The Daily Life Of A Cyberpunk Magician

Chapter 55 - 56: Clues in the Old Museum
Chapter 55: Chapter 56: Clues in the Old MuseumRegarding the old-fashioned cameras, Wolf quickly realized why Jiang Shu had reminded him.

If a Thief from the Deception Group wanted to stay completely out of the camera’s line of sight, they would inevitably need to find an identical camera and practice repeatedly; otherwise, if they appeared in the footage, all their clever arrangements would be for naught.

And such models of cameras really aren’t that common nowadays, so starting from this angle, one could try to trace back to the source directly from the purchase information.

”Are you going to join me?” Wolf looked at Jiang Shu beside him, puzzled, ”Didn’t you always say that you’re only responsible for consulting on crime theory?”

”I’m free today, and besides, I’ve started to take an interest in the Fox’s case,” Jiang Shu replied indifferently.

Wolf nodded, ”Indeed, the Fox... is truly a dangerous element.”

Now, they both could confirm that the entire affair in Thirteen District was orchestrated by the Fox, and furthermore, the Fox and Ryan were not the same person.

Regarding this, Wolf and his superior, the Police Chief of the Seventh Police Station, had reported, but it was not taken seriously.

”Then let’s go, check out the Nostalgic Hall,” Wolf continued.

”No, let’s ask around elsewhere first,” Jiang Shu had a different opinion, ”What if there’s a seller somewhere else?”

However, the curator was right; after scouring the Seventh District with the camera model in hand and finding nothing, they had no choice but to set their sights on the Nostalgic Hall.

The Nostalgic Hall was located on an old street in E Area, which due to a city planning error, bizarrely gathered three or four main thoroughfares, making it especially crowded.

When they reached the old street around noon, they did not head straight to the Nostalgic Hall but casually stopped at a noodle shop first.

The old street could be considered the only place in the entire Seventh District without a hint of Cyberpunk elements, which gave Jiang Shu an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

The noodle shop was old, located at the street corner, quite inconspicuous, but filled with customers, most of whom seemed to be regulars.

Jiang Shu, stepping on the somewhat sticky floor and looking at the yellowed walls, suddenly felt an illusion of being back in a Lanzhou noodle shop. Such Chinese-style noodle shops were rare to see in the Seventh District, at least he had never seen one before.

”What do you want to eat?” asked Wolf.

”The same as you,” replied Jiang Shu, who wasn’t picky; sour, spicy, sweet, salty, fresh—he could accept it all. Well, he only avoided what wasn’t tasty.

”Okay,” Wolf responded, then shouted to the owner, ”Two bowls of beef noodles, with fried eggs.”

”Got it,” the owner poked her head out, noting down the table number.

Wolf’s voice made many customers turn their heads, but when they saw his black police uniform, they turned back with wary expressions.

In that instant, the noodle shop quieted down quite a bit, so the conversation at one table became particularly loud.

”Jabba’s disappeared again, hasn’t given us this month’s pay,” someone at the next table, sporting a trendy, brightly colored, sea urchin-like hairstyle, was loudly complaining with his back to Wolf.

However, his companion noticed something amiss and kicked him hard under the table while whispering a warning, ”It’s not the cops from around here, unfamiliar face, watch what you say.”

”Psh, what’s there to be afraid of?” The sea urchin-haired man glanced back, spat disdainfully, and continued to grumble, ”Without the pay, soon there’ll be nowhere to snort powder.”

”Doesn’t he always have those few days each month when he says he’s ’on a trip’?” another person beside the sea urchin-haired man replied.

The last person frowned and scolded, ”Will you shut up, can’t even your noodles keep your mouth shut?”

The three ruffians finally quieted down and didn’t say much more.

”Do they not have jobs?” Jiang Shu murmured softly; he didn’t want to cause any trouble.

Wolf had no concerns, saying dismissively, ”After awakening a Character Card, if the entries are too low-level to meet the entry requirements for any profession, you automatically become a ’Wanderer.’ Of course, with a bit of effort, there’s still a chance to get a proper job, but no wanderer ever does that.”

”Or, if you give up your original profession, you’ll also become a wanderer,” he continued, his expression unchanged.

Behind him, three wanderers looked disgruntled, but seeing Wolf, his police uniform, and his burly figure, they ultimately didn’t dare say anything.

After finishing the noodles, Jiang Shu followed Wolf through the streets, turning left and right, until a very ordinary little house appeared before them.

The retro decor caught Jiang Shu’s eye as he looked at the sign, which read ”Nostalgic Hall” in both Chinese and English.

At the entrance of the Nostalgic Hall, an old man was sitting, holding an old fan and gently rocking in his rocking chair with his eyes closed.

”Sir, hello, I’m Wolf, active Second Level Police Chief, badge number TC12138,” said Wolf, approaching politely, ”I have some business with the owner here.”

”Oh, so you’re saying, you want to go in?” The old man opened his eyes, asking just that.

”Mm-hmm,” Wolf nodded.

The old man said sternly, ”Then you’ll have to pay the admission fee.”

”...We are the police; please assist with the investigation,” Wolf said, frowning.

”This is a legitimate business; you have to understand my position,” the old man scoffed, unmoved.

”How much?” asked Jiang Shu.

Upon seeing him, the old man’s eyes flickered for a moment before he continued, ”Not expensive, fifty per person.”

He added, ”You can also take three small snacks.”

Jiang Shu stopped and turned to look at Wolf.

Helpless, Wolf honestly paid and then stepped into the museum of old items.

The museum was cramped, or rather, full, with shelves, glass cases, and an assortment of small items and snacks filling the cabinets, which all gave Jiang Shu a sense of the atmosphere from the eighties and nineties of his previous life.

Wolf was not interested in these things; he shouted straight away, ”Owner? Is the owner here?”

”Tap tap tap—” the sound of cloth shoes with rubber soles on the concrete floor, as the old man hurried in and sat at the counter, flipping the ”Closed” triangle sign to ”Open.”

The old man said formally, ”Welcome, what can I do for you?”

Wolf: ”...”

Not having paid himself, Jiang Shu actually found the old man quite interesting.

”Do you still have this kind of old-fashioned camera?” Wolf didn’t want to beat around the bush and showed him a photo and model of the camera.

”This...” The old man squinted at it for a while, recognizing it, ”I remember now, didn’t someone just come by and buy this a few days ago?”

”Hm?” Wolf got excited; he hadn’t expected to find a lead so easily, which made him wonder if it was for real.

”Who? Did you take down his personal information? What does he look like roughly?” He threw out a series of questions all at once.

”Don’t rush, don’t rush, wait a moment, let me think.” The old man squinted as he thought for a while, then took a pen and began to doodle on the paper in front of him.

In no time at all, the image of a greasy, balding man appeared on the paper.