American Strategic Deception Bureau

　So, in the end, they only got a wallet, some silk clothes and about a box of anesthetics.

　Although the anesthetic alone could be sold for at least $20,000 to $30,000, compared to the ruins previously looted, it was already a bumper harvest.

　But the few of them had also whetted their appetites after this haul. Construction worker Carl looked at the nearby seaside castle villa and said in a deep voice, "While it's still early, why don't we search the castle next door as well? I've been keeping an eye on it, and there's definitely no one in that house!"

　The other four amateur male and female thieves exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat hesitant, but in the end, greed overwhelmed caution...

　So, after looting the "magic herb planting base" of the witch Zoe, they went to Firi's seaside castle villa.

　-

　Gray sandstone broke away beneath his feet, tumbling down the more than ten-meter-high cliff face. Only a few withered shrubs streaked along the path. When his claws gave way for the third time, Carl hastily retracted his footing, looking up with lingering fear. The rocky terrain here was all varying shades of gray, rugged and uneven. There was no path at all, and a towering reinforced concrete wall completely blocked the path ahead.

　——Compared to the manor next door, which can be driven directly into, this castle towering on the cliff is not so easy to break into.

　Leonard and his team circled the target several times and found that the castle had only two entrances. One was located on the beach, a hole directly carved out of the rock. It was also equipped with a heavy iron door that was designed to be nuclear-proof, like a shelter - even explosives might not be able to open it, let alone their crowbars.

　The other entrance led directly to the highway, but it also had a sturdy iron gate. Leonard had originally wanted to try to pick the lock, but when he got closer and took a closer look, he found that the iron gate could not be opened at all. It was directly blocked by cement bricks from the inside!

　The tortoise shell was so solid that it had no cracks at all. The five thieves were immediately puzzled. However, after careful observation, they finally discovered that the castle seemed to have a small hollow iron gate on the top of the cliff facing the sea, and outside was a natural terrace made of rocks.

　However, although this small door is easy to open, it is difficult to get to the door.

　Because there is a cliff outside the door and there is no way to get through.

　Fortunately, construction worker Carl and stuntman Roy were both experienced rock climbing athletes and had brought their own climbing equipment.

　So, the small team started to divide the work and cooperate. Carl and Roy climbed into the castle to steal, and the other three people kept watch and provided support outside.

　The subsequent rock climbing was fraught with peril—Carl and Roy had underestimated how porous the rocks would become after a fire. Fortunately, the cliff was only a dozen meters high, and after an hour of struggling, they finally made it up.

　"Oh, I finally made it up! My feet hurt!" Roy, an action movie stuntwoman, panted and slumped over on the edge of the cliff. Her shirt was already soaked with sweat, and she felt even more tired than after a day of filming fight scenes. "Carl, what are you still dawdling about? Hurry up and pry the door open!"

　She looked up and saw the Malibu waves wrapped in diamond-like light, which made the chrome crowbar in Carl's hand shine brightly.

　"There's no need to pry, this damn door isn't locked at all! If I'd known this, I wouldn't have to bring such a heavy thing up here!"

　Carl slung the crowbar over his shoulder in frustration, spat gum at the cast iron bars of the small gate, kicked it open, and broke in.

　Roy hesitated for a moment, then stood up and went into the courtyard through the small door. His worn Martin boots made a harsh sound as they scraped against the tiles.

　In the castle's backyard, they saw a dried-up mini swimming pool, dusty beach chairs and folding tables, flowers and plants that had mostly died because they hadn't been watered for a long time, and several lifelike marble statues of naked beauties.

　"Can't we just put up a gilded bronze statue that can scrape off the gold leaf?! What use would I have with this stone?"

　Carl looked at the life-size statue by the swimming pool for a while, then suddenly swung a crowbar and smashed the statue's head off with a loud crash.

