Chun Prefecture.
Its busiest pedestrian street.
A young woman was livestreaming on her phone.
Not far away.
A dark-skinned man held a stack of cash as he explained the scenario to the actors beside him.
"In a minute, you'll pretend to be robbers and snatch phones from passersby, then Ququ will catch you."
"Got it? You can resist, but don't actually hurt Ququ."
The dark-skinned man reminded them sternly, "Ququ has always presented herself as a strong, independent woman. You need to act like she's scared you stiff."
With that, the man nodded to Ququ, who was livestreaming nearby.
She understood immediately, and the corners of her mouth curled up.
It went without saying that her popularity would skyrocket after this show.
She had been an ordinary housewife. Envious of other people's lives online, she had simply abandoned her husband and child.
She had crafted an image of a strong, self-reliant woman.
"Get ready."
The dark-skinned man rubbed his hands together and picked up a walkie-talkie. "Have the cops finished patrolling the area?"
"They have."
"Good."
The man gave them one last reminder. "Make sure it looks convincing."
"Excuse me."
Just as the actors were gearing up, a boy with snot hanging from his nose raised his hand to stop them.
"When do we get paid?"
The boy grinned as he asked cheerfully.
"After the robbery."
The dark-skinned man snapped irritably, "With all the traffic Ququ gets, you think she'd stiff you?"
"Who knows? This is Chun Prefecture. We could actually get shot if we're caught." The boy pursed his lips and held out a hand. "Pay up first."
His words made the others hesitate too.
If you committed a crime in Chun Prefecture, it wasn't just the Police Bureau that would come after you.
The local underworld would come