Law-Abiding Citizen "Rat King" / An Unexpected Situation

After clearly seeing what was placed in the corner of the counter, Lin Ge Rui narrowed his eyes slightly and stopped walking towards the shelf.

A moment later, he reached out and picked up a very exquisite-looking porcelain teacup from a pile of trinkets next to the Lungmen Dollars.

"So it was that little thief..."

Although Lin Ge Rui didn't exaggerate to the point of knowing everything that had recently been stolen from Lungmen, he did recognize the teacup in his hand.

This is one of the items stolen from a small gang in Lungmen by that recently emerged "righteous thief"...

As for how Lin Ge Rui knew, it was because he had sent someone to inquire about it.

After these organizations have their items stolen, they might try to cover up some things when questioned by him, perhaps out of consideration for face or because the items are considered unclean. However, the [Rat King]'s authority and reputation are undeniable, so even if he does conceal some information, what he reveals is almost always the truth.

"Snort..."

With a soft hum, Lin Ge Rui put down his teacup. Having lived for so many years, he was already a shrewd old man. Without much thought, he vaguely understood the intentions of the thief who had patronized his shop.

It's nothing more than that he'd been pushing people too hard in the slums lately, and they couldn't resist retaliating by visiting his candy store. But then they were afraid he'd really get angry and hold them accountable, so they left behind the money and "stolen goods."

"Dream on, it's been so many years since anyone has provoked me like this..."

P. S.: I've really been working hard, and this chapter took me from 8 pm until now. You guys probably noticed before that the plot twists and jumps were very abrupt... It was so frustrating. Goodnight everyone.

Chapter 15: The Law-Abiding Good Citizen, the "Rat King"

After taking stock of the "losses" in his shop, [Rat King] gave some instructions to his men, temporarily closed the shop, and then leisurely headed towards the Lungmen Guard Department.

Previously, due to the unusual nature of the items stolen by Pardofelis, Lin Ge Rui didn't want to bring the matter into the open, only investigating privately and putting pressure on them. But now that his own legitimate candy store has been robbed, he has a reason to speak out.

After all, he, [Rat King] Lin Ge Rui, is a law-abiding citizen of Lungmen, so naturally he would call the police when he encountered such a thing.

As for his own face and prestige, the [Rat King] might have cared about it before, but since he discovered a few days ago that the [Emperor] was also involved and investigating this petty thief, he has become less concerned.

He didn't suffer much in terms of material possessions, but in terms of face and prestige, he gained someone of equal status to accompany him.

Of course, Lin Ge Rui's call to the police this time was not only to get the Lungmen Guard Department to put pressure on the petty thief, but also to remind the people behind the Lungmen Guard Department.

Although the "petty thief" left behind money and stolen goods this morning, seemingly pleading for mercy, after repeated tests over this period, [Rat King] doesn't consider him a simple character. Ask yourself, how many people can operate successfully every time in Lungmen, a place teeming with his spies, without ever being exposed?

However, despite the reminder, Lin Ge Rui figured that guy probably already knew about it.

Ah~

"Sleeping in the sun is pure bliss!"

Pardofelis, who had woken up naturally after a good night's sleep, squinted her eyes contentedly, stretched, and muttered to herself.

Meow~

Noticing Pardofelis's actions, the Canned Food next to it seemed to have been "infected" by them, and then stretched out its chubby body with its four paws supporting its waist.

"I wonder what's going on outside. I hope that, considering the money I left behind, that big... 'Rat King' will show some mercy." As she spoke, Pardofelis couldn't help but picture Lin Ge Rui's angry and terrifying face in her mind.

Honestly, although Cat knew what the Rat King looked like before she transmigrated, after secretly seeing him in person a few days ago, she could only say that those who weren't from Terra couldn't really appreciate him...

After staying at her lodgings for a while, Pardofelis finally couldn't sit still any longer. She stood up with a somewhat helpless expression, patted her clothes, and then looked at the Canned Food beside her, saying:

"I'm still a little worried. Let's go out and take a look. We Canned Food goods will also solve our breakfast and lunch needs."

"... Meow!"

The chubby cat, who had been rather uninterested after hearing the first half of the story, perked up immediately upon hearing about breakfast and lunch, and then excitedly and quickly climbed onto Pardofelis's shoulder.

"Canned Food, you get so excited when food is mentioned." With that, Pardofelis took out a small dried fish from her spatial storage and held it to Canned Food's mouth, saying, "Have something to eat first, and don't rush towards any food you find outside!"

