Chapter 21: What’s for Dinner?
“So, what are we having for dinner?”
After the video conference ended, Romeo stood beside Wen En, one hand on the table, the other waving in front of Wen En’s face.
Wen En slapped his hand away and said, “There are compressed nutritional cans in the backpack.”
“Huh?” Romeo’s eyes widened. “We’re not just eating that, are we?”
Compressed nutritional cans were usually what the interstellar army ate during field missions. But the problem was, they were in the city now!
Even if the lower district was poor and had bad security, it wasn’t like they couldn’t buy ready-made food, right?!
“Of course,” Wen En said, pointing to the surveillance footage of room 207 on the screen. “Don’t forget, we have to stay here and watch him.”
Romeo looked at the chemist, Charles Brown, pacing back and forth in the surveillance footage, performing various strange, stereotypical actions, and said:
“He can’t possibly stay here all the time and not go out to eat, can he?”
“Who knows,” Wen En said. “He seems to have social issues. It wouldn’t be strange for him to stay here and not go out.”
Who would have thought that the moment Wen En finished speaking, a strange cry from Charles came through the earpiece connected to the listening device, followed by Charles saying, “Oh, damn groundhog, I have to go out.”
He cursed, put on the black jacket from the coat rack, put on a black fisherman’s hat, and went out.
“See, I was right, wasn’t I?” Romeo said.
Wen En glanced at Romeo and said, “You go to room 207 and search. See what secrets he’s hiding.”
“Me?” Romeo pointed at his own face and said.
“Yes, you,” Wen En stood up, took a black baseball cap from the backpack, and put it on. “I’ll follow Charles and see if he’s going to dinner or on a date.”
Before leaving, Wen En said, “By the way, for dinner tonight, we’re having grilled meat burritos. Or do you have any dietary restrictions?”
“Grilled meat burritos?” Romeo said in surprise. “Aren’t we eating nutritional cans anymore?”
Wen En looked at Romeo and said seriously, “Of course. I do what I say.” Then, he walked up to Romeo, reached out, and straightened the stray hairs on Romeo’s forehead. “As long as you don’t cause any trouble, I won’t treat you badly, understand?”
His tone was calm, but Romeo felt it was the prelude to a storm. Romeo swallowed. He, who had always projected a wild and untamed image, now felt a little intimidated.
Damn it, could it be that he’s been beaten into submission by Wen En?
“Did you hear me?” Wen En said again, narrowing his eyes and staring at Romeo. His gaze was sharp and dangerous, like a long needle, jolting Romeo to his senses.
“I know, I know. Go on,” Romeo said quickly.
Wen En looked at Romeo, bent his fingers, and lightly tapped Romeo on the head, as if giving a final warning.
Then, he took out an electronic mask patch from the backpack.
It was a patented invention of F.I.A.D.’s research department, a white patch only the size of a fingernail. Wen En stuck it on his neck. In an instant, the patch emitted a blue light that covered Wen En’s head and face, changing the shape of his features, transforming him from a handsome young man of Eastern descent into a tall, ordinary-looking middle-aged Beta with a few strands of white hair at his temples.
Wen En took a Bluetooth earpiece from the backpack, put it in his ear, and then took another one and, with a very firm, non-negotiable attitude, forcefully placed it in Romeo’s ear canal.
“Hey, be gentle! My ear is made of flesh and cartilage too!” Romeo cried out, rubbing his ear in pain.
Wen En didn’t coddle him. “Wear it properly. Contact me with it if anything happens.” With that, Wen En turned and left to do his work.
“Contact me with it if anything happens~ Tch!”
The moment Wen En left, Romeo mimicked his tone, muttering to himself in a sarcastic way, “Such a bad temper. I really don’t know what you’re so proud of. You want to order me around? Hmph, in your dreams.”
“I can hear what you’re saying,” Wen En’s voice came from the earpiece, startling Romeo. Wen En reminded him, “Don’t you dare slack off.”
“…Oh.”
“I know, I’ll go over right away,” Romeo said, his tone displeased, his expression unhappy.
After all, when facing Wen En, he had never been happy!
Then, Romeo took a multi-functional portable military knife and a small band-aid from the all-purpose backpack. He put the multi-functional knife and the band-aid in his pocket and pushed the door open.
There was no one in the hallway outside, but the soundproofing was not good. Romeo could still hear the sound of footsteps from upstairs and downstairs, a vague sound of arguing, and the thumping sound of exercise.
Alright, the residents of the lower district really live with passion.
Romeo walked to the door of room 207, squatted down, and faced the fingerprint lock. He looked left and right, and after confirming again that there was no one around, he took out the multi-functional knife from his pocket.
