The Art of the Scam

The basic experiments with the Universe Bead were almost complete. After checking his funds again, Chen Mo found he had about 20,000 yuan, saved from working odd jobs over the years. This money might just be the capital he needed to start earning.

Going home was Chen Mo's only goal now. After becoming a Qi Refining Layer One cultivator, the desire to return home had grown uncontrollably. He couldn't stand the city's daily miasma any longer, and the lack of vegetation, or rather, the scarcity of it, was a truly harsh environment for him.

He packed all his belongings into the Universe Bead, then slung a small backpack over his shoulder, just for show when necessary, and set off for home. If it weren't for cultivation, he would have gone home long ago. He had persevered until now, and now that he had broken through to Qi Refining Layer One, his urge to go home was irresistible, and nothing could stop him.

He had already spoken to the landlord about his apartment yesterday. Although there were still over ten days left on the rent, that money was no longer important. His desire to go home was already overwhelming, so no matter how many days of rent were left, it wouldn't keep him here. Fortunately, there was no security deposit, and he had been living there for almost two years, so the landlord had been quite accommodating.

Chen Mo's hometown was Chen Family Village in Penghua Town, Qin Gaoguan County. It was a small mountain village surrounded by mountains, but due to its mountainous terrain, transportation was very inconvenient. In the past, there was only a small dirt road, about the width of a car, leading to the town. It took more than two hours to traverse the mountains and ridges, not to mention enduring the bumpy ride on the dirt road. Even then, once it rained, the road was impassable.

Chen Mo had to work to support his studies, so he hadn't been home for two years. He heard from his parents that due to the national "Village-to-Village Connectivity" project, the village road had been renovated into a rural highway that led directly to the town, which was much better than before.

After calling his oldest brother and the others to say goodbye, he took a train to West City. Upon arrival, he first went to the antique market in the west.

He wasn't there to buy antiques, but rather to purchase wolf-hair brushes, cinnabar, yellow paper, and other materials for drawing talismans. He also wanted to buy some jade to use as formation bases for formations. A while ago, in his rental room, he had diligently carved wood with a knife to practice formations, but he hadn't experimented with jade yet. This time, he wanted to buy some jade to try it out. The Transmission Jade Talisman introduced formation base artifacts, which were generally made of jade. The higher the transparency of the jade, the better it was for use as a formation base.

Of course, the best formation base materials were not available on Blue Sea Star, such as Origin Stones and Ice Crystals. Although the Transmission Jade Talisman mentioned them, Chen Mo had never seen them. Perhaps he could see them in the future if he could truly go to a Cultivation Planet.

He was very familiar with West City, and he had been to the antique market many times, back in high school. Back then, it wasn't called an antique market, but a cultural market. When he was in junior high and high school, to save money, he would go there to buy old study materials, practice problems, and extracurricular books. He had been there countless times and was very familiar with it.

The current antique street was vastly different from a few years ago. Previously, it was lined with old shops in single-story buildings. Now, many high-rise buildings had been erected, and the streetfront shops were very neat, with wider streets. As soon as Chen Mo entered, he felt a bit disoriented. He hadn't expected such a big change in the two years he hadn't visited. The city's development was truly too fast.

Although it wasn't a weekend, there were still quite a few people on the pedestrian street. He walked with the crowd, occasionally glancing at the shops on either side. Even when he had visited before, he had never bought wolf-hair brushes or cinnabar, so he had to pay attention as he walked. Unexpectedly, his movements attracted the attention of several people.

Yu Lao San was a scammer who specialized in staged accidents in the antique street. He had been operating there for several years, targeting outsiders and laymen. Therefore, the people in the antique street generally ignored such sordid affairs. If someone was foolish enough to fall for a scam, they could only consider themselves unlucky.

Seeing Chen Mo's actions, he knew that this young man was a newbie, possibly an outsider, so he set his sights on him.

Nowadays, staged accidents, especially in the antique street, required a certain level of professional skill. People weren't as easily fooled as before, so to make it convincing, the scammers in the antique street would make preparations. They usually used fragile items like porcelain or jade. In the past, they would simply wrap them up, but that wouldn't pass muster now; it lacked class. Now, they used high-quality cardboard boxes or wooden boxes, lined with soft padding and yellow silk cloth.

However, wooden boxes were more common. They would find an old wooden box, fill it with fake or aged porcelain, jade, or other items, then find an opportunity to bump into someone and begin their performance.

This was why the police and market management personnel found staged accidents in the antique street so troublesome. It was difficult to collect evidence, the actions were concealed, and the appraisal of some porcelain was also very difficult. Although the market was covered with cameras, there were still blind spots. Even without blind spots, there were still groups that provided cover for their crimes.

There were even some local market management personnel involved, which was the truly terrifying part. With the backing of market management personnel, the scammers not only became arrogant but could also twist the truth, turning one into two and two into three. If you didn't comply, you were in for trouble. The market management personnel would cooperate perfectly, ensuring you were cornered.

There was another level, which he wouldn't elaborate on. This was the ultimate mode, involving not only market management personnel but also local police and appraisers. If they pulled off one such scam, it would be enough to live on for half a year.

Yu Lao San was currently holding a wooden box he had bought from an old stall for fifty yuan. Inside was a piece of aged porcelain. He then walked hurriedly, and seeing Chen Mo turn to look at a shop on the street, he rushed forward and bumped into Chen Mo. He let go of the box, and it fell to the ground, accompanied by the sound of shattering porcelain.

"Oh no! My treasure!" Yu Lao San exclaimed with an expression of extreme surprise, heartache, and shock. If there were acting awards, he would definitely win Best Actor.

Chen Mo was helpless. How could he have bumped into someone? He had been so careful, yet this had happened. Could it be a scam? He harbored some suspicion but didn't voice it, figuring he would find out soon enough.

"You pay for my treasure!" Yu Lao San grabbed Chen Mo and shouted. A crowd of onlookers began to gather. Two strong, tall men emerged from the crowd and approached Yu Lao San.

"What's wrong? Oh my! Isn't this your treasure? Last time you said it was from the Ming Dynasty, wasn't it?" one of the men asked.

"Yes!" Yu Lao San replied with a look of grief and indignation.

"Kid, you're in big trouble. Hurry up and pay!" the other man said.

Upon seeing Yu Lao San, Chen Mo felt an uncomfortable sensation. With the arrival of the two men, he immediately understood that these people were definitely scammers. He scanned them with his Spiritual Sense and was somewhat surprised.

He scanned again, examining the wooden box, and then carefully scanned the shattered porcelain on the ground. He couldn't help but sigh. Although he wasn't an antique collector, this porcelain seemed to lack a maker's mark, and its color and pattern felt somewhat crude. While it might not be obvious to the naked eye, and only a professional could distinguish such things, his Spiritual Sense could immediately detect issues from the details of the porcelain.

He put his phone, which was in his pocket, into the Universe Bead. Then, using his Spiritual Sense to operate it, he started recording. He took it out and put it back in his pocket, deciding to at least record the audio for now.