allendalepharm Page 290
Page 290
The academic atmosphere is very strong.
In addition, Gu Ran also discovered that the casinos in this town actually served the purposes of the scammers inside. The money they earned from scams could only be spent here, so casinos, brothels, and opium dens were specially set up.
Of course, there are also private gambling rooms here, where some wealthy people like to set up private gambling games.
Besides gambling, the wealthy also like to come to the brothel to buy women.
The women in the brothel were divided into different classes. Those who were of average appearance would be kept there to serve the people of the town.
The most beautiful and well-built "top courtesans" are sold to wealthy Southeast Asian men through auctions. In these places, the laws are not perfect, and it is not a big deal for them to keep a few female slaves at home.
Wealthy individuals from East Asia and West Asia also come to buy them, as their local laws are quite strict, so they are fostered here.
Therefore, many of the buildings here are single-room apartments, specifically for wealthy people who come to vacation and have some fun.
One of the shadow clones discovered many prostitutes being kept in the apartment. Most of them had been tricked into coming there, while others had been kidnapped.
Sometimes, beauty is a resource.
The apartment had computers with internet access and the ability to contact the outside world, but they all knew they couldn't escape, so even with communication facilities, they didn't ask for help.
They must have failed to escape several times before they gave up on their fate.
The shadow clone looked around once, then stopped looking and immediately dispelled the ninjutsu, allowing the information to be fed back to the main body.
After learning about these circumstances, the original body felt somewhat depressed, perhaps out of compassion, unable to bear seeing others suffer such pain.
He knew that this world was never bright; places where the sun couldn't reach often harbored darkness and filth unimaginable to ordinary people. There must be more than just this one place in the world; there were countless others.
So, what can he do?
Shaking his head, he realized this wasn't the time to think about such things. All the reconnaissance clones had returned, except for two that hadn't responded.
One was following the woman who came out of the mountains, and the other was a shadow clone, which Gu Ran made follow the stubborn man he had seen earlier.
Gu Ran felt that he was not simple, so she deliberately followed him.
……
At this moment, the people who came out of the container were escorted by a group of armed men to a building at the deepest part of the building. On the second floor, there was a classroom with desks and chairs already set up, and there were also unidentified documents on the desks.
The first thing they had to do upon entering the classroom was to sign and fingerprint these documents as required.
The document was written in Burmese, which Gu Ran's shadow clone, who was hiding nearby, could not understand.
However, among these thirty people, one spoke Burmese. After looking at the documents for a while, he turned pale and said to those around him, "These are organ donation consent forms... and various loan contracts..."
The people around were stunned. Some clenched their fists, seemingly wanting to resist, but when they saw the armed men around the classroom carrying AKs and fully armed, they couldn't muster the will to fight back.
Gu Ran's shadow clone saw that the man who had dared to talk back earlier signed his name, Zhou Yancheng, after glancing at the document.
The shadow clone paused, feeling like it had heard the name somewhere before.
Just as humans cannot remember how many slices of bread they have eaten, it is equally impossible for humans to remember everyone they have met or all their names.
While the shadow clone was invisible, it glanced at Zhou Yancheng a few more times to memorize his appearance. It would let the main body remember later; it was too lazy to remember so much.
After all thirty-odd people in the classroom had signed their forms, an armed man carrying a box said to them, "Line up, one by one, and come up to get your phones back."
Those who have already resigned themselves to their fate still don't know what these people want to do, why they should return the phone to them, aren't they afraid that they will call the police?
After everyone had retrieved their phones, the militants continued, "Call your families now. There's a ransom of 50,000 yuan per person. Once the ransom is in your account, we'll release you."
"Oh, by the way, if your phone numbers don't work, you can come here and get another one." The militant took out another box, which was full of old-fashioned candybar phones. "In short, if the money arrives, you can leave; if the money doesn't arrive... you can just wait here to die."
