Even spicy strip mille-feuille, stinky tofu ice cream, garlic-flavored cakes, and all sorts of bizarre delicacies that nobody had ever heard of!
"As expected of a big city, even the food is so unique!"
Lan Yangyang rested his chin on one hand, conjuring up wild imaginations with a shocked expression.
Everyone looked at Lan Yangyang in speechless frustration. What did he mean by a big city with unique food? Weren't these simply dark culinary disasters?
"I want to eat it!"
Thinking this, Lan Yangyang stared at everyone with his huge, cartoonish eyes, which sparkled continuously!
Everyone clutched their heads and sighed inwardly. The main issue was the price—it was a little expensive.
"Go ahead and eat, Lan Yangyang!"
Just as the others hesitated, Xi Yangyang turned around and said to Lan Yangyang.
"Xi Yangyang, you're still the one who cares about me! Thanks for treating me!"
Lan Yangyang beamed, rubbing his face affectionately against Xi Yangyang's arm. Seeing this, Xi Yangyang was left speechless.
Xi Yangyang then reached into his pocket and pulled out the travel vouchers, handing them to everyone one by one.
Xi Yangyang held up a travel voucher, then flipped it over to show the others.
"Eat whatever you want! Mumu didn't just give me a regular travel voucher!"
"This is a detective voucher that only a top-tier detective can possess and give to others. It can fully cover any expenses incurred within Detective City for free!"
With that, Xi Yangyang pointed his finger at the golden note in the bottom right corner of the travel voucher: "Provides free and unlimited coverage for all expenses incurred in Detective City during the trip."
"I see! Mumu is so nice!"
Mei Yangyang exclaimed in admiration. Looking at the voucher in her hand, she immediately imagined buying piles of dresses, as well as bow hairclips, shoes, and more at the clothing store!
Fei Yangyang decided to head straight to the gym to work on getting an eight-pack of abs, while Nuan Yangyang thought about buying some souvenirs to take back for the others in Pleasant Goat Prairie.
Xi Yangyang also wondered if he should buy a pair of soccer cleats. Of course, Principal Slow Goat looked at the travel voucher and had things he wanted to buy as well.
Everyone was pondering what they wanted to buy, but Lan Yangyang was different—he dashed off to start buying immediately.
"Awesome."
"Damn, that's amazing."
The others snapped out of their daydreams and looked around, but Lan Yangyang was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, they noticed a fast-food restaurant nearby surrounded by a huge crowd.
"What's going on over there?"
"Let's go take a look."
Fei Yangyang looked over, scratching his head in confusion. Xi Yangyang glanced in that direction, guessing there must be some popular event or lively commotion, and decided they should go check it out.
"In that case, let's hurry over!"
Xi Yangyang, Fei Yangyang, and the others walked over and peeked inside, then suddenly froze in place.
Every single person surrounding the fast-food restaurant was staring intently at a single little sheep.
Everyone was shocked. That sheep was none other than Lan Yangyang, and the two tables next to him were completely devoid of people, piled high with countless dishes of food.
Everyone was dumbfounded. Lan Yangyang had actually managed to eat the restaurant's entire food supply clean, entirely by his own effort!
"Whoa, this little sheep is incredible! He actually ate every single ingredient in an entire fast-food restaurant all by himself!"
An old man nearby twirled the walnuts in his hand, staring at Lan Yangyang in utter amazement. He had truly seen it all now.
He had never witnessed a little sheep consume the entire inventory of a fast-food restaurant single-handedly.
"I'm not full yet!"
Lan Yangyang let out a loud burp, then patted his belly to signal that he was still hungry!
"Lan Yangyang, you've eaten an entire fast-food restaurant's worth of ingredients, and you're still not full?"
Fei Yangyang couldn't take it anymore. He marched right up, grabbed Lan Yangyang's cheeks, and pinched them relentlessly.
"What's wrong with that? If I'm not full, I'm not full! Since it's free anyway, I'm going to go eat barbecue!"
Looking completely unbothered, Lan Yangyang brushed Fei Yangyang's hands away and prepared to head to another shop to keep eating.
Hearing this, Fei Yangyang flew into a rage. Just as he raised his fist, Xi Yangyang hurried over to stop him.
"Forget it, Fei Yangyang. Lan Yangyang is just like this. Anyway, since it's a rare chance to eat your fill for free, just let Lan Yangyang eat his fill!"