　"Keep your voice down!" Roy turned around and glared at him, then carefully looked at the closed doors and windows on the first floor of the villa, trying to pry open the locks, but was disappointed to find that these doors and windows were fixed with bolts from the inside... Finally, she

　He could only snatch the crowbar from Carl's hand, smash the French window facing the courtyard, reach out to open the blinds on the inside, step on the broken glass on the ground, and walk into the living room on the ground floor of the castle villa.

　What appeared before them was a Disney castle-style living room, brightly colored and with a marble throne, but it wasn't particularly magnificent, and there wasn't anything they could dismantle and sell. The paintings of nude women on the wall were obviously fakes, leaving little interest.

　Carl, who had been thirsty from the sun on the cliff, suddenly noticed a bar at the end of the hall. His eyes lit up immediately, and he immediately jumped in. He stared at the wine cabinet behind the bar with wide eyes and complained loudly, "Damn it! There's only one bottle of champagne and one bottle of Romanee-Conti! The rest are fruit and vegetable juices! Is there a little girl living here?"

　He cursed and kicked over the small swivel chair behind the bar. "Forget it, there's no need to take it away. Just let me taste this good wine."

　Then, without waiting for Roy to stop him, he pulled out a dagger from his waist and smashed the bottleneck of the Romanee-Conti bottle with the back of the knife. Without using a cup, he tilted his neck back and poured the wine into his throat, letting a few drops of blood-red wine flow down his neck and soak his clothes.

　Seeing this, Roy simply sat down behind the bar, found a corkscrew, and opened the remaining bottle of champagne. Then, she picked up the bottle, clinked it with Carl's bottle of Romanée-Conti, and did the same with her own bottle of champagne, slowly drinking the whole bottle.

　After finishing their drinks, the two men rested for a moment before continuing their search of the castle. They discovered that the living room resembled the castles at Disneyland—fancy and ostentatious, but devoid of any real material. They found no jewel-encrusted wine glasses, no silver tableware symbolizing wealth and pomp, and the furniture was made of ordinary materials. The handmade wool tapestry on the wall was certainly worth a bit of money, but it was nowhere near as valuable as the fur.

　The kitchen was bare. Even after searching through the cabinets, there was nothing to eat except a few bottles of spices. Even the refrigerator was empty. The bone china and crystal glassware in the cupboards looked beautiful, but in reality, they were worthless.

　Roy also found a ton of "sex toys" in the kitchen. Some of them looked quite fashionable—but what was wrong with the people here? How could they keep these things in the kitchen? Did they like having sex on the dining table? Eating while they did it?

　In the cabinet under the TV, Roy finally found a German-brand camera that seemed to be worth some money, but all the other valuables were gone - he couldn't just throw the leather sofa, electric fan and color TV from the top of the cliff to the beach and then pull them away with a pickup truck, right?

　This is over ten meters high! Even if there was a beach below, it would definitely be shattered into pieces.

　Author's words: PS: Philippines' Duterte was actually taken to The Hague. Is he going to suffer the same fate as Milosevic?

　I always feel that there will be more and more things that cross the bottom line in the future.

　Chapter 627: The Cult Leader Who "Repays Evil with Kindness"

　Since they couldn't open the front door to the villa, there was no way to quickly and safely get the large items like the TV, air conditioner, and refrigerator out. Finally, the two thieves had no choice but to walk up the stairs to the second floor in frustration, hoping to see if there was anything valuable in the bedroom.

　As a result, as soon as they opened the door of the bedroom on the second floor of the castle villa, the stuntman Roy and the construction worker Carl were stunned.

　"What the hell is this? Such a big bedroom, but there's not even a bed in it? The quilt and pillows are just placed on the carpet?"

　Looking at the bedroom covered only with a layer of beige plush carpet, Karl curled his lips and said, "Rich people's habits are really strange."

　"I vaguely remember that Japanese people don't like sleeping on beds, and they sleep on the floor instead. I saw that when I was filming a movie before."

　Looking at the fluffy, long-pile carpet that felt like grass, Roy thought for a moment and said, "Could it be that the owner of this villa is Japanese?"

