"After that, instead of staying in the waiting room, you secretly hid the letter on yourself. Then, under the pretext of being bored, you left the waiting room and found the hidden Rainbow Pocket Watch!"
"But this still doesn't directly prove that Lan Yangyang is the killer!"
Cold sweat beaded on Xi Yangyang's forehead; everything was turning terribly against Lan Yangyang.
Seeing the real Xi Yangyang refute him, Hui Tailang smiled.
"Fine, then I'll give you the evidence. The evidence is the bomb control button in Lan Yangyang's hand. As everyone can see, the explosion started at the entrance and didn't actually blast anyone!"
"Why do that? Simple, it was to destroy the detection device!"
"Xi Yangyang, you ran too fast just now and probably didn't hear: special markers are placed on everything in the museum, and special sensor devices are placed under the flagstones all around the museum!"
"Once you walk out carrying anything belonging to the museum, it will definitely trigger an alarm!"
"And this explosion was precisely at the control device beneath the flagstones at the main entrance. Phantom Thief Shenhu didn't steal the Rainbow Pocket Watch precisely because of this!"
"Let me state my reasoning further. Xi Yangyang, you were separated when you first arrived here, weren't you?"
"You said you left because you were speechless and didn't want to watch Lan Yangyang stuffing his face here, but how do you know this wasn't just a diversion?"
"My guess is that Lan Yangyang first used this diversion to trick you into leaving, then took the opportunity to meet with Phantom Thief Shenhu and obtain the bomb control device from him!"
"Boss Zhu said that the surveillance stopped working while the Rainbow Pocket Watch was being stolen. So I can boldly guess that Phantom Thief Shenhu stole the Rainbow Pocket Watch at lightning speed, hid it somewhere, and then used the remaining time to secretly plant the bomb!"
"As long as the detection device was blown up, he could leave the museum with the museum's items without anyone noticing. The evidence is that Lan Yangyang has no injuries on his body!"
"This only explains one thing: Lan Yangyang knew there was a bomb underneath, so he deliberately avoided walking over it and detonated the bomb from a distance!"
"Then you intended to use this accident to make a clean escape and steal the Rainbow Pocket Watch without anyone knowing!"
"To sum it up, the truth is that you, Lan Yangyang, colluded with Phantom Thief Shenhu from the start. Phantom Thief Shenhu went to the museum, stole the pocket watch, hid it somewhere, and planted a bomb at the entrance!"
"After that, you came here, separated from everyone, met with Phantom Thief Shenhu, and took the detonator. Lan Yangyang, you regrouped with everyone, came here, found the envelope on the way to the waiting room, and hid it on yourself. Then, under the pretext of boredom, you left the waiting room and found the hidden Rainbow Pocket Watch!"
"Finally, you went to the entrance, took out the detonator, moved to a safe distance, and detonated the bomb to destroy the detection device. Next, I deduce that you, Lan Yangyang, would act foolish and impulsively leave this place, am I right? The killer is you, Lan Yangyang, and along with you, Phantom Thief Shenhu. This incident was a two-person crime!"
Upon hearing this, everyone present was shaken to the core, and Lan Yangyang turned pale with fright. He had no way to refute it; he simply couldn't explain why he had left—was it because of boredom? Nor could he explain why all these items were on his person, and he couldn't even explain why he had no injuries on him. The surveillance had been destroyed and had not yet been repaired, and there were no passersby at the front door right now. At this moment, Lan Yangyang retorted...
Detective of the Year of the Dog: Chase and Investigation
"It wasn't me!"
Lan Yangyang didn't know what to say; he had no idea how to defend himself.
"Stop quibbling!"
Hui Tailang sneered and stepped forward, preparing to subdue Lan Yangyang. At that moment, Lan Yangyang clenched his fists, turned around, and bolted outside.
"It wasn't me."
Lan Yangyang ran with all his might, running aimlessly as if it would never end.
Lan Yangyang's head was a complete mess; he couldn't make sense of the current situation at all.
Lan Yangyang kept running until he reached a dark alleyway, where he squatted down and curled up into a ball.
"Now you have nothing to say, right? Lan Yangyang has already fled from justice, and I will catch him, Boss Zhu!"
Hui Tailang waved his hand, implying that Lan Yangyang might escape for a moment, but not for a lifetime; whether he liked it or not, Lan Yangyang would have to take the blame.
"Very good, you've got potential, Hui Tailang! How about this: as long as you catch Lan Yangyang, I will back you to become the most famous detective in the entire Wolf Tribe!"
"You know my financial power!"
Boss Zhu smiled, patted Hui Tailang on the shoulder, and turned to leave.