"That's true!"
Fei Yangyang nodded, agreeing that Xi Yangyang made sense. He glanced at Lan Yangyang's round, bulging belly, then turned around and left with Xi Yangyang.
Xi Yangyang and Fei Yangyang decided to go find a running shoe store together so they could buy some cleats for soccer.
"Let's go too. Come on, Nuan Yangyang, let's go shopping for clothes!"
Seeing this, Mei Yangyang grabbed Nuan Yangyang and pulled her along, heading out to find a women's clothing boutique to start browsing.
"I wonder where Mumu is. Let's go find him and get in touch first!"
Figuring there wasn't any danger in the city, Principal Slow Goat also headed out, found a random phone booth, and began trying to contact Mumu.
"Time for delicious food! I want strawberry cream puffs!"
Lan Yangyang stretched lazily, straightened his bib, and stepped out of the fast-food restaurant. He headed to a dessert shop, picked out a bunch of strawberry cream puffs, and continued munching away as he wandered into other food stores.
"Delicious."
Before long, three minutes passed, and Lan Yangyang was strolling down the street carrying large bags of food in both hands.
"Ah, so comfortable."
Clutching so much food, Lan Yangyang felt an unprecedented wave of bliss.
As Lan Yangyang walked along, someone wearing black athletic wear, a black face mask, and a black baseball cap suddenly bolted right out from the side!
Before Lan Yangyang could even react, the person slammed straight into him.
"Hey, who's that? Steady, steady."
Lan Yangyang took a hard hit and looked like he was about to fall over. Remembering the food in his arms, he fought desperately to steady his balance, finally managing to stay upright.
"What kind of person has zero manners? Can't they see someone standing here? Why would they crash into me?"
Lan Yangyang was furious. If he had stumbled even a little more, none of his food would have been edible.
Lan Yangyang turned around and yelled angrily, but the person dressed all in black was already long gone without a trace.
Realizing this, Lan Yangyang could only sigh in resignation and chalk it up to bad luck. His great mood was completely ruined.
"So annoying, talk about bad luck!"
Pouting, Lan Yangyang hurried off to regroup with the others. Aside from the mountain of food Lan Yangyang had bought, Xi Yangyang, Mei Yangyang, and the rest had also purchased plenty of items.
Principal Slow Goat looked speechlessly at the children clutching piles of goods. Was all of this really necessary?
"Principal, don't worry about us! Keep telling us what you found!"
Noticing Principal Slow Goat's gaze, Lan Yangyang forced an awkward smile and asked if he had managed to contact Mumu.
"I got in touch with him!"
Principal Slow Goat nodded, then began recounting the instructions Mumu had just given him.
"Mumu is currently at a museum investigating a missing case. Word is it's a national treasure!"
As he spoke, Principal Slow Goat picked up a promotional poster from nearby, flipped and folded it, and pointed out the key section to everyone.
On the promotional poster was a magnificent museum with a sign out front reading "Erying Museum"!
"Wait, I have a question, Principal. Isn't this a museum? Why are most of the things inside items from other places?"
Fei Yangyang scratched his head and asked with a puzzled expression. Listed near the bottom of the promotional poster were several exhibition items.
For instance, a dragon statue from Dragon Paradise, a star fragment from the top of Pegasus City, and many others besides.
"Those were collected from elsewhere. This museum wasn't built by Detective City!"
"This Erying Museum, so the story goes, was built by a very wealthy collector who gathered rare treasures from all sorts of places!"
Principal Slow Goat coughed twice and explained to Fei Yangyang, who nodded in a half-understanding sort of way.
Aside from Fei Yangyang, Lan Yangyang, Xi Yangyang, and the others also nodded to show they understood.
As everyone discussed this in the phone booth, a few passersby nearby were chatting animatedly about a trending TV drama!
"Hey, have you heard? That hot new show *Escape from Erying Museum* is super popular right now!"
A man said to the woman beside him, and upon hearing his words, the woman immediately chimed in with agreement.
"Right! The builder of that Erying Museum collected so many things from other places and just refuses to return them!"
The man and woman, acting like a couple, discussed the TV drama *Escape from Erying Museum* together!
Meanwhile, nearby, a group of kids were running around, laughing and playing while talking about a newly released animated series called *Ancient Style Swordsman*!
"Hey, have you watched *Ancient Style Swordsman*? It's so good! I'm already on episode 32!"
