Enforcer Manual
Chapter 717 - 715: Beware of Telecommunications Fraud_1

Chapter 717: Chapter 715: Beware of Telecommunications Fraud_1

Melissa’s attitude was so sincere that Song Lan couldn’t help but think someone must have given him false information.

The information he had received claimed that a cyber lunatic had somehow broken free from handcuffs and even regained control of her prosthetic body. She was extremely dangerous; anyone who approached her could be sliced into pieces in an instant.

Song Lan had already braced himself for a tough fight, yet he didn’t expect that the battle would draw to a close before it even began.

The cyber lunatic even took the initiative to introduce herself.

Melissa, 26 years old, usually lived in a dormitory provided by the anti-terrorist mobile squad.

"Rob Lucci."

Out of courtesy, Song Lan shook hands with her.

But he soon regretted it because Melissa showed just how troublesome a cyber lunatic could be in another way—after the handshake, she was reluctant to let go, turning what should have been a polite gesture into something resembling an arm-wrestling match.

What was worse, Director Lu was now watching them through surveillance. She was supposed to report Melissa’s location to him in a timely manner, yet she had been silent for a long time.

A sense of foreboding grew stronger.

"Melissa...?"

"Mr. Lucky, I have actually admired you for a long time."

Melissa’s eyes sparkled, but they deeply hurt Song Lan’s eyes. He needed to make it clear that he had never met this girl before, let alone had any private communication with her.

This was preposterous!

"Could you be mistaking me for someone else?"

"No mistake, after our chance meeting at the street corner that day, you’ve been on my mind."

With Melissa’s reminder, Song Lan finally remembered when they had met—it was the only time he had ever made contact with the anti-terrorist mobile squad. Like everyone else, Melissa had been in uniform and wearing a helmet at the time, making it impossible to recognize anyone’s identity.

Melissa’s overly enthusiastic demeanor had frozen the atmosphere, so much so that he even forgot the initial purpose of his visit.

That’s right, he was actually there to stop a riot incited by a cyber lunatic.

With the precedent set by the Counter-Intelligence Department, the agents of Military Intelligence Section Seven were all reticent to confront Melissa directly, dreading her reckless methods and fearing that, in her dying moment, she might take them down with her. Hence, he, the nominal head of the highest operational department, became useful.

Regarding this, Song Lan wanted to tell them "it’s already over". A few days ago, the High-level Parliament had disbanded the highest operational department, and they had become suspected terrorists who attempted to assassinate the Chairperson of the Council.

"I suggest you let go of my hand first, we can find somewhere to sit down and talk."

For those capable of unhindered communication, Song Lan was always willing to solve problems through peaceful means.

Consequently, the agents of Military Intelligence Section Seven witnessed the most unbelievable scene of their lives—a cyber lunatic in a frenzy was actually persuaded by someone. They had never heard of such a thing before! Even when adhering to the principle of non-killing, they generally used sedative bullets or deactivated prosthetics to calm them down first, and then helped them recover normalcy through long-term medication and psychological remedy.

But that was only temporary.

Last year’s statistics showed that the recurrence rate of cybernetic mental disorders was as high as 67%. Even after discharge, they were abnormal humans, and the slightest provocation could trigger a relapse.

The agents of Military Intelligence Section Seven had thought the head of the highest operational department would simply eliminate Melissa, but when they came to their senses, Song Lan had already taken Melissa back to the partition. Melissa obediently sat back on the bed, and Song Lan had moved a chair to sit at the table. The atmosphere seemed less like an interrogation and more like a chat between friends.

On the other side, Director Morian looked a bit upset.

She even turned off the surveillance footage.

Through communication, Song Lan got a rough idea of why Melissa had been brought here.

The death of a former comrade-in-arms had deeply troubled her, and this matter was also related to their arch-enemies in the Counter-Intelligence Department. Relations between the two sides had always been poor. Most members of the anti-terrorist mobile squad had undergone psychological evaluations by the Counter-Intelligence Department, where the treatment was no different from being in prison. And this time, it was a mix of new grievances and old hatreds.

"But, Melissa, have you thought about something? Maybe Ulan also received that phone call."

Song Lan’s question left Melissa stunned for a good while.

Her mind had been in disarray lately, so she cast all those troubles aside, acting on instinct.

"You must understand, hallucinations can’t unlock your handcuffs, restore your prosthetic body, or open the door to the partition. Plus, you mentioned that it was Ulan who reported herself to the Counter-Intelligence Department."

In Song Lan’s view as an observer, the massacre by the Counter-Intelligence Department was precisely what Ulan wanted. Not just as an outlet for fury; he knew that given the enmity between the Counter-Intelligence Department and the anti-terrorist mobile squad, it could very well trigger a war between the two departments.

