Theft

"My lord, the Duke Zhenguo has arrived."

Outside, Tim led the Duke Zhenguo into his study.

Lister nodded to it, and while the servants were serving tea and refreshments, he personally lit the oddly shaped gilded bronze candlestick on the table.

The dimly lit room suddenly became much brighter in the evening.

Lister only looked at Wang Yue across the street after Tim closed the door from the outside.

How are the diplomatic negotiations going?

Upon hearing this, a smile flashed across Wang Yue's face.

"Count Merrick, as Seven Great Families of the Duchy of Will, you shouldn't care about so-called diplomatic relations, should you?"

You've been asking about me?

Lister had intended to exchange pleasantries, but upon hearing the voice, his tone involuntarily turned somber.

Seeing this, Wang Yue quickly suppressed her smile and began to explain.

"It's not that I want to inquire, it's just that there's too much news in the city about you becoming a hereditary earl."

"Many nobles admire you, acknowledging your repentance and dedication to your family's unique skills, which have led to the revitalization of the Merick Family."

Upon hearing this, Lister realized that he had misunderstood the other party.

Unexpectedly, it was his "hereditary earldom" that caused such a stir in the city.

Fortunately, this information was limited to the nobility, especially the great nobles.

The minor nobles and ordinary people were all busy with war preparations and had no energy to pay attention to him.

"But I do find it a bit strange."

What's strange?

Lister asked instinctively.

"You're strange."

"These messages and your past deeds don't sound like a case of turning over a new leaf or repenting. The change is too rapid!"

"It gave me a sense of detachment, even..."

"It's like he's a completely different person."

The air fell silent. Lister nodded, feigning composure, but his heart was already pounding.

On this issue, he seems to have overlooked it to this day.

When I first entered the game world, I was focused on improving my strength to prepare for the duel.

Even though my mindset started to change and I came to accept that this was the real world, I still couldn't fully integrate.

Therefore, he never considered whether replacing the original Lister Merrick would arouse suspicion from other people in the world.

They felt as if they had entered a real game world and been reborn, and excitement, joy, and a thirst for power to level up consumed them.

Only now do I suddenly realize that my identity and the huge changes I've undergone will also arouse the vigilance and speculation of others in the world of "Divine Revelation".

Fortunately, Lister was located in the remote Duchy of Will, and was the only son of the Merick Family, with no collateral relatives.

In addition, given the uproar surrounding the duel at the time, no one really thought about it from his personal perspective; they simply believed that the pressure had spurred Lister's subsequent strength.

But Wang Yue in front of me is different. He is a "Faceless Person" who uses other people's identities all day long, which is why he is more sensitive to news about me than ordinary people and will guess in this direction!

At this moment, Wang Yue was oblivious to Lister's unusual behavior and continued talking to herself.

"Perhaps the nobles have been gathering too much information, both true and false, ranging from your childhood training in Merrick Swordsmanship to your later duel for Miss Anna, and so on."

"Anyway, I think you've been hiding your true self since you were little, deliberately concealing your talents."

Although her intuition was accurate, Wang Yue clearly did not trust it.

After all, she had always been in contact with the current Lister.

Compared to what she has seen and experienced in the Kingdom of Lucian, there are not as many powerful individuals as she had imagined. In fact, Lister is already the ceiling she knows.

It is indeed easier to believe that Lister was hiding his true abilities all along, and even now he is hiding them very well.

It was difficult to think about it in any further direction at the moment, so I just explained it to Lister in a joking manner, and then quickly circled back to the topic of diplomatic relations.

"Diplomatic relations are still a long way off; it seems your King Lucian V is deliberately dragging his feet."

"Perfect timing. I didn't want to go back to Great Chu anytime soon, so I didn't bother asking and just stayed here."

Thinking back to his meeting with Hughes a few days ago, Lister naturally understood.

The strategy is to stall for time, delaying the envoy from Great Chu to buy Lucian more time to prepare for war.

