After reaching L20, because the layout was similar to the distribution of the previous Third District, Pardofelis quickly found that familiar alloy door based on the route from the previous Third District branch office.
"This is the place." Pardofelis stood before the door, her cat ears twitching comfortably.
She reached out and brushed over the cold surface, her fingertips picking up the unique texture of the alloy.
"What will be inside? Mountains of Credits? Or..." Her pupils began to narrow slightly. "...a surprise prepared specifically for me?"
The layers of defense Apex Entertainment had set up along the way, along with the constant feeling of being watched, already signaled their determination. It would actually be strange if there were no special treatment behind this door.
However, she didn't care much. After all, the core goal of this trip was merely to earn a massive amount of fame through this intrusion to pave the way for the item Puss in Boots.
As for the obstacles in the process, to her, they were nothing more than stage props.
Thinking of this, her figure flickered, and her body seemed to melt into water, easily penetrating the alloy door and instantly appearing inside the vault.
"Mm-hmm~" A soft hum echoed in the empty space.
The sight that met her eyes made her eyes light up. "And here I thought you'd learned your lesson and would have moved the assets away overnight."
Her gaze swept over the physical gold neatly stacked on the shelves, each bar flowing with an alluring luster under the cold light.
"I didn't expect it to be displayed here so openly?" She drawled playfully, "This sincerity is truly flattering."
Finally, her gaze briefly landed on the only person currently present in the center of the vault.
That person was a man. His tall, straight frame was wrapped in a sophisticated deep gray suit; he had a cold face and sharp eyes, and an invisible pressure was spreading from his body.
But Pardofelis only spared him a glance before completely ignoring his existence.
Next, she walked lightheartedly toward the nearest shelf, her fingers gently brushing across the cool surface of the gold bricks.
"Since you are so generous, I won't be polite." Before her voice even faded, the gold brick under her palm vanished instantly.
Then came the second piece, the third piece... her movements were extremely fluid. Everywhere she passed, gold bricks vanished one after another, collected into the System Inventory. She even began to hum a tuneless little melody happily.
"You—" Seeing this scene, the man in the center finally let out a suppressed low growl.
The aura he had meticulously cultivated felt like a punch landing on cotton when it hit her; it was completely useless.
What annoyed him even more was that the other party was actually stealing wealth right in front of him with the casual attitude of someone picking up pebbles.
"Are you treating me like I don't exist?" His voice was as hard as iron. "Do you know who this gold belongs to? You dare take it like this?"
Facing the man's questioning, Pardofelis didn't even turn her head as she continued to collect gold bricks.
"It belongs to Apex Entertainment, obviously," she replied with a hint of confusion. "Did you think I climbed twenty floors and dismantled so many toys just to tour the office decor?"
This flippant contempt caused the man to narrow his eyes. He said no more and simply waved his hand—
Boom!
At the spot where Pardofelis had originally been standing, the alloy floor suddenly collapsed, instantly forming a crater three meters in diameter. Electric sparks flew everywhere, causing the entire vault to tremble.
However, the instant before the impact exploded, Pardofelis had already appeared two meters away like a ghost.
She first leisurely brushed off non-existent dust from her clothes, then tilted her head to examine the hole in the floor, speaking with a touch of surprise:
"Yo? You're tearing down the house over a slight disagreement? Such a big temper?"
Seeing this, the man's pupils constricted slightly.
Although that strike just now wasn't his full strength, it was enough to cause unexpected damage to a powerhouse of the same level.
But now, the opponent had avoided his attack so effortlessly, which made the man feel that something was very wrong.
However, the man quickly regained his original expression, acting as if the attack just now had never happened.
"This gold," his voice was icy, "is the remuneration paid to me by Apex Entertainment. You are stealing my money in front of me; shouldn't I be angry?"
Before his voice finished, three strands of invisible force began to whistle in from different angles, sealing off all evasion routes.
Boom—!!!
A sound even louder than the previous one erupted. A massive crater appeared once again where Pardofelis had been standing.
But just like before, an instant before this crater appeared, Pardofelis's figure vanished once more.
The next moment—
Bang!
A muffled sound exploded in the center of the vault. The man who had been standing there just now took a solid heavy blow to his abdomen!
Immediately following, he flew backward, smashing hard against the alloy wall behind him. The wall dented deeply, and spiderweb-like cracks spread everywhere.
The man was now firmly embedded in the wall by this strike, blood overflowing from his mouth and nose, looking as if he were on the verge of death.
Seeing this, Pardofelis slowly retracted her slender right leg.
"Something like psychokinesis?" She snorted softly. "I give you an inch and you take a mile?"
After speaking, she turned around gracefully, preparing to continue moving the gold.
"Alright, interlude over. Little money-moneys, we..."
Then, her voice stopped abruptly.
Her footsteps hovered a few millimeters above the ground, and her eyebrows knitted slightly.
For some reason, the air in the entire vault suddenly became viscous and filled with various types of suffocating malice.
Formless forces surged from all directions, beginning to crush toward Pardofelis's position. The alloy floor began to emit a piercing wail, and the gold bricks on the shelves were twisted into pretzels by the invisible force.
In the center of the vault, the man slowly broke free from the wall. Blood stained his suit, but his pupils burned with a silvery-white light, and the air around him fell into a state of extreme distortion.
"Stealing my money..." His low voice contained an icy fury. "And you dare to kick me?"
Having said that, he threw his arms open, and the entire space began to distort extremely under his will.
"Since you've come, don't even think about leaving!"