Theft

News of the Dream Restroom on Financial Street spread through the district like wildfire.

People at practically every company were quietly talking about it.

Anyone who worked there and had a small social circle limited to coworkers would have found their WeChat Moments absolutely flooded with posts about it today.

Some people began asking what material had been used for its walls.

Employees renovating their homes hoped they could put up a few walls like that too. The place would look spectacular.

But the restroom had not officially opened, and construction workers were still finishing the interior. No one could find out which company had built it.

Of course, none of them would admit that when they had stood outside gawking, they had not even found the door.

That was awkward as hell.

After hearing the eyewitnesses describe it, those who had not seen it for themselves were itching to go.

But before noon, even more explosive news swept through Financial Street: the restroom's breathtaking walls had changed. The gorgeous garden scene had become a stream flowing beneath a little bridge!

What was going on?

That morning, some had guessed the walls were screens. But after a closer look, people with some expertise concluded that the walls were probably a new kind of glass. Some remarkable process had printed an image inside it, using the glass's transparency and thickness to give the scene a depth no flat display could achieve.

Even that sounded like something out of science fiction.

As far as anyone knew, no existing technology could print an image inside glass with such realism and detail.

Now this change had overturned everything they thought they knew.

The image could change too? Could glass do that? There had to be some kind of display component inside it.

It was a mystery. A complete mystery.

Plenty of people wanted to solve it, but none knew where to start.

The restroom was the talk of Financial Street, including at the Nancy Group headquarters.

As one of Rongcheng's largest companies, Nancy Group operated in construction, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and other industries. Its headquarters alone employed over a thousand people.

At that moment, nearly a third of them were discussing the dreamlike restroom in hushed voices.

Among them was Nancy Group Chairman Fang Yuanming.

"Manager Zhao, a restroom has become the hottest topic in the company today. What do you make of it?" Fang Yuanming asked.

Nancy Group's General Manager sat across from Chairman Fang. Running a company of that size had given the man a sharp eye and his own way of looking at problems.

He answered at once. "Chairman, it's the contrast between that Miracle Glass and a restroom. People find it novel and can't help wanting to know more. If the glass were just a high-tech product sitting on an exhibition stand, it wouldn't generate nearly this much talk."

Fang Yuanming sighed. "The roof of our new headquarters is about to be completed. It won't just house our offices; it'll be a major commercial complex with a hotel, shopping center, and office space. Nancy Group may be one of Rongcheng's biggest companies, but Nancy Building itself hasn't drawn much attention. We need something people will talk about to put the building in the spotlight."

"Don't worry, Chairman. I know what to do."

“The restroom is the responsibility of the Golden Dragon District Sanitation Bureau. You can ask their director about it; he should have information straight from the source.”

Manager Zhao nodded and left.

Shen Bing had spent the past few days in his rented apartment, keeping his eyes on his phone screen.

But that damned Lu Ban had been missing for three days. Shen Bing had not caught so much as a glimpse of him.

What the hell was this? Had the man put him under house arrest?

Unfortunately, Shen Bing had not received the mission reward yet, so there was nothing he could do.

Over the past few days, he had also tried putting Divine Puppets and Mechanism Beasts into his Storage Space. Every attempt had failed.

That morning, Dong Qiang called him in a panic to say a thief had broken into the factory.

After asking for details, Shen Bing finally pieced together what had happened.

The two German shepherds stationed at Illusion Immortal Glass Factory had started guarding the place over the past few days, and they took the job seriously.

Last night, a thief had sneaked into the factory, only to be spotted by the two Black-Backed Shepherds.

That was when his luck ran out.

They tore every stitch of clothing off him, leaving him naked in the factory grounds. The moment he moved, a huge mouth lunged at him.

The Black-Backed Shepherds had not actually bitten him. They were more devious than that: they kept snapping at what hung between his legs.

Imagine being a grown man with that part of you caught in the jaws of a hostile German shepherd. You would be lucky to get through it without a breakdown.

The thief spent the entire night terrified.

Who knew whether his equipment would ever work again?

It showed how smart the two Black-Backed Shepherds were. If they had really bitten down, the thief might have died that night, bringing endless trouble to Phantom Immortal Technology and Shen Bing.

