Chapter 1 The Master Thief

Tick-tock, tick-tock, ding-dong, it was exactly nine in the morning. Along with the crisp ding-dong sound, a bulletproof glass case made a faint popping noise and slowly opened.

A delicate hand casually reached in and picked up the ruby from the open display pedestal. She held it up to the light, letting it shimmer, and said softly, "Such a vibrant color, you can see the brilliance like fireworks, with the facets reflecting a kaleidoscope of colors. This is indeed something precious."

"Is this thing really worth forty million dollars?" came a dismissive voice from the exhibition hall entrance.

The girl standing by the display pedestal smiled slightly, not turning around. She tossed the ruby she was holding toward the source of the voice and slowly turned, saying, "This kind of ruby is extremely rare and precious. What do you think?" 

The girl not far away caught the ruby in mid-air, raising her eyebrows as she looked at the ruby in her hand.

The girl standing in front of the pedestal was dressed in white pants and top, with a light yellow scarf of the same brand around her neck. She wore a calm smile, her bright eyes and teeth shining, her eyebrows bright as stars. That faint smile made people feel like a spring breeze but also carried a hint of disregard. Her whole demeanor exuded a sense of freedom, elegance, and nonchalance, making people forget her beauty at first glance and only notice her unique presence.

"This thing is really valuable, even sold for a hundred million. But unfortunately, with us around, it's only worth thirty million." The woman at the door glanced at the ruby and casually put it in her pocket.

The girl in white chuckled, shook her index finger, and said seriously, "No, no, with us, it should be worth nothing. It's only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it."

The girl standing at the hall entrance laughed at this. They were master thieves, stealing whatever they wanted. Why would they need money? No matter how valuable an item was, it was worth nothing to them because they never paid for anything they stole.

The girl in white glanced at the many treasures in the exhibition hall, shrugged, and said, "Luckily, we have professional ethics, so you're safe this time." 

She always adhered to the rule of not touching items that were not on the list. Though the owners of these treasures might not be good people, it didn't mean others deserved to have them more.

In New York's most famous exhibition hall, all the items displayed were antique masterpieces, precious items from around the world. Their total value could probably buy a small impoverished city.

Because of this, the most advanced technology was used, with visible and hidden surveillance everywhere. But they seemed to forget that relying too much on technology made it the most vulnerable point, easily breached by experts.

And the girl in white was clearly an expert in this field.

A minute might be too short for others, but for her, it was long enough to leisurely take whatever she wanted.

High-tech defenses often had primitive countermeasures; an uncut diamond easily scratched through the nano-material glass, making it effortless to get the priceless ruby.

"Echo, you've got ten seconds left." The stunning girl standing at the entrance of the large exhibition hall glanced at her watch and raised an eyebrow at Echo Black, who was leisurely admiring the exhibits.

"Skye, ten seconds is too much." The girl named Echo smiled nonchalantly and walked unhurriedly toward the door.

The two of them, one dressed in white and the other in red, strolled out the door as if they were just out for a casual walk.

Echo glanced back at the now silent exhibition hall and smiled brightly. With a casual wave, she tapped the touch-sensitive wall in the hall, and immediately, a sharp alarm sounded. Chaos erupted as footsteps and shouts echoed, with people rushing toward the exhibition area.

Skye Black raised an eyebrow but said nothing, seemingly accustomed to Echo's actions. With a swift chop, she knocked out a guard standing nearby.

Echo elegantly brushed her hair back and laughed, "The esteemed guests are about to leave, and no one's here to see us off. How rude."

In an instant, New York's largest, supposedly most secure exhibition hall, equipped with the finest security, sprang into action. It was the shift change time, and the entire building buzzed with activity. High-end security measures were activated, and all side doors, back doors, upstairs, and rooftop accesses were monitored and sealed. But no one noticed the two stunning girls casually slipping out through the main entrance amid the chaos.

"Such a letdown. They call this top-notch security? We got what we wanted so easily, it's no fun at all." Sitting in a red Ferrari convertible, Skye looked at the ruby in her hand with satisfaction.

