Chapter 169 - 132: Case Established! [The ’He Came from Hell’ Case]

Xu Huo was lost in thought when he caught a whiff of a strange, foul odor. He paused, and a thought struck him.

[Wang Die’s Scent]!

In the next second, a faint, foul smell wafted into his nostrils.

’A foul smell?’

’Where is that stench coming from!?’

Xu Huo furrowed his brow. "Chao Zi, do you smell anything?"

Wang Chao looked skeptical. He walked over to the bread section, and his face immediately fell.

"What the hell? Is this stinky tofu-flavored bread!?"

He took a deep sniff, then backed away in disgust.

"Where is that smell coming from!?"

"Damn it, don’t tell me business has been bad these past few days because of this smell."

"I knew it! With Sister Chu Xi’s skills, there’s no way we wouldn’t be a hit by now!"

Wang Chao was stunned. He’d been looking everywhere outside for the cause these past two days, never expecting the problem to be inside.

’This smell...’

’Anyone who comes in and smells this isn’t going to buy anything.’

"We’ve been robbed."

Xu Huo stood up and looked around. "The scent trail leads outside. I smell two people."

Leftover bread was usually covered and dealt with by the staff. Xu Huo couldn’t be bothered, so he’d typically just cover it and have it for breakfast the next day.

Whatever couldn’t be eaten would be disposed of somehow.

"What should we do?" Wang Chao wondered.

He was starting to think Linlan City was just like Zhaozhou in Jiangsan City.

’It’s like this place has it out for me...’

"They came twice. They’re repeat offenders. We need to deal with this."

Xu Huo sniffed the air, a hint of annoyance on his face.

’Once is one thing, but twice...’

’Chu Xi was finally having such a good time with me. Having it ruined is a real buzzkill.’

"We’ll catch them."

Xu Huo said,

"Twice is enough. We’ll lie in wait for them. If they come a third time, we’ll drag them to the police station. If we can’t catch them and they don’t come back, we’ll just drop it."

"You got it!"

Wang Chao said enthusiastically.

Thieves and the like were a real headache for the food service industry.

On the same level were dine-and-dashers, or people who would sneak things out while claiming they’d already paid.

Small shops didn’t have many effective measures against this kind of behavior. They could only chalk it up to bad luck and ban the person.

But thieves...

’You can’t ban them if you don’t catch them!’

"How do we stake them out?"

"We wait!"

... ...

... ...

「Eleven o’clock at night.」

As the sun set, a bright moon rose from the other side. Stars filled the sky, and pale moonlight spilled into the bleak darkness.

The streets were empty.

Only a few lights flickered in the office building behind them. The streets and alleys transformed into an endless labyrinth of urban legends.

At this moment, everything was deathly still. The barren, black night was devoid of life, like a tomb, and the buildings lining the road were dark and gloomy.

Until...

"CLICK... CLICK..."

A crisp sound broke the silence.

A moment later.

A door on the side of the road opened, and two thigh-high figures furtively slipped inside.

"Grab more, grab more!"

"I can’t carry any more... Is there a bag?"

"Did we take too much...?"

"Let’s go!"

The two of them muttered to each other for a good while before running out with their arms full.

Before leaving, they even closed the door, and then their figures vanished.

A moment later.

"TAP TAP TAP~"

The sound of footsteps descending the stairs was heard.

Two figures stood in the pitch-black room, looking outside through the window.

’They really came...’

’For the third time!’

’It’s like they think the money I invested is public property, coming here every day...’

’Besides, this lack of security is genuinely terrifying.’

’If they weren’t here to steal, but to poison the food... that would be a huge problem.’

"Chase."

At that thought, Xu Huo uttered a single word in a low voice.

The two of them exited through the front door. Xu Huo followed the scent, tracking their route.

After a while...

"TAP TAP TAP!!!"

The sound of frantic footsteps erupted.

’Are they... running?’

’They spotted us... I wasn’t really hiding, but those two little thieves are pretty sharp.’

Xu Huo’s ears twitched. "After them."

"Right!"

Enraged, Wang Chao charged forward without a word.

He was going to get revenge for his savory crepe!

The two of them chased the thieves into a small alley. It was a dead end, but there was no sign of anyone.

"They vanished?"

Wang Chao looked confused.

Xu Huo didn’t speak, just twitched his nose.

The scent of the two of them cut off abruptly right here. There was no trace of them leaving or escaping from somewhere else.

"Let’s check the surrounding area,"

he said after a moment of thought.

Wang Chao nodded.

The two walked back out. There was no movement at the alley’s entrance.

For a long time, the alley was dead silent. Until...

"SQUEAK~"

A sharp sound rang out as a metal plate on the ground was lifted, and a pair of eyes peeked out.

The eyes darted around, saw nothing, and then the face broke into a wide grin.

"CLANG!"

He tossed the manhole cover aside and climbed out, looking very pleased with himself.

"Ha, shook ’em off!"

"Who did you shake off?"

A voice sounded.

The boy: ???

A look of terror crossed his face. He whipped his head around, only to see two figures standing on the alley wall, right above his head.

They were looking down on him.

The little boy was terrified. He fell to his knees and frantically scrambled back into the sewer.

"Hey, you little brat! Stealing instead of behaving yourself!"

Wang Chao cursed as he leaped down and yanked the child out with one hand.

In the moonlight, the boy’s face was clearly visible.

He was about twelve or thirteen years old, barely five feet tall, and very light, maybe eighty or ninety pounds.

After being pulled out, the boy...

...expertly curled into a ball, hugging his head with his face to the ground, exposing his back.

"Playing turtle in its shell, are you!?"

"Damn it, climbing through the sewers... No wonder nobody’s been buying anything the last couple of days! Who could stand this smell!?"

"If you wanted bread, you should have just said so! What if all those germs got on the equipment and someone got sick and died..."

Wang Chao squatted beside him, scolding.

But the little boy in front of him didn’t make a sound, remaining on the ground, still hugging his head.