T0 Gaming Guild Saves the World.

Chapter 206, Section 205: A Gambling Dog

At 2 a.m., when Chen Shaoyu walked into the police station, he happened to overhear several people discussing the recent arrest operation.

They were all puzzled as to what crime the young man in the interrogation room had committed to warrant such a large-scale operation.

Aside from the gambling that the candlelight cannot tolerate, given her current emphasis on the boundary between reality and illusion, it's hard for this matter to go unnoticed, and a major commotion is inevitable.

After announcing his name and showing his employee badge from the Stars and Bonfire organization, Chen Shaoyu was led to the interrogation room.

There were quite a few people here. Chen Shaoyu glanced at the shoulder insignia of a few of them and immediately understood.

Because of a stern, almost reprimanding phone call, they all worked overtime and stayed up all night with him.

Judging from the serious yet slightly puzzled expressions on their faces, they were clearly also puzzled by the nonchalant young man with messy hair in the main interrogation room.

What makes this guy so special that he's attracted so much attention?

After Chen Shaoyu finished his self-introduction, the people present were even more puzzled. They had indeed been notified that the game company, Starfire, would send someone to listen in, but they didn't know what the specific connection was between this matter and the people inside.

Chen Shaoyu arrived, and the interrogation officially began.

"name."

“Nong…Nong Xiaofan.”

"age."

"25."

Nong Xiaofan, handcuffed to the chair, was filled with fear. Although he could not see the big shots standing in a row outside the interrogation room, he could feel the extremely oppressive atmosphere.

"Do you know why I arrested you?"

Nong Xiaofan shook his head blankly.

He was playing a game when he suddenly heard a noise outside the rented room.

As soon as his roommate opened the door, the police rushed in, took control of every corner of the room, and pinned him directly to the bed.

Ever since then, his head had been spinning, and it wasn't until he was questioned that he regained some of his senses.

"Now that you're here, aren't you going to confess?"

The person in charge of the interrogation handed over a surveillance photo.

The photo shows him stopping French fries not far from the school gate at noon.

Nong Xiaofan trembled.

"Tell me, where is your upline?"

At this moment, Nong Xiaofan finally realized the seriousness of the situation.

He instinctively swung his arms, but all he heard was the clicking sound of the handcuffs, which tugged at him painfully.

“No, it’s a misunderstanding, it’s not…” he explained, “I was just… trying to trick her.”

"say clearly!"

Nong Xiaofan trembled like a leaf and confessed everything.

I happened to learn about the school that French Fries attends while watching videos. Considering that she is still a college student, her average age is not high and her experience may not be extensive.

After discussing it with his two roommates, they decided to use a fake identity to scare French Fries, and take advantage of the World Championship to uncover some inside information and pull off a big surprise.

The people in the interrogation room were all stunned, and some even subconsciously looked back at the glass behind them.

"Based on the information provided by the person who reported the incident, you said you could manipulate the World Championship."

Nong Xiaofan swallowed hard and continued, "I... I won't exaggerate, it won't intimidate anyone."

"What's your plan?"

"So... we pretended to be high-ranking leaders and asked them to fix the game. The betting odds would be set up, and we needed their cooperation..." he said. "They're college students... they've never seen anything like this before. After a few threats, they'd say things like, 'What will happen if they don't cooperate?'... and then, their brains just wouldn't work."

Everyone was on high alert, ready to dig out information and follow the clues to get to the bottom of the matter.

Nong Xiaofan's answer left people somewhat bewildered.

Chen Shaoyu was also somewhat taken aback, and the noise beside him made him turn his head.

A stack of documents was passed around to everyone by the data clerk.

"The technical staff printed out the transaction records, communication logs, and chat messages; they're all here."

"They selected the evidence that was likely to be important and placed it at the top."

Everyone took turns reading it.

Chen Shaoyu only glanced at two pages of the transaction records before he couldn't help but rub his temples.

No wonder he did such a ridiculous thing; this guy is an incurable gambling addict.

Over the past two years, I have been involved in esports events of all sizes.

Because he knew little about traditional sports, he even consulted "expert group members" in the chat history to help him place bets.

It was probably a stroke of luck during his beginner's bonus period. At first, he bet on odds with low payouts and high odds of winning, and he made a lot of small profits. Little by little, he managed to earn tens of thousands.

If you stop now and cash out, it's a windfall.

But Chen Shaoyu knew very well that these gambling addicts who had tasted the sweetness of success were bound to die sooner or later; it was just a matter of when.

People who have made quick money find it hard to get back on the right track. In their eyes, money is no longer money; it's just a fluctuating number in their account.

The most terrifying thing about gambling is not losing money, but destroying a person's cognition.

Seeing Nong Xiaofan bragging to his friends about making a lot of money in the chat history, Chen Shaoyu could only laugh.

Sure enough, the time for reckoning came quickly.

Just as Nong Xiaofan was fantasizing about making a fortune by exploiting others, an unexpected upset occurred.

He lost more than half of the money he had won in the early stages of gambling, but by this point, he could still secure his winnings.

However, in the chat history, he only complained, "Where are all these upsets coming from?" before continuing to place his bets.

And so, the second upset came his way.

Even at this point, he could uninstall the software, delete the webpage information, and never gamble again.

But his choice was... to double down on the bet.

If you lose 100, I'll bet 200.

If I lose 1000, I'll bet 2000, hoping to win back my losses.

A normal person would think he's crazy. If he loses again, wouldn't he have no way out?
But in the eyes of Nong Xiaofan, a gambling addict who was already obsessed with gambling, he thought he was very smart.

If you win just one game, you break even. With such high profits, how could you not do it?

