The noon sun, with the lingering heat of autumn, shone on the long street.

On the side of Fu’an Road, there was a noodle shop.

“Do you have a specific target? Why are you still wandering around in the afternoon?”

Lin Baici picked up a piece of cucumber with his chopsticks. There was too much vinegar, making it quite sour.

He now had over ten million yuan in his bank account, but he didn’t feel the need to have extravagant meals every day. Eating at a roadside stall like this was not bad either.

“Most of those crazy dogs appear near Haijing University of Technology. Almost all the people who were attacked are students from your school. So I think the divine taboo must be in one of the residential areas around here!” Xia Hongyao analyzed.

“…”

Lin Baici didn’t know what to say. Even if the scope was narrowed down to one residential area, it would still be like finding a needle in a haystack.

“Can you give me the information of those people who were attacked by the crazy dogs?” Lin Baici decided to do it himself.

He was not an employee of the Nine Provinces Security Bureau now, so he didn’t know if he could access this information. But obviously, Gao Mawei already regarded Lin Baici as one of their own.

“Here, take a look yourself!” Xia Hongyao logged into the internal website of the security bureau on her phone and handed it to Lin Baici.

Lin Baici didn’t hesitate and quickly browsed through it.

“Did you find anything?” Xia Hongyao was very expectant because Lin Baici had shown extraordinary intelligence on the train and in the Palm Port ruins.

“Sis, I just started looking!” Lin Baici smiled bitterly. “You should eat first. After you finish, lean back on the chair for a while. Look at those dark circles under your eyes!”

“I rely on my intelligence to eat!” Xia Hongyao took a sip of soup.

Most women cared about their skin and bought piles of cosmetics. They were the kind of people who would die if they didn’t put on makeup before going out.

But Xia Hongyao was an exception. She always went out with a bare face and never cared about her clothes. Every time Lin Baici saw her, she was in sportswear.

Lin Baici pursed his lips. You dare to say that you rely on your intelligence to eat?

But when Lin Baici glanced at Gao Mawei’s panda eyes, he suddenly felt that even if she had a pair of dark circles, or even a haggard face, it didn’t matter.

Because Gao Mawei was the truth.

Men would inevitably worship Gao Mawei.

Of course, except for those who liked steel waifus.

Lin Baici read quickly, but unfortunately, he had the ability to memorize things by ear, not photographic memory. Otherwise, his efficiency would be even higher.

Half an hour later.

“Boss, how much is it?” Lin Baici shouted.

“Sixty-five yuan!” Lin Baici scanned the QR code on the wall.

Two bowls of oil-splashed noodles, one plate of vegetarian mix, one plate of smoked meat, and two bottles of soda. This price was quite reasonable.

“Xiaolin, what do you think?” Xia Hongyao stood on the street and stretched lazily.

Many passing men immediately glanced over.

The mottled shadows of the phoenix trees fell on her, as if they were draped in a light veil for the Himalayan peaks.

Swoosh!

Xia Hongyao pulled up the zipper of her sportswear to the top.

Lin Baici immediately saw many regretful eyes.

“Let’s go to the Bosuo residential area first!” Gu Qingxiang lived there, so Lin Baici planned to confirm the safety of that area first.

“Okay.”

Xia Hongyao was driving a BMW 3 Series today. It was parked on the side of the road. She walked over and saw a parking ticket stuck on the glass for illegal parking.

She casually tore it off, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into a trash can three meters away.

“…”

Lin Baici was surprised. Could it be done like this?

“Get in the car!” Xia Hongyao saw Lin Baici’s expression and shrugged. “It’s official business. It’s fine to not only park illegally, but also run red lights. But generally, traffic rules should still be followed.”

“Of course, even if you want to pay the fine, you won’t have the chance. It’s all paid by the bureau.”

Xia Hongyao waited for Lin Baici to get in the car, fastened her seatbelt, and set off.

Great, another reason to join the security bureau.

The Bosuo residential area consisted of seven-story residential buildings. Due to their age, the wall paint in many places had faded and peeled off, giving it a somewhat dilapidated appearance.

Because the residents here were mostly tenants, and most of them were college students, very few people cooked. They mostly ordered takeout, so at this time, you could see many deliverymen coming in and out.

