"Next are the three rules," Chi Feichi didn't tear off any paper this time, putting away the notepad and pen. "First, without my permission, you are not allowed to bite people, especially not me. Second, we make money together, and after we make money, I'll buy you delicious food..."
Feichi propped himself up, turned his head to stare at Chi Feichi, his forked tongue flicking happily again. "Delicious food? I want to try how the hamsters in that shop next door taste!"
This gluttonous snake!
Chi Feichi was a bit speechless, though he also appreciated good food. "No problem. When the time comes, if you want to eat bamboo rats, I'll buy them for you. As for how we make money... just follow my commands. Third, if one day you want to leave, you aren't allowed to sneak away. You have to tell me."
Feichi shook his head repeatedly. "Not leaving, not leaving! I'm not going anywhere!"
"Alright. Let's go somewhere first to scout the area and prepare to make money." Chi Feichi picked Feichi up, ready to put him into the box.
Feichi wrapped his tail around Chi Feichi's wrist. "Don't put me in there; it's stuffy."
Chi Feichi calmly explained the science. "The optimal temperature for snake activity is 20 to 30 degrees Celsius. Above 35 degrees, you'll lose your appetite and get sick. The human body temperature is above 35 degrees. If you stay on my hand too long, you'll get sick."
Fortunately, Feichi didn't have any strange odors. Otherwise, if he dared to crawl on him, Chi Feichi would have been tempted to crush him to death...
"I'm not afraid of heat. Last time a brat was playing with a lighter and roasting the glass, and I didn't feel hot even when I got close!" Feichi rambled, seemingly trying to prove his point by burrowing into Chi Feichi's sleeve.
Chi Feichi reached out and pressed down on the snake's head through the fabric. "Don't push it. Also, you can stay on my hands or neck, but don't crawl anywhere else. Don't bite me in a daze when you wake up, and don't accidentally strangle me."
"Don't worry, absolutely won't happen!" Feichi poked his head out of the cuff, guaranteeing with conviction.
Chi Feichi stood up, picking up the notes and the plastic carrier.
Feichi encouraged him: "You don't need to bring the box..."
Chi Feichi said seriously, "Don't litter. Besides, I'm going to buy you some food while we're at it. When was the last time you ate?"
Feichi recalled for a moment. "Three days ago."
Chi Feichi suddenly thought of something. "By the way, Feichi, today is Sunday, right? Do you know what day tomorrow is?"
Feichi: "Tomorrow is Friday!"
Chi Feichi: "..."
&>#~=#...!
Hamster Pet Shop.
Seeing Chi Feichi return, the female clerk was a bit surprised, but quickly put on a smile. "Did you decide to buy a hamster after all?"
Chi Feichi nodded and handed over the transparent plastic carrier. "Give me three males and three females."
The box the snake seller gave him was quite large. Including space for movement, six hamsters could fit comfortably.
"O-Okay!" This wholesale-style approach left the clerk a bit confused. "Don't you want to pick them yourself?"
"No need, the quality of hamsters in your shop is quite good." Chi Feichi looked at the short-legged hamster from before. "Pack this one up too."
The clerk was surprised again. "Huh? But..."
"I don't plan to raise them long-term," Chi Feichi said. "The other hamsters can have increased exercise, which will make their meat firmer. This one doesn't need to be forced to exercise; if raised to have a higher fat ratio, it will taste softer. Changing the texture occasionally isn't bad."
The clerk froze.
Talking about meat quality... fat... texture... in a pet shop...
Are you a demon?
"Is there a problem?" Chi Feichi looked over.
The clerk met those cold, indifferent purple eyes, then looked down at the snake crawling out of Chi Feichi's cuff, staring at her while flicking its tongue. She shook her head seriously. "N-No..."
"Then please hurry, I have things to do."
"O-Okay!"
A minute later, the clerk watched Chi Feichi leave, then turned to look at the other white mice in the glass cases.
Chubby little hamsters were nibbling on sunflower seeds, their small black eyes looking adorable. She came to work here because she liked these little guys...
But just now, she had personally selected six of them to walk a path destined for death...
Her phone rang. She answered it numbly.
"Hello..."
"Natsumi, it's me! Want to go shopping together the day after tomorrow?"
"Huh?"
"Is something wrong?"
"Ah... nothing. The day after tomorrow... shopping the day after tomorrow. Can we go shopping tomorrow instead?"
"Don't you have work?"
"I want to take the day off tomorrow..."
