Chapter 1 Indoor Theft

Indoor theft is a very common form of crime.

But to accomplish it flawlessly and disappear without a trace when there are people in the house is quite difficult.

If Feng Bujue were to do it alone, the success rate would be very high. Even with Wang Tanzhi included, it wouldn't make much difference.

But the problem is... the real protagonist of this theft operation isn't the two of them, but "Phantom Thief BeArs_eye", which is Xiong Ji...

Feng Bujue believes that the current main quest is a good opportunity. He hopes that with his assistance, Xiong Ji can rely on his own efforts to complete a relatively difficult and technical criminal activity, and master certain escape techniques. This way, in the subsequent main quests, Xiong Ji's tendency to court death will be greatly reduced, and the overall difficulty of the script will decrease.

Therefore, no matter how difficult it is, Brother Jue is willing to take the risk.

"Hmm... hmm hmm..." After leading the two into the house, Feng Bujue gestured while humming a couple of times.

This time, both Little Tan and Xiong Ji understood; Brother Jue wanted them to turn on their flashlights.

The next second, they both picked up the flashlights that Brother Jue had prepared in advance, pressing down on the switch with one hand and covering the front of the flashlight with the other, turning them on.

The switches of these two flashlights were silent, and the light circles emitted from the front were small and the light wasn't too bright. Obviously, Feng Bujue had already considered the various situations that needed attention when he bought them (in addition to the textbooks and stationery in the backpack, Mao Sanlang's pockets also had some pocket money; since the system gave currency, Feng Bujue naturally made the most of it).

"Hmm hmm..." After the two turned on their flashlights and stabilized the light circles, Feng Bujue winked, signaling them to follow.

Unexpectedly, they had only walked less than two meters in the corridor when they heard...

Squeak— Eee—

The floorboards beneath their feet made two not-too-loud sounds, but in this dark and quiet environment... they sounded particularly obvious.

At that moment, all three of them stopped moving.

Little Tan and Xiong Ji were startled by the sound; they froze in place, not daring to move. Feng Bujue was also startled into a bit of a cold sweat, but... he didn't panic. In Brother Jue's view, this level of mistake was completely acceptable... even if it alarmed Miao Mei or her parents, it didn't matter, as long as they weren't caught on the spot, he could terminate the operation at any time.

"Hmm..." After listening intently for nearly two minutes, Feng Bujue was basically certain that the person (cat) upstairs hadn't reacted to the sound.

So, he slowly turned his head, got down on the ground, and winked and made faces at his two companions.

Little Tan quickly understood what Brother Jue meant, put the flashlight in his mouth, and also lay down on the ground. As for Xiong Ji... although he didn't understand the instructions, he saw Little Tan lying down, so he followed suit, biting the flashlight and getting down on all fours.

Then, they crawled upstairs in a row...

"Sigh..." Feng Bujue, who was leading the way, sighed silently in his heart, "Think of it on the bright side... at least I'm a cat."

"To teach a bear how to steal..." Little Tan, who was crawling in the middle, thought to himself, "To go to this extent... he's really trying hard..."

In all fairness, Brother Jue's "trying so hard"... was also out of helplessness.

The old wooden floors in Miao Mei's house were very prone to creaking when subjected to pressure. This problem wasn't obvious when Feng Bujue was acting alone, because he was light, walked on all fours, had paw pads, and moved quickly...

But after Xiong Ji and Little Tan came in, the three of them walked upright for a few steps together, and the sound was "pressed" out.

Fortunately... this accident didn't have any consequences.

...

Five minutes later, the three finally reached the second floor.

Wang Tanzhi felt for the first time... that climbing the stairs was such a tiring thing.

Under Brother Jue's guidance, every step the three of them took had to be completed with a slow-motion pace, striving not to make any noise.

This might be easier for a cat, but it wasn't easy for a falcon and a bear.

"Hmm... hmm..." After arriving in the corridor on the second floor, Feng Bujue turned his head to the two of them, gestured, and hummed twice, letting them rest for a while.

Little Tan and Xiong Ji, seeing this, simply lay down on the ground.

Of course, they all understood... rest was rest, but panting loudly was not allowed; any behavior that would make obvious sounds was forbidden, and even farts had to be held back.

Just like that... after another three minutes of rest, Little Tan and Xiong Ji finally recovered.

At this time, Feng Bujue raised his paw and gestured to them, signaling them to follow again.

In no time, the three arrived in front of the bathroom door.

When the bathroom is empty, it is naturally not locked, and in the middle of the night, the bathroom is naturally empty. Therefore, Feng Bujue directly reached out his paw and opened the door.

In the outer washroom of the bathroom, there was a washing machine, and high up... there were also some washed, not-so-large items of clothing hanging.

That's right... I'm talking about underwear.

After the door opened, the three night thieves filed in.

Because the floor of the washroom was tiled, as long as you didn't stomp your feet, you wouldn't make much noise, so after the three of them went in, they stood up one after another.

