Chapter 176: Figuring Out the Situation

Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Figuring Out the Situation

As soon as he walked into the supermarket, Sean Hughes subconsciously began taking in his surroundings and immediately noticed something was off.

The surrounding shelves were neatly arranged, but the products were clearly covered in a thin layer of dust. There were also some boxes of goods tucked into the corners, placed conveniently for the store manager to restock. The overall arrangement suggested the manager was a clean and orderly person.

The part of the checkout counter by the entrance, the section against the wall, was still tidy. However, the part closer to the aisle was littered with cigarette butts and ash, shoe prints, and the residue of spit that hadn’t been completely wiped away.

Next to the counter was a small metal rack for holding packages, but now all the miscellaneous items and packages were piled up in front of the register.

There were even half-eaten takeout containers tossed carelessly on top, and spilled soup stained the floor, faintly emitting a foul odor.

The filth and chaos in this one area stood in stark contrast to the cleanliness of the rest of the store.

When Sean Hughes first saw it, he couldn’t help but wonder if the store manager had been possessed. Or had some major incident occurred, leaving him unable to even clean up a little?

Before Sean Hughes could get a better look, the man sleeping behind the counter pulled the clothes off his face, his expression grim.

As he spoke, he scanned Sean Hughes up and down, his shifty eyes darting about as if he were sizing him up.

"What do you want to buy?"

The man repeated himself, his gaze turning wary as he looked at Sean Hughes.

Someone from the small storage room inside must have heard the man’s voice, as they also came out to see what was going on.

"I need to buy some bread and a few drinks," Sean Hughes said, enduring the stares of the two men as he stood before the shelves, pretending to choose.

"Out all by yourself in this weather, pretty thing?" the man asked, leaning against the counter. His tone was probing.

"Nope, my family’s waiting for me outside." Sean Hughes was on high alert, but he didn’t let it show on his face.

While picking out his items, he gestured outside with his finger.

The man followed the direction of Sean Hughes’s finger and saw a black sedan parked outside. Through the windows, he could see at least five people inside.

’Too many people. Forget it.’

The man weighed the risks and rewards, abandoned the idea he had in mind, and sat back down at the checkout counter.

Sean Hughes breathed a sigh of relief when the man stopped following him and asking questions. But whenever he casually glanced up, he could still see the other man standing at the storage room entrance, arms crossed, staring at him.

After a few more of these "casual" glances, Sean Hughes brought his chosen bread and drinks to the counter to pay, his voice full of complaint. "Boss, you guys are way too cautious. I’m not going to steal anything. Did you really have to get your employee to stare at me the whole time?"

The man at the counter just chuckled as if he hadn’t heard Sean Hughes’s complaint and didn’t answer his question.

"Go on, go on, go on. Your family must have been waiting for a while." After quickly ringing him up, the man shooed Sean Hughes out like he had the plague.

’We have things to do later. We can’t waste any more time on this guy!’

Having achieved his goal and wanting to avoid arousing suspicion, Sean Hughes didn’t linger and left with his purchases.

"How did it go? Did you get a good look at the guy’s face?" Monkey asked anxiously when Sean Hughes returned.

Sean Hughes didn’t waste any time and described the man’s appearance to Monkey.

After hearing Sean’s description, Monkey nodded with unusual certainty. That’s him!

"Looks like Beau identified the right person. But doesn’t that mean he’s realized something is wrong?" Zoe Sawyer’s voice was edged with anxiety.

Sean Hughes recalled the men’s expressions and shook his head. "I don’t think they did."

’The way those two looked at me, it was like they were looking at a piece of merchandise. Their eyes were filled with greed, not the fear and vigilance of someone who’s been found out.’

"So what’s next? Do we follow this guy, or head toward the tracker’s location?" Monkey asked, gripping the steering wheel and starting the car, slowly pulling away.

They couldn’t stay there for too long, or they’d risk being discovered.

Heath Hale checked the location on his phone, compared the distance between the two points, and decided to head in the direction of the tracker.

The phone showed that the tracker had stopped moving. Its location wasn’t too far from the small supermarket.

The group discussed it briefly. Soon, Monkey parked the car behind a noticeably dilapidated house.

From there, it was only a ten-minute walk to the tracker’s location.

Any closer, and they risked tipping them off.

To be safe, the group decided to approach on foot from there.

"Beau, how about we have Zoe take you back to the police station first? Once we’ve dealt with this, we’ll take you out to have fun, okay?" Sean Hughes looked at Beau sitting in the back seat, thought for a moment, then squatted down in front of him to discuss it.

Having learned a lot recently, Beau could understand the priorities of the situation. Thanks to the Logan Grandparents’ usual teachings, he nodded sensibly and agreed without a hint of hesitation.

"Good boy," Sean Hughes said, patting Beau’s head, feeling an inevitable twinge of guilt.

Zoe Sawyer had been training with Heath Hale and Barry Quinn for so long that she had developed a decent ability to protect herself.

Beau, however, had only done some jogging at night to stay fit.

For the success of the mission, Zoe Sawyer and the others had no choice but to send Beau back first. They also took the opportunity to grab some more equipment, just in case.

Once everything was ready, the group discussed their next move and decided to borrow Vivian Dunn’s drone.

First, they would scan the surrounding environment to check for any ambushes.

Soon, the drone’s feed appeared on the remote control’s screen.

The village wasn’t large, home to only a few dozen households.

But the streets were deserted; there was no one out and about.

However, a house at the edge of the village soon caught their attention.

Compared to the deserted feel of the rest of the village, this house was clearly much more ’lively’.

Not only was the area around the house piled with all sorts of trash, but there were also several cars parked outside.

"This has to be the place. Let’s go check it out," Heath Hale said, his eyes fixed on the screen as he quickly planned a route in his head.

Zoe Sawyer and the others didn’t object, nodding in agreement with Heath’s plan.

Soon, the five of them had crept up to the vicinity of the house.

Most people in these rural areas weren’t in the habit of installing security cameras, and this house was no exception.

"Are we going to wait outside?" Zoe Sawyer asked. ’Are we supposed to just wait for the suspects to come out and then catch them all at once?’

’Won’t that take too long?’