"Hmph, I've already won, Xi Yangyang! I will definitely catch Lan Yangyang."
Hui Tailang turned his head, met Xi Yangyang's gaze with a sneer, and then walked away.
Xi Yangyang stood in place, just watching Hui Tailang's departing figure as he clenched his fists.
"I will definitely find the truth and shatter the shackles of crime placed upon Lan Yangyang!"
Xi Yangyang's gaze turned resolute, and he rushed out the front door to begin investigating the truth.
At that moment, a wolf and a sheep went their separate ways: one to catch Lan Yangyang, and the other to seek the real truth.
Mumu remained in place, staring blankly at their departing figures, utterly stunned. He never imagined things would turn out like this.
"Why did it turn out like this? It wasn't me!"
Crouched in a dim alleyway, Lan Yangyang curled up into a ball, trembling continuously as tears streamed down his cheeks one drop at a time.
He was so terrified. He had only come here because he wanted to eat some good food, and now he was inexplicably saddled with a criminal charge.
What should he do? Didn't he know Xi Yangyang would come to save him?
After sitting quietly and thinking for a full three seconds, Lan Yangyang's stomach let out a loud rumble.
"I'm so hungry!"
Lan Yangyang remained Lan Yangyang. He poked his head out, cautiously looked around, and finally tiptoed out of the alley to grab something to eat.
Then came the awkward part: the moment Lan Yangyang stepped out of the alley, he crashed head-on into Hui Tailang, who had just come running over.
"Hui Tailang, why are you here? Didn't I run so far away? How on earth were you able to track me down?"
Looking at Hui Tailang right in front of him, Lan Yangyang locked eyes with him and instantly let out a scream. He had run so far, yet Hui Tailang had actually chased him down.
Hearing what Lan Yangyang just said, Hui Tailang didn't believe a single damn word.
Hui Tailang looked back speechlessly, then glanced back at Lan Yangyang standing before him.
Hui Tailang was truly speechless. Right here—from this very alley to the Erying Museum over there—was literally a hundred meters!
What did he mean by running very far? It was barely a hundred meters back and forth...
"Prepare to meet your doom, Lan Yangyang! Obediently accept your punishment, or I'll arrest you for theft!"
Hui Tailang shook his head, pushing those thoughts out of his mind, and reached out with his claws toward Lan Yangyang. At that moment, Hui Tailang was going to arrest Lan Yangyang on charges of theft!
"Run!"
Lan Yangyang snapped back to his senses, spun around, and bolted forward again. Hui Tailang refused to be outdone and gave chase at the same time.
"Don't chase me!"
As he ran, Lan Yangyang spotted a fruit stall ahead, leaped directly onto it, and kept running forward.
"Stop right there, Lan Yangyang!"
Hui Tailang lunged forward with claws bared. Seeing this, Lan Yangyang frantically grabbed the fruits off the stall and hurled them at Hui Tailang.
"What?"
A peach smashed straight into Hui Tailang's face, followed immediately by a watermelon flying right into his belly. Hui Tailang was knocked over onto the ground, and before he could even complain, a durian slammed right onto his head.
"Wretched Lan Yangyang."
Furious, Hui Tailang got up, tossed the durian aside, and resumed the chase. Seeing this, Lan Yangyang flurriedly pulled down the canopy of a nearby stall and threw it straight at Hui Tailang.
The fabric of the canopy instantly covered Hui Tailang. Baring his claws, Hui Tailang used his sharp nails to shred the red cloth and charged forward once more.
Lan Yangyang and Hui Tailang burst into a snack stall, chasing each other all the way. As he ran, Lan Yangyang grabbed whatever he found on the road and threw it backward.
The chase continued relentlessly: he ran, he chased, and neither of them could fly away.
"Don't come over here!"
Running with all his might and screaming at the top of his lungs, Lan Yangyang suddenly made a sharp turn and dashed straight into an underground parking garage.
"You can't escape."
Seeing Lan Yangyang run straight into a dead end, Hui Tailang didn't hesitate for a second and charged right after him.
The wolf and the sheep engaged in a frantic chase inside the underground parking garage, with Lan Yangyang leaping over cars one after another.
Lan Yangyang vaulted past rows of electric scooters, then spun around and shoved them down with all his might.
The first electric scooter was pushed over, and like a row of dominoes, all of them crashed down one after another, forming a massive roadblock between Hui Tailang and Lan Yangyang.
"Little sheep, did you really think this could stop me?"
Hui Tailang sneered, put strength into his legs, and leaped hard, clearing the obstacle right in front of him.
Hui Tailang flew through the air, lunging downward toward Lan Yangyang with his claws bared.
