118. You Thick-Browed, Big-Eyed Traitor (Please Subscribe)

Please subscribe, please subscribe, please subscribe! Important things must be said three times!

~~~

It should be noted that pyramid schemes strictly forbid any romantic relationships between men and women.

At least based on Bai Haonan’s observations during his first two or three days, men and women were almost always kept in large, mixed-gender groups. Even the so-called senior executives had no need for female companions to serve them. Everyone’s goal was simple and direct: money! They were fanatically obsessed with money. Personal emotions and carnal desires were held in contempt during all their lectures; it seemed these things were seen as poisons that would corrode their grand entrepreneurial blueprints and magnificent careers. Everyone was expected to cast aside concepts of gender and work together like family, colleagues, or business partners—which is to say, they worked together to scam money, constantly making calls to lure others into the trap.

To gain the qualification to make these recruitment calls, one naturally had to purchase at least one share of this "Peerless Great Engineering" investment project.

This was the threshold for crossing from being a victim of constant lobbying to becoming a co-conspirator.

Yet, no one could have imagined that Bai Haonan would use such an unconventional method to cross that threshold.

The next morning, accompanied by Xiao Wan—who kept her head down—and a few others, Bai Haonan called one of Yu Jiali’s mobile numbers and had them transfer 3,200 to the designated account. Of course, on the phone, Bai Haonan used the alias Wang Jianguo to tell Yu Jiali that he also wanted to bring "Niu'er" into the project. He figured that General Manager Yu would understand that he hadn't found Qian Niu yet.

The money arrived quickly, and Bai Haonan’s status shifted from being a prospect to an official student. He finally reached the stage the restaurant owner had mentioned: living in a communal space with a large group of people.

The accommodations were certainly not as clean or bright as before. Fourteen or fifteen people were packed into a two-bedroom apartment. Bai Haonan finally understood why everyone liked wearing socks with sandals: these newly renovated apartments had no furniture or appliances. To facilitate the "daily classes"—which were essentially collective chanting sessions studying a book titled "Report on the Possibility of Folk Capital Operations"—everyone sat on the floor, which was covered only by a thin layer of vinyl. To prevent foot odor and keep the floor clean for their constant sitting or the day-long droning about "correcting one's attitude," wearing socks was the most convenient option.

However, contrary to what the restaurant owner had said, in these small groups based on apartment units, men and women were strictly separated. Over a dozen men lived together, sleeping on the floor, eating nothing but plain cabbage and water for lunch and dinner, and spending their time hoping to find more friends and relatives to scrape together the 63,800 yuan required for the starter qualification. Naturally, every time they made an outgoing call, three or four accomplices would sit nearby to monitor them, preventing anyone from sending out distress signals.

Not wanting his phone to be tracked, Bai Haonan would occasionally shamelessly borrow others' phones to call Yu Jiali, claiming he was trying to get Niu'er to join his business, which served as a way to report that he was safe.

Whenever they went out, they were always in groups of several people, often swapping members from different groups to prevent the formation of internal cliques.

In Bai Haonan’s view, a few ringleaders were simply penning up a crowd of people to make endless calls to lure in more fools. They brainwashed them into believing that by bringing in more people to foot the bill, they could make a fortune. Those who were scammed first then tried to scam others to make up for their own foolish losses. Even if they realized this, they pretended not to, creating a vicious cycle.

However, Bai Haonan—who never took classes seriously and instinctively resisted high-minded rhetoric—was the legendary "bean that won't absorb oil or salt." He ate faster than anyone and slept more soundly than anyone. Some might have found this foul-smelling, crowded life unbearable, but to him, it was somewhat similar to the chaotic, sweaty environments he lived in during his years with the sports team. He felt a bit nostalgic.

Because he could still do "that," it was even more comfortable than his wild days with the nurses at the hospital!

That’s right—the pyramid scheme’s preventative measures were very strict, but one had to consider that there were already tens of thousands of participants in this area. Even though they were divided into many "companies," the essence was the same, densely distributed across dozens of residential complexes in the city’s new district. Some entire buildings were filled with these pyramid scheme cells, completely detached from the lives of the normal locals.

Every day, aside from brainwashing sessions and mutual encouragement, they racked their brains to drag friends and family into the mud, constantly rehearsing the scenes of going out to welcome new recruits.

Only by reaching a certain level could one know the secrets and permissions of that tier. Everyone was as tense as if they had been injected with adrenaline.

