Chapter 43: hi? do you want to team up?
43 hi? do you want to team up?
-How is it possible? "I just got a call from the police station," Jonathan said in disbelief. "There must be an error," the operator said. If you have been following the news, you should have seen the order issued by our police department. Semanuick, twenty-six, of heavy build, approximately six feet tall, resident of Los Angeles, suspected of homicide. He fled today to our San Diego. We discovered someone with strikingly similar characteristics to Semanuick on city surveillance, and footage showed that you were the last person to contact him, Mr. Jonathan. We need his help to provide clues. Jonathan insisted:
-I got the call earlier! If he wasn't from the police station, who made the call? The number displayed the area code followed by the emergency number.
Jonathan surreptitiously activated his phone's recording feature while talking, took a screenshot of the incoming call screen, and sent it to his social media account with "friends only" visibility. Then, he switched his phone to speaker mode, found an unused elderly-friendly mobile phone on his bedside table, and charged it.
The elderly phone was not equipped with a SIM card and could not connect to the Internet, which suited Jonathan's needs. It only required his camera and recording functions. He took a photo of the incoming call screen on his smartphone and then activated the senior phone's recording function, placing it nearby to record. Jonathan needed two copies of the incoming call screen photo: a screenshot and a photo. Similarly, he had two copies of the call recording, one on his smartphone and another on the elderly phone that couldn't access the internet.
Jonathan said seriously:
-The previous call was very suspicious... I swear I received a call from the police station. Anti-fra propaganda warns that some scammers may use technology to alter the number displayed on incoming calls. I fear I am dealing with a scammer. If you are a police officer, please give me your badge number.
It was a reasonable request, and generally when citizens make this type of request, police officers provide their badge numbers, since this information is public. The operator paused briefly and provided a series of digits.
Jonathan asked:
-Is the Semanuick you mentioned the same person I ran into on Broadway this morning? Is he a murderer?
- We can't be completely sure, but the physical characteristics are very similar. "We need relevant clues to help our investigation," the operator responded. "One detail. Jonathan noticed a detail. The first male operator had given a definitive answer when Jonathan asked if the killer was the person he had encountered. However, the was that Semanuick was wearing a hat that firmly hid his face, and without a clear frontal field of vision, his identity was doubtful. Still, the male operator was completely sure that the man was indeed the suspect, which was abnormal and unprofessional.
-I watched the news today and suspected that the person I followed was Semanuick, but it seemed too much of a coincidence. "A murderer would hardly go to a crowded place... If only I had known, I would have followed him," Jonathan continued languidly, delaying time and causing the operator to say more. Perhaps finding Jonathan's ramblings excessive, the operator got to the point:
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-We need you to provide the suspect's address when he left. In which direction did he head?
Jonathan knew that it would be difficult to get more information from the tone of his voice:
-Ah, I never thought that I would meet a murderer by chance.,, In that case, I will personally visit the police station to provideiues, he said. I know it's a significant matter and I w feel reassured unless I go.
The operator subtly fell silent for a second and then said politely:
-Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
After the call ended, Jonathan reviewed immediately the post he had sent to his social media account.
-What...? - He was surprised to see that his social media app indicated a failed upload, with the image sent invisible. He couldn't find the relevant screenshot in his photo gallery, the recycle bin was empty and when he returned to the incoming call screen, both police station numbers had disappeared!
When he reviewed the audio recordings, The playback of the recorded conversation had inexplicably become a jumble of noisy electrical sounds.
His phone had been hacked!
Jonathan realized the seriousness of the situation and eagerly grabbed the elderly phone to check. Fortunately, both the photo and audio recordings were intact.
Being offline and without a signal, the hacker was unable to find an entry point to invade the senior phone. It was like a dead device, immune to hacking. Jonathan was not worried that the compromised smartphone's camera could secretly film or record him under the hacker's control, as it was a second-hand device with a broken camera. Thanks to the defective camera, he acquired the relatively new model at a good price.
At the time, Jonathan thought that he did not take photos frequently, which made the camera useless, and the phone was simply a convenient means of communication. Little did he know that his austerity had helped him avoid a minor risk.
