The next morning, sunlight filtered through the window and fell in mottled patches across the wooden floor.
Li Fan stretched lazily, feeling explosive strength coursing through his body. The fatigue from the previous night had completely vanished.
With physical abilities more than three times that of an average person, he now only needed four or five hours of sleep to remain fully energized.
After a quick wash, Li Fan rode his loyal little electric scooter out the door, humming a tune.
“Boss, two meat buns, one fried dough stick, and a cup of soy milk!”
At the entrance of Wang’s Bun Shop, which had been open for over a decade at the alley corner, Li Fan parked skillfully and joined the long queue.
This bun shop was a well-known local favorite. Thin skin, generous filling, and rich broth. Every morning, a long line formed. Arrive late, and you’d get nothing.
The line moved slowly forward. The air was filled with the aroma of flour and minced meat.
Just as Li Fan was debating whether to eat the fried dough stick first or the buns, the familiar alarm suddenly rang in his mind without warning.
[Ding! Theft suspect detected!]
Li Fan’s eyes instantly sharpened. The relaxed posture of someone waiting in line vanished, replaced by the alertness of a hunter.
He lifted his gaze and discreetly scanned the crowd.
Soon, his attention locked onto a thin young man slightly ahead and to the side in the queue.
The young man appeared to be in his early twenties, wearing a faded T-shirt. His shifty eyes darted around. Though he seemed to be lining up, his attention was entirely fixed on the shoulder bag of a young woman beside him.
The girl was wearing headphones, swaying gently to the music, completely unaware of the danger behind her.
A virtual panel quietly appeared before Li Fan’s eyes.
[Name: Ju Xinlei]
[Age: 23]
[Criminal Record: Theft (previously sentenced to six months of detention)]
Oh? A repeat offender.
Li Fan slightly adjusted his stance, lowering his center of gravity, ready to move at any moment.
But just as Ju Xinlei extended his hand and was about to succeed, another urgent alarm sounded in Li Fan’s mind.
[Ding! Theft suspect detected!]
Li Fan’s pupils contracted slightly.
An accomplice?
The man looked about twenty-four or twenty-five. Though he appeared focused, the corner of his eye remained fixed on Ju Xinlei and the girl.
[Name: Zou Xuesong]
[Age: 25]
[Criminal Record: Theft (two prior prison records)]
Well, well. A seasoned repeat offender.
Li Fan immediately abandoned the idea of acting at once.
With organized theft like this, catching one was useless. He needed to catch them red-handed and preferably take down the whole group.
He concealed his presence and continued pretending to be an ordinary citizen in line, while keeping every small movement of the two men within his peripheral vision.
Ju Xinlei seized the moment when the person ahead turned after buying buns. With two fingers, he smoothly slipped a pink phone out of the girl’s half-open bag in one fluid motion, without alerting anyone.
After succeeding, he didn’t linger. He immediately left the line and casually walked past Zou Xuesong.
In the instant they brushed shoulders, the pink phone transferred seamlessly into Zou Xuesong’s hand without anyone noticing.
Zou Xuesong didn’t even glance at it. He stuffed it straight into his pocket and continued pretending to use his own phone, as if nothing had happened. Ju Xinlei strolled toward the deeper part of the alley like an innocent passerby.
Their coordination was impressively seamless.
Li Fan sneered inwardly.
“Young man, it’s your turn. What would you like?” the bun shop owner called, snapping Li Fan back to reality.
“Uh… never mind!”
He threw out those words and, under the puzzled stares of the shop owner and the aunts behind him in line, turned around and followed Ju Xinlei at an unhurried pace.
Buns are precious, soy milk expensive, but if it’s for catching thieves, both can be sacrificed.
Looks like today’s “breakfast” would have to be somewhere else.
Ju Xinlei and Zou Xuesong were clearly cautious. They did not meet up immediately. Instead, they walked separately through the maze-like alleys of the urban village, twisting and turning, occasionally looking back.
Unfortunately for them, their counter-surveillance tricks were child’s play to Li Fan.
After more than ten minutes, the two finally met at a remote alley corner, then pushed open an inconspicuous iron door and went inside.
Above the iron door hung a dusty sign: “Red Dragon Mahjong Parlor.”
Li Fan did not rush in. He leaned against the wall opposite and lit a cigarette.
He expanded the range of the Identity Recognition Radar to its maximum and directed it toward the mahjong parlor.
The next second, alarms exploded in his mind like machine-gun fire.
[Ding! Suspect involved in intentional injury detected!]
[Ding! Theft suspect detected!]
[Ding! Detected…]
The series of alerts nearly overwhelmed him.
In his field of vision, inside that small mahjong parlor, red criminal markers were densely packed—twelve in total.
Besides Ju Xinlei and Zou Xuesong who had just entered, there were various individuals with criminal records inside: theft, trafficking stolen goods, assault and brawling. A colorful assortment of offenses. It was practically a gathering of “talents.”
Li Fan’s mouth slowly opened. The cigarette in his hand froze midair.
Well, well.
This wasn’t just a mahjong parlor.
Had he just stumbled into another thieves’ den?
He extinguished the cigarette and tossed it into a nearby trash bin.
Twelve. Not one could be missed.
He rolled his wrists, his joints cracking sharply. A smile formed on his face that would have made even a stray cat’s fur stand on end.
Without waiting any longer, he walked straight toward the battered iron door.
Inside, the stale air was thick with smoke and sweat. Several shirtless men surrounded a table, excitedly staring at the pink phone.
“Xuesong, not bad. This one’s at least 90% new, latest model too. We can sell it for a good price,” a fleshy-faced fat man said with a greasy grin as he examined the phone. He was the leader of this thieves’ den, known as “Old Four,” responsible for selling stolen goods.
“Of course. When Xinlei and I make a move, when have we ever failed?” Zou Xuesong leaned back proudly, crossing his legs.
Ju Xinlei rubbed his hands eagerly. “Fourth Brother, how much do we get this time?”
“Why the rush? Once I sell it, you won’t get less,” Old Four waved impatiently, just about to pocket the phone.
At that moment—
Bang!
A deafening crash erupted as the thin iron door was struck head-on like by a battering ram. The entire door panel, along with its frame, exploded inward.
Wood splinters and dust flew everywhere.
The twelve thugs inside, who had been bragging and laughing, were stunned by the sudden shock. Every one of them froze.
In the next second, a tall figure stepped over the shattered remains of the door, silhouetted against the light at the entrance.
“Police operation. Nobody move!”