Chapter 66 – Surveillance and Loud Noises

The sun at 2 PM is simply too scorching.

Lu Yuan quickly darted between the shadows cast by the shop awnings, trying to avoid the relentless sunlight.

After walking for about ten minutes, he finally spotted the blue sign of “Jiawei Electronics Digital” on his navigation app from a distance.

Under the sign, there was a line of small text—mobile phone repairs, computer repairs, small household appliance repairs, and more.

Quite a wide range of services.

Lu Yuan instinctively pulled his mobile phone out of his pocket.

The shattered screen had almost become something he was used to over the past few days.

But since he was here, he might as well get it fixed.

He opened the chat app on his phone, marked with a red dot, and scrolled through the unread messages. His eyes stopped at the chat with Lu Jing.

He frowned slightly.

They had planned to video call in the evening, but once again, Lu Jing hadn’t been able to make it.

She hadn’t replied to his messages for three days, and this morning, she finally sent a voice message explaining that the archaeological team was very busy. She had forgotten, and the signal in the desert was often lost. She promised to find time for a video call later.

“Ugh—”

Lu Yuan let out a frustrated sigh and carefully crossed the street, dodging the speeding cars, heading towards the electronics store.

The store wasn’t very big. Inside was an “L” shaped display counter.

The air conditioning was quite strong, and a short-haired youth in his early twenties, wearing a dark blue T-shirt with “Jiawei Electronics” printed on it, was sitting sideways at the counter, playing a game on a computer.

The keyboard and mouse clattered noisily.

When Lu Yuan walked in, the short-haired youth glanced at him and, seeing that he looked like a student, said, “Just wait a bit, I’ll finish this game first.”

Without waiting for Lu Yuan’s response, he turned his attention back to the screen.

Lu Yuan moved closer and saw the game the youth was playing.

It was a popular MOBA game he and Cheng Peng used to play.

Players on the red and blue teams controlled mechs to destroy the enemy’s base. Each mech had different skills, requiring a lot of skill to play.

The game was indeed very addictive, and once you started, it was hard to stop.

Lu Yuan initially worried he might have to wait a long time, but when he glanced at the youth’s game stats—0-12—he felt relieved.

Sure enough, in less than five minutes, Lu Yuan saw the short-haired youth’s screen turn gray four times in a row.

“Damn it!”

The short-haired youth threw down his mouse, cursing, “I’m done! No one is helping me. What’s the point of playing?”

He glanced up at Lu Yuan, a bit annoyed, and said, “You standing there distracted me.”

Lu Yuan: “…”

The short-haired youth then furiously typed on the in-game chat box for a while before finally leaving the computer to attend to Lu Yuan.

“Building a computer?”

The short-haired youth scratched his head, still a bit frustrated from his game loss.

“No.”

Lu Yuan glanced at the counter in front of him and asked, “Do you have any home surveillance devices? Preferably small and discreet.”

The short-haired youth gave Lu Yuan a peculiar look, “A pinhole camera? Those are a bit pricey.”

“No, not a pinhole camera.”

Lu Yuan shook his head, “Just something small. Mainly to keep an eye on stray cats and dogs. It should be able to connect to a mobile phone or computer for real-time monitoring.”

“Then how about a peephole camera?”

The short-haired youth turned around and rummaged through the shelves behind him for a moment. He pulled out a palm-sized box and tossed it in front of Lu Yuan.

“This is a peephole surveillance camera. It’s small and can be set up for security monitoring. Should meet your needs.”

Lu Yuan picked up the box and examined it. The packaging boasted features like “60-degree dual zoom, intelligent night vision, wireless charging, and Bluetooth connection to computers and mobile phones.”

After thinking for a moment, he asked the short-haired youth, “Can I try it?”

“Sure.”

The short-haired youth was straightforward. He opened the box and gave Lu Yuan a quick demonstration.

It indeed matched the advertised features, and the manual confirmed all the functionalities.

Feeling somewhat satisfied, Lu Yuan nodded and asked, “How much?”

“Eight.”

The short-haired youth initially quoted a price but then waved his hand and said, “Forget it, you can have it for seven hundred and fifty.”

Lu Yuan didn’t respond immediately. He continued to examine the palm-sized peephole surveillance camera for a bit.

Then he said, “Seventy-five.”

“Damn—”

The short-haired youth staggered, almost falling to the ground.

“Dude, who haggles like that? I can’t sell it for that price.”

He reached out to take the camera back from Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan didn’t let go. He just stared into the short-haired youth’s eyes and said, “Don’t rush. I need more than one. We can still negotiate the price.”

The short-haired youth was taken aback.

“How many do you need?”

Twenty minutes later, Lu Yuan walked out of the store carrying six identical peephole cameras.

He casually swiped through his newly repaired mobile phone.

Six cameras plus a new phone screen, all for a total of two thousand yuan.

“Good thing I invested in my intelligence points early, or I’d have been ripped off today.”

Lu Yuan was quite pleased with his bargaining success, feeling a strange sense of accomplishment.

Getting the price down to just 30% was a feat he had never achieved in both his lifetimes.

Over the past few days, he had scouted and analyzed, pinpointing potential locations where Ratman might appear near his home.

With six cameras properly distributed, he could cover almost all these spots.

“As long as I hear an alert, I can rush there immediately. There shouldn’t be any major issues.”

The enemy was hidden while he was exposed, and his resources were limited.

This was the only strategy Lu Yuan could come up with to guard against the Ratman for now.

If it wasn’t for the money he earned from boxing with Lin Zhiqin, even this level of precaution would have been hard to achieve.

“It’s a pity Ge Wenjun isn’t willing to put in the effort. Besides reassuring me, he hasn’t provided any help.”

“If I could borrow a couple of ‘electronic dogs’ and put in some hard work, I might be able to find the Ratman.”

Lu Yuan still felt a heavy weight in his heart.

Until he personally confirmed that the Ratman were dead in front of him, he wouldn’t feel at ease.

“Buzz buzz—”

As Lu Yuan walked down a street.

Suddenly, it sounded like countless dragonflies were flapping their wings just above his head.

The glass walls of the nearby shopfronts also began to vibrate slightly.

Lu Yuan quickly darted into the sunlight and looked up.

He saw two silver-gray shuttle-shaped flying objects swiftly streak across the sky.

“Maglev shuttles again!” And this time, there were two of them.

A month ago, he had seen one on the school playground. Now, he saw them again.

The two shuttles were soon swallowed up by the distant buildings’ silhouettes.

Lu Yuan watched the shuttles disappear, feeling neither joy nor sorrow, before walking back to the shade.

His eyes flickered, as if pondering something.

But just then—

“Boom!—”

It sounded like someone had set off a giant, old-fashioned popcorn machine on the distant street.

There wasn’t any noticeable ground shaking, but the sudden loud noise startled many people on the street.

The doors of the small shops around Lu Yuan flew open almost simultaneously, with people rushing out.

“What happened?!”