Chapter 326 The Unavoidable Trick of Selling Piglets
"By the way, I think you might want to call the police." The militant looked at the group and sneered, "Go ahead and call the police. If any Burmese police dare to come here, I'll open the door and send you out."
Several people did consider calling the police, but after what the armed men said, they realized that calling the police would definitely be useless.
"It's no use reporting to the embassy." The militant continued to look at the group with a mocking gaze. "They still want to ask the Burmese government for help, but the Burmese government can only issue missing person notices at most. They don't dare to send anyone over. You can try it if you don't believe me."
At this point, most of the people in the classroom had already given up hope.
Being in a foreign land, with the two ways they could think of to protect themselves cut off, what other options do they have?
After getting the phone, Zhou Yancheng didn't make a call right away. Instead, he curiously asked a handsome young man next to him.
"Young man, how did you get in here? Were you arrested?"
The young man's face was very pale, an unhealthy pallor, even his lips were white; I don't know if he was frightened.
He said with a long face, "The company boss organized a team building trip to Western Thailand, and then we were taken to a guesthouse after landing. Then the whole company was kidnapped..."
Zhou Yancheng and Gu Ran's shadow clones were taken aback; they couldn't believe it!
The young man said he was from a big city in southern China. Six months ago, he graduated and started working at a company with his girlfriend. Apart from not having social insurance and housing fund contributions, the company's salary was quite generous. They were paid the same as regular employees right after graduation, while their classmates' monthly internship salary was less than two thousand yuan.
The boss is kind and friendly. Even if you are late occasionally, he won't deduct your salary. He will just say that you shouldn't be late next time, as it's not good to be late all the time.
They worked together for six months. A few days ago, the boss said, "The company has made money. Let's all go on a trip to Thailand and the West together! The company will pay for everything, including airfare and accommodation. It's all arranged. If you don't go, you're disrespecting me!"
Then the whole company went together.
In the end, the entire company was kidnapped!
The young man pointed to seven or eight people around him, all from his company. His girlfriend was with another female colleague; she'd probably already been...
Thinking about all this, the young man's tears began to stream down his face.
Who would have thought that this scam would be so convincing, actually paying them six months' salary first before luring them all in?
It's truly a case of casting a long line to catch a big fish; it's impossible to guard against!
Gu Ran's shadow clone took a deep breath. This proved that the profits from these criminal activities were so huge that they could start a company, pay out money first, and then kidnap people!
“Instead of chatting, you should spend more time making phone calls.” One of the armed men looked at Zhou Yancheng and the handsome young man. “Let me tell you, if no one pays the ransom within 72 hours, you’ll be ‘sold like pigs’.”
These people were newcomers and didn't know what selling piglets meant, nor did anyone dare to ask.
But it certainly won't be anything good.
Just then, a series of shrill wails suddenly came from downstairs outside the classroom.
The classroom suddenly fell silent, and a few people by the window turned to look outside.
"Perfect! All of you, get to the windows and watch how we punish those who tried to escape." The armed leader pointed his gun at the people and said, "Go, all of you, get to the windows and watch!"
The people who were making phone calls all went to the window and saw two armed men leading a man to a pond not far away.
Upon reaching the pool, the man being escorted was kicked into the water and then restrained in place with instruments of torture.
The pool was filled with black mud; it was a stagnant pool, the water was filthy, and a thick layer of grease floated on top, making it utterly disgusting.
Someone in the classroom saw a snake swimming in the water and suddenly shouted.
The man in the pool also saw the snake and immediately screamed and struggled, but his body was restrained by the instruments of torture and he could not move at all. Fortunately, the snake only passed by him and swam around twice.
Next, the armed men on the shore started a pumping device and began to fill the pool with water. The water they poured in was not clean water, and soon the water level rose, quickly submerging the mouth of the man wearing the torture device.
The man was underwater with his head tilted back, his nose and mouth barely above the surface. He had to stand on tiptoe to breathe properly, and if he got tired of standing on tiptoe, he would choke...
