America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 54 Self-taught

Seeing that the situation was over and Officer Miguel had been successfully treated and was no longer in danger, Zhang Ailun rode his bicycle away from the Kakin Bridge.

Dominic also sent a message midway through, explaining that he had arrived at the Southern Police Station, been questioned by the officers, uploaded video evidence, and that the officers had asked him and Sieg to stay for dinner.

Furthermore, the police reported and discussed the issue of Sig's identity, preparing him to give media interviews, read from a prepared script, and cooperate with the police's publicity campaign.

Sieg might even regain his status, have his service record restored, and receive veteran benefits because of this incident.

Zhang Ailun was also somewhat surprised by the police department's swift action. Racial tensions in the area have always been a serious issue. Officer Miguel and his colleagues faced pressure during the shooting of the Black man, but he himself quickly suffered retaliation from the Black community, which was a great thing for the police union.

They could make a big deal out of this, reclaim everything they lost, morally overwhelm the other side, and win the final victory.

Old Black lost miserably.

But that has nothing to do with him.

Zhang Ailun used Google Maps to search for the coordinates of the car graveyard, and prepared to go to the car graveyard in the suburbs. However, it would take two or three hours to get there by bicycle.

He decided to find someone to share a ride on a ride-hailing app, which would be cheaper.

I randomly picked an open convenience store, went in to buy breakfast, and spent $4 on a fresh double meat sandwich, a carton of low-fat milk, and a grilled sausage. The total came to $6.

Now that we have money, we naturally want to ensure the quality of our nutrition and eat regular meals.

I sat by the roadside eating breakfast while using a ride-hailing app to search for information and start matching my location.

A taxi quickly accepted the order; it was a white Toyota Corolla. At the same time, a tattooed, bearded man whose profile picture resembled his own was also matched with him for the ride.

The taxi needs to pick up the other party in the sixth block first, and the estimated arrival time is twelve minutes.

Zhang Ailun quickly finished his breakfast, rode his bike back to the bridgehead base camp, left his bike there, and then walked out onto the street.

After waiting a moment, he saw a somewhat familiar old Corolla pull up to the side of the road and honk its horn at him. Zhang Ailun looked at the license plate number, then glanced at the brown-skinned Mexican middle-aged driver in the driver's seat, somewhat surprised.

What's going on? Doesn't this car belong to Olivia's boyfriend, Craig?

Feeling a little unsure, Zhang Ailun walked over to the driver, showed him his order, opened the car door, and sat in the back.

As soon as he stepped into the car, he confirmed that it was indeed Craig's Corolla! Even the floor mats with a hole in them on the back seat were exactly the same.

Zhang Ailun was puzzled. Why did the other party sell the car? Did they live such a frugal life?

Sitting next to him was a bearded man with tattooed arms. Zhang Ailun politely nodded and greeted him, and the man nodded in return.

The car started, and the three remained silent. They didn't know each other very well, and the driver was clearly not a talkative person. Perhaps it was because he didn't understand English?

Zhang Ailun also took out his phone and sent a message to Olivia, asking about her situation.

Zhang Ailun: Did your boyfriend sell the car to a car rental company?

Olivia: How did you know? He's been thinking of getting a new car recently, but he probably won't make a move anytime soon.

Zhang Ailun sent the other party a photo.

Zhang Ailun: Isn't this your boyfriend's car? I was matched with a driver when I booked a ride, and the driver was a middle-aged Latino man, not your boyfriend.

Olivia: WTF? I didn't see him drive yesterday, but I didn't receive the money either. I'm going to ask him what's going on right now!

Zhang Ailun: ...

Seeing that the other party was no longer responding, Zhang Ailun put away his phone and sat in the car, watching the scenery change outside the window.

He also struck up a conversation with the driver, "Hey buddy, your Toyota Corolla looks a bit old, doesn't it? Using a taxi company's vehicle to pick up passengers should have age limits and qualification requirements, right?"

The Mexican driver understood what he was saying through the translation headset and knew what he was worried about.

While driving, he picked up his phone, which had a built-in translation app, and replied, "Don't worry, sir, this car has passed its annual inspection and is licensed for rental. The rental company would never let us drive a dangerous vehicle to pick up passengers. You can also check the information online."

