Faster Than a Heist

"I looked over your file — you're from Bo City, and you go by Fan Mo, correct?" The old man gave Mo Fan an easy smile.

"That's right."

"My granddaughter is sharper than most, but she can come across as a little haughty. Don't take it personally if she rubs you the wrong way."

"I won't stoop to arguing with a little kid," Mo Fan said.

"Good. Now, the commission — the client has already paid a hundred thousand up front, with another two hundred thousand to follow once the job is done. Our firm is different from the rest: we take no overhead on commissions. Complete this assignment and you and Lingling split it evenly — a hundred and fifty thousand hits your account." The old man skipped the pleasantries and went straight to money.

"A hundred and fifty thousand?" Mo Fan's eyes lit up.

One night's work, mostly watching over the family's child. For an Intermediate-Level Mage, it shouldn't be any trouble at all.

One night. One hundred and fifty thousand yuan. *That's faster than robbing someone.*

"The Azure Sky Hunting Firm isn't just well known in Magic City — we have a national reputation. Three hundred thousand is the lowest rung we deal in, and the senior members here won't touch anything under a million. You and Lingling are both young, so start small for now. Once you've grown into it, I'll start routing the bigger contracts your way." The old man's smile remained easy.

"Bigger contracts?" The words sent a shiver of disbelief through Mo Fan.

If three hundred thousand was entry-level, how high did it go from there?

The old man gave only a cryptic smile — no answer, just a look that said: *work hard and you won't be shortchanged.*

"Lingling's gone to pull some files. Sit tight for now. Think of this place as half your home from here on — no need to stand on ceremony. There's a spare room up in the loft if you ever need to stay over... Oh, here I've been going on and I still haven't introduced myself. I'm the president of the Azure Sky Hunting Firm. Surname Bao. Just call me Old Bao."

"Sure. So your surname really is Bao." Mo Fan had to hand it to him. Whether the old man watched too many period dramas or was genuinely connected to the legendary Judge Bao somehow, he had no idea. This world's history lined up closely with the one he'd come from — all the famous figures were present and accounted for. He vaguely recalled that his last history class had been covering the peak of the Qin Shi Huang magical dynasty.

Mo Fan made himself at home. The old shop had everything — good tea, a coffee machine, all self-serve.

He brewed a pot of tea, pulled a book on terrain and Demon-Beasts from the shelf, and settled in to read.

While Mo Fan waited downstairs, Old Bao had already made his way up to the second floor.

The entire floor looked like a library — shelves packed with aged volumes and sealed document pouches, many of them coated in a fine film of dust, clearly years old.

Little Lingling sat curled in an old rattan chair, those bright, pearl-clear eyes scanning intently over the book in her lap.

She read at an astonishing pace — each page seemed to turn in under ten seconds.

"Grandpa, why did you let that person in?" Lingling was still turning pages as Old Bao reached the top of the stairs.

"The boy has real ability. Good potential."

"No matter how much ability he has, he's still just an Intermediate-Level Mage."

"If that's what you think now, I'm confident he'll surprise you." The old man smiled and let the matter rest.

"Grandpa, his file says he's from Bo City." Lingling kept her head down; talking didn't slow her reading in the slightest.

"He is. Leng Qing is working with the Tribunal to track down Saron — and barring anything unexpected, Saron is looking like the mastermind behind the Bo City disaster... That said, don't mention any of this to Fan Mo. He's nowhere near strong enough to get involved in something like that. He'd end up like Xiao Ding — dead before his time." Old Bao's voice was measured.

"I know. But I *will* find whoever killed Senior Brother Xiao Ding." Lingling's jaw tightened, quiet fury burning in her young face.

"All right, all right. Leave that to the adults for now — until you're both strong enough, stay out of it. You and Fan Mo should focus on the city-level work. Magic City is enormous, and there's no shortage of ugly business. Start there." Old Bao gently patted the top of Lingling's head.

Around noon, Old Bao warmly invited Mo Fan to stay for lunch.

The old shop was also Old Bao and Lingling's home — they lived on the third floor.

The fourth floor had rooms as well, apparently belonging to the other senior members of the Azure Sky Hunting Firm. From the way Old Bao spoke about them, they were clearly exceptional individuals, every one of them.

In the Hunters' Alliance, most people formed teams when hunting Demon-Beasts. Azure Sky was different — its members handled jobs solo or in pairs. That alone set them apart, to say nothing of the fact that their contracts started in the millions.

"What do I do this afternoon?" Mo Fan asked once he'd eaten his fill.

"Head back to school. We'll meet at Masterpiece Private Garden before dark," Lingling said.

"How did you know I was a student?" Mo Fan looked at the girl, genuinely caught off guard.

Lingling pursed her lips. Explanations were apparently beneath her.

Mo Fan sat with the awkwardness.

*Just how many times has this kid looked down on me today?*

He sighed. Fine. He wasn't about to get into it with her.

Mo Fan took Lingling's advice and headed back to school.

That evening, after dinner at the cafeteria, Mo Fan set off for Masterpiece Private Garden.

He walked out through the school gates and hailed a cab.

He'd barely settled in when three girls came laughing down the road, dressed up and in high spirits. The driver, ever the opportunist, was already eyeing them with the clear intention of taking on more passengers.

In university neighborhoods, there was never a shortage of people looking for rides. Unscrupulous drivers would pack in anyone heading roughly the same direction. Mo Fan had seen it a hundred times before.

"Driver, Masterpiece Private Garden," said the girl with the straight-cut fringe.

"This young man's headed there too — you three can squeeze in the back. Off we go!" The driver's face broke into a wide grin. Once the girls were settled, he stomped the gas and they were off.

The distance wasn't far at all — they arrived right at the base fare.

Mo Fan sat up front. From the girls' chatter, he gathered they came from well-off families — too proud to live in the standard dormitories, they'd rented at the private garden instead.

"Hey, are you a student here too?" The short-haired girl called out to Mo Fan as they stepped out of the cab.

"No, I'm here on business," Mo Fan said.

"Oh — are you a freshman? You look kind of familiar, somehow." The boyish short-haired girl smiled.

"Honestly, Jia Wenqian, that's the most tired line I've ever heard," the bangs girl said with a laugh. "'You look familiar' — just ask for his number already."

"Right, you were staring at his profile the entire ride," the red-lipped girl chimed in.

"I am going to *kill* you two!"

The three girls erupted into shoving and laughter, completely oblivious to everything around them. Mo Fan shook his head helplessly and hurried off to rendezvous with his so-called superior — one irritated girl in twin pigtails.

*In that famous detective show — you know the one — it's always a pint-sized kid paired with a teenage girl, solving case after case. So how did my version end up as a little girl paired with a handsome young man?*