CHAPTER 19: CHAPTER 19: ANTI-ROUTINE

Just when everyone thought Xia Liang was about to teach some real-world tactics, a different comment popped up in the live chat.

"Anchor! Don’t trust her! This Susu is a scammer! I’ve been scammed by her before!"

Seeing this comment, Xia Liang blinked and couldn’t help but ask, "Hey man, what exactly happened? Tell us about it."

The commenter then explained his experience, which basically involved being catfished into buying tea. After he transferred the money, the person took it and disappeared.

Seeing that someone in his stream had fallen for such a trick, Xia Liang rubbed his temples as a headache began to form. He sighed helplessly and said, "This scam actually worked?"

Xia Liang looked completely dumbfounded. He must have been thinking with his dick. He reluctantly warned his audience, "From now on, all of you need to be wary of similar messages. Just follow one rule: as long as we’re just chatting, I don’t care if you say you’re Ultraman, I’ll believe you. But the moment you mention money? Sorry, I’m broke myself."

"Hahaha! So you’ll believe in Ultraman as long as money isn’t involved? Anchor, you’re awesome! 666!"

"It’s me! Emperor Qin Shi Huang! Send funds!"

"Since the Anchor knows this person is a scammer, what’s he planning to do?"

"Is he going to counter-scam the scammer? That would be so thrilling!"

"Counter-scamming is unlikely since it’s illegal. I think there’s a higher chance he’ll just try to date her."

Just then, a rocket—a type of virtual gift—launched across Xia Liang’s stream.

Xia Liang looked closer and saw it was from the person who had just been scammed, sent along with another comment.

"Anchor, I’m at my wit’s end! Please, get revenge for me! This is infuriating!"

Right after Xia Liang finished reading, the System’s voice echoed in his head.

"Congratulations to the Host for triggering the hidden mission: Punish the Tea-Selling Girl.

Mission Description: Per the client’s request, please punish the tea-selling girl.

Mission Reward: To be determined based on the Host’s difficulty of completion."

The appearance of the hidden mission made Xia Liang’s eyes light up. Punishment, huh?

An idea immediately formed in his mind.

"Since this guy got scammed, we obviously have to help him get revenge..."

He paused for a moment, stoking everyone’s curiosity before continuing, enunciating each word.

"I’m going to woo this scammer, convince her to meet me here, and then I’ll escort her to the police station myself."

As soon as Xia Liang finished speaking, the entire stream fell silent for a second before erupting into a frenzy.

"Holy crap! What kind of godly maneuver is this?!"

"Damn, I never saw that coming! I bow down to the Anchor!"

"Scamming someone for their affection is one thing, but scamming them right into a police station? Damn!"

"Beautifully done, Anchor!"

"Can’t wait to see the Anchor in action!"

"Just watch, everyone," Xia Liang said. "Next, I’ll teach you the techniques for pursuing a gold digger, and also how we’re going to bring this tea-selling scammer to justice."

As he spoke, he started typing a message to Susu. Since the camera was focused on his phone, everyone could see it in real time.

"My name is Liang Xia. I’m a rich second-generation heir who loves drinking tea, especially from Mount Wuyi."

Watching Xia Liang type, the audience nearly burst out laughing.

"Anchor, are you sure it’s a good idea to be this cheeky?"

"Yeah, didn’t an Online Friend say at the start that this scam is all about selling tea? By playing right into it, aren’t you afraid of crashing and burning?"

"Anchor, with your tiny room that’s less than 30 square meters, how are you going to pretend to be a rich second-generation heir?"

"Waiting for the Anchor to screw up~"

"Crashing and burning is impossible. It’s not going to happen in this lifetime. As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold. All of you, just watch carefully and learn."

After hitting send, Xia Liang and his audience waited mischievously to see how this Susu person would reply.

Susu: Um...

Seeing Susu’s reply, the audience roared with laughter.

"See! Anchor, you played yourself!"

"Hahaha, you blew your cover before the game even started! You crashed and burned!"

"Susu: Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?"

"Susu: Why do I feel like I’m the one getting scammed when I’m supposed to be the scammer?"

Clearly, the girl named Susu was also stunned. She couldn’t understand it. This was a new scam she had come up with just last month, and it had worked every single time. Why did it feel like this guy knew exactly what she was planning? After a moment, though, she shook her head.

Impossible. It must be a coincidence. I keep notes on the people I scam, so this should actually make it easier to sell my tea later.

With that thought, Susu rallied once again.

Susu: That’s great! Drinking tea is a good habit. I love drinking tea, too.

Seeing Susu’s reply, Xia Liang pointed a finger at the screen.

"See! What did I tell you? This is what you call a counter-ploy. You all think I’m on level two, but I’m actually on level five."

With a sly grin, Xia Liang continued typing.

"That’s great. I’d love to chat more, but I have things to do tomorrow, so I need to get some sleep. Good night."

He then tossed his phone aside. When Susu sent another message, Xia Liang ignored it. Although he was planning to run a scheme of his own, he couldn’t be too hasty. The best method was to ignore her and make her come to him. Obviously, not every viewer understood this principle.

"Anchor, what are you doing? How can you ignore her after just a few messages?"

"Yeah, strike while the iron is hot! You should lock down this online romance tonight!"

"We’ve already dropped our pants, and this is all you’re going to show us?"

"Tomorrow? By tomorrow she’ll have moved on to her next victim! She won’t give you the time of day!"

Looking at the barrage of comments, Xia Liang felt a bit helpless. This group of viewers was clearly difficult to lead. But they were his viewers, and he had to forgive them no matter how silly they were.

"It’s obvious none of you were paying attention in class," he said. "What did I say before? You have to know when to advance and when to retreat. Learn to play hard to get. What’s our goal here? It’s not an online romance. How easy would that be? Just send her a few cash transfers with numbers that sound like romantic promises, and she’ll immediately start calling you ’hubby’. But what good does that do? She gets the money, and what do you get? So, pursuing the scammer isn’t the point. Our goal is to trick her into coming here so we can take her to the police station."

"Live and learn."

"Sigh, our thinking is on too low a level."

"Listening to the Anchor is more enlightening than ten years of reading books!"

"So, Anchor, how exactly do you plan to lure her here?"

"Curious +1!"

"Lure her here?"

A playful look appeared on Xia Liang’s face.

"What do you mean ’lure’? This is just an online couple meeting up in real life. How can you call that a lure?"

Taking a sip of water, Xia Liang continued, "You can’t rush this sort of thing. After all, our opponent isn’t a low-level player. We have to be steady and methodical. Our goal is to have her meet up with me in person without me spending a single penny."

"Without spending a single penny? Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?"

"She’s a scammer. The type who won’t act without seeing a profit. It seems impossible without paying some kind of price, right?"

"Yeah, Anchor, you can’t treat her like she’s an idiot."

Looking at the screen filled with skeptical comments, a smile touched the corners of Xia Liang’s mouth.