14: Chapter 14 Special Mission

Whatever, I'll head to the third floor first!

After arriving at the third floor alone, Shen Yan began to wander the hallway.

Everyone here was either a patient or a patient's family member.

He really couldn't figure out who the thief was.

Just as he was considering whether to speak with a nurse first, he suddenly spotted a young man wearing a black windbreaker.

The reason he noticed him was that the young man was wearing a hat and a mask while carrying something, looking incredibly suspicious.

Having found his target, he immediately stepped forward to intercept him.

"Hello?"

The other party raised a hand to pull his hat lower and asked in a muffled voice, "What is it?"

Seeing him act like this, Shen Yan became even more certain that he was the thief the system mentioned.

If he wasn't a thief, why was he being so secretive?

"Which patient's family are you with? What are you doing here?"

The young man in the black windbreaker grew impatient. He pushed Shen Yan aside and barked roughly, "None of your business! Get out of the way!"

Shen Yan didn't budge an inch, blocking his path to prevent him from leaving.

"No, explain yourself first. Are you a family member of a patient here?"

Seeing that he couldn't push him aside, the man perfunctorily replied, "Yes, yes, yes! Can you move now?"

Shen Yan still didn't move, standing before him like a wall.

"Then are you unable to find the ward? Do you need me to call a nurse over to help you look?"

The man snapped, slamming his hat onto the ground.

"I'm saying, aren't you annoying! Does it matter to you who I am? Move!"

Seeing the man's fly into a rage out of humiliation, Shen Yan thought for a moment and snatched the bag from his hands.

Opening it, he saw it was filled with red banknotes.

With both witness and physical evidence present, Shen Yan didn't delay any further and dragged the man directly to the nurse's station.

"Nurse, call the police."

The nurse looked bewildered. "Call the police for what?"

Shen Yan pointed at the man in the black windbreaker and said, "He's not a family member of a patient here; he's here to steal things."

Hearing this, the nurse immediately turned serious and picked up the phone to dial.

"Hello, security office on the first floor? There's a thief, please come up."

The man grew anxious and tried to shake off Shen Yan's hand to run, but Shen Yan's hand was like a pair of pincers; no matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free.

The people around them saw there was a scene to watch and immediately gathered around.

"What's the situation? What happened?"

"This person seems to be a thief..."

"What? A thief! Then hurry up and call the police to arrest him!"

Seeing more and more people gathering, the man finally gave up resisting.

The nurse gestured for Shen Yan to take off the man's mask.

Shen Yan did as told, reaching out and ripping the mask off the man's face.

Just then, the security guards arrived.

They squeezed into the circle, holding batons and asking, "Where is the thief?!"

Just as Shen Yan was about to say it was the person he was holding, the nurse asked with a face full of astonishment, "Little Tao?"

Shen Yan frowned.

Little Tao? Not a thief?

This nurse's accent was far too thick.

Just as he was about to speak, the nurse pried his hand away and said, "It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! He's not a thief! He's the patient, Little Tao!"

Huh? A patient?

The man also spoke up.

"He's really got problems! I didn't do anything, and he suddenly ran over saying I'm a thief!"

Shen Yan pointed at the bag with a face full of confusion. "Then why were you being so sneaky, carrying a big bag of cash?"

Little Tao lowered his head and didn't speak.

Seeing this, the nurse hurriedly pulled Shen Yan to the side.

"Sir, thank you for your good intentions, but you really misunderstood. We all know this patient. He's leaving with the money... probably because he doesn't want to continue treatment."

With that short sentence, Shen Yan understood.

Those staying here were all cancer patients.

Cancer was a disease that medical science had yet to fully conquer.

To put it bluntly, this illness didn't just torture people; it was also a massive money pit.

The young man with the bag likely didn't want to keep burning through money, which was why he was leaving with it.

After understanding, Shen Yan immediately said to the nurse, "Sorry, I misunderstood him. I'll go apologize to him now."

With that, he turned around, intending to apologize to the young man.

He had only taken a few steps when a voice rang out from not far away.

"Thief! There's a thief, come quickly and catch the thief!"

Without time to think, he kicked off and charged toward the direction of the voice.

Bang!

A sudden burst of speed.

The thief was knocked flat onto the ground by him.

The security guards arrived one after another and subdued the thief together.

The woman whose things were stolen also arrived at the scene.

"Oh my god! Thank you so much! If it weren't for you, my things would have been stolen!"

[Ding! Special mission completed. Successfully obtained one advanced wealth intelligence. Would you like to open it now?]

Two voices overlapped. Shen Yan climbed up from the ground and shook his head, saying, "It's nothing, as long as your things weren't stolen."

The woman kept thanking him, went back to the ward to get a thousand in cash, and stuffed it into his palm.

"Thank you so much. If not for you, my family's heirloom jade pendant would really have been stolen. This is a token of my gratitude."

Shen Yan repeatedly declined.

"No need, really no need. It was just a small favor."

The woman insisted, saying she wouldn't leave if he didn't accept it.

Since she put it that way, Shen Yan naturally wouldn't refuse her kindness.

Today's income increased by one thousand!

After the mix-up ended, he ran over to Tao Tiantian to apologize.

"Sorry about that, I mistook you for a thief."

He thought the other party would be unhappy, but to his surprise, the man only asked him excitedly.

"How did you do it?"

An ominous premonition rose in Shen Yan's heart.

"How did I do what?"

Little Tao scoffed and replied, "Don't try to play dumb. Tell me, how did you know there was a thief on the third floor?"

Facing the questioning gaze, Shen Yan said without changing his expression, "I didn't. I just saw you acting suspiciously and thought you were the thief."

Little Tao didn't believe him at all. Immersed in his own world, he said, "You don't have to lie to me. Do you have some kind of superpower? That's why you knew in advance there was a thief on the third floor and came over to catch him?"

Shen Yan realized that the young man before him likely had a case of 'chuunibyou.'

Even though the other party had stumbled upon the truth by accident, he certainly wasn't going to admit it.

"Little brother, your imagination is way too rich. I really just saw you acting suspiciously and thought you were a thief."

Just as Little Tao was about to say something more, his family members arrived.

"Tao Tiantian!"

Hearing the voice, Little Tao shuddered all over, grabbed Shen Yan, and ran forward.

Shen Yan was baffled. While being dragged along, he asked, "What are you running for? Who are they?"

Little Tao didn't have time to explain. He pulled Shen Yan straight into a restroom, slammed the door shut, and then shouted to his family who had caught up behind them.

"Give it up! I won't agree to the surgery!"