Finally Feeling Refreshed (Bonus Chapter for Smiling Gentleman, 2)
Xiang Kun entered the eighth store, a Western restaurant. As the waiter approached, Xiang Kun picked up his phone, intending to say he was there to find someone. But then he paused, as if instinctively catching a faint yet peculiar scent amidst the chaotic and pungent aromas.
The first time he had a similar feeling, he noticed the scent of a "Giant Owl" mixed in with the dead rat.
At the time, he simply found the smell too peculiar, completely different from the "smell database" in his brain, and couldn't find any corresponding organisms, so he was very curious.
But now, he has realized that the Mutated Creature has a completely different scent from its counterparts, something he couldn't detect on himself before.
So he knew that if there really was another vampire, he should be able to smell that distinctive scent on the other person.
And now, he could smell that scent.
Although it was so faint that it was hard to notice.
He even suspected that if he weren't particularly sensitive to this type of scent, he might not be able to smell other types of scents that had dissipated to this extent, even with his current sense of smell, even if he tried to smell them intentionally.
Moreover, it is also thanks to the fact that it is in this semi-enclosed space.
As the waiter approached, Xiang Kun still held up his phone, but his story changed. "My friend came for lunch and left his things here. He asked me to come and help him find them."
"Oh, may I ask where your friend was sitting?" the waiter asked politely.
Xiang Kun tried to pinpoint the direction of the scent, but it was so faint that it lacked a clear direction. He could only guess at the possible location based on his own assumptions, pointing to the table in the right corner and saying, "It should be over there."
The waiter led him to a table in the corner where a couple was dining. After the waiter explained the situation, they obediently stood up, and then Xiang Kun immediately bent down and crawled under the table...
He appeared to be looking for something, but he was actually sniffing the air carefully.
A few seconds later, Xiang Kun stood up, thanked the couple, and said to the waiter, "I couldn't find it. Could I check your store's security footage? Maybe he lost it before coming here and didn't even bring it in."
Although his expression remained unchanged, he was inwardly very excited because he had confirmed the scent and was almost certain that a Mutated Creature had been sitting there before. Statistically speaking, it was almost certainly the vampire behind "August's Kasumi."
The waiter took Xiang Kun to see the manager, who wasn't impatient at all and simply told the waiter to take him to see the surveillance footage.
"Your friends are a very handsome man and a woman with a very unique hairstyle, right?" the waiter casually asked on the way to show Xiang Kun the surveillance footage.
This question caught Xiang Kun off guard. A very handsome man and a woman with a unique hairstyle? There was more than one person?
"You have a great memory. You have so many customers, how come you still remember them?" Xiang Kun said, following the waiter's words. He knew that the waiter wouldn't usually say that unless he was quite sure.
"Oh, because they didn't leave until almost three o'clock, and they seemed preoccupied, eating very little. Especially the man, he barely ate anything, and the woman ate very little too, they were mostly playing on the computer. By the way, sir, what did your friend lose? Did the man or the woman lose it?"
"Oh, it's a man. He said he can't find his keys," Xiang Kun replied casually, pondering the waiter's words.
"Huh? What happened?" After checking the surveillance video, the waiter suddenly discovered that all the videos automatically recorded by the surveillance cameras today were gone.
"I'm sorry, it seems there's a problem with the surveillance system; all the videos taken today are gone..." the waiter said apologetically.
"Oh, it's alright, I'll look elsewhere." Xiang Kun wasn't surprised by this situation; since the other party had the ability, it was normal for them to delete the restaurant's surveillance video.
However, Xiang Kun was not discouraged. At least he had found clues about the main person and proved that his later speculation was correct.
"How do they seem to be getting along? Did they have a fight?" He couldn't directly ask what they looked like, since he was their "friend," so he could only ask this kind of question about their friendship, hoping to get some information that could help him make inferences.
"They don't look too well," the waiter said, shaking his head.
After leaving the restaurant, Xiang Kun stood at the entrance for a while before walking towards a clothing store diagonally across the street.
He went straight to the store manager and said anxiously, "Hello, it's like this, an elderly person in my family has gone missing. I asked around and someone saw him here around noon. Could I see your security footage to see if he passed by here?"
Without any hesitation, the store manager had someone take Xiang Kun to check the store's surveillance video. The video was in good condition, but he knew at a glance that it was useless. The video only covered half of the street at most, and was still far from the entrance of the restaurant diagonally opposite.
After thanking the store manager, Xiang Kun observed the street for a while before heading towards a 24-hour convenience store on the same side as the Western restaurant.
He used the same reason to get the convenience store clerk to allow him to view the security camera footage. The angle of the security camera at the back of the convenience store could capture the entrance and the street across the street.
Of course, since the convenience store is on the same side as the Western restaurant, it's impossible to get a picture of the restaurant's entrance.
However, if you come from the left side of the Western restaurant, you will definitely pass by the convenience store.
Xiang Kun was quite familiar with this pedestrian street. If "August's Kasumi" came from the right side of the Western restaurant, then it would have to pass by "Long Time No See Cafe," which would definitely be one of the "strategic locations" he had "controlled" during the day.
So since he hadn't spotted them, it meant they could only have come from the left side of the Western restaurant. That must have been another entrance to the pedestrian street, one of the entrances Xiang Kun the day. If their destination was "Long Time No See Cafe," there was no reason for them to take a detour through that area. But it turned out that they must have already decided on their plan before even reaching the pedestrian street, and came directly to that Western restaurant.
Xiang Kun checked the convenience store's surveillance footage, which was rapidly pushed forward from 2 PM until around 12 PM, when the speed slowed down.
He believed that the other party should arrive no later than 12 o'clock, so that there would be enough time to prepare.
At 11:37, Xiang Kun saw a man and a woman walk by on the screen.
Although he didn't ask the restaurant staff what the two looked like, Xiang Kun was 90% sure it was them. The former was wearing a suit and shirt and had his hair slicked back, looking very calm and composed, even though the outdoor temperature was around 32°C at noon. The latter had dreadlocks and was carrying a backpack, which clearly contained a laptop.
Because the convenience store clerk was standing next to him watching the video, he didn't press pause. However, given his dynamic visual abilities, he didn't need to pause to see the details he wanted.
After looking for a few more minutes, Xiang Kun said he couldn't find anyone, thanked the clerk, and left the convenience store.
After leaving the convenience store, Xiang Kun looked up at the moon in the sky. His mind, which had been tense all day, finally relaxed, and his mood finally lifted.
Although it's far from time to confirm the vampire's identity, and we still know almost nothing about him, Xiang Kun at least knows that this trip to the neighboring city wasn't in vain. Although he was busy with random things during the day, at least he got on the right track at night.