Zhang Ailun tried searching and successfully found the white Toyota Corolla. The license plate and vehicle information were available, showing that it had been registered with a car rental credit company for 6 years.

That car rental company was also invested in and opened by a Mexican boss, no wonder the driver was a Mexican who couldn't even speak English properly.

Was Craig's car rented from the beginning?

Zhang Ailun was somewhat surprised and logged into the VT exchange again, trying to search for information about the Toyota Corolla.

After searching through some old posts, I found the relevant information about the car in some hidden corners.

The poster posted the message in the summer of 2018, saying that he needed a car for getting around and picking up girls, not a very nice one, with a budget of only $2000.

Another person replied below and posted a picture: "I'll only charge you $1400 for this Toyota Corolla, deal is on. No accidents, no water damage, 80% of the paperwork is complete, cannot be transferred to the owner, registered under the rental company's name, no problem for private use."

The poster immediately left a message asking to see the car.

There has been no further news since.

They must have gone to chat privately.

Some people also posted warnings: This is an unlicensed car, which may be a tool used by criminals to commit crimes. Be careful not to get yourself into trouble.

Some people posted that since the vehicle cannot be transferred to the rental company's name, it could be repossessed at any time. If there are any hidden dangers and the police investigate, you will also bear some responsibility! Spending $1400 is not worth it at all. You might as well buy my Chevrolet Sail for $2000, it's almost new, and the transfer is included. If you want to buy it, I'll have someone take care of it for you right now!

You've got this calculation so shrewd, it's audible even to people across the Atlantic. You've perfectly captured the psychology of car buyers, offering both praise and criticism.

However, the commenter angrily retorted: "We are an honest business; such a thing would never happen. The vehicle is 100% safe! The Chevrolet Sail you mentioned is definitely someone else's car. The transfer documents are fake; they're either trying to extort hundreds of dollars in fees from customers. Anyone who actually buys from you is the one who's been scammed!"

The two sides engaged in a heated verbal battle, which even escalated to the point of arranging a fight offline. In the end, one of them said he was in Finland and the other was in Italy, so the matter was dropped.

People who can afford to buy cars on the VT exchange are not normal people. They are either car dealers or poor people trying their luck. They know that there are no normal vehicles here, and it is a matter of finding gold in the trash, but the advantage is that the price is cheap.

It turns out that the car rental company is more reliable. There haven't been any problems since the transaction in 18, and the vehicle is still on the road normally.

However, Zhang Ailun is still unsure whether Craig was the first buyer of the car.

Having exited the VT exchange, the taxi had already left the city. Through the car window, Zhang Ailun saw the scenery along the roadside—a familiar fork in the road!

As expected, it is the hometown that many people have never seen. Using the GTA map will not affect anything at all.

Olivia also sent him a message.

Olivia: You're absolutely right. My boyfriend sold the car at a low price. The person who bought it was an employee of a car rental company. He paid extra to get a Toyota Rav4 in return. He didn't even tell me about this. He said it was a surprise he had prepared.

Zhang Ailun: When did your boyfriend buy the Corolla? In the summer of 18?

Olivia: ? How did you know?! Good heavens! I've never told anyone about this!!

Holy crap, it really is?

Zhang Ailun felt a little smug. He had tasted the thrill of using information asymmetry to deceive others.

[Network Program lv.0: Messages involving network security and information utilization.]

Could this be considered self-taught?

Zhang Ailun didn't expect that he had already reached the basics. However, this field is easy to get started but difficult to master; it requires knowledge of programming and procedures, which he knew nothing about.

Zhang Ailun: Because I know a bit about internet technology, I found out that someone bought this car for $1400 in 18. But I don't know if it was your boyfriend.

Olivia: $1400? That can't be him. He told me he bought the car from his friend for $3000.

Zhang Ailun was speechless. Is it possible he's lying to you? Or maybe Craig got scammed by a car dealer; is his friend really taking such a hefty kickback?

Zhang Ailun: The Toyota Rav4 is also pretty good; it's a relatively spacious SUV.

Olivia: That's right, but I'm angry because he spent money recklessly without my permission!

Zhang Ailun: Then you should earn more money and buy a car for yourself.

Olivia: I'm working on it!!

(End of this chapter)