Chapter 7: Taking It Down
"Powerful sedative" was the name Qin Xiaoxia had come up with himself based on the seller's description.
The seller's actual product name for the stuff was "Dreams Come True."
Supposedly, it was extremely potent. Just one tiny tablet would knock out a normal adult in under a minute.
The seller also swore that when girls were drugged through their drinks and taken away, as reported online and in the news, this was basically what people used-or something very similar.
It dissolved easily in all kinds of liquids, had virtually no taste, worked fast, and was nontoxic, with no side effects.
"Can it really be that amazing?"
Qin Xiaoxia muttered to himself, wondering whether he should report the bastard after buying it.
Since he had been referred by an existing customer, the seller was quite friendly.
After a brief chat, Qin Xiaoxia decided to buy five doses.
They certainly weren't cheap. They cost him five hundred yuan, eating up pretty much all the cash Gou Junbao had given him, and he had to pay up front.
If Gou Junbao hadn't bought from the seller several times, Qin Xiaoxia would never have trusted him.
After providing an address, all Qin Xiaoxia had to do was wait for delivery.
Since what he was buying seemed rather shady, Qin Xiaoxia felt too guilty to give his real details. He used the residential complex's gatehouse as the address and Ma Xiaolong as the recipient's name.
But how would they get the stuff to him? Surely not by courier?
Before Qin Xiaoxia had even made it back to the complex from the park, the seller sent him a message with a tracking number.
It really was coming by courier, though not through a major, established company. It was some obscure little delivery service.
When he asked how long it would take, the seller promised it would arrive within three days at the latest.
So, while he waited, Qin Xiaoxia kept finding different tasty things to bring home, sometimes even cooking himself.
He hoped to use food to "keep the situation under control."
Over the past few days, things still got hidden now and then, but nothing else had gone missing from the kitchen. Apparently, the little thief understood that was where food was made.
After two days of waiting, Qin Xiaoxia was growing increasingly anxious.
Throughout this time, his home had been "burgled" every day, and his leftovers had been eaten every day.
A normal person would have been frightened and furious. They would definitely have called the police or simply gone somewhere else to lie low.
As for his own reaction, however convincingly he pretended to be outraged, the fact that he kept leaving things as they were was strange enough in itself.
He could only hope the little thief wasn't smart enough to notice, while wishing the drugs would hurry up and arrive. He was terrified the thief might run off.
On the morning of the third day, the text saying his package had arrived finally came.
Qin Xiaoxia immediately ran to the gatehouse to collect it, just in case someone in the complex really was named Ma Xiaolong and picked it up by mistake.
With his guilty conscience, he didn't take the package home to open it. Instead, he found a corner of the complex and unwrapped it there.
The fist-sized box contained layer upon layer of packaging. At the very center was just a small plastic bottle holding five tiny white pills. They looked as though a pinch would crush them into powder, and they were exceptionally light.
The sooner, the better. Qin Xiaoxia went straight to the market and bought some little cakes and drinks.
On the way, he crushed the pills and sprinkled them over several of the cakes, then added some to the drinks as well.
Over the past few days, Qin Xiaoxia had thoroughly whetted the little thief's appetite.
Whenever Qin Xiaoxia wasn't home, it would find an opportunity to come out and look for food. It seemed to regard him as a stupid, permanent meal ticket.
Back home, Qin Xiaoxia set everything on the table and began his crucial performance.
"Ugh, things have been wearing me out lately. Weird stuff keeps happening at home, and I can't find a decent job out there either. What a pain."
Sighing, Qin Xiaoxia opened the bag and found the undrugged cakes he had set aside, popping them into his mouth one after another.
"Mmm... These cakes are surprisingly good! Man..."
Qin Xiaoxia had eight or nine little cakes in two varieties. The drugged ones were round, and there were only three of them. The rest were square.
He seemed to be eating his snacks especially quickly today. Perhaps the cakes really were that delicious. In no time, most of them were gone, leaving only the three round ones.
