The shop owner, hearing what she said, took the initiative to comfort her, "Don't worry, the person who just chased out is a security assistant from our Times Square. The young guy is quite clever, he should be able to help you get your phone back."
Li Xiang had eaten at this place many times, and everyone was familiar with him, so when he ran out, he didn't even ask him for money. More importantly, he was going to catch a thief.
"What should I do now?"
Lin Feifei felt a bit helpless. Without a phone, she couldn't contact her assistant: if she had known this would happen, she would have memorized her assistant's phone number.
"You should go wait at the Hongqiao Police Station. If Li Xiang catches the man, he can return the phone to you directly. If he doesn't, you can just report to the police. As for this meal, I'll put it on Li Xiang's tab. When your phone is found, you can transfer the money to him directly."
The shop owner offered a compromise solution, and Lin Feifei immediately went along with it. As long as they didn't ask her for money right now, it was fine; otherwise, it would be embarrassing for a big star like her to encounter such a situation.
Luckily, she had dressed down when going out, so there were no paparazzi following her. Otherwise, she would definitely be on tomorrow's trending headlines.
Hmm, maybe it's not such a bad thing, she could promote her concert.
No, no, if the phone isn't found, there would be a performance mishap, and investors wouldn't care about the reason.
Lin Feifei quickly dismissed this terrifying thought, hoping the policeman could catch the thief for her. Please, please, you must catch the thief.
Did the shop owner say his name was Li Xiang?
-----------------
At this moment, Li Xiang was chasing the thief out of the mall. The thief wasn't tall but was agile and familiar with the terrain. Up until now, the distance between them had not only not shrunk but nearly lost sight of the thief several times.
"Huff~ Come on, hold on a bit longer, this is a mobile reward."
Li Xiang was encouraging himself while thinking of a way. By now, the other must also be exhausted, so it was a test of endurance — whoever couldn't run anymore would lose.
"Oh right, I still have 1 free attribute point not used!"
Not yet familiar with having a cheat, Li Xiang forgot that there was still 1 free attribute point as a level-up reward in his attribute panel.
Isn't this the best time to use it?
Thinking of this, Li Xiang took out his phone, opened the game, and added the 1 free attribute point to agility.
The game's attributes point allocation was instantly effective.
In an instant, a force seemed to emerge beneath his feet, making his speed visibly increase a notch.
His steps became much lighter, and with each stride, it was easier than before.
"Awesome!"
That feeling was as if he became Liu Xiang; even the roadside barriers could be easily jumped over.
"Don't run, you can't escape!"
"Only a fool wouldn't run!"
The thief at this moment was also hanging on by sheer will.
He had never seen such a relentless security assistant. It wasn't even his phone that was stolen; why was he going all out?
Is this worth the pitiful salary you make?
Originally thinking that the distance between the two was increasing and he just needed to hang on a bit longer to shake him off.
But looking back and seeing the other's position, it scared him stiff.
He saw the distance between them was closing continuously, and some obstacles were easily vaulted over by the other.
If he were at full strength, he could have done this too, but now, with a tremendous expenditure of stamina, his legs felt like they were filled with lead. Each step took considerable effort.
Yet seeing the pursuer getting closer, he couldn't help but complain:
"Are you sure you didn't take some energy drink?"
He had reason to suspect that this security assistant had legally appropriated some energy drink from a street vendor while chasing him.
But why didn't he think of that!
He could have grabbed a bottle himself to drink!
Complaints aside, running was a must, otherwise, he'd really spend New Year's behind bars.
With one last breath, his pace quickened a bit.
But this burst of speed compared to Li Xiang's attribute addition was like a drop in the bucket.
The distance between them kept narrowing.
With the final breath exhaled, the thief could no longer hold on, his legs gave out and he fell: "No more running, no more running, I might as well stay a few days inside. After all, people there are talented, and they talk nicely."
If he kept running, he felt it wouldn't just be a simple matter of going inside, but whether he'd survive going inside.
"Quite capable, with hands and feet, stealing things, where's the phone? Give it to me."
"Huff~ Buddy, you don't understand. I'll give you five thousand bucks, let me go, okay?"
Seeing that escape was impossible, he still wanted to struggle a bit. Five thousand was a lot, especially considering the other was just a security assistant, quite easy to bribe.
Indeed, five thousand was a lot, enough to cover two months of Li Xiang's salary.
His take-home pay as a security assistant was only two thousand eight per month, but poverty didn't diminish his resolve: "Are you testing me with that? Save your energy, we'll talk when we get to the police station."
Li Xiang approached him, recorded evidence on his phone, and retrieved the stolen phone from him, then called the station for a car to come pick them up.
-----------------
"Ms. Lin, the police have understood your situation. Li Xiang is indeed one of us, rest assured, if there's any news, we'll contact you at the first opportunity, just leave a number we can reach you at."
At the Hongqiao Police Station, Lin Feifei immediately went to report the incident. Although the phone wasn't worth much, the keys to the song accompaniments inside were invaluable.
"The phone is extremely important to me, I want to wait here to see what happens."
"Alright, have a seat, I'll get you a cup of water."
Officer Hou Min took down Lin Feifei's report details. Upon inquiry, the case value of Lin Feifei's phone exceeded three thousand yuan, meeting the standard for filing a case.
Knowing that Li Xiang from the station had already gone to chase the thief, she patiently reassured Lin Feifei, and got her a cup of warm water.
"Thank you."
Lin Feifei held the cup, staring dazedly out the window, regretting her recklessness today, she shouldn't have snuck out for a bite.
Outside the window, two police officers walking by caught her attention with their conversation.
"Xiao Sun, hurry, Li Xiang caught a thief at New Street, let's go handle it."
"Darn, Li Xiang's luck is too good, even during duty he encounters a thief."
Li Xiang?
Upon hearing the name, Lin Feifei immediately stood up. Did he catch the thief?
Fifteen minutes later, the police car returned.
Li Xiang got out of the back seat first, then escorted the handcuffed thief out, handed him over to others, and then took out his phone to check:
[Ding, task completed, reward: experience +200, diamonds +600]
[You have leveled up to Lv.3, gain 1 point of Free Attribute]
Sweet, the 1000 diamonds are finally complete.
Catching thieves is much more cost-effective than regular duty, needing to stand in the cold for 24 hours, now just catching a thief would do it. Looks like in the upcoming period, it's time to maintain friendly exchanges with more thieves.