Lin Xian felt as if he were dispelling the clouds and revealing the sun again.
In the dream, inside the bank vault, there were eight password dials on the safe that CC needed to open.
Lin Xian had always believed that the eight-digit password must be a date, either a birthday, an anniversary, or some significant day. In any case, it had to be a date; he never considered any other possibility.
However, he was too confident.
He had completely forgotten about his QQ number.
Lin Xian's generation began using QQ extensively only in primary and secondary school. At that time, newly acquired QQ numbers were all nine or ten digits long, and only those born in the 1980s might have an eight-digit QQ number. It was highly likely.
That must be the correct password for the safe in the dream!
Otherwise, why would it be such a coincidence that they were all eight-digit numbers?
...
Gao Yang leaned over quietly, waving his hand in front of Lin Xian's eyes, "Hey, wake up! Are you lost in thought or just frozen?"
"It's nothing."
Lin Xian snapped out of it, lifted his glass again, and took a sip. "It's nothing, let's sit down and continue eating."
After dinner, they decided to go their separate ways.
Gao Yang opened the taxi door and gestured for Lin Xian to get in, "We're not going the same way, so I won't accompany you. You can go on your own."
Lin Xian nodded, bent down, and got into the taxi.
He rolled down the window, waving goodbye to Gao Yang, "Goodbye."
Gao Yang flicked his cigarette butt away and shook Lin Xian's hand, "Give me a sign when you're done with your dream! Once I'm sure your dream is just a dream... I'll stop worrying about you."
"Yeah, goodbye."
...
He returned home just after eight o'clock, with plenty of time to verify what Dr. Liu said in his dream.
Lin Xian took a shower, clearing his slightly foggy mind. He recalled everything that had happened since he encountered CC, up until today.
He must have heard the voice of "&" somewhere before, and he might have seen CC's face somewhere too. Although his brain had forgotten, according to Gao Yang's theory... his subconscious remembered, which was why he dreamed about them.
While showering, he had already planned how to remove CC's mask:
Find a way to distract Big Faced Cat. He couldn't let this unreliable teammate ruin his plan. Dealing with CC alone was enough; having more people around might backfire.
CC was highly alert, and Lin Xian had no bargaining chips with her until they reached the bank vault. Therefore, he couldn't reveal his identity before entering the vault.
Combining the above two points, there was only one way to achieve his goal: wear Big Faced Cat's mask and disguise himself as Big Faced Cat! Then, as Big Faced Cat, take CC to rob the bank.
Both Big Faced Cat and CC only recognized masks, not faces. As long as he dealt with Big Faced Cat's henchmen quickly enough, they wouldn't suspect anything.
Once inside the bank vault, he would confront CC and use the safe password as leverage to make her remove her mask.
...
This plan seemed flawless in terms of procedure, with no apparent issues.
Thinking about how he had previously pretended to be CC wearing an Ultraman mask, and now he was going to wear a Big Faced Cat mask to pretend to be Big Faced Cat... Lin Xian found it quite amusing. Unknowingly, he had become adept at playing roles, like a mix of James Bond and Jason Bourne.
"Life is unpredictable, full of surprises."
Actually...
The key to the success of this plan lay in the fact that Big Faced Cat and CC were not familiar with each other, and they didn't even know each other's names. They were just temporary partners, using each other, even thinking of double-crossing each other.
And it was precisely this lack of mutual knowledge about each other's identities that allowed Lin Xian to disguise himself with just a mask and deceive both of them.
As long as Big Faced Cat didn't interfere, convincing CC would be easy. Besides, there was still the ultimate leverage of the safe password.
Stretching lazily, Lin Xian lay down on the bed:
"Tonight..."
"Let's put an end to all the stories." Lin Xian closed his eyes and gradually drifted into sleep.
...
...
Phew!
A dry summer breeze hit him.
Just a moment ago, he had shivered from the cold after his shower, and now he was basking in the hot sun. Lin Xian truly experienced the stark contrast between ice and fire.
He glanced at the electronic billboard nearby.
[21:11]
At this time, both Big Faced Cat and CC shouldn't have arrived at the square yet. Based on his experience, Lin Xian guessed that their rendezvous time was around 10 o'clock at night.
"It's time to act."
Looking around, Lin Xian found a convenience police kiosk with two patrolling officers outside.
Usually, these kiosks contained police equipment like batons, stun batons, riot shields, and so on...
Though Lin Xian didn't know the formal names of these tools, he was very familiar with their use. He had been educated by dreams over the years.
"I'll rely on these police officers to get Big Faced Cat offline later."
Lin Xian strolled on the east side of the square, watching for the direction from which Big Faced Cat's van would come.
In the past few instances, Big Faced Cat's van had always approached from that direction, and today would likely be no exception.
As expected.
Thirty minutes later, Big Faced Cat drove the shaky van and parked it in the usual spot.
Then, after another two minutes, the unmistakable fat figure jumped out of the car, a Lein Cat mask squeezing his face, looking around.
Lin Xian noticed...
The van hadn't turned off its engine, and even the driver's door was only half-closed. This was probably the wisdom of a professional criminal, ready to jump into the car and flee at any time.
After confirming the target's appearance, Lin Xian ran straight into the police kiosk:
"Officer, something big happened!"
Lin Xian looked flustered, "Just now, that fat guy over there stole my Lein Cat mask!"
The police officer chuckled, "Doesn't seem like a big deal. I'll go help you get it back."
"But he has a gun." "Damn!"
The police officer jumped up, grabbed the walkie-talkie, and issued some commands. The two patrolling officers immediately looked towards the direction of Big Faced Cat... and slowly approached —
"Don't move!!" "Hands behind your back!! Behave!!"
In just a second, Big Faced Cat was pressed down! Throat lock, hands behind his back, directly subdued!
The comrade in the kiosk ran with Lin Xian, arriving next to Big Faced Cat, reaching for his waist —
"There's really a gun!"
His face turned pale as he continued to search.
"D*mn! There's even a C4 bomb! Restrain him! I'll contact for backup!"
He commanded into the walkie-talkie.
Discovering firearms in such a densely populated square was no small matter! Who knew if there were any accomplices nearby? Not to mention the terrifying C4 explosive.
"Um..."
Lin Xian approached quietly:
"Can I have my mask back?"
The police officer directly ripped off Big Faced Cat's mask and tossed it to Lin Xian.
Big Faced Cat was about to scream, but a black hood was immediately placed over his head, silencing him.
Lin Xian walked away slowly with the mask in his hand...
He looked at the cute Lein Cat mask and smiled faintly:
"Key prop, Lein Cat mask, acquired."
He pulled the elastic band and put the mask on his face.
The mask was quite small.
Just enough to cover Lin Xian's face:
"Now... I am Big Faced Cat!"