Chapter 15: The Pitifully Tricked Black Mouse

A week later, under the careful planning of Li Yalin and all the girls, the operation of the Cat's Eye officially began.

Although the Cat's Eye notification stated that the designated time was eleven o'clock at night, Li Yalin and Xiaoting had already appeared above the ceiling of the National Art Museum at eight o'clock in the evening.

"I say, Xiaoting, this is our first time cooperating, isn't it?" With night vision goggles on, Li Yalin walked ahead, leaning forward, through the ventilation opening on the ceiling. Xiaoting followed cautiously behind Li Yalin. Li Yalin felt quite accomplished to be able to complete the mission with Xiaoting for the first time. It was the realization of a dream he had harbored for many years.

"Be careful, even though your night vision goggles are advanced, don't forget, there are countless security guards waiting for you below." Although Xiaoting's mood was also excited at the moment, her heart was beating wildly. However, now was not the time to relax vigilance. Xiaoting had to remind Li Yalin.

"Don't worry, we're here." Li Yalin smiled slightly. By now, he and Xiaoting had reached the ceiling above where "Emerging Lotus" was located. Looking down, there were no security guards in sight. After all, it was not yet nine o'clock, and there was still some time before Cat's Eye appeared. This was the advantage of Cat's Eye's punctuality when stealing things. By acting a little earlier now, these police officers had no defense at all.

"Then I'll go down first." Nodding towards Li Yalin, Xiaoting opened the ceiling cover and slid down the rope. Behind her, she carried a leather tube.

Taking advantage of the absence of people around, Xiaoting swiftly removed the original "Emerging Lotus" from the frame, took out a counterfeit from the leather tube, re-mounted it, and hung the counterfeit back on the wall.

See that? That's professionalism. From start to finish, Xiaoting didn't even take five minutes. If it were Li Yalin, re-mounting that counterfeit would have taken him quite some time, after all, he had never learned about mounting.

"Now, let's wait and see the show." Xiaoting, returning to the ceiling, blinked at Li Yalin. What they had to do next was wait for the black mouse to take the bait.

As time passed by second by second, it was already ten o'clock at night in the blink of an eye. Just then, from not far away on the ceiling, there came a slight noise. This kind of noise might not be audible in the rooms below, but in the same ceiling, it sounded quite clear.

Obviously, the black mouse's modus operandi this time was the same as Li Yalin and Xiaoting's choice, entering from the ceiling. They couldn't stay in place anymore. If they collided, the game couldn't continue.

Making a gentle gesture towards Xiaoting, the two quickly left the original location and hid around the corner not far away. It looked quite concealed here, so it was good to hide here. They could observe the black mouse's movements and the distance to the target was not far.

Li Yalin was really glad he had obtained the skill of "Silent Death." If it had been before, Li Yalin wouldn't have been able to walk silently like he was now. Xiaoting was also very surprised by this. She had practiced hard for years to achieve this, but how could Li Yalin also do it? Even she, a professional thief, couldn't detect Li Yalin's footsteps.

Enough of the digression. At this time, the black mouse also arrived above "Emerging Lotus." After careful observation, seeing no one around, the black mouse then opened the ceiling and swaggered down the rope.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Yalin and Xiaoting returned to their original position, observing the black mouse's every move from above the ceiling.

Sure enough, the true identity of the black mouse was Shingu Makoto. This guy came to "Emerging Lotus" with a look of self-satisfaction, even pretending to be an expert to examine it before finally taking down the picture frame, preparing to take out the painting and put it into a prepared tube.

However, just after the black mouse opened the picture frame, he suddenly froze in place. It turned out that hidden on the back of the picture frame after removing the painting was a Cat's Eye notification letter. Had Cat's Eye already been here in advance?

Just as the black mouse was dumbfounded, the alarm in the National Art Museum suddenly sounded loudly, and Detective Junfu and his colleagues rushed towards the exhibition hall. Oh no! They fell for it! If the black mouse didn't react at this point, he would truly be an idiot. Retreat! Leave this cursed place! This was the only thought in the black mouse's mind at this moment.

But just as he was about to climb back up the rope to the ceiling, the black mouse suddenly realized in misery that his rope had been pulled back, and the ceiling that had been opened was also closed, setting him up! The black mouse felt quite annoyed about this.

Junfu and his colleagues were about to rush into the exhibition hall, his retreat route was also cut off. The black mouse felt extremely helpless in his heart. But he couldn't just sit and wait for death. As a jewel thief, the black mouse naturally had his own escape methods. Although it seemed quite embarrassing, he could still escape from this seemingly tightly guarded building.

"Haha, Xiaoting, did you see that? Shingu's expression was priceless, just like he ate shit." On the way back, Li Yalin, driving the motorcycle, burst into laughter. He dared to have designs on his own girlfriend? He's simply asking for death!

"Hehe, indeed quite amusing. But Yalin, don't be too proud. This guy is not simple. He might become our enemy in the future." Xiaoting, hugging Li Yalin's waist from behind, also chuckled, but then her brows furrowed. They say colleagues are enemies. By setting up the black mouse this time, who's to say he won't come back in the future?

"Hehe, with our Xiaoting here, this black mouse will definitely dance to our tune. After all, our Xiaoting is as beautiful as a celestial nymph, always attracting those black mice and white mice." Well, Li Yalin admitted there was a hint of sourness in his words, but this black mouse, he couldn't even be considered a rival.

"Who's your Xiaoting?" Xiaoting pinched Li Yalin's waist in both anger and amusement. But she could clearly hear the hint of sourness in Li Yalin's words. Suddenly, a strange sweetness surged up in her heart. He still cared about me after all.

"And who's talking about black mice and white mice? I'm not cheese, how could I attract those things?" Well, Shingu, you've already been regarded as a thing by Xiaoting.

"You're my cheese, and I'm the biggest mouse, always keeping you hidden in the palm of my hand."