"As much as the Counter-Intelligence Department is disliked by you, you need to identify the real Black Hand behind this. Only then can you truly avenge Ulan."

"But, how do we find that person?"

Melissa was lost in confusion. She wasn’t good at thinking, a common sequelae of cybernetic mental disorders.

Long periods of thought and those unknown puzzles would cause them excruciating headaches and inner restlessness.

"Just as I said, handcuffs won’t unlock by themselves, and your prosthetic body won’t be restored for no reason," Song Lan said, a believer in science and psychic abilities. "He knows your situation and might even be watching us right now."

The urgent alarm sounded again.

The room was incessantly flickering with an agitating red light, and between their conversation, the door of the cubicle was once again locked, trapping him and Melissa inside.

"Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling."

The phone’s ringing echoed like the call of the grim reaper.

Melissa saw that phone again, this time the ringing was much more urgent than ever before, as if the other party had some important information they were desperate to convey to her.

"The phone’s ringing again, isn’t it?"

Although Song Lan hadn’t heard the cellphone ring, Melissa’s expression had already said it all.

She didn’t respond, instead she just silently nodded.

Melissa didn’t want to answer the phone.

Because each time she answered, her instincts were awakened, the strident alarm and the flashing red light kept tugging at her emotions, and she feared that the moment she answered, her mind would go blank again.

She genuinely liked the feeling of not thinking, of being driven just by instinct, but not in front of Rob Lucci, revealing her other side.

Melissa remembered the "A Love Tip Every Day" that Dr. Lucy had given her, which mentioned many topics that could interest her besides the slaughter.

"It’s okay, answer the phone."

"But..."

"I’ll talk to it."

With some hesitation, Melissa still pressed the answer button.

"He’s lying to you, it’s all lies," the voice said urgently, becoming somewhat shrill, "Don’t forget he’s from Military Intelligence Section Seven, a lapdog of the United Government, you can’t trust his words! Ask yourself, Melissa, do you know what will happen to you if you believe him!"

"She will live out the rest of her life happily and blissfully."

Suddenly, another voice came from the other end of the line.

The anxious tone also halted for a good while because of the sound’s arrival.

"What have you done?"

Melissa looked blankly at Song Lan because the voice on the other end of the phone sounded exactly like the person in front of her.

But Song Lan was sitting not far in front of her, holding no phone in his hand.

"Nothing much, just piercing through some low-level deceit."

The Song Lan sitting opposite her didn’t speak; his voice came through the other end of the phone into Melissa’s ears, "For ’interference’ Psychic Ability Users, this isn’t difficult, their forte is twisting people’s minds to achieve their goals."

But this telecommunications fraudster was as cunning as ever.

He had taken off the moment he realized something was off.

"This proves that what you heard wasn’t your own true thoughts but rather what a fraudster wanted you to hear, and the same goes for Mr. Ulan."

In light of the recent riots in The First Region, Song Lan earnestly advised everyone to safeguard their lives and property and to be vigilant against telecommunications fraud.

"Also, can you turn off the alarm and the lights?"

Song Lan looked up, eyeing the surveillance camera above, understanding the fraudster’s intention. It seemed they wanted to make one final push, using the piercing alarm and lights to worsen Melissa’s condition rapidly, and with a few provocative words, trigger a full-blown episode.

But it was doomed to fail.

Because in the field of telecommunications fraud, Song Lan also had a little knowledge.

Shortly after, the alarm and lights stopped.

Lu Xiang’s voice came through the headset, "The person responsible for this area has run off, but catching him is just a matter of time."

This all-in move naturally exposed other telecommunications fraud gangs.

Interference Psychic Abilities weren’t omnipotent, they couldn’t open the isolation room’s door, nor could they reactivate Melissa’s prosthetics. To complete this series of deceptions, cooperation from other gang members was needed, and one of their gang members—who was responsible for the lights, the alarm, and remote control of the isolation room door—had to start fleeing upon having their cover blown.

"Military Intelligence Section Seven will inform the Counter-Terrorism Mobile Squad of the investigation results; you didn’t have a relapse, but instead were attacked by an ’interference’ Psychic Ability User."

After exposing the typical fraud gang on the spot, Song Lan got up, trying to appear as calm as possible in front of Melissa, "We will eventually catch all the members of this fraud gang, as that is our duty after all."

With that, he took advantage of the moment Melissa fell into a reverie to leave the cubicle.

In fact, Song Lan was extremely anxious.

Because just then, Director Lu had praised him through the headset for his exceptional work in exposing the fraud gang, but before cutting off communication, asked him to stop by her room alone in a bit.

She had something to say.

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