Chapter 626: Secret Infiltration
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The winter solstice was long over, and the sky took a lot longer to become dark.
Dusk had fallen, so Wang Qian and Li Kun rushed back underneath the dim night sky to check around the store and make sure there weren't any customers inside. Then, they took out a package from their bag that was the size of a fist. The box looked unusually crude, with a few words simply written on it. Security Monitoring Device.
"Master, we bought you this from Computer City." Wang Qian handed the package over to Zhang Zian. "Do you want to take a look at it and see if this was what you wanted?"
Zhang Zian opened up a tiny slit in the package, roughly looked inside and said, "Is there an invoice?"
"Nope," replied Li Kun truthfully, "the worker from Computer City said another 10 would be charged for an invoice, so I told him that we didn't need one or a receipt."
"Great, no invoice is good." Zhang Zian nodded his head in satisfaction. "We'll finish off early today. You two can start packing up now."
Wang Qian and Li Kun exchanged glances. They both were puzzled because the surveillance camera above the cashier counter wasn't broken—so why did he feel the sudden urge to buy another camera out of nowhere?
That afternoon, Zhang Zian had sent the both of them on a trip down to Computer City to purchase a surveillance camera. He specifically reminded them that the smaller the camera the better, and that no invoice was needed.
Normally, it was cheaper to buy one from an online electronic store. It would come with a better guarantee on both quality and warranty, and also had a free refund policy. So why would Zhang Zian send them down to Computer City for the purchase?
Taking a moment to think, it was probably for two reasons. One, Zhang Zian needed it urgently, so buying it from a physical store would be faster as they would immediately get the product. As for the second reason, it would leave an online transaction trail, allowing the possibility of getting tracked. Purchasing the device from a physical store without an invoice was relatively safer.
When the two of them told Zhang Zian that the Computer City worker didn't require an invoice or receipt, he gave them both a look of understanding, leaving them with an indescribable feeling.
Zhang Zian told them to clean up the first floor, while he took the package and headed up to the second floor.
He opened up the box and took out a camera that was shaped like a miniature flashlight. Calling it a pinhole camera would be taking it a little too far as it wasn't that small, but it was definitely a great camera for candid shots.
The instruction manual was simple. There were only two pages, the front and back of one paper. Zian briefly read through it, getting a general idea on how to use the device. Then he took out a TransFlash memory card, that hadn't been used in a very long time, and inserted it into the memory card slot.
According to the manual, its battery life was around 7 to 8 hours. Based on that information, it should at the very least be able to work for 6 hours. Even if Zian turned on the infrared night vision function, the camera should still work for at least 3 hours, and that would be long enough.
Famous, who was already waiting on the second floor, curiously examined the miniature camera and asked, "Were there no smaller ones?"
"The smaller ones were too expensive. It wouldn't be cost-effective, so try to make do with this one." Zhang Zian held up the camera up against its body, trying to figure out where he should set it up.
"How about I place it on your head?" Zian suggested.
"No!" Famous rejected flatly. "This affects my image!"
It was obvious that the camera could only be placed near the front of Famous's body, leaving only a few options.
Zhang Zian held it up against its neck. "How about I fix it to the side of your neck?"
Its black collar matched the black camera, and it would be hard to notice without paying close attention.
This time Famous didn't refuse. Zhang Zian brought out some double-sided tape and stuck the camera to the side of its collar. He waited for a moment before pulling on it. It seemed to be firmly stuck on, and as long as the camera wasn't roughly pulled on with a lot of force it wouldn't come off so easily.
"Zian, do I get one too?" Old Time Tea asked from the side.
"You don't need one, this one is enough," replied Famous on his behalf.
This plan was started by Famous, but it had asked Old Time Tea to help them along and Old Time Tea gladly obliged.
The operation was very simple. Famous and Old Time Tea would sneak into Love Lovely Pets Breeding Base with the camera, and take pictures of what they thought was suspicious. Then, they'd come back and have Zhang Zian examine their evidence. If there was anything illegal or incriminating found, they would immediately contact the police.
"Famous, Grandpa Tea, are the two of you sure you want to do this?"
Zhang Zian was still worried about the plan. After all, the breeding base's situation was still unknown. It wasn't smart to head in without careful consideration, and Zhang Zian didn't want something bad to happen. Compared to when he helped Sheng Ke out, Zian was more concerned about Famous and Old Time Tea's safety. He didn't think it was worth taking any risks.
