Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Berlin, Germany. Tegel International Airport.

  Zhang Zian was not able to get a good rest due to the long flight and the time spent transferring flights, so his mind was muddled.

  Seated in the economy class next to Zhang Zian was an obese white man, weighing at least 150 kilograms. Putting aside his pungent body odor, his snores could shake the heavens. It was so loud and noisy that Zian couldn’t get any proper rest. Zian had felt the strongest urge to call Richard out. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth meant releasing the bird poo offense…


  After all the trouble, Zian finally got off the plane. He pulled himself together and completed the procedure for Famous’s consignment in English, which he was not all that familiar with.

  Famous’s mental condition was not at its best. It seemed like the experience in the animal cargo hold was not that pleasant, either.

  “Famous, how was it? Are you hungry?” Zian asked while putting on its leash.

  Famous went without food for close to a day and a half, only drinking some water in between.

  Famous, who was in a bad mood, shook his head. “I’m okay. There was a period of time when I was very hungry, so hungry that I couldn’t fall asleep, but right now I’m not that hungry anymore.

  Zhang Zian felt a deep sympathy for it. Looking at the bustling crowd around them, he asked, “Should we get something to fill your stomach? Not sure if the airport here has hot dogs for sale or something…”


  The moment hot dogs were mentioned, Famous’s belly started rumbling. Famous licked its lips. “Let’s get one, then.”


  Zhang Zian took out some money to get the hot dog for Famous. Zian had eaten the meal prepared by the airline earlier and was not hungry at the moment.

  While Famous was digging into its hot dog, Zian switched on his phone with the intention to take a picture of the Tegel International Airport. He wanted to post it on his WeChat moments to show off a little, especially since he was in Germany. Can’t let Zhao Qi, who had taken selfies of herself while she was overseas during the new year, get too smug…


  Zian received a message on his phone the moment it connected with the airport’s WiFi. The message was from Lu Yiyun and he opened it.

  Lu Yiyun said, “Sorry Mister Store Manager, but the Holy Cat statue in the store is missing…”


  Zhang Zian was dumbfounded for a moment. The Holy Cat statue is missing? What does that mean?

  After some probing, Lu Yiyun briefly explained what happened. She mentioned that the statue was still in its original position when she left the night before, but when she arrived for work this morning, the statue had disappeared. There were no signs of a break in and the money in the cashier drawers was still there.

  After she explained what happened, Lu Yiyun asked if she should notify the police.

  Zhang Zian’s head, which was already muddled, started to throb in pain. Why, of all times, must something happen just as he leaves?

  Zian had no time to care about the Holy Cat statue. He quickly sent Pi a message, “Pi, are you awake yet? Did anything happen last night?”


  Soon enough, Pi sent a reply back. “Just woke up, working on the novel right now. Everything is all right.”


  Zian then asked, “Did a thief break into the house?”


  Pi replied, “Nope. If a thief entered the house, Zhan Tian would bark, right?”


  Well, that was right. Pi’s point threw light on the matter.

  The Holy Cat statue was placed on the first floor and Zhan Tian, too, spent its nights sleeping on the first floor.

  Unlike Golden Retrievers or Huskies that can not differentiate friend and foe, as the previous ace of the police dog squad, Zhan Tian was very vigilant and had a very high combat ability. If a thief had really broken into the house, Zhan Tian would not have left him alone. Zhan Tian would take him on, even at the cost of its life. Even if one or two knife-wielding thugs were to take on Zhan Tian, they still wouldn’t stand a chance.

  With those thoughts in mind, Zian asked Lu Yiyun, “Is Zhan Tian all right? Are there any traces of a scuffle?”


  Lu Yiyun replied, “Zhan Tian’s fine. Traces of a scuffle? Let me take a look.”


  Moments after, she replied, “No, no traces of any scuffling.”


  Now that’s strange…


  If anyone were to suggest the possibility of Zhan Tian being negligent in its duties, Zian would never believe them. No matter how skillful the thief was, it would not be possible for him to remove the statue right under Zhan Tian’s nose without alerting it.

  Now, if it wasn’t a thief, then how did the statue disappear? Did it grow a pair of legs and ran away by itself?

  Okay fine, the Holy Cat statue already had legs by itself, but that’s not the point. The point is, how did it run away when the doors were shut?

  Zian did a long distance connection with the store’s surveillance controls and went through the recordings for last night.

  Hackers had been running rampant recently. Zhang Zian only had cameras installed by the shop entrance to record the situation around the cashier desk, as he was worried about hackers taking control of the cameras and witnessing his interactions with the elfins. The reason for focusing the cameras around the cashier desk was not because Zian was afraid that Lu Yiyun would do something, but it was for the purpose of having evidence if they were to get into a transactional dispute. On several occasions, Zian or Lu Yiyun had miscalculated and had given the wrong change, but thanks to the surveillance recordings, they managed to recover the losses, either on their end or the customer’s end.

  It was a pity, though, because the range of the surveillance cameras did not include the corner where the Holy Cat statue was placed, since there was no purpose in recording that area before.

  Zian played the recording with 16 times the normal speed, starting from the time when Wang Qian, Li Kun, and Lu Yiyun clocked out from work. Zian watched the recording all the way through the morning when Lu Yiyun reported for work. He did not notice anything abnormal throughout the recording; the shutter doors at the front remained shut, so even if there was a thief, he did not enter through the main entrance.

  Compared to the theft of the statue, Zian was more interested in how it disappeared, but the recording did not have the answer he was looking for.

  Lu Yiyun asked again if there was a need to notify the police.

  Notifying the police would definitely not work. One, there was no evidence or any trace of a break in. Even if the police were notified, they would only suspect Lu Yiyun, Wang Qian, and Li Kun. Two, if the police were notified, they would definitely have to search the shop for traces, and if they found Pi, there might be unnecessary trouble.

  Zhang Zian replied, “Forget it, there’s no need to notify the police. Since it isn’t worth much money, losing it is nothing much.”


  Lu Yiyun said, “It was lost while the shop was under my watch, so I am willing to compensate for the losses.”


  Zhang Zian answered, “There’s no need to mention anything about compensation. You’re not responsible for the disappearance of the statue, so why should you pay? Let the matter rest and just treat it as a small misfortune. I’ll be looking for the pick up at the airport now, so look after the store and don’t overthink.”


  “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Famous asked with concern. After voraciously stuffing down the hot dog, Famous noticed that Zian’s expression when he sent the message was not quite right.

  Zhang Zian did not hide the incident from Famous, and he truthfully repeated what Lu Yiyun told him.

  “The statue disappeared?” Famous was surprised. “Things like this happen?”


  “Which is why this incident is very strange!” Zhang Zian could only shake his head. “Let’s put this matter aside. We’ll talk about it when we’ve settled down into the hotel. We might be able to figure something out if everyone puts their heads together.”


  Famous started brainstorming. “Is it because you’ve always been swearing oaths, so now you’re facing the consequences?”


  “Maybe the heavens have something good in store for me, but it comes with a small cost…” Zhang Zian said in a disapproving tone.

  Famous paused and thought, Is heaven that cheap in your mind? No wonder you’re being punished.

  “Is one hot dog enough? Should I get one more for you?” Zian asked.

  Famous shook its head and said, “It’s okay, the taste was just average. I’ll lessen the burden on your wallet.”


  Holding onto its leash, Zian led Famous towards the direction of the airport exit, looking out for any Chinese characters as they walked. Finally, at the exit, Zian spotted the person from the Dog Warrior film crew who was responsible for picking them up. He was holding up a sign that wrote, “Dog and company.”