At this moment, even Wang Zhuo couldn't help but admire the composure of Gong Jun and Zhang Shengnan. They truly lived up to their reputation as master infiltrators; there was not a hint of furtiveness about them, their demeanor more natural than the actual owners!
The Luo family of three maintained two residences in Jiangzhou. The couple usually occupied one, while the other, ostensibly prepared for their son, was a place Luo Kelong would never favor given his social engagements and wide circle of acquaintances who vied to provide him with superior accommodations, often resulting in him staying long-term in high-end hotels.
Consequently, this particular residence remained largely vacant. The couple would occasionally bring servants to clean it, and Luo Kelong would visit from time to time, though he rarely spent the night.
Wang Zhuo’s method for obtaining leverage over Luo Kelong was remarkably simple yet effective. He had Siyuan utilize the city’s surveillance network to track the family's movements.
In just a day and a half, Siyuan pinpointed this house. Wang Zhuo then took some time, drove over, and parked his car on a service road just outside the complex for ten minutes, which was enough time to ascertain the property’s details.
The best way to deal with a corrupt official is to expose his assets! The tale of one key opening a thousand locks was not mere fiction but a reality unfolding before him.
The subsequent actions of Gong Jun and Zhang Shengnan were an eye-opener for Wang Zhuo. Upon reaching the doorway of Luo Kelong’s penthouse unit, one stood watch while the other worked the lock.
In barely thirty seconds, they bypassed the high-security main door equipped with double locks. They could really be this good?
Wang Zhuo examined the set of lock-picking tools Zhang Shengnan tucked into her pocket with renewed surprise. It consisted of a slender steel rod with grooves, featuring nine evenly spaced notches of varying depths, a finger-sized memory mold, and a piece of tin foil commonly seen at barbecue stands.
With just these three simple items, they defeated a state-of-the-art security door worth thousands in under half a minute! Through his X-ray vision, Wang Zhuo observed Zhang Shengnan’s entire process with perfect clarity, making his own fingers itch with curiosity to see how long it would take him, aided by his vision, to open a similar lock with the same tools.
After unlocking the door, Zhang Shengnan made a signal to Gong Jun instead of opening it immediately. Gong Jun swiftly produced something resembling a remote control and pressed it repeatedly against the main door.
Upon seeing the remote’s blinking red light turn green, he immediately put it away. Wang Zhuo smiled faintly and temporarily disabled the electronic jammer inside the room; half the job was done.
Attaching a small black button to the stair railing, the master and mistress of deception wasted no more time, quietly opening the door and slipping inside. The button-like device concealed a micro pinhole camera with a signal transmitter.
Due to its miniature size, its battery life was only good for twenty minutes of operation—but that was more than enough time for Gong Jun and Zhang Shengnan to accomplish their objectives. Once inside, Gong Jun produced a head-mounted pair of glasses and switched them on.
The lenses immediately displayed a live feed of the hallway. These high-end gadgets had been acquired by Cheng Tiankun through his connection with Fei Long; they had never utilized anything so advanced before.
The duo wore fiberless booties on their feet and headed straight for the bathroom. They didn't need to know how Wang Zhuo obtained the secrets of this household; their sole instruction was to retrieve what Wang Zhuo required.
Stopping three meters from the bathroom entrance, the pair paused simultaneously. Gong Jun rapidly assembled a series of poles from his fishing tackle bag, culminating in a small shielding plate that fit in the palm of a hand.
Meanwhile, Zhang Shengnan retrieved a large, brightly shining cloth from the lower layer of her shopping bag and held it up high with both hands. Seeing this through his X-ray vision, Wang Zhuo couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh.
Zhang Shengnan was holding a radiation-blocking cloth designed to deflect various types of rays. With her holding the cloth out in front, Gong Jun crouched close behind her, closely following her every move—the sight resembled nothing so much as a game of "eagle catching chicks"!
The door to the bedroom adjacent to the bathroom was ajar. An independent infrared alarm was mounted on the wall opposite this bedroom.
If either of them had stepped rashly into the bathroom or that bedroom, the alarm would have triggered instantly. Under the concealment of the shielding cloth, they swiftly reached the alarm system.
Gong Jun extended his shielding rod and used the palm-sized panel at the tip to safely block the infrared receiver board. He then stabilized the universal joint stand at the base of the rod and safely navigated past the threat.
The couple exchanged a nod, exhaling in relief. They were also intensely curious how Wang Zhuo knew the details of the house’s security layout.
Although this standalone infrared detector wouldn't have stopped them, without Wang Zhuo’s prior warning, they would certainly not have been so well prepared, and their first attempt would have ended in failure, requiring them to regroup and prepare a much more thorough plan for a second attempt at least half a month later. Leaving the shielding device propped up by its universal stand, the pair quickly exited the bedroom, brought in two chairs, and entered the bathroom.
Standing on the chairs, Gong Jun followed Wang Zhuo’s prior instructions, lifting a section of the false ceiling in a corner of the bathroom. Beneath it was a thick layer of aluminum-plastic paneling.
Pushing this panel aside, they found a safe bolted to the wall with expansion screws. "What's the combination?" Gong Jun asked softly, taking a breath.