The residential area was not very big, with only twelve buildings.

“Look!” Xia Hongyao suddenly pulled Lin Baici.

Lin Baici looked over and saw a dirty border collie running quickly from under the corner of the wall, holding a takeout in its mouth.

“Is it delivering the takeout to its owner?” Xia Hongyao found it interesting.

“I think it looks more like stealing the takeout!” Lin Baici saw Xia Hongyao’s puzzled expression and explained, “That dog is too dirty. It doesn’t look like a pet.”

“It’s also possible that its owner is not clean!” Xia Hongyao had a different opinion. “There are many people who don’t like to take showers. Another possibility is that its owner is a homeless person!”

“Red Medicine, you’re amazing!” Lin Baici gave her a thumbs up.

He admitted that there was a possibility.

“Haha!” Xia Hongyao put her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and smiled proudly.

She admired Lin Baici and recognized his strength, so receiving praise from a dragon-level reserve like him made her feel extremely happy.The two of them walked around in a circle and found nothing. Just as they were about to leave, they heard someone arguing.

“You told me to leave the takeout at the door, and now it’s gone. Are you blaming me?”

The delivery guy in a yellow uniform was very angry.

“You didn’t leave it at all. I came out to get it after using the restroom. It only took me a minute, but I didn’t see anything.”

The girl was furious.

Because she had diarrhea, she didn’t immediately open the door to get the takeout. But when she finished wiping, it was gone?

“I left it there.”

The delivery guy shouted anxiously. He had other deliveries to make, and if he was delayed, he wouldn’t be able to deliver them.

“I don’t care. You compensate me, or I’ll complain about you!”

The girl was fierce.

“Why should I compensate you? Maybe you already took it and now you’re trying to extort me!”

The delivery guy was unhappy. “Check the surveillance cameras in the neighborhood!”

“What kind of crappy neighborhood has surveillance cameras?”

The girl was angry and wanted to hit someone. She vowed to move out of this lousy neighborhood as soon as she got a raise.

Lin Baici and Xia Hongyao exchanged glances.

The takeout that the Border Collie was carrying was indeed stolen.

“Stop arguing. Your takeout was stolen by a dog!”

Xia Hongyao tried to mediate.

“See, someone saw it!”

The delivery guy laughed.

The girl was stunned and questioned, “Do you have any evidence?”

“I don’t, but I saw it.”

Xia Hongyao tried to convince the girl, but Lin Baici stopped her.

“Let’s go!”

Lin Baici pulled Xia Hongyao away.

“Hey, don’t leave! Be a witness for me. Damn it, don’t go!”

The delivery guy shouted, trying to stop Xia Hongyao, but he was held back by the girl.

The two of them started pulling each other.

In the car, Xia Hongyao was a little unhappy. “Do I look like someone who would lie?”

“That girl knows you’re right, but if she acknowledges it, she’ll have to bear the loss herself. By insisting that the delivery guy didn’t deliver the food, she can shift the responsibility to him, even if she can’t get full compensation, she can at least get some of it back and reduce her loss.”

Lin Baici understood the girl’s mindset. Even if she couldn’t get full compensation, she wanted to get some of it back to lessen her loss.

“Alright, it was just a little incident. Let’s go to school!”

Lin Baici already had a plan, but he still took out the Divine Taboo.

He clasped his hands together, holding the smooth and round turtle shell in between, silently reciting in his mind.

“Where is the Divine Taboo that creates mad dogs? Please show me the direction!”

After reciting it three times, Lin Baici threw the turtle shell into the air.

The turtle shell flew vertically and before it hit the roof of the car, it fell back down onto Lin Baici’s thigh.

Xia Hongyao glanced over.

A voice with an elongated tone sounded in the car.

“Kneel and offer three sacrifices, respect the heavens and the spirits!”

“Turtle shell divination, asking the divine for guidance, today is extremely unlucky.”

“Avoid going out! Avoid dogs! There will be bloodshed!”

The divination with the turtle shell ended, and Lin Baici immediately felt a chill, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

It felt like being in a graveyard late at night, with a cold wind blowing.

Lin Baici knew that it wasn’t just his imagination, but the curse of the Divine Taboo had taken effect and started to corrode him.