Seeing this, Lan Yangyang darted his eyes left and right until he spotted a worker holding a bucket of water and a mop, cleaning the underground parking garage.
Without a moment to lose, Lan Yangyang rushed over, snatched the bucket away, and violently splashed all the water onto the ground.
"What? No—!"
Seeing the water stains on the floor, Hui Tailang felt a jolt of panic. He couldn't stop his momentum at all, and *bam*, Hui Tailang crashed onto the ground. Because the water on the floor reduced the friction, Hui Tailang went *whoosh* and slid straight across. Midway through the slide, unable to control his body, Hui Tailang stood up, started spinning, and then plunged headfirst into the water bucket in a Thomas whirl!
"Lan Yangyang, you stop right there!"
Hui Tailang roared angrily. Panicking, Lan Yangyang turned around, dashed toward a nearby elevator, squeezed inside instantly, and began hammering the buttons.
Angrily pulling the bucket off his head, Hui Tailang glared at Lan Yangyang. Cautiously picking his way across the wet floor, Hui Tailang sprinted all the way to Lan Yangyang.
"Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up! Start up, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!"
Terrified to the extreme by the baring-claws-and-fangs Hui Tailang before him, Lan Yangyang cried out while frantically slapping the buttons. Spotting such a great opportunity, Hui Tailang leaped up and lunged at Lan Yangyang.
Finally, at the very last second, the elevator doors closed. Lan Yangyang straightened up and waved goodbye.
"What?"
The elevator doors shut, and Hui Tailang slammed right into them, flattening his entire face against the metal.
"Wretched little sheep, I will never let you escape!"
Roaring with rage, Hui Tailang clapped his hands, instantly jumped to his feet, and ran toward another elevator. Stepping inside, he hammered the buttons to catch up to Lan Yangyang.
Lan Yangyang panted heavily inside the elevator. Just then, with a *ding-dong*, the elevator doors opened, and daring not to stay a moment longer, Lan Yangyang bolted out.
"Where are you running, Lan Yangyang?"
The other elevator opened as well, and Hui Tailang caught up to Lan Yangyang once again. The game of wolf catching sheep continued.
At this point, the wolf and the sheep arrived inside a massive shopping mall, kicking off a new round of the chase.
Running forward continuously, Lan Yangyang dashed straight into the mall. Seeing Hui Tailang about to catch up, Lan Yangyang rushed inside, grabbed a pack of bar soap from a shelf, ripped it open, and threw them all out.
At the same time, Lan Yangyang opened a bottle of laundry detergent and combined it with the soap to set a trap.
"What, bar soap? Did you really think I'd fall for that again? The same trick doesn't work twice!"
Hui Tailang sneered, reached out, grabbed a pair of anti-slip shoes from the shelf, and put them on his feet. Wearing the anti-slip shoes, Hui Tailang moved through the bars of soap as if walking on empty ground.
Along the way, he even performed a ballet dance—it was the epitome of elegance. But was that the end of it?
Hui Tailang spun around, executed a gorgeous backflip, and then landed both feet on the soap cakes, using them like ice skates as he skated all the way to catch up to the fleeing Lan Yangyang.
"What? There's even a move like this?!"
Seeing Hui Tailang behind him turning soap bars into ice skates and laundry detergent into lubricant—that was simply too slick!
Witnessing such brilliant maneuvers, Lan Yangyang froze. A black background panel materialized behind him, emitting multicolored light, and Lan Yangyang himself transformed into a shocked little cat.
Strange knowledge had increased once again!
"Hui Tailang, you're despicable!"
Realizing Hui Tailang was about to catch up, Lan Yangyang didn't dare be careless. He hurriedly tore away the background panel behind him, shook his head, and changed his face back to normal.
Lan Yangyang resumed his stride and sprinted forward, though compared to Hui Tailang, he was still a notch lower.
"Little fatty sheep, don't struggle anymore. You can't escape the palm of my hand."
Hui Tailang shouted as his hand was about to touch Lan Yangyang; the sheep was about to be caught.
"Damn it, wait, what is this?!"
Seeing that he was about to be caught, Lan Yangyang had already grown disheartened, but then he suddenly spotted a row of anti-wolf sprays ahead—and it was a whole shelf of them!
"What are you doing?"
Seeing the anti-wolf sprays ahead, and then looking at the nonsensical expression on Lan Yangyang's face, Hui Tailang felt a bad omen wash over him.
And indeed, that was the case. Lan Yangyang accelerated forward, grabbed the belt that came with the anti-wolf sprays, and strapped it around his waist.