In ancient times, generals leading tens of thousands of troops feared "camp panic"—do you know what that means? It refers to the extreme tension in a military camp facing war, where the scream of a single person having a nightmare could cause the entire army to mutiny.

Therefore, in this environment of extreme mental tension, no matter how strict the measures, they couldn't withstand the release of basic human desires—especially when that release could be found with someone who was exceptionally skilled at it.

Perhaps academically speaking, there were many psychological aspects involved, similar to Stockholm Syndrome, where human nature becomes distorted under extreme mental conditions. It was no wonder that having something to vent their pent-up emotions made him feel right at home.

"Brother Haonan’s" level of service—which could even pass for a professional gigolo—was naturally popular among the many young female pyramid schemers.

How does the saying go? The sturdiest fortresses are often breached from within.

That very afternoon, Chen Meijuan found an excuse to pay Bai Haonan a visit, and soon, under the guise of "mutual learning," several women frequently invited Comrade Wang Jianguo over for some "fun." They were quite clever about it, always calling several people at once to create a smokescreen. While others outside were mindlessly shouting, reciting the "Report on the Possibility of Folk Capital Operations," Brother Haonan was inside "teaching English" to the women!

Just think about it: anyone who ends up here carries a heavy mental burden. Anxiety, tension, regret, and madness are all intertwined; having a way to release it was truly a relief.

In Bai Haonan’s view, these women who fell into pyramid schemes were basically idiots, though many of them were quite attractive. Back at the club, he had heard people on the street say that the issue of desire in women's prisons was far more severe than in men's. He had finally experienced it himself. Perhaps the female schemers shared information privately, and gradually, women from other groups began to visit. A little touch here, a subtle gesture there, and they would tacitly understand and head into the inner room.

In less than a week, even Xiao Wan was offering a mix of resistance and welcome as she had several "language exchanges" with Bai Haonan. They even tried a "multi-person debate." Bai Haonan contributed all the cash he had on him to the "rubber products company." He even started thinking about charging fees, so he had to be selective—if you weren't pretty or didn't have a good figure, forget it.

Holy crap!

By the half-month mark, even Bai Haonan felt his nutrition couldn't keep up. He felt like a "comfort woman," all for the sake of asking these female colleagues where Qian Niu had gone!

"We're supposed to be doing business! Can we stop 'studying English' for a moment and focus on the real task!"

"Teddy Nan" was almost in tears.

Perhaps the people who first researched pyramid schemes were right to forbid carnal desires. Only by severing the seven emotions and six desires and falling into a demonic path could one become crazy enough to disown one's own parents and siblings, seeing everyone only as potential recruits. Even lovers who had lured each other in were forced to separate to prevent any private affairs. Yet, despite all the calculated precautions, they never expected that Bai Haonan, this "Teddy Man," would seize the opportunity at the very moment of paying dues to break through their defenses. Now that a taste of forbidden fruit had been had, human sentiments inevitably began to soften and loosen.

Bai Haonan certainly didn't realize that he had made a huge, silent contribution to the disintegration of a pyramid scheme organization. According to Xiao Wan, it was Bai Haonan who started it all. Now, various groups were secretly engaging in all sorts of affairs. The proliferation of such behavior would inevitably hinder the "development" of the scheme. Even she felt that this "adrenaline-fueled cause" wasn't as meaningful anymore.

Environment and atmosphere are always crucial parts of brainwashing. Only when one feels that everyone around them is working toward the same goal can individual emotions be erased by the group, leading people to do things that are unimaginable. Used correctly, this emotional manipulation could create world miracles; used in the wrong direction, it leads to pyramid schemes. Lust might be the opposite, evil force—don't many foreign cults rely on promiscuity? By releasing self-centered sensations, they completely destroy the integrity of the group in favor of a blind pursuit of sensory stimulation.

When two strong forces collide, one is bound to be hurt.

Brother Nan, you’ve really outdone yourself this time!

Someone once said that in ancient times, brothels were the best places for intelligence gathering. Bai Haonan, this amateur gigolo, clearly embodied that point.

