"You mean... you have the same dream every day? And every time, you wake up precisely at 12:42 AM?"
The man wearing the animated cat mask looked at Leon String.
"Man, you’re living the dream! In there, you can kill whoever you want, do whatever you like, and experience all sorts of crazy games! Just thinking about it is thrilling!"
Click.
The man slid the magazine into his pistol and chambered a round.
"But tonight, you don’t need to find thrills in your dreams. I’ve got something real for you!"
He pointed across the street at the bank.
"My henchman has already cracked open the bank’s door. Follow me!"
Leon String nodded, adjusted the Ultraman mask on his face, and stood up to follow the man.
"What's your name, boss?"
"Everyone calls me Chubby Cat."
The man grinned, his face muscles pushing the animated cat mask into a more exaggerated shape.
"Just call me Cat Face."
"Cat Face, what's my task?"
"It's not time for you, the codebreaker, to act yet. Just follow me and don’t wander off."
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
After a quick jog, Leon String and Chubby Cat arrived at the bank’s entrance.
"Is everything ready?" Chubby Cat asked.
The henchman nodded.
Chubby Cat pressed the muzzle of his gun against the henchman’s forehead—
Bang!!
Blood splattered across the wall!
He casually wiped the gun’s muzzle and patted Leon String on the shoulder.
"Now, with one less person to share the money with, we can get a bigger cut!"
"Wasn’t he your henchman?"
"That guy was sticky-fingered. For our safety, he had to go!"
As Chubby Cat spoke, he led Leon String inside.
They arrived at a junction in the hallway.
A masked man was fiddling with the electrical box.
"Is it done yet?"
Chubby Cat urged.
Click.
The masked man cut a wire and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"It’s done. The alarm system is disabled!"
Bang!!
Another shot to the back of the head! Blood splattered inside the electrical box!
"Boss, you’re making me feel unsafe!"
Leon String pointed at the corpse on the ground.
"This henchman was sticky-fingered too?"
Chubby Cat snorted.
"This one wasn’t, but he flirted with my lady boss! Should I have let him live?"
"Being the boss must be tough for you, huh?"
"Ah, don’t worry about the small details! One less person means more money for us, isn’t that good?"
Leon String brushed off his hand.
"You’re not planning to shoot me and take all the money yourself, are you?"
"No way!"
Chubby Cat patted his chest, then pulled out a gray lump wrapped in duct tape from behind his back and handed it to Leon String.
"What’s this?"
"C4 explosive."
Chubby Cat pointed at the switch and explained to Leon String.
"I’m a straightforward guy! I never do underhanded things! If you feel like I’m going to kill you, just press the switch and blow me up with you! How’s that for peace of mind?"
"Alright, that’s fair!"
Leon String gave a thumbs up and took the C4 explosive.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
The two continued forward.
A masked man ran up from the underground passage.
"Boss, I’ve cut the main power line—"
Bang!!!
Brains splattered everywhere.
"Brother, this guy..."
"It’s fine, Cat Face." Leon String waved his hand, indicating he was already used to it.
"Just tell me how many people are left to share the money?"
"It’s just the two of us now! Heh heh heh... just the two of us!"
Chubby Cat pushed Leon String forward quickly.
"Look, we’re at the vault! Now it’s time for you, the codebreaker, to shine!"
Before them...
Was a thick black wall, with a silver code door in the center.
"What’s the code?"
"Pah! If I knew the code, why would I need you, the codebreaker?"
Chubby Cat pointed at his watch.
"Stop joking around, brother. Hurry up! We don’t have much time left! Once the main power comes back on, the security system will automatically alert the police!"
"I know you’re in a hurry, but don’t rush me just yet."
Leon String approached the code door and began to work.
Chubby Cat paced back and forth, the muscles on his face twisting into a knot.
"How long will it take you?"
"Ten."
"Ten minutes?!" Chubby Cat exclaimed, "That’s too long!!"
"Nine... eight... seven..."
???
Chubby Cat stared in shock as Leon String bolted away!
Then he turned and saw the C4 explosive stuck to the code door!
And the red numbers on the detonator, rapidly counting down!!
"Shift!"
