Chapter 25: Searching for the Target
Translator: Nyoi_Bo_Studio Editor: Tennesh
The bus went into the business district of downtown and slowed down.
On the map of Binhai City that was displayed on his phone, a light circle was blinking on some location in downtown, and a flashing point that marked Zhang Zian’s location was approaching it.
[Navigation Elf]: The rare pet is around, please leave the vehicle and search by foot.
Zhang Zian raised his eyebrows. "Really? This area seems to be too large. Could you zoom in the map? It’s too small to read!"
[Navigation Elf]: Sorry, the game’s settings are like this. Please try your best.
"Could you at least tell me the type of pet? Cat, dog, or something else?" Zhang Zian asked
[Navigation Elf]: No comment.
[Game Hints]: Uncaptured virtual pets can only be observed via camera, you cannot see it with your own eyes, which means no one other than the player will realize the existence of virtual pets.
[Game Hints]: Please turn on your phone’s camera to observe.
Zhang Zian had no option but to get off the bus at the next stop and look around the buildings.
This business street was a north-to-south street, and the bus stop was on the east side. On Zhang Zian’s right-hand side was a KFC, China Telecom, Apple store, Jiuai Wedding Photography Store, and Kangyuan pharmacy. On the other side of the road, to Zhang Zian’s left, was a Longfeng Jewelry, Bank of China, Uniqlo, and Lenovo store.
According to the blinking light circle, the uncaptured pet should be nearby.
Since the virtual pets could only be seen via cell phone… Zhang Zian inspected the street with his eyes first. He saw two dogs, one Teddy and one Shih Tzu, and one stray cat. He turned on the camera on his phone and inspected the street again, but still saw the same three.
This indicated that the pet was not on the street. It must have been in one of the stores.
Starting from the easy part, Zhang Zian ambled into the KFC and intuitively wished the unknown pet was not a chicken, especially not a fried one...
There were a few people in the KFC, since breakfast time had just passed.
He pretended to be looking for a seat and dawdled around, but he found nothing.
"A medium coke, please." He went to the cashier and put in an order, holding his phone above the counter to make sure no pet was hiding behind it, while the waiter was getting him the coke.
After paying for the coke, he left the KFC. If the pet was hiding in the kitchen of the KFC, he would admit his failure. However, could an epic/legend level pet be staying in a smoky and noisy kitchen? He doubted that.
Turning right after he got out of the door, it was China Telecom.
"May I help you, sir? Are you buying a cell phone or changing plans?" the salesman asked calmly when Zian entered the door with his phone in hand.
"Humph… Let me think," he said.
The salesman seemed dissatisfied with his answer and thought, "Why wouldn’t you decide before entering the door?"
The store was small and simple-layered. Showcases for cell phones were on both sides, and a service counter was in front. It was busy on weekends, and the waiting line was pretty long. That was the salesman who was selling cell phones calling him just now.
He went to the service counter first. Those customers in line stared at him vigilantly, thinking that he would jump the line.
He checked around but saw nothing.
"What a crowd… anyway, I will come back later, maybe." He seemed to talk to himself and those customers in line relaxed a bit.
He went to the left showcase, and before the salesman said anything, he checked around with his phone. "Oh, too expensive, maybe that side?"
Back to the right side, checked again. "Forget it, let me save some money first."
He left China Telecom, entered the Apple store, and did the same thing, but he found nothing.
Walking into Jiuai Wedding Photograph Studio, a clerk came to him. "May I help you, sir?"
Since a bridal photo studio was a "couple" business, they knew from experience that single men usually brought no business, so the clerk girl seemed quite cold.
"I am looking for a bridal dress," Zhang Zian lied without hesitation, even though he was single…
The clerk smiled, unconvinced, and asked, "Your bride didn’t come with you?"
"Can I not wear it?" Zhang Zian responded to shut the clerk up.
Bypassing the shocked clerk, Zhang Zian ambled around, shamelessly taking photos. He even chatted with the photographer and stopped by the photo studio, and then he left with a mysterious look at the clerk, as he had found nothing there.
The clerk watched him entering the Kangyuan pharmacy and nodded quietly. "He absolutely needs some medicine."
Finding nothing in the pharmacy, Zhang Zian found he was on the edge of the light circle of the pet on the map, so he crossed the road and went to the other side.
After searching the Lenovo store, Zhang Zian thought this store was of a much lower level than the fancy Apple store.
He always had some expectations on the fitting rooms in Uniqlo, but it was so early that the fitting rooms were all empty.
When he walked into the Bank of China, a security guard said to him, "Please pick your number, sir," pointing to the ticket machine.
Zhang Zian selected "Personal business," and his number was 085.
The guard was staring at Zhang Zian when he entered the gate, because he felt this guy was strange. He used his phone camera to check his path, which was unusual. Perhaps… This guy was a bank robber preparing for a big robbery?
For a moment, all those domestic and foreign action movies the security guard had watched in the past suddenly came to his mind.
The guard fell into deep thought. "If I was right and arrested him now, could I get interviewed on TV or awarded by my boss? Could there be some customers taking videos of my brave actions and uploading those videos to YouTube, letting me become famous across the country? And could I become a hero in the story, beating Mr. Charming from Kangzhuang Boulevard and marrying a beautiful girl?"
When the guard decided to move, the suspect had already left the hall. He regretted his hesitation so much.
Although Zhang Zian suspected the pet could hide in the treasury box behind the cashier, he decided to give it up, as the risk was too high.
Just like the guard, he regretted as well, since he found his target when he stepped into Longfeng Jewelry. A golden cat was sitting on the counter.
If he had started from here, he would have saved a lot of time and shame!
If Sun Xiaomeng was here, she would have indicated that his time was worthless and he had no sense of shame at all from the beginning!
When his phone aimed at the golden cat, game hints appeared.
[Game Hints]: Target confirmed: Maneki-Neko.