"But if we really wait for the trip to end, who knows how much money they might fleece from us..."

The tour they had signed up for was originally scheduled for ten days! Now, only five or six days had passed, but after so many incidents, no one felt like sightseeing anymore. They even planned to buy their own plane tickets to return home. As for the remaining tour, everyone had lost interest.

"Right, Qin... Lawyer Qin, may I ask, does their behavior constitute fraud? I remember that foreign laws also have provisions against fraud."

Suddenly, a young man among the elders stood up to ask Qin Mu for advice. He was one of the few younger people present, there specifically to accompany his father.

"According to the current situation, it does not constitute fraud yet," Qin Mu replied truthfully after a moment’s thought. He then explained the legal nuances of this jurisdiction. He had just reviewed the donation agreement in Old Zhang’s hands. There were two copies of the agreement: one with Xu Liming’s group and one with Old Zhang. The agreement stated it was for a fundraiser by a certain foundation, intended to aid children in remote areas. Principally, signing it meant voluntary agreement, and no retractions were allowed. Legally, the agreement was watertight. To constitute fraud, sufficient evidence would be needed to prove that they had embezzled the money for private use. Only then would the objective condition of "illegality" be met.

However, under this legal system, the court’s handling of civil cases is extremely passive. Before the trial, courts do not investigate the circumstances of the case. Everything depends on how it is presented in court. As for evidence, the court won’t concern itself; it’s up to each party to present proof, and failure to do so means losing the case. The court offers no support whatsoever. Moreover, the tourists had absolutely no way to gather evidence of the accused misappropriating the donated funds. Pursuing the case from this angle was entirely unfeasible.

"These damn scoundrels! I didn’t expect them to think so deeply; it’s obviously a setup."

"Ah, after handling hawks for so many years, in my old age, I’ve had my eyes pecked by one."

"Today’s scams are too advanced, aren’t they? Who will dare to interact with others in the future? The trust between people is gone."

"So what should we do now? Honestly, I feel completely unsafe in this place."

Nearby, the members of the tour group looked worried and disheartened, utterly forlorn. At this moment, they sorely missed their hometown. At least there, they felt a strong sense of security and feared nothing even if trouble arose. But here, they had witnessed a gun robbery just yesterday. It happened right next to them: a convenience store was robbed, and the robber was shot on the spot. They completely couldn’t understand what was wrong with the robber, why he would rob a convenience store of all things. A convenience store for mere pennies? If he had a gun, why not directly rob a bank?

"Is there any more information, like about this travel group?" After listening to everyone’s complaints and stories, Qin Mu turned his attention back to Zhang Qingyuan.

Zhang Qingyuan quickly provided the information on the travel group. This group was called the "Red Sunset Travel Group." It was advertised on many domestic platforms and was familiar to many people. More people were attracted by its "affordable" prices. It was said that tens of thousands had purchased the group package, and this particular group consisted of only about thirty people. This travel group clearly was experienced, having managed many similar cases before. Additionally, this travel group knew how to operate with discretion; even abroad, it hadn’t done anything overtly improper. All the elderly who joined the group returned to their country safe and sound.

But even if they reported to the police back home, it didn’t help. Restricted by jurisdictional disputes, domestic authorities couldn’t handle the incident. Most would advise them to go to the local police station where the incident occurred to report it. But after this incident, these elders dared not travel abroad again. They could only swallow their bitterness and chalk it up to bad luck. Gradually, the matter was left unresolved. And in their home country, since there was no evidence, the Red Sunset Travel Group faced no sanctions. It continued to operate up to the present. There were many online news articles about scams by Red Sunset, yet the elderly didn’t know about these. Still, many seniors continued to be defrauded one after another.

"What? The internet says they are scammers?" Upon seeing the news Qin Mu had found, everyone’s eyes widened. Their expressions became very strange. It turned out they weren’t the first victims. Previously, many had been scammed, and some had even posted about these scams online. Yet they hadn’t noticed and were still tricked by the lure of cheap deals.

"Alright, I roughly understand the situation now. The pre-trial conference is in three days. Everyone, please prepare," Qin Mu said, taking a deep breath and addressing the group.

But everyone looked confused again, clueless about what a pre-trial conference was. Zhang Qingyuan was no exception. He smacked his lips and asked perplexedly, "What is a pre-trial conference? I remember that in Jin City, the trial just started directly." This was different from the courtroom proceedings he was familiar with...

Qin Mu rolled his eyes and explained, "A pre-trial conference, you can think of it as a pre-hearing mediation organized by the court. They will provide a reasonable proposal for both parties to sign and settle.

"Then the case won’t need to go to trial."

This is a feature of the local court system, significantly different from the domestic system. The domestic practice is that every civil and criminal dispute must go to trial, maintaining openness and transparency, and the judgment is publicly announced.