"Hehe, don't worry." Famous seemed to be full of confidence. "It's just a breeding base, not a dragon's den or a tiger's cave. There won't be anything dangerous there."
Within the imaginary world, it had faced greater danger, clashing with packs of wolves, wild dogs, crazy bears, and bandits in the wild. It had relied on its skilled teamwork with Old Time Tea to come out safely.
Although Old Time Tea wasn't sure where Famous was getting its confidence from, a cat with great skills was never afraid. Old Time Tea was confident in its skills, and smiled as it nodded back.
As they had already set their mind on going forth with the operation, Zhang Zian gave up on trying to change their minds.
Wang Qian and Li Kun were both done with cleaning up the first floor, and they checked in with Zhang Zian before heading home. Lu Yiyun had also finished tidying up the cashier counter and went home with Jasmine.
Sun Xiaomeng's car was parked right outside the store. Zian waited for the sky to get a little darker before pulling down the shutter doors. Then, he took Famous and Old Time Tea into the car and drove north.
Love Lovely Pets Breeding Base was located in the northern part of the city area, taking up a significant amount of space. Based on his memories from previous trips there, Zhang Zian was able to get there without any help from the GPS. He parked his car far away near the side of the road, switched off the headlights, and looked at the breeding base that was further away under the twilight sky.
It was after office hours, and the staff members were leaving in twos and threes through the main door. Some left in cars and others were on electric scooters or bicycles, carrying their tired bodies as they all went their separate ways.
Waiting for a little while longer, the breeding base gradually quietened down. The lights slowly went out one by one, and the guard eventually shut the big metal door, leaving only a single small door open for people to enter or leave the compound. Security checks on visitors seemed to be very strict.
Even during the night, large-scale breeding bases like these would always have someone on duty. Other than the guards, there were also staff members who remained on base for overtime responsibilities.
Entering from the front door would be impossible. Zhang Zian started the car, and followed the outline of the base all the way to the back. Once again, he stopped by the side of the road, keeping a safe distance, with his headlights turned off.
"Famous and Grandpa Tea, isn't this wall a little too high?" Zhang Zian frowned as he looked at the towering wall.
The long wall wrapped around the whole base. It was at least 3 meters tall with a 1-meter tall wire entanglement above it. Surveillance cameras were also set up with a fixed distance between them. The security was very strict, and wasn't that far off from a prison. But the more secure, the more curious people would get about what was within it.
Old Time Tea glanced over at the wall, and fiddled with its whiskers as it said, "Personally, it's height doesn't matter much to me. But Famous, how are you going to get over?"
Famous was calm as usual, and it said to Zhang Zian, "You can head back first, we'll make our way back once we're done."
"The two of you are going to run all the way back?" asked Zian in shock.
The exact distance from their current location to the pet store was about 10 kilometers, which means that the actual path back would be much longer.
Even Old Time Tea paused for a moment. As a member of the cat family, Old Time Tea had unmatched agility and explosive force, but stamina was not one of its strongest traits.
"Don't worry, this distance is nothing. I've ran further distances before," said Famous confidently.
Famous said nothing else, and gestured for Zhang Zian to open the door. It leapt out of the car with Old Time Tea.
The wall was about 200 to 300 meters away. Famous and Old Time Tea both hid in a corner and waved their paws at Zhang Zian, who was still inside the car, urging him to leave immediately. Only when Zian had left could they begin the operation.
Zhang Zian was still uneasy, but he knew that both Famous and Old Time Tea had superior skills that were above average. His only option was to believe in them.
Zian started the car and went back along the same road that he'd taken earlier. He repeatedly looked back at the Love Lovely Pets Breeding Base from his rear-view mirror, until it could no longer be seen.
After returning to the city area, Zhang Zian didn't head back to the pet store, but instead he drove down to Li's Supreme Snack Shop.
Maybe his luck wasn't so bad, or it maybe it was just past eating hours, but the line wasn't so long.
He would have usually ordered takeout, but he decided that he was going to have his dinner there that day. Zian needed someone to testify for him and prove that he wasn't at the scene while Famous and Old Time Tea were going ahead with the operation.