Chapter 51: Evading Responsibility

Chapter Fifty-One: Avoiding Responsibility

After gathering considerable information from the internet café staff about the practice of gaming account boosting, although it remained unclear who exactly had hired You Xiaoyang to do the online game boosting, at least An Changpu and Qin Ruonan gained some clarity about this line of work.

Leaving that internet café, instead of heading straight to the three internet cafés near Fang Wan’s home, An Changpu and the others first consulted with Xiao Ding from the Cyber Supervision Unit. Then, guided by Xiao Ding, they visited the model shop owner whom Xiao Ding knew well to inquire about the authenticity and value of Fang Wan’s model set. The model shop owner and Xiao Ding were old acquaintances, and once he heard that Xiao Ding had sent them, he greeted them warmly. Carefully, through the plastic bags, he examined each model one by one. After thorough inspection, he confidently confirmed that the models were indeed genuine, with a total value just over a thousand yuan. He added that the purchase channels were not particularly rare; many model shops and online stores might carry them. For example, his own shop stocked the same models, and reportedly, the official website of the game developers also sold them.

The shop owner checked his sales records and confirmed that he hadn't sold such a set in recent months. In fact, his shop only had two sets in stock because the price was relatively high, so the number of buyers was limited.

“You know, those who are especially passionate about game-related merchandise tend to be quite young, so their purchasing power is limited. People want to buy these things but often can’t afford them. When those who have jobs and income finally can afford to buy, they might not even play the game, or they’re more rational and unwilling to splurge on such items,” the model shop owner candidly explained to Qin Ruonan and An Changpu.

“So, although these items are available through many channels, genuine model sales aren’t very large?” Qin Ruonan asked, her tone betraying a slight optimism.

The model shop owner nodded in agreement, indirectly confirming Qin Ruonan’s thought: since sales volume is small, the scope for finding buyers in recent months would be relatively narrow.

Fang Wan’s school was far from You Xiaoyang’s, and the two children had no previous connection. Although You Xiaoyang secretly earned money by doing game boosting to support his own gaming expenses, Qin Ruonan instinctively felt that the stack of game recharge cards at his home and Fang Wan’s expensive model set both came from the same mysterious benefactor.

Of course, intuition was just intuition; it could not serve as reliable evidence. To verify these suspicions, further investigation was necessary.

After spending some time at the model shop, An Changpu and Qin Ruonan, not in a rush, also gleaned much information about online gaming from the owner. Besides high-quality models of cars and airplanes, the shop also carried some relatively affordable gaming products. According to the owner, although he aimed to run a high-end model shop, the number of customers willing to spend heavily was limited. Since the shop often had downtime, catering to the more budget-conscious clientele helped offset operating costs.

The two games favored by Fang Wan and You Xiaoyang were familiar to the owner, who was himself an avid online gamer. Like Xiao Ding, he didn’t stick to just one game but tried every new release without becoming addicted. He told An Changpu and the others that the player base for those two games tended to be quite young. Fang Wan was on the younger side, while You Xiaoyang’s age was about average. Given that the games focused on intense combat, the majority of players were male.

“Occasionally, you spot a female player. Regardless of whether the person behind the screen is young or old, beautiful or plain, it’s like seeing a wild giant panda—an absolute rarity!” the model shop owner joked.

By the time they left the model shop, it was already past eight in the evening. The internet café staff near the school had mentioned that night-time packages started at different times depending on the café—usually around 1 a.m., some as early as 11 p.m. Regular customers often arrived early to secure their favorite spots before the night package kicked in.

Returning to the vicinity of Fang Wan’s home, they visited the three internet cafés they had been to earlier that day. By the time it was past nine, the night shift staff had taken over. Unlike during the day, business was quite good, and since no one noticed that these two had been there earlier, this time they didn’t pretend they had forgotten their IDs. As all three cafés were nearly full, they simply took seats on the sofa outside the entrance to observe.

