Chapter 49: Encountering a Thief

"One gold coin, will you sell or not?" Chen Yun was irritated by the yacht owner's gaze; he had encountered this look countless times before—classic eyes of someone sizing up a fool.

"Sell! Of course I'll sell!" The yacht owner immediately removed the lock, pulled out the key from his pocket, and handed it to Chen Yun.

He wasn’t joking; he’d bought that lock for just three hundred copper coins, and now he could resell it for one gold coin. If he refused, he’d be the real fool. But, honestly, this kid was loaded—throwing out gold coins like nothing.

Money in one hand, goods in the other, Chen Yun cheerfully took the lock and key, slipped the key into the lock, and twisted.

"Player Chen Yun’s Lockpicking skill proficiency +1. Ninety-nine points needed for Level 2 Lockpicking. Please keep up the effort..."

The yacht owner watched, dazed, as Chen Yun sat on the beach, lock in one hand, key in the other, twisting with endless enthusiasm. It was as if a thousand llamas were stampeding through his mind. He was now utterly convinced—the kid was sick, a terminal fool.

Two hours later...

"Player Chen Yun’s Lockpicking skill proficiency +1. Lockpicking skill upgraded to Level 3."

Level 3 Lockpicking: Can open large security doors and Level 3 treasure chests bare-handed. Level 4 proficiency: 0/500.

Damn, finally Level 3. Chen Yun looked at the key in his hand, nearly twisted out of shape, and tossed it casually into a nearby trash can. He stopped the yacht owner, who was about to leave, "Boss, one gold coin, take me to that place again!"

The yacht owner had just secured his yacht and was about to leave when he heard the so-called 'fool' speak, instinctively asking, "How much?"

"One gold coin!" Ye Ming repeated, "Are you going or not? This is your last chance!"

The owner was thrilled—this fool had plenty of money. He’d earned in one day what would normally take him half a year.

"Deal!"

By now, the sky had clouded over, a noticeable chill in the air, and the wind at sea had picked up. The owner slowed the yacht, taking twice as long as midday to reach the spot with the wild treasure chest.

"It's about to rain—coastal weather’s like this, never know when it’ll change. Hurry up, I still don’t know what you’re looking at." At the destination, the yacht owner stopped the boat and spoke.

Chen Yun nodded without replying. All his attention was fixed on the wild treasure chest.

"Player Chen Yun has discovered a Level 3 wild treasure chest. Open it?"

"Yes!"

"Player Chen Yun opens the Level 3 wild treasure chest, obtaining: one copy of Appraisal Skill, one piece of Millennium Snake Meat, one Millennium Snake Pearl, one mysterious buff. The mysterious buff will activate in six hours."

Snake meat, snake pearl, appraisal skill, mysterious buff—what on earth?

Chen Yun glanced at his backpack: a piece of tender white meat, a brown orb like jelly, and a purple skill book.

Millennium Snake Meat: Blue-grade cooking ingredient. Greatly enhances the properties of any dish cooked with it.

Millennium Snake Pearl: Purple-grade consumable. Cures all poisons. Poison resistance +50%.

Damn, Chen Yun clicked his tongue—millennium snake meat and pearl? Did the system slaughter a millennium snake demon and stuff it in a box?

Appraisal Skill: Blue active skill. Can appraise all attributes of NPCs and monsters with no hostility toward the player. Can appraise targets up to ten levels above the player. Exceptions in special circumstances. Each use consumes 20 mana points.

Good stuff! Chen Yun was excited; it was exactly what he needed. But what did "special circumstances" mean?

He looked at his attribute panel, and at the bottom saw a line of purple text.

Mysterious buff: Will activate automatically in six hours, fifty-nine minutes, and fifty-nine seconds.

Damn! He’d never seen a buff timed to activate before.

"Boss, let's head back." Chen Yun’s enthusiasm was spent; after an afternoon of excitement, this was what he'd gotten. Anyone would feel deflated.

The yacht owner was puzzled by the fool’s behavior—so eager to come, then instantly losing steam. He sighed inwardly; a fool’s mind was impossible to guess.

Back on the beach, Chen Yun remembered he hadn’t eaten yet, so he headed toward the seaside five-star hotel, Azure Blue.

"Honey, people here in the big city are really rich! I hit the supermarket twice just now—guess how much I made?"

"How much? A thousand?"

"A thousand? If that were all, I wouldn’t mention it. Guess again."

"Three thousand?"

"Try again."

"Don’t tell me—five thousand?"

"Ha, it’s fifty-seven hundred!"

"Wow, you must’ve run into some wealthy folks, darling."

Chen Yun vaguely overheard a man and a woman whispering.

His mental strength was far above normal, so every word of their quiet conversation reached him.

He paused, thinking, Did they just pull off a theft?

He turned and saw, a few meters behind, a young woman and a man whispering to each other.

Could they really be thieves?

As Chen Yun pondered, he heard more of their hushed conversation.

"Honey, I heard Azure Blue Hotel has a new chef whose food is incredible. How about we feast there tonight?"

"Sure, you little glutton. Most of the money you steal ends up in your belly."

"Hehe, you need energy to do the job!"

"Should we call Dezi and the others?"

"No need! Azure Blue's food is expensive. If they come, how much can I eat? Skip it."

"You’re so selfish."

"Hmph, if you don't look out for yourself, heaven and earth will punish you. Let’s go—I’m starving."

He was now certain—the pair were thieves, living it up on stolen money. People like them disgusted him.

Watching them walk away, Chen Yun quietly followed.

Azure Blue Hotel belonged to Azure Blue Dining Group, the fifth largest catering company in the empire, with branches in all major cities. Lan Yun City had a branch, a five-star hotel as famous as Night Blossom Hotel, situated on the bustling seaside. The hotel towered eighty-eight floors, three hundred meters high, a landmark in S City—more impressive than Night Blossom’s branch here.

"Welcome," six beautiful greeters bowed as the pair approached the hotel entrance. They nodded nervously and entered.

Chen Yun followed closely, about to go in, when he saw someone he knew very well coming out of the hotel. He exclaimed, "Chairman Jiang!"

"Master Chen? What are you doing here?" Jiang Shan, who had come to meet an old friend, was delighted to see Chen Yun. He was extremely satisfied with Chen Yun—the youngest master chef in history, and creator of a grandmaster-level dish. After hearing Zhang Lang’s report yesterday, Jiang Shan had been so happy he hardly slept all night. He quickened his pace to greet Chen Yun.

"Hehe, Chairman Jiang, I’m here to catch thieves." Chen Yun was grateful for Jiang’s kindness and spoke frankly.

"Catch thieves?" Jiang Shan was baffled. "Isn’t that the police’s job? Why are you catching thieves?"

"I was on my way here to eat..." Chen Yun briefly recounted the story, pointing to the two in the hotel lobby who were glancing around. "A young woman and a young man—their conversation caught my attention, so I followed them here. That’s them."

"Given what you’ve said, they likely have accomplices," Jiang Shan mused. "This isn’t for you to handle. Ye Ming, keep an eye on them. I’ll call Xiao Chao and get him over."

"Who’s Xiao Chao?" Chen Yun asked, puzzled.

"Oh, he’s the chief of Lan Yun City’s Public Security Bureau. I treated him before," Jiang Shan replied, dialing the number as if it were nothing.

"You know medicine?" Chen Yun was surprised—wasn’t Chairman Jiang a businessman? How could he also be a doctor?