Flame Nation

"Tap tap tap..."

A rhythmic knocking sounded at the door. The middle-aged man sitting at his desk looked up from his computer, gently rubbed his slightly sore eyes, and then spoke:

"Please come in."

The Room Door opened quickly, and a young man, who looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, walked in.

Upon seeing the young man, the middle-aged man said in surprise:

"Xiao Zhang, what are you doing here? Have you discovered a new, communicable Weird Tale?"

The young man called Xiao Zhang shook his head upon hearing this and said:

"Captain Li, it's still about Xiao Chen. There's another package from overseas, from Colombia, with the mailing point in Newreiburg. We haven't found the sender yet. Considering Xiao Chen's connections, it should be related to the code name [Instructor]. It's already in Xidu."

"Just follow your Investigation Group's plan, there's no need to ask me specifically, is there?" The middle-aged man, referred to as Captain Li, took off his glasses and wiped them, then seemed to suddenly realize something and said:

"Oh, is there some Weird Tale Neweilburg?"

"That's right." Xiao Zhang nodded and handed a document to Captain Li.

The Weird Tale tentatively titled "The Ambulance Demon," and its content is roughly as follows: A wealthy Asian man would deliberately attract the attention of street thugs on the street, knock them unconscious when they attempted to rob him, and then call an ambulance for them.

"Huh? They knocked her out and called an ambulance, isn't that great? What does that have to do with demons?" Captain Li frowned, asking somewhat puzzled.

"Captain Li, things are different in Colombia than here. An ambulance ride costs several thousand Colombia Gold Coupon Gold Coupon (equivalent to US dollars), and even a simple cold can cost tens of thousands. The only difference is that their medical insurance covers most of it. However, most of those who rob people on the street don't even have medical insurance. After such a trip, they'll be in debt for at least tens of thousands of Gold Coupon."

Xiao Zhang briefly explained the situation in Colombia to the leader who was in charge of investigating domestic Weird Tale, and then, amidst the leader's strange expression, added:

"According to our investigation in Colombia, this Weird Tale first appeared at the beginning of this year, originating in Saint Lotan City. This coincides with the time and place when Xiao Chen received the 'Golden Bell Shield Cover' package. In addition, this Weird Tale actually seems to be a fabrication."

"Man-made?" Although somewhat surprised by Colombia's medical system, Captain Li immediately perked up and frowned, asking:

"So, does that mean the person codenamed [Instructor] has already begun cooperating with certain forces in Colombia?"

"That shouldn't be the case," Xiao Zhang shook his head and said.

" From the Xiao Chen received the <Golden Bell Shield>, we dispatched investigators to Saint Lotan City. According to our investigation, this Weird Tale was indeed initially perpetrated by someone codenamed [Instructor], but it seems he wasn't after fame, but rather to acquire money. In the places we can trace, the vast majority of the money was exchanged for paper, books, and similar items. As for this Weird Tale..."

At this point, Xiao Zhang's expression also became strange. Seeing this, Captain Li simply picked up the documents on the table, his expression becoming even stranger.

"This thing is spontaneous? Are you sure?"

"It was indeed spontaneous, at least according to our investigation." Xiao Zhang said with an expression that suggested he wanted to laugh but dared not.

"The earliest spread of this practice was by Jeston of the Williams Family. He started a hospital and ambulance company, set the highest legal price, and then hired some Asian mercenaries to sting law enforcement officers, detaining those thugs in his own prisons as free labor. He made a lot of money from this. Later, through the Williams Family's channels, he began to replicate this behavior in surrounding cities. This easy way of making money was quickly imitated by other hospitals and private prisons. Haven't you noticed? There have been fewer shootings in Colombia in recent months..."

"I've been so busy keeping an eye on that 'Libra' lately, I haven't had time to worry about security in Colombia. But these capitalists are really something..." Captain Li put down the report in his hand with a subtle expression, then shook his head and said:

"Our ambulances aren't expensive, so these kinds of Weird Tale shouldn't spread around here... Here's what we'll do: have our people in Colombia pretend to be robbers and see if we can run into him by chance. Oh, and find someone with good fighting skills; it would be embarrassing if they ended up in jail doing free work."