Hiss.
Qin Xiaoxia opened the soda and kept talking to himself as he poured it into a glass.
"The shopkeeper said these round ones taste way better than the square ones, so I saved them for last. Man, I'm making a meal of these today. Not leaving a single one, or they'll disappear the second I turn my back!"
He picked up a round cake and lifted the soda, just about to dig in.
The alarm he had set on his phone rang.
Qin Xiaoxia put down the cake and soda, then made a show of pulling his phone from his pocket.
"Hello? Brother Gou! You're treating me to lunch? Damn, why didn't you say so sooner? I've just half-filled my stomach!... Okay, okay... I'll be right there!"
Putting down his phone, Qin Xiaoxia gazed at the cakes a little reluctantly.
"Maybe I should take them with me!"
Clack.
Something seemed to bump against something else in a corner of the room, making a faint noise.
If Qin Xiaoxia hadn't been listening carefully all along, he would never have heard it.
Smiling inwardly, Qin Xiaoxia pretended to think for a few seconds.
"Forget it. Am I going over there for lunch or to eat these? I'll be back as soon as lunch is over anyway. If I take them, I'll have to share with Brother Gou."
Anyone else who kept talking to themselves while home alone would surely have seemed unhinged, but Qin Xiaoxia appeared to have correctly judged that the little thief understood next to nothing about certain things.
Bang.
The door closed.
Qin Xiaoxia fought back the urge and waited until he had left the apartment building before taking out his phone and opening the surveillance feed.
Heh. I really gave you too much credit.
The moment the video appeared, Qin Xiaoxia saw that the grubby-looking little thief was already sitting on the table, eagerly eating the cakes.
It didn't forget to gulp down some soda between bites, either.
In no time at all, every cake was gone.
Then the little thief hugged the soda bottle and drank straight from it.
The huge bottle against that tiny body actually looked pretty cute.
But Qin Xiaoxia was frantic.
What happened to knocking someone out in under a minute? What happened to being too strong for an adult to withstand?
Several minutes had already passed! If there hadn't been so much soda, the thing would have disappeared by now!
Could the little thief really be so powerful that drugs effective on humans had no effect on it?
Or had the seller simply scammed him with fake drugs?
Damn it, how could I make such a basic mistake? I didn't even test them first!
He was kicking himself.
Qin Xiaoxia had carefully considered the consequences. If the little thief caught on, it might very well retaliate, but his impulsiveness had outweighed his worries earlier.
Now, his worries were beginning to gain the upper hand.
Fortunately, after finishing the soda, the little thief on the screen visibly swayed.
Seemingly puzzled by what was happening, it patted its head.
The next second, its tiny body toppled straight onto the table.
Success had come so suddenly. Didn't the drug take effect gradually at all?
Just like that... it's done?
Qin Xiaoxia stared at his phone screen, once again fretting over whether he had really succeeded.
Could the little thief be faking it? Waiting until I go back to get up and hit me hard?
Since he had been putting on an act every day lately, he couldn't help worrying that it might be pretending to be unconscious too.
But less than ten seconds later, Qin Xiaoxia turned and ran home.
He had prepared for so long, all for this moment. He couldn't let the opportunity slip away. If the little thief woke up early, all his efforts would be wasted.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud...
He ran all the way to his front door without stopping.
Panting, Qin Xiaoxia tried to calm himself, but no matter what he did, his heart only beat faster. Even the hand holding his key trembled with excitement.
Click.
The door was gently pushed open from outside.
Qin Xiaoxia tiptoed into the room.
He immediately spotted the "little thief" lying unconscious on the table.
This was Qin Xiaoxia's first time observing it up close, and his first clear look at its entire appearance.
Apart from its very large ears, it looked much like an ordinary child, though its skin was grayish.
Its clothes were little more than rags.
But Qin Xiaoxia didn't spend long studying it. He quickly remembered that he had work to do.