Pardofelis wasn't exaggerating when she said that Canned Food was the real deal. In one incident a few days ago, a fat cat did exactly that... If it weren't for its size, people would have thought it was being abused.

But the Canned Food's gluttony didn't stop there. Ever since it was fed at Swire's house, it would sneak over every few days to freeload... making Pardofelis a little embarrassed.

After all, I was already trying to get freebies from other people because of a task, and then my cat was just openly mooching off my food...

Now, when I'm getting cat supplies, I can hardly bear to look at the Swire cat Canned Food and canned cat food I just bought.

"Meow!"

Seeing the dried fish offered to him, the Canned Food didn't hesitate and took a bite, starting to eat.

"Oh right, I almost forgot!"

Glancing at the Canned Food that was happily eating, Pardofelis suddenly seemed to remember something. She gently clasped her hands together, took out a candy from her spatial storage, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.

Feeling the refreshing sweetness spreading in her mouth, the cat gently raised the hand holding the candy wrapper, then watched as the wrapper shimmered in the sunlight. Her already good mood instantly improved.

Finally, after carefully putting the candy wrappers into her collection box, Pardofelis took the empty Canned Food and cautiously left her hideout to gather intelligence.

It wasn't until she went out to investigate that Pardofelis realized the worst had happened: Lin Ge Rui had actually called the police because of the candy store incident!

Now things are really messed up; by now, all three major powers in Lungmen have taken notice of her to some extent...

Upon hearing this news, Pardofelis was devastated. She imagined many terrible outcomes, even that the [Rat King] would be furious and use all his connections to "wanted" her throughout the city...

But what Cat never expected was that this dignified gang leader would completely disregard martial ethics and face by directly calling the police!

"Sigh, Canned Food, it looks like we're in for a rough time." Pardofelis said with a slightly sullen expression, putting down the chicken leg she had just taken a bite of.

Regarding the current situation, Cat isn't afraid of any danger to her life or going to jail. The former is unlikely, and the latter can't be contained at all. What bothers her is the potential for exhaustion later on.

As for what's tiring... well, it's definitely from knocking on people's backs!

During this period of time, under the increasingly intensive and careful search of the [Rat King], Pardofelis was not actually undiscovered, but she simply used [Out of Touch] to "physically" erase her memory.

After all, cats aren't some kind of invisibility superhero; it would be a problem if they didn't reveal a single flaw when there were so many eyes and ears watching them.

What's more, she would often go out in the middle of the night to deliver supplies to the people in the slums. Just for that, she had been lying in wait by Lin Ge Rui's men countless times.

With this multi-party collaboration, Pardofelis can't even imagine how many people she'll have to knock on next...

"Meow~ Awoo!"

Just as Pardofelis was "lamenting," the Canned Food somehow moved to her side, and then, taking advantage of her inattention, pounced and bit into the large chicken leg in her hand.

"!"

"This is my chicken leg, Canned Food!" After discovering that her chicken leg had been bitten, Pardofelis instantly snapped out of her previous state and began fighting with her fat cat for the chicken leg.

P. S.: This sleep schedule was a waste of time, it's all gone wrong, I'm so sleepy, everyone stay safe.

Announcement (I get it!)

I was stuck for over 20 days, and then suddenly it dawned on me, everyone.

I finally found the real problem. I got stuck on one thing. I didn't think this way before I started writing this volume. The original plan was to make it more like a police drama, the kind where he escapes and he chases... But as I wrote, I put myself into the cat's personality and thought like a cat throughout the whole thing, and then pushed the plot forward.

Things went wrong as they were pushed along, and it turned into this terrible dozen or so chapters in this volume.

Honestly, I think the cat's personality in this volume wasn't out of character (OOC), but it was precisely because it was relatively faithful to the original that things went wrong.

As for why I say that, it's because the cat's personality isn't suited to advancing the plot. I was previously trapped in her character design. With her education, abilities, and strong luck, she secretly and stealthily hid all the way through, and even after more than ten chapters and half a month in the novel, no one discovered her.

Not to mention, in police dramas, there's no interaction or close contact with other girls... Without these everyday scenes of interaction with other characters to enrich the story, the earlier parts would feel incredibly stiff, and the transitions would be very difficult to read.

Not only is it painful for you to read, but it was also incredibly painful for me to write. I was so frustrated yesterday that I almost rewrote the entire volume. But after carefully analyzing the plot today, I discovered that those previously terrible chapters actually contained many useful foreshadowing elements, so I temporarily abandoned the idea of starting over.

After revisiting the plot today, I tried writing for a while, and it's flowing smoothly now; the writer's block problem is temporarily gone. After all, I've broken free from the cat-like character and found a reasonable way to advance the plot and interact with the girls without contradicting her personality.