The militant said to the people in the classroom: "Watch this, this is what happens to those who try to escape. Those who try to escape will be soaked in this. The first time, it will be twelve hours, and the second time, it will be twenty-four hours. Some of the water in the pool is filtered from the septic tank. The large pieces of excrement are gone, but the small pieces... I won't say anymore, you can think about it yourselves!"
The people in the classroom looked at each other, feeling nauseous and holding their breath, as if they could feel the same way as the person soaking in water and smell the stench.
They even became much more careful with their breathing.
The militants were very satisfied with this effect; they were now afraid and would no longer run away, which saved him a lot of trouble.
He continued, "Alright, keep calling your family. Anyone who doesn't get their money back within 72 hours will probably go for a swim in the pond. Hurry up!"
Upon hearing this, everyone in the classroom immediately called their families, begging and pleading to raise the 50,000 yuan as quickly as possible.
They used every trick in the book, regardless of morality, and some even started deceiving their family members and friends.
The militants didn't listen to their calls, seemingly emboldened and not afraid that they would pass on messages to the outside world.
Gu Ran's shadow clone remained hidden to the side. He saw Zhou Yancheng make a phone call at that moment:
"Hey, Hao-ge, I've been sold to northern Myanmar. They want 50,000 yuan as ransom. They said they'll let me go once they get the money. Oh, you need a bank account number, right? Let me ask!"
Zhou Yancheng put down the phone, looked at one of the armed men, and said, "Give me your bank account number for receiving payments."
"Wow, so fast?" The militant was taken aback. It was quite rare to get money with just one phone call.
The militants sized up Zhou Yancheng's attire and noticed that his belt looked like an LV bag, though they weren't sure if it was genuine. His shoes also looked very high-quality.
He seems to be a rich young master.
He gave Zhou Yancheng a bank account number. Gu Ran's shadow clone glanced at it and realized that the account number was actually a domestic bank account.
After Zhou Yancheng got the account number, he immediately reported it to the other party, then hung up the phone and said to the armed personnel, "Okay, my brother has already transferred the money via online banking. It arrived instantly. You can check it."
In 2010, 50,000 yuan was quite a lot for an ordinary family, when the national average income was only 12,000 yuan.
So as soon as Zhou Yancheng finished speaking, he immediately attracted the attention of many people, showing off a little bit.
The militant smiled, made a phone call to verify, and after receiving feedback, walked over and patted Zhou Yancheng on the shoulder with a smile:
"Very good, you're very obedient. Come on, you've come all this way, are you interested in taking a look around here? This place is a lot of fun, you can have anything you want to do."
The militants were very direct: "Which do you like, gambling, drugs, or prostitution? If you're not interested, you can cultivate an interest!"
Zhou Yancheng touched the scars on his face; they were from when he was whipped.
He said, "My face hurts a little, could you please put some medicine on it for me?"
“Hey bro, I wasn’t the one who hit you,” the militant said. “But since you were so agreeable, I’d be happy to take you to get your medicine. Come on.”
The militant gave a wink to his accomplices, signaling them to keep an eye on things, and then took Zhou Yancheng away.
Gu Ran's shadow clone could clearly see that although Zhou Yancheng had been whipped, the area where he was hit was only red and not serious at all.
Zhou Yancheng and the armed men arrived at the stairwell. The two chatted and laughed, and the armed men even lit a cigarette for him.
Zhou Yancheng asked with a grin, "Brother, are the women here... pretty?"
The militant gave him a meaningful look and said, "Beautiful, of course it's beautiful! What type do you like, brother? We have all kinds here!"
Zhou Yancheng said, "Singers, are there any singers? I like singers who can sing well!"
"Hey bro, you've got some unique tastes!" the militant chuckled. "Yeah, I remember a fairly well-known singer came last month, what's her name, Changchang..."
A barely perceptible hint of ferocity flashed in Zhou Yancheng's eyes, but he quickly concealed it: "Changchang, is that the Changchang who sings nursery rhymes?"