Cheng Tiankun's excited voice immediately came through the earpiece: "Found the safe already? The code is 23, 17, 6!" Gong Jun rapidly spun the dial, setting the three tumblers to the numbers Cheng Tiankun had provided.
He then inserted the specially prepared key Wang Zhuo had instructed him to bring, fiddled with it for a moment, and the safe clicked open. He gave Zhang Shengnan a triumphant gesture downwards, and the couple shared a knowing smile.
"What next?" Gong Jun asked Cheng Tiankun quietly, staring at the safe's three drawers. "The note said to take everything inside; leave nothing behind," Cheng Tiankun chuckled.
"Don't blame me for not warning you, though—the contents are quite heavy." Gong Jun finally received his new directive. Taking a deep breath, he pulled out the top drawer.
With that pull, the couple was astonished to realize just how long the drawer was; it turned out this wasn't a short safe, but an elongated model! Cheng Tiankun reminded them, "Don't be fooled by those three drawers; there's a false back compartment where the real treasures are hidden!" A hidden compartment behind the extended drawers?
Gong Jun and Zhang Shengnan exchanged glances, realizing they were dealing with a true master—the anti-theft measures here were more sophisticated than any they had encountered before! A drawer overflowing with neatly bundled stacks of cash finally revealed what Cheng Tiankun meant by "quite heavy." Each bundle was worth ten thousand yuan, meaning this single drawer held three million.
The middle drawer contained one million Hong Kong dollars, 270,000 US dollars, three million Euros, along with items like luxury watches and diamond rings. Because the banknotes were of high denomination, there weren't many stacks, but the contents were indeed messy and varied.
When pulling out the bottom drawer, it was almost impossibly heavy, nearly wrenching Gong Jun’s back. Upon seeing the contents, the couple understood everything: it was filled entirely with unpackaged gold bars, their dazzling luster almost painfully bright!
"How is it? What's inside?
Can you carry it all?" Cheng Tiankun asked curiously. "If it’s too much, tell me quickly, and I’ll think of a solution." "Xiao Jun..." Zhang Shengnan looked towards her husband hesitantly, pausing before speaking.
Gong Jun met her eyes, slowly shaking his head. He pressed down the microphone clipped to his collar and whispered, "Don't even think about it.
This money isn't ours to touch." Zhang Shengnan shrugged reluctantly. Gong Jun was right; wealth stirs desire, but one must be alive to spend it.
Even though the owner probably couldn't inventory everything, pocketing a small amount wouldn't be noticed, but they dared not take that risk; discovery meant death! Wang Zhuo observed the scene through his X-ray vision, a playful smile touching his lips.
While it was true that one shouldn't employ those they distrusted, a timely check and test were necessary. After all, this couple had a history as thieves; the temptation to skim a little—the "feather plucking"—would always be present.
If they were to be employed long-term, they first needed to pass this trial. "I think we can manage it; it’s all valuable stuff," Gong Jun said, releasing the microphone.
"Let me check what else is in that false compartment first." Standing back on the chair, his height barely allowed his fingers to reach the very back of the safe. After feeling around, he finally understood the mechanism of the hidden compartment.
He pressed down hard on an iron plate at the bottom, and the entire plate sprang open and dropped down. It was merely a custom-made partition, concealing a single brown leather envelope.
Taking out the envelope and sliding the compartment's iron plate back into place, Gong Jun gently squeezed it and knew its contents: documents. "Here," he handed the envelope to Zhang Shengnan, whispering while covering his microphone, "Don't open it." Zhang Shengnan immediately suppressed her curiosity and carefully tucked the envelope into her shopping bag.
Gong Jun quietly asked Cheng Tiankun, "There’s a lot of stuff; can I find something to carry it in?" Cheng Tiankun responded excitedly, "The instructions said that’s fine; figure it out yourself." In a short while, Zhang Shengnan located a dusty suitcase on the balcony. The couple loaded the cash and valuables inside, then stuffed the gold bars into Zhang Shengnan's shopping bag.
After restoring the bathroom to its original state, they returned the chairs to their places, carried the suitcase and the shopping bag to the door, and then went back to the bedroom to pack away the jamming device using their 'eagle catching chicks' maneuver. Zhang Shengnan left first.
Wang Zhuo watched as she effortlessly carried the gold bars, weighing over ten kilograms, as if they were weightless. Moreover, the shopping bag showed no apparent strain, looking as if it only contained ordinary fruits and vegetables.
No one would ever suspect that the slight, middle-aged woman holding the bag was actually a strikingly beautiful woman carrying millions in gold bars. Gong Jun left a few minutes after Zhang Shengnan, but during that time, his fishing tackle bag had magically transformed into a golf bag.
Though wearing the same basic clothes, he added a pair of sunglasses and switched his hat. Coupled with the business suitcase he was dragging, he instantly became a successful man heading off for a leisurely vacation.
Watching the pair slip away from the complex so smoothly, Wang Zhuo couldn't help but marvel. Truly, masters abound among ordinary people, each excelling in their specialized field.
It was a waste of their talent that these two became thieves instead of spies!