If it were someone with a weaker constitution, they would at least catch a cold for two or three days.

“Are you accurate or not?”

Xia Hongyao didn’t like the result of the divination.

“Your fortunes are not good recently. It’s better to go home, take a bath, and stay indoors. If you insist on going out, there will be more bad luck than good!”

‘It’ explained.

Ah!

I haven’t done a divination in so many days. It’s driving me crazy.

“I see that most of these people have a restless and depressed aura between their eyebrows. How about I set up an altar and divine for them?”

‘It’ suggested.

Lin Baici directly threw the turtle shell into the black bowl. Come on, let it divine. Are there any living people left on this street?

Xia Hongyao didn’t believe in these things, and Lin Baici didn’t care either. The two of them arrived at the office building, parked the car, and went to find the leaders of the Institute of Life Sciences.

“I’ve already asked them before, but got no results.”

Among the people who were bitten or killed by mad dogs, half of them were students from the Institute of Life Sciences at Haijing University. The first thing Xia Hongyao did was to inquire with the leaders of those departments.

“Ask again!”

Lin Baici wanted to hear it personally.

The dean of the institute didn’t have a good expression when he saw Xia Hongyao. He didn’t even pour her a glass of water.

“Didn’t I already say it? What else do you want to ask?”

The dean complained.

“My colleague has a few more questions to ask. Please answer seriously. If we can’t solve it, we will have to bring you back to the bureau to assist in the investigation!”

Xia Hongyao showed her credentials and spoke with a stern face, which was quite intimidating.

But it was still not enough. It lacked a certain heroic aura.

Lin Baici asked about the situation of the injured and deceased, but the dean had no idea. He had to make a phone call and call a few counselors to find out.

After two hours of trouble, Lin Baici and Xia Hongyao said goodbye and left.

“There’s not much difference from the information I asked before.”

Xia Hongyao sighed, feeling like she had done useless work.

“Go to the dormitory building. You’re responsible for the girls, and I’ll take care of the boys. Ask them if there’s any gossip or rumors in their departments. Do they have any voice recorders? Write down everything!”

Lin Baici assigned the tasks.Lin Baici, a male student from the School of Life Sciences, lived in Building 9. He called Qian Jiahui and Fang Mingyuan to ask if they knew anyone.

Fang Mingyuan said he had recently met a senior from the third year of the college who played golf.

Lin Baici bought a box of drinks and a pile of snacks, pretending to seek advice on golf skills, and went to the senior’s dormitory to find him.

He wasn’t there, but it didn’t matter. Lin Baici chatted with the others.

With drinks and snacks, Lin Baici talked about games and basketball, and the atmosphere quickly became harmonious.

After a while, Lin Baici felt it was about time and subtly changed the topic, “Is there anything big happening in your college recently? Tell me, so I can brag to my roommates when I go back!”

“There’s a second-generation student in our college who brought flowers and a diamond ring to confess to Mi Qin, but he was rejected!”

“Mi Qin is such a goddess. Does she dare to pursue her without having billions?”

“Haha, what’s so great about a goddess? In the end, she’s just someone else’s pawn.”

The boys chattered.

“Nowadays, it’s hard to pursue even an ordinary girl!”

“Yeah, that guy from Class 3 stole an electric bike to buy things for his girlfriend, but he got caught and expelled. He lost both his future and his girlfriend.”

“I heard that the girl immediately found a new boyfriend. Why don’t those crazy dogs bite this rotten woman?”

The topic continued without Lin Baici’s guidance.

“I heard that guy didn’t go back and rented a place outside the school. He even tried to pester his girlfriend several times!”

“What an idiot!”

“Did they sleep together? If they did, then it’s not a loss!”

After listening for a while, Lin Baici felt that this information was somewhat valuable. “What’s the name of that guy? How is his popularity usually?”

“His name is Du Shan, and his popularity is average.”

Du Shan is usually only seen in class, and now that Lin Baici thinks about it, he should have gone to steal electric bikes.

“What about his girlfriend? Is she pretty?”

Lin Baici pretended to be curious.

“She’s just an ordinary person, maybe a five out of ten, but she’s quite tall and has long legs. She likes to wear makeup!”

“It seems like the girls in their class don’t like her, right?”