Taking advantage of the momentum, Lan Yangyang pulled out a dozen bottles of anti-wolf sprays to strap onto his body and grabbed two extra-large editions to hold in his hands.
At that moment, Lan Yangyang's aura skyrocketed abruptly, making him look like a martial arts master charging in and out seven times!
"Don't!"
Hui Tailang froze. He stepped down from the soap and used his foot to kick the soap cakes aside.
"Fine, fine, fine. So that's how we're playing this?"
Daring not to stay a single second longer, Hui Tailang turned around and sprinted backward. Watching Hui Tailang flee, Lan Yangyang had no intention of letting him go.
In an instant, Lan Yangyang flashed a look of utter idiocy, rolling his eyes up and down. Every gesture he made radiated an aura of pure absurdity.
Screaming at the top of his lungs, Lan Yangyang charged forward, flailing his hands wildly and spraying the anti-wolf sprays as he rushed toward Hui Tailang.
"Stop right there, Hui Tailang! Taste my power!"
Acting as though he had lost his mind, Lan Yangyang pursued Hui Tailang relentlessly!
Lan Yangyang actually chased Hui Tailang around the mall three whole times purely by acting unhinged.
After running through the mall three times and using up every single anti-wolf spray strapped to his body, Lan Yangyang finally came to his senses.
"Wait, why am I chasing him back? Wasn't I supposed to be running away?"
Lan Yangyang looked like someone who had just woken up from a dream. Of course, the same went for Hui Tailang standing nearby.
"Wait, why am I running? Aren't I a wolf? Didn't I come here to catch Lan Yangyang? What the hell am I running for?"
Suddenly, Hui Tailang put on a ferocious expression once again and looked back at Lan Yangyang.
"Hmph, finally stopped running!"
Seeing this, Lan Yangyang pulled out the very last bottle of anti-wolf spray from his body and walked toward Hui Tailang.
Looking at the terrifying pressure and aura radiating from Lan Yangyang before him, Hui Tailang, despite snapping back to reality, still felt a lingering sense of dread.
"Since you're not running anymore... I'm running!"
Step by step, Lan Yangyang closed in on Hui Tailang. Seeing the other party frightened, he suddenly spun around, threw the anti-wolf spray away, unbuckled his belt, and bolted for his life.
"What on earth?"
Hui Tailang tilted his head in confusion, then stepped forward to pick up the bottle of anti-wolf spray from the ground and tried to spray it, only to find it was completely empty.
Lan Yangyang had just been putting on a bluff. Realizing this belatedly, Hui Tailang felt veins bulge on his forehead as he bared his claws and charged forward once more.
"Lan Yangyang, get out here! I'll find you sooner or later!"
Arriving at a street, Hui Tailang could no longer see Lan Yangyang's shadow and could only vent his impotent rage, waving his hands continuously.
Meanwhile, down in the sewer beneath Hui Tailang's feet, Lan Yangyang was crawling forward.
"Good thing I'm smart and chose to crawl into the sewer, though it stinks to high heaven down here."
Lan Yangyang muttered a complaint, then continued crawling forward, deciding to flee for a while first!
"Hello, I'd like to find out about Phantom Thief Shenhu!"
Holding his case notebook, Xi Yangyang went around the street asking people one by one for information about Phantom Thief Shenhu.
At this moment, Xi Yangyang was in a very old and dilapidated apartment building, inquiring about intelligence from someone.
Hearing Xi Yangyang's question, the apartment security guard pondered for a moment.
"Oh, that Phantom Thief Shenhu? I remember he's a pretty good guy. Sure, he's a phantom thief, but he only robs rich people who are really bad. He distributes the stolen money to people in extreme hardship—he's a righteous thief who robs the rich to help the poor!"
Detective of the Year of the Dog: Encountering Meng Xiaoyang
"Excuse me, do you know..."
"I don't know!"
"Um..."
"Go ask someone else!"
Xi Yangyang walked into the residential building, investigating apartment by apartment, but most of the time he was simply turned away and couldn't get any useful information at all.
Xi Yangyang sat by the hallway stairs, sighing despondently. What should he do next? The investigation wasn't going smoothly, and the information he had was sparse. How was he supposed to clear Lan Yangyang's name?
"Oh, who are you?"
Just then, a door nearby opened. It was apartment number 404.
Emerging from inside was a dog—well, to be precise, a Chinese pastoral dog.
He was a resident here, and he had been listening to Xi Yangyang knocking on doors everywhere asking questions just now!
"Um, hello, do you happen to know..."
"Come inside and ask!"
Before Xi Yangyang could finish, the dog stepped aside, gesturing for Xi Yangyang to come inside and talk.