"Hmm hmm..." Then, Feng Bujue turned his head to look at Xiong Ji, murmured twice, and pointed upward.

In fact, even without him pointing, Xiong Ji's gaze had already been attracted. He shined his flashlight on the small clothes and pants on the clothes rack above, revealing a perverted smile.

...

Stealing clothes, going out, retreating...

Their departure was slower than their infiltration, because Feng Bujue understood that the concentration of most perpetrators of property crimes would decrease after completing the crime... during the withdrawal from the crime scene, their attention had often shifted elsewhere.

Thoughts such as "How should the spoils be divided?", "Will my partner double-cross me?", "How can I double-cross my partner?", "Where should I go to enjoy myself after getting this money?", or "Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo~" might appear in their minds.

Therefore, Brother Jue deliberately slowed down the pace of the retreat, being more careful and cautious when landing than when he came in.

A full ten minutes later, they returned to the front door...

As long as they opened and stepped out of the door in front of them, this theft operation would basically be considered a success.

Under Feng Bujue's guidance, Xiong Ji hadn't been caught in the act, nor had he left any evidence, which provided good conditions for getting away with it after the incident. Next... what Brother Jue had to do was follow Xiong Ji home and brainwash him overnight... he already had several plans in his mind to correct Xiong Ji's "self-exposure" behavior. As long as they got through tonight, all the subsequent main quest events in this script would be a piece of cake...

However, just when they were one step away from success, an incredible accident happened...

Squeak—

The front door opened, and three figures quickly walked out.

Unexpectedly!

Clang— Clang— Clang—

The sound of three heavy machines being turned on brought out three beams of light with a radius of more than one meter.

The darkness was torn apart by this sound and light.

"Ah... what is it?" Little Tan was blinded by the sudden strong light and instinctively said, "Searchlights?"

After his eyes had slightly adjusted to the light, he looked forward again and saw... in addition to the huge searchlights, there were also red, blue, and white lights flashing on the street; estimating... there should be dozens of police cars parked there.

[Please note that the main quest will fail directly when Xiong Ji is arrested as Phantom Thief BeArs_eye.]

The moment the police appeared, this system prompt also rang in the ears of the two players.

"Is this the [beep] kidding me..." Feng Bujue looked at the situation in front of him, "Couldn't you have said this before we acted?"

"This isn't good... Brother Jue..." Little Tan glanced around, "We seem to be surrou..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Officer Inuzuke's voice came through the loudspeaker: "Phantom Thief BeArs_eye, we are the police! You and your accomplices are surrounded! Give up your futile resistance, raise your hands, and come out!"

"Back inside." As soon as the other party finished speaking, Feng Bujue said these two words.

His tone sounded more like an order than a suggestion, but Little Tan and Xiong Ji didn't care what the context of this sentence was; they only knew that... at this moment, it was better to do as Brother Jue said.

Bang—

Two seconds later, the three of them retreated back into the house like lightning and closed the door.

"It's over, it's over, it's over..." Xiong Ji held his head in his hands, sweating profusely, and ran back and forth anxiously, "This is a big deal... I wonder if I'll be sent to a circus or something."

"Going there would be nice too." Feng Bujue seemed very leisurely, "With your look, you can start performing directly; they don't even need to prepare costumes for you."

"Teacher Mao Sanlang!" Xiong Ji excitedly grabbed Brother Jue's shoulders, "At this point... how can you still calmly joke with me!" As he spoke, he let go of Brother Jue and took two steps back, "I can't be arrested!" He took off the white hat on his head, revealing the underwear stuffed inside, "I finally got these precious treasures, and if I lose them again, I will definitely die from being unable to withstand the mental shock!"

"Die then..." Feng Bujue completely ignored Xiong Ji's perverted remarks; he still went his own way and said in a calm tone, "I can turn your death into a legend... hmm... let's put it this way... underwear, underpants, socks, Phantom Thief BeArs_eye, who possesses everything that the perverted gentleman world dreams of, said something before his death that made countless perverts flock to Hiyori City." While he was talking nonsense, he squatted down and put his shoes back on (previously, he had been tying the shoelaces of his two shoes together and hanging them around his neck), "How do you think a last word like 'My treasure? If you want it, go get it... I put everything there' sounds?"

"This routine of yours..." Before Xiong Ji could answer, Little Tan complained first, "Can't help but remind me of *Banana Legend*..."

"Teacher! You can't do this!" On the other side, Xiong Ji replied in a panic, "Quick, think of a way!"

"I'm thinking." As Feng Bujue spoke, he had already walked to the kitchen and pulled out a kitchen knife from the knife rack next to the cutting board.

"Uh... Brother Jue." Little Tan couldn't care less about changing his address to Feng Bujue in front of Xiong Ji; he said directly, "You're not planning to go out and fight them with a kitchen knife, are you?"

"The police have guns! Teacher!" Xiong Ji didn't react to the address "Brother Jue"; he just maintained his panicked state and reminded him of this.

