142: Looks like things are about to get out of hand again.

For Zhu Shuyi, this was an unexpected surprise.

Originally, seeking help from the Legal Aid Center was a last resort, and she wasn't sure if a Lawyer would be useful.

But now the situation was different; that was Zhou Yun!

How many people spent money trying to hire him but couldn't, and she actually had this luck?

So, it could truly be said that she would agree to all of Zhou Lawyer's requests, no matter what they were.

After hanging up the phone, Zhu Shuyi quickly began packing her things; she wanted to meet with that Zhou Lawyer as soon as possible and explain the situation to him.

At the law firm office, Zhou Yun was already aware of the situation, and he had no particular thoughts about it.

To put it bluntly, how old was he this year? Twenty-four. In the legal profession, he was already the most famous internet celebrity.

If something were to happen, it would be hard to say who would benefit more.

Even within the law firm, there were quite a few young female lawyers who were eager to approach him.

But he had no interest in any of them, because he wasn't a young man at all, and he wouldn't be dominated by his hormones.

Years of hardship in his previous life had given him enough rationality. The best way to relax was to handle a criminal case.

Getting some people acquitted, or sending some people to prison, that feeling was truly exhilarating, a soul-deep thrill…

Around five o'clock, Zhou Yun was in his office reading the latest guiding cases and some press releases. Even a Lawyer like him had to constantly learn.

Not learning law, but understanding the direction.

The law was there, but every leader who came into power had his own direction.

For example, the previously emphasized “source governance of litigation” and “proactive judicial power”—for those two years, you could say you had to follow that rhythm.

But now, these were not mentioned at all, and the Supreme Peoples Court had also issued a new judicial interpretation, stating that “pre-litigation mediation” case numbers could no longer be registered; they must all be converted to in-litigation mediation.

This was the new direction. A brilliant Lawyer must grasp these trends and act accordingly to succeed.

Just then, Xiao Duan walked in and said, “Director Zhou, the client is here.”

Hearing this, Zhou Yun put down the materials in his hand, rubbed his eyes, and said, “Alright, bring her in.”

Soon, a young girl was led in, with a hint of timidity on her face.

Zhou Yun smiled and said, “You’re Zhu Shuyi, right? Please sit down, no need to be nervous. I'm just a Lawyer providing you with a service.”

After a few casual words, seeing that the other party was no longer nervous, Zhou Yun said, “Alright, let’s talk about the case. You mentioned some things in your statement, but it wasn’t detailed enough.”

“Now, tell me about this loan incident from beginning to end. Remember to tell me everything you know.”

Zhu Shuyi hesitated for a moment but still began, “Lawyer Zhou, I… I actually never intended to borrow so much. At first, I only borrowed five thousand yuan!”

“At that time, I hadn't graduated yet, but I had already found a job. The other classmates in my dorm said we should go out and have some fun, but my family didn't have money, so I borrowed five thousand…”

Zhou Yun was noncommittal about these details. University was essentially half of society; on one hand, you had to fit in, but on the other hand, everyone's circumstances were inherently different.

Or, one could say that during university, it was the closest you would be to various second-generation rich kids.

For things like group meals or trips, if everyone went and you didn't, it would seem like you weren't fitting in, but your financial situation simply couldn't support it. What then?

That's why university students became a high-risk group for excessive consumption.

“At the time, it was agreed that I would repay the money in three months, with an interest of three hundred yuan, but if it was overdue, there would be a two thousand yuan penalty.”

Hearing this, Zhou Yun smiled. If he had only been guessing at first, he could now confirm that this was a routine loan scam.

The interest rates for routine loan scams wouldn't be set too high, because if the interest was too high, many university students or recent graduates wouldn't borrow.

However, they would set high penalty fees.

Such high penalty fees were certainly not supported by law, but students didn't know that!

Zhu Shuyi continued, “Lawyer Zhou, I'm not someone who disregards everything. When I borrowed, I told the customer service that I probably couldn't pay it back in three months, but I could pay back a portion in advance.”

“The customer service also said that paying back a portion wouldn't count as overdue.”

Zhou Yun said, “But when it came time to repay after three months, you found you couldn't repay a portion at all, right? And then you watched helplessly as it became overdue, right?”

Zhu Shuyi immediately said in surprise, “Lawyer Zhou, you know?”

Zhou Yun smiled, “Of course I know. I also know that their contracts will specify the overdue time down to the minute or even second; as soon as it passes, you're considered overdue.”

“Alright, please continue.”

