32: Chapter 32 Magic Show: Disappearance in Full View of the Public

"Let us welcome... the protagonist of tonight, the heart of the ocean!"

As the host's impassioned voice faded, the brilliant crystal chandelier in the banquet hall suddenly seemed to die out with a sizzle, plunging everything into darkness.

"Ah—!"

A short burst of exclamations erupted from the crowd.

Before the chaos could spread, a beam of pale white spotlight descended from the sky without warning, landing squarely in front of the display case.

A person was standing in that spot.

Qin Feng.

He had already taken off his gold-rimmed glasses and tucked them casually into his suit pocket. With one hand in his pocket, he used the other to gently smooth his unwrinkled cuffs. Bathed in the column of light, he looked like a Broadway lead about to begin a final curtain call performance.

The host froze on the spot, nearly dropping the microphone.

What... what act was this?

The schedule didn't mention any magic performance!

But seeing Qin Feng's composed appearance and his expensive haute couture suit, the host subconsciously assumed this was a mysterious surprise arranged by the organizers.

"It seems our mysterious guest can't wait any longer," the host chuckled dryly, trying to smooth things over.

Qin Feng ignored him.

He looked up slightly at the figure hidden in the darkness on the second floor, a meaningful smile appearing on his face.

That was Xie Qingshang's position.

"Everyone."

Qin Feng's voice spread through the hall via the miniature microphone on his collar—low, magnetic, and carrying a magic that compelled belief.

"On this boring night, I would like to invite everyone to watch a..."

"Slightly interesting magic trick."

Second-floor observation deck.

Xie Qingshang suddenly gripped the railing, veins bulging on the back of his hand like winding little snakes.

"What is he doing?" The iron balls in Zhao Shanhe's hand stopped spinning as he stared wide-eyed at the scene below. "Is this kid crazy? Performing magic in front of hundreds of police officers?"

"Something's not right..." Xie Qingshang quickly unwrapped a piece of dark chocolate and stuffed it into his mouth, almost swallowing the foil. "Notify the SWAT Team. If he dares touch that case, shoot him immediately!"

Downstairs.

Qin Feng slowly raised his right hand.

His slender fingers looked exceptionally pale and powerful under the spotlight.

"System, full power on the Magic Hands."

He muttered in his mind.

[Ding! Grandmaster Magic Hands activated.]

[Current hand speed bonus: 500%.]

[Supporting skill: Visual Deception Lv. Max.]

Qin Feng took a deep breath, maintaining his calm and indifferent expression, but his heart was roaring: Alice! You're too slow! If the power doesn't go out soon, I'm going to be stuck in an awkward spot!

As if hearing his inner voice.

"Snap."

Qin Feng snapped his fingers crisply.

This sound seemed to trigger a switch.

The next second, the lights in the entire banquet hall began to flicker wildly!

Flickering between light and dark at an extremely high frequency like strobe lights in a nightclub, it created a strong sense of dizziness and visual persistence.

"Ah! My eyes!"

"What's going on? Who's messing around?"

"Security! Security!"

The crowd instantly fell into chaos.

And in the midst of this dazzling strobe effect, Qin Feng moved.

No.

On everyone's retinas, he didn't move at all.

Because the strobe frequency was perfectly timed at the limit of human persistence of vision.

But in the slow-motion world that only Qin Feng could perceive, his right hand was so fast it was merely a blur.

First second: His left palm gripped the high-quality counterfeit he had prepared long ago.

Second second: The special electromagnetic interference ring disabled the infrared alarm.

Third second: An extremely thin steel wire probed into the keyhole; the soft click was drowned out by the screams of the crowd.

Fourth second: The glass cover opened a crack.

Fifth second: The real and the fake were swapped.

That priceless "heart of the ocean," as if by a magic trick, instantly vanished from his palm and slid into a hidden pocket in his sleeve.

While that high-quality glass bead, bought for 99 yuan with free shipping on Taobao, landed steadily on the black velvet.

Sixth second: Locking, resetting, and withdrawing his hand.

All movements were as smooth as flowing water, so fast that even the SWAT officer next to the display case only felt a blur before his eyes.

"Snap."

Another snap of the fingers.

The lights suddenly returned to normal.

The banquet hall became brightly lit again, as if the minute of chaos just now had been nothing but an illusion.

Qin Feng was still standing in the same spot, his posture not having changed an inch.

He elegantly withdrew his right hand, placed it over his chest, and gave the crowd a deep bow.

"Thank you for watching."

The entire venue was dead silent.

Everyone was bewildered.

That's... it?

We just watched a light show?

In the display case, the blue diamond still lay there quietly, reflecting a brilliant light under the lamps, seemingly mocking the crowd's overreaction.

"Tch... what was that? Just scaring people."

"What a crappy magic trick, a waste of time."

"Let's go, let's go, let's look at the exhibits."

The guests breathed a sigh of relief, their tense nerves instantly relaxing.

Even the four SWAT officers by the display case wiped away cold sweat, glancing at each other to confirm the item was still there before raising their guns again.

Only Xie Qingshang on the second floor.

His pupils had shrunk to the size of pinpricks, and his whole body was like a fully drawn bow, terrifyingly rigid.

No.

Something was very wrong.

For a madman like Qin Feng, who treated crime as art, to go through so much trouble for a light show—could it really just be to play a joke on everyone?

It was like a peerless swordsman drawing his blade just to peel an apple.

Absolutely impossible!

"That's a fake!"

Xie Qingshang suddenly roared, his voice cracking from the strain, sounding somewhat shrill.

This shout startled Zhao Shanhe so much that the iron balls dropped directly onto his foot.

