Chapter 116 The Bear's Gambit

Burglary is a very common form of crime.

But to complete it flawlessly, disappearing without a trace while the house is occupied, is difficult.

If Feng Bujue did it alone, the success rate would be high. Even with Wang Tanzhi, it wouldn't make much difference.

But the problem is… the real protagonist of this theft wasn't them, but “Phantom Thief BeArs_eye,” aka Xiong Ji…

Feng Bujue felt that the current main quest was a good opportunity. He hoped that with his help, Xiong Ji could rely on his own efforts to complete a relatively difficult, technically demanding criminal activity and master certain techniques to avoid punishment. This way, Xiong Ji's tendency to court death in later quests would be greatly reduced, and the overall difficulty of the script would decrease.

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

“Hmm… hmm hmm…” After leading the two into the house, Feng Bujue gestured, humming a couple of times.

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

In the next second, they both picked up the flashlights Brother Jue had prepared in advance, holding the switch with one hand and shielding the front end with the other, turning them on.

The switches of these two flashlights were silent, and the light beams emitted from the front were small and not very bright. Obviously, Feng Bujue had already considered the various situations that might arise when he bought them (besides the textbooks and stationery in his schoolbag, Mao Sanlang also had some pocket money, and since the system provided currency, Feng Bujue naturally used it to the maximum extent).

“Hmm hmm…” After the two turned on their flashlights and stabilized the beams, Feng Bujue winked, signaling them to follow.

Unexpectedly, they had barely walked two meters down the hallway when they heard…

Squeak—creak—

The floorboards under their feet made two small sounds, but in this dark and quiet environment… they sounded particularly loud.

At that moment, all three of them stopped.

Xiao Tan and Xiong Ji were stunned by the sound. They froze in place, afraid to move. Feng Bujue also broke out in a cold sweat, but… he didn't panic. In Brother Jue's opinion, this level of mistake was completely acceptable… even if it alerted Miao Mei or her parents, it didn't matter. As long as they weren't caught in the act, he could terminate the operation at any time.

“Hmm…” After listening intently for nearly two minutes, Feng Bujue was basically certain that the people (cats) upstairs hadn't reacted to the sound.

So, he slowly turned his head and crawled onto the ground, winking at his two companions.

Xiao Tan quickly understood Brother Jue's meaning, 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 Xiao Tan lying down, so he followed suit, biting the flashlight and getting on all fours.

Then, they crawled upstairs in a line…

“Sigh…” Feng Bujue, who was leading the way, sighed silently in his heart, “Look on the bright side… at least I'm a cat.”

“To teach a bear how to steal…” Xiao Tan, who was crawling in the middle, thought, “To go to this extent… is pretty damn dedicated…”

In all fairness, Brother Jue being so “dedicated”… was also out of helplessness.

Miao Mei's old wooden floor was prone to creaking sounds when subjected to pressure. This problem wasn't obvious when Feng Bujue was acting alone because he was light, on all fours, had paw pads, and moved quickly…

But after Xiong Ji and Xiao Tan came in, the sound was “forced” out after the three of them walked upright for a few steps.

Fortunately… this accident didn't have any consequences.

…………

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

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

Under Brother Jue's guidance, every step they took had to be done in slow motion, in order to avoid making any noise.

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

“Hmm… hmm…” After reaching the hallway on the second floor, Feng Bujue turned back to the two of them, gestured, and hummed twice, telling them to rest for a while.

Seeing this, Xiao Tan and Xiong Ji simply collapsed to the ground.

Of course, they also understood… rest was rest, but panting loudly was not allowed. Any behavior that would make a noticeable sound was forbidden. Even a fart had to be held back.

And so… after resting for another three minutes, Xiao Tan and Xiong Ji finally recovered.

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

Before long, the three of them arrived in front of the bathroom door.

The bathroom was naturally not locked when no one was inside, and naturally no one was in the bathroom in the middle of the night. Therefore, Feng Bujue simply reached out and opened the door.

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

Yes… I'm talking about underwear.

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

Because the floor of the washroom was tiled, it wasn't possible to make much noise as long as they didn't stomp their feet. So after the three of them went in, they stood up one after another.

“Hmm hmm…” Then, Feng Bujue turned to look at Xiong Ji, muttered a couple of times, and pointed upwards.

In fact, even without him pointing, Xiong Ji's gaze had already been drawn there. He shone his flashlight on the small clothes hanging on the clothes rack above, revealing a lewd smile.

…………

Steal the clothes, exit, retreat…

Their departure was even slower than their infiltration because Feng Bujue understood that most perpetrators of property crimes experienced a decrease in concentration after completing the crime… during the retreat from the scene, their attention had often already shifted elsewhere.

Thoughts such as “How should the loot 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 even more careful and cautious when landing his feet than when he came in.

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

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

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

However, just as they were one step away from success, an incredible accident occurred…

Squeak—

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

Unexpectedly!

Clang—clang—clang—

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

The night was torn apart by this sound and light.

“Ah… what's that?” Xiao Tan, blinded by the sudden strong light, instinctively said, “Searchlights?”

After his eyes had slightly adjusted to the light, he looked ahead again and saw… besides the huge searchlights, there were also red, blue, and white lights flashing on the street. Estimating, there must have been dozens of police cars parked there.

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

The moment the police appeared, this system notification also sounded in the ears of the two players.

“Are you freaking kidding me…” Feng Bujue looked at the situation in front of him, “Couldn't you have said this before we started?”

