Chapter 605: Chapter 605: Locked On

"Where is the Second Young Master? And the others?" Qiutian Wetai asked.

The head butler hurriedly replied, "The Second and Fourth Young Masters have gone to the police station. The monetary value involved in this case is enormous, so they need to be there to supervise and urge the police to recover the items as quickly as possible. The Eldest Young Master heard you were ill and is rushing back. Madam also just left; she instructed the kitchen to prepare some nourishing soup to help you recuperate."

"Hmph." Qiutian Wetai’s heart was still pounding furiously. The value of the stolen goods was too immense, so great he could hardly fathom it. ’All those antiques are gone... those were the very treasures Sanlang spent years scouring Hua Country for. Sanlang even lost his life in Hua Country for those antiques, and members of the Ye Yue Family died there as well. Because of that incident, the Ye Yue Family is deeply displeased with our Qiutian Family. And so many of our men... all perished in Hua Country...’

’If all those things are lost, doesn’t it mean the Qiutian Family suffered grievous losses only to end up with nothing?’

’Sanlang... he was my most capable son. For the sake of those treasures, I had to sacrifice him. If only...’

A sharp pain suddenly stabbed at Qiutian Wetai’s chest. He thought of the other batch of antiques stored at the villa. He reflexively touched the key at his side, then breathed a sigh of relief. The security there was top-notch. He had never told anyone the password to the vault—not even his own sons. ’So, thank goodness... thank goodness there’s still one batch left.’

The entire city of Ban City was locked down for three full days. During that time, people were only allowed in, not out. All train and bus services were suspended. And after three days of relentless investigation, they actually found some leads. To Su Qing’s surprise, all suspicion had fallen on a single person.

And that person was the curly-haired man Su Qing had dealt with.

The result left Su Qing rather dumbfounded. She never thought that dealing with a piece of scum who had committed countless evil deeds would, by a happy accident, turn the curly-haired man into the perfect scapegoat. Still, she was more than happy with this outcome.

The curly-haired man’s brother-in-law, who worked for Qiutian Erlang, was also "invited to tea" at the police station. It was unclear what would happen to him, but Su Qing knew one thing for sure: the Qiutian Family would not let this matter rest.

Qiutian Wetai was, as expected, furious. He slammed his hand on the table and roared at the police chief, who had come to the Qiutian residence to report on the case: "I don’t care what methods you use, you must find that punk for me! And his brother-in-law—was he coordinating with him from the inside? What about accomplices? Over two hundred large wooden crates... there’s no way one or two people could have moved them! In short, you must give the Qiutian Family a resolution to this case. Otherwise, you can just step down from your post as chief!"

Wiping the cold sweat from his brow, the police chief hurriedly said, "Please rest assured, Master Qiutian. Our department will do everything in our power to solve this case and give the Qiutian Family the answers they deserve."

The police chief was lamenting internally. ’This thief is an absolute professional. The Qiutian Family’s vault, the surrounding area, even the key ring itself... forget fingerprints, we couldn’t find so much as a single footprint. This person clearly has exceptional counter-forensic skills.’

At this thought, the police chief couldn’t help but feel a little resentful toward the Qiutian Family. ’They’re such a powerful family, and their vault is so important, yet they don’t even have a single security camera. Sure, surveillance systems are high-end, rare gadgets right now—usually only banks have them—but the Qiutian Family is hardly some minor household. If their vault had cameras, this case would be so much easier to investigate, wouldn’t it?’

"Hmph!" Qiutian Wetai snorted irritably. "I don’t want to hear your empty promises. I want to see action. Find the thief and get my things back. That’s what you’re supposed to do."

"Yes, yes, of course," the police chief said, nodding eagerly. "We will do our best."

Qiutian Wetai waved his hand impatiently. After the police chief had left, he summoned his second son and gave him a severe tongue-lashing, cursing him for his poor judgment of character and for bringing a traitor into their midst.

Qiutian Erlang was deeply frustrated. ’I was always overshadowed by Qiutian Sanlang, never able to earn Father’s favor. Now, Sanlang is finally dead in Hua Country, and I finally have my chance to shine, but then the vault gets robbed. And of all the rotten luck, the prime suspects are my own trusted subordinate and his brother-in-law. Especially since that brother-in-law has vanished. If it’s confirmed that those two planned this, Father will surely despise me. He might even start favoring my fourth brother.’

Qiutian Erlang’s eyes narrowed. ’Eldest Brother has always been detached and dislikes getting involved in family business. But Fourth Brother is different. He’s been eyeing my position like a tiger stalking its prey.’

’What should I do?’

’Damn it all, how in the world did that goddamn thief manage to get more than two hundred large wooden crates out of our family’s vault?’

However, the very person who was the target of the entire Qiutian Family’s and police department’s fury was, at that very moment, on her way to the Qiutian’s other villa.

This villa was located about ten miles from Ban City. At Su Qing’s pace, the journey would take a little over two hours. To be on the safe side, she disguised herself again and, using the cover of darkness, soon reached the outskirts of the property.

’The security is tight,’ Su Qing thought, her lips pursing slightly. She was hidden in a small grove of trees just outside the villa, observing it from a distance.

Under the cover of night, vines crept silently across the villa grounds. Through their vantage point, Su Qing got a clear view of the situation inside. It was obvious that, likely due to the theft at the Qiutian’s main residence, the number of patrols here had significantly increased.

’Are they trying to stop someone from coming to steal the other antiques?’

Su Qing raised an eyebrow, unconcerned. Though the patrol guards were burly, they were just ordinary men. For her, dealing with them would be a piece of cake.

When the patrols weren’t looking, Su Qing stealthily snatched a guard, dragged him into the woods, and used the gray liquid to extract information about the villa’s current situation.

"This villa actually has security cameras!" Su Qing was surprised. ’Even the vault at the Qiutian’s main residence didn’t have cameras, but they have over a dozen installed here, both visible and hidden. That must have cost a fortune.’

In this day and age, security cameras were not a common sight.

Following the guard’s information, Su Qing silently directed her vines to destroy every single camera. Then, wisps of gray mist began to slowly envelop the entire villa.

THUD!

THUD!

One by one, the patrolling guards collapsed, falling unconscious without any warning.

As the gray mist permeated the air, everyone in the villa, whether asleep or awake, gradually lost consciousness.

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