Chapter 272: A Huge Gecko

That man didn't go out the main door; he left through a side door that leads to the old street.

At this time, the number of people on the road began to increase gradually; some street vendors were busy staking out spots, and the students of Chu Hua Da Xue, who only had two classes in the afternoon, had just finished class and came out for a stroll and some snacks.

Zheng Tan didn't follow too closely; the area was crowded, and many people walking wouldn't watch their step—if he got closer, his limbs and tail would likely be stepped on. Moreover, from the sidewalk Zheng Tan could see what was happening over there, so there was no need to risk trouble.

While following, Zheng Tan noticed that the man's steps had quickened a bit.

Beside him was a stall selling small trinkets and ornaments that girls liked, with a crowd gathered around. After the man passed by, Zheng Tan saw that he now had a women's mobile phone in his hand. After taking the phone, he skillfully powered it off, opened the back cover, removed the SIM card and tossed it into a nearby trash can, then slipped the phone into his pocket.

That technique… is something only someone 'battle-hardened' would have—it was too swift and natural, so natural that the student didn't even realize he'd lost his phone, and the people around didn't notice anything amiss. If Zheng Tan hadn't seen the man steal the phone with his own eyes!

After stealing the phone, the man, who had been frowning and looking grim, now relaxed his brows with a smile, as if the recent event had pleased him and dispelled his earlier gloom.

Zheng Tan didn't know whether the man liked to vent his inner resentment this way, or because he already had another 'occupation' that led him to steal phones. Either way, he was clearly no good person—worse than what Zhuo Xiao Mao had said.

Indeed, stealing a child's belongings—stealing a phone is nothing.

Zheng Tan looked back; the accessory stall was surrounded by some people, but he couldn't tell if the phone's loser was among them. He guessed that the unfortunate owner still hadn't realized his phone was missing.

The person ahead had already walked some distance away, so Zheng Tan hurried to catch up, though there wasn't much he could do now.

Zheng Tan also knew the route the person ahead was taking: go down this old street, turn a corner not far ahead, and you'll reach an old residential community.

Calling this community 'old' is indeed not a matter of long history—it was built in the 1990s. The buildings are six or seven stories tall, with five or six households per floor. Just from the outside, the community feels a bit dated. The city has developed too quickly, the architectural style is old-fashioned, and nearby there's a newly built commercial street and those high-rise skyscrapers. Standing at the intersection makes it even more obvious: behind these old-style community buildings loom towering modern structures like colossi, overlooking everything, making this place seem even more aged. Sometimes it even gives a feeling of time and space overlapping.

Most of the residents in this old community are elderly men and women, with some young people who work nearby.

Watching the man enter the community, Zheng Tan quickly slipped in through a closed side door nearby, looked around for a moment, then, after spotting the man, continued to follow him. He had wandered around a few communities while exploring the old street; this was one of them—not familiar, but not unfamiliar either.

In Zheng Tan's memory, the buildings here are easy to climb.

Upon entering, one could hear mahjong sounds coming from many rooms on the first floor, as the elderly men and women gather daily to play mahjong when they have nothing else to do; thus, most of the first floor consists of 'tea house'-type 'entertainment venues'.

A scruffy little Pekingese saw Zheng Tan and barked a few times toward him; not far away, a speckled white dog lying asleep by the road twitched its ears, glanced this way, then lazily lay down again, showing no interest in Zheng Tan. This community has many small dogs and many cats; when those cats sway about, they truly come in waves.

Because cats are so common here, neither people nor animals find Zheng Tan remarkable at all; many don't even bother to give him a glance.

The man ahead also seemed accustomed to the dogs' barking in the community; hearing it, he didn't even look back, just kept walking forward while taking a phone call.

Zheng Tan heard him complaining to the person on the other end of the phone about today's misfortune, his tone showing strong dislike for those kindergarten kids, and he even cursed them viciously. This made Zheng Tan extremely annoyed, after all, this person was cursing Zhuo Xiao Mao. People's hearts are biased, and Zheng Tan feels justified in his bias; moreover, this person already has a questionable character.

"Those little bastards, if they don't get beaten for a day they can kick up a fuss—damn it, they're just asking for a beating!" The man ahead was still complaining, but after entering the building's hallway, his mood subsided considerably; the interior was quiet, and if he kept opening his mouth to curse, he wouldn't get any friendly looks from the people around him.

Zheng Tan followed him inside.

There was an iron gate at the stairwell entrance, but it seemed it hadn't been closed in a long time; the residents probably found it too bothersome to shut, so the iron gate at the building entrance was essentially meaningless.

The man lived on the third floor; Zheng Tan watched him pull out his keys, open the door, and go in. Before closing the door, Zheng Tan also heard him saying where he planned to go out and have fun on Friday night.

Zheng Tan didn't linger long either; after figuring out where the man lived, he went downstairs and walked around the building before leaving.

