Bottom of the pyramid

An author who infiltrated and exposed a cult-like group organized around defrauding members reveals all to Chitralekha Basu and Guo Shuhan

Murong Xuecun says writing is an intensely personal undertaking. But the author could, just as well, be a closet social activist. Earlier this year, the car-salesman-turned-celebrity Internet author - whose Leave Me Alone: A Novel of Chengdu (Chengdu, Jinye Qing Jiang Wo Yiwang) registered more than 150,000 hits when it was published online in 2002 - had a tryst with undercover journalism.

Masquerading as a millionaire fallen on hard times, Murong joined a pyramid scheme in Shangrao, Jiangxi province. For 23 days, he lived with scammers and victims - it's hard to tell which is which in such groups - trying to convince unsuspecting fellow members there were millions to be made by recruiting more people for the organization.