"Captain Li, I'm from the Investigation Group..." Xiao Zhang smiled awkwardly, and Captain Li then patted his forehead:

"Sigh, look at my brain, could you go next door and call Liu Yingqiang for me?"

"Knew!"

"Xiao Chen, you can even space out while stretching? Are you thinking about your boyfriend again?"

Hearing the sudden words, Chen Xiyao snapped out of her daze, first lowering her raised left leg, before saying with dissatisfaction:

"I already told you, I don't have a boyfriend!"

"Oh, I've been there too. Want me to take a picture of you so you can see your own face?" A tomboyish woman who looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight put down the dumbbells she was holding and said with a teasing smile. When men get together, they inevitably talk about women, and when women get together, men are naturally involved in their conversations as well. The moment she heard this topic, many eyes turned to her.

(Note: The gym is segregated by gender.)

Seeing that she was about to become the center of attention again, Chen Xiyao immediately began to think about whether to find an excuse to escape. However, just then, there was a knock on the gym door, and before she could answer, a voice came from outside:

"Weird Tale has invaded Caihe District. The first and fourth combat teams have already set off. This time, the number is quite large. You need to adjust your mindset as soon as possible and be ready to depart at any time."

"Understood!" The team members, who had been looking gossipy, immediately became serious and left the equipment one by one. In an instant, the atmosphere changed from a girls' dormitory to a college entrance examination hall.

"Sister Hua, what's going on?" Since returning from that world, Chen Xiyao has come here every weekend for various training sessions, but this is the first time she has encountered a situation like this.

"It's probably because a lot of Weird Tale have appeared, which might cause a shortage of manpower," the woman known as Sister Hua explained simply, then added reassuringly.

"But don't be too nervous. These kinds of notifications usually mean that a monitored door has been opened. There are already guards stationed there, so the casualties shouldn't be too high. This full-scale mobilization is mainly to prevent any escapees. The reason why the combat groups are divided into four training sessions is to avoid such emergencies. The first group started training the earliest and has basically recovered their strength. The fourth group is after us and hasn't started training yet. The second group should be resting like us and will set off after they recover their strength."

At this point, Sister Hua suddenly bent down slightly, making eye contact with Chen Xiyao, and said in a serious tone:

"Xiao Chen, if you plan to join the front line in the future, you must remember to conserve some energy during training. Don't believe the idea that you have to exhaust yourself in every training session. In a particularly urgent situation, you might not even have time to rest."

"Understood!" Chen Xiyao nodded vigorously, looking at everyone who had gradually become familiar with her over the past few days, she couldn't help but feel a little worried.

But just then, a different voice came from the doorway than the previous one from the communications officer:

"Chen Xiyao, you have a package from Colombia!"

"They're here!"

Watching Chen Xiyao disappear as if she had turned into a gust of wind, the group, who had originally planned to tell her some lame jokes to reassure her, were slightly taken aback. Sister Hua even shrugged and said:

"Wow, she said she didn't have a boyfriend..."

Regarding the "modern plantation" industry chain --

First, at the very bottom of the supply chain are ambulance companies or private hospitals, which hire experienced "Slave Catcher" who dress up as weak but wealthy to attract attention.

After successfully defeating a Slave Catcher (in addition to hand-to-hand combat, non-lethal tools such as stun guns and tranquilizer guns can also be used), the slave hunters would immediately call for a slave transport vehicle (ambulance) to take them to a hospital, where they would undergo a series of low-cost slave quarantine (physical examinations) and be issued slave certificates and indentures (exorbitant bills).

Once it's confirmed that the slaves cannot be redeemed (redemption would yield more profit), you can directly contact the plantation (a private prison) to sell the slaves in bulk (ostensibly to earn money to pay off debts while working in the prison).

Because these Slave Catcher had connections with hospitals and ambulance companies, they used their own cell phones directly. This is the main reason why, although Feng Xue always used the phone from the ATM to call an ambulance, the Weird Tale actually had its own phone.

After all, most people who were lured into the "plantation" had only ever seen the Ambulance Demon with their own phones.