Rumors and Emperor's Discovery / Swire's Suspicions

"Meow!"

After leaving her resting place for the past few days, Pardofelis did not rush to leave the slum. Instead, she found a hotel and slipped inside without any trouble.

As for why she knows the parking route so well, it's because her cat comes here often now. Although the weather hasn't been hot lately, she's still been busy and sweating a bit, so she sneaks over to take a shower and groom herself these past few days.

Of course, Pardofelis did pay. Before, on Twilight Alley, she didn't have the money or the means, so she just secretly mooched some money. But now that she has the means, she naturally pays.

However, the payment method... is not necessarily the conventional one.

After washing up and getting ready, Pardofelis quietly left the slum wearing her new clothes.

Today, or rather from now on, she plans to change her resting location, for the reason she mentioned before... she's being watched, and this person is causing her some trouble.

The one who made Pardofelis feel troubled and caused her to shift her base was the [Rat King], one of the most powerful underworld figures in Lungmen, whose real name was Lin Ge Rui.

Although the Rat King was a member of the underworld, the people in the slums respected him. In addition, he had informants all over Lungmen, which meant that he heard about Pardofelis's two thefts targeting the "black and gray forces" and his four acts of helping the poor.

With this unexpected "variable" appearing, the [Rat King] naturally had to investigate it thoroughly to determine if it would pose a threat to Lungmen. If so, further action would be needed after the investigation.

However, what Pardofelis fears most is not the [Rat King]'s power and status in Lungmen, or his spies, but rather his relationship with other bigwigs in Lungmen.

For example, Wei Yenwu, the highest authority in this city and the leader of the Lungmen Guard Department, or the boss of Penguin Logistics [the Emperor] whom the cat recently stole...

These people didn't think there was anything wrong with disassembling Pardofelis, although there were some problems and troubles, but not too big.

What she really fears is that the three of them will sit in a bar, drinking and calling each other brothers, and then, as soon as they discover a problem, they'll team up!

This is really bad news for the cat!

Although Pardofelis didn't think these people could catch her even if they joined forces, after all, she was an excellent escape artist. However, under these circumstances, she certainly wouldn't be able to complete her mission.

Unless she grits her teeth and keeps switching back and forth between buying goods, serving time in prison, and escaping...

Therefore, to avoid this situation, the cat plans to be more careful and vigilant, preventing more information about itself from being discovered. At the same time, it also intends to speed up the mission's progress.

Otherwise, given the current situation, the longer the task is delayed, the more difficult it will become...

P. S.: I'm back in full force! Sorry for the long wait, there will be another update later. After that, I'll write another paragraph about how, once the cat gets annoyed, it will sneak into someone's candy store and steal his secret stash of money.

Chapter 9 Rumors and the Discovery of the Emperor

In an office of the Lungmen Guard Department--

"Chen, have you heard that rumor these past few days?"

Hoshiguma, noticing that her friend and colleague had finished dealing with the documents on the table, quickly leaned over to ask what was wrong.

"Rumors... where are you referring to?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Wei was taken aback for a moment, then turned to look at the person beside her.

"Where else could it be? It's the slums, of course. You've probably heard rumors about it lately."

"Oh, you mean that kind person that people are talking about? If so, I do know something about him." Chen nodded gently, realizing what was going on, and then replied.

"So, what are your thoughts on this matter?" Hoshiguma blinked gently as she asked.

"Although this matter is a bit strange, nothing has happened that has harmed anyone, so what can I say?" As he spoke, Chen turned his gaze back to his desk, checking if there were any missing documents.

Chen had heard about the matter Hoshiguma brought up today when he was out on a mission in plainclothes before, and even inquired about it a little.

However, after making inquiries, apart from the fact that this "kind person" was delivering gifts in the middle of the night, which was rather strange, she had not heard of any case that had occurred, and no one had reported any related incidents to the Lungmen Guard Department in the past few days, so she did not dwell on the matter or pay too much attention to it.

"That's true, but I still feel like things aren't that simple. Oh well, maybe I'm overthinking it. You can continue with your work." With that, Hoshiguma raised her hand to touch her nose and returned to her seat with a sigh.

Penguin Logistics --

"Looks like your job is about to begin!"

The Emperor, seated in his executive chair, propped his head up with one flipper and nudged the intelligence report on the table in front of him toward the employees in front of him.

After hearing their boss's words, the four employees who had been called to the meeting picked up the intelligence report on the table and huddled together to read it.

"Okay, we understand. We'll investigate."

Texas, the Emperor's top employee who was the first to read the intelligence, handed the intelligence to Exusiai beside her, then nodded to the penguin in front of her and said.

Unlike the indifferent team leader, Exusiai became quite interested after reading it, and then asked [the Emperor] with a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Since you can produce this, boss, it means that even without concrete evidence, this person is highly suspicious, right?"

"Yes, it's quite a coincidence that it's at this time."

"That's good. Just don't let me catch this person, or I'll definitely make him pay back double the amount of my snacks!" Exusiai said, clenching her fist.

"So, Exusiai, why are you still thinking about those snacks after all this time? How about I bring you some when I go out later? It's free, consider it my treat." Hearing her friend's words, Croissant scratched her head slightly and suggested with a helpless expression.

"No need, the nature of the two is different!"

"Hmm... whatever makes you happy."

As for what kind of intelligence suddenly gave the Penguin Logistics team a direction and made them so motivated... well, it was Pardofelis's actions over the past few days.

Even if it were someone like the Rat King or Wei Yenwu, who connected the theft with the events in the slums, they probably wouldn't have fully grasped the underlying pattern.

But the Emperor is different... Others only know that those forces were robbed twice, but he knows very well that, including his own, it should be three times.

