"These platforms are neither compliant nor legal; they rely on violent debt collection and illegal coercion! But the villagers of Linjiacun Village are not afraid!"
"Everyone, borrow at least 300,000 yuan!"
As Lin Xian’s words echoed, the entire Linjiacun Village square erupted in excitement.
"Three hundred thousand! My goodness!"
"Great-Grandfather is truly the best! He thinks of us first for everything good!"
"Exactly, you could say we’re acting on behalf of heaven and upholding justice."
"And as for violent debt collection, heh, our village isn't afraid of them. No matter how many come, it won't matter!"
The villagers wore excited smiles.
Liu Ruyan’s mouth twitched. This man was really planning to fleece predatory online lenders! And he was dragging the entire village along with him! Was this really okay?
Then again, predatory online loans aren't protected by law. The only concern would be credit scores, but some of these platforms don't even report to credit agencies—they just resort to violent collection if you don't pay. Clearly, these were exactly the kind of platforms Lin Xian was targeting.
Is Lin Xian’s behavior illegal? The law doesn't explicitly state so. But is it lawful? He is borrowing money with no intention of returning it. And he is leading a huge group of villagers to do the same.
"This matter is entirely voluntary. I, Lin Xian, will not force any of you to do this!" Lin Xian said, looking at the villagers—a safety net he’d thrown out for himself.
Liu Ruyan felt utterly helpless. It was already difficult to catch Lin Xian; now, with him stating this so cautiously, it would be even harder.
The viewers in the livestream were stunned by Lin Xian's maneuver.
"Holy crap, so *that’s* the damn road to riches!"
"Impressive. And honestly, it’s true—you could get 300,000 in an afternoon. If you’re bold enough, maybe even 500,000."
"Haha, these people are doing something I've always wanted to do but never dared."
"Exactly. And the key is, if they really don't pay it back, these companies have no way to collect violently."
"Right, if a group of them comes to the village, they might just get a sound beating."
The viewers chattered away.
At the police station, Zhao Guoan watched the scene with a look of helplessness. Lin Xian’s actions didn't technically qualify as illegal, though if they really wanted to, they could use this as a thin pretext to arrest him. However, it would certainly tip their hand, and they wouldn't be able to hold him for long.
"There are too many people in this village with a high resistance to legal pressure," Zhao Guoan sighed. Lin Xian had already distanced himself with that one statement. Plus, the people taking out these loans were mostly the elderly, which effectively circumvented all risks. They were truly powerless.
Liu Ruyan watched as the elderly men and women lined up in front of Lin Xian. He sat there on a stool, looking calm and composed.
"Grandpa, take a look. Here’s my ID, bank card, and phone," one old man said, leaning on his cane. To her surprise, he was using a smartphone.
Liu Ruyan glanced around—the old men and women of Linjiacun were all using smartphones. "Are these elders really that willing to spend?" In her memory, the elders in these mountain villages were lucky to have a 100-yuan flip phone, let alone a smartphone.
"Haha, alright, let me see," Lin Xian said, smiling as he took the old man's phone. He then used a computer to batch-transfer the details of all those predatory loan platforms.
"Let's start with this 'Fangxin Jie' app," Lin Xian said, operating the phone. "You've successfully borrowed 30,000! 10,000 has arrived in your bank account. Monthly interest rate is 18%, due on the 11th of every month."
"Whoa, a 30% fee and 18% interest. Good grief," Lin Xian had heard these platforms were predatory, but seeing it was a first. This was even darker than high-interest loan sharking! "Taking this money is no sin," Lin Xian muttered.
"Old Sun, the 10,000 is in. Take a look," Lin Xian said, pointing to the phone. The old man peered through his bifocals and beamed, nearly kneeling to Lin Xian. "Grandpa, thank you! I’ve never earned 10,000 yuan in my whole life!"
"Don't rush, this is just the beginning. There's plenty more," Lin Xian said with a grin.
Liu Ruyan watched with resignation. It had really started. These platforms were indeed vicious: out of 30,000, only 10,000 reached the account. And the most critical part was the 18% monthly interest—that meant for every 10,000, you’d have to pay back 11,800 next month. In a year, 10,000 would balloon into 70,000! 30,000 would become over 200,000! No wonder so many people were ruined by these loans.
Thinking of this, Liu Ruyan felt a sense of satisfaction. Lin Xian was essentially acting on behalf of heaven. It was a rare good deed... even if it was 'thieves robbing thieves.'
The viewers didn't care about the morality. They watched as Lin Xian kept siphoning money from these platforms. Thirty thousand, fifty thousand, sixty thousand—in no time, the old man’s phone showed over 300,000.