“Yeah, because someone in the dormitory had things stolen, and it caused a lot of unpleasantness. They all changed dormitories.”

There weren’t many people they knew in college, and yet they still caused such a rift. It was boring.

“Do you know where Du Shan is living now?”

Lin Baici opened a few more bottles of soda and handed them to everyone.

“I don’t know, I’ll go ask for you!”

A bespectacled boy with high emotional intelligence immediately went out to ask for Lin Baici when he saw his concern about this matter.

“He’s in the Boshuo community, but I don’t know which building specifically.”

When Lin Baici heard the name of this community, his eyebrows couldn’t help but raise.

If this guy really has a problem, then how did he get the Divine Taboo?

Lin Baici stayed until 5 o’clock and felt that he couldn’t obtain any valuable information. He bid farewell and left.

“What’s the deal with this guy?”

Someone was curious about Lin Baici. “He looks quite handsome!”

“Wasn’t he here to ask Lao Zhang for advice on golf skills?”

“Why is he so interested in Du Shan’s affairs?”

“Maybe he wants to buy a cheap bicycle?”

In everyone’s mind, Du Shan was already a habitual thief. He was probably supporting his daily expenses by stealing things. Otherwise, what could an unemployed college student do?

Lin Baici went downstairs and saw Xia Hongyao squatting by the flower bed, boredly playing with her phone.

Many boys were looking at her.

“Did you find anything?”

Lin Baici asked with a smile.

“No one paid attention to me!”

Xia Hongyao was frustrated. “I showed them my ID, and only then did they start answering some questions. Xiaolinzi, I think it would be more effective if you go to the girls’ dormitory.”

Lin Baici thought to himself, going to the girls’ dormitory might not necessarily be useful, but if you go to the boys’ dormitory, they will definitely kneel and lick you. They can even tell you about the embarrassing bedwetting incidents from childhood.

“Let’s go, to the Boshuo community!”

Lin Baici was ready to find the guy who stole the electric bike.

“Why are we going there again?”

Xia Hongyao didn’t understand.

Lin Baici explained his findings, “This unpopular girl wasn’t bitten by the crazy dogs, but other girls were. If it’s not a coincidence, then this girl or her ex-boyfriend most likely has a problem.”

“Why don’t we find this girl first?”

Xia Hongyao was puzzled.

“This girl often participates in activities on campus and has fewer opportunities to come into contact with the Divine Taboo. On the other hand, a guy who frequently goes out to steal electric bikes has a larger range of activities and is more likely to get hold of the Divine Taboo!”

Lin Baici explained, “But don’t get your hopes up too much. The possibility of it being a coincidence is greater.”

The two of them returned to the Boshuo community.

Because the community was too old, there was no property management, and Lin Baici couldn’t get information about the residents. However, the old security guard at the gate said that if he wanted to rent a house, he could go to the neighborhood committee and ask.

“Uncle, how many men in this community live alone? Around my age.”

Lin Baici handed over a pack of cigarettes.

Wow, Huazi!

The old security guard glanced at Lin Baici and took the cigarettes.

If Lin Baici asked about the girls, the old security guard would definitely not say anything, but when it came to boys, it didn’t matter.”Most of the tenants here are couples. Ah, young people these days are too open-minded, cohabiting before marriage.”

The old security guard lamented the decline of social morals as he lit a cigarette. “There are also some guys living alone, not many, probably due to conflicts with their roommates, I guess?”

“Any of them left a deep impression on you?”

Lin Baici actually had a photo of Du Shan, taken by Du Shan’s counselor when he left school.

No anti-theft

But if he showed it now, it would arouse the old security guard’s suspicion.

“There’s a tall guy on the third floor of Building 7 who often invites a bunch of people over to play. He’s been complained about several times by the people upstairs and downstairs!”

“There’s one in Building 9 who I only see once every two or three weeks. I’m always afraid he’s dead at home!”

“There’s one in Building 12 who seems to be a professional gamer. He has a lot of computers at home and his electricity bill is over a thousand yuan every month!”

The old security guard chattered on.

“Thank you, sir!”

Xia Hongyao thanked him.

“No problem!”

The old security guard watched as Lin Baici and Xia Hongyao headed towards Building 9. After thinking for a moment, he decided not to interfere. His salary was just enough for him to do his job as a security guard. He wouldn’t take responsibility for anything else.