By the way, don't worry if you want to see the larger Griseo; it'll be unlocked soon. However, this character probably won't be used much in the novels in the short term, since it's hard to explain to friends how she suddenly grew up overnight. But it's still possible to use it secretly like Mobius.

Then there's a small problem I encountered tonight: does anyone know what Chen calls Swire?

This month I've encountered an unprecedented writer's block, so updates have been really slow. I'll try to write more in the next few days. After all, if I don't write well, I might not have money for food next month (sad).

Chapter 16 Unexpected Situation

After "Rat King" Lin Ge Rui reported the case, the Lungmen Guard Department took it seriously because of his status and began to mobilize its intelligence department to collect clues extensively.

Within just a few days, a multitude of intricate and fragmented clues were laid out on Chen and Swire's desk.

Lungmen Guard Department, Senior Superintendent's Office

At this moment, the three members of the team who took over the case are gathered together, sorting through and discussing the relevant clues.

"Although much information is still missing, we can roughly estimate the number of thefts committed by this 'generous' suspect."

Chen paused here, pointed to the whiteboard next to him with photos and clues, and continued to the person beside him:

"If Lin Ge Rui's conjecture that [the suspect would help the people in the slums once for each theft] is correct, then it can be deduced that the suspect must have stolen a total of 13 times up to the time he robbed the candy store."

"Whether he has taken any further action in the days since the candy store incident remains unknown."

Swire and Hoshiguma, who were sitting to the side, nodded slightly in agreement with Chen's words, as they shared the same thought.

Then, as if remembering something, Swire sighed with a hint of helplessness:

"This suspect was surprisingly principled, doing one theft and one delivery. It's just a pity that because 'Rat King' had been chasing him so closely, his methods became irregular."

"Let alone whether there are any further operations after the candy store incident, in the previous 13 thefts, we still don't know what the suspect stole in 5 of them, and no one has reported the thefts to the police."

"It's possible that the victim himself didn't even know it was stolen. After all, the suspect's thefts this time seemed very random and completely unpredictable," Hoshiguma added seriously after hearing Swire's words.

"Yeah, hopefully those careless owners will realize what's going on soon." After muttering this under her breath, Swire turned her attention back to the clues.

The rooftop of an uninhabited building --

"Ah, this place is perfect for sunbathing."

Pardofelis lay on the prepared lounge chair, basking in the sun, and lazily sighed.

"Speaking of which, I remember there's an event on a commercial street near Wu's place tonight. I think there are a lot of food stalls there. Shall we check out the Canned Food?"

"Meow!"

"Okay, I'll take you there tonight!"

Ever since discovering a few days ago that "Rat King" had reported the candy store incident to the Lungmen Guard Department and that another group of people were investigating her, Pardofelis has simply started to slack off (enjoy life).

In the past few days, apart from paying attention to the news and the general trend, she hasn't touched the first task at all.

These past few days, the cat has been eating, drinking, playing, sunbathing, and sleeping. If I have some free time at the end, I'll also take a trip to Swire's place to buy some small items.

So far, although the first task is still stuck at 7 attempts, the Swire's restocking task has been successfully pushed to the 8th attempt.

As time slowly passed and night fell, the bustling city gradually lit up with its bright lights once again.

Wow, it's so lively here!

Looking at the bustling, crowded street in front of her, Pardofelis exclaimed excitedly, as if she had never seen anything like it before.

Although Maomao has been in Lungmen for more than half a month, she has only been able to play properly in the last few days. This is the first time she has ever seen an event like today.

Meow~

However, compared to Pardofelis's excitement, the Canned Food perched on her shoulder, observing the scene before it, was far less interested. It realized that on this crowded street, the lines to buy food were too slow.

"Well, there are quite a few people, but since we're already here, Canned Food, why don't you come with me and we'll look around? I'll take you somewhere else to eat later." Understanding Canned Food's meaning and feelings, Pardofelis smiled and whispered reassuringly.

Meow~

"Canned Food is the best, let's go!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Pardofelis led her fat cat and followed the crowd into the shopping street.

Because there were so many people, Pardofelis didn't queue up to buy anything after entering the shopping street. She just wandered around out of curiosity, looking here and there, just joining in the fun.

However, before the cat had even finished shopping, she noticed that the crowd around her suddenly became agitated, with many people even pushing against the flow of people to push their way out.

What happened up ahead?

Skillfully dodging the people crowding towards her, Pardofelis looked in the direction of the commotion with a puzzled expression.