Chapter 11: Changing the Future
The future displayed above Mr. Hewlett’s head showed the following:
#Mr. Hewlett will receive a video call from his son, Mars Buzz, at 7 PM tonight. In the call, Mars will sob and confess that he has accrued a massive gambling debt abroad and is being pursued by gangsters. He will beg his father to lend him money to repay the debt.
Out of fear for Mars’s safety, Mr. Hewlett and his wife, Edith Miranda, will gather all their savings and transfer the money to him. However, after receiving the money, Mars will disappear. Mr. Hewlett and Edith will be unable to contact him and, believing he has met with misfortune, will be devastated. Three days later, they will commit suicide by overdosing on medication.
A few days later, friends will finally reach Mars. Upon his return home, he will be heartbroken, but he will tell the police that he never made any distress call and had no gambling debts. He had been painting abroad the entire time and had not received any communication from anyone.
After investigating Mars’s phone, the police will discover that a hacker had installed malicious software. The fraudster used AI face-swapping technology and voice modification to impersonate Mars and deceive Mr. Hewlett. Unfortunately, the perpetrator will not be caught.#
‘This is infuriating! These cops are completely useless! How can they fail to catch such a scammer? That kind of deceitful scumbag deserves to go to hell!’
Jennifer raged in her heart, but she was powerless. If even the police couldn’t catch the criminal, how could she?
Meanwhile, her classmates were engaged in a heated discussion in the class group chat.
Obadiah: [Hey guys, we need to do something.]
Adam: [That’s right. Mr. Hewlett is a good man. We can’t just watch him get scammed.]
Bernard: [Mr. Hewlett and his wife are so pitiful. I’m going to ask my uncle to track down that damn scammer.]
Rachel: [We can try to save Mr. Hewlett! If we succeed, will that prove that David and Ian’s futures can also be changed?]
David: [Rachel is right! The future can be changed!]
David and Ian read the messages on their phones and felt excited. They exchanged glances, seeing the burning determination in each other’s eyes. Mr. Hewlett’s scam was set to happen tonight—if they could prove that the future could be altered, they might not die.
Carl was also excited, though most of his attention was still on Jennifer. He was eager to hear more of her thoughts.
‘I have to find a way to warn Mr. Hewlett about this. But how can I convince him? The scammer uses his son’s face, while I’m just a stranger he met today. Why would he believe me?’
Jennifer was distraught. After all, this concerned Mars’s safety. Mr. Hewlett might not be able to stay calm in such a situation.
Hearing Jennifer’s thoughts, her classmates also became anxious.
David: [Yeah, how do we make Mr. Hewlett believe us?]
Bill: [Since the scammer is using his phone to commit fraud, why don’t we just steal Mr. Hewlett’s phone?]
Colin: [Good idea! He’ll be furious if the scammer can’t make the call.]
Pran: [We should also steal Mrs. Edith’s phone!]
Mike: [We don’t know if Mr. Hewlett has a backup phone. I suggest we kidnap Mrs. Edith and threaten Mr. Hewlett so he won’t send the money!]
Mike, a short young man with round glasses and a baby face—somewhat resembling Harry Potter—sat at the back right corner of the classroom. After he sent his message, the group chat fell silent for a few seconds.
The silence was broken when Benjamin sent a message.
Benjamin: [Guys, we’re trying to save Mr. Hewlett, not commit crimes! Why don’t we have Mars meet his father when the scammer calls? That way, the liar’s deception will be exposed immediately!]
Benjamin’s words once again plunged everyone into contemplation. Suddenly, Sheila spoke up in the group chat.
Sheila: [But isn’t Mars’s phone infected with malware? We might not be able to contact him!]
Benjamin: [Don’t forget, our class has a skilled hacker.]
The students suddenly remembered—wasn’t Carl an excellent hacker? With his help, this situation might have been easier to handle.
Carl: [If necessary, I’ll step in.]
Carl’s response excited the class.
Peggy: [Looks like we’re about to witness a battle between hackers!]
Just then, the school bell rang. Mr. Hewlett dismissed the class and walked out of the room. Jennifer immediately followed him.
The students knew she intended to warn Mr. Hewlett, so they followed her.
“Mr. Hewlett, please wait a moment.”
Jennifer called out to him.
Mr. Hewlett stopped and turned, looking at Jennifer with a puzzled expression. “Is something the matter, Miss Jennifer?”
Jennifer took a moment to organize her thoughts before saying, “I have a question for you. Have you ever heard of AI face-swapping technology? It’s like what Carl and I did earlier—swapping our faces so that he looks like he’s wearing a dress. AI can also mimic voices. I heard some criminals scam people using this kind of software.”
Mr. Hewlett looked at Jennifer in surprise. He blinked and then chuckled, saying, “Miss Jennifer, if you’re asking me about advanced technology, I’m afraid I won’t be able to give you a good answer. I’m an old-fashioned man—I don’t understand these things. Besides, you and Carl already look alike; you don’t need a face swap.”
Jennifer felt incredibly awkward.
‘Damn it, that’s not the answer I wanted! But I guess I did manage to warn him, right?’
Not far away, the classmates secretly watching also cringed on Jennifer’s behalf.
Bill: [Oh my god, I feel secondhand embarrassment. If I suddenly stopped someone and asked such a weird question, they’d probably think I was crazy.]
Mike: [I still think stealing the phone and kidnapping are valid options.]
Bernard: [Enough, Mike! If you keep having criminal thoughts, I’ll personally arrest you.]
David: [Same here! I’ve decided to become a narcotics officer, but I can still bust a petty thief.]
Carl watched the awkward Jennifer and the departing Mr. Hewlett. Stroking his chin, he typed a message on his phone.
Carl: [Guys, I have a plan.]