C4 He Caught the Thief

"Stop right there, guy in the floral shirt!" Huang Feng yelled, pointing at the man.

Upon hearing Huang Feng, the man glanced back with a menacing glare. But instead of slowing down, he picked up the pace and bolted, confirming Huang Feng's suspicion that he was up to no good.

Huang Feng set off in pursuit, but the crowd was thick, and he struggled to weave through the mass of bodies. By the time he broke free, the thief was already a hundred meters ahead.

Realizing the futility of the chase and remembering he had to report to work, Huang Feng was about to abandon the pursuit. But the sight of the woman, who had been robbed, looking so helpless spurred him into action, and he took a few involuntary steps forward.

Those steps took Huang Feng by surprise; his body felt incredibly light, and he ran effortlessly, much faster than before. Snapping out of his stupor, he ran a few more steps to confirm that it wasn't his imagination—he was indeed running faster than he ever had.

Without pondering the mystery of his sudden speed, Huang Feng fixed his gaze on the thief, who had stopped to taunt him with a smirk. "Kid, you're about to learn what I'm capable of. You think you can provoke me?" he taunted back.

With a light step, Huang Feng resumed his chase, closing the distance to the thief. The thief, seeing Huang Feng persist, scoffed and paused before taking off again. Confident in his escape skills and speed, he doubted Huang Feng could catch up, especially with more than a hundred meters between them.

But the murmurs of astonishment from the onlookers soon reached the thief's ears, leaving him puzzled and alarmed. The crowd was staring past him in disbelief, as if witnessing something extraordinary. Instinctively, he looked back and his face mirrored theirs, struck by the same shock.

"How can this be? How can he possibly run that fast? Just a moment ago, he was more than a hundred meters behind, and now he's almost caught up? How did that happen so quickly?" The thief's mind was racing with panic, utterly shocked by the sight before him.

Trailing not far behind, Huang Feng had closed what was once a hundred-meter gap to about half in just a few seconds, and that was on a crowded street bustling with pedestrians. If the streets had been empty, just how blistering would his pace be? It was downright frightening.

Huang Feng was running with abandon, feeling an exhilarating speed he had never experienced before. The wind whistled past his ears, and the world around him seemed to fly backward. He had never run this fast in his life.

"Damn, is that guy even human? How can someone run that fast?"

"He's got to be an athlete, right? No way he's this fast. I bet he could outrun Olympic champions!"

"Wow, he's lightning-fast! He almost crashed... no, he dodged! His speed is unreal, like he's the wind itself."

"Baby, come quick! You've got to see this—it's like watching a god!"

Everyone around was captivated by Huang Feng, their eyes wide with amazement. They had never witnessed anyone sprint with such velocity. Was he even human? And on a street teeming with people, no less. If he competed in the Olympics, gold would surely be his.

"Check it out, he's in dress shoes!" someone exclaimed. The crowd was in an uproar. Unbelievable, a man in leather shoes, weaving through the crowd at such a breakneck speed—it defied belief.

The thief felt the impact of Huang Feng's pursuit. As Huang Feng drew nearer, the thief's pace involuntarily slowed, and a sense of hopelessness washed over him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't outrun Huang Feng. The thief was engulfed by despair at the sight of Huang Feng's astonishing speed.

"Why stop running now? Of all the things to be, why choose to be a thief?" Huang Feng grabbed the wallet from the thief's grasp and chided him.

"This can't be happening, it just can't!" The thief seemed to not hear Huang Feng at all, continuing to mutter to himself, his face a mix of bewilderment and shock. Clearly, he was still struggling to grasp how Huang Feng could possibly be that fast. It was beyond human.

"You're the one who stole my wallet, aren't you!" gasped the man who had earlier claimed his wallet was stolen, as he ran over. Without hesitation, he swung his bag, striking the thief on the head.

The blow seemed to rouse the thief from his daze. Ignoring the victim, he turned to Huang Feng and asked, "How did you pull that off?"

"What do you mean 'how'?" Huang Feng feigned ignorance, though he knew exactly what was being asked. He was just as bewildered himself. "Cut the chatter and stay put; the cops are on their way."

Even though Huang Feng had been the sole pursuer of the thief, onlookers had called the police, and they would be arriving shortly.

The thief, however, appeared indifferent to the approaching law enforcement, fixating on Huang Feng and repeating his earlier question. Huang Feng, for his part, acted as if he hadn't heard a word and ignored him.

The police soon arrived and quickly assessed the situation. The thief was a repeat offender with a record at the station. The officers didn't require Huang Feng and the victim to accompany them to the station; after taking a brief statement, they were free to go.

Huang Feng was relieved, as he still had to get to work. A trip to the station would have eaten up precious time. After giving his statement, he dashed off to his company.

The man whose wallet was stolen tried to offer his thanks to Huang Feng, but was politely turned down. Huang Feng felt that helping out in such a situation was the right thing to do and expected no reward.

Despite his rush, Huang Feng still arrived late at the company, albeit by only two minutes. Yet late was late, and as he entered the security room, he found Manager Liu waiting for him with a stern look on his face.

"I apologize, Manager Liu. I ran into some trouble on the way and got held up. I'm sorry, and it won't happen again," Huang Feng said, bracing himself for the worst. Being late on his very first day and caught red-handed by his direct superior was the worst possible start. He couldn't help but feel that tough times lay ahead.