It was easy the first time.

The ape village did not have anyone on guard at night. They did not even have a fence to keep out wild animals, probably because their village is still growing, and they don't know where to put a fence yet.

The only thing that made me want to turn away was some unknown scent in the air. It was unpleasant, but as a mollusk, my sense of smell isn't very strong in the first place, so it wasn't hard to ignore.

Anyway, I went into the village in camouflage,

went to one of the houses that the apes were still building,

checked if anyone was inside,

(Ok, none.)

Then, I slowly wrap my tentacles around a plank... and pull!

Crack! Clack.

"..."

"... ..."

The plank was pull off a log, breaking off from whatever it was the apes were using to stick them together. Having made a noise, I froze up and dropped the plank.

Staying still and camouflaged, I look around, but see no one coming out of their houses. Instead, I just hear the sounds of monsters growling or clacking or making some other noise occasionally from the forest.

I pulled out another plank. Still, no one came.

Emboldened, I plucked one plank after another, tearing down the incomplete walls until there was nothing but the log frame left and a pile of plank by my side.

Standing on twos and hefting the planks up, I carried the planks away, running as fast as I could in the cover of the night, my hearts pounding from nervousness the whole time.

Speaking of hearts, I eventually realized that I too, have multiple hearts, though not as many as that big worm that tried to eat me the night I awoke in this world, only 3. Other than the one in the center though, the other two don't usually thump strongly enough for me to notice though. I got the feeling that unlike that big worm, my extra hearts don't give me extra lives.

Back to the reminiscing,

When I made it all the way back home and dropped the planks down next to Sara, I felt relieved, and exhilarated!

Pulling off a heist like that is more exciting than getting the stuff itself.

I even acquired 2 new skills, dismantle and snatch.

Perhaps it was because I was running while carrying "weights", but my dash finally leveled up as well.

After the sun rose and I ate breakfast, I started incorporating the planks into my treehouse, giving it a real floor, one that doesn't sink when I press down on it.

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I started on applying the planks to the walls, but it turned out I didn't snatch enough.

Thus, I decided, when night comes, I'll go and snatch some more.

This time, to make the trip safer, I'll snatch from the other side of the ape village.

Short story shorter, the heist went as it did before. No one came out. No one stopped me.

The next morning after I came back, I finished adding the planks to the walls and roof of my treehouse, completing it.

Although it still looks a little shabby, it now looks a lot more like a proper house.

Thinking the job was done, I didn't go stealing planks that night. For some reason, I felt a little disappointed.

Next day, another flock of those tree gnawing birds came, no less in numbers than before.

Instead of simply targeting Sara like the last two times, this time, most of these annoying green birds targeted my treehouse!

"Meow! Meow! (Damn birds! Get away from my house!)" I shouted, while fighting them off alongside Sara.

But thanks to her holding up my treehouse, Sara's number of "arms" had lessened compared to before, giving some openings to the tree gnawing birds.

Plus, due to the surface area of the treehouse itself, I could only defend one wall at a time, having no choice but to let the tree gnawing birds attack the other walls and the ceiling of the treehouse.

It was a long and frustrating defense.

By the time it was done, after we killed several of the tree gnawing birds and the rest retreated, my treehouse was full of holes, gashes, and broken parts.

The silk that made up the frame is still there and largely intact- those birds don't eat silk after all. A few of the birds even got their beaks stuck in the sticky silk, allowing me to kill them effortlessly.

But the planks I stuck to it as outer walls in the last 2 days were all damaged, making my heart feel depressed.

"Meow? (And where do you think you're going?)"

I quickly jump down from Sara's branches and catch up to number 1 and number 2, my fed-fat silkworm monsters who are now trying to slip away after the tree gnawing birds broke their wooden cages.

Wiggling with their short legs, their speed is slow. I caught them quickly.

"Meow? Meow! (Who said you can go? I still need your silk to repair my house!)" I said, as I spanked their bottoms, one at a time.

Squeak! Squeak!

The monster silkworms cried out, as their butts started turning blue.

I decided. I will go back to that ape village, get more planks, repair my treehouse, and make it sturdier than before!

With conviction, I snuck into the ape village again in camouflage. Not spotting any other houses under construction right away, I went after one of the smaller completed houses instead.

I went in through the window, carrying some rather strong wild grass.

There is an ape sleeping inside. These apes sleep really heavily, unbelievably so, and they snore rather loud.

I bound the ape's legs together. Then its torso, flipping it over a few times in the process. Yet, it still didn't wake up. Only when I was blindfolding its face did it start to squirm and wake.

"Oo...?"

As soon as I heard that sound, I immediately stuffed its mouth with grass.

"!" The ape started struggling violently while letting out muffled sounds but was unable to do anything except wiggle on his bed of grass.

I started dismantling its house right by its side. Once I was done, I took the planks, along with the ape's stone sword and left.

Next morning, I began replacing the damaged planks of my treehouse.

Next night, I did the same. Surprisingly, after how radical my last attempt was, the apes did not post any guards.

I wonder why? Maybe they don't take my thieving seriously, or maybe these primitive creatures, despite displaying intelligence, are just that stupid, thinking that the problem would just magically go away...

Taking advantage of their stupidity to make free profits is... really exciting. This is an excitement I couldn't feel in my last life because I feared being punished by society's laws.

But here, there are no laws, at least not for me.

Before I knew it, I was getting addicted.

That is why the night after, even after I already finished fixing my treehouse, I went to steal again.

It certainly wouldn't hurt to add another layer to the walls of my treehouse, giving it more defense. I can use surplus planks to make some furniture and build a fence. I can also grab other trinkets along the way.

My skill levels increasing slowly but steadily is a bonus, another incentive for me to work hard at being a thief.

This went on for more than a week.

I did not know I would soon regret it.