"Even if they didn't have guns, I couldn't possibly go out and have a head-on armed conflict with them." Feng Bujue responded expressionlessly and walked back from the kitchen, "After all... Mao Sanlang (here he used the third person to refer to himself, meaning 'the character I'm playing') is just an elementary school student. Even if I have a knife and have ruthlessness and combat experience far beyond that of people in this age group..."

"Combat experience aside, your ruthlessness definitely exceeds that of all age groups and all races..." Little Tan interjected appropriately.

"Ah, flattered." Feng Bujue calmly acknowledged and continued what he was saying, "But... letting me deal with adults, and trained police officers at that, is obviously very difficult. Even in a one-on-one melee, I don't have a guaranteed victory."

"Then you're taking the knife to..." Little Tan was slightly stunned, his expression suddenly changing, "Wait... you're not thinking of..." He quickly glanced at Xiong Ji.

"Thinking what..." Feng Bujue shrugged, "Although that's indeed one of the options, it hasn't reached the point where I have to kill him yet."

"Huh?" Xiong Ji didn't understand these two sentences at all, so he asked doubtfully, "What? Kill who?"

"It's nothing." Feng Bujue quickly diverted the topic to prevent the other party from understanding, "Actually... my intention for taking the kitchen knife is very obvious..." He raised the knife and pointed at the stairs, "There are three hostages on the second floor... oh no... cat-napped hostages." He smiled, "They, and this house, are our bargaining chips with the police."

From the time they closed the door to the time they finished these conversations, it only took less than two minutes (the NPCs in the Hiyori world generally speak quickly, and Brother Jue's narration and Little Tan's complaints are also quite fast).

Just as the echo of Feng Bujue's words "bargaining chips" had not yet faded, another voice came from outside the house...

"Phantom Thief BeArs_eye, Mao Sanlang, and Falcon Taro... give up your resistance!" This voice was also familiar to the three thieves inside... Usagi Mei's voice.

"It's... it's Usagi Mei-chan!" Xiong Ji widened his eyes and said in a panic, "She... she's actually outside, and... she's already recognized Teacher and Falcon Taro-senpai!"

"As expected." Feng Bujue's tone indicated that he had indeed anticipated this situation, "The moment the searchlights came on, I knew... we had been set up by Usagi Mei." As he spoke, he unhurriedly walked towards the second floor.

"I know you're probably thinking of... using hostages to confront us." At this time, Usagi Mei continued, "Don't dream! Miao Mei and her family have already left that house!"

As soon as these words came out, Feng Bujue's footsteps suddenly froze: "What?"

The next second, he dashed out and went straight to Miao Mei's room on the second floor. He didn't rush to kick down the door (because he wasn't absolutely sure he could kick it open) or anything like that; instead, he first tried to turn the doorknob, and as a result... the door wasn't locked.

Feng Bujue pushed the door open and entered, seeing... an empty bed.

"Tch... have I been set up..." He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Outside the house, Usagi Mei was still speaking through the megaphone: "Mao Sanlang, your every move has been under our surveillance." She paused and said in a rather triumphant tone, "After you pretended to have lost your class notes and used that as an excuse to investigate the terrain of Miao Mei's house, the police sent people in and quietly transferred her whole family."

"Hey, Brother Jue... you..." Little Tan quickly caught up with Brother Jue's pace and appeared at the door of the room.

"Ah, I heard everything." Feng Bujue let out a long sigh, then revealed a smile, "Heh... interesting."

Seeing Feng Bujue's reaction, Wang Tanzhi immediately felt a bad premonition...

He knew Brother Jue very well, so he knew that when Feng Bujue showed such an expression and said that someone or something was "interesting," it was often when he was being forced into a desperate situation...

If he was simply being suppressed by force, Brother Jue wouldn't care too much. But... being schemed against on an intellectual level was something he absolutely couldn't accept.

At this kind of moment, most people would probably have already broken down...

The action was being carried out to the last step, and the light of victory was right in front of them, but it was instantly reversed, forcing them into a dead end... the frustration, fear, and wavering that this kind of situation brought to people were indescribable.

If it were someone else, even if they didn't break down, they would fall into a state of panic and confusion, making it difficult to turn the situation around.

But Feng Bujue... was different. The more he encountered this kind of situation that couldn't be overturned, the faster his mind would work... it was as if there was an area in his brain that he didn't usually use, but at certain moments... it would be activated, allowing him to enter a special state of mind.

If he had to name it..."Psychopathic" state would probably be a suitable name.

"Come out and surrender! Mao Sanlang, Falcon Taro, and Phantom Thief BeArs_eye!" Usagi Mei was still putting pressure on them from outside, "You don't have any hostages, and this house has been completely surrounded; confrontation and escape are impossible..." She paused for two seconds, "As for armed resistance... I advise you to think carefully before you act." Her tone suddenly turned cold, "Compared to 'death'... it's better to be sent to the infirmary, right?"

Clang—

The next second, the glass window on the second floor was smashed open.

A figure appeared in front of the window.

But see...