He first opened a small blade and used its tip to pry open the outer casing of the fingerprint lock. Then he opened a small pair of scissors and cut one of the blue wires connected to the lock. The indicator light of the fingerprint lock instantly went out. He then opened a long, thin steel needle, poked it into the fingerprint lock, and fiddled with it a few times. With a click, the door opened.
Romeo tore open the band-aid’s packaging, reconnected the blue wire he had cut, and wrapped it up. The indicator light of the fingerprint lock lit up again. After reinstalling the outer casing of the fingerprint lock, Romeo tiptoed into room 207.
After the resident had left, the overhead light was turned off, and the room was dark and dim. Only the central air conditioning was running, and a faint sound of airflow could be heard from the exhaust pipe.
This was no problem for Romeo. His night vision was good, and his sense of direction was sharp. He had already memorized the layout of room 207. Most importantly, the multi-functional knife he carried had a small flashlight, so moving through the darkness was not difficult for him.
“Let’s see…”
Romeo opened Charles’s bedside table. Inside were some identification documents, such as Charles’s ID photo, passport, and a photo of him with his wife and son.
What’s the use of this stuff? It doesn’t seem to have much to do with Vulcan. Romeo was not interested. He carelessly stuffed the documents and papers back into the drawer and closed it.
He turned and continued to search for useful information. He went to the wardrobe and rummaged through it a few times. Apart from Charles’s old-fashioned, ugly clothes that felt terrible to the touch, he didn’t find anything else.
Strange, where did Vulcan go? They’re going to trade in two days. Charles wouldn’t have not brought the “fake” Vulcan with him, would he?
Romeo went to the bathroom again. The bathroom was very clean, not even a speck of dust in the corners. As for the Vulcan gem, there was no sign of it, not even a shard.
“There’s nothing here.”
Romeo pressed a finger to his ear so that the Bluetooth earpiece could transmit sound more clearly, and whispered.
Soon, Wen En’s voice came through the Bluetooth earpiece:
“Understood. If you can’t find any clues, just go back to room 206 for now.”
Yo.
Wen En actually told him to go back first, instead of continuing to search or ordering him to do something else.
Romeo was a little surprised, but he didn’t want to stay in room 207 for too long. He just wanted to go back and lie on the bed and wait for Wen En to bring him dinner. Alright, then I’ll go back first. He turned around, and just as he was about to walk out of the bathroom, he heard a strange noise.
Romeo stopped in his tracks. His heart was pounding, as if it were dancing to a drumbeat.
It sounded like someone had just entered room 207.
“Did you see any sign of Vulcan?”
“No, not at all. I didn’t even find the blue satin ribbon that was tied on the gem’s gift box.”
“Me neither. So what should we do?”
“Idiot, of course we keep looking. Go check the bathroom.”
“Oh.”
A short, stocky man with a black stocking over his head and a muddy pheromone scent, like a wild boar that had just rolled in the mud and come ashore to look for food, rudely slammed open the bathroom door.
“Hey, can you not be so boisterous? What are we going to do if the neighbors complain?” a tall, thin man, also with a black stocking over his head, shouted from behind him.
“I’ll say to him, ‘If you point fingers at me, I’ll kill you!'” the short, stocky man said disdainfully.
“Idiot, don’t cause me any trouble,” the tall, thin man said. “Just shut up for now. Find the thing first, then kill people.”
The two rummaged through the bathroom again, but it seemed they didn’t find what they were looking for in the end. They could only curse rudely and leave, pushing and shoving each other.
Outside the bathroom window.
Romeo hung outside the window like a smoked ham, his fingers gripping the sturdy, concrete windowsill tightly to keep from falling.
Hearing them leave, Romeo breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that besides him and Wen En, many other people wanted to find Vulcan.
Fortunately, the windowsill of room 207’s bathroom was not far from the windowsill of room 206. With a little effort, Romeo finally climbed to the windowsill of room 206 and returned to their not-so-secret base.
The moment his feet touched the ground, he saw an old lady standing at the window of the building opposite, looking at him with suspicion.
Wen En: …
The old lady: …
OH, she’s not going to mistake him for a burglar, is she?
Alright, Romeo admitted, he used to be a thief, but now he had not only washed his hands of it, but even back then, he had never stolen from guests in a cheap hotel… What was there to steal in such a worthless place?
Heavens, I hope she doesn’t misunderstand.
Romeo raised his hand and made a “please go back” gesture to the old lady. The old lady’s eyes widened. She took a step back and drew the curtains.
It seems she misunderstood something. Well, anyway, I hope she doesn’t meddle, Romeo thought.
