Chapter 37

People often say, how should one express the extent of someone's bad luck?

Should it be expressed by saying that even when drinking cold water, it gets stuck between your teeth?

Wang Rui felt that his bad luck couldn't be described by such a phrase.

From choking on his toothpaste in the morning to urinating on his own leg while half-asleep in the bathroom, these were trivial matters!

As for stepping in dog poop when he went out, being splashed by water, and getting hit on the head by a Mengniu box that fell from upstairs, were these even considered incidents?

When he passed by the market, he saw an old farmer selling plums. He tasted one and found it quite good. Seeing the old farmer's toothless smile, which made his heart ache, he didn't know what nerve had gone wrong, but he actually took out a hundred yuan and bought three pounds of plums.

Holding the change from the old farmer, when he wanted to buy a cold drink, he realized that the fifty-yuan note given back to him was only half! Yes, only half!

Thinking of the old farmer's heart-wrenching smile, he suddenly understood that this was someone mocking him!

Wang Rui, who had never experienced such a loss, immediately returned to the market and started cursing the old farmer.

The market was already crowded, and as soon as people saw the commotion, they gathered around. Wang Rui cursed the old farmer for a few minutes until the market management came to mediate and the matter was settled.

After getting a new fifty-yuan note, Wang Rui's triumphant expression lasted only two seconds. The next moment, he suddenly realized that over a thousand yuan in his wallet had been taken.

As the saying goes, the one who hunts birds all day is often pecked by them. Wang Rui was so angry that he threw the bag of plums on the ground and stomped on it. Due to the excessive force, he accidentally fell to the ground, face first.

This level of bad luck...

Wang Rui had never heard of it before.

Wang Rui remembered that he had once heard that doing something to boost one's luck during a streak of bad luck could significantly improve one's fortune. So, he decided to try it that night.

Robbery was a high-risk activity, and after doing it two or three times, Wang Rui didn't dare to continue. While wandering around at night, he thought about it and decided it was better to stick to his old profession.

His old profession was breaking into houses. He put on a plain black-framed glasses, picked up a forged population registration form, and set out.

He walked around, observing which places were easier to escape from, then "visited" the houses, rang the doorbell, and if someone answered, he asked them to fill out the form. If no one answered, he recorded the address.

He would then revisit the recorded addresses around six or seven in the evening. If no one was home, he would record it again. If someone was home, he would say he was registering population information.

By doing this, he could generally determine that households that were still empty at six or seven in the evening had a very low chance of returning that night. At this time, Wang Rui would put on a hat, choose the best two or three households, and try his luck around eleven at night.

If someone answered, he would explain that he had come to the wrong door. If no one answered after ringing the doorbell, he would proceed.

Wang Rui chose a first-floor apartment in a small building. When he came at six or seven, no one was home. Now, he lowered his hat brim, went in, and rang the doorbell. After waiting for a while, no one came to open the door, so Wang Rui knew that no one was home!

At eleven at night, the chance of someone being home was less than one in ten.

Wang Rui took out his tools and started fiddling with the keyhole of the security door.

In his view, this type of security door was laughable. With the right tools, he could open it in a minute. If it was an inward-opening door, he could even open it with a bank card.

The crucial minute was the most important. While prying open the security door, he had to observe if anyone was coming. Despite multitasking, Wang Rui maintained his usual speed and successfully opened the lock in less than a minute.

"Click."

Wang Rui took a deep breath and carefully entered the house. Indeed, no one was inside, and it was pitch black and silent.

He took out a small flashlight from his pocket and shone it around without turning on the lights. He quietly closed the door and moved towards the living room.

As a qualified burglar, the first step upon entering was to observe!

What to observe?

Of course, the furniture and items in the house.

Although it was impossible to move heavy furniture during a burglary, observing the furniture could give a general idea of the owner's financial status.

Then, he observed the cleanliness. If it was good, it usually meant a woman lived there, and the hiding places for money would be more hidden. If the cleanliness was poor, it was likely a single man, and the hiding places for money would be less meticulous.

This wasn't a hundred percent accurate, but households with poor cleanliness were often lazy and careless, and the hiding places for valuable items were usually in a few common spots.

"Hmm, bad luck, all old furniture and appliances. Is this an elderly household?"

Wang Rui was initially disappointed but then became happy. Elderly people were more likely to keep money at home, so the potential gains might be greater.

Without delay, Wang Rui got to work.

He put on gloves and started searching under the living room table, but found nothing.

Then he went into the bedroom and checked the bedside table, still finding nothing.

Apart from some clothes, there was nothing else.

Wang Rui was not discouraged. He opened the wardrobe and felt around in various places, confirming there were no hidden compartments. He quickly searched the pockets of the clothes.

His movements were quick, and in less than a minute, he had searched all the clothes. Apart from confirming that the clothes belonged to a young person, he only found a fifty-cent note.

"Damn, this poor guy."

Wang Rui was angry. After feeling the mattress and finding nothing unusual, he knelt down and shone the flashlight under the bed.

"Huh, something seems off there?"

He reached out and immediately a smile appeared on his face. Little one, you actually put a hidden compartment here, but you can't escape from me.

Wang Rui found such small tricks from ordinary households extremely contemptible.

He easily opened the hidden compartment and shone the flashlight inside.

What! Nothing?

Wang Rui couldn't believe it. He blinked, and indeed, there was nothing.

Damn, was he dreaming, or was the dream mocking him?

A small household, going to great lengths to create a hidden compartment under the bed, and there was nothing inside? What kind of joke was this?

Was there another hidden compartment?

It must be. Using human psychology, they created a hidden compartment to make someone open it, and after finding nothing, the person would be discouraged and overlook other things.

Wang Rui chuckled coldly. Want to fool me? No way!

He opened his eyes wide, climbed under the bed, and started feeling around.

"Damn, how long has this family not cleaned under the bed? There are even dead cockroaches in here!"

After complaining about the owners, Wang Rui almost had a heart attack when he discovered that there were no other hidden compartments under the bed as he had guessed!

Damn, was this how people played with burglars these days?

No, was this how poor people lived these days? So poor that they only had fifty cents left...

Wang Rui, full of resentment, crawled out covered in dust, getting angrier the more he thought about it.

At that moment, his ears perked up, and he heard the security door opening.

Oh no, someone was back!

Was he that unlucky today? He had only been inside for less than ten minutes...

If he had found money, it would have been fine, but was fifty cents even considered money?

Wang Rui didn't have time to think. He quickly crawled under the bed, held his breath, and gripped the dagger in his pocket.

If the returning owner discovered him, he might have to use force.

"Tap tap tap..."

The returning owner walked straight into the bedroom and stood still.

Wang Rui was a bit nervous. He couldn't see the situation outside, so he could only wait.

Hopefully, the owner would go to sleep immediately, and he could leave unnoticed.

But reality wasn't that kind...

"Come out."

A low voice echoed in the room, and Wang Rui's heart sank. How did this person discover him?