Chapter 46: Plan B
Chapter 46: Plan B
Chapter 46: Plan B
"Also, most importantly, why would a forced confession weaken the anomaly?"
"Once a fraudster tells the truth, they will no longer be a fraudster. In particular, if they reveal the truth in front of the victim, their fraudulent attributes will be lowered. That would, in turn, alter the victim's state of mind, thereby weakening the emotional anomaly."
"I see."
Only now did Adam fully understand the proposal, and he turned to Chloe, who had been listening this entire time, then asked, "You're the victim here. What do you think of this plan?"
"I'm fine with anything."
At this moment, Chloe's temper and anxiety had both eased significantly, perhaps due to the fact that her emotional anomaly had been wounded by Adam. As a result, her emotions had become more stable and positive, and she was actively trying to think of solutions to the problem at hand. At the same time, she was also willing to face her problems head-on.
"I'm definitely willing to cooperate and cure my condition, but what are we going to do about the fact that this is illegal?"
No one wanted to break the law.
This was a city in which fugitives would struggle immensely. With complete free rein when it came to enforcing justice, the officers of Mechguard followed their extremely rigid programming to give the people a safe living space.
"That is indeed a problem."
"I disagree. Have you forgotten who you work for?"
"You mean the pawn shop?"
"That's right. The pawn shop is the leading authority in Sandrise City when it comes to resolving problems. You belong to the pawn shop, so surely it's not too much of you to request the pawn shop's help."
"I'll give it a try," Adam said after a brief moment of contemplation, then dialed Red Spider's number.
"Hey, can I get you to do me a favor?"
Adam stated his request, and after hearing what he had to say, Red Spider told him that this was not difficult to arrange.
"We charge 100,000 to track down a target, 300,000 for interrogation and scene-setting, and 1,000,000 for recording confessions. You're an employee, so you get the staff discount, which is 40% off. On top of that, we can also provide free..."
Adam immediately hung up the phone after hearing Red Spider's quote.
"As you can see, we'll have to take care of this problem on our own. For that, we'll need a refined plan."
……
That night.
Having already established a series of plans, the group took the void rail to Area 9.
Area 9 was an old area. In the past, it was an industrial area, but it had since become even more barren than the rural areas, and all of the buildings here were either abandoned factories or cheap houses.
Interestingly enough, these barren and archaic places often gave rise to some very nostalgic cultural symbols. In this area, some vintage clothing shops were beginning to emerge, as were all types of underground recreational venues, one of which was the Old Smelter pub.
The entrance of the pub was situated in a dark alley behind an abandoned factory, and Adam's group made their way to the end of the dark alley, then passed through a strange roll gate to enter an elevator.
After giving the doorman a small tip, they descended around 20 to 30 meters underground, arriving in a pub with a rather peculiar atmosphere.
After arriving in the pub, Adam covered his ears as he drew close to Chloe's side before asking, "Are you sure this is where you were attacked?"
The loud music in the pub meant that he had to get very close to Chloe for his voice to be audible to her.
"This is definitely the place," Chloe replied.
"Do you still remember what that man looks like?"
Adam recalled that the anomaly's features were blurred in her psychic world.
"I do."
In the real world, Chloe was able to clearly recall the appearance of her attacker, and that was why things in the psychic world couldn't be used as legal evidence.
Things like fantasies, pride, and shame could all subjectively influence what went on in one's psychic world.
After receiving Chloe's answer, they emerged from the elevator and entered the pub.
In the real world, the structure of the pub was the same as it was in the psychic world. On the stage was a DJ and a group of dancers, and there was a dancefloor beneath the stage. There were chairs positioned in front of the dancefloor, and booths situated behind it.
Adam and the others made a lap of the pub, but didn't discover anything. According to Chloe, nine months had already passed since the incident. Seeing as they had returned to the pub so long after the incident, the chances of running into the perpetrator on their first visit were very slim.
In fact, perhaps they wouldn't find who they were looking for even after 10 visits. There was no guarantee that the perpetrator would always target the same place.
"He's not here. Looks like we'll have to go with plan B. Hook, accompany Chloe back to the apartment."
"I want to stay here."
"Are you going to be able to look after yourself if a conflict arises?"
"Fine..."
Hook took a longing glance at the stage, then departed with Chloe.
After that, Karen gave Adam a nod, then ordered a booth and several glasses of alcoholic beverages. After downing the glasses of hard liquor, Karen had found her groove.
First, she arrived at the center of the dancefloor and began to show off her moves. She then climbed onto the stage while continuing to dance as if she had lost herself in the moment.
After arriving on the stage, she pulled out her signature move and began to twerk vigorously.
As expected of someone who's earned herself a reputation even in the large clubs of the Metaverse.
Karen's rear end was bouncing and jiggling in a mesmerizing fashion on the stage, and she was practically radiating allure. She was like a new star, and her glowing radiance instantly made all of the other performers around her pale into insignificance, drawing everyone's attention to her.
All of the men in the club followed their primal instincts and turned their attention to the stage.
Below the stage, some of the men were cheering, some were whistling, and some decided to have a few extra beers to complement the beautiful view.
After a breathtaking performance, Karen made her way down from the stage, sweating profusely. As soon as she made her way over to Adam, quite a few men approached her. Some of the men offered to buy her drinks, some wanted to have a chat, and there were also some who were gauging Adam's reaction to try and extrapolate his relationship with Karen.
It was clear that all of these men had been drawn here by her performance.
Karen paid no heed to any of them until a certain person arrived.
"Hi there, I'm the manager of this place. I just saw your performance, and I must say that you have my attention. May I ask if you're a professional dancer?"
With the arrival of the manager, Karen immediately abandoned her distant and aloof fa?ade, suddenly becoming extremely warm and enthusiastic.
"My dream as a child was to become a professional dancer, but unfortunately, I was unable to make that dream a reality due to certain practical circumstances."
"That really is a pity, but no one can tell exactly what fate has in store for them. If you can't achieve your dream, perhaps getting a high-earning job will go a long way to making up for that disappointment. I came here to ask you whether you would be interested to work as a performer for our pub. Of course, the compensation will be very substantial."
"Oh? That sounds like a great deal," Karen said with a wide smile while jiggling the voluptuous rear-end that she took so much pride in. "Can we go somewhere private to discuss the exact details?"
"That would be my honor," the manager said with a smile, then led Karen to the office area at the back of the establishment.
The two of them were gone for about two to three hours, and Karen was still sweating profusely upon her return.
Adam could only imagine what she had to sacrifice for her daughter, and he felt a mix of complex emotions. He was a blank slate, yet seeing the lengths that Karen was willing to go to for her daughter made him want to meet his parents, even though he didn't even know if they existed or not.
However, this wasn't something for him to think about in this situation. At the moment, there was only one thing that he should've been focusing on.
"Did you get the information?"
"I did," Karen replied as she pointed at her handbag. "There's a copy of all of the surveillance footage for this year in there, and he also agreed to help me track down the person that we're looking for."