HLM – Chapter 86 Catch the Thief!

After all the food and drink, Wang Bo had vented his emotions and was now thoroughly drunk.

This “Deadly Force” liquor lived up to its name—indeed, deadly. Its alcohol content was high, and once it hit, the effect was dizzying. Wang Bo had only four small shots and was already woozy.

Charlie and the others weren’t doing much better. Juan had already slumped over the table, clutching his bowl, fast asleep.

Wang Bo wanted to settle the bill and find a motel to sleep it off, but his head was buzzing so badly that he didn’t want to move. He decided to rest his head on the table for a bit—a short nap wouldn’t delay paying the bill.

As soon as he laid his head down, Charlie and Bowen did the same. At that moment, someone quietly approached, circled around them, and then left.

Wang Bo stirred, instantly alert, and whispered, “Guys, that person looked like a thief—stay sharp.”

Charlie barely opened his bleary eyes and slurred, “Don’t worry, I got this. Catch ’em red-handed… wait, no, catch the thief and the loot—yeah, that’s it. Anyway, we got no proof now, so just pretend to be asleep. When he makes a move, we pounce!”

“Right!” Bowen gave a thumbs up.

So the group closed their eyes with the faint smirks of hunters awaiting their prey.

When Wang Bo opened his eyes again, the rain outside had stopped. The restaurant was still bustling—it seemed mealtime hadn’t ended yet. He figured he hadn’t slept long.

The sky was still gloomy from the rain, making it hard to tell the time of day.

Yawning, he reached into his pocket to check the time on his phone… but after patting down every inch of himself, he couldn’t find it.

In an instant, Wang Bo froze: Was his phone stolen?!

He looked at the three still slumped over at the table and shook each of them awake. “Goddammit, get the hell up! Bowen! I’m talkin’ to you! Still sleeping? Wake the hell up—check your phones and wallets!”

Charlie and the others groggily sat up. As they checked their pockets, their faces went blank with shock.

“Boss, my wallet and phone are gone!”

“Mine too!”

“Son of a bitch! They even took my blazer? That was Armani—designer stuff! And not even a single cigarette left?!”

Furious, Wang Bo stormed over to confront the owner, only for the Maori boss to look at him innocently and point to a sign by the entrance: “Please keep your valuables safe. This establishment is not responsible for lost items.”

He checked the time—it was mealtime… but dinner time. 6:30 PM. They’d been out cold the entire afternoon.

Wang Bo turned to Charlie. “Didn’t you say we’d catch the thief red-handed when he tried something?”

Charlie’s expression turned grim. “That guy’s a pro—a ghost! Alright, fine, I’ll take the L on this one.”

“Let’s call the police.”

“May as well call a dog,” Bowen scoffed.

Wang Bo glared. “I feel insulted.”

But he couldn’t refute it. What Bowen said was a New Zealand idiom, and it rang true—New Zealand’s police force had the lowest case-solving rate among developed nations.

“How are we supposed to pay?” Juan was more concerned about this.

Wang Bo had a solution—he’d just grab some cash from the castle in the sandbox. “It’s fine, I left some money in the car. Hand me the car keys…”

Bowen’s face twisted. Charlie asked nervously, “Don’t tell me—those were stolen too?”

Bowen gave the answer with his actions—he bolted out the door and looked toward the roadside. Their parking spot… was completely empty.

“F***! F***! F***!”

“No law! No fear! Those bastards are gutsy as hell. We have to catch them!” Wang Bo was livid. 

The Toyota Land Cruiser they’d been using sold for over 100,000 NZD in New Zealand—that was no small loss.

Charlie let out a cold laugh. “If it was just the phones and wallets, fine. But they even dared to steal the car? Bold move. Don’t worry—my phone has a tracker. They’re not getting away.”

“How do we pay the bill?” Juan still hadn’t moved on.

Bowen looked at Wang Bo. “Boss, borrow a phone and have Eva pay electronically.”

Wang Bo frowned. “How can I let Eva find out about this?”

Bowen sighed. “You dumb? This is your chance to get closer to that girl. Once Eva pays, won’t you have to go return the money? Boom—an excuse to see her again.”

Wang Bo scratched his head. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise?

After settling the bill, Charlie used the restaurant owner’s phone and computer. Soon, he received an address and said, “Okay, this is it. Let’s go.”

Bowen and Juan looked at him oddly. Charlie explained, “Nothing weird. Just install a tracker app on your own phone—if it’s lost, you can find it easily.”

Wang Bo chuckled. Yeah, right. He didn’t quite buy that tracking software was this advanced and available to the public.

Still, Charlie clearly didn’t want to reveal his real identity, and Wang Bo wasn’t going to pry.

The four of them walked to the town’s police station. This little town had one detective and two officers. Before Wang Bo could speak, the detective lazily said, “Drunk and got robbed?”

“How’d you know?” Bowen asked warily. “You guys in on it with the thieves?”

Wang Bo was speechless at Bowen’s IQ. “We reek of booze, and this probably isn’t the first time something like this happened in town, right?”

The detective nodded, shrugged. “Not the first, not the last. But we don’t know where the thieves are. File a report and wait.”

Charlie said coldly, “We do know where they are. Time to roll.”

New Zealand police weren’t very competent, but they did respond when needed.

Charlie gave them the address. The three officers and four men split between two police vehicles and headed out.

The address was in a farmhouse on the outskirts of Tahiti Town, not Drifter Town—just Wang Bo’s luck. He and Tahiti Town were clearly cursed.

The two police cars blocked the front and rear of the farmhouse. Sure enough, there was the gold Land Cruiser parked right there.

Several young men tried to flee by jumping the fence. Wang Bo, teeth grinding in rage, used his speed to chase one down and took him out with a flying kick.

He was about to keep kicking the kid but realized he was just a big-built teen—his face still youthful, eyes wide with fear—so Wang Bo held back.

After all, he was a man of principle.

“Shit! Chinese kung fu!” the detective still had the mood to comment.

Six young men had run—five were caught. Wang Bo got two. The three officers got two. Bowen got one. Juan and Charlie together caught another.

The stolen phones and wallets hadn’t been sold yet. A big pile of phones lay on the living room table. Wang Bo and the others found their things, confirmed everything was there, and took them back.

Naturally, the cash was all “theirs”—who could argue how much money had been in those wallets?

They found a motel in Tahiti Town and checked in. After counting the cash, they discovered they were 1,200 bucks ahead.

Bowen grinned. “Not a bad little business.”

Wang Bo yawned. “Still, I’d rather have less of this kind of business.”

That night, they ordered takeout, filled their stomachs, and passed out cold. The effects of the Deadly Force liquor lasted until the next morning. When Wang Bo woke up, his head was pounding—worse than he’d ever experienced.

But even with a headache, business had to go on. This time, he didn’t bother calling. He went straight to the address Sheriff Smith had given him: The home of Carlisle Hani.