After watching for a while and finding no sign of anything “irregular,” they soon grew impatient and left. The first internet café, despite the night shift staff and many customers paying for night packages, maintained strict management. A seemingly underage boy who couldn’t produce ID was firmly refused entry.

The second café was a bit smaller, with a modest storefront. Inside, besides a few young people waiting to get online near the entrance, what caught Qin Ruonan and An Changpu’s attention was a boy sitting attentively at a computer by the counter. The boy was young, apparently a bit older than Fang Wan but younger than You Xiaoyang, deeply focused on his game.

A middle-aged man, nearly fifty, lounged lazily behind the counter. Business was good, and the café was full, so he barely acknowledged the customers just coming in, showing a mix of boredom and satisfaction.

An Changpu and Qin Ruonan stood nearby for a while. The man behind the counter and the young boy at the computer never exchanged a word; the boy didn’t even glance at the man. An Changpu grew suspicious and signaled Qin Ruonan to join him. Together, they approached the counter.

“Boss, is there any free computer yet?” An Changpu asked, sounding somewhat impatient, as if he’d been waiting too long.

The man, who had been drowsy, suddenly perked up at the question. Casting a glance at the group of chattering youngsters, he replied, “No, no free computers yet. If there was, wouldn’t I have called you over already? Look, there are still several people ahead of you.”

While they spoke, Qin Ruonan quietly moved over to the boy’s table and peeked at the screen. It displayed a green landscape, seemingly grass, with a palace-like structure in the middle. Numerous small figures scurried about, one under a glowing circle that moved as the boy pressed keys and guided the cursor across the screen.

The boy remained completely absorbed, not even lifting his eyes to notice Qin Ruonan. However, the man behind the counter immediately shifted his attention from An Changpu to this side, his expression turning wary.

“You two wait over there. When it’s your turn, I’ll call you. If you’re in a hurry, go to another place,” he said, a bit impatiently, waving at Qin Ruonan to stop looking.

“Are you the boss here?” An Changpu asked without moving, resting his hands on the counter.

The man’s face darkened slightly and he nodded. “Yeah, what about it?”

“Why is there such a young kid playing here? Aren’t there rules that minors can’t enter internet cafés?”

“What’s it to you?! That’s my kid! What’s wrong with him using the computer in his own family’s internet café?!” The boss’s face immediately turned unpleasant, glaring fiercely at An Changpu, though his tone sounded less confident.

“Well, since he’s your kid, could you let him wait a bit? I have an urgent document to send, just five minutes. Other cafés nearby are full too, so we’re really pressed. Could you help us out? I’ll pay you as usual, even for two hours if you want,” An Changpu said earnestly.

The boss looked troubled, but before he could reply, the boy at the counter turned his head with displeasure, not pausing his game, and said, “Not even one minute! I’ve paid for this! Nobody’s taking my spot before my time’s up!”

The boy’s words exposed the boss’s lie. The boss’s face grew more awkward, uncertain how to handle these two “troublemakers.”

An Changpu no longer played around. He pulled out his police badge and flashed it in front of the boss. As the man’s expression changed, An Changpu cut him off before he could stammer an excuse. “We’re from the Serious Crimes Unit. Internet café issues aren’t our jurisdiction. We’re just here investigating something else.”

Hearing this, the boss quickly forced a smile and softened his tone, even adding a trace of obsequiousness: “Alright, what do you want to know?”

“Has this kid ever come here to play?” An Changpu showed a photo of Fang Wan he had been carrying.

“Oh, him! Isn’t that the missing kid everyone’s been searching for recently? I know him—he did come here often before he disappeared,” the boss said immediately upon recognizing Fang Wan.

“So you knew he went missing and remembered he came here before that. Why didn’t you call or provide any leads all this time?” Qin Ruonan pressed, growing anxious at the boss’s silence.

The boss looked scared and uneasy, trying to excuse himself: “I was afraid of trouble. If I said anything, it’d be admitting I let a minor in. I’d get fined!”

Chapter Fifty-One: Avoiding Responsibility