Moreover, he felt that if he wasn't mistaken, the thief must have committed another theft that the thief was unaware of.

After all, the pattern is quite obvious: one theft corresponds to one act of helping. It doesn't make sense that the other party only stole three times but helped four times.

However... although we haven't yet figured out who this petty thief is or what organization he's backed, it doesn't matter to the Emperor.

With clues and a direction, finding the culprit was only a matter of time for him.

If we encounter any troublesome organizations, we can always find those old guys to work with and resolve the issue...

A bustling commercial street in Lungmen--

Pardofelis, walking along the roadside, was carrying a lot of snacks. After happily taking a bite of the meatball in her hand, she skillfully handed it to the Canned Food next to her and said:

"Hmm, this is quite delicious. You should try some; Canned Food."

"Meow!"

The Canned Food didn't hold back at all when presented with delicious food; it took a bite out of half of it and ate it with great relish.

To avoid trouble lately, Pardofelis can no longer stay in the slums. So today, besides gathering intelligence, eating, drinking, and having fun as usual, she is also looking for a place to stay.

Because she needs to keep restocking her cat's business, she hopes to find a secluded spot where she can get some sun.

Finally, although the high-rise buildings took Pardofelis quite a while to find, she eventually found a place that was barely satisfactory and made it her new temporary home.

"Ah, finally I can sunbathe and sleep again!"

Pardofelis, who had secretly climbed onto someone else's roof, lay down comfortably, basking in the sun and lazily said...

Meow~

"So you think so too, Canned Food."

Pardofelis, who planned to continue purchasing goods at Chang this afternoon, intends to take a good rest now to recharge her energy.

Because of being targeted by "big shots" and the people in the slums, Pardofelis's reputation progress bar for her first mission is already more than halfway done.

In this situation, the remaining target cats, in order to play it safe, only plan to choose some conventional ones that don't involve much risk.

Of course, to ensure the final mission was completed perfectly, and also because of my own lingering hope...

Before this mission ended, Pardofelis planned to pull off a big heist... which was to infiltrate Dagu Square and buy that 1.8 million car she had been longing for.

As for whether or not to return the piano, Maomao hadn't decided and wasn't sure, but... she had already made up her mind that the 1.8 million yuan had to pass through her hands at least once, otherwise she would feel resentful and that it was such a waste!

P. S.: This is a long post, I've been pulling all night... the quality is a bit poor, please forgive me. I wrote it straight to 4 AM, I hope I'm okay, it's a little scary...

I doubt anyone's staying up late to wait by now. Goodnight everyone.

Chapter 10 Swire's Doubts

Pardofelis, basking in the sun at her new place, squinted and lazily stretched, muttering to herself:

"Ah, it's almost time, it's time to get started."

Meow~

"Hmm? Canned Food, why are you hungry again? Didn't you just eat not long ago?!" Hearing the Canned Food's meow, and understanding the meaning behind its words, Pardofelis said with a bit of helplessness.

"Meow!"

Upon hearing this, the canned Canned Food stomped its chubby little paws and cried out in dissatisfaction.

"Okay, okay, let's go buy some food then."

Meow~

Let's go!

As soon as she finished speaking, Pardofelis moved swiftly and skillfully.

Unlike the previous two days, today Pardofelis did not seek out new targets, but instead planned to visit Swire's house again.

After all, she had neglected that place a bit in order to complete her first task the other day... Now that she had some free time, she naturally wanted to go and visit it properly.

After going around in circles, Pardofelis finally managed to reach the courtyard of her destination.

"Canned Food, because I was going to buy you food, I didn't go to the Lungmen Guard Department to check the situation beforehand, so go in and help me scout around." Pardofelis turned to look at the fat cat standing on her shoulder and pointed to Swire's yard.

Normally, when Pardofelis comes to Swire's house to buy goods, she would check with the Lungmen Guard Department beforehand to see if Swire was there. This time, however, it wasn't on her way, so she didn't go.

However, the whereabouts of the target are not very important to the cat, since it's not a big problem as long as they're not at home.

Now that they've arrived at their destination, the task of investigation naturally falls to the "culprit."

Meow~

After listening to Pardofelis's words, the Canned Food, which had been fed to about 80% capacity, gently shook its tail, then used its paws to nimbly leap over the fence and land in the Swire Courtyard.

On the other side--

"This mission was absolutely terrible. Let's go, I'll help you take the guy back to the station." Swire glanced at the prisoner being held down by the officers, then at her own clothes stained with dirt, and said with a sigh of frustration.

"Yes!"

After hearing Swire's orders, the surrounding police officers nodded and then escorted the prisoner into the police car.

"Well..."

Swire observed her surroundings and waited until everyone else had boarded before carefully getting into the car herself.

"The prisoner is now in your hands for interrogation, Chen. I'm going back to take a shower and change my clothes."

After safely escorting the prisoner back with the officers, Swire finally couldn't take it anymore. She told Chen in the office to leave, and then left without waiting a moment longer.

Actually, Swire wasn't someone with severe mysophobia. Plus, as a senior superintendent, she had been on many missions, so her tolerance for dirt and grime wasn't low.

However, what she couldn't stand was that the filth that had unexpectedly smeared on her during this mission not only made her dirty but also gave off a faint smell... This was what she found most unbearable.

After all, although she didn't really want to inherit the family business, Swire was still a well-mannered young lady.

She had endured the ordeal of escorting the prisoner back to the Lungmen Guard Department alongside the officers, entirely out of a sense of duty and responsibility... Now that the mission was complete, she was naturally eager to go back and deal with the aftermath.

Outside the Swire Villa --

"How's the situation?"

Looking at the Canned Food perched on someone's wall, Pardofelis asked in a low voice.

Meow~