The remaining question was when the hacker had invaded his phone: now or before?
...
Identifying and confirming his identity from the vast sea of images of Surveillance would take time, When Jonathan killed Semanuick, his phone should have been uncompromised and his identity hidden from him. Furthermore, he had put his phone on airplane mode to avoid any noise while following Semanuick, remaining offline and without signal It was precisely because his identity was not exposed that a hacker, posing as a police officer, attempted to do so. probe information. If his identity had been confirmed, the hacker would not have called to prove it.
"Thanks to the unknown hacker," Jonathan muttered to himself, "since his appearance prompted me to raise my vigilance comprehensively. Enemies would attack not only from the real world but also from the digital realm. My defense had to be airtight so that no one would exploit any vulnerabilities.
However, your activity on the gaming forum should remain safe since you found no trace of your browsing history on your phone after visiting the site,
Login on the gaming forum and browsing posts would not leave marks on your phone. But at the same time, numerous questions presented themselves to Jonathan. He had purchased a knife on Amazon and searched for information on weapons such as triangular daggers, all of which might appear suspicious to the attentive observer. His exposure of him was partial but not complete, and the situation was critical.
The enemy couldn't determine who killed Semanuick, but they could guess that Jonathan might be a player.
Truth be told... Jonathan was struggling to control his killing intent.
He bit his finger and looked at his phone for a long time., finally deciding to go to the police station to report the incident.
Yes, report it to the police.
Reporting to the police is a normal reaction for ordinary people who find themselves in such situations, and he needs to disguise himself as an ordinary person,
Being a gamer and being a regular person are not mutually exclusive; Most of the players on the gaming forum are actually ordinary people, living ordinary lives and possessing ordinary ways of thinking. The extraordinary thing was that they had engaged in a game of survival. If he could do it all over again, Jonathan could be more cautious and narform his task more
elegantly, since he now possessed information that others lacked. As the game progressed, Jonathan increasingly understood the importance of intelligence, which was the key to ensuring his survival in both worlds.
He grabbed his phone, put on his shoes, and headed straight to the police station. police. By the time he finished selectively reporting and explaining the situation to the police, it was already afternoon.
As the young police officer took his statement, he muttered:
-this is indeed very strange, with evidence of an invasion of hackers. I suggest you get a new phone...
-It's too expensive; "I'm really poor," Jonathan lamented.
-Well, I still recommend changing it. His phone is too insecure and he could expose a lot of information. What happens if your social media and payment passwords are exposed? -said the vouno policeman-. We couldn't find the license plate number on the recording of him; the person who called you is not a police officer... Also, we don't usually call directly from the emergency phone number when handling cases.
-Really?-Jonathan asked.
-People who haven't experienced this may not understand it, but it depends on the situation. 911 is a dedicated command center number, but it can also be an area code plus 911. However, the most authentic approach is to use landlines or ordinary mobile numbers," the young police officer explained. Be careful next time, don't be fooled. If you encounter a wanted criminal, We usually visit the scene in person or ask the witness to go to the police station. Of course, if witnesses and informants request confidentiality, we can record the call, conduct telephone interviews, and write down clues...
Jonathan finally understood:
-I see... Thank you.
-Go home; "It's raining a lot outside and be careful on the road," said the young policeman. It's good to be aware of fraud prevention; keep it up.
-I don't think scammers can get anything out of me; "I'm poor as rats and there's no chance of being fooled," Jonathan said sadly. If the person I followed before was really a murderer, would I be considered to have provided significant clues?
Could I get a reward?
-If the case is solved, there will be a reward, but usually not if it remains unsolved," the young police officer responded.
As he left, Jonathan expressed his best wishes:
-I hope the case is solved soon.
Outside, the rain fell relentlessly. Jonathan opened his umbrella and walked into the downpour, fighting his way through the flooded streets to get back home. As soon as he entered the building and closed his umbrella, his phone vibrated with a new message
-Hello? The world is too dangerous. Do you want to team up?
Three seconds later, another message arrived.
-I'm the person who called you earlier. I have no bad intentions.