Crimson Instinct

Chapter 132: Black market of the Internet

*Xin Lei*

Bro slowly nodded as Qi Qiang finished.

"That is what we concluded too. When Zhiqiang told us about that app when he raided Gen Gen's base, we got into searching, and when we didn't find the app, we naturally thought of the Dark Web."

Qi Qiang nodded. "Yup. The Dark Web is the internet's black market. But it is not necessarily bad."

Bai Li asked, "What do you mean?"

"Dark Web gives anonymity, so naturally, it is a boon for criminals. But it is also used by law enforcement for secret communication or exchange information. Many journalists hide their identities to dig in for details for crime reports and all."

Shi Ruiling nodded. "He is right. Though not often, we have used to gather intelligence about our different missions if we had to. But we use it sparingly."

I typed. "How do you access the Dark Web if one really has to?"

"Actually, getting into the Dark Web is easy. You need a dark web browser like Tor. You download it, and you navigate through it as you do in other search engines. The only difference is that the URLs end .onion instead of .com. Onion because that's what Tor stands for - The Onion Router. The dark web is just like the onion with its layers and layers that you have to deal with."

That was pretty interesting actually, the symbolism that is. Pretty apt.

Liao Huifang said, "I think my brain will burst with all this information."

"Well, you already have the deficiency of that, so no wonder." Qi Qiang shrugged.

"Shut up, Qiang!"

He shrugged and said, "Back to the topic, though Dark Web is easy to access, it's a whole another story to find something inside the Dark Web like the FriendsChat. That needs skills. That is not easy. People over there also frequently change their addresses, so it becomes whole dynamic stuff hopping from one place to another. It doesn't sit in just one place.

That's why I couldn't respond to your messages. I was trying to access FriendsChat through the Dark Web, and that is not easy because even though my identity would be anonymous, I don't want to be caught by that group, trying to find their whereabouts. I was engaged in working about a series of codes to get down to their app."

"Were you able to?" Bai Li asked.

He half nodded. "I am still trying though I am very near to it. I have written my own software, and I am perfecting it. There are still some calculations to be done. You see, The Dark Web is like a whole another world. Just like how we have some customs and methods, the Dark Web has it too. That is what you do right when you visit a new country? Learn its culture before you go there. You need to know about the culture in the Dark Web, too, or else it's easy to get fooled. Once we get access to the app, we can see their chat records and possibly find a clue about their location."

I anxiously typed. "what about Chu Jie and Cocoa?"

"Once we enter their app, we can find out about them too, provided if the gang may have spilled his location sometime before on the app. If they would have discussed it over the chat or their forum, then we can get a chance to access their records."

Shi Ruiling exclaimed. "That's so cool! You wrote your own software."

Qi Qiang looked proud. "Well, it still needs some work, but it's almost done."

Bai Li said, "So what the gang does is that they send out fake emails pretending to be legit so that the victims fall for it. Once they enter FriendsChat, somebody from their side acts like their friend or lover or whatever the victim needs them to be. They gain their trust, and then somehow convince them to meet that person. Then he or she takes the victim to their base and kills them."

Luo Zhiqiang said, "It's the same with the deals. The same gang communicates to the other parties or clients using this forum and completes the transactions. Through that, they discuss the place to visit and complete the rest of the deal."

Bro coldly said, "We are trying to trace the locations from where they accessed the forum and did all the deals. Our team is working on it, but as the boy said, it's difficult to find them. Even with the state of the art technology, it is difficult. Naturally, the culprits also seem to be well versed with this stuff."

He narrowed his eyes at Qi Qiang, and he straightened up.

"Y-yes, sir?"

"How about you work with our tech team?"

I was surprised.

Qi Qiang's eyes brightened. "Really? It would be my honor. Chinese Intelligence has some really cool stuff, and I can learn a lot from your team."

He nodded.

Shi Ruiling seemed to agree as well. "That's a great idea. If you worked together, your software would be finished much earlier, and our team can help you in testing out for any vulnerabilities as well."

Qi Qiang furiously nodded.

I glanced at Bai Li, and he seemed grave. "So they kidnap people and kill them while also carrying out the illegal dealings with other countries in the background."

I typed. "But the question is why? Why do they kill them? What is the purpose?"

"Wait. When we visited the base in Langfang, Natural Park, we got a video recording, right?"

I nodded and typed. "It wasn't working, though."

Bro said, "Show it to me, idiot. You should have done so from the beginning."

"..."

I handed him the small camera. He squinted his eyes and thoroughly checked it but not before wearing the gloves.

"The footage can be retrieved. Zhiqiang. Give it to the team to restore the data in it. Also, take the laptop and introduce Qi Qiang to our team."

Luo Zhiqiang took it and went out.

"We can know what they did to their victims in that base and their purpose behind these scams."

I typed. "I hope we find out about Chu Jie and Cocoa sooner. Time is ticking by."

Bai Li said, "...Yes. But cocoa...he is there with him. He wouldn't let anybody hurt Chu Jie."

He smiled, but I sensed loneliness and a hint of worry for Cocoa in his gaze.

Yuan said, "Don't stress, Bai Li. Stay positive, and everything would be fine."

He nodded.

Bro sneered. "Ho...what a beautiful camaraderie between the ex and current boyfriends. I am so touched."

"..."

Yuan said, "I am just trying to help him."

"And, are you sure that there might not be any lingering feelings that would stop you from truly helping him?"

I glared at bro. I signed. "That was not a nice thing to say!"

"Truth always hurts, little sister." Bro shrugged.

"It's alright. I don't mind. Actually, that's a logical conclusion considering the situation but rest assured, I will not ever mix my personal and professional affairs. Plus, Xin Lei and I are just friends now." Kang smiled.

"It better be that way."

I sighed.

Shi Ruiling shook her head 

"Let's just hope that they don't try to contact any other target before we crack their base."

---

Dongcheng.

After disposing of that woman's body he just fucked, Rodey walked up to Ying Yue and smiled. "Hey, babe."

Ying Yue didn't know what to think. She just stood frozen to her place.

"She didn't fulfill her promise, so you killed her."

Rodey leaned on the wall. "What promise?"

"You cleared to her that it was just a one time...one time" she lowered her head as she never said those vulgar words in her life.

"One time fuck?" Rodey sneered.

Ying Yue abruptly nodded. "But she asked for a relationship. You didn't like it, so youDid you kill the other women too because they asked you out?"

"I don't like someone who cannot understand such a simple thing like one-night stand. How difficult is it? One night of pleasure and then move on."

"You could have just ignored her."

"What's the fun if I ignored her?"

Silence.

"She might have a family who could be depended on her for their living."

"She should have thought about it before trying to cross her limits. Just look at her and me. Was she worthy of me?" He laughed sinisterly.

Rodey took a step forward and whispered. "Pretend you never saw it, and you can live to see the next day, okay?" 

He walked away.

---

The three men who met Rodey in the bar separated on a sidewalk and went their own ways.

But the third man who tried to harass Ying Yue walked a distance before he stopped.

He took out his phone and saw at Ying Yue's picture that he secretly captured it after he left. She was working, serving drinks at a table.

He sneered and licked his lower lip. He opened his call log and dialed a number.

"I have found our next target. I want her captured by hook or by crook. And then"

He slurped his tongue over his lips. "Before our usual fun, I will have some quality time of my own with her. I can't wait to pin her beneath me and make a mess of her."