“And the return plane ticket is already set,
and it’s too expensive to reschedule, let’s just
persist for a few more days.”
After Mom took me to buy a new phone and
got my number back, I went straight to social
<
media to search for posts with the tag
“Electronic Pet.” After lots of scrolling, I
finally found a post that was just like the one
I’d seen before.
“The deep dive instructor updated his page.
He found another endangered animal, and the
government awarded him a million dollars.”
“It’s like he has an animal sanctuary in the
deep sea.”
Because I was in that world after the
snorkeling trip, I saw the relevant posts and
clicked on them directly.
I saw a familiar avatar and went back to
WeChat to verify it. I also checked Liam’s
latest post about finding an endangered
animal and getting a reward. I confirmed it
animal and getting a reward. I confirmed it
was the same person.
I scrolled through all of his posts and saw
that he did this every month.
People in the comments figured that he used
it to lure people into the deep sea so he could.
rob them.
I checked Liam’s page, but he’d blocked me. I
couldn’t see anything.
And Ashley always posted on social media
after she dove.
But her page was empty, too.
I made a new account and added Liam,
pretending to ask about snorkeling.
く
Then, I saw Liam’s post about getting a
million–dollar reward.
I acted clueless and sent him a screenshot,
asking questions.
Liam was eager to explain and sent me a
screenshot of Ashley’s page.
She’d posted something similar, encouraging
people to go deep sea diving and get rich.
I was sure that Ashley was in on it.
And I was her next target.
I got a message.
“Rory, I’m sorry. I said some mean things
<
today. I want to apologize.”
“But something happened. Can you come see
me?”
Then, she sent me the address of a bar.
Since they were scamming people out in the
ocean, they’d probably be more careful on
land.
And they’d just been to the police station, so
they’d probably lay low for a while. Plus, I
wanted to see what she was up to.
I made up an excuse to my parents and snuck
out.
Ashley was sitting at the bar, looking like she
was trying to drown her sorrows.
r
When she saw me, she almost smiled.
“Rory! You came so fast.”
I caught her and put a hidden camera on her
bag.
“Of course, I was worried about you.”
I asked, “What happened today? Are you
upset about what happened at the police
station?”
“Of course it’s real! But don’t make false
reports. You can get in trouble for lying.”
Then, she put her arm around mine,
pretending to be friendly.
く
“I just wanted you to see how beautiful it is
down there. I feel so sad that you can’t come
with me.”
“Rory, can you come with me once before we
leave? I have experience now, so I can take
care of you. It’ll be a great memory!”
She kept batting her eyelashes at me.
I frowned. I was her target.
I was about to say no when I saw two huge
guys looking for someone at the entrance.
I agreed to go.
“Okay, if it’s so beautiful and safe, we can go
once before we leave.”
L
“Okay, don’t tell you anymore, my mom told
me to return to the hotel soon. Also, my
parents is also worried about you, and I
thought they wanted to come with you.”
Seeing that I’d agreed, she was dismissive
and leaned against the bar, brushing me off.
I saw the two men walking toward her and
smirked. I slipped into the shadows.
The two men were familiar. I remembered
seeing them at the airport.
They looked like they were looking for
someone. When Ashley saw them, she ran to
the bathroom.
She said her clothes were uncomfortable and
asked me to switch.
I realized that Ashley only wanted to come
because she was hiding from those guys. She
wanted to pin the blame on me, then.
I’d been so nice to her, but she was using me.
If she wasn’t going to be nice, neither was I.
After a few drinks, Ashley got a call, got up,
and stumbled out.
As soon as she was outside, the two men
pulled her into the alley.
Ashley shrieked, but they stuffed a rag in her
mouth and dragged her away.
“Bitch, you thought you could hide from us?”
<
Ashley was slapped to the ground. When she
saw who it was, she started begging.
The two men grabbed her and beat her.
“Run, keep running! We had to spend money
to fly here. You’re paying us back for that!”
Ashley started crying and begged.
“I’ll pay you back, I promise!”
“Please, stop hitting me!”
The two men grabbed her hair and slammed
her against the wall.
“How are you going to pay us back? By
selling your body or your kidneys?”
Ashley was terrified.
“No, I found a way to make money. I’m going
diving and scamming people underwater.
Those tourists are rich, and they value their
lives. They’ll pay.”