One of the kids said proudly, and immediately another kid piped up, unconvinced.
"Pfft, big deal! I've already watched up to episode 52! I'm about to reach the finale!"
After chatting a bit longer, Principal Slow Goat picked up a free district map from nearby.
He led everyone toward the Erying Museum. At the same time, Hui Tailang's family was still browsing the shopping mall.
"Everything is free! Grab as much as you can, grab as much as you can."
Hearing that all spending costs would be fully covered for free, Red Wolf's eyes lit up instantly. She grabbed Hui Tailang and Xiao Huihui, dragging the father-and-son duo charging straight into the mall on a wild shopping spree.
"Red, are you done shopping yet? Mumu is still waiting for us to meet him at the Erying Museum!"
"Just a minute, let me buy a few more outfits!"
Red Wolf brushed him off with a perfunctory reply and continued her wild shopping spree! Hui Tailang sighed helplessly!
The Dog Year Detective: Rainbow Pocket Watch
"Mumu!"
Xi Yangyang and the others arrived at the Erying Museum and waved as they walked up to see Mumu waiting outside to greet them.
"You're here."
Mumu stepped forward, nodded, and looked over Xi Yangyang, Lan Yangyang, and the rest before turning to scan the surroundings, presumably searching for Hui Tailang.
At that moment, Hui Tailang's family finally rushed over from the other side. Seeing them approach, Mumu turned his head and waved in greeting.
"Phew, good thing we're not late!"
Hui Tailang panted heavily and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Seeing Hui Tailang arrive, Lan Yangyang instinctively retreated behind the others.
"Alright, let's head inside first. We can talk once we're inside."
Mumu took two steps back, gestured for everyone to go ahead, and led the way.
Without any hesitation, the group walked into the Erying Museum together.
Following Mumu through several corners and corridors, they arrived at a waiting room.
"Mumu, what's going on?"
Once everyone stepped inside and settled onto the plush sofas of the waiting room, Xi Yangyang could no longer contain his curiosity and asked. There was no way Mumu would invite them here for no reason; there had to be something serious going on.
"Indeed, there is a matter. We need your help."
Seeing Xi Yangyang ask directly, Mumu lowered his head in thought for a moment before replying.
"In truth, there is an issue regarding a case."
Mumu spoke in a low voice. Xi Yangyang pondered for a moment, then pulled a newspaper from his pocket.
"Is it this case?"
Xi Yangyang had already guessed as much, so he pulled out the newspaper featuring the theft at the Erying Museum and asked Mumu directly. Mumu nodded in confirmation.
"That's right. Because of this incident, I've run into some difficulties I can't resolve!"
Mumu sighed and slowly revealed his true reason for calling Xi Yangyang and Hui Tailang here.
"What, Mumu? You mean you can't solve this case?"
Hui Tailang asked in surprise upon hearing Mumu's words. Mumu sighed, explaining that he had conducted a preliminary investigation into this case.
Moreover, this case had one fatal complication: there was no scent—at least, based on the information gathered at the scene.
However, news of the crime couldn't simply be hidden; the culprit must have used some specific method to mask their scent.
Since Mumu couldn't pick up any scents and clues were scarce, he couldn't proceed to the next step. After pondering it for a long time, he finally decided to call Xi Yangyang and Hui Tailang over!
"I see!"
Xi Yangyang lowered his head, resting his chin on one hand in deep thought. No scent—that handicap was a huge counter against Mumu's abilities!
"I'll do my absolute best to help you, Mumu!"
Even if he wasn't sure he'd succeed, he had to give it his all, right? Xi Yangyang raised his head, met Mumu's gaze, and accepted the request, vowing to use all his strength to crack the mystery!
"Me too!"
Hui Tailang chimed in to accept as well, though he didn't have any noble reason—he simply wanted to compete with Xi Yangyang, pure and simple.
"Thank you both!"
Seeing Xi Yangyang and Hui Tailang both agree to his request, Mumu expressed his heartfelt gratitude.
"Let's head to the crime scene first, then!"
Xi Yangyang stood up and suggested going straight to the crime scene, as solving the mystery brook no delay! He was eager to start investigating right now!
Hui Tailang stood up as well, his actions clearly signaling to Mumu that he was coming along too, words unneeded.
"Alright. In that case, I'll take you to the crime scene first and introduce you to the person who lost the item!"