Over the next two days, Zheng Tan went to the kindergarten area each day for a walk, but he didn't see that man; only a few female teachers in charge were there, watching the little kids wearing paper rooster hats follow the teacher in singing 'Big Rooster oh oh oh,' whereupon Zheng Tan turned and left. He couldn't appreciate these children's songs, always feeling that if he stayed too long he'd be assimilated by those little brats and become childish.

That Friday night, after finishing dinner, Zheng Tan set out for that residential community. Since the man had said he'd be out somewhere Friday evening, he likely wouldn't be home, so Zheng Tan decided to go to his place and stir up some trouble. Offending a cat brings serious consequences.

Arriving at that residential building, few people were out walking at night; many elderly people go to bed early, lacking the energy to play mahjong, so they stay home watching TV, and by around nine o'clock they basically fall asleep.

There were no streetlights around, only light spilling from some residents' homes. It wasn't pitch dark, but there were many 'dead angles'; anything done in the shadows would be easily noticed.

Zheng Tan looked around, picked a spot, and began climbing up along the wall corner. The two households directly below the man's apartment had installed an awning outside—one to shield the air conditioner's outdoor unit from rain, the other to prevent water from dripping down when the upstairs residents hung laundry; many residents install such awnings outside their windows, and this awning also gave Zheng Tan convenience.

While climbing, Zheng Tan would also use these awnings for cover; if someone passed by, he would hide on the awning. Although the area isn't very bright, people nearby could still spot Zheng Tan, and it wasn't deep night either—there were still quite a few young people out and about.

When climbing past the second floor, Zheng Tan heard someone approaching this side, so he quickly continued climbing upward.

"Whoa! What a huge gecko! Hehe… and it's black. It's got cat ears!" a voice came from below.

Zheng Tan: "……"

It was obvious that the person had spotted Zheng Tan; fortunately, he wasn't very sober.

"Nonsense, I'm not drunk! I'm sober…… vomit——"

Zheng Tan hid on the second-floor awning, listening to the vomiting sounds below; it was good that the man was drunk, otherwise there might have been some trouble, though not a big deal—after all, Zheng Tan is just a cat, a cat climbing a wall…… isn't exactly a supernatural event.

After the drunkard vomited while holding onto the wall, he staggered away, and his phone fell into the pile of vomit; the drunkard didn't realize at all that he had dropped his phone.

No one else passed by, so Zheng Tan quickly climbed up and slipped through the three-floor window with iron bars; fortunately the bars weren't densely spaced, and the gap between two bars was just wide enough for him to squeeze through.

Perhaps because of the iron bars, although no one was inside, the window on the third floor wasn't locked, as they probably thought no one would come in this way.

Zheng Tan looked around; it seemed many people had gone out for a walk, so even if someone was in the opposite building, they wouldn't notice this side, and even if they looked, they couldn't spot Zheng Tan—the windowsill here had no light, it was pitch dark, and human eyes couldn't see him in the darkness.

After pulling open the window, Zheng Tan peered inside.

Judging by the smell, this room was indeed where that man lived; it wasn't as messy as Zheng Tan had imagined, and there was a familiar scent left by the kindergarten's Bai Lao Shi—these two are a couple, though Bai Lao Shi doesn't live here; she likely came this afternoon to tidy up the room for him.

With too many obstructions, Zheng Tan decided first to get a high vantage point to survey the room, then decide where to start causing trouble.

Jumping from the bookshelf onto the adjacent wooden wardrobe, Zheng Tan was about to look down when he noticed a key placed on the wardrobe. The key looked like it was frequently used—no rust, no dust on the key itself, while a layer of dust covered the surrounding area, indicating that whoever cleaned had overlooked the top of the wardrobe, making the contrast obvious.

The lingering scent on the key proved that the man had used it not long ago, while Bai Lao Shi had never touched it.

A frequently used key, yet placed high up in the wardrobe—why?

Obviously something is off.

Zheng Tan examined the room's other furnishings, jumped down, and tried the locked drawers and cabinets; all the others opened easily, but two were locked—a small cabinet beneath the bookshelf and the bedside table.

Looking at the keyholes, they were pretty much the same. Zheng Tan simply took the key and tried it on both; the one on the bookshelf opened.

Inside this cabinet were nothing but mobile phones, including the pink phone that Zheng Tan had seen stolen a couple of days earlier.

Looking at the six phones inside, there were two women's phones, three men's phones, and one more neutral model usable by either gender. The six phones varied in age and price greatly—one could be considered a 'thief-proof' phone in this day and age, while two looked high-end and would likely sell for two or three thousand yuan nowadays.

These phones were probably all stolen by that man.

Besides these phones, the cabinet also contained a box holding SIM cards.

Around Chu Hua Da Xue, many street vendors and retail agents sell SIM cards without requiring buyers to show ID; these are probably similar.

If these phones went missing, would the man be so angry when he returned that he'd jump up and down?

Zheng Tan looked at the six phones in the cabinet and suddenly realized he hadn't sent a text message on his phone in a long time. (To be continued…)

ps: (5.30)