Chapter 157 127: Bandit? A Thief of Nations

"Stealing magazines?"

Zhang Liang paused. He looked up, narrowing his eyes at Xu Huo.

'Magazines…'

'They can indeed be stolen.'

In battle, if you encounter an enemy at close range and your gun is out of ammo, you can reach out and snatch their magazine to create an opening for hand-to-hand combat.

But you couldn't call that stealing. That's just robbery!

'Stealing magazines… and from five people, no less…'

"Like this, for example."

Xu Huo paused, a smile spreading across his face.

"Group Leader Zhang, you might want to check your wallet."

Zhang Liang froze. He reached out and patted his chest pocket.

Fortunately, he felt a bulge and immediately relaxed.

"The wallet's still here."

"But the money is gone."

Xu Huo chuckled, then pulled his hand from his pocket and placed a few red banknotes on the table.

At the same time, he also produced several of Zhang Liang's ID cards, which he hadn't opened.

Zhang Liang was silent for a moment.

He fumbled in his jacket and pulled out his wallet.

Sure enough, while the wallet was still there, it was completely empty… well, not *completely* empty.

There was also a slip of paper inside.

He pulled it out and found a line of text written on it.

"Just visiting."

Zhang Liang: ...

"You're just too well-rounded."

He expressionlessly tossed the note into the trash, then stuffed his cards and money back into his wallet.

"Where did you learn to do that?"

"The police academy."

"The police academy teaches this?"

"The police academy teaches anti-pickpocketing. If you know how to stop a pickpocket, you naturally know how to be one. I can steal wallets."

"So…"

Xu Huo said nonchalantly, "It's perfectly logical that I could steal a few guns, wouldn't you say?"

A Bandit…

Bandits are divided into tiers.

The first tier is technique. Like magicians who practice sleight of hand with card tricks. To reach the pinnacle is to become a phantom thief.

The second tier is mental fortitude and intellect—the composure to remain calm and collected while facing powerful individuals, even when your life is on the line like a tightrope walker, and the intelligence to plan the entire heist.

The third tier is a quantum leap in the target itself!

Stealing wallets and phones? That's a pickpocket, not a Bandit.

Xu Huo had stolen many things in his dreams, too many to remember.

Classified files, passenger jets, fighter jets… he'd stolen them all.

Or even an entire country.

He'd tried it back in middle school: turning his dreams into a game's save file. Each dream wouldn't reset but would instead continue from where the last one left off.

"Beating the game" meant accomplishing a certain kind of goal he had set for himself.

And so, he attempted to steal a small nation.

He died many times, and horribly, too. All sorts of deaths, but…

He succeeded. Once.

He, in a dream, had stolen a nation.

"You've convinced me."

Zhang Liang was silent for a long while before a smile broke out on his face.

He stood up, picked up his notebook, and was about to walk out when he paused and added,

"I know I've already brought it up, but I still want to ask…"

"Are you interested in joining the Special Fifth Bureau?"

"Not interested. Being a consultant is great. I get the benefits and my freedom."

Xu Huo refused decisively.

"Alright."

Zhang Liang didn't press the issue. He nodded and headed out.

Their organization had immense respect for personal wishes. Coercion was impossible. Not in this lifetime.

Besides…

The logic of the case was now sound. What reason did he have to give one of his own a hard time?

'Did the deceased not deserve to die?'

'He deserved it.'

'And since he deserved it, where he died doesn't matter, as long as it was at the hands of one of our own.'

Watching him walk away, Xu Huo breathed a sigh of relief.

But before he could even catch his breath, the very next second…

A man who had been anxiously waiting by the door, scratching his head, saw Zhang Liang leave and quickly darted inside.

"Brother Huo, Brother Huo! This is bad, this is bad!"

"What is it?" Xu Huo paused, looking at Wang Chao.

"Are you starting another business?"

"Hey, starting a business is a good thing! Would I say it's bad?"

Wang Chao said with a self-righteous expression, then paused, remembering why he had come. He immediately cried out anxiously,

"It's *you* who's in trouble!"

"Me?"

"I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"

Xu Huo paused, a questioning look in his eyes.