“This is not good… Brother Jue…” Xiao Tan glanced around, “We seem to be surrounded…”

Before he could finish speaking, 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.” Feng Bujue said these two words as soon as the other party finished speaking.

His tone sounded more like an order than a suggestion, but Xiao Tan and Xiong Ji didn't care what the context of the 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, running back and forth anxiously, “This has blown up… I don't know if I'll be sent to a circus or something.”

“Going there would be good too.” Feng Bujue seemed very leisurely, “With your appearance, 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, “How can you still joke with me so calmly at a time like this!” As he said that, he released Brother Jue and took two steps back. “I can't be arrested!” He picked up the white hat on his head, revealing the underwear stuffed inside. “I finally got these precious treasures. If I lose them again, I'll definitely die from not being able to bear the mental blow!”

“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 just say… underwear, panties, socks, everything that perverted gentlemen dream of. Phantom Thief BeArs_eye's last words drove countless perverts to rush to Hiyori City.” As he was talking nonsense, he squatted down and put on his shoes again (previously, he had been tying the shoelaces of his two shoes together and hanging them around his neck). “'My treasure? If you want it, go get it… I've left everything there.' What do you think of this will?”

“Your routine…” Before Xiong Ji could answer, Xiao Tan complained first, “It reminds me of *The Legend of Banana*…”

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

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

“Uh… Brother Jue.” Xiao Tan couldn't care less about changing his address for Feng Bujue in front of Xiong Ji. He said directly, “You're not planning to take a kitchen knife and fight them, 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 direct armed conflict with them.” Feng Bujue replied expressionlessly and walked back from the kitchen. “No matter what… Mao Sanlang (here he referred to himself in the third person, 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 this age…”

“Combat experience aside, your ruthlessness definitely exceeds that of all ages and races…” Xiao Tan interjected appropriately.

“Ah, thank you for the compliment.” Feng Bujue admitted calmly and continued from where he left off. “But… it would obviously be very difficult for me to deal with adults, and trained police officers at that. Even in a one-on-one brawl, I don't have the certainty of winning.”

“Then you're taking the knife to…” Xiao Tan was slightly stunned, his expression changed suddenly. “Wait… you're not thinking of…” He quickly glanced at Xiong Ji.

“Thinking what…” Feng Bujue shrugged, “Although that's indeed one of the plans, it hasn't reached the point where we have to kill him yet.”

“Huh?” Xiong Ji didn't understand either of their sentences, so he asked doubtfully, “What? Kill who?”

“It's nothing.” Feng Bujue quickly changed the subject to prevent the other party from realizing what they were talking about. “Actually… my intention in taking the kitchen knife is obvious…” He pointed to the stairs with the knife. “There are three hostages on the second floor… Oh no… cat-nappees.” He smiled, “They, and this house, are our bargaining chips to negotiate with the police.”

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

Just as Feng Bujue's last word “chips” was still echoing, another voice came from outside…

“Phantom Thief BeArs_eye, Mao Sanlang, and Hayabusa Taro… give up your resistance!” This voice was also familiar to the three thieves inside… It was Usami's voice.

“It's… it's Usami-chan!” Xiong Ji widened his eyes and said in a panic, “She… she's actually outside, and… she's already recognized Teacher and Senior Hayabusa Taro!”

“As expected.” Feng Bujue's tone indicated that he had indeed anticipated this situation. “The moment the searchlights turned on, I knew… we were tricked by Usami.” As he said that, he unhurriedly walked towards the second floor.

“I know that you're probably thinking… that you can use the cat-nappees as hostages to confront us.” At this time, Usami said again, “Don't dream about it! Miao Mei and her family have already left that house!”

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

In the next second, he dashed out and went straight to Miao Mei's room on the second floor. He didn't rush to kick the door open (because he wasn't absolutely sure he could kick it open), but first tried to turn the doorknob. As a result… the door wasn't locked.

Feng Bujue pushed the door open and saw… an empty bed.

“Tch… tricked, huh…” He spat unhappily.

Outside, Usami was still speaking through the megaphone: “Mao Sanlang, your every move has already 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 scout out the terrain of Miao Mei's house, the police sent people in to quietly move her whole family away.”

“Hey, Brother Jue… you…” Xiao Tan quickly caught up with Brother Jue's pace and appeared at the door of the room.

“Ah, I heard it all.” Feng Bujue took a deep breath, and then, he actually showed a smile. “Heh… interesting.”

Seeing Feng Bujue's reaction, Wang Tanzhi immediately had a bad feeling…

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

If he was simply suppressed by force, Brother Jue wouldn't care much. But… being outwitted on the intellectual level was something he could never accept.

At a moment like this, most people would have already collapsed…

The action had been carried out to the last step, and just when the light of victory was in sight, it was instantly reversed, forcing them into a desperate situation… the frustration, fear, and wavering that this kind of situation brought were beyond words.

If it were someone else, even if they didn't collapse, they would fall into a state of confusion and panic, 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 turned around, the faster his thinking would run… 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… the “batshit crazy” state would be a more appropriate name.

“Come out and surrender! Mao Sanlang, Hayabusa Taro, and Phantom Thief BeArs_eye!” Usami was still putting pressure on them from outside. “You don't have any hostages, and this house is surrounded. Confrontation and escape are impossible…” She paused for two seconds. “As for resisting with force… I advise you to think clearly before you act.” Her tone turned cold suddenly. “Compared to ‘death’… being sent to the infirmary would be better, right?”

Clanglang—

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

A figure appeared at the window.

But what he saw…