"Ow—!" Zhao Shanhe hopped on the spot, clutching his foot. "Old Xie, what are you screaming for! The thing is right there!"

"It's a fake! A fake!"

Xie Qingshang ignored Zhao Shanhe's cry of pain. Like a crazed leopard, he vaulted over the railing and jumped directly down from the three-meter-high second floor!

"Thud!"

Landing, rolling, and standing up.

His movements were too agile for a consultant who relied on his brain.

He shoved the host aside, rushed to the display case in a few strides, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at the diamond inside.

"Open the case! Fast!"

The SWAT Captain in charge was stunned: "Consultant, this... isn't this against the rules? And the glass is..."

"I said open it!!!"

Xie Qingshang roared, spraying saliva all over the SWAT officer's face. His distorted expression left no doubt that he might pull a gun and kill someone the next second.

The SWAT Captain trembled and quickly took out the key.

"Click."

The bulletproof glass cover slowly rose.

Xie Qingshang's hand trembled as he reached for the three-hundred-million-dollar diamond.

The eyes of everyone in the room were focused on his hand.

Even the sound of breathing was clearly audible.

Xie Qingshang picked up the diamond.

It was very light.

So light it felt... cheap.

He suddenly flipped the diamond over.

There, where the GIA anti-counterfeiting laser code should have been engraved, was a line of tiny micro-engraved characters.

The kind that could be seen even without a magnifying glass.

[Made in Yiwu]

Even below that, a tiny clown smiley face was drawn.

The face was sticking out its tongue, as if making a face at Xie Qingshang: Blehh, stay mad.

"Boom—"

Xie Qingshang felt something explode in his head.

It felt as if he had been slapped a hundred times in public; his cheeks burned with pain.

"Lockdown!!!"

Xie Qingshang slammed the fake diamond onto the floor. The glass bead shattered, pieces rolling everywhere.

He turned around and roared hysterically into his earpiece:

"Lock down the whole venue! No one is allowed to leave! Don't let even a fly out!!"

"Where is Qin Feng?! Where is that bastard?!"

Only then did everyone snap out of it.

It was actually stolen?

Right under everyone's noses?

The entire banquet hall instantly turned into a mess.

The SWAT officers quickly cocked their rifles and sealed all exits.

"Report! Suspect not found!"

"Report! No one in the restrooms!"

"Report! No one at the back door either!"

Just then, a small security squad leader stammered a report: "Re... Report, after that magic trick finished, that man... that man left the stage..."

"And then?!" Xie Qingshang rushed over and grabbed his collar.

"Af... After he left the stage, he seemed to... seemed to bump into Director Zhao... then he disappeared into the crowd..."

Zhao Shanhe?

Xie Qingshang whipped his head around.

On the periphery of the crowd.

Zhao Shanhe was being helped along, limping; the hit from the iron ball earlier really hurt.

"What are you looking at me for?" Zhao Shanhe was bewildered, still holding that troublesome iron ball. "Old Xie, you look like you want to eat someone."

Xie Qingshang didn't speak.

He stared fixedly at Zhao Shanhe's baggy police jacket.

The right pocket was sagging unnaturally.

That weight...

It definitely wasn't caused by a phone or a wallet.

"Director Zhao."

Xie Qingshang's voice suddenly became very soft, so soft it was unsettling.

"Could you please... check your right pocket?"

Zhao Shanhe was stunned: "Huh? Pocket? I just have a pack of cigarettes..."

He subconsciously reached in to check.

Then.

His expression froze.

That old face full of rough features instantly turned from red to white, then from white to green, and finally to a liver-colored hue.

Not just because of the cold, hard, intricately cut object his hand had touched.

But also because of the sticky note that came out with the object.

It was still pink.

It was still that maddeningly elegant running script.

[Director Zhao, this thing is too heavy, let me borrow your pocket to store it.]

[After all, the most dangerous place is the safest place.]

[By the way, don't lose it; it's worth three hundred million dollars, I can't afford to pay for it.]

[— Your dear citizen, Mr. Qin]

Zhao Shanhe held the real "heart of the ocean" in his hand, completely dazed.

"Fuck!!!"

A roar of grief and indignation shook the banquet hall's windows.

"Qin Feng! I'm not done with you!!!"

Meanwhile.

At a barbecue stall two streets away from the Convention Center.

Qin Feng was sitting on a small stool, holding a skewer of grilled kidneys, eating with oil all over his mouth.

"Boss, another bottle of iced beer!"

He ate while watching the live broadcast on his phone.

On the screen, Zhao Shanhe was holding the necklace, his expression looking worse than if he were crying.

"Sigh, what a good man."

Qin Feng sighed and shook his head, reaching over to snatch a grilled wing from Su Tang's plate.

"To protect the evidence, he didn't hesitate to use his own body as cover."

"This level of dedication... even I'm moved."

Su Tang rolled her eyes, but her gaze was full of admiration: "Brother, that move was incredible! I thought you were going to run away with the necklace. I didn't expect you to give it directly to the police chief?"

"It's called a strategic transfer."

Qin Feng took a sip of beer and let out a satisfied burp.

"Anyway, the mission is complete. Where the item is doesn't matter. What matters is..."

He pointed at the screen where Xie Qingshang looked like he was about to vomit blood.

"The audience is very satisfied with this show."

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing a God-level Magic Show!]

[Current Shock Value: Surged to 800 million!]

[Detected host's extremely malicious behavior (complimentary), rewarded with special title: Police Station's Nemesis.]

[Next script generated...]

Qin Feng looked at the night sky.

A slight smile played on his lips.

This time, he was on a whole different level.