Chapter 93 (1/2)

Pair of Burglars

Huang Yi-Hu had many businesses under his name but the largest and most profitable of them was New Moon Real Estate. Huang Yi-Hu had wanted plot number thirteen to build condominiums. He had become a laughingstock in Hai-Zhu City after Xia Lei had snatched plot number thirteen from him for one million. How could Huang Yi-Hu let this matter go?

Huang Yi-Hu wanted to assert his power so he had gone on the offensive against the people close to Xia Lei. He had no idea that he had poked the hornet’s nest right after setting his plan of revenge into motion.

At 0100 hrs, a Great Wall H6 came to a stop outside the walls of New Moon Real Estate’s office building with its license plates covered. The doors opened and two youngsters with covered faces alighted. The two then climbed onto the roof of the car and went over the wall, jumping right into the inner courtyard of the office.

One of the youths with covered faces was Qin Xiang and the other was Xia Lei.

In the courtyard, they stuck close to the wall and moved carefully to the outer wall of the office building. The office building had four storeys and there were security cameras facing the front but none in the back. Xia Lei’s eye twitched and a wall in front of him disappeared, clearly revealing the situation in the lobby beyond.

The lights were on in the lobby and a security guard sat on the sofa, playing with his phone.

Qin Xiang gestured at Xia Lei to crouch down, then pointed to the windows on the second storey.

Xia Lei got the hint and squatted. Qin Xiang climbed atop his shoulders, then supported himself along the wall and started crawling upwards slowly. He straightened his body, then made a lunge and grabbed the second storey windowsill with both hands. He pulled himself up and into the window.

Xia Lei looked up at Qin Xiang standing in the window and did a searching motion.

Qin Xiang responded with a time-out hand signal and took out a metal pick, then inserted it into the window lock and opened it after a jimmy or two. He flipped into the window, then lowered a rope from it.

Xia Lei grabbed onto the rope and straightened his back, both feet on the wall. He climbed quickly to the second storey, through the window and into the building.

This was an office so there were office desks, file cabinets and water dispensers. Xia Lei soon concluded his search. This office belonged to normal workers so there was nothing of value in it.

“Do you know where Huang Yi-Hu’s office is?” Xia Lei asked in a low voice. He knew that New Moon Real Estate was the largest and most important business under Huang Yi-Hu’s name but he wasn’t sure where his office was.

“I don’t know either. This is my first time here too. Huang Yi-Hu likes to be above others and be in control of everything so I’m guessing his office should be higher than the rest, maybe the fourth storey,” said Qin Xiang.

Xia Lei lifted his head and looked at the ceiling above him.

“You won’t see his office like that. It’s better if we search storey by storey from here. We’ll find his office in the end,” said Qin Xiang.

Xia Lei still stared at the ceiling.

Qin Xiang tread lightly to the door, then cracked it open gently and put his eye to the crack to spy on the situation outside.

Just then, Xia Lei spoke, “Don’t look. The corridor has cameras, one in front and one behind. We’ll be discovered once we go out.”

Qin Xian retracted his head, shut the door gently and looked at Xia Lei strangely, “There really are security cameras. How did you know?”

Xia Lei did not answer his question but said, “Huang Yi-Hu’s office is indeed on the fourth storey, straight up. We can get into it if we climb the walls.

“You…” Qin Xiang was gobsmacked, “How do you know so clearly?”

“I just remembered that I’d seen a blueprint of this building,” said Xia Lei.

This explanation was a little ‘late’, but it made sense. Qin Xiang shook his head and walked towards the window, grumbling, “You should have told me. I nearly walked out and I would’ve got caught on camera.”

Xia Lei and Qin Xiang went to the window and onto the windowsill. Qin Xiang did not ask Xia Lei to crouch this time - he crossed the windowsill, grabbed the water drainage pipe hanging from the roof, and climbed up.

Xia Lei was afraid that the pipe would not hold the weight of two people so he waited till Qin Xiang was on the windowsill of the fourth storey before he climbed. He had never done this before but he had climbed higher than this on scaffolding when he’d worked in construction sites. He quickly got used to it and climbed to the fourth storey windowsill.

Qin Xiang looked at Xia Lei and said quietly, “You have the talent to be a burglar. Want to work together?”

“Stop joking around; this is no time for jokes. Open the window,” said Xia Lei.

Qin Xiang took out his wire again and inserted it into the lock while covering the latch. He lifted the latch gently and it opened with a click.

Xia Lei followed Qin Xiang into the room beyond the window.

This was indeed Huang Yi-Hu’s office. It was several times larger than the previous office and had higher quality office fittings. A huge framed picture hung on the wall opposite the desk, depicting Huang Yi-Hu and some leader shaking hands. The Huang Yi-Hu in the picture was proud and smiling.

The office also had a very big bookshelf with many books but the books were all new and had no trace of being read before. It seemed Huang Yi-Hu did not have the habit of reading as a member of the underworld and these books were only used as simple and elegant furnishing.