"Have you ever noticed how most beautiful women we see on the streets end up with ugly boyfriends? Do you know why?" Fang Chao asked Liu Zhi with a grin. "It's because people have this misconception—when they see a gorgeous woman, they assume she must already have a boyfriend, and that he must be outstanding, so they don't dare pursue her. Meanwhile, those shameless losers go all out chasing after beauties, and in the end, it becomes the norm for stunning women to pair up with losers. I figured this out long ago and put it into practice early on, only to realize that knowing the truth doesn’t help much. That’s why I want to make money—lots of it. With money, beautiful women will naturally come. That’s my biggest motivation for being in this line of work!"
Liu Zhi clenched his fists tightly. "You’re absolutely right."
"You want to find a woman too?"
Liu Zhi lowered his head shyly.
Fang Chao laughed heartily. "What kind are you looking for?"
"After we pull off this job and make a fortune, I’ll find someone... well, pretty, innocent yet sexy, gentle, someone who won’t lose her temper at me and will obey me in everything."
"So you’re basically looking for a prostitute?"
"I—"
Fang Chao patted him on the shoulder. "That’s a perfectly reasonable thought. As the old saying goes,
To be rich and not visit brothels is like wearing fine clothes at night. After we finish this big job, we’ll go find some together!"
Fang Chao and Liu Zhi sat side by side in the back seat of the car, enthusiastically discussing their ambitions and painting vivid pictures of the good life awaiting them after this job.
This time, the two had disguised their faces and were dressed in simple, unassuming sportswear. They crouched low in their seats, their eyes fixed intently on the entrance of a residential compound across the street. Anyone passing by outside the car would never notice the two men hiding in the back unless they stooped down for a closer look.
The location was about two kilometers north of the city government building, near a lake surrounded by several low-density residential compounds—a quiet spot in the midst of the bustling city.
On the broad road outside one of these compounds, parking spaces were marked with white lines. At noon, traffic was sparse, and among the scattered cars parked along the road, Fang Chao’s long-discontinued Limited Edition Xiali lay in wait.
Before long, a plump man in his forties rode out of the compound’s pedestrian gate on an old Phoenix-brand bicycle. He wore a pair of meticulous black-framed glasses and a black jacket typical of retired officials, his hair combed in a severe side part to conceal his receding hairline. He pedaled leisurely, each rotation of the gears producing a faint click, completely oblivious as he maintained his unhurried pace.
As he passed the Limited Edition Xiali, the man’s phone rang. He dismounted and pushed the bike forward with one hand while fishing out a flip phone—a rare sight these days—from his pocket with the other. Pressing it to his ear, he said, "Hello? Yes, speaking. Delivery guy, just leave the package at the guard booth, thanks."
After politely hanging up, he climbed back onto his bicycle.
Fang Chao watched him leave without blinking and whispered, "That’s our target!"
Liu Zhi stared in disbelief at the pudgy retiree’s retreating figure, his eyes wide. "This is the so-called Three Rivers Estuary corrupt official you went through hell and high water to track down?"
"You don’t believe me?" Fang Chao snorted, shooting him a sidelong glance."I—" Liu Zhi swallowed a mouthful of curses. It was 2017, and there were still people riding such a shabby bicycle—couldn’t even afford an electric scooter! Still using a flip phone with buttons! How pathetic could life get? Could a corrupt official really live like this?
Fang Chao shook his head and laughed:
You, my friend, are too naive to see through the disguises of demons. Let me teach you—you need to look beyond appearances to grasp the essence!
"Don’t let that bicycle fool you. From what I know, that fat guy is named Fang Yong, the director of the Eastern New City Management Committee—basically the boss of Eastern New City. Eastern New City is touted as a replica of Three Rivers Estuary, and this guy’s rank is on par with the mayor of Three Rivers Estuary. He owns an apartment in this neighborhood. I checked the prices—properties here go for at least three million."
Liu Zhi scoffed, "What’s the big deal? I have a relative who just became a civil servant, and with all the miscellaneous benefits, they make over a hundred grand a year. Someone at his level must pull in several hundred thousand. A three-million mortgage is totally normal. If he bought it a few years earlier, half that would’ve been enough."
Seeing his disbelief, Fang Chao snorted coldly. "Then let me ask you this: even ordinary civil servants all have cars these days. Is it normal for someone at his level to commute on a beat-up bicycle?"
"Maybe the fat guy’s biking to lose weight."
Fang Chao pursed his lips and opened his phone, revealing a gallery full of news photos of Fang Yong riding his bike—all taken during past interviews.
"These are reports I dug up on him over the years. In every single photo, he’s riding a broken-down bicycle. Why hasn’t he replaced it after all this time?"
"Old habits die hard. Some people just stick with what they’re used to. Look, I’ve been wearing the same underwear for five years, and it’s still perfectly fine."
"Spare me the underwear!" Fang Chao jabbed his finger at the screen. "Look closely—are these the same bicycles in all these photos?"
Liu Zhi compared them. "Seems like different ones."
"Over the years, he’s gone through at least three different bicycles!"
"So what if he replaces a broken bike? Three junkers don’t cost much."
"The question is, why does he always replace them with equally broken ones? And where does he keep finding these decades-old Phoenix bikes?"
Liu Zhi paused, then slowly dawned with realization.
"He always rides a bicycle—always a broken one. Even when it breaks, he replaces it with another junker! Most corrupt officials wouldn’t bother with this level of disguise. So this guy isn’t just corrupt—he’s a mega-corrupt official!" Fang Chao concluded with absolute confidence. "I’ve been staking out his place from a nearby building. He goes home for lunch every day and returns to work in the afternoon. Right now, he’s left home and won’t be back for four hours. So we go in now, clean out all the valuables in his place—and when this big-shot corrupt official gets home, he’ll be stunned! And he won’t dare call the police. Ha! Perfect!" Fang Chao burst into triumphant laughter, utterly pleased with his plan.
Liu Zhi thought it over and nodded. Only one concern lingered: "Is there anyone else at home during the day?"Fang Chao scoffed, "From our observations these past few days, there shouldn't be anyone inside. But who knows? Even if there is, so what? The two of us can easily handle it." With a gun in hand and their combat skills, he wasn't the least bit worried about whether anyone was still in the house.
Liu Zhi nodded and was about to pack up and get to work when he glanced again at the entrance of the upscale residential area. A formidable security guard stood at the gate, and not far away, an advertisement board read: "Veteran security personnel provide you with the most reassuring service.—Angel Property Management." He paused, hesitation creeping in. "Maybe... we should wait until midnight to act?"
"Why wait until midnight? Fang Yong is out now—isn't this the perfect opportunity?"
"But in broad daylight, what if someone's inside? If we act directly, I'm afraid the commotion might alert the neighbors. The security here are veterans, and I'm worried..." Liu Zhi had served in the military himself and had been bullied by older soldiers back then, leaving him with lingering psychological scars.
"What's there to fear from veterans?" Fang Chao was utterly dismissive. "Do you know Warren Buffett?"
"The stock market guru? Did he ever rob anyone?"
"The man pulled off the biggest heist of all—robbing thousands upon thousands of people. He once summed up a golden rule for robbery: 'Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.' Think about it—how many people dare to break into a house in broad daylight? If others don't dare, then it's our turn to be greedy!—Enough talk, let's move!"
Fang Chao and Liu Zhi had unwittingly chosen the home of "Hai Rui of Three Rivers Estuary." What would they discover?
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