Ke Xue: The thief Cao is actually myself

Chapter 720 This Masked Superman is clearly very strong, yet he's overly cautious! (Seeking monthly votes!)

"What's happening here?"

Upon hearing the sudden commotion, the man in the Kamen Rider costume instantly turned ashen, like the sky before a storm. His previously crazed expression, born of greed, was now replaced by wariness and panic.

His companion also looked terrified, his eyes filled with panic, his lips trembling as he stammered, "I...I don't know!"

The "thump-thump" sounds continued unabated, and they seemed to be getting closer and clearer.

It sounded as if some heavy object was relentlessly pounding against the ceiling above, again and again, the rhythm like the drumbeats of death, heavily striking their sinful souls, causing their inner fear and unease to spread like ripples.

"Could it be the police?"

One of them couldn't help but whisper a guess, his voice filled with deep fear. His eyes, which had been gleaming with greed, were now filled with worry and apprehension.

The man dressed in a Kamen Rider costume immediately retorted, "Impossible! We've cut off all communications. How could they have known so quickly?"

However, despite his strong words, he was actually unsure of himself. A hint of panic and unease unconsciously crept into his eyes, and his hand, which had been gripping the tools, tightened its grip, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

Since all communications were cut off, the police couldn't possibly know what they were doing. So, the question is, why did they hear such a loud noise coming from upstairs?
"Wait, could there be other people in this department store besides us?"

Thinking of this, the man in the Kamen Rider suit suddenly narrowed his eyes. Then, without hesitation, he quickly pulled out a walkie-talkie and issued a new order to his accomplice on the other end, his tone carrying an unquestionable authority: "Guard room, there's a strange noise coming from the seventh floor. Go check it out and see what's going on!"

They meticulously planned and painstakingly orchestrated this robbery, and now they were on the verge of looting all the priceless jewelry in the department store and realizing their dream of becoming millionaires. They absolutely could not afford to lose this opportunity!
"understood!"

"Let's turn on the security camera on the seventh floor and check it out!"

Upon receiving his order, the robbers who remained in the guard room exchanged glances. Then, they quickly surrounded the monitoring equipment, skillfully opened the monitoring page, and stared intently at the screen, trying to find anything unusual.

However, to their great surprise, the screen showed no signs of anything unusual, nor did it display any suspicious figures.

The entire seventh floor appeared as quiet as ever, as if the terrifying sound from just moments ago had never occurred.

"There's nothing strange about it!" one of the bandits said, looking at the screen.

"You say there's nothing unusual? That's impossible!"

The man dressed in a Kamen Rider costume shouted into the walkie-talkie, "I definitely heard that sound just now!"

Are you kidding me? That was such a loud noise, it felt like the whole floor was about to shake, and you still say there's nothing strange about it? How is that possible!

He strongly suspected that his colleague was neglecting his duties and had not followed his orders to conduct a thorough inspection.

Or...

Wait a minute, could the commotion upstairs have been caused by one of his accomplices? Trying to double-cross him?

The thought flashed through his mind like lightning.

Just then, his accomplice urged, "Hurry up, pick up all the gems..."

If the noise is just caused by natural factors such as wind, then it's fine not to investigate. But if someone deliberately made it, then they should take advantage of the situation before the other party takes any further action to loot as much property as possible.

The man dressed in a Kamen Rider costume gave him a cold look and said firmly, "No, just to be on the safe side, let's go check the seventh floor!"

Gems and the like can be looted at any time.

After all, the security system was already in place, and tonight, no one could enter or leave the department store without their permission.

They have plenty of time to get everything they want.

But all of this is predicated on the assumption that nothing unexpected happens.

The sudden, inexplicable loud noise upstairs was undoubtedly the unexpected event that could disrupt their plans.

He just couldn't rest easy without going to check on things!
After saying that, he winked at his accomplice, and the two of them cautiously made their way towards the seventh floor...

He didn't know what awaited him, but he was determined to find out the truth behind the voice and not let anything ruin their "get-rich-quick scheme"...

……

"Damn it, where is the exit?"

Genta, clinging tightly to the wall, moved slowly and cautiously, anxiously surveying the unfamiliar, maze-like surroundings, muttering complaints under his breath.

As for why he stopped smashing the window to call for help, the reason is actually quite simple. Not long ago, he mustered all his strength, lifted that unusually heavy table, and smashed it hard against the window, hoping to create a way to call for help.

As a result, he not only exhausted himself to the point of being breathless and half-dead, but also failed to even break a single crack in the windowpane. To make matters worse, the loud noise attracted the attention of the robber gang.

Fortunately, Conan reacted extremely quickly. The moment he noticed the seventh-floor camera moving, he immediately ordered them to draw the curtains, completely blocking the three conspicuous SOS distress signs. He then led everyone to quickly hide against the wall, thus narrowly escaping the camera's search. Otherwise, they would probably have been completely exposed to the robbers long ago.

However, although the bandit group hadn't discovered the distress signal they had drawn on the glass, nor had they noticed them yet, after all the commotion, they dared not remain where they were. After all, the noise Yuan Tai had made when he slammed the table against the glass was too loud; unless the bandits were deaf, they would definitely become suspicious and might come to check on the situation at any moment.

To avoid being trapped by the bandit gang, they decided to find an exit as soon as possible to leave this dangerous place.

Unfortunately, although their idea was good, the key problem was that they searched for a long time in this huge floor but still had no clue where the exit was!

Ayumi anxiously chimed in, "Yes, we've been searching for so long, why can't we find it?"