Echo had one hand on the car door and the other on the steering wheel, the breeze lifting her hair. She looked spirited and laughed happily, "Is there anything in this world we can't get our hands on?" 

They called it top-notch, but with her hacking skills and theft expertise, and Skype, the martial arts master, what could possibly stop them? They breached their top-tier security in under a minute; it felt like walking into an empty house.

Skye burst out laughing and said, "Exactly, exactly! With our combined skills, not even the White House could stop us!"

After a while, the laughter died down. Skye, now serious, looked at Echo and asked, "Since we're planning to retire from being master thieves, what do you plan to do next?"

Echo smiled faintly and said, "Whatever I feel like doing."

Seeing Echo's carefree attitude, Skye chuckled, shoved the ruby into Echo's hands, and said, "Don't think you can slack off. You're handling the delivery this last time. After that, the world is our oyster." She stretched lazily and patted Echo on the shoulder.

Echo slowed the car down, and before it even came to a complete stop, Skye had flipped out of the door. Her wavy hair and stunning appearance drew countless whistles.

Snapping her fingers, she called back to Echo without looking, "I'll be in touch."

Echo nodded, parked the car, and got out, saying, "Take care of yourself."

Skye waved her hand and quickened her pace, disappearing into the crowd.

Echo watched as her partner of so many years left, leaning against the car door with a slight smile. The future world was wide open for them.

The breeze blew her long hair, making the yellow scarf around her neck flutter. A gust of wind blew by, and Echo felt a coolness on her neck. Turning around, she saw the yellow scarf floating in the air.

Across the street, a black Cadillac sped by against the wind. The yellow scarf floated right into the open car window. As the cars passed each other, Echo caught a glimpse of a pair of cold eyes that glanced at her before moving on.

Echo shrugged. It was just a scarf, no big deal. She got back in her car, hit the gas, and her sleek car and the black Cadillac sped off in opposite directions.

******

A few days later, in Rome, Italy, inside an old-fashioned castle, two middle-aged men were sitting in a study. They looked distinguished.

One of them, a man in his forties, was playing with an order slip and smiled, "Echo and Skye have never disappointed me. They're real gems."

The other man, who was slightly younger, nodded and smiled, "We trained them ourselves. Being ranked fifth in the world has earned us quite a bit."

"It was worth raising them," the older man chuckled. Both men laughed together.

"Sir, sir…"

The man in his forties frowned and said sternly, "What is it? Don't you know we're having a conversation?"

The man outside the door said nervously, "It's a package from Echo."

The tone inside the room immediately changed to a gentle one, "Come in."

The man in his forties smiled broadly as he opened the package, took out the ruby, and examined it closely. He nodded and smiled, "Not bad, not bad. This is the first time I've seen such rare ruby. Echo and Skye haven't let us down."

The younger man looked at the ruby from the other side and smiled, "I'm growing more fond of Echo. She's truly our treasure. If we want to keep her permanently, shouldn't we…"

The older man laughed heartily, "I was thinking the same thing. She is getting better and better, her wings are growing stronger. She'll be free of her sixty-million-dollar contract in a couple of years. I don't want to lose our hold on her. When she comes back, we'll proceed with our plan."

Lewd laughter filled the old-fashioned study, suggesting nothing good.

After a while, the man in his forties noticed there was a letter in the package. He smiled, "What's Echo up to now? Sending letters… Hey, what the…?! Fuck!" 

His face turned livid in an instant, and he slammed his fist on the table, shattering a crystal wine glass on the floor.

The other man saw his sudden change in expression and quickly grabbed the letter, asking, "What's going on?" as he read it.

The letter didn't contain any extra words, just a 120-billion-dollar promissory note and a single sentence, "120 billion dollars from a Swiss bank, Echo and Skye. Here's the payment, we're done with you." 

The man's face turned extremely grim upon reading it.

"Well, Echo, you think you can just fly away now that your wings are strong? Hmph, it's not that easy. This isn't a place where you come and go as you please." He crumpled the check in his hand, turned around, and stormed out the door, shouting, "Someone, get in here…."