He had just married a policewoman when he was diagnosed with criminal genius.

Brother Long stood up and walked to the center of the field.

He clapped his hands, and the surrounding noise subsided.

Someone moved a table and placed it in the middle, and then brought a cloth bag.

The bag was black and small, just the right size to fit an adult's palm.

Brother Long picked up the cloth bag, shook it, and made sure everyone could see it clearly.

It was empty inside; there was nothing there.

He took a one-yuan coin out of his pocket, held it up to show everyone, and then threw it into his cloth bag.

The coin fell in with a "thud".

Brother Long then took out a small copper bell, about the size of a fingernail, from another pocket.

He threw the bell into the bag and shook it.

The bell rang, jingling and clanging.

The elderly people in the audience knew what this meant.

This competition is called "dodging the bell".

This is arguably the competition that best tests hand speed and skill.

Brother Long put the cloth bag on the table and looked up at Lu Chen.

"The first game is a speed contest," Brother Long said. "The rules are simple: take the coins out of the bag, but the bell can't ring. If it rings, you lose."

He paused, then said, "Each time you succeed, add a bell inside. Whoever can't take one out loses."

Lu Chen nodded.

Brother Long said, "I'll go first."

He reached his hand into the cloth bag.

The movements were very slow, as slow as if they were touching a fragile item.

His fingers twitched inside the bag, then he slowly pulled them out. The coin was held between his fingers.

The bell in the bag didn't ring.

The people around applauded.

Brother Long placed the coins on the table.

He then took a bell out of his pocket and threw it into the cloth bag.

There are now two bells and a coin in the bag.

He reached in again. The movement was just as slow and steady as the first time.

The coins were taken out.

The bell didn't ring.

Brother Long put the coin back on the table and added a bell.

Three bells and one coin.

Next, four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight.

Sweat began to bead on Brother Long's face.

His fingers lingered longer and longer in the bag, and when he took them out, his knuckles were white.

The ninth bell.

Brother Long took a breath and put his hand inside.

The space inside the bag was getting smaller and smaller, with the nine bells squeezed together and the coins sandwiched in the middle.

When he moves his hand, the bell will shake.

This time, his fingers lingered in the bag for a long time, so long that the people around him fell silent.

Then he slowly pulled his hand out.

The coin was held between his fingers.

The bell didn't ring.

A burst of applause erupted around them. Someone shouted, "Brother Long is awesome!" Another yelled, "He broke the record!"

These eight records are held by Brother Long.

Unexpectedly, Brother Long broke his own record today.

Brother Long also knew that nine was his limit.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, smiled, and looked at Lu Chen.

"It's your turn."

Lu Chen walked to the table. He glanced at the cloth bag, then at Brother Long.

Lu Chen said, "Okay."

First, there was a bell.

He reached his hand into the cloth bag.

The movement was so fast that the people around didn't even have time to react.

His hand went into the bag and came out in less than a second.

The coin is already in my hand.

The bell in the bag didn't ring.

There was a two-second silence.

Then someone spoke up: "Hasn't he started yet?" The person next to him said, "He's already taken it out."

Brother Long's smile froze.

He looked at the coins in Lu Chen's hand, then glanced at the cloth bag on the table.

My heart sank.

"Two more, please."

The two bells were equally easy for Lu Chen, who possessed the Shadowless Star-Picking Hand skill.

It was also taken out very quickly.

It's as simple as taking money out of your pocket.

Three. Four. ...only nine.

This is already on par with Brother Long's record.

When Lu Chen successfully retrieved the coin from the pocket with nine bells.

Everyone present was speechless.

Who is this person?

It's practically a dragon crossing the river!

Are they trying to challenge their title as the King of Thieves in Jiangbei City right after they arrive?

"You..." Brother Long said, "How did you take it just now?"

Lu Chen said, "I took it normally."

Brother Long stared at him for a few seconds. Then he picked up the cloth bag and added a bell inside. Ten bells, one coin.

He placed the cloth bag on the table.

"Try again."

Lu Chen reached in, put his hand in, and took it out. It took another two seconds.

The coin was in his hand.

Not a single bell rang.

Brother Long added another bell. Eleven in total.

Lu Chen reached out and took it out. Two seconds.

Twelve. Two seconds.

Thirteen. Two seconds.

Fourteen. Two seconds.

It felt as if the surrounding air had been sucked away.

No one spoke, no one applauded.

Everyone was looking at the table, and at Lu Chen's hands.

Brother Long stood across the table, his expression unreadable, neither smiling nor crying.

He held the last bell in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then threw it in.

Fifteen bells.

The bag was bulging, and the coins were hidden inside, almost invisible.

Brother Long said, "Give it a try."

Lu Chen reached in.

This time, his hand lingered in the bag for a few more seconds.

His fingers gently parted the bells, reaching inside little by little to touch the coin.

The bells were pressed against his fingers, and they would ring if he pressed them even slightly.

He touched the coin.

He held the coin between his fingers and began to pull it out.

The edge of the coin grazed a bell, the bell wobbled, and bumped into another bell.

Ding.

A crisp sound.

Lu Chen pulled his hand out and placed the coin on the table.

He finally failed.

Someone around secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Brother Long stared at the coins on the table and remained silent for a long time.

No one around them said anything.

Some people stared at the cloth bag, some stared at Lu Chen's hands, and some stared at Brother Long's face.

The air seemed to freeze; you could hear even your own breathing.

Brother Long finally raised his head. He said, "I lost this round."

His voice was lower than before, as if something was blocking his throat.

Hua Ge said from the side, "Brother Long, you still have a record of nine bells, that's already very impressive."

If he had heard this before, he might have been very happy.

But for Wah Gor to say that at this time made it sound somewhat ironic.

Brother Long waved his hand, ignoring what he said.

He looked at Lu Chen and said, "The second round is a test of eyesight."

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked to the wall. There was a wooden board hanging on the wall with dozens of hooks nailed to it.

The hooks were hung with all sorts of things: keys, coins, lighters, nail clippers, knives, earrings, and rings. Big and small, colorful and varied, they hung in a whole row.

Brother Long took a piece of cloth off the wall and laid it on the table.

The cloth was dark blue and about one meter square.

He then pulled something out of his pocket and poured it onto the cloth with a whoosh.

It was a bunch of small items.

Nuts, thumbtacks, paper clips, rubber bands, scraps of paper, buttons, pills—dozens of odds and ends. Each item was tiny; the smallest nut was smaller than a fingernail.

Brother Long laid these things out on the cloth, arranging them neatly in several rows.

Then he took a handkerchief out of his pocket, folded it twice, and covered his eyes with it.