After a long and fruitless search, not only was the usually short-tempered Genta flustered, but even the usually cheerful and outgoing Genta was now gripped by extreme anxiety, her voice trembling slightly as she spoke.

"Shh..." Conan had just opened his mouth, preparing to gently reassure his group of friends, when Mitsuhiko, who was cautiously scouting ahead, made a new discovery. He quickly lowered his voice and said nervously, "Be careful, someone's coming!"

"Ta Tata..."

Hearing faint footsteps approaching from not far away, Yuan Tai and the others' pupils contracted sharply. They knew all too well that this was likely the same action they had taken to call for help earlier. In particular, Yuan Tai's reckless act of lifting a heavy table and smashing it against the glass had alerted the members of the robbery group, who had obviously sent someone to check the situation.

A wave of fear washed over them, filling everyone with tension and unease. Even the usually composed Conan was no exception. He knew the situation was critical; he had to devise a plan as quickly as possible, ensuring the robbers didn't discover their location, and simultaneously trying to call for help and contact the police. Otherwise, if they were discovered by the robbers, the consequences would be unimaginable…

"Conan, what do we do? They're really coming up!" Ayumi whispered, her voice filled with obvious fear, her eyes looking at Conan with helplessness.

Conan frowned, his mind racing. After a moment's thought, he tried to speak calmly, "Don't panic, everyone. Let's hide first. There's so much clutter here; let's find a secluded spot to hide. Then, I'll figure out a way to create some other trouble for them and distract them."

Yuan Tai stammered nervously, "But what if they find us?"

Mitsuhiko patted Genta on the shoulder, trying to sound calm, and said, "Trust Conan. If we do what he says, we'll definitely be able to do it."

So the group quickly searched for a hiding place in the storage room on the seventh floor.

Genta scrambled into a cabinet, carefully closing the door behind him; Ayumi cautiously crouched under a cabinet, covering her mouth with her hand, afraid of making a sound; Mitsuhiko also found a secluded corner to hide in, his eyes fixed on the doorway.

Conan, having chosen a relatively secluded spot where he could observe the outside commotion, held his breath and waited silently for the impending crisis...

They had barely hidden themselves when the chilling footsteps grew closer and closer, finally stopping abruptly at the door of the storage room.

The frigid air seemed to freeze instantly, and in the deathly silence, only the suppressed heartbeats of the boys resounded violently like drums in the darkness.

The man dressed in a Kamen Rider suit had a cold expression. He cautiously reached out and pushed open the half-closed door, his gaze sweeping rudely across the mountain of cardboard boxes, the abandoned prop shelves, and the dusty old furniture like a hawk's.

"Search carefully."

His voice was deep and hoarse, carrying an undeniable command: "That commotion just now couldn't have been made by a rat."

Upon hearing his order, his accomplice—a burly, bald man with a fierce gaze—nodded, then tightened his grip on the crowbar and replied gruffly, "Understood."

With that, he kicked away an empty cardboard box at his feet. The box rolled away with a clattering sound. At the same time, the beam of his flashlight kept scanning back and forth between the gaps in the shelves.

At this moment, Yuan Tai, hiding in the closet, felt as if he were in an airtight cage, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe, as if he was about to suffocate.

The strong light shining through the crack in the cabinet allowed him to clearly see the bald, burly man taking heavy steps toward the cabinet where he was hiding!

Large beads of sweat rolled down Yuan Tai's temples, soaking his collar. He bit his lip hard until it turned white, his body stiff as a piece of cold wood, not daring to move an inch.

Time seemed to stretch out infinitely, and each approaching footstep felt like a heavy hammer, striking his heart and making it pound wildly.

"It seems there's nothing to be found here..." The bald, burly man's voice rang out slowly as he approached the cabinet.

The surroundings were eerily quiet; apart from their own footsteps, there was no other sound.

His doubts grew stronger. Could it be that they had misheard him?
However, just as the bald man's voice was about to fall, the cabinet door creaked open from the inside, opening a tiny crack!
It turned out that Genta, who was inside the closet, heard the footsteps stop and, driven by curiosity, couldn't resist checking out what was happening outside...

In this eerily quiet environment, the sound was like a thunderclap piercing the night sky!

The bald, burly man in front of the cabinet door froze instantly as if he had been frozen in place, and the beam of his flashlight reflexively locked onto the gap!
At the end of the beam of light, Genta's small face, distorted by extreme tension, suddenly appeared. His eyes, widened to the extreme in terror, met the fierce gaze of the big man head-on!

Time seemed to freeze completely at that moment. The surrounding air was so still that it looked as if thick water droplets could be squeezed out.

"Wh...what?!" The bald, burly man's pupils suddenly contracted, and an expression of disbelief and astonishment flashed across his face. His originally fierce expression was now completely replaced by a look of utter shock, and he even stammered, "Kid...kid?!"

The man in the Kamen Rider costume also turned around abruptly. His face, illuminated by the flickering light, looked extremely ugly, like the gloomy sky before a storm, so somber it seemed ready to drip water. He roared, "So it's you, you brat?!"

This fleeting eye contact, like a fuse, completely shattered the suffocating silence!
"Aaaaaah—!" Genta was instantly terrified, his instinct for fear overwhelming him like a burst dam. He could no longer hide, letting out a short, sharp scream, and forcefully pushed open the cabinet door. Like a terrified rabbit, he scrambled out of the cabinet, crawling on all fours!

"Run away..."

Almost at the same instant!

Realizing the situation was dire, Conan and the others rushed out of their hiding places without hesitation and ran away...

(End of this chapter)