"My god, thank you, thank you!" The old man nearly fainted from excitement. 300,000! He’d earned it in a flash! No wonder he was Great-Grandfather; he was truly incredible.
The viewers were green with envy.
"Holy shit, that’s fast! Has it even been ten minutes?"
"Awesome, truly awesome!"
"It makes me want to go take out a loan too. Waaaah, this money-making speed is too fast."
"It’s like a printing press!"
"Bro, think carefully. These predatory lenders show up at your door for collection."
"Say, is it too late to become a villager of Linjiacun?"
"Heh, today’s events prove that these villagers are probably capable of anything!"
Liu Ruyan stared at Lin Xian. The things this young man had revealed today were surely just the tip of the iceberg. What eighteen-year-old college student would lead his entire village in doing something like this?
"Next," Lin Xian waved. An older woman stepped up.
They went through the apps one by one. The woman was beaming, watching the numbers in her bank account climb like water being poured into a bucket. This was way faster than robbing a bank.
Linjiacun had over three hundred elderly residents alone. Lin Xian worked from dawn until dusk, and almost every household had over 300,000 in their accounts. Liu Ruyan watched, numb, as Lin Xian kept switching identities.
The viewers didn't find it boring at all. As more people joined the borrowing spree, the livestream’s audience grew.
"Holy cow, the speed of this wealth! A whole village just got rich overnight!"
"I'm so jealous. In a flash, they earned what took me half a lifetime to save."
"Then again, if they do this, those predatory platforms are going to cry."
"They deserve it. Who told them to charge such high interest? Damn, I got scammed by them once."
...
In Jiangsu Province, in an urban village—a place teeming with all sorts of people and hotbeds for crime, including pyramid schemes and predatory loan headquarters.
"Boss! Our platform's business has surged!" A man in a suit looked at the computer, his face full of joy.
"Oh? Really? How much?" Not far away, a man smoking a cigarette with his legs propped up on a sofa looked at his subordinate with surprise. Their platform usually made at least a million a month. If the guy was this excited, it had to be a huge order.
"Boss, the profit this time is at least 5 million! That’s equivalent to a whole quarter’s performance!"
"Huh? That much? What's going on?" Brother Hao sat up. They made more money the more they lent, but sometimes they had to be wary of people who borrowed specifically to avoid paying. Brother Hao walked over to the computer.
"Look, Brother Hao, our ten platforms are being flooded with orders," the subordinate said.
"Let me see the details. Don't tell me we ran into someone who wants to borrow from everyone and then vanish," Brother Hao slapped his subordinate’s head. He didn't worry too much, though—their collection team wasn't for show. They had the home addresses and personal info of everyone who borrowed. Running away was impossible.
"Lin Damao, Lin Xiuqin, Lin Sen, Lin Mu, Lin..." As the subordinate read the names, his voice grew quieter. He sensed something wrong. "Boss, these all seem to have the same surname!"
"Damn it, they wouldn't be a gang, would they?" The subordinate looked indignant.
Brother Hao slapped him again. "Is that even a question? Of course they’re a gang! They even look like they’re from the same family!" Brother Hao scanned the list. Damn, almost all the names were 'Lin,' though there were a few others. That made him breathe a sigh of relief.
"Which idiot is shouting for his whole family to come and borrow money?" Brother Hao gritted his teeth. But then, thinking of his thugs, he smiled. "Fortune and misfortune go hand in hand; this isn't necessarily a bad thing." As long as people borrowed, they had ways to make them pay it back.
"Keep an eye on these people. Make the collection calls in a month," Brother Hao commanded. The subordinate nodded.
"Understood, Brother Hao. By the way, there’s a kid named Lin Xian who borrowed 70,000 from us across different platforms. The repayment date is coming up. He's only eighteen; I don't think he can pay."
"Heh," Brother Hao gave a sinister laugh, his tattoos making him look terrifying. "Are there many college students like that?"
"Is he borrowing from multiple platforms too?" Brother Hao asked.
"Yes, he hit every one of our platforms. Doesn't look like he intends to pay," the subordinate said. On the screen, the photo on Lin Xian’s ID card showed a clear, bright smile.
"Heh, not paying? These students are the easiest to deal with. I don't need to teach you that, do I?" Brother Hao sneered.
"Heh, no need." Dealing with students like this usually involved a bit of intimidation and showing up at their door; the parents almost always ended up paying.
"Boss, this kid is also surnamed Lin. Could he be with that group?"
"If he is, even better. We'll collect from them all at once," Brother Hao scoffed. "Keep watching them. If this Lin kid doesn't pay, get on it immediately. Money is a bit tight after all this."
They didn't have much cash on hand—only a few tens of millions.
"Heh, don't worry. Crazy Donkey and the others are just waiting for something like this!"