Chapter 207: Haste Makes Waste
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhang Zian went first to the company that lost the imported watch. He used the access card given by Yu Fei to open the glass French door.
Old Time Tea observed the access control system carefully, “Zian, only this small card can open the door?”
“It should be.” Zhang Zian patted the access card in his hand, “but it’s hard to say because this card can be copied privately by people for evil purposes. As long as they have the original card, they can use simple technology to produce a fake copy that has all the functions of the original in only a few seconds.”
Old Time Tea was pondering something. “Even if those cats did steal something, how did they run away? Did someone open the door for them?”
“It is possible.” Zhang Zian admitted that from the beginning, he believed there was someone, perhaps a real cat trainer, behind the scene controlling those cats.
He held the door to let Galaxy, Old Time Tea and Fina enter first.
There were two companies located on the fifth floor. The company that had lost the watch was called Red Leaf Commercial Trading, an enterprise of small to medium size that specialized in foreign trade of garments.
Zhang Zian recalled the content of the video, and soon he found the office in which the watch was lost.
He used the key provided by Yu Fei to open the lock, pushed open the door and entered into the office. He noticed Liu Miao’s desk right away, or precisely speaking, the desk previously belonged to Liu Miao, as the current name plate on the table had been replaced by someone else’s name.
The layout of the office was no different from any other office building—rows of desks arranged in an orderly manner, and on each desk was one or two monitors. The less important documents were scattered on the desks. Observing the clutter, you could roughly tell if the owner of that desk was male or female, a scene that Zhang Zian also felt very familiar with.
“Zian, I feel…” Old Time Tea didn’t get to finish its sentence when it and Fina looked up at the same time.
Zhang Zian followed their gazes.
Above his head was a metal ventilation pipe that went across the entire office.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Shut up!” Fina’s ears turned like antennae aimed at the ventilation pipe.
“Zian, something seems to be moving in there,” Old Time Tea whispered.
“What is it?” Zhang Zian also lowered his voice. He stared at the ventilation pipe, but he did not notice or hear anything.
Old Time Tea shook his head, “It has stopped moving now. Something was moving and jumping around swiftly, probably…”
“The Mytha.” Fina said coldly, “These scums dared to do such shameless things to taint the reputation of the Mytha! Unacceptable!”
Really?
Zhang Zian carefully observed the ventilation pipe, “So, the cat that stole the watch came in and out through the ventilation pipe?”
“Yes, very likely.” said Old Time Tea assuredly.
“No wonder no one has caught them.” Zhang Zian suddenly became confident. “If we follow that sound, we can locate the criminals.”
“We need to figure out how those cats got in the pipe.” Old Time Tea reminded him.
Zhang Zian knew that there must be an entrance somewhere, so that the cats could have free access to the ventilation pipe. In general, a ventilation pipe had a mesh fence before the outlet. Cats may be able to push out the fence to jump out, but certainly they could not restore the fence back to its original state if they were outside the pipe.
“Meow! Galaxy can go in!” Galaxy suddenly said.
Zhang Zian was confused for a second, but then he understood what Galaxy meant. It was going to enter the pipeline in quantum state, and then return to normal when it got in the pipeline. This was a viable option, but he was somewhat worried about it.
“Galaxy, are you sure you can do that?” He squatted down to ask Galaxy.
“Of course! It’s just like hide-and-seek! And I’ve never lost in hide-and-seek!” Galaxy said happily, and then it remembered, “Meow — I’ve only lost once, to Zian.”
Zhang Zian looked at Galaxy’s face. It was serious. And he looked at the the cold metal pipe above him. He was uncertain whether he should let Galaxy try.
“Galaxy wants to help!” Galaxy said dedicatedly, “Galaxy is good girl! Those cats are bad girls!”
“Zian, from my perspective, this trip is not dangerous.” Old Time Tea looked at him with encouragement.
He nodded, “Well, Galaxy, you can go now. But be careful. If you sense any danger, come back immediately.”
“Galaxy understands!” Galaxy was eagerly trying to leap at the ventilation pipe.
“Galaxy, if you see them, you do not need to stop them, just follow them and see where they are going,” Zhang Zian patiently said. “Our goal is to seize the main man that pulls the strings behind the scenes.”
“Got it! Galaxy is leaving now!”
Galaxy stared at the ventilation pipe.
Zhang Zian looked at it worryingly. He was aware that Galaxy would disappear instantaneously and then appear in the interior of the ventilation pipe in the next moment.
However, something unexpected happened—a moment later, Galaxy was still there.
“Hmm? How come Galaxy can’t go in the pipe?” Galaxy lifted a paw and gently waved in front of itself. It was puzzled too.
Fina and Old Time Tea were stunned.
Zhang Zian asked, “Galaxy, are you feeling uncomfortable?”
“No, Galaxy is fine.” It was still confused. “But Galaxy is not moving.”
Zhang Zian turned to Old Time Tea for help. “Grandpa Tea, do you know what’s going on?”
Old Time Tea shook its head, “I remember you told me that Galaxy is a very special kid in that even the most advanced modern technology might not capture it. And I know so little about modern technology…” It then looked at the camera in the corner of the ceiling and said,” Is it possibly because of that thing? “
Zhang Zian turned to look at the camera.
It was hard to tell whether the camera was working from its sheer appearance.
Could there be an unexpected observer?
He picked up the walkie-talkie and pressed the call key. “Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu. Answer me if you hear this. Over.”
Two or three seconds later, Yu Fei’s voice was heard from the walkie-talkie, “This is Yu Fei. How can I help you, Mr. Zhang? Over.”
“The camera on the fifth floor, is it working or is it turned off?”
Four or five seconds later.
“It’s off.” Said Yu Fei.
“It was never turned on. You can come down and see for yourself. If the camera was on, the monitoring system would automatically record the images.”
Zhang Zian didn’t feel that Yu Fei was lying, so he raised the walkie-talkie and said, “Got it, thanks. And please keep the monitor off.”
“Mr. Zhang, is there anything I can help you with?”
“I’m fine. I will let you know if I need your assistance. Over.”
He put down the walkie-talkie and turned his head, only to find that Galaxy had disappeared.
