The red-haired thief ran quickly and slipped into an alley.
Then he entered a teahouse on the corner.
"Heh, that stupid big guy definitely can't find him!"
He entered a private room and happily inspected his loot. He opened the large and heavy backpack, only to find that it was full of clothes. There were more than a dozen pairs of underwear, and there were also a few books. He was disappointed.
There was even a poorly made sachet at the bottom of the bag! A sachet? Who would carry something like this!
Was this guy a time traveler?
Just then, the door slammed open, and Di Zhen appeared with a cold smile. The thief let out a yelp of fear. There was nowhere to hide, so he could only beg desperately, "Big brother, big brother, I was wrong! I saw you dozing off, and I just couldn't control my hand. This hand of mine is too damn cheap!" As he spoke, he kept slapping his left hand.
Di Zhen walked in, picked up his bag, and checked it. Nothing seemed to be missing.
He had long heard that there were many thieves in big cities, so he had put a sachet in his bag. The scent of the spices lingered, and with his exceptional sense of smell, it was easy for him to track the thief.
"If you can say 'Sorry' a hundred times in one minute, I won't beat you up."
"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry..."
"How many have you said?!" Di Zhen suddenly interrupted him.
"I... I didn't count!"
"Start over. Exactly a hundred times, no more, no less."
The thief let out a sigh. He counted silently in his mind while apologizing. It was really difficult to finish within a minute. The more he counted, the more nervous he became, and sweat broke out on his forehead.
Just then, Di Zhen suddenly slapped him on the neck. The thief felt a jolt, as if an electric current had passed through him. He heard the deep voice say, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
The voice seemed to have magic power. It penetrated his soul, and then he lost consciousness...
"Wake up!"
With a snap of the fingers, the little thief woke up with a scream. He found himself in complete darkness. There were some white curved lines on the ground, and there was a basketball hoop in the distance. It seemed like a playground.
What was even weirder was that he was completely naked!
Being naked was bad enough, but he was standing with his right leg bent and his left leg coiled and placed on his right knee, with his hands clasped together, just like the Wealthy Boy in the temple. This was just a humiliation tactic!
Di Zhen stood in front of him, picking out dumplings one by one from the lunch box and stuffing them into his mouth, chewing calmly.
"Big brother! Big brother! Big brother!" The little thief was extremely panicked. He had met a master. His hands and feet were as if they were fixed and he couldn't move at all. "Little brother was blind and offended you. You can punish me however you want, but please don't kill me!"
Di Zhen glanced at him, snorted coldly, and continued to eat the dumplings.
The little thief maintained that strange posture. His legs were as sore as lemons. His body kept shivering, and the cold wind made goosebumps rise on his body. He was extremely scared. This person must be a god who knew the immobilization technique!
"Great Immortal, spare me. I know I was wrong!" The little thief begged with tears streaming down his face.
After Di Zhen finished eating the dumplings, he took out a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed it, and gulped it down. Then he walked to the other end of the playground, disposed of the lunch box and the bottle in the trash can, and walked back.
"Great god, please take back your supernatural power!" The little thief begged with all his sincerity.
"How many things have you stolen?" Di Zhen coldly questioned.
"It's my first day on the job."
"Do you think I can't tell that you're lying?" Di Zhen said with a cold look in his eyes.
The little thief broke out in a cold sweat and told the truth. "I just steal some phones and occasionally swipe some food from the supermarket. Nowadays, people don't carry cash, so business is not good!"
"Who's your boss?"
"I'm a lone wolf, a self - employed thief!"
"Still not being honest..." Di Zhen rummaged through the clothes on the ground and found a small box. He threw it on the ground. Inside were all kinds of lock - picking tools. This thing was called the Thirteen - Taibao Tools. "What's this?"
The little thief embarrassedly admitted, "I've broken into empty houses three times... no, four times... no, five times... okay, twenty times!"
Di Zhen sneered. "Do you think it's fair that you steal the money that others have worked so hard to earn without doing any work yourself?"