It was through these relationships that news about Qian Niu finally began to trickle down to him. At first, even Xiao Wan didn't know where Wang Jianguo’s friend and his girlfriend, Xiaoting, were. She only vaguely heard that a girl had indeed led him there, and that girl was also a newcomer. After he finished his phone call, he was thrown into some random group, and the trail went cold. As Bai Haonan "got to know" more female schemers, a casual lover finally revealed the truth: this friend of Wang Jianguo wasn't as slippery as him. Upon arrival, he realized it was a pyramid scheme and immediately exploded. It was said that six or seven people couldn't beat him, so they ended up locking him away!

Hearing this, Bai Haonan, who had been enjoying his stay a bit too much, suddenly grew anxious. It had been over half a month—what if Qian Niu’s stubborn personality led him to starve to death?

Fortunately, the female schemers said that was the style of northern pyramid schemes. In the south, they relied on brainwashing—soft brainwashing. The northern ones used violence, but in this area, casualties were rare. The few cases they had heard of were suicides due to extreme pressure. There hadn't been any recent deaths. Thus, Wang Jianguo had actually made a positive contribution to the mental state of the female schemers—at least those who were relatively attractive.

The girl who told him this was glowing, her skin flushed after their session, and she was willing to divulge anything. This eased Bai Haonan’s mind and gave him more channels to help find Qian Niu.

After all, he had been blending in for over half a month, and the management of tens of thousands of people couldn't be so precise that there were no loopholes. With the help of a group of female schemers, he was basically free to go out. Regardless, he was always accompanied by women. Sometimes, walking down the street with seven or eight women flirting with him, Brother Nan felt that even an ancient emperor’s tour couldn't have been much better—the only thing missing was a few eunuchs clearing the way.

Following the information shared among these women, he began to visit the various residential complexes—seemingly chaotic but actually strictly organized—to search for Qian Niu.

It was exactly as Yu Jiali had warned when he first arrived: even locals found it difficult to fully grasp the intricate structure of these organizations. It was basically like: so-and-so is incredibly talented, figures out the "truth" behind the scheme, quickly scams a large group of people, and then sets up their own shop, spawning a new territory. The patterns looked similar but were divided into many parts. Fortunately, the women he was with were quite attractive, so they could wander around and visit other groups without much obstruction.

Searching for one person among tens of thousands was akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Even though his current "partners" were capable and often brought news of where people were being held, it usually turned out to be the wrong person.

Instead, trouble began to brew on Bai Haonan’s side.

Because he was a slacker who never studied, never made calls to recruit new members, and stopped "contributing," he was finally flagged in a monthly performance review!

Given that he ate a lot, slept well, and made zero contributions while distracting others from their studies and performance, he was given a formal warning. If he didn't improve, he would be kicked out!

To be expelled from a pyramid scheme—that’s how lazy he was.

But then again, he had spent only a little over three thousand yuan to eat, live, and enjoy himself for so long without doing a thing. If it weren't for the need to find that poor sap Qian Niu, Bai Haonan would have been bored enough to just get up and leave.

However, he kept his patience and promised to improve. He even gave a sincere "self-criticism" at a thousands-strong convention alongside other underperformers. His female confidantes took advantage of this rare full assembly to gather information, only to receive some bad news: it seemed the group Qian Niu was in had produced someone capable who had led the entire group of nearly a hundred people to defect!

All that could be confirmed was that within this massive system of two or three thousand people, the person wasn't being held anymore, and Qian Niu was likely still alive; someone had even seen him.

So, what now?

The only option was to defect as well!

A woman suggested that Bai Haonan take two or three people and jump ship with her. She knew people on the other side; each person just needed to pay an initial fee to get in, and then they could gradually bring other girls over under the pretext of introducing new recruits...

Sometimes, in a special environment, twisted mentalities and emotions really bring about unimaginable changes. Bai Haonan had unknowingly gathered a group of girls in this closed circle. He had snagged the prettiest and most skilled ones, and those who were left behind had to settle for other men. Once the floodgates opened, it was unstoppable. He heard that some groups had already devolved into groups of men and women drawing lots to pair off for collective orgies. With things like this happening, what kind of "great engineering project" were they even doing? The organizational structure was bound to collapse sooner or later. Everyone should just hurry up and jump ship.

But no one talked about escaping the pyramid scheme area completely. On one hand, they lacked money and transportation; on the other, perhaps they were even more unwilling to return to the families they had already scammed into chaos.

Now, it was purely about messing around.

The most bizarre thing was that even this act of "jumping ship" could trigger a drama of competing for favor.

It all started with Chen Meijuan, the one who had first opened this Pandora’s box of desire.