　"It doesn't matter if the owner of this house is Japanese or a nigger, he's a damn rich guy anyway!"

　Carl ended this meaningless discussion with one sentence. Roy then began to search the bedroom closet. According to her concept, the wardrobes of wealthy people usually contained valuable high-end dresses and custom-made fashions, and might also contain some money and high-end watches.

　If you have expensive gold-plated diamond tie clips and high-end brand-name ties, they are also high-quality trophies that are easy to carry.

　But after walking around the entire bedroom, searching the adjacent study, entertainment room, and balcony, she still found nothing:

　It’s not that we didn’t find any valuable clothes, but that we didn’t even find the wardrobe!

　Although there is a dressing mirror on this floor, which takes up an entire wall, there is no wardrobe at all! There is no separate dressing room either.

　Well, she didn't see any clothes racks or washing machines in this house - even though the house was full of life. But there was no clothing, not even a pair of underwear, a pair of socks or a shirt. She only saw a straw hat on the coffee table in the living room.

　Oh my God, what is going on? Could it be that the people who lived here before were all naked?

　In addition, she couldn't find the shoe cabinet. The door and other places were empty. Not to mention high heels and leather shoes, there was not even a pair of slippers to wear indoors.

　——By analogy, it seems that the people who once lived in this castle not only did not wear clothes, but also liked to go barefoot, not even wearing shoes?

　This feels really weird, doesn't it? Is this where those superpowered people who don't like wearing clothes live?

　Like that oversized nudist camp in the San Fernando Valley?

　Fortunately, although Roy was very confused after searching for a long time and couldn't find the wardrobe and shoe cabinet, there was still a dressing table in the room.

　The sunlight seeps through the chiffon curtains, giving this luxurious dressing table a mother-of-pearl luster, showing the style of a wealthy woman.

　The two little thieves, Carl and Roy, looked at each other, and then pounced on the dressing table like hungry wolves, leaving two dirty shoe prints on the originally very clean plush carpet.

　Carl quickly grabbed a diamond bracelet hanging on the edge of the dressing table, then looked at it carefully in the sunlight, trying to determine whether it was real or not.

　Roy found a Cartier ring with a gold snake and quickly slipped it on her finger. She then pocketed a tube of Revlon lipstick with a silver trim and an Estée Lauder powder compact. Then she noticed a square bottle of Chanel No. 5 perfume.

　"Ah, what a luxurious scent, but it's almost gone." Roy pulled out the cork, shook the perfume bottle, and sighed.

　Then, she was pleasantly surprised to find a small bookmark made of gold foil under an Asian-style embroidered handkerchief.

　"What's in these bottles? They don't look like they can be sold."

　Roy put away the handkerchief and gold foil bookmark, then looked at the row of perfume bottles under the mirror on the dressing table and felt puzzled - these perfume bottles were all small and exquisite, like beautiful works of art, but they had no trademarks, only a few labels that looked like names.

　She opened the largest amber bottle and was immediately greeted by a scent of patchouli and whiskey.

　Hmm, this must be a high-end, custom-made item, but without a brand name...it seems like it's going to be hard to sell. Is he keeping it for himself?

　While she was thinking, Karl had finished examining the diamond bracelet, and returned to the dressing table. He directly "pulled" out a drawer of the dressing table, and then roughly dumped the odds and ends in the drawer onto the ground, making a clattering sound!

　"Stop! Do you want to destroy all these most valuable things?"

　Roy was so scared that he hurried to stop it - even though the floor was covered with thick wool carpet, the jewelry and perfume would still break if they collided with each other!

　Fortunately, the things that Karl dumped out of the drawer were all delicate cosmetics such as small scissors, tweezers, and brushes, as well as two crocodile leather ladies' bags. So even after being treated so roughly, they were not broken into pieces.

