309: Chapter 302 Where Did the Cat Go?

The Cat Dealer was initially unwilling to reveal the identity of that customer, claiming that as a businessman with professional ethics, protecting customer privacy was his bottom line.

However, after Wino smiled and said, "How much for this cart of cats? I'll pay double," his bottom line instantly became flexible.

The two parties reached a deal. Since only Toby had collected gold coins from the school's logistics department before they set out, Wino took a step back and gave him a look that said "pay up."

Toby decisively pulled out gold coins to settle the bill. After the Cat Dealer gave back the change, he wrote all the information he knew on a piece of parchment, generously gifted them the cart carrying the iron cages, and rode away elegantly on his horse.

"That guy definitely made a killing." Leon looked at the horseless cart, his face dark.

"Of course, it was double the price, after all." Wino walked to the iron cages and scanned the thirty-odd cats inside through the gaps in the bars. "The screams of cats sound a lot like a baby's cry, don't they?"

Leon and Klaisi, who were a bit slow to catch on, only reacted after hearing this, exclaiming in surprise at the same time, "The screams the townspeople heard were made by cats?"

"Since Ms. Rowling said no babies have gone missing in town, combined with this strange bulk purchase of cats, the possibility of it being an Evil Sorcerer is very high."

"Then what do we do now?" Leon remembered the parchment the Cat Dealer gave them and said excitedly, "We already have the address and appearance. Let's go straight and capture him!"

"Don't be in such a hurry." Toby rolled up the parchment and tucked it into his breast pocket. "The mission is to investigate the truth. I don't think it will be that simple."

Having spent twice the price to buy a cart of cats, the five of them successfully obtained a lead on the Evil Sorcerer. Logically, the next step would be to close the net.

But Toby's years of professional experience told him that there was no harm in being cautious.

After pondering for a moment, he issued instructions: "First, settle the cats properly, then go to the police station to verify Ms. Rowling's information. If everything is correct, then we'll go find the Evil Sorcerer."

"Why? Would Ms. Rowling deceive us?" Klaisi asked in confusion.

Wino shrugged helplessly. "Klaisi, first of all, we are the ones executing the mission, not Ms. Rowling. If we rely on outsiders for everything, I don't think our final score will be very high.

Furthermore, she bears no responsibility for this mission, so she's basically investigating with the mindset of playing a role-playing game. Do you think such information is trustworthy?"

Toby glanced at Wino.

He had to admit that although he didn't get along with Wino, he still appreciated this cautious way of doing things and his clear, rational mind.

"It's just as Wino said." Toby didn't want to waste time and spoke to finalize the decision. "Ms. Rowling certainly wouldn't deceive us, but she also can't be certain that her information is definitely error-free.

We have to do it ourselves."

Afterward, the five of them acted according to Toby's orders.

Wino took Misha ahead to rent a room, while the other three waited on the spot.

Toby felt that the mission probably wouldn't end in the short term, and staying in a hotel every day wasn't safe. It would be better to rent a civilian house with a courtyard, where they could set traps around to guard against sneak attacks and also conveniently house the cart of cats.

Soon the sun climbed overhead, and a little fellow wearing linen clothes ran to the market to find the three of them.

He was sent by Wino to lead the three to the rented house.

Toby told him to lead the way, then walked to the front of the cart to pull it, while Leon and Klaisi pushed from behind.

After walking along the stone road for a while, the crowds gradually thinned out. Then, after twisting and turning through remote alleys for half an hour, the group stopped outside the courtyard gate of a two-story small building with a yard.

Probably hearing their footsteps, Wino pushed open the door and walked out. "Toby, pay up.

I find it very strange. It's understandable that you're wary of me, but why are you unwilling to even entrust me with the gold coins?"

Toby remained silent, set down the cart handles, pulled gold coins from an inner pocket of his coat, and handed them to a bearded Middle-aged Man who had followed Wino out.

Only after the bearded Middle-aged Man led the little fellow away did he speak: "I am not wary of you."

He said no more, lifted the cart, and pushed it into a corner of the small courtyard with Leon and Klaisi to park it.

After pulling the cart all the way, Toby felt slightly tired. He took a breath while looking around. "Wino, I remember you served in the special forces, right?"

"Yes, why?" Being brushed off didn't make Wino angry; he responded cheerfully.

"The task of setting up traps around the courtyard is yours. I'll serve as your assistant.

Leon, Klaisi."

"Here."

"You two go help Misha tidy up the rooms."

