I Have the Potential of a Master Thief!

Looking at the cold shackles around his ankles, Qin Yao could not help sinking into thought.

If he wanted to remove these things, hacking at them with blades or axes was definitely not going to work.

Not to mention that he could not get his hands on any sharp blades or heavy axes right now.

Even if Old Master Qin somehow got them for him, the noise of smashing iron chains in the middle of the night would surely bring Leader Yang running over.

So, if he wanted to regain his freedom, he had to unlock the shackles without making a sound.

At present, there were only two paths—first, find an opportunity to steal the key that Leader Yang Yongchao often kept hanging from his waist.

For the current Qin Yao, that was practically the same as courting death!

The second was for Qin Yao to possess the skill to pick and unlock locks silently.

For Qin Yao, who had the "Grind Emperor System," the second path was undoubtedly easier.

"The problem now is, where can I find a lock to practice on?"

Qin Yao frowned. "And I have to actually pick one open before the Grind Emperor System can successfully trigger a skill like 'Lockpicking.'

"But whether in my past life or this one, I don't know anything about picking locks..."

Just as he was fretting, he suddenly heard his grandfather telling his younger sister to put down the door bolt and get ready for bed.

Qin Yao stared at the wooden bolt inserted through the door handle for a while, and inspiration suddenly struck him. "Got it!"

"Though this house's 'door lock' is crude, nothing more than a wooden stick stuck through the door handle—

"Isn't it still a genuine kind of 'lock'?

"Mm, it's decided. I'll start practicing with this!"

Having made up his mind, Qin Yao first spun a story for his grandfather.

He said that he had dreamed last night of a method for training finger dexterity.

If he practiced it well, there was a tiny chance that his crippled martial veins might open up again!

What more was there for Old Master Qin to say? Of course he had to support his precious darling grandson!

No matter how small the chance, it was worth a try.

"Yao'er, go all out. If you need anything, just tell me. Tomorrow, this old man will go to the market and see if I can buy it for you."

"Alright, Grandpa. You should get some rest. I'm only just starting, and this isn't something I can accomplish overnight."

"Fine. Don't practice too late either. Get to bed early—you still have to go down the mines tomorrow."

"Got it."

"Go, Brother!"

Lan'er pursed her little lips and clenched her tiny pink fists in encouragement.

"Hahaha, alright!"

A moment later, Qin Yao stepped outside beneath the cover of night.

He found a thin bamboo sliver and inserted it into the gap in the door.

Then he used it to pry the wooden bolt upward, shifting it sideways bit by bit.

Fortunately, while the house he rented was rundown, it at least had a small courtyard out front.

With the courtyard gate shut and the surrounding fence walls high enough, no one would see what Qin Yao was doing inside unless they climbed over the wall.

Otherwise, with shackles on his feet and sneaking about to pry open a door, he would definitely be mistaken for a burglar. If someone raised a shout, he would be seized in minutes...

Time trickled by, second after second.

At this moment, Qin Yao was so focused that he truly had no idea how much time had passed.

At some point, the hand he was using to lift the wooden bolt suddenly grew light.

Immediately afterward, a bang sounded from inside the door—the sound of the bolt dropping to the floor!

"I pried it open?"

Qin Yao's heart stirred.

At the exact moment the bolt fell—

text
"Ding! The host's recent action has been detected to meet the criteria for skill generation."

"New skill generated: Lockpicking, Beginner Realm (1/100)"

Right after that, the methods for opening five or six common door and cabinet locks twisted into a stream of information and flooded into his mind without warning.

"Ha, it really works."

Qin Yao was overjoyed.

"I can't get access to any other locks right now, so I might as well keep practicing on my own door lock."

To keep the bolt from repeatedly falling onto the ground and disturbing his grandfather and sister, Qin Yao laid dried grass beneath where it would land.

"Now this is solid. Time to grind!"

Skill "Lockpicking" proficiency +1

Skill "Lockpicking" proficiency +1

Skill "Lockpicking"...

Perhaps because the "lock" Qin Yao was picking right now was too low-level, every successful attempt gave him a steady, unchanging "plus one" in proficiency.

"Fine. As long as I keep at it, wouldn't picking it a hundred times still level it up?"

Qin Yao had a good mindset.

After all, for anyone else without a master guiding them hand in hand or spending a long time studying it themselves, one night would at most be enough to figure out how to pick two or three kinds of locks—and even then, they might not succeed every time.

Qin Yao was different: he had already mastered several ways of opening common locks.

All he needed to do now was keep his eyes on his own exceedingly simple door lock and repeat the motions over and over. His lockpicking skill would naturally improve steadily...

At one point, Qin Yao suddenly had a thought. "Right. If I want to move about freely in Tang Family Village, aside from unlocking these shackles, I also need to mess up my face. "At the very least, I can't let the mine overseers recognize me. "Back in my previous life on Blue Star, makeup was known as one of the 'Four Great Asian Sorceries'! "I'm a straight man—I don't know makeup. "But if I smear some ash on my face, put on Grandpa's clothes, and hunch over, I should be able to hide myself somewhat. "If that triggers a 'Disguise' skill, I'll have struck it rich!"

Qin Yao acted as soon as he thought of it.

He smeared two streaks of soot above his lips. From a distance, they really did look like a pair of drooping mustaches.

Then he stuck a round little piece of furnace slag to his chin, and just like that, a "big black mole" appeared.

Then he put on Old Master Qin's clothes...

Ding! The host's actions just now meet the criteria for skill generation

New skill generated: Disguise, Novice Realm (1/100)

"It worked again, hahahaha!"

Qin Yao was overjoyed.

"Lockpicking, plus disguise... "When I max out both of these skills someday, won't I be comparable to Chu Liuxiang and Bai Zhantang? "I've got the makings of a thief saint!"

And so, Qin Yao happily began training.

He practiced not only lockpicking, but disguise as well.

After all that fussing back and forth with his face and body, he was nearly out of soot!

The proficiency of both skills steadily rose as he continued tinkering.

Skill "Lockpicking": Novice Realm (28/100)

Skill "Lockpicking": Novice Realm (49/100)

Skill "Disguise": Novice Realm (17/100)

Skill "Disguise": Novice Realm (33/100)

At one point—

Skill "Lockpicking" proficiency +1. Current proficiency: 100/100

Ding! Skill "Lockpicking" has advanced to Beginner Realm (1/500)

Whoosh~

In an instant, Qin Yao felt the sensitivity of his fingers increase dramatically.

If someone gave him a set of mahjong tiles now, even if he had never played before, he could close his eyes, feel them with his fingers, and immediately identify which tile he was holding!

The different lockpicking methods imprinted in his mind had also increased from five or six in the Novice Realm to more than a dozen!

"Unfortunately, the types of locks I currently know still don't include these iron shackles..."

"No matter. My 'Lockpicking' skill has only just entered the Beginner Realm. There are plenty more awesome tricks to come!"

A quarter of an hour later.

Skill "Disguise" proficiency +1. Current proficiency: 100/100

Ding! Skill "Disguise" has advanced to Beginner Realm (1/500)