My chat group members are all legendary criminals.

Chapter 41 The Clown in a Donkey T-shirt

It was midnight outside Mia's villa.

dong dong dong-

"Who is it?" Mia had just finished showering, her wet blonde hair draped over her shoulders, and she was wearing a white bathrobe when she opened the door with a puzzled look.

Lu Yiming stood outside the door, with a large suitcase at his feet.

Mia stopped drying her hair, a little confused: "What are you doing at my house so late at night?"

Without saying a word, Lu Yiming squeezed through the door, grabbed his suitcase, and went inside.

"Hey! What are you doing! You're trespassing!" Mia quickly stopped her.

"My house is being renovated and can't be lived in anymore."

Lu Yiming, without batting an eye, walked past her and continued moving inside. "I'm staying here for a few days. Don't worry, I'll pay for my meals."

He didn't even ask if it was okay.

He made up his mind when he witnessed the thief being silenced by Belloc that afternoon.

He'd seen the account books too. Although Bellock offered a villa as hush money, who could fathom the old fox's true intentions?

What if he thinks that "only the dead can truly keep secrets"?

It's safest to hide here with Mia.

Even if Belloc is ruthless, he can't kill his own daughter along with her.

This house is in the same community as Lu Yiming's house. Mia usually lives alone and only occasionally goes back to her father's manor.

Moreover, he did contact the construction team to repair the villa's water pipes and ventilation system.

"Damn it! Do you believe I'll really call the police and have you arrested!" Mia said, hands on her hips, her bathrobe collar slightly loose.

"I am a police officer."

He was determined to abandon all shame; survival was the most important thing.

Mia rolled her eyes. Oh well, she'd let him stay since he'd helped her dad.

She straightened her bathrobe, determined not to let this lecherous man take advantage of her.

"I'll stay if you want, but you have to teach me magic tricks, and that card-throwing you did this afternoon!"

Lu Yiming was stunned. A magic trick? A card throwing trick?

These are all red envelopes from Phantom Thief Kid, and there are only a few hours left.

Once the time limit expires, where will he go to change it?

"No problem!" he readily agreed, without batting an eye. Who cares, I'll just keep her in line for now.

Mia nodded in satisfaction and led him to the living room.

The villa is decorated in a modern minimalist style, spacious and bright, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of the city at night.

It was completely different from the old-fashioned decoration of Lu Yiming's house.

The coffee table in the living room was covered with playing cards, and a dartboard hung on the wall.

Mia picked up a card with great interest, and mimicking Lu Yiming's action from that afternoon, flicked her wrist—

The playing card flew softly less than half a meter before spinning and landing on the carpet.

"Uh..." Mia blushed.

"You're not applying the correct force."

Lu Yiming walked over, picked up the card, and held it between his fingers.

The skills are still there, and the feel is naturally smooth.

"It's not about swinging your arm, it's about using the quick, precise force of your wrist."

He flicked his wrist suddenly, the movement was small but the speed was surprisingly fast!

call out--

With a "snap," the playing card landed squarely on the red dot in the center of the dartboard.

Mia's eyes lit up. "Again! Again! I want to learn this!"

He's such a noob but loves to play games.

Lu Yiming was flattered by her and became a little arrogant, so he casually drew another card from the deck.

The card drawn was a colored JOKER.

His movements stopped.

clown……

He looked up at Mia:

"Wait a minute. When you asked me for help before, didn't you say the thief left criminal marks, right?"

"Yeah, it's just a clown graffiti." Mia nodded.

"But when I checked the site, I didn't see any graffiti."

Mia was also taken aback: "Oh right...it seems...there isn't?"

Lu Yiming's mind raced slightly. Had the scene been cleaned up?

Bellock himself had to remove the graffiti.

Why go to the trouble of removing it? What information on the graffiti was there that shouldn't be seen by others?

"Did you take any photos back then? Photos from the scene?" Lu Yiming pressed.

"Yes, I took a picture. I lost something, and I took a picture the next day."

As Mia spoke, she took out her phone, searched through her photo album, and sent the photos to Lu Yiming.

Lu Yiming clicked on the picture.

The photo is very clear; it shows the area near the hidden compartment in the study.

Sure enough, there was a pattern on the wall next to the hidden compartment.

The design features a clown's smiling face with an exaggeratedly wide mouth. The clown is wearing a dark blue T-shirt with a donkey printed on the chest.

Lu Yiming stared at the "clown in a donkey T-shirt," his brows furrowed.

What does this mean? That stupid thief doesn't seem like the type to do something as sophisticated as "leaving criminal marks."

There's only one possibility: their backers made them stay.

But now the person has been silenced by Belloc.

The person behind it is impossible to verify.

"What do you think this clown looks like?" he asked Mia.

"Just like you."

"...Be serious."

"Who cares what it looks like? The painting has been found, so who cares what it looks like?"

Mia didn't seem to care, nestled into the sofa, picked up the remote, and turned on the TV.

Lu Yiming thought about it and agreed. They already had the house, so why worry about anything else?

The less you know, the better.

The local news channel is broadcasting an evening news briefing.

"Breaking news! Fremont Police Chief Qiu Gu officially announced this afternoon that he will run for mayor. During his term, Chief Gu has cracked down on the Lazarus cult and swiftly solved the recent high-profile case of dismembered corpses. Current polls show his approval rating..."

Lu Yiming's lips twitched; this was all thanks to him.

Never mind, it's the same in America.

A higher rank means your name is listed first.

Next to the news article, a small cartoon was specially included to accompany Gu Qiu's campaign:

A donkey representing the Democratic Party kicked an elephant away with its hind legs.

Lu Yiming looked at the news, then looked down at the photo on his phone of the "clown in a donkey T-shirt".

In America, the donkey represents the Democratic Party, while the elephant represents the Republican Party.

Bellock's bribery ledger was filled with the names of high-ranking Democratic Party officials.

Without a doubt, Bellock is a major donor to the Democratic Party in California.

So, who would want to steal this ledger that could cost a large number of Democratic Party officials their lives?

They stole it, but didn't come to pick it up.

Did they change their plans? Or... is it impossible to pick up the goods?

A person flashed through Lu Yiming's mind—

The former mayor was arrested a week ago. He was a Republican.

A bold hypothesis came to mind:

The former mayor may have learned through some channels that Bellock, a major Democratic donor, had this ledger.

He wanted to get his hands on it as a political bargaining chip to protect himself.

So he hired the three thieves to steal it and instructed them to leave the highly insulting "clown" mark as a form of protest.

They wanted to make them hesitant to act against the case of piecing together corpses, so they wouldn't dare to make a fuss about it.

But he miscalculated. After discovering the theft of the ledgers, Belloc did not make a fuss. Instead, he immediately forged a painting to cover up the theft.

The former mayor did not receive the expected response. Due to his involvement in the corpse-splitting case and the cult, he was in dire straits and was removed from office before he could even obtain the account books.

Three bumbling thieves stole a hot potato but couldn't contact their employer, so they hid in a motel until he found them by following the clues.

"So that's how it is," Lu Yiming muttered to himself.

People who play politics have truly dirty hearts.

But it's none of his business.

In this mess, he got a villa with a secret room for free; no matter how you look at it, he's not at a loss.

Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

He took it out and saw that it was a message from the legendary criminals chat group.

KID: @Lu Yiming, how's it going? Did you manage to steal the item?