The two had never dealt with mechanical traps. Toby considered that they would slow down the progress, so he decided to assist himself.

The three had no objections and began to work separately.

Leon and Klaisi went into the two-story building to help Misha, while Wino took Toby back to the market to buy parts.

Wino was indeed very capable.

Toby found that he only bought some common household items—knives and forks, elastic ropes, a bundle of tough green bamboo, and so on.

Relying on these ubiquitous little things, Wino filled the inside and outside of the entire residence with various hidden and highly lethal traps.

By the time everything was finished, it was already dusk.

The five went out for a light meal and then walked together to the police station.

By using gold coins to pave the way, they easily obtained all the detailed crime reports from the town in recent days—the greedy police chief had demanded a substantial bribe.

Carrying the heavy documents, they returned to the hall of the small building.

They brought over wooden chairs and sat around the round table, dividing the files equally and reading through them.

After reading for half an hour, Leon rubbed his sore eyes. "It's the same as what Ms. Rowling found. The town is very peaceful. Forget about missing babies, there are very few cases of even theft.

At most, it's some drunks and naughty children breaking people's windows."

"Then it's certain that the customer who bought the cats is the Evil Sorcerer?"

Wino smiled and said a classic line: "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

"The logic is sound." Toby said with some hesitation, "It's just... what does an Evil Sorcerer want with cats?

Purely to enjoy torturing them?"

"Won't we know once we catch him?" Misha had finished reading the files and hadn't noticed anything unusual.

"Do we set out now?" Leon asked without looking up.

"Tomorrow."

Toby frowned for a moment. "Tomorrow we'll first go to familiarize ourselves with the surrounding environment. If there are many residents nearby, we have to evacuate them before the capture."

Klaisi said dissatisfiedly, "That will alert the Evil Sorcerer."

"Klaisi." Toby's expression became serious. "We aren't playing a shooting game where you just parachute again after dying. The lives of the townspeople are not something to be ignored."

"Sorry." Klaisi was intimidated by the tone, which contained a hint of warning, and obediently backed down.

Wino watched from the side with interest.

To be honest, he really looked down on a guy like Klaisi.

At first, he was intimidated by Toby's official position and always appeared humble before him. Later, after following Wino and feeling he had backing, he always contradicted Toby at every turn, as if this could prove his bravery and wash away his past humiliation.

Incompetent fool.

After internally disparaging Klaisi, Wino moved his gaze to Toby.

He... was a companion worth winning over, but this person was a bit stubborn and rigid; it would have to be done slowly...

Narrowing his eyes, he temporarily set aside his thoughts and spoke: "Your plan is very thorough. Klaisi will execute it well, won't he?"

"Yes, yes." Klaisi, feeling instinctively nervous under Toby's gaze, hurriedly took the exit Wino provided.

"Get some rest. We set out early tomorrow morning." Toby didn't say more, got up, and went upstairs to his room.

Leon glanced at Klaisi and left with Misha.

"Alright, don't think about it anymore." Seeing his face constantly changing expressions, Wino gave him a perfunctory comfort and then went back to his room to sleep.

Klaisi lowered his head and said nothing. Only when the footsteps on the ceiling had all gone silent did he quietly stand up and go upstairs.

...

The next morning.

After getting up, the five had a simple wash and breakfast, then immediately set off, arriving at an area in the south of the town that was a mix of residential and commercial zones.

They didn't walk directly to the target location. Instead, with two in front and three behind, they approached slowly, pretending to be tourists wandering the streets.

"Toby."

"Hmm?" He turned to look at Wino beside him.

"Do you know what my ideal is?"

Toby's face showed confusion. What scheme was this guy playing at now?

"I don't want to know."

"Heh." Wino didn't seem to have a temper. Even though the other party responded with cold words, he still spoke with a smile. "I was born in a slum and grew up there."

Slum? I've seen his profile; isn't he a Londoner?

Toby asked, "Did you come to London after growing up?"

"No, I'm a genuine Londoner. I never stepped foot outside London before I became an adult."

"London has slums?"

Wino was dazed for a moment and showed a strange smile. "Really..."

He had intended to seize every gap to share his inner thoughts with Toby, but the fact he just learned left him disheartened. He lost the interest to continue and closed his mouth.

Looking at the suddenly silent Wino, Toby couldn't understand what was wrong with his head and didn't want to know, so he confirmed the plan for later.

"According to the Headmaster's information, the Evil Sorcerer is an outsider. I asked the town's construction team yesterday, and they haven't received any renovation jobs recently.

