, are you sure it's on Nanjing Road?" Lin Chuan asked.

"Yes." Zhou Kai nodded, looked around, and then added: "He told me once before, it's in this residential area. But he didn't specify which buildings or units. However, we can ask around at the entrance of the residential area."

"I think it's better not to," Lin Chuan chuckled: "They are very wary of outsiders, it won't be easy to get any information."

"So what do we do?" Zhou Kai asked.

At this moment, Zhao Zhonghai tightened his belt and, with a cigarette in his mouth, came over and said: "We can stake out the nearby grocery market or supermarket. It's almost mealtime now, he might come out to buy groceries or eat."

"Right," Lin Chuan nodded: "We can coordinate and work together."

Soon, each person was assigned a task—Huang Bo staked out the entrance to the residential area, Lin Chuan took responsibility for searching the grocery market, Zhou Kai went to investigate in nearby restaurants, and Zhao Zhonghai would make a trip to the supermarket...each person had their own task, and any encounters would be immediately communicated through group texts.

Lin Chuan went to the grocery market.

This road was rather old, and the market was large, but notably dilapidated. It housed a large population, as Nanning's inflow of outsiders was substantial, ninety percent of which came here to engage in pyramid selling, the so-called 1040 project, and even so-called chain operations...

As Lin Chuan arrived at the grocery market, a nauseating stench wafted toward him. The entrance was piled with rotten garbage, forming a dark heap. Perhaps due to days without cleaning, a putrid smell permeated from it. From that pile of trash, streaks of dark liquid flowed, and stepping on it even felt sticky.

"Damn it!" Lin Chuan frowned, "It's so dirty?"

Curiously, Lin Chuan walked around but unfortunately didn't discover much.

Given the large crowd, finding Liu Cheng among so many people proved to be a challenging task. Lin Chuan searched through the crowd with a glimmer of hope.

"Brother, spare some money please!" Suddenly, a filthy figure grabbed Lin Chuan's clothes.

The voice sounded familiar, Lin Chuan turned his head and saw a dirty beggar, hair greasy and unkempt. When Lin Chuan saw him, he was immediately stunned: "Liu Cheng, you… how..."

"Lin Chuan?" Liu Cheng was also shocked, he quickly turned around to leave, dropping a sentence: "Sorry, you've mistaken me for someone else."

As he finished speaking, Liu Cheng took off running.

"Stop!" Lin Chuan urgently shouted.

However, the man ran faster than a rabbit. With the market's heavy foot traffic, Lin Chuan quickly lost distance to him.

"Damn it!" Lin Chuan sprinted in pursuit.

Liu Cheng, evidently more familiar with the area, ran into a narrow alley amidst Lin Chuan's chase. Lin Chuan dashed into it swiftly. The alley was small, cluttered with various materials, most critically, it was crowded with playing children and some elderly women resting inside.

When Lin Chuan hurried in, Liu Cheng had already disappeared without a trace.

In the alley, many people were staring at him. Lin Chuan frowned, but he quickly caught a glimpse of Liu Cheng's whereabouts from their expressions and gazes. He hastily pulled out his phone, sent a group text message, and shared his location.

He walked slowly into the alley, heading towards the area where some people were sneakily looking.

At the doorway of a house, there was a pile of firewood, and a child holding a rice bowl was standing there, occasionally glancing behind the firewood. Clearly, something must be hidden there, otherwise, why would they keep looking over?

Lin Chuan walked slowly, step by step, towards the spot.

Suddenly, a dark figure burst out from behind the pile of firewood. Liu Cheng, grasping a thick and long piece of firewood, fiercely smashed it towards Lin Chuan.

"Stop chasing me, stop chasing me, I don't know you!" Liu Cheng roared.

Swoosh...

Lin Chuan quickly dodged the attack and effortlessly avoided several continuous strikes. Liu Cheng emitted a foul smell, and Lin Chuan frowned, asking, "How did you end up like this?"

"It's none of your business, I don't know you," Liu Cheng roared again.

"Liu Cheng, what on earth are you trying to do!" Lin Chuan shouted sternly.

Liu Cheng, like an angry lion, wildly swung the weapon in his hands, even though it had no effect on Lin Chuan. Yet, Liu Cheng kept firmly grasping the weapon and attacking.

Lin Chuan dodged nimbly, while Liu Cheng relentlessly pressed forward.

Lin Chuan kept evading him, actually unsure how to handle this situation. The sudden transformation of Liu Cheng into such a state was unbelievable and deeply painful for him. Seeing a good person turn like this in just over half a month in this damned place was unbearably hard.

With Lin Chuan's abilities, he could easily subdue Liu Cheng. But what to do after subduing him? That was Lin Chuan's biggest headache. So now, he just wanted to control Liu Cheng and wait for Zhou Kai and the others to arrive; it seemed more appropriate to leave this matter to Zhou Kai.

Lin Chuan thus entangled Liu Cheng, preventing him from escaping.

Soon, they were located and swiftly reached via GPS navigation to this alley in the vegetable market.

"Liu Cheng." At that moment, Zhou Kai roared.

Seeing Liu Cheng waving a large piece of wood to attack Lin Chuan, Zhou Kai's anger surged. He and Lu Dapao rushed forward speedily, swiftly overpowering Liu Cheng. Zhou Kai seized the weapon from Liu Cheng's hand, and Lu Dapao firmly gripped Liu Cheng's arm, swiftly settling the matter.

"Let me go, let me go!" Liu Cheng screamed hysterically.

Slap...

Suddenly, Zhou Kai slapped Liu Cheng and angrily said, "You scoundrel, what on earth are you trying to do!"

"You!" Liu Cheng looked at Zhou Kai incredulously, saying, "Kai, you... you actually dare to hit me!"

"Have you gone mad?" Zhou Kai glared at Liu Cheng, saying, "What do you want now? Want to sever ties with us brothers? Or do you want to anger your parents to death? We brothers drove thousands of miles to this hellish place to find you, and here you are, daring to attack us."

"I..." Liu Cheng's eyes were shaken.

"What 'I'!" Zhou Kai scolded, "Dammit, do you know your parents cry every day at home? And yet you're here doing this damned MLM. Do you think this is fair to your parents' nurturing, to your brothers?"

Liu Cheng's eyes softened, and his strength waned.

"Sorry!" Liu Cheng said dejectedly.

"What good is saying sorry now?" Zhou Kai glared at Liu Cheng, saying, "What you need to do now is to go back with us. Live uprightly and work honestly. We'll still be brothers after all, and the transport market business isn't doing badly. If you work hard, you can make thousands, even tens of thousands a month. Why choose to live this eerie life in this damned place?"

"I can't go back!" Liu Cheng shook his head.

"Why?" Zhou Kai asked coldly.

"Because... because I'm about to succeed," Liu Cheng said through gritted teeth.

"What success?" Zhou Kai asked curiously.

"I'm about to earn a million and forty thousand," Liu Cheng looked earnestly at Zhou Kai, saying, "I've gathered many downlines, and I'm about to succeed. How... how can I give up now?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.