(Preface: The author hasn't read much fanfiction. This book's setting is based on the original work, with a degree of subjectivity. If you think there are problems with the setting, back up your points with the original work. I'll make changes where reasonable. Thank you all for reading.)
Tianshou was extremely excited, because he had already infiltrated what was reputed to be the hardest vault in the world to enter: the Louvre's secret vault.
Before him was none other than the Mona Lisa, valued at an estimated one billion dollars. At that moment, the painting was floating in the air.
He actually had little interest in the painting itself. Without much artistic sensibility, he naturally couldn't tell how much artistry it contained. His reason for stealing it was, of course, fame.
He, Tianshou, was hailed as one of the best international master thieves.
It was those words, "one of," that irritated him immensely. Ever since childhood, he had come first in everything he did, never merely "one of" the best. After watching Chu Liuxiang as a child, he had become utterly obsessed and switched paths to enter the trade.
With his clever mind and dexterous hands, he could steal anything with ease. His many successes had given him boundless confidence, and his fame had spread internationally. He had even earned the illustrious name Tianshou, meaning the hand of God.
But when he learned that two others ranked alongside him, that irritation had arisen, and he had challenged the other two to a showdown between master thieves.
The other two were proud and arrogant as well, and they had agreed without hesitation. Just like that, the three had reached an agreement online. The prize was the very painting before him now, and whoever stole it would become the greatest master thief.
The news had sent shock waves through the world of master thieves. Almost every famous thief around the globe had been itching to try, coming from all over the world to join in. The three had agreed on a date for their contest to begin.
Now, Tianshou grinned and muttered to himself, "Heh heh, these master thieves are such hypocrites. Stealing is stealing, yet they insist on setting a date. What a joke."
The moment he had issued the challenge, Tianshou had already made all his preparations and headed straight for the Louvre, aiming to get a head start. He wasn't about to honor some gentleman's agreement with a bunch of master thieves. Only someone kicked in the head by a donkey would do that.
Just as Tianshou was about to take the painting, a masked woman appeared beside him, though he didn't know when she had arrived. Like him, she was attached to a suspension rope, hanging in midair. She said elegantly, "You certainly live up to the name Tianshou. Your thieving skills truly leave a girl like me in awe. And you're a handsome young fellow, too. Hehehe, I really must thank you for bringing me in. You've saved me quite a bit of trouble."
Tianshou was taken aback, then understood. With a cold chuckle, he said, "Heh, interesting. You must be one of the other two. I didn't expect you to be in such a hurry, either."
Her expression was hidden beneath her mask as she said in a coy voice, "Naturally. I've been looking forward to testing my skills against you two for a long time. Of course I couldn't waste a moment. But now that I've seen that handsome face of yours, you've stolen this big sister's heart. I'm almost tempted to withdraw from the contest."
Tianshou went along with her words. "Really? Then go ahead and withdraw. There's only one painting, after all."
In a pitiful voice, the woman said, "My dear boy, why not let your big sister have this one? At worst, I'll announce publicly that you stole the painting. You get the fame, and I get the painting. We each get what we want. How about it?"
Hearing this, Tianshou laughed in exasperation. "Even my toes could figure out your little scheme. You get the painting, and I take the blame. As the saying goes, nothing is more venomous than a woman's heart. It's certainly true."
Her tone unchanged, the woman said, "Then what do we do? Are you going to fight your big sister? I'm a civilized woman, you know."
No sooner had she finished speaking than a tiny, short-barreled gun appeared in her hand, and she aimed it at Tianshou, ready to fire.
Already prepared, Tianshou wasn't surprised at all. A finger knife appeared in his hand, moving even faster. With a nimble turn of his five fingers, it flashed like a phantom and sliced straight through the gun in her hand.
The woman was stunned by the sight. "How is that possible? This is aluminum alloy!"
"Sorry, but this little knife of mine was forged from a fist-sized piece of meteoric iron, hammered and refined countless times, with special metals added. A little aluminum alloy is naturally no problem." Having landed his strike, Tianshou pressed the knife straight against her throat.
The woman quickly recovered from her daze and reached up to remove her mask, revealing an alluring face that seemed both pleased and reproachful. She was a rare beauty. Looking pitiful, she threw her arms around Tianshou and rubbed her voluptuous body against him, then said seductively, "Not only are you handsome, young man, but you're very skilled, too. A bet's a bet. The painting is yours, and so am I. How about it?"
Tianshou gave a meaningful smile and slipped one hand through a cutout in her clothing, freely groping her up and down. Why turn down flesh delivered right to my door?
The woman moaned, her face flushing crimson. She seemed to enjoy it, her eyes so moist they could almost drip.
At that very moment, Tianshou drove the finger knife at her throat straight in.
The smug smile the woman had only just been about to show instantly turned to shock. She seemed unable to believe she had been killed just like that.
Tianshou sighed and used his hand to close her eyes, which had remained open in death. He muttered to himself, "I gave you a chance. Too bad you didn't value it. Trying a honey trap on me? How naive."
Once the woman was dead, Tianshou took a silver needle from her hand.
He lifted the silver needle and sniffed it. Sure enough, it was coated with deadly poison. Judging by the smell, it should be king cobra venom. Once it gets into the blood, someone dies. This woman was truly vicious. Who knows how many people she killed? Dying at my hands wasn't undeserved.
Looks like this painting will be mine in the end. From now on, I'll be the greatest master thief. No one will ever call me "one of the best" again.
Filled with soaring pride, Tianshou took the painting.
The instant he removed it, a deafening alarm sounded inside the Louvre's vault.
Tianshou smiled without a care and gave his suspension rope a slight tug, ready to leave.
Suddenly, a tremendous explosion rang out overhead. Several missiles actually came flying through the sky, bombarding the area with pinpoint accuracy.
Tianshou was knocked unconscious by the immense force. In that instant, he felt his own insignificance and helplessness, and a profound, unprecedented terror arose within him. These modern weapons were simply killing machines, instantly destroying everything there. But amid the tremendous explosions, a spatial rift suddenly appeared, swallowing Tianshou whole and dropping him into an unknown world.
At that moment, a fat man hiding beside an enormous computer, drinking milk tea and eating barbecue, muttered with an honest, guileless air, "You two idiots think you deserve to rank alongside me? Stealing the painting is such a hassle. If I just kill you both, doesn't that make me number one? Still, I wonder if hacking into a country's missile system is a big deal. Ah, once I finish this meal, I'd better run for my life."