Hughes had no idea that this so-called envoy from the Great Chu was not the real person, and his actions just happened to suit her wishes.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this."

"Do you remember what you said before? You owe me one."

Lister secretly breathed a sigh of relief, though the fact that he guessed it wasn't him made him subconsciously feel somewhat at a loss.

But the thought that he was no longer afraid of the power of the entire Kingdom of Lucian quickly put him at ease.

When we enter the Milky Way in the future, in a completely new environment...

He is someone who traveled from another universe, making it even more impossible for him to be discovered.

The immediate priority was to get down to business; he didn't want to talk to Wang Yue any longer.

"Remember."

"But... with your abilities, do you still need to come to me for help?"

"The powerful beings of the Kingdom of Lucian are weaker than I imagined. Do they still have enemies for you?"

"It's not about killing anyone; I need some special medicine from the royal family."

Logically speaking, Lister's strength should have been enough to force his way into the entire palace.

But when I thought about the future Kavin Deer, whose main personality is at least Kavin Lucian, I decided to save face for him.

This is also to better cultivate new players when they arrive, at least to avoid a complete breakdown in relations and a state of total hostility.

So you came to me to steal?

"Let me make this clear beforehand, I don't possess any special skills for stealing items."

Wang Yue's earnest words left Lister somewhat bewildered.

"Aren't you... Wu Yan's senior sister? Didn't you learn anything in the Thieves' Sect?"

I almost blurted out "the Devious Theft," but thankfully I corrected myself in time.

"What I learned in the Thieves' Sect wasn't 'Universe in the Sleeve,' but another unique skill."

Lister scanned the other party's information again with considerable skepticism, browsing through all forty-plus skills.

Just as the other party said, they had not learned "Universe in the Sleeve" at all, nor did they possess any skills related to stealing.

The only theft skill, "Devious Theft," is actually an offensive skill.

This left him somewhat dumbfounded, and he couldn't help but recall the events from his memory.

It seems that in the game, we never heard of the "Devious Theft" stealing anything; what we heard more about her was her bizarre methods of killing.

Could it be that the infamous "Devious Theft" of later generations really couldn't steal?

"I really don't know any thieving techniques, but if you know the location, I should be able to help you get the potion."

"Since you don't know how to steal secret techniques from the royal treasury, how can you help me retrieve them?"

As soon as Lister finished speaking, Wang Yue's face suddenly Twist, accompanied by a spasm in his body.

Soon, the face of another middle-aged man with a high nose and blue eyes appeared before him.

If Lister remembers correctly, this is Count Drew, one of the twelve daily consuls of the Kingdom of Lucian, and the person in charge of daily rewards and punishments in the Central Council Hall.

"What do you need? I've been inside the royal treasury; there are indeed quite a few potions there."

Lister then realized that he had fallen into a cognitive trap again.

The "Devious Theft" on the other side only needs a change of face; he doesn't need to learn any thieving skills!

The following afternoon, as if receiving an urgent notice, the entire City of Bode was placed under martial law.

The royal guards conducted a large-scale search throughout the city and even the inner city.

Count Drew was also apprehended by evening, and his entire family was arrested.

It wasn't until evening that some of the nobles learned that, at this crucial moment when war was about to break out, the royal treasury had been robbed!

And the amount stolen was staggering!

About one-third of the strategic reserve medicines disappeared, and most of the items originally intended as war merit rewards were also gone.

Meanwhile, Lister was already on his way to the Duchy of Will.

His eyes were constantly scanning the thousands of precious potions and various valuable items in his Inventory.

Wang Yue's "theft" was so efficient that it hardly even qualify as theft.

It was a direct order to the clerks of the Central General Office to transport the treasure trove's contents to a designated location overnight.

As for why it wasn't completely cleared out, it's because there were too few clerks on duty at night, so the efficiency was just that high.

After receiving the order overnight, Lister set off that morning, ensuring that the bloodshed in the capital would not reach him.