In the broadcast studio, Nie Junfeng was analyzing Night Shadow's first theft:
"Contestant Night Shadow clearly came prepared, bringing a wrench and screwdriver with him. He must have already identified the rocking horse as his primary target.
"This explains why he's been frequenting the park since yesterday, riding the rocking horse repeatedly—he was obviously waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
"And that opportunity finally arrived just now.
"Think about it: if he had openly tried to dismantle the rocking horse, it would have immediately drawn attention, and someone would have reported him to the park authorities.
"But instead, he first deliberately damaged the rocking horse. Then, under the pretense of taking it for repairs, he dismantled and carried it away. No one suspected anything amiss.
"Luck was also on his side. The park manager happened to be away on business, so he didn't even need to offer an explanation.
"Even if the theft is reported now, half an hour has already passed. Thanks to the pit Contestant Cifera dug earlier, the Pursuit Team can't access the surveillance cameras and will struggle to pinpoint his location.
"Overall, I believe Contestant Night Shadow is a formidable opponent, possessing both skill and luck. Perhaps he truly has the potential to defeat Contestant Cifera, as he claims."
Although Nie Junfeng's analysis sounded logical, his barely suppressed smirk betrayed the fact that he was talking nonsense.
After Nie Junfeng and the others finished their analysis, the Bullet Comments erupted into discussion:
[Poor Inspector Nie, trying so hard to save face for Little Grandchild while barely holding back his laughter.]
[He can't exactly say Little Grandchild decided to steal on the spur of the moment because he didn't want to pay for the damages, can he? Better to pretend we don't know and save some face for the contestant.]
[Little Grandchild: I don't know why, but I'm suddenly feeling very anxious.]
[Because destiny itself is a milk-loving force! It seems Little Grandchild will never truly surpass Cifera in this lifetime.]
[I see it now—the Patriarch has already been completely shaped by Cifera.]
[Speaking of which, what's Cifera going to steal next?]
[Yeah, I'm dying to know too!]
[Ha! It definitely won't be something as ridiculous as a rocking horse!]
As the Bullet Comments discussed Cifera, the live feed cut back to her.
Cifera was no longer traversing rooftops; instead, she was leisurely sipping milk tea inside a milk tea shop.
She was now wearing a long white coat, similar in style to the one she had borrowed from Nie Bing earlier that morning—a coat she had bought specifically for this occasion.
Now that the show had aired, Cifera was already recognizable to many. A subtle change in appearance would help her avoid unnecessary attention.
Even so, the moment she entered the milk tea shop, she was immediately recognized by the staff and some customers, who rushed over to ask for photos.
Cifera genuinely felt her popularity soaring.
She pulled out her phone and texted the Production Team.
Moments later, a man in black walked into the shop—a member of the Production Team.
"Here," Cifera said without turning around, tossing a set of car keys over her shoulder in a perfect "no-look pass."
The staff member was startled by the sudden toss, but quickly realized the keys were flying perfectly to his hand, making them easy to catch.
"Impressive!" he exclaimed, genuinely impressed before turning to leave with the keys.
Cifera was returning the car keys she had stolen from the Pursuit Team's base earlier that morning.
Unlike stealing intelligence, stealing physical items like car keys counted toward wealth points.
Since the keys had been stolen so early in the morning—over three hours ago—they had long exceeded the effective capture time. Returning them to the Production Team now would successfully earn her wealth points.
Modern car keys are equipped with smart chips. Based on the current cost of replacing car keys, this large bundle could be exchanged for 15,000 wealth points.
After returning the stolen goods, Cifera immediately received a notification that the wealth points had been credited to her account.
She checked the current wealth point rankings for the China Region contestants on her phone.
First place was undoubtedly her own, having surged to the top after receiving the 15,000 points.
Second place was Brother Zhiyin with 1,000 points.
Third place went to Night Shadow with 500 points.
The remaining contestants' scores ranged from a few hundred to just a few dozen points, with one even having zero.
On the entire leaderboard, only Cifera and Night Shadow remained in color; the rest were grayed out, indicating their elimination.
Seeing this, Cifera chuckled to herself:
"So Little Grandchild finally made his move... but only 500 points? That's hardly worthy of the Grandchild of the Phantom Thief title.
"After all, even that pretty boy Brother Zhiyin managed to get 1,000 points. Shouldn't he have aimed for hundreds of thousands, or even millions?
"This doesn't match the impression he gave me at all~"
Cifera was puzzled. Even after drawing fire with a Hell Start, Little Grandchild only managed this many points?
Hearing Cifera mention Night Shadow, the bullet comments erupted in agreement:
[Cifera: Giving him opportunities was useless!]
[Ha ha ha! If Cifera knew Night Shadow had been holding back for so long, only to steal a children's rocking horse in the end, she'd die laughing!]
[Bullet Comments: Stop the unfair criticism! Little Grandchild is strategically feigning weakness. Next time, he'll steal a police car!]
[Honestly, aside from being a bit Chuunii, Little Grandchild's character isn't bad. At least he didn't cause trouble while Cifera was toying with the Pursuit Team.]
[Cause trouble? Does he even have the ability? Bet if he'd tried anything yesterday, Cifera would have crushed him in seconds!]
Cifera, of course, had no idea that her casual remark had sparked such a heated debate in the Bullet Comments.
At that moment, she quietly opened her character panel in her mind, checking the Trust gained from Lies Become Reality. This would reveal the fluctuations in her popularity.