This was a new trick. In the past, the most common methods were yin-yang contracts and cash kickbacks.

Yin-yang contracts were simple: they would give you twenty thousand yuan, but the contract would state fifty thousand, simple and brutal.

Then the question arises: if only twenty thousand was disbursed, and the contract stated fifty thousand, even if you sued, it couldn't be supported, right?

That's correct, so this trick would be accompanied by another trick: they would transfer fifty thousand to you, and then have you withdraw thirty thousand in cash to give to a person they designated.

Then it was perfect. The contract stated fifty thousand, there was a record of fifty thousand in the transfer, and what you returned was cash, which you couldn't prove.

Some people might wonder if such a simple trick would fool anyone.

Of course, people fell for it, and quite a few, including some university students who had received higher education.

Zhu Shuyi continued, “At that time, when I found out it was overdue, I quickly contacted the customer service, and the customer service said she didn't know what was going on, but the system showed I was overdue.”

“She also said that if it wasn't paid back within three days of being overdue, they would automatically report it to the credit system.”

It was still that kind of trick: threatening people with credit reports, plus methods like contacting all their phone contacts. Generally, young people would be scared.

Zhu Shuyi was certainly scared too; she was just a student and hadn't seen much of the world.

“I asked what to do, and they said I had to pay the penalty. However, they could help me by introducing me to another company, where I could borrow seven thousand three hundred to pay off this one.”

Hearing this, Zhou Yun waved his hand: “Alright, I generally understand your situation. So, step by step, five thousand yuan rolled into fifty thousand, right?”

Zhu Shuyi nodded, a bitter expression on her face: “Lawyer Zhou, I never intended to borrow so much money. It was all because of that one time I was overdue…”

This was the trick: guiding you to borrow from another party to pay them back. Unbeknownst to you, your principal loan amount would change from five thousand yuan to seven thousand yuan.

What did this equate to? It was equivalent to counting the original penalty fee as principal. In professional terms, this was called “compound interest.”

Which was what we commonly called “interest on interest” or “rolling over.”

In this way, you would have no further relationship with the first company. On the surface, it would appear that you borrowed seven thousand yuan from the second company.

And then this cycle would continue, until the final step, where all the contractual terms were made legal, without exorbitant penalty fees, but rather normal late payment interest.

If you didn't repay, then they would pursue legal action.

Zhou Yun asked with curiosity, “Then did you never think of reporting it to the Public Security Bureau before?”

Zhu Shuyi nodded and said, “I went once, but they didn't take a statement, didn't do anything, just said it was an economic dispute, and I had no evidence, so they couldn't file a case…”

Hearing this, Zhou Yun sighed, but immediately said, “No evidence means you didn't keep any records of your previous contracts or conversations with customer service, right?”

Zhu Shuyi shook her head: “It was always communicated on their APP. I took a few screenshots a few times, but only a few.”

Well, Zhou Yun didn't know what to say. Many people nowadays simply didn't have the habit of “leaving a trace.”

In fact, whether in work or life, you must develop the habit of “leaving a trace in everything.” Calls, chats, etc., are mostly useless, but they become useful at critical moments.

Always habitually thinking of everyone in society as good people, this habit is not good.

Once you step into society, you must always be careful. There are always bad people trying to harm you, so you must keep good evidence.

Moreover, reporting to the Public Security Bureau doesn't mean a case will be filed just because you go. Even someone with Zhou Yun's status needs to bring sufficient evidence to report a case.

If you suddenly run over and say you've been scammed, with no evidence, it's confusing and a case cannot be filed.

Plus, some grassroots issues in certain places—everyone understands.

A small tip, perhaps many people know it: if you encounter certain situations and need to report to the Public Security Bureau, try to call 110, because calling this number will definitely create a record.

But if you go directly to the police station, that's not necessarily the case; they might just ask a few questions and not necessarily take a statement.

However, this case isn't difficult now.

“Something is better than nothing. How about this: tomorrow, you go to the Bank and get all your Bank transaction records printed out from the beginning of the loan—yes, all of them. I need them.”

“Also, you still remember those APPs, right? List them all for me.”

Zhu Shuyi still remembered these, because current online lending APPs were quite easy to remember, usually three-letter names.

What Zhou Yun needed to do was to find the companies behind these APPs and then cross-reference them with the transfer records on the Bank statements.

“One more thing, when you made repayments at the time, were they transferred to a company or an individual?”

This was also a current disguise method. Under normal circumstances, if you took out a loan from an online lending company, the disbursement would definitely be transferred by the company.

