Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 123 - 122: The Smart Fool

Chapter 123: Chapter 122: The Smart Fool

Zhang Yong belonged to that category of impressive people who didn’t look it at all.

Yang Yi belonged to the kind that fell a bit short of being impressive, yet seemed quite the part.

Put simply, Yang Yi knew how to put on a facade, whereas Zhang Yong could do so too, it’s just that he had long passed the era where he needed to.

Hank was a very astute person, and his knack for reading the situation had spared him a beating.

Did Yang Yi now need a reason to hit someone? He hit people without any need for one. Hank acting tough in front of him was just asking for a beating.

But just as Yang Yi was about to swing, a moment before, Hank changed his attitude dramatically, thus he avoided a severe beating, only receiving the punishment of squatting.

Standing as a punishment is for children; squatting is for Westerners, as their Achilles tendons lack stretching, and squatting with their heels on the ground causes them pain. However, this movement could be mastered with practice, such as by those who practice yoga, who can squat down with ease.

But Hank was clearly not among them.

Upon hearing Yang Yi’s question, Hank, who had been shaking and struggling to maintain his balance, was about to stand up, but, after Yang Yi just hummed lightly, he immediately squatted down again.

"Yes, I’m very skilled at picking locks. I can open any lock."

His expression was one of agony, yet Hank’s response was quite resolute.

Yang Yi nodded, then continued, "So, tell me, why did you escape from prison and how did you get caught again immediately after the jailbreak?"

Hank gasped painfully, then pleaded with a pained expression, "Can I stand up to speak, please? I beg you, considering I’m still in shackles, I really can’t hold this any longer."

Yang Yi said indifferently, "Keep holding on, you can keep it short."

Hank spoke rapidly, "It’s because I realized it was a conspiracy; they wanted to kill me. Once I became aware of this, I immediately turned myself into the nearest police station. I’d rather go back to jail than be legally taken out!"

Yang Yi frowned, then said in a low voice, "You may stand up now."

Hank immediately straightened up, wiping sweat from his brow, then said to Yang Yi with a wry smile, "Your method of punishment really is... unique."

Yang Yi slowly said, "Now tell me, what exactly did you do to get sent to prison?"

Hank touched his sweat and then, leaning against the wall and standing like a schoolchild, stated solemnly, "Last autumn, I entered a very luxurious house in Los Angeles. I got in without triggering the alarm system and opened the safe. I stole around twenty thousand US dollars in cash, three paintings worth two million four hundred thousand US dollars, about one hundred US dollars’ worth of jewelry, and a watch worth one hundred thousand US dollars. And then, I just happened to take a laptop because I was planning to buy one; seeing it, I thought I could save the money for the computer."

Yang Yi couldn’t help but say, "You stole so much, yet you still wanted to save on a laptop, you really are..."

Hank said with a dejected face, "Exactly, my misfortune came from that laptop, but then, waste isn’t good."

Yang Yi waved his hand, motioning for Hank to continue. Hank shrugged and said, "I sold the stolen goods and got back eight hundred thousand US dollars. Then I remembered the computer and took a look. Inside, I found something good, wow, there was only one male lead, but there were sixteen female leads, all of them very pretty. Then I realized that the male lead was a senator who seemed very serious on the surface. So, I uploaded the videos onto a porn website."

Yang Yi shook his head and said, "You’re something else. Why did you do that?"

"I just couldn’t stand it, I hate rich people."

"Resenting the rich is not a good thing. Go on."

Hank said helplessly, "I thought it was all over, but four months ago, a friend of mine told me he’d found a really good target with lots of art pieces. I have a special preference for art, so I went to steal it. But as soon as I entered, I felt it was too easy, no electronic alarm system. Although those things are not very useful, the absence of it made me feel uneasy. Also, the location of the safe was off. So, I wanted to leave right away, but, I was already surrounded by police. It was a trap."

"Then what? If the trap was meant for revenge, why not just kill you on the spot?"

"By the time the police came in, I had already surrendered and lay on the ground. Plus, the police had their body cams on, so they couldn’t kill me under those circumstances. They wanted an ironclad case, but I wasn’t going to give them that chance."

"Keep talking."

"They found out where I kept the stolen art, raided my house, damn it, I worked so hard to gather that collection, all stuff I liked..."

"You stole."

"The art I stole with my skills just vanished like that, along with my money, fuck! That was a whole five million US dollars..."

Yang Yi shook his head. He felt he couldn’t continue a conversation with a thief whose values were so skewed. No, it was impossible to converse with a big-time crook from a normal person’s perspective.

"Alright, talk about your jailbreak."

"They squeezed out all my money and tried to put me away for life, but I had already hired the best lawyer, anticipating this day. So, I got sentenced to eight years. But a few days ago, I found a chance to escape, so I unlocked the cell door, then the dormitory lock, and finally, the main door lock, and just ran out."

"It was that easy?"

"Of course, it wasn’t easy, but I still made it. I got to downtown Los Angeles, and I was going to go to my secret hideout, but then it occurred to me, what if they wanted me to escape, to have a legitimate reason to shoot me dead?"

"Makes sense."

"So, I went straight to the nearest police station and turned myself in. Before I entered the police station, at least four gunmen appeared. Haha, I saw through their conspiracy once again. I ran into the police station, surrendered, and that’s how I got here. The price was an additional four years to my sentence, but I saved my life, right, buddy?"

Yang Yi nodded and said, "That’s right, you have good instincts, always making the right moves at critical moments, so now I don’t know whether you’re a fool or a smart person. Maybe you’re just a fool with a bit of cleverness?"

Hank shrugged and said, "Everyone has moments when they get carried away, no one can always be right, no one, and of course, that includes me. But I am no fool."

Yang Yi shook his head and said, "No, if you weren’t a fool, you would have at least found out who I really am before coming in here. Oh, I get it now, I think I understand why you came back here."