“Are you sure the one living in Building 9 is suspicious?”

Xia Hongyao was excited. If they could solve this mad dog incident today, her status in the bureau would be recognized.

“Not sure, let’s check it out!”

Lin Baici entered Building 9.

There were three households per floor, and Lin Baici didn’t know which one it was, so he had to ask each one.

Knock, knock!

Lin Baici knocked on the door with his knuckles.

“Who is it?”

It was a female voice.

“Delivery!”

Lin Baici replied.

“I didn’t order any delivery.”

The woman answered.

Lin Baici knocked on each door in turn.

Any door answered by a woman could basically be ruled out. If a man answered, Lin Baici would say he was from the gas company and needed to urgently check the gas valve.

Once the door was opened and Lin Baici saw that the person was not Du Shan, he would immediately ask, “Is this unit number…?”

The answer, of course, was ‘no’.

So Lin Baici apologized and moved on to the next one.

“Is this even possible?”

Xia Hongyao was amazed.

“The main reason is that our country’s public security is too good, which leads to many people lacking safety awareness. Otherwise, if they just looked through the peephole and saw that I wasn’t wearing a gas company uniform, they would know I was a fraud!”

When Lin Baici reached the fifth floor, he encountered a problem.

No one answered at unit 503.

“I think I heard a dog barking!”

Lin Baici listened carefully.

“There are many people who keep dogs now. The family on the third floor downstairs also has a dog barking!”

Xia Hongyao didn’t find it strange. “Maybe no one’s home, they’ve gone to work?”

“No, there are too many barks, at least three.”

Lin Baici frowned. He activated his enhanced hearing ability. There were three dogs barking, and there were other breathing sounds as well.

“What should we do?”

Xia Hongyao looked at the anti-theft door painted in gray.

“If we break in like this, it’s illegal. Can your Security Bureau cover for us?”

Lin Baici didn’t want to be detained.

“Of course!”

Xia Hongyao patted her chest, exuding confidence that she could handle everything.

“Then I’ll break the door!”

Lin Baici looked around. Just in case, he took out the cassock of the Bodhi Messenger from his backpack and put it on.

Although there were no surveillance cameras in the building, Lin Baici was still very careful. He didn’t summon the Muscle Buddha, but took a deep breath and punched the handle of the anti-theft door.

The King’s Armor Removal, no clothes to cover the body!

Bang!

The lock area was hit by a punch, like a biscuit smashed by a giant. It cracked and splintered, leaving a large hole in the door.

“Oh my!”

Lin Baici just wanted to see if this divine grace had any effect on the lock. He didn’t expect it to actually work. Did this mean that from now on, any anti-theft door or safe would be defenseless against him?

Awesome!

Lin Baici opened the anti-theft door and punched the handle of the entrance door.

Bang!

The lock broke.

Lin Baici pushed the door open, and a foul smell immediately hit his nose.

“It stinks!”

Xia Hongyao frowned and immediately pinched her nose. Could people still live in this place?

Fortunately, it wasn’t the smell of a corpse.

There were no lights, and the room was pitch black!

When Lin Baici quickly turned on the flashlight on his phone and shone it around, he was stunned.

“Holy shit!”

In front of him, the entire living room was filled with garbage. Piles of takeaway boxes, dog feces, sanitary napkins, and cockroaches crawling all over the floor.

If it were just these things, Lin Baici wouldn’t be shocked. But as the flashlight illuminated the room, he saw that the entire living room was filled with dogs!

Golden Retrievers, Border Collies, Teddy Bears, Huskies, and even a Tibetan Mastiff. They were all dirty, buried in the garbage, lying on the sofa, on top of the refrigerator, and on the TV cabinet.

When they heard the door open, they all turned their heads in unison to look over.

Their eyes were red, their mouths open, tongues out, and thick saliva dripping down.

“Run!”

Lin Baici growled, grabbed Xia Hongyao, and quickly exited the room, closing the anti-theft door behind him with his left hand.The moment they spotted the stranger, these mad dogs sprang into action, charging forward like arrows released from their bows!

Woof! Woof! Woof!

The mad dogs barked wildly, ready to sink their teeth into anyone in sight!