Chapter 8: Is the Sky Really About to Fall?

Wang Tingting: “A Bin, what have you been up to lately? You haven’t shown up to class for over a month now. Where have you been? If you keep skipping, you’ll be expelled, do you hear me? Call me back as soon as you see this message.”

Wang Tingting: “A Bin, did you see the message I sent you?”

Wang Tingting: “A Bin, we’re adults now, can you stop acting so childish? Even if we argued and broke up, you still need to live your own life. You can’t use that as an excuse, it’s just pointless.”

Wang Tingting: “A Bin, come back to school immediately and explain your situation to the administration. You’re driving me mad—everyone is looking for me, asking where you are and what you’re doing. How would I know? What you’re doing is infuriating, do you understand?”

Wang Tingting: “A Bin! What on earth are you doing? Is this how a man behaves? You’re hiding over something like this? Don’t tell me you’re thinking about suicide? Fine, whatever, just come back and explain things. If you want, we don’t even have to break up. Just come back and make things clear.”

Wang Tingting: “A Bin, did you hear me? Come back right now.”

Reading these WeChat messages, Cao Bin shook his head and chuckled. To save himself further annoyance, he decided to reply.

Cao Bin: “Relax, this has nothing to do with you at all. I’ll be back in a month or so, maybe thirty or forty days. I’d never kill myself over you—you’re overthinking. If the school asks again, just show them this message and tell them I’m giving up my student status of my own free will. Let them expel me as they please. And finally, our breakup is for the best. Remember, from now on, there’s nothing between us. Don’t message or call me, and don’t try to find me.”

After sending the reply, he immediately blocked Wang Tingting’s phone number, WeChat, and QQ accounts.

About half an hour later, Cao Bin arrived outside the local office building of Ali Mama. He found a restaurant across the street and sat down. It was early, but the breakfast place was doing brisk business.

He ordered a bowl of san soup, a dozen fried dumplings, a tea egg, and some side dishes, enjoying a comfortable breakfast while observing the surroundings. He watched as people entered the park: you had to scan the work badge hanging around your neck. Once inside, you had to scan your fingerprint or face to get into the office building itself. The number of security guards was low—everyone needed the badge and their HR-registered fingerprint and face to enter, so there was no need for guards to patrol inside.

Getting into the park was easy—just find a way to acquire a badge and scan it. He didn’t need access to the office building, just to the back warehouse. He would wait until everyone had gone home for the day, then slip out quietly. It was much easier to loot from the inside than to try to break in from outside at night with guards watching. It was now 9:00 a.m., peak office hours, and several Ali Mama employees were having breakfast at the same restaurant.

After about ten minutes, as he was finishing his meal, he spotted his target: a middle-aged man around forty, with a work badge on the table. The man looked exhausted—maybe worn out from dealing with his wife last night, or from working late. He bought his breakfast and sat for a while before starting on his porridge. At this hour, the place was crowded, with regulars chatting as they ate, and many people like this man, quietly eating alone. The servers bustled back and forth, too busy to pay any attention to Cao Bin.

After finishing his breakfast, Cao Bin wiped his mouth, stood up, and walked past the man from behind, giving his right shoulder a gentle pat and greeting him with a smile: “Qiang, you like these buns too? I just had a bunch myself. I’m heading out now, see you.”

Before the man could react, Cao Bin had already taken his badge from the left and slipped it into his storage space, smiling as he made his exit.

The man adjusted his glasses, wondering if he knew that person. But the stranger was already gone, so he shrugged and continued with his breakfast.

Outside the park, Cao Bin lingered by a trash can pretending to smoke, watching how people entered and went through the process. Once he was sure he understood it all, he stubbed out his cigarette, merged with the crowd, and used the badge to get inside.

Once in, he had to be extra cautious—big companies like this were covered in surveillance cameras. He tried to stick to the blind spots, walking normally, then hid in one of the restrooms, which he’d scoped out in advance. The warehouse here took up a vast area, since it needed to supply all the city’s supermarkets. Ali Mama’s supermarket chain was doing exceptionally well: same-day orders, same-day delivery, just like Jingxi’s warehouse, with one of the country’s top intelligent management systems.

Plenty of people worked here during the day, so borrowing items now would be difficult. Better to wait until after hours when everyone had gone home. He’d always coveted Ali Mama’s main local warehouse—the sheer quantity of supplies covered all aspects of daily life, more comprehensive than robbing a supermarket.

He entered at 9:30 and stayed in the restroom, which was spotlessly clean, as one would expect in a major company. He locked the door, took out a comfortable chair from his storage, reclined, and read a novel. If he got hungry, he ate from his seemingly endless supply of snacks.

The novel he was reading, “How Could a Golden-scaled Fish Remain in the Pond,” was beautifully written and did a great job capturing emotions. With something he enjoyed, time passed quickly. Occasionally, when bored, he’d walk out of the restroom, badge around his neck, not talking to anyone, just wandering about, overhearing bits of casual conversation. He learned that the police had assistants stationed outside, but none had come in.

No one seemed to notice that the man’s badge was missing. Apparently, badges weren’t hard to duplicate, and some employees often lost theirs and made spares. The man he’d taken it from probably just dug out a backup from his bag and got on with his day.

As time passed, by 6:00 p.m., the office staff began leaving. Half an hour later, the warehouse workers also went home. Another half hour and the cafeteria staff and security trickled out. The park emptied rapidly, leaving only a guard at the main gate; inside, no one remained.

Cao Bin emerged from the restroom, walked briskly to the warehouse he’d already scouted, slipped inside, and hid in a deserted corner. About ten minutes later, all the lights in the park and warehouse went out. Only a few security cameras in the corners still glowed red, indicating they were active.

It was still too early to act, so he waited for full darkness. When night finally fell, Cao Bin took out the crossbow he’d prepared, and, following his plan, shot out every camera he passed. Now, no one would be watching him.

He changed clothes, put on a mask and hat, and gazed at the enormous warehouse, laughing in excitement. Knowing how exhausting it would be to run around, he cleverly took out a hoverboard, stepped on, and zipped through the aisles. As he passed each shelf, the goods vanished into thin air. This grand heist lasted four or five hours.

When dawn began to break, he was finally done. The warehouse was now completely empty—tomorrow’s headlines would be even more sensational. He’d thought about staying to hit Jingxi’s warehouse next, but decided it was too risky. Safety first—he had to get out.

He scaled the wall, escaped the park, summoned a motorcycle as soon as he hit the street, and sped into the city. The highways weren’t safe, so he switched vehicles and changed clothes in town, quickly vanishing into the crowd. Finally, he headed out of the city in an ordinary domestic sedan and left Hangsu.

This trip to Hangsu had been a total success, replenishing his endless stock of supplies once again.

...

Sure enough, the next day, the chief of police in Hangsu had just arrived at his office when he got a call. His subordinates, anxious, crowded outside waiting to report in. When he learned what had happened, his knees went weak and he almost collapsed into his chair.

Ali Mama’s main local warehouse had been looted! Over ten billion’s worth of goods—gone, not a trace left. Overnight! Who could have done it? How?

There were already piles of unsolved cases—major supermarkets, all the city’s oil depots, various businesses, factories, car dealerships, food stores, a string of thefts with not a single clue. And now, something even more outrageous: Ali Mama had been robbed.

Was the sky about to fall?