So even if the Evil Sorcerer bought a house, he couldn't have prepared a very hidden secret room in such a rush.

We just need to rush into his residence and find the room where the secret ritual is held to catch him red-handed."

By the time he finished, Wino had already composed himself. "He might have cleaned up the scene."

"The town hasn't received any reports of a large number of cat corpses being discarded recently."

"Maybe they're buried."

"There will more or less be blood and traces of slaughtering cats in the room. I don't believe he would care much about the hygiene of the scene. After all, ordinary people can't get in at all, and if it were the teachers coming, I don't think they would collect evidence first."

Hearing this, Wino asked curiously, "Why do we have to?"

"The practical class has assessment tasks, so some restrictions were added for us. That's my guess."

"That's probably the case."

During the conversation, the five wandered to their destination.

This was a straight street. The first half had terraced stone houses on both sides, and the second half had detached micro-villas with their own courtyards.

What they were looking for was Villa No. 17.

Walking along the stone road, when they reached Villa No. 15, Toby instantly decided in his heart that the plan would change and they would act immediately.

"Leon, Klaisi." He turned his head. "This area is full of villas with very few residents. There are only four neighboring houses. You two go evacuate them. If the owners refuse, you are allowed to use magic."

The two pulled out a small section of their teaching rod staffs hidden in their sleeves and held them in their hands, then went their separate ways.

"Misha, keep watch outside the gate to prevent residents from spectating, and also watch out for the Evil Sorcerer escaping."

"Okay." She nodded and turned to run towards the wall.

"Let's go." Toby looked at Wino and tilted his head towards the villa's main gate.

Knock, knock— they stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" A kind old man's voice slowly approached from behind the door.

"Police inspectors."

Creak—

The main door was pulled open from the inside, and a bald, white-haired old man appeared before them.

He was very old; every part of his body told this story.

The old man's pale hair was sparse, his crown was bare, with only a few strands scattered messily around his head. The wrinkles on his face looked deep enough to trap a fly, and his hands gripping the door frame were as withered as dry branches.

His legs and feet seemed diseased; even just standing still, they trembled slightly uncontrollably.

Hollywood-level acting.

Toby praised in his heart, while asking calmly, "We received a report that a vicious wanted criminal is hiding nearby. Have you noticed any unusual activity recently?"

"Everything is very normal, inspectors. I'm afraid I can't be of much help to you."

The old man's skeletal body firmly blocked the gap in the door, with no intention of letting the two into the courtyard to chat.

They certainly wouldn't be fooled just like that. Wino smiled and said, "Do you live alone?"

"Yes, Mr. Inspector."

"Do your children often come back to visit?"

"They live in Ilo City and only come home once every few years."

"I can see your health isn't very good."

"I suffer from many ailments, and my legs aren't very agile. Perhaps you won't see me tomorrow."

"Then you rarely go upstairs, right?"

"Yes, to minimize climbing the stairs, I live in a side room on the first floor now."

Wino caringly chatted for a few moments, successfully getting what he wanted, then his tone suddenly shifted: "Well then, if the wanted criminal were hiding on the second floor, you wouldn't have any way of noticing, would you?"

The old man froze, not responding for a long time.

Wino didn't delay any longer and directly pushed past him to enter. "To eliminate any potential danger to you, we will help you thoroughly check the villa."

Toby shrugged and followed closely behind.

"Mr. Inspector, I'm home every day. If someone snuck in, I would definitely see them." The old man's legs seemed agile now as he ran over quickly.

"Go upstairs." Wino deliberately quickened his pace, entering the hall and whispering to Toby.

They strode up to the second floor and quickly searched all the rooms, only to find absolutely nothing.

No ritual tools, no cats, no bloodstains, nothing at all.

What was going on?

The two went downstairs with faces full of confusion. The old man was sitting on the sofa in the hall. "Is the check finished?"

Wino put his right hand behind his back, and the staff in his sleeve slid into his hand. "There's one more thing we hope you can help with."

"Please speak, Mr. Inspector."

"You bought a batch of cats a few days ago, about forty of them. Why haven't we seen them?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the two gripped their staffs, and their incantations were ready to be spoken at any time.

However, the old man burst into laughter. "So it's for them."

He stood up and went outside to the courtyard, lifting up the entire patch of weeds on the lawn to reveal a square wooden door underneath.

Toby and Wino walked over uneasily as the old man happened to pull open the door.

"Meow— Meow— Meow—"

The well-behaved meows of cats drifted out from inside the door.