Instead, they had done him no real harm while teaching him a lesson he would not forget.

Shen Bing then went to the factory and saw the thief for himself.

At the sight of the scraps of fabric scattered on the ground and the man's sorry state, he said nothing. He simply called the police.

Shen Bing knew that handing the man over to the Police Station would, at most, get him a few days in administrative detention. If he admitted what he had done and behaved himself, they might just give him a lecture and let him go.

Theft was different from other offenses. Its severity depended on the value of what was stolen.

Since the man had stolen nothing, the law offered little way to punish him.

After the police took the thief away, Shen Bing quietly told a young factory worker named Wang Dong to follow him.

Wang Dong was a new hire at the factory, solidly built and, according to what Shen Bing had heard, a former soldier who had served as a scout.

He had originally planned to find work in a coastal city. But his younger sister worked in Rongcheng, so he stayed, giving the two of them a chance to look out for each other.

With that taken care of, Shen Bing had no reason to stay at the factory and returned to his rented apartment.

He had barely stepped through the door when his father called. The mutt had sold for a decent price.

The buyer was apparently some well-connected rich kid. What did Shen Bing care? As long as he paid.

His father had not called just to brag about selling the dog, of course. He wanted Shen Bing to get him more.

This time, though, he wanted valuable breeds rather than another yellow mutt.

The novelty of a mutt was all well and good, but having too many would probably spoil it.

No one knew Shen Bing better than his father. Seeing those two yellow dogs had clearly given the older man an idea.

Shen Bing said only that he would try, then hung up.

He was about to open the Gate to the Immortal Realm and have a look around when his phone rang again.

"Fuck, does it ever stop?" Shen Bing muttered. Seeing Wang Dong's name on the screen, he answered with a resigned tap.

"Boss, I found something," Wang Dong said, sounding delighted. The surveillance had clearly excited him. He was not the type to sit still.

"What did you find?"

"The thief came out of the Police Station just now and took a taxi to Kehua Avenue in the south of the city, where he met a middle-aged man. I overheard a few things. It sounds like the man put him up to it. I followed the man afterward. He went to Rongcheng People's Hospital and met someone in a private care room. I didn't go in because I was worried I'd be spotted, but I checked with the nurses' station. The patient's name is Lin Zijian."

"Lin Zijian? Are you sure?"

"Boss, you have to trust a scout's professional skills."

"Uh... all right."

After ending the call, Shen Bing sneered.

"So that's what you were waiting for. I was wondering why Fatty Chang hadn't made a move after all these days."

When Shen Bing had seen the thief's clothes and the look on his face that morning, he had felt there was more to it.

Besides, the factory had stood there for years without attracting thieves. One showing up barely ten days after Shen Bing took over was too convenient.

That was why he had arranged for the police to take the thief away. Once they released him, Wang Dong could follow him to whoever was behind it.

Sure enough, something was going on.

Shen Bing already had a rough picture of it. Thinking back to the conversation he had overheard by chance at the Romantic Fish Restaurant some ten days earlier, he could more or less see what had happened.

Most people would have forgotten a few seemingly irrelevant remarks they had happened to overhear. But Shen Bing's brain was better than a computer now, and he remembered every word.

"Doesn't Lin Zijian's family company make LCD Substrate? How did they get involved with glass curtain walls? Sure, both involve glass, but that's a pretty big leap." Shen Bing frowned.

"I have to get to the bottom of this, or I won't be able to sleep."

Shen Bing turned to Little Doudou, who was eating a fresh wild Sea Bass nearby with a look of distaste. An idea came to him.

"Little Doudou, do me a favor."

"What is it?" Little Doudou sounded haughty.

"Follow someone. The guy you first hit with Plague God Possession. Remember everyone he talks to and everything he says."

Little Doudou's little head drooped, and a pitiful voice sounded in Shen Bing's mind. "Master, that's so hard. Little Doudou can't do it."

"If you pull it off, I'll find a way to get you a fish from the Immortal Realm," Shen Bing offered.

"It's a deal! A good master doesn't lie." Little Doudou eyed him warily, as though Shen Bing lied all the time.

That stung Shen Ice.

Acting cute and rolling around for follows...