　However, the two crocodile leather bags are okay, they should be able to be sold at the second-hand market at a 80% to 90% discount. But these cosmetics that look quite valuable are hard to sell - because they are all used, and most women don't like to use second-hand products when applying makeup.

　More importantly, since these perfume and ointment bottles have been opened, who knows whether they contain original high-quality goods or low-quality perfumes and ointments that were later poured into the empty bottles?

　But then, Roy saw an exquisite tortoise-shell jewelry box in another drawer. She carefully took out the box, placed it on the windowsill, and gently opened it... The next moment, the dazzling jewels and precious stones filled Roy and Carl with joy.

　"Great, Carl, now we're really rich!

　But this thing is really weird, how can there be a butt plug made of gold? What kind of ass would it take to hold something this heavy?

　Roy took out a Bulgari sapphire necklace from the box and put it around his neck with joy. He posed in front of the mirror on the dressing table, admiring the glittering gems, while continuing to fiddle with the wonderful objects in the jewelry box with his fingers and said with a smile.

　Carl first looked at the tortoise shell box filled with jewels, then looked at Roy's neck, and finally nodded, "Yes, I'm rich!"

　Next, the two continued searching every corner of the villa for any small items of value. They carefully knocked on every wall and floor tile, removed every painting and large nude photograph on the wall, and tried to find hidden compartments and safes. But besides the gold and silver jewelry found in the dresser, they only found an envelope of banknotes in the study, which contained just over a thousand dollars.

　"There's no safe in the whole house! It seems these are all the valuables we have. But we should be content."

　Roy said this to Carl, and at the same time stuffed the jewelry he found into his backpack one by one, and wrapped it with toilet paper to prevent it from being damaged.

　Then, the two of them pulled the rope again, climbed all the way out of the villa, went down to the beach, and met up with the three lookouts who were already impatient outside.

　A while later, the rickety pickup truck loaded with stolen goods started up with a roar, and with a stolen life buoy and fake alarm tied to the roof, it sped away.

　The fake firefighters and real thieves in the car were still shouting and yelling, venting their excitement and tension.

　"Hurry, hurry! Retreat! Don't go straight to the city! Make a detour to Long Beach! That's how they play it in TV dramas!"

　"As long as we have enough gas, we can even go to San Diego! Come grab a beer! Here's to another burning California dream!"

　"Ahem! May the jewels we stole... ahem, make us all rich! Or at least enough to pay our bills this year!"

　-

　Long after those petty thieves had left, a portal flashing with magical light quietly appeared in the attic of the villa.

　Then, Firi, wearing a black robe with purple trim, holding the holy emblem and scepter, was the first to walk out of the portal.

　Following behind was the naked former female guerrilla fighter Alena, holding a loaded rifle, her expression serious and nervous.

　Next, the red-haired Marita, who was not worthy of the name "Flower of the CIA", also came in holding a pistol and wearing a bulletproof vest.

　Just as they had left it, the attic of the seaside castle villa was still empty. There was nothing but gray cement walls and dusty wooden floors. Only the door, which had been half-closed, was now open.

　"Put your gun down, there's no one here anymore."

　Fili closed his eyes, sensed a little, said this to the two female slaves, and then walked out of the attic first.

　Marita and Alena looked at each other, but did not drop their weapons. They just put on the safety of their guns and walked out.

　Then, they were so shocked by the tragic scene after the villa was looted that they couldn't help but cover their mouths with their hands.

　The once spotless hallway was now covered in grimy shoe prints. The murals and photographs on the walls had been roughly ripped off and thrown away. The bedroom dressing mirror was nearly cracked like a spiderweb. Alena's bare feet on the beige plush carpet revealed oil-soaked boot prints woven into the ten-centimeter-high wool fibers. Each indentation resembled a burn from a branding iron, glistening with a dark, glossy sheen.

　Even the pillow and bedding were cut open by the thief with a knife, as if someone was smart enough to think that there might be some private money hidden in the pillow.

