Mu Fan's heart tightened. A chubby kid? A martial arts school? There could only be one person—Harry!
How had this gotten connected to Harry? And the people above...? Hearing the two men's footsteps gradually fade away, Mu Fan leaned back and poked half his head out to glimpse the two figures in the distance before quickly withdrawing his gaze.
He jumped down lightly without making a sound. Pressing himself against the wall, Mu Fan returned to the street he had just passed through. Leaning half his body out, he spotted one tall and one short figure from behind and reached a conclusion.
He did not continue following them. Those two were highly alert, and once they left the district, it would be easier for them to notice him. No, he had to discuss this with Fatty.
With that in mind, Mu Fan turned around and casually bought a miluo from the fruit shop behind him for 3 Star Coins. Eating as he strolled leisurely back, he made sure every movement blended in naturally.
"Wow, this miluo is delicious!" He had randomly bought a plump, white miluo as cover, but one bite revealed that it was sweet and juicy! Mu Fan narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.
Holding the miluo and munching away, Mu Fan appeared in the clerk's line of sight again. This time, he smiled at the clerk's strained expression. After stating his request, he was directly led by the Boss to the luggage counter.
The finest outdoor shoulder bag currently available in the district had an outer layer of 1000D nylon, while the side against the body was made of 900D waterproof Oxford cloth. The Boss patted his chest and claimed it was the best material Luoqie Star had to offer.
Mu Fan completely ignored the Boss's spray of saliva. Stroking the superbly textured bag, he finally gritted his teeth and, amid the Boss's expression of suffering a tremendous loss, took out the last of his money—1000 Star Coins.
Spending 1000 Star Coins on a bag was something Mu Fan had never even considered before. He lowered his head for another look, then slung the bag over his shoulder with great reluctance to part with it. Before leaving, he checked the time. It was almost roll call. Fatty should have returned by now, right?
On his way back, Mu Fan bought another large miluo. Thus, when Fatty returned to the training room, he found Mu Fan holding a miluo and eating it with obvious enjoyment.
Fatty felt that something about this scene was off. Watching Mu Fan sit there solemnly demolishing that oversized miluo, he just found it strange!
"You're back." That was Mu Fan's greeting.
For some reason, Fatty walked over. "Is it good? If it is, let me have a bite."
"Huh?" Mu Fan blanked out for a moment.
"Uh, it's nothing. I just... I'm used to it." Fatty suddenly blushed. What had gotten into him just now?
Seeing the shy look in Fatty's little eyes, Mu Fan generously broke off a piece for him.
After the two of them noisily gnawed through the miluo, Mu Fan wiped his mouth and asked Fatty seriously, "Harry, have you offended anyone lately?"
Fatty wiped his mouth. "No!"
Mu Fan then told Fatty what he had just seen. Fatty was uncertain after hearing it. He thought for a long while, then said with certainty, "I definitely haven't offended anyone. I usually don't interact much with people. Most of my time is spent on the PO Battle Network, and I've only recently started coming to the martial arts school. You know that."
Mu Fan asked, "Did you leave through the east gate of the district this afternoon?"
Fatty nodded. "Yeah."
Mu Fan tapped his fingers on the wooden seat and suddenly said, "Those two left through the east gate and bought sleeping bags. They clearly planned to spend the night outdoors. They also mentioned a time, and the location matches your situation perfectly."
Fatty grew anxious. "Brother Fatty hasn't provoked anyone! Who's trying to mess with me like this?"
Mu Fan calmed Fatty down. His face carried a composure far beyond his years as he looked straight at him. "Harry, I'll go with you tomorrow afternoon. And I noticed something important: robbing you was only something they planned to do on the side. That means they have something more important to do."
"Mu Fan, it's too dangerous. I should call someone." Fatty was a little frightened. Someone had actually set their sights on him. If not for Mu Fan, he probably really would not have come back then.
Mu Fan pressed a hand to Fatty's shoulder. "Harry, trust me! Didn't I keep you from being disappointed when it came to Young Master Wen?"
"Mu Fan!" Young Master Harry truly felt Mu Fan's friendship, and his eyes became a little moist.
Mu Fan patted Fatty's shoulder and smiled.
"When you leave tomorrow afternoon, I'll ride in the vehicle with you."
"Okay." Fatty did not say anything more.
Mu Fan quickly entered responsible sparring-partner mode. That afternoon, he arranged two training sessions for Fatty. The first was endurance training. He set the treadmill to 10,000 meters, then tossed the wailing Fatty onto it.
Mu Fan, meanwhile, began to think deeply. For someone like him, who had hunted alone for years, this was exceptionally rare—because he was not thinking for himself.
"Mm... So this is the situation. Those two... have been tailing Fatty. No, they've been tailing wealthy people! Then they noticed Fatty. That means they frequently operate in the district and are very familiar with the surrounding area."
It was his first time planning something so carefully, and Mu Fan felt like his head was about to explode. How much better would it be to just charge in and handle them? But the half-hidden information in their conversation made him certain the matter was not so simple.
Ugh, what a headache!
Fatty wailed miserably, "Mu Fan, my lungs hurt!"
Mu Fan scratched his cheek. His brain automatically blocked out every sound Fatty made as he forced himself to continue thinking.
"Tail wealthy people and observe their routes... and their mission? In other words, the mission itself is to monitor wealthy people's routes. The people above only arranged for these two, so what does that mean...?"
Fatty was nearly flung off the treadmill. However, Mu Fan had tied a strap around his waist; if he actually flew off, he would probably be crippled. Running with snot and tears streaming down his face, he cried, "Mu Fan, at least look at me! Why aren't you paying attention to me? Brother Fatty really can't keep going..."
Wait, paying attention!
At that moment, Mu Fan suddenly felt something click in his mind.
"It means the people above aren't paying much attention to this place! But there are still people keeping watch here, only those two. That's why they can act on their own, and that's what the short one meant by... fat sheep!"
Mu Fan suddenly slapped Fatty on the butt, instantly cutting off his wailing and making him pump his short legs at full speed.
"The pieces fit together now. The people above are watching wealthy people in many places. District 22 is only one of them... Robbing Fatty was an insignificant accident. So..."
"A faction, or someone very high up, is watching numerous wealthy people and plotting something that seems major and dangerous. Fatty, who is about to run into trouble, is part of it."
"What we need to do tomorrow is... save Fatty, then follow the trail to uncover whoever is behind this, and then... save Fatty again."
That settled it! Mu Fan rubbed his chin. After this round of thinking, he once again felt as though a line in his mind was connecting all the scattered pieces of information for him. His thoughts were clear. What a strange, wonderful feeling.
"I'm done playing!" Fatty's voice was incomparably miserable.
"Oh." Mu Fan slapped the stop button beside him. "You should've said so earlier."
Fatty collapsed over the treadmill like a blanket.
"Pant... pant... I, I... don't want to talk." Fatty weakly pointed at Mu Fan, his hand trembling.
"Then you're blaming me?" Mu Fan had been in a good mood after figuring things out, but Fatty's words made his face fall.
"You... bastard..." Those were Fatty's final words, barely audible.
P.S. Thanks to reader "Dare to Make All Saints Bow" for the 588 reward!
Thanks to reader "Poetic Charm, Ren Xiaowei" for the generous reward!
Thanks to reader "Dusty Seas and Changing Times" for silently leaving likes all this time!
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