He lunged at the wall—
Boom!!!!!!
Boom!!!!!!
Boom!!!!!!
The deafening explosion pierced his eardrums!
Countless bricks and metal pieces rained down on him!
"Cough cough cough... cough cough cough!!"
Chubby Cat wiped the blood from his face and shouted.
"What the hell... aren’t you a codebreaker? Is this how you crack codes!?"
"Efficient, isn’t it?"
Leon String walked over, covering his ears, and pointed at the collapsed wall ahead.
"Look, the vault’s right inside."
Chubby Cat cursed under his breath as he struggled to his feet.
"No so-called expert is ever reliable..."
...
Leon String stepped through the hole in the wall.
It was his first time inside a bank vault, but it was nothing like what he had imagined...
"Not a single cent?"
The vault was empty.
There were no stacks of cash, no piles of gold bars like in the movies.
Along the walls of the vault, one after another, lockboxes were neatly arranged.
Leon String moved closer to inspect.
Each lockbox had a different name on it.
Wang Shuo.
Liu Liping.
Wei Shengjin.
Leon String.
Wang—
???
Leon String stepped back and stared at the name on one of the lockboxes.
【Leon String】
It was his name, no doubt about it.
Why would his name be on this lockbox?
Click.
Behind him, a hot gun muzzle pressed against the back of his head.
"Cat Face, take it easy."
Leon String quickly raised his hands in surrender.
"Cat Face, you’ve got to be reasonable. I’m clean, I didn’t flirt with your lady boss. You can’t pin your house cleaning on me!"
"Okay, Cat Face, I admit, I did trick you. I’m not actually a codebreaker... I was just wandering around the square when I randomly picked up an Ultraman mask, and then you popped out, grabbed me, and took me with you without a word!"
"But I didn’t know this Ultraman mask was your code word! Honestly, I was just messing around, not trying to harm you."
"And besides... if you had brought the real codebreaker today, who knows if they could’ve cracked the code by dawn! You were lucky to run into me!"
Hee hee—
A light, bell-like laugh came from behind.
"I’m not that stupid! If the code door couldn’t be cracked by dawn... what kind of codebreaker would I be?"
Then, the hot gun muzzle lifted from Leon String’s head.
Leon String turned around.
Behind him stood a slender woman, her hair up, wearing the exact same Ultraman mask as him.
"Where’s Cat Face?"
The woman pointed her chin down.
Chubby Cat lay in a pool of blood, still wearing his cat mask, holding a gun, with a large hole in the back of his head.
"You killed him?"
"If I hadn’t, you’d be the one dead."
The woman kicked the body aside.
"He planned to kill everyone and take all the money for himself. He wasn’t a good person."
"Your crew is really hard to handle..."
"Don’t lump me in with them. I’m not one of them."
The woman pushed Leon String aside and walked towards the lockboxes on the wall.
"I met him for the first time today. I don’t know him, I only know the animated cat mask."
"Couldn’t your code word be a little less retro?"
The woman ignored Leon String.
She walked past him, her eyes scanning the lockboxes on the wall.
Finally, she stopped in front of the one labeled 【Leon String】.
She looked at the eight dials on the lock, scoffed, and threw away the small computer in her hand.
"It’s a mechanical lock..."
The woman pressed her ear to the lockbox and began turning the dials.
"What’s inside this 【Leon String】 lockbox?" Leon String leaned in from behind.
"No idea."
"Do you know Leon String?"
"Don’t know him."
"Then why are you opening his lockbox?"
"Why do you ask so many questions?"
Through the Ultraman mask, the woman glared at Leon String.
"Go cool off somewhere else!"
She continued fiddling with the lock.
Leon String stared at the eight dials on the lockbox, deep in thought...
"Try 19990320."
"What?"
The woman looked at Leon String, annoyed.
"I said, try 19990320 for the code."
"What’s that number?"
"My birthday." Leon String replied with certainty.
"..."
"..."
"Are you out of your mind?!" The woman asked sincerely.
"Listen."
Leon String took a deep breath.
His serious gaze pierced through the Ultraman mask, locking onto the other Ultraman.
"The alarm could go off at any moment. No
