Chapter 2: The Scam

“This…”

The man with the flat-top haircut looked troubled, subconsciously patting his pockets. “I don’t have that much cash on me either. How about you give me 30,000? You can go claim the prize yourself!”

“I don’t have it either! What are we supposed to do now…”

The pockmarked man said with a miserable expression, “Look at me, do I look like someone who can pull out 30,000 yuan?”

“Teacher, please help us think of a way. Neither of us has that much money on us!”

The pockmarked man once again appealed to the man in glasses for assistance.

The man in glasses pondered for a moment, then tentatively suggested, “How about this: I’ll give you 30,000 yuan each, you give me the pull-tab, and I’ll go claim the prize?”

The pockmarked man and the flat-top exchanged glances, figuring that this way they would still each get 30,000 yuan, so they agreed. “Alright, let’s do that!”

The man in glasses immediately revealed a look of secret delight, then grabbed his briefcase and began searching for money.

At first, he looked quite pleased, but as his hands moved faster through the bag, his expression grew increasingly ugly, and beads of sweat began to seep from his forehead.

Finally, the man in glasses sighed mournfully. “Damn it, I didn’t bring much cash when I left today. I only have 30,000 yuan here! You guys definitely won’t sell for that. To see money that was almost in my hands just vanish like this—what rotten luck!”

“Huh?”

The pockmarked man and the flat-top were both stunned. The man in glasses didn’t have the money, and neither did they. How were they supposed to split the prize?

The pockmarked man couldn’t sit still. “Teacher, you’re learned and cultured; please help us think of another way…”

“Sigh, how about this? Let’s ask someone else…”

As he spoke, the man in glasses turned his face toward Lin Yi, who was sitting to the side. “Little brother, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get rich. Do you have any money? Give them 30,000 each, then you take the pull-tab to claim the prize, and you’ll make 20,000 in one go! Is there any way to make money faster than this? If I hadn’t forgotten my money, I would have taken this good fortune for myself…”

Lin Yi had been watching these three act out their play with cold eyes. It was obvious that they were all in on it together: the pockmarked man was Party A, the flat-top was Party B, and the man in glasses was the shill.

Although Lin Yi grew up in the mountains, he wasn’t a fool.

Don’t let his rustic attire fool you; when it came to knowledge, few could be his match, let alone these three bottom-tier con artists.

“Me?”

Lin Yi pretended to be surprised, pointed at himself, and asked, “Can I do it?”

“Yes, this good fortune has just descended upon you!”

Hearing Lin Yi ask if he could do it instead of saying he didn’t have money, the man in glasses was overjoyed. He knew that anyone who asked like that usually had the goods in their bag.

Just as Lin Yi was about to say something else, he felt his leg get kicked.

Lin Yi glanced to his right with his peripheral vision. It was a very beautiful girl, about the same age as him.

Her hair was like flowing water, and her skin was fair. Although she hadn’t stood up, Lin Yi estimated she was at least 1.65 meters tall—quite statuesque.

Ever since she boarded the train, she had been quietly listening to music on her phone.

Lin Yi had wanted to flirt a bit and chat to pass the time, but the girl had kept her earphones in, giving him no opening.

At this moment, the girl was looking at Lin Yi with an anxious expression. She wanted to say something but seemed hesitant, so she could only try to signal him with her eyes.

Lin Yi naturally understood what she meant: she didn’t want him to be swindled.

A warmth spread through Lin Yi’s heart. Weren’t people in big cities supposed to be cold and indifferent?

They usually ignored anything that didn’t concern them, so the fact that this girl was trying to warn him showed she had a kind heart.

Her image in Lin Yi’s mind immediately improved by several points.

It was important for a girl to be pretty, but if her heart was malicious, then her looks were useless.

That was Lin Yi’s standard for judging girls.

“Ahem!”

The flat-top sitting across from the girl seemed to notice her behavior. He coughed loudly and glared fiercely at her.

The girl turned pale with fright and lowered her head.

Of course, these small details couldn’t escape Lin Yi’s eyes.

However, Lin Yi was bored on this trip anyway, and he had been full of pent-up anger from his argument with the old man at home, with nowhere to vent it.

Since a few idiots had delivered themselves to his doorstep, how could Lin Yi miss this chance to toy with them?

Even though the girl had lowered her head, she continued to kick Lin Yi with her foot to warn him.

But Lin Yi acted as if he didn’t feel a thing, remaining completely unmoved.

“I only have 49,000 here, not that much!”

Lin Yi pretended to be honest and simple-minded as he stated the truth.

When the pockmarked man and the flat-top heard that Lin Yi had 49,000, their eyes lit up with brilliant greed.

However, they still kept bitter expressions on their faces. “Only 49,000? Isn’t that a bit low? How much would we each get?”

“49,000 divided by two is 24,500…” the flat-top calculated.

“24,500? That’s not bad. I agree. What about you?” the pockmarked man asked, nodding quickly.

“Fine, since you agree, I agree too,” the flat-top said, nodding. “Hand over the money.”

Lin Yi opened his backpack and took out a small bundle wrapped in newspaper. He unwrapped it layer by layer, revealing five stacks of tied-up banknotes.

“This is 49,000, that’s all there is… You guys count it,” Lin Yi said very plainly. “Give me the pull-tab!”

This money was the living expenses the old man had given him for the next several years. Lin Yi had earned the old man quite a bit of money over the years—take the last rescue mission in North Africa, for example; according to international standards, the reward should have been at least several hundred thousand.

Yet, when Lin Yi was about to leave, the old man had rummaged through every box and cabinet to find this 49,000 yuan from a tattered bag, claiming it was all the family had left and telling him to spend it sparingly.

This left Lin Yi feeling very depressed. Was the old man really broke, or was he just pretending to be poor?

It didn’t look like he was pretending; the old man ate the same things he did every day, and he never saw him enjoying any luxuries.

Could it be that he had overestimated the rewards for those missions?

“Alright, alright!”

The pockmarked man and the flat-top pounced on the money like starving wolves, dividing it up completely before handing the pull-tab to Lin Yi.

Lin Yi carefully tucked the pull-tab away, treating it like a precious treasure, terrified of losing it.

Seeing that the three con artists had succeeded, the girl sitting next to Lin Yi sighed helplessly.

Looking at Lin Yi’s excited, prize-winning expression, she really didn’t know what to say.

With the money in hand, the three con artists returned to their previous calm, acting as if they didn’t know each other, each going about their own business.