The situation is quite absurd, almost laughable and not laughable at the same time.

Ever since the stock market started fluctuating, investors have been panic-stricken. Among Da Huang’s fans, there are many stock enthusiasts, and the ’Stock God’ incident has put him in the spotlight.

We burn incense and pray to the God of Wealth, and for the Stock God, people have similar sentiments. Though they won’t really burn incense, they can still offer prayers online, just like how everyone used to worship the koi on Weibo a few years ago.

Recently, he’s finally taken a break for a couple of days, and due to some collaborations, he hasn’t updated any videos. With the high emotions from netizens and his lack of response, many have become increasingly frustrated. Moreover, his photo was leaked last month, providing an opportunity for ill-intentioned people to take advantage.

The method is incredibly simple: impersonate his friend or classmate in the comments section, then privately message some people from the section, mostly young girls, claiming to have his contact. For 200 yuan, you might get his WeChat but not pass; for 1,000 yuan, you’re guaranteed a friend spot.

Then they set up a WeChat account, use his photo to impersonate him, collect tuition fees from those who find him, and even more ridiculously pretend to online date girls. The key is, some people actually believed it, and it wasn’t just one or two.

He wasn’t sure if it was the low intelligence of the victims or if the scammers’ net was cast too wide, always managing to catch a few gullible fish.

Mostly it was online dating deceptions, which was bewildering. Of course, understandable, as someone who can trade stocks may not be very smart, but isn’t completely foolish either. However, those with a romantic mindset tend to act irrationally once they get involved.

Not to mention him, there’s also news about a woman in her fifties who claimed to be in an online romance with a male celebrity and wanted to divorce her husband, which turned out to be a poor-quality composite video.

The worst-hit place happened to be Jiang City, since the official East City Public Security Bureau account once admitted he was a bureau consultant, naturally exposing his Jiang City identity.

In just a few days, over a dozen such scams emerged, and some victims hadn’t even realized yet, which was incredibly frightening.

The Su City side naturally received reports, and with his high vigilance, they contacted the Jiang City Public Security Bureau to handle it since he was in the area.

Faced with Du Qiang’s hysterical laughter, Su Qing almost ground his molars to powder, but there was nothing he could say in rebound. Although it’s easy to verify whether it was him, he’s somewhat a public figure now, partly responsible as the bureau’s consultant, so he needed to come forward to resolve it, to at least issue a public statement to prevent fraud. Being both a police advisor and public figure, it’s his duty.

Rolling his eyes at Du Qiang, Su Qing turned to Lin Chengcai: "Captain Lin, um, could you contact the Su City side for me? Apologize on my behalf, it’s quite embarrassing. She was just a young girl, my scolding was too harsh!"

The group: ...

Evidently, they had heard about this gentleman’s prestigious achievements. His anti-fraud resistance was enormous. He didn’t even believe real police, let alone scammers.

"Alright, I know you didn’t intend it, they won’t blame you, but next time check clearly. Don’t recognize others, but at least recognize our bureau’s phone number, right? Especially since you’re our crime investigation advisor. You’ll see, it won’t be long before the entire bureau knows about this. Let’s see if they don’t laugh at you," Lin said with a sidelong glance.

Su Qing: "...Try not to spread it. We’re all our own people, spare me some face!"

"You still want face? Our own people? You haven’t shown up at the bureau for a month. Do you even consider yourself part of us? I originally wanted you to help train some newbies. But now it seems, you’re a really busy person!" said Old Zhao next to him.

"Not at all, Captain Zhao, I really was busy previously, had matters to handle. How about recently I come to the bureau more often?"

"Of course, you’re now the Stock God. So, tell me, Mr. Stock God, how much have you earned recently?" Li Zijun took a deep breath and teased.

Everyone who knows he makes short videos also knows him as the Stock God. They know he’s made money, but not an exact figure.

Li Zijun was no exception, especially since their bureau had Zhu Lili. Any news about Su Qing, a few of them could quickly get the scoop.

"I did make some, just small money, all small amounts. Why don’t I treat everyone to dinner tonight?" Su Qing tried diverting attention from his embarrassing story, willing to spend money.

Upon hearing this, Lin Chengcai spoke again: "Alright, alright, you have two tasks now. First, quickly release a video clarifying the situation and warn netizens not to be scammed. Second, since this involves you, we can’t control fraudsters in other cities, but you must follow up on catching those in this city. Rest assured, our tracking technology is good enough, this task falls to your group. Xiao Li, Du Qiang, you’re veterans now. Since an arrest is needed, Old Yan will go with you, take two newcomers, and settle this ASAP.

This incident in our department is embarrassing!"

Having said that, the group burst out laughing, leaving Su Qing awkwardly smiling along.

Then, Old Zhao and Lin left, while Su Qing promptly recorded a clarification video at the bureau. To add more credibility, Du Qiang and Li Zijun were in the frame, standing on either side of him. This was also his first official appearance. Zhu Lili came over to film and the background was set at the bureau.

"Today, due to personal issues, I’ve used public resources, sorry for that. Here’s a joke, recently someone posed as me online, teaching stocks and charging fees. I hereby declare, I haven’t received any money, please don’t call me the Stock God, the market has been bad and I’ve stopped. The worst part is someone used my photo to successfully web-date and cheated people out of money, that’s not me either. I’m broke and unremarked. The two officers beside me can testify. Please download the Anti-Fraud App to prevent scams.

This is personally related to me, and as a Jiang City Public Security consultant, I hope those scammers seeing this video will turn themselves in or return the defrauded money, seeking leniency. Thank you all for your support!"

The video was simple, just explaining recent scam activities involving his comment section, urging everyone to be cautious and not fall victim, especially avoiding online romance scams.

Defrauding money is at most a legal issue; deceiving emotionally and financially is utterly unethical, not to mention attempting to drag his reputation into it wasn’t acceptable.

The video was published and quickly drew countless viewers since it was his first update in over a month.

Due to it being his first appearance, the video views rapidly climbed, with comments surging like snowflakes.

"Woohoo~ First!"

"My goodness, Da Qing has revealed his face, I can’t believe it."

"Gosh, really handsome, but why in a bureau?"

"This posture... looks like he’s being arrested, haha!"

"Someone really used Da Qing’s photo for web-dating and cheated money, what a stunt-stealing move, how come I didn’t think of it? [Dog head]"

"Why does this apology template seem so familiar?"

"I never imagined Da Qing’s first face reveal after becoming famous would be in such a situation, gosh, can’t stop laughing, haha!"

"Damn, I was scammed for 3,000, 1,000 for WeChat, 2,000 for courses, Rivva, refund!!"

"So that’s why my girlfriend broke up with me, turns out it’s your fault, you’re dead!"

"The comment above, you’re reaching a bit with that accusation!"

"Give back my girlfriend, uh no, return my hard-earned money!"

"I like the policewoman on the left, can I take her away?"

"Scoundrel, dare you steal from me, seeking death!"

Suddenly, the comment section became lively, with most treating the incident as humor, given its rarity.

While many have seen online fraud or web-dating scams, the combination of both happenings is truly rare, it seemed he initiated a precedent.

The comments inquiring about the stock market situation got overshadowed too, since he implied in the video that he wasn’t optimistic about the market by stating he stopped trading due to bad prospects.

"Alright then, post-video is done, prepare for this case, the sooner arrests are made, the sooner it’s resolved," Li Zijun said, seeing the video released.

Just as she finished speaking, a voiceover chimed in

[A levee breached by ants, this event involves someone you know, please keep your conduct clean!]

Su Qing: ???

...