　On the windowsill on the other side of the bedroom, the dresser drawers lay sprawled on the floor like a dissected corpse, a broken Estée Lauder gold lipstick streaking scarlet across the wallpaper. Marita discovered that the tortoiseshell box she had left there to store her jewelry had been roughly pried free of its gold and gemstone embellishments. Inside, the only remaining blue velvet lining bore the mark of a half-oiled palm print.

　There were fewer perfumes, lipsticks, powders and ointments on the countertop, and the remaining ones were almost all stepped on and smashed.

　On the dressing table mirror, someone had written "Kill You" in lipstick, as if some petty thief was venting his hatred of the rich.

　The only thing that made Marita feel fortunate was that the jewelry left in the seaside castle were all unimportant second- and third-rate items. Her wedding ring and the magical items made by Ferry were all well stored in the underground treasury of the refuge villa in the San Fernando Valley.

　In the study, Fili silently looked at the overturned bookshelves. Books were scattered across the oak floor, leaving behind numerous shoe prints. The maps on the wall were torn, and the radio and telephone were smashed to pieces—although, given the wildfire damage outside, the phone was definitely no longer working.

　As they reached the first floor, Marita's chest suddenly shook violently. Her favorite mahogany piano lay slumped in the corner, its black and white keys scattered across the floor like plucked crocodile teeth. Alena, beside the wine cabinet, howled in anger—the bottle of Romanée-Conti she had been reluctant to drink was now gone. The other bottles of fruit, soda, and vegetable juices in the cabinet had also been knocked over and shattered, forming a murky puddle on the floor.

　A large double-door refrigerator fell onto the kitchen tiles, the leather sofa was split open by an axe, and the glass of the French window was smashed to pieces...

　Finally, in the courtyard outside the house, which was covered with wildfire ash, Fili found a color TV smashed with a crowbar and a marble statue of a naked female gladiator with its head knocked off in the long-dried swimming pool. This made Alena roar angrily: "Assholes! They actually smashed my head! Why did they choose me? How did this statue bother them?"

　Well, although he was a cult leader, Filico was not so perverted as to take living girls, turn them into statues with petrification, and then leave them in the courtyard to be exposed to the sun and rain: the girls petrified by him were carefully collected for future use.

　The several marble statues of naked women that decorate the castle villa are all 3D photos or life-size stone sculptures that Ferry made for the female slaves in the harem. They are copied one-to-one based on their carcasses, and then decorated with helmets, hats or vases, and then they can be displayed as decorations.

　The statue of a female gladiator that was smashed by the thieves happened to be a replica of Alena's face and figure, so it's no wonder that she felt even more angry.

　"Since the statue has been smashed, let's throw it away. I'll make you a new one next time."

　Fili casually cast a "Disintegration" spell and decomposed the remains of the destroyed statue, while comforting Alena.

　Then, he pushed open the small door at the edge of the courtyard, walked to the edge of the cliff outside, and looked down. Suddenly, he understood. "So that's it! The thief started from the beach below the cliff and climbed up by grabbing the rope! There are actually some expert rock climbers who are planning to attack us!"

　"These thieves climbed up from the cliff? Well, this is indeed an oversight, but... why didn't I think of it at the beginning?"

　Marita also went to the edge of the cliff to take a look, and immediately felt dizzy. She quickly retreated back to the courtyard and asked Fili.

　"Who could have thought of such a thing?

　"A twelve-meter-high cliff! Almost vertical to the ground! Moreover, the entire path is bare rock, with no vegetation to cover it. As long as there are people here or in the manor next door, anyone who tries to climb in will be discovered!"

　Fili shrugged, stroked Marita's hair and said soothingly, "But who could have imagined? A wildfire drove us and our neighbors away, and burned out all the anti-theft warning systems. And the thieves took advantage of this opportunity - but it doesn't matter, as long as no one is hurt.

　You are my most precious treasures. You are just a small fortune. If you lose it, it will be gone. Is our family really short of this little money?"