"Aren't you getting out, bro? What's taking you so long!"Bigface Cat noticed Lin Xian hadn't followed him and jogged back to yank open the van door.
"It's almost midnight, man! Let's go, let's go!"
Sigh…
Lin Xian sighed deeply.
His goal tonight was just to sketch Coco Cat.He had absolutely no intention of robbing the bank again.
But Bigface Cat had basically dragged him here by brute force.
"Well… since I'm already here."
Lin Xian hopped out of the van and followed him.
Rustle rustle…
They reached the bank entrance.
"Is it done?" Bigface Cat asked.
The younger guy nodded.
BANG!!
Blood splattered across the wall!
Bigface Cat casually wiped the gun:"One less person to split the money with—more for us!"
"Mhm."Lin Xian nodded.
"People like that—untrustworthy. Can't be kept around."
"…What the hell?"
Bigface Cat froze, eyes wide as he stared at Lin Xian.
"How'd you know?"
"Just look at his face! Might as well have the word 'betrayal' tattooed on it."
"…Are you serious, bro?"
Bigface Cat scratched his head, looked at Lin Xian suspiciously.
"Eh, whatever. Let's move."
Rustle rustle…
The two reached the fork in the hallway.
Snip.
A masked guy cut a wire.
"Done. Alarm system is disabled!"
BANG!!
Blood sprayed all over the breaker box!
"Serves him right."
Lin Xian scoffed with righteous disdain.
"Scumbags who flirt with their boss's wife deserve worse."
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
Bigface Cat jumped in shock.
"You knew about that too?! Who the hell's been leaking my business?! Even you know now—doesn't that mean the whole damn world knows I got cucked by my own guy?!"
"Well… not the whole world."
Lin Xian tried to console him.
"I just read it in his face. Look at him—he practically has 'slept with your girl' written all over."
"Bro, you messin' with me?! What, his face has a novel on it now? And besides—"
Bigface Cat kicked the body over.
"He was masked, in the dark, back turned to you. How the hell did you read his face?"
"I was giving you a way out. But hey—if you want me to admit the world knows, sure."
"…Let's just go. We're on the clock."
Ahead—
A chubby man emerged from the lower level.
"Boss—"
BANG!
Bigface Cat turned to Lin Xian.
Lin Xian just stared back.
"Know why I shot him?"
"No clue," Lin Xian shrugged.
"This guy's the worst! He was planning to kill us all and take the money for himself.He even mapped out an escape route! Tell me I shouldn't have shot him!"
"Says the guy doing exactly that."
The two moved on and reached the bank vault.
Familiar black wall.Familiar silver combination door.
"Alright, bro. You're up!"
Bigface Cat pointed at the vault.
"You better move quick! Once the power's back, the alarm system triggers automatically!"
"Relax. I only need 10 seconds."
"You're sh*ttin' me!"
Lin Xian reached toward Bigface Cat's waistband—
"Hey! What're you doing?!"
"Borrowing the C4."
He slapped the explosive on the vault and activated it.
"Run!""Shift—!"
BOOM!!!BOOM!!!BOOM!!!
Thunderous blasts shattered the air.
Bricks and dust flew everywhere, the hallway filled with smoke.
"Ptooey!"
Bigface Cat got up and spat out chalk dust.
"You call this codebreaking?! Where's the 'expert' part of your title?!"
"Efficiency is what matters."
Lin Xian strolled in from the other side of the hallway.
"How'd you get so far so fast? I saw you flying on the wall!"
"That's called parkour."
The smoke cleared.
The vault door was gone. A giant hole had blown through the wall.
Bigface Cat rushed in. Lin Xian followed.
Left… right…Left… right…Left… right…
"Where's the money?"
"Who are you asking?"
"I'm asking YOU—where's the money!!"
"I don't know!"
"You said this place had piles of cash! GOLD BARS!"
The warehouse was empty—aside from the wall-to-wall safety deposit boxes, it was completely bare.
Bigface Cat snapped.
He lunged forward, grabbed Lin Xian by the collar, and pressed the gun to his temple.
Veins bulged in his forehead.
"You tricked me! YOU said the money was here!"
"I didn't!"
"I did."
A clear female voice echoed behind them.
Bigface Cat turned to look—
BANG!!!
Lin Xian felt like a watermelon exploded on his shoulder.Red juice splattered across his face—mixed with fragments of bone.
"Intense…"
He wiped his ear, heart pounding.Adrenaline surged through him.
He shoved Bigface Cat's corpse aside.The air reeked of blood.
In all his dreams—being sniped in the head over and over—this was the first time he experienced it from a front-row seat.
Click. Click. Click.
The woman walked over with light, steady steps.
"Why lie to him?" Lin Xian asked.
"What did I lie about?"
"You said there were stacks of money, gold bars.But what you really wanted… was the safe."
"None of your business."
She shot him a look.
"Go stand somewhere quiet before I regret saving you."
Then she started scanning the names on the safety boxes.
Lin Xian wiped his neck clean.
Then it hit him—
Yesterday, when Bigface Cat was about to shoot him,this same woman had killed him and saved his life.
And just now—again, when Bigface Cat had a gun to his head—she'd done the same thing.
Strange.
They didn't know each other.Had never even seen each other's faces.
Why would a stone-cold killer like her save someone like him… twice?
"Why did you save me?"
"None of your business."
"You're no fun to talk to, you know that?"
At that moment, the woman stopped—
She'd found her target.
The deposit box labeled [Lin Xian].
She tossed her mini laptop aside and began working the mechanical dial.
"Alright, let's make a deal."
Lin Xian stepped forward.
"You tell me why you saved me,and I'll help you open the safe.Win-win."
"Hah!"
She laughed.
"You think wearing an Ultraman mask makes you a code expert?"
"I'm better than any code expert."
"Oh yeah? Why should I believe you?"
"Because…"
Lin Xian pulled the strap from the back of his head—
Removed the Ultraman mask.
And looked her straight in the eyes.
"Because I'm Lin Xian."
(End of Chapter)