After walking for about ten minutes, he finally spotted the blue signboard of "Jiawei Electronics and Digital" indicated on his navigation.
Below the signboard, a line of small text was printed: Mobile phone repair, computer repair, small and medium household appliance repair, and so on.
Their range of services was certainly broad.
Lu Yuan unconsciously pulled his mobile phone from his pocket.
He’d almost gotten used to looking at his phone screen, shattered as it was, over the past few days.
But since he was here, he might as well get it fixed.
He tapped the chat app, marked with a red dot, on his phone screen. After scrolling through unread messages, his gaze settled on the chat with his older sister, Lu Jing.
He frowned slightly. Lu Jing had agreed to a video call last time but ended up flaking on him. She hadn’t responded to his messages for three days. Only this morning had she sent a voice message, explaining that her archaeological team’s work was too hectic and she’d forgotten. She also mentioned the signal in the desert was often lost and assured him they’d video chat when she got the chance...
Lu Yuan let out a breath, easing the tightness in his chest. Watching the cars that sped heedlessly down the road, he cautiously and quickly crossed to the electronics store.
The electronics store wasn’t very large. Inside, an "L"-shaped display counter stood just past the entrance.
The air conditioning was blasting. A short-haired young man in his early twenties, wearing a dark blue T-shirt with "Jiawei Electronics" printed on it, sat behind the counter, engrossed in a game on a computer.
His keyboard and mouse produced a chaotic CLICKETY-CLACK.
When Lu Yuan walked in, the short-haired young man glanced sideways at him. Likely assuming Lu Yuan was a student, he said, "Hang on a sec, gotta finish this round."
Without waiting for Lu Yuan’s reaction, he turned back to his screen, completely absorbed.
Lu Yuan stepped closer to watch the game.
It was a popular MOBA game; he and Cheng Peng had played it before too.
Players on red and blue teams controlled Mechas to destroy the enemy base. Different Mechas had unique abilities, demanding precise control.
The game was definitely addictive; once you started, it was hard to stop.
Lu Yuan had initially worried he’d have to wait a long time, but then he glimpsed the young man’s score—0-12... He instantly relaxed.
Sure enough, in less than five minutes, Lu Yuan watched the young man’s screen turn gray four more times.
The short-haired youth slammed his mouse down and cursed, "I’m done! No one’s helping me! What’s the point of playing this crap?!"
He even glanced at Lu Yuan and grumbled, "And you standing there was distracting me."
The young man furiously typed into the game’s chat box for a while longer. Finally, he pushed away from the computer to attend to Lu Yuan, his customer.
The short-haired young man scratched his head, the frustration from his losing streak still evident on his face.
Lu Yuan glanced at the display counter and asked, "Do you carry home surveillance cameras? Preferably small and discreet..."
The short-haired young man gave Lu Yuan a curious look. "Pinhole cameras? Those are a bit pricey, you know."
"Doesn’t have to be pinhole."
Lu Yuan shook his head. "Just something small is fine. It’s mainly to keep an eye out for stray cats and dogs. Ideally, it should connect to a phone or computer for real-time monitoring."
"Then you’re looking for a ’cat-eye’ camera."
With that, the young man turned and rummaged under the shelves behind him for a moment before pulling out a palm-sized box and tossing it onto the counter in front of Lu Yuan.
"This is a ’Cat-Eye’ home surveillance camera. It’s small, can be set to security monitoring mode—fits your requirements."
Lu Yuan picked up the box. The packaging advertised features like "60-degree dual-lens zoom, smart night vision, wireless charging, PC and mobile Bluetooth connectivity."
After a moment’s thought, he asked the young man, "Can I test it?"
The young man was obliging, promptly unboxing it and giving Lu Yuan a quick demonstration.
It wasn’t falsely advertised; all the features listed in the manual were there.
Lu Yuan nodded, somewhat satisfied. "How much is it?"
"Eight hund—" Official source is NoveI-Fire.ɴet
The short-haired young man started to say a price, then waved his hand dismissively. "Ah, forget it. Make it seven fifty."
Lu Yuan didn’t say anything, continuing to examine the small cat-eye camera in his hand. It was about half the size of his palm.
Then he stated, "Seventy-five."
The short-haired young man staggered, nearly falling over.
"Dude, seriously? Who haggles like that? No way I can sell it for that price..."
He reached out to snatch the camera back from Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan didn’t let go, just stared into the young man’s eyes and said, "Hold on. I need a few of them. We can still talk about the price."
The short-haired young man froze.
"More? How many are you talking about?"
「Twenty minutes later」
Lu Yuan walked out of the shop carrying six identical cat-eye cameras. He casually swiped across the screen of his phone, its screen newly replaced.
The six cameras and the screen replacement had cost him two thousand yuan in total.
Good thing I put some points into Intelligence early on; otherwise, I would’ve been totally ripped off today. Lu Yuan was quite pleased with his haggling achievement. A sense of accomplishment surged within him; he was very satisfied with his haggling prowess.
Slashing the price down to thirty percent of the original was an unprecedented feat in his two lifetimes.
Over the past few days, through observation and analysis, he had identified several potential locations in his neighborhood where the rat man might appear.
Six cameras, strategically placed, should be enough to cover all these spots.
As long as I hear an alert, I can rush over immediately. There shouldn’t be any major problems.
The enemy was hidden while he was exposed, and his own resources were limited. This was the only preventative measure against the rat man that Lu Yuan could devise at this stage.
If he hadn’t earned some money from boxing with Lin Zhiquin, he wouldn’t have been able to afford even this much.
It’s a pity Ge Wenjun is so unwilling to help. Aside from empty reassurances, he offers no real assistance.
If he’d just lend me two ’Electronic Dogs’ and actually make an effort, I might even be able to find that rat man myself.
Lu Yuan’s heart remained heavy.
He wouldn’t feel truly at ease until he saw the rat man die right before his eyes.
As Lu Yuan walked along a side street, a sound suddenly filled the air above him, like countless dragonflies beating their wings in low flight. The plate-glass windows of the nearby shops began to vibrate faintly.
Lu Yuan quickly moved out from under the awnings into the sunlight and looked up.
He saw two silver, shuttle-shaped flying objects streak rapidly across the sky.
Fly Shuttles! It’s those Magnetic Suspended Shuttles again! And two of them this time! He’d seen one a month ago over the school sports field. Now, he was seeing them again.
The two Fly Shuttles were quickly swallowed by the silhouettes of distant buildings.
Lu Yuan watched the Fly Shuttles disappear, then, with an impassive expression, stepped back into the shade of the awnings.
His eyes flickered, his mind clearly working on something.
But just at that moment, KABOOM!—
A sound like an oversized, old-fashioned popcorn machine exploding echoed from a distant street.
The ground didn’t shake or anything. But the sudden, deafening noise startled many people on the street.
Doors of several nearby shops flew open almost in unison, and people rushed out.