And when you repaid, it would also be to the company; it would be impossible to transfer to a private individual.

Why? Legitimate online lending companies must keep proper accounts. If you repaid to a private individual, they would have a lot of trouble there too.

Zhu Shuyi thought for a moment and said, “Before, it seemed I transferred to private individuals sometimes, and to companies sometimes.”

Zhou Yun nodded: “Understood. You go back and prepare, try to be quick!”

Zhu Shuyi expressed her gratitude, then stood up and left.

Zhou Yun, meanwhile, pulled out his notebook and began writing down his strategy. He always planned before acting on cases, and he had to list all possible problems that might arise in the case.

Otherwise, if he started working and then found an unsolvable problem, it would be embarrassing.

Good Lawyers were like this: once they got a case and generally understood the situation, they would have a plan.

No matter how complex a routine loan scam was, it ultimately involved transfers, and transfers would leave records. So, what was difficult for others was not difficult for those who knew. For Zhou Yun, this was not a difficult point.

The other party transferred to Zhu Shuyi, and then Zhu Shuyi transferred back; these were two transactions.

Zhou Yun wrote down “transfer record” on the paper, then added an arrow (→), leading to “transfer recipient.”

Whether it was a private transfer or a company-to-private transfer, there would be a definite recipient. What Zhou Yun needed to do was to list all these transfer recipients and then cross-reference them.

Below “transfer recipient,” Zhou Yun added a note: “Investigate and verify the connections between these individuals and companies to see if the actual controller is the same person.”

At this point, Zhou Yun added a parenthesis at the end, with a sentence inside: “Will the other party use someone else's Bank card?”

This was a problem that needed attention in the case. It was almost certain that the other party would use someone else's Bank card, because this was the best way to conceal it.

See? That's why the country severely cracked down on situations where people sold their Bank cards to others. If caught, it's a crime of aiding information network criminal activities, and this is the reason.

If they didn't use other people's Bank cards, it would be simple; it would be very easy to verify, because the other party couldn't possibly let Zhu Shuyi transfer money into an account with no connection to them.

So that account must be controlled by them!

But using someone else's account didn't mean it couldn't be investigated; it just meant the connection in the middle would be broken, making it more troublesome.

Zhou Yun began to deduce after “using someone else's Bank card,” dividing it into two scenarios.

The first arrow led to: “Report the case directly with verified records as evidence, and the Public Security Bureau accepts and files the case.”

This was the simplest method. If the case was filed, these things would be easily discovered under investigation.

But it was important to note that the probability of not filing a case was also very high. The Public Security Bureau had its own considerations; it wasn't like in novels where a case was definitely filed just by reporting it. That was impossible.

So, the deduction had to include a solution for when a case wasn't filed.

Thus, a second arrow appeared, and after it, Zhou Yun wrote: “Public Security Bureau does not file a case.”

What to do if a case wasn't filed? In his previous life, the approach was to find the person with the most obvious characteristics among them and then sue him.

This money shouldn't have been taken by you, but now you have taken it. What is that called? It's called unjust enrichment.

The other party sold the Bank card account, but the name of the account holder wouldn't change. So, one could directly apply for an investigation order to find the account holder's information and sue him.

If you sued the other party, he would receive a summons. At this point, you could talk to him: was it you who took the money? It was you, right? Then return the money.

You say it wasn't you who took it? If it wasn't you, why did it appear in your card?

Oh, you sold your card, right? Then I suggest you surrender, or contact the Court, and let the Court transfer the evidence.

Selling a Bank card is a typical characteristic of the crime of aiding information network criminal activities. Whether it's a surrender or a Court transfer, the Public Security Bureau will definitely file a case.

At this point, Zhou Yun stopped writing.

With a breakthrough, he didn't need to worry about the rest. The Public Security Bureau would thoroughly investigate this long chain.

So, indeed, what was difficult for others was not difficult for those who knew. As long as it could be confirmed as a routine loan scam, for Zhou Yun, it was just more troublesome; in short, he could definitely arrange everything clearly for the other party.

However, this seemed like it would be very troublesome, and one week would definitely not be enough time.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yun called out again, “Xiao Duan, Xiao Duan, go tell Old Zhuang that the case situation will definitely be quite complex, and one week won't be enough time.”

“Tell him to inform Jiangdong University of Political Science and Law that we'll reschedule the meeting later.”

“He can definitely handle it.”

He had only intended to give a lecture, but it seemed he had made things bigger again… Never mind, let it be big.

It would be an eye-opener for those students at Political Science and Law University!