So this time, he bet all his meager savings. Perhaps it was a stroke of luck from his family's ancestral graves, but he did manage to turn his losses around.

Through the chat history, Chen Shaoyu could feel Nong Xiaofan's ecstasy at that moment.

He treated his roommates to dinner and drinks, and bought himself a new cell phone and computer.

"It's nothing, just a small amount of money."

He has indeed lost his concept of money.

This is his last chance to back down.

Since then, he hasn't stopped betting, but he's lost more than he's won.

My savings are all gone, and I have no money left. What should I do?
Borrow money to place bets.

What should I do if my friend borrows money from me and doesn't pay it back?
Borrowing money to place bets.

He's still betting on a comeback, robbing Peter to pay Paul.

"What's there to be afraid of? It's just a gamble."

"Something happened to my family, I need to borrow some money from you."

"I was just hit by a car, and my family hasn't come yet. Could you give me some money to go to the hospital first?"

"I'm having trouble making money in my business."

The words in the chat history sent chills down Chen Shaoyu's spine as he read them.

Tell different lies to different people.

They don't even spare their relatives and parents.

"Xiao Song, what does this 'opening the box' mean? He said that opening it will turn your life around?"

Without looking up, Chen Shaoyu helped explain: "Game accessories have a certain market value because of their low drop rate. He's addicted to all sorts of things and wants to gamble on everything. Seeing that he could 'make' money for 17 yuan, he definitely got carried away."

"What about this physical card pack?"

“Rare cards are reasonably priced and have collectible value, but the probability of getting the same one is very low,” Chen Shaoyu said. “He’s addicted to the gamble of getting something for a small price.”

From earning meager living allowances at the beginning to making big profits with small investments, Nong Xiaofan successfully navigated between two extremes.

On social media platforms, whenever a match doesn't go his way, such as a weaker team winning against a stronger one, he immediately posts a long rant in the comments section, denouncing match-fixing and score manipulation.

The most difficult thing is that he had already crossed the boundary between reality and illusion before this incident.

During the guild war qualifiers, he first joined the bandwagon in criticizing the hype surrounding Virtual Reality Boundary, but later, when he saw Virtual Reality Boundary making great strides, he made a bet with people in the group during the final qualifying rounds for the four spots, betting 1000 RMB that Virtual Reality Boundary could qualify, demonstrating his agility.

Without a platform to open betting, you have to find someone you know to gamble.

The most ridiculous thing is that, in the very first match, the boundary between reality and illusion was breached by an opening attack, resulting in a defeat.

In an attempt to evade his debt, he simply left the group and blocked the other person, thus escaping the situation in one fell swoop.

Then they went to the account on the boundary between the virtual and real worlds and started criticizing it for several days.

According to the two people who shared the apartment with him and gave him "ideas," they were also drawn into the trap because they saw Nong Xiaofan "making money."

Nong Xiaofan is usually very unpredictable.

He wins money gambling and smiles at everyone he meets.

Whenever he loses, his gloomy face makes him look like a zombie.

There was no conspiracy, no big shot pulling the strings behind the scenes; there was only an abstract suggestion to reopen the game, a gambler whose life was already ruined, bluffing and thinking he was being clever.

No wonder the candlelight couldn't find any relevant information; Nong Xiaofan simply didn't qualify for the game.

While they were going through the documents, Nong Xiaofan had already given most of his confession in the interrogation room.

When asked why they didn't target the orange tea business—the only one with a rural household registration in the virtual-real world, which seemed like an easier target—but instead went after the fries business…

"You have to take the high-speed train to Chengning, which costs money."

If French Fries had gone to school somewhere else, he wouldn't even be able to afford the train ticket.

Having handled many major cases, some experienced police officers took off their glasses, while others rubbed their temples, truly unsure of what they had been up all night for.

Once he got the results, Chen Shaoyu immediately called Zhu Huo back.

Zhu Huo asked for Nong Xiaofan's information, replied "Okay," and hung up.

Chen Shaoyu sighed and contacted the man again.

The man on the other end of the phone seemed to have expected this outcome.

Those who know the inside story dare not touch it.

Those who dare to touch this matter are unaware of it, and being unaware of it also means that they have no background or strength, and no one will warn them that this matter could bring disaster.

After the initial anger and surprise, he calmed down.

"Does the candlelight accept this result?"

"Maybe."

What is the boundary between the virtual and the real doing tonight?

"When I left, the four guilds that qualified for the World Championship were having a training match, which ended around 4 a.m.

Hearing that training was in progress, the man's furrowed brows relaxed somewhat.

Although, according to what he understood, PVE and fighting against high-difficulty dungeon monsters were also forms of practice, it was still specialized training, which was more reassuring.

As the person in charge of following up on this matter, he naturally hoped for a good result at the World Championship.

The farce has left a group of people still waiting outside the interrogation room.

Even now, some people are still wondering why there's such a big fuss, since it's just about someone playing a game.

"Just think of it as a national-level athlete being threatened and coerced into throwing a match. The game 'Proof of the Stars' is very popular among young people. You'll understand once you learn about it."

"A national-level athlete?"

"He's one of the athletes who's representing the country."

"These aren't just ordinary gamers. In short, someone above them values ​​them highly, so you guys better be smart."

"What about the procedures? Are we still going to proceed?"

"You should still leave. Ask the person involved to come over tomorrow to identify themselves and sign something. Process it quickly and don't waste their time," the man reminded. "Also, keep an eye on things around the university town."

While the interrogation room was releasing its results, the boundary between the virtual and real worlds also concluded its first PVP practice session in preparation for the World Championship and began its journey towards the Great Snow Mountain.

"Demons, we're coming!"

(End of this chapter)