"But I don't have any other skills. I can't make a living if I don't do this. Besides, I only steal jewelry and phones at most. Once I went into an old lady's house and saw a stack of money in the cabinet. I guessed it might be for medical treatment, so I didn't touch it. I just stole a piece of cured meat and left. Even thieves have their own code of conduct! I also stick to principles!"
Di Zhen observed the little thief's expression. He didn't seem to be lying. Originally, he planned to leave him here and let the police arrest him.
Now he changed his mind. This person could be useful. Anyway, he had planted a talisman in his head, so he wasn't afraid that he would run away. He would just hand him over to the police after he was done using him.
"Damn thief!"
Di Zhen wasn't scolding him. This sentence was the [b]Spell - Breaking Incantation[/b] he had set. As soon as the little thief heard these words, his body immediately regained mobility and he fell to the ground.
The little thief lay sprawled on the ground. After the tense moment passed, his muscles and bones relaxed, and a tingling sensation spread through him, making him feel extremely refreshed.
"Who are you?" Di Zhen asked.
The little thief quickly got up, knelt on one knee, and clasped his fists, saying, "I'm Geng Hao. Glad to meet you, big brother!"
"Come with me to a place. I need you."
"Sure! I'm willing to be at your beck and call! Hey, you don't mean anything weird by 'need', do you? I don't offer services like showing off my good looks, except for beautiful ladies." Geng Hao tried to ease the atmosphere with a smile, but Di Zhen remained cold - faced and unmoved.
"Put on your pants!" Di Zhen said word by word.
Geng Hao quickly put on his clothes. There was a hidden secret in his shirt; it had many pockets, containing three mobile phones, a set of Thirteen - Taibao Tools, and several IDs.
Di Zhen strode away. Geng Hao trotted to catch up and asked with a beaming smile, "What should I call you, big brother?"
"Di Zhen."
"Brother Di, that move you just made was freaking awesome! Was that [b]hypnosis[/b]? Teach me, will you?"
Di Zhen ignored him.
"Brother Di, do you smoke? Here, have a high - end cigarette! Judging from your accent, you're not from around here. What are you doing in Jiangxia? I know this place like the back of my hand. No matter who you're looking for, I can find them easily."
Di Zhen stopped. "There's been a serial killer in Jiangxia recently!"
"Uh..."
"Any rumors about him in the underworld?"
Geng Hao scratched his neck awkwardly. "I really don't know. The police are investigating it. We wouldn't dare get involved!"
"Then shut up!"
Di Zhen went to a newsstand by the road, bought a map, spread it out, and examined it carefully for a while. Then he stuffed the map into his backpack and walked towards Lily Community where the murder took place. This distance was nothing for Di Zhen. One step of his was equivalent to three of Geng Hao's. Geng Hao followed behind, gasping for breath.
When they arrived at the community entrance, Di Zhen glanced at the surveillance camera. He didn't want to be caught on camera, so he went to the wall, gave a light push with his feet, grabbed the top of the wall with his hands, and flipped over.
Geng Hao struggled to climb over the wall and caught up with him.
The two entered the apartment building. Di Zhen stopped in front of an apartment, shined his flashlight on the keyhole, and observed it carefully for a while. There were no signs of it being picked.
"Open it!" Di Zhen turned off his flashlight and said.
"Ah, I thought it was something serious. So, Brother Di, you forgot your keys!" Geng Hao took out the Thirteen - Taibao Tools. "This kind of pin - tumbler lock is a piece of cake. I could even pick it with two strands of noodles. I may not be good at other things, but when it comes to lock - picking, I've never lost to anyone in Jiangxia! One, two, three, open... Uh!"
Suddenly, Geng Hao saw a human - shaped outline marked with tape on the empty living - room floor. It was extremely eerie in the dark night. He was so scared that he turned around and ran, but Di Zhen grabbed him by the neck and coldly said, "Keep watch here!"