Iron chains, rubber cords, adhesive tape, and elastic bands.

Qin Xiaoxia dug out the supplies he had prepared long ago and bound the supernatural little thief, which looked like a small child, in layer upon layer of restraints.

He even sealed its mouth shut with adhesive tape.

It was worth noting that although the little creature’s clothes were ragged, it wasn’t actually very dirty, nor did it have any strange odor.

’What now? Just wait here for the little thief to wake up?’

’Is this thing really a Spirit or something? Could it be an Alien?’

The bizarre thoughts in Qin Xiaoxia’s imagination began to run wild.

It definitely wasn’t a ghost, that was for sure. After all, it was breathing.

He even entertained the thought of handing his "major discovery" over to the government, but he squashed that idea half a second after it formed.

He hadn’t gone to all this trouble setting a trap just to get a pat on the back.

But just waiting around didn’t seem like a solution.

He’d used five times the adult dosage; he had no idea when the creature would wake up.

Furthermore, Qin Xiaoxia was filled with a mix of sixty percent anticipation and forty percent panic about what would happen when the little thief woke up.

He was terrified the little thing would wake up, unleash some ultimate power, and instantly kill him.

As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold. Qin Xiaoxia felt this was the biggest adventure of his life so far—a risk others could only dream of taking.

Since it wasn’t a good idea to leave, he had no choice but to wait.

And so he waited, all the way until four in the afternoon.

’Holy crap! Is the drug really that strong? Don’t tell me I poisoned it to death!’

Fortunately, the little thief’s chest was still rising and falling, proving it hadn’t breathed its last.

Between the high-strung emotional tension and the physical exertion from setting the trap, acting his part, and tying up the creature, he had used a lot of energy.

Even though he’d eaten a lot of cake, it wasn’t dinnertime yet, and his stomach was already growling.

When you can’t leave and you’re in no mood to cook, ordering takeout is the natural solution.

He unlocked his phone and opened a food delivery app.

’Oh, Old Liu’s diner is open! I have to get the secret recipe braised pork noodles and the golden fried rice.’

Perhaps because business was slow right after opening, the delivery was incredibly efficient. It took less than twenty minutes from placing the order to its arrival.

Qin Xiaoxia had the delivery person leave the food at the door. The moment the person left, he sprinted to the entrance, snatched the meal, and slammed the door shut.

He glanced back at the table more than once during the process, making sure the little thief’s condition was still under control.

Old Liu’s cooking was absolutely top-notch. Rumor had it he’d studied under a master in his youth. The prime time to eat his noodles was between five and twenty minutes after they were cooked.

Which was right now.

The moment he opened the containers of noodles and fried rice, a rich aroma filled the living room. The glistening, tempting colors of the thick noodle broth and the perfectly distinct noodles were a feast for the eyes.

Qin Xiaoxia couldn’t help but swallow.

He then used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of the secret recipe braised pork and took a bite.

But his movements immediately froze.

He thought he’d seen the little thief on the table move just now, but it might have been a trick of the eye.

But Qin Xiaoxia trusted his eyes.

’Hehehe, I was wondering why you wouldn’t wake up. So you were just pretending to be unconscious!’

Just as you can’t wake someone who’s pretending to be asleep, you can’t wait out someone who’s pretending to be unconscious.

The fact that the little thief was faking it proved it was terrified deep down.

Qin Xiaoxia was delighted by this realization.

’Trying to pull one over on me, huh? You almost had me fooled, but your self-control is lacking.’

He picked up his bowl of noodles, plucked out a piece of braised pork with his chopsticks, and waved it in front of the bound creature’s face—especially right under its nose.

"Tsk, tsk. Old Liu’s cooking is getting better and better. They say he starts making this secret recipe braised pork at three or four in the morning and doesn’t finish until noon. It’s the best taste in all of Qingzhen."

Then he took a huge bite, followed by a loud SLURP of noodles. The sounds of his chewing and his satisfied exhales blended into a symphony.

He lifted the plastic bowl and drank a mouthful of the broth.

"Ahhh, that’s the stuff!"

Throughout this performance, Qin Xiaoxia clearly saw the little thief’s eyelashes twitching violently.

’What a glutton... I drugged it once already, and it still can’t resist temptation.’

"Stop pretending. Get up now and you can have a bite. If you don’t, there won’t even be any broth left."

After he said that, he waited quietly for a moment. The little thief on the table remained motionless.

Qin Xiaoxia looked at the piece of braised pork, then back at the creature on the table.

He reached out, ripped the tape off its mouth, and pressed the piece of braised pork against its lips.

A bit of the sauce and broth from the pork trickled down, seeping onto its mouth.

The little creature’s throat bobbed, a clear sign of it swallowing.

It couldn’t hold back any longer. It opened its mouth and lunged for the meat.

But a pair of wicked chopsticks snatched the pork away just in time, and the little thief bit down on empty air.

"Hey, hey, hey! So you are awake!"

"Hehehe, want a bite?"

Qin Xiaoxia sat off to the side, grinning as he held his bowl of noodles.

This series of reactions had almost completely erased his fear of the "prisoner" on the table.

"If you want to eat, answer my questions. One answer, one bite!"

The little creature on the table seemed furious.

It twisted its body, struggling against its bonds.

Qin Xiaoxia broke out in a cold sweat. He was genuinely afraid the creature would suddenly snap its chains and ropes, get up, and turn the tables on him.

But his worry proved to be unfounded. After a few twists, its small body went still.

"Modosala! @#... Kurumandera... Kurumanderasalaman@#@#Gurian Doni Nimi!!!"

A string of rapid-fire words, accompanied by an angry expression, burst from the little thief’s mouth.

Qin Xiaoxia was stunned.

The words were clearly curses. That much was obvious.

The tone carried a profound resonance that seemed to echo directly in his consciousness. Because of this strange effect, it felt as though his ears and his mind were hearing the words simultaneously.

That was definitely not something any language on Earth could do.

But he couldn’t understand a single word.

’When you’re cussing someone out, you want them to understand what you’re saying. Otherwise, if you rant and rave and they just stare at you blankly, you’d only get more pissed off.’

’So there’s a good chance this little thief doesn’t understand any of Earth’s languages?’

Qin Xiaoxia mourned his own linguistic performance over the past several days, while also having no idea how to communicate with the little thief.

"Returning empty-handed from a mountain of treasure" might not be the right phrase, but he really just wanted to scream, "FML!"

The little thief’s face was flushed red with anger, as if it were the one who’d been teased and tormented for days.

"Sigh, I guess I’m just a soft-hearted person after all."

With that, Qin Xiaoxia stuffed the entire piece of braised pork into the little creature’s mouth, plugging up its incessant tirade.

A glutton is a glutton, after all. It didn’t have the guts to spit out the food and continue its rant. Instead, it began to chew with a look of satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Qin Xiaoxia had already wandered into his bedroom.

He already had a contingency plan for what to do after catching the thief.

By the time the little thief finished the braised pork, Qin Xiaoxia had reappeared before it. In one hand, he held a tablet; in the other, a small box marked with a red cross.

The smile on his face was strange, sending an inexplicable chill down the spine of the little thief on the table, who was in the middle of licking its lips.