The man in the alley was the one Xiao Liu said would be doing the checks.
Everyone turned off their phones and placed them into a sealed bag to prevent any accidents.
When the man saw the newcomer Su Mo, his expression turned wary.
But after Su Mo casually demonstrated his pickpocketing technique,
he ended up with yet another fanboy.
As for his identity as a police officer—no one suspected a thing.
After a thorough inspection, Xiao Liu led Su Mo through a twisting maze of back alleys.
By the time Su Mo was completely disoriented, they finally pushed open the door to a dilapidated building and walked in.
"Without someone guiding you, no way anyone could find this place,"
Su Mo muttered, shaking his head. These thieves were definitely crafty.
And this building? Not so simple either.
It looked unremarkable from the outside, but the inside was a different story altogether.
Like a traditional courtyard house, the space opened up to reveal a large courtyard already filled with people.
A quick glance—there had to be at least twenty to thirty present, and more were still arriving.
"We're not waiting. The whole Nancheng precinct is mobilized, and quite a few of our guys have already been caught."
"This place is safe for now, but don't get careless. Let's begin."
At the front of the crowd, a man in his forties with a kind, honest face stepped forward.
"Brother Su Mo, that man's Wang Ping. He's been in this line of work for over twenty years,"
Xiao Liu whispered quietly,
"His hands are so fast they call him 'Shadowless Hands.' He's the most likely candidate to become the next Thief King."
"The Thief King Selection is simple: Whoever got the best skills gets the title."
"Whoever steals the most and the most valuable stuff in one night becomes the Thief King!"
"Of course, most importantly, your skills have to earn everyone's respect."
Xiao Liu gave Su Mo a full breakdown of the rules inside the thieves' den.
Naturally, he had his own agenda—
After all, Su Mo was his referral. If Su Mo really became the next Thief King,
his own future would be a lot smoother.
"So it's about who steals more and steals better, huh…"
Su Mo looked around, eyes glinting,
"Wait here for a bit."
With that, he leisurely strolled into the crowd.
At the front, Wang Ping was pulling item after item out of his bag.
"In one night, I hit 47 people.
Collected 25,000 yuan in cash, 31 phones, and 14 pieces of gold jewelry."
"Adding in the miscellaneous stuff, total value's around 200,000 yuan."
Finished, Wang Ping looked at the crowd and smiled:
"Anyone got more than that? Step up now."
As soon as he finished speaking, a wave of gasps rippled through the crowd.
47 successful thefts in one night, with a total value over 200,000!
That was far beyond what most could manage.
Sure, a night seems long, but it's not like you can just steal from everyone you pass.
Most small-time thieves had to observe people for a while and wait for those with weak awareness.
Someone like Wang Ping, who could hit that many targets in a single night, definitely had top-tier skills.
Otherwise, there's no way he'd have succeeded so many times and still walked away clean.
Still, while the results were impressive, most people weren't all that surprised.
After all, Wang Ping's reputation was well-known.
This Thief King Selection was basically a formality—
It was tradition, and everyone also wanted a chance to see his skills for themselves.
Now that they'd seen them, they had no objections.
"Wang Ping, we all know what you're capable of.
From now on, Nancheng is yours to lead."
"Yeah, just don't keep all the good stuff to yourself once you become Thief King!"
"For real, I've been dying to learn those 'Shadowless Hands' moves of yours."
Everyone showered Wang Ping with praise, eyes filled with expectation.
Why hold a Thief King Selection in the first place?
Because there was one major requirement for becoming Thief King—
You had to teach your signature stealing techniques to others.
Only then would people follow you.
After all, who didn't want to get better at their craft?
The title didn't matter. Learning real skills did.
Wang Ping smiled, feeling relieved.
Teaching others a few tricks was part of the job, and he'd already prepared for it.
After all, the more his people stole, the more money he made.
As Thief King, he wouldn't need to go out anymore.
He'd just handle fencing and collect his cut while lying back at home.
That's exactly why everyone wanted to become Thief King.
"Thanks for your support, brothers. From today on, the Thief King of Nancheng—"
Wang Ping stepped forward with a grin, ready to make his declaration—
But then a voice rang out at just the wrong moment.
"Hold on!"
"I'd like to take a shot at being Thief King too!"
With a smile, Su Mo stepped forward to face the crowd.
The moment the crowd saw this, they all frowned.
Especially after realizing how young Su Mo was—
their irritation boiled over.
"Whose apprentice is this? Get him outta here—stop embarrassing yourself!"
"Seriously, this kid wants to be Thief King?"
"Go sit down! You're wasting our time—Wang Ping is about to start teaching!"
Scolding voices erupted across the courtyard.
Su Mo was just too young—and in this world of thieves, young meant unreliable.
"Tch, being Thief King is about skill. Since when did age matter?"
Su Mo turned to Wang Ping, raising an eyebrow provocatively:
"Wang Ping, don't tell me you're scared?"
Wang Ping's face twisted into a frown—clearly displeased.
But he hadn't been officially crowned yet.
Rules were rules, so he could only grit his teeth and reply:
"The Thief King Selection is all about fairness."
"If you think you've got what it takes to beat me, then go ahead and try!"
Inwardly, Wang Ping cursed.
Once he was crowned Thief King, this punk was dead meat.
"You better watch closely,"
Su Mo said with a grin, then started pulling things out.
Not much—just over a dozen items.
But each one was wrapped in a white pouch, and they seemed fairly substantial.
However, as the items came out, several people in the crowd started to look confused.
Those items…
Why did they look so familiar?
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。