Mumu nodded, then gave some parting instructions to Lan Yangyang, Xiao Huihui, and the others.
Leading Xi Yangyang and Hui Tailang, Mumu pushed open the door of the waiting room and headed toward the museum's central exhibition area.
"Whoa, so luxurious."
Walking at the back, Xi Yangyang looked at the lavishly decorated corridors and could not help exclaiming in wonder.
The ceiling was fitted with high-end flat, square light fixtures that looked stunning. The surroundings were all white, with golden stripes embedded into the walls for decoration—it was incredibly opulent, at least to Xi Yangyang and the others from the prairie.
All around stood exquisitely carved display cases, with precious exhibition pieces resting inside gorgeous glass enclosures.
Xi Yangyang couldn't figure out why the outer glass panels were covered in such magnificent patterns—phoenixes, dragons, all sorts of things. The carving craftsmanship was truly remarkable.
"Is this it?"
Muttering to himself at the tail end of the group, Xi Yangyang stared at the ornate set of double doors before him with stars in his eyes.
The doors in front of him were even more extravagant than the ones in the hallway; even the door handles were cast from pure gold and inlaid with sparkling blue sapphires, looking thoroughly luxurious.
Everyone took a deep breath, stepped forward, pulled the doors open, and walked inside. This area belonged to the very center of the exhibition hall, which also happened to be the zone with the heaviest foot traffic.
This was the largest room, housing the greatest number of precious artifacts. As the doors swung open, Xi Yangyang was the first to peek inside.
How should he put it? The feeling was surreal. The room didn't look so much like a museum as it did the interior of a golden, opulent castle.
Everything around them was gold-plated, and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling had a frame forged from solid gold, encrusted with numerous crystals, precious diamonds, and gemstones.
Not only that, even the floor beneath their feet was gold-plated—though that wasn't the most important part.
Before he knew it, Xi Yangyang caught sight of a restroom sign nearby, which happened to be made of solid gold as well.
"Whoa, th-th-th-this!"
Not only Xi Yangyang, but Hui Tailang beside him was equally shocked. He had never seen such a lavish room in his life; this was simply too extravagant.
To make matters worse, while he didn't know what to say about the restroom sign being made of gold, the person who had lost the item left him completely speechless.
Golden shoes, golden trousers, golden shirt, golden jacket, and even the jacket was encrusted with countless gemstones. Hui Tailang felt like the guy might as well have a sign reading "Show-off" pasted across his forehead.
It was utterly ridiculous, as if he was terrified someone might not know he was rich!
"Hello, I am Xi Yangyang!"
"I am Hui Tailang!"
Following Mumu's steps, the two of them walked up and politely greeted him, introducing themselves as Mumu's former assistants!
"Ah, a pleasure, a pleasure! I hope you two can crack the case soon. After all, that item is extremely important to me!"
The person before them was named Boss Zhu; he was a pig, but a very wealthy one.
"Boss Zhu, if I may be so bold, what exactly did you lose?"
Eager to gather more details about the case, Xi Yangyang offered a polite greeting and then asked about the missing item.
Hearing Xi Yangyang's question, Boss Zhu nodded, seeing that this young assistant was truly dedicated to solving the case.
"Well, what I lost... was a pocket watch. A pocket watch made of pure gold, studded with all sorts of precious gemstones."
"Could you describe what it looks like in detail? For instance, does it have any special features? What color are the embedded gems? Also, was anything kept inside the pocket watch?"
Xi Yangyang nodded, carefully noting everything down, and then asked about specific details, figuring that someone who carried a pocket watch would usually keep something inside—like photographs or specific time settings.
Boss Zhu thought carefully about Xi Yangyang's questions, as if recalling the details.
"Hmm, if I recall correctly, that pocket watch was crafted from pure gold, with some lion motifs intricately carved onto it. Around the inner edge of the opening was an entire circle of white diamonds!"
"However, those weren't the most valuable parts; it's the sheer amount of thought and effort I poured into that pocket watch!"
"The pocket watch I lost is called the Rainbow Pocket Watch. Inlaid upon it are many noble diamonds of various different colors!"
"There are pink diamonds like cherry blossoms, orange diamonds like the twilight, blue diamonds like the ocean, green diamonds, purple diamonds, and other such noble and rare special diamonds!"
"I arranged those precious, noble diamonds in the pattern of a rainbow, embedding them all over that golden pocket watch!"