"But I still have class tomorrow. Besides, a new transfer student is coming to the class I'm in charge of tomorrow! A very cute little girl."
"Is that so..."
"Seriously, what's wrong with you?" the person on the other end teased. "Did you get rejected by a handsome guy?"
Encountering a handsome guy?
The clerk inexplicably recalled Chi Feichi's face, those indifferent eyes that had become demonic in her impression, and the snake staring at her with its flicking tongue. She turned to look at the hamsters in the shop again, feeling psychologically scarred. She said earnestly, "No, I think finding someone with average looks will be fine in the future... but they must have a good personality!"
"You've finally figured it out. I told you before..."
Late at night.
A villa was brightly lit.
A team patrolled the courtyard with dogs, and over ten burly men stood at the entrance.
In the unoccupied house across the street, a figure sat on a tree branch.
"One, two, three, four, five... five luxury cars, plus five distinct teams of bodyguards..."
"Running into a meeting of the Inagawa-kai's Tokyo Executive Branch perfectly... truly..."
"What luck!"
Chi Feichi stuck a listening device onto Feichi's fang, adjusting it repeatedly. "Does it feel better now?"
Feichi closed his mouth. "Feels a bit weird, but it's okay!"
"Bear with it. If we're lucky, we can wrap up today," Chi Feichi asked again. "You remember that person's face, right?"
"Of course!" Feichi said proudly. "It's just remembering one person!"
Chi Feichi chuckled. "Go on. Be careful not to swallow it, and don't get bitten by the dogs."
Feichi slithered down the tree, crawled from the shadows to the opposite side, quickly slipped through the gap in the iron gate, and vanished.
Chi Feichi took out the listening device, connected the earphones, and listened for a while. Once he heard voices, he adjusted the clarity and pressed record.
"...Those guys seem to have their eyes on you recently."
"After all, those are good items prohibited for export. I can't help it; there have been financial problems lately..."
"This matter touches their bottom line. Better sell it as soon as possible..."
"I've already contacted the buyer. The transaction will be the day after tomorrow at the abandoned Rokuai Heavy Industries warehouse outside Tokyo. Qitian, contact Councilman Kawaguchi again and try to suppress things..."
"Don't you understand? This is why the Public Security Police are called the Political Police. It wasn't easy to tie Councilman Kawaguchi to the Inagawa-kai's war chariot!"
"Alright, alright, don't get angry. As things stand, as long as the goods are sold quickly, it'll be fine. Otherwise, not only will Councilman Kawaguchi be targeted by Public Security, but even the people at the research institute won't be spared. By the way, about the last time..."
The meeting lasted for over an hour.
Only after the people left one after another in their cars and the villa returned to silence did Feichi quickly slither out, burrow into the opposite residence, and easily climb the tree.
"How was it? Was the information useless this time?"
"No, it was too useful." Chi Feichi stared at the listening device for a moment before putting on gloves to remove the memory card. "I'm considering whether to ask them for extra money..."
Smuggling of high-tech equipment prohibited for export, involving a councilman, two researchers, the storage location of the goods, and the time and place of the smuggling transaction.
Plus rough descriptions of two murder cases, the Inagawa-kai's development plan for the next six months, and a scheduled plan...
Not asking for extra money would be a huge loss!
Feichi breathed a sigh of relief and got smug. "As long as it's useful. If it's useful, you should smile! I thought we wouldn't make any money. Come on, come on, making money is a good thing. Give me a smile for encouragement..."
"Ha. Ha. Ha." Chi Feichi almost recited the syllables, his face showing no reaction. "Open your mouth, I'll help you take the bug off."
Feichi was speechless for a moment but obediently opened his mouth. After Chi Feichi removed the listening device, he rambled, "Don't lie to me, does that count as a smile? I've seen many humans smile, and none of them look like you..."
Chi Feichi rummaged through his pocket, found a metal bar, silently put it away, and took out a thin, shiny piece of metal that could barely serve as a mirror. He held it up to Feichi. "Then you smile and let's see."
"Hahahahaha...!" Feichi laughed heartily, then stared at the unchanged snake face in the metal piece and fell silent.
It seems... I look the same when I smile too...
Successfully sending Feichi into a state of self-doubt, Chi Feichi was satisfied. He packed up his things, cleaned up his traces, and climbed down the tree. "Let's go. We're going to his office to retrieve the things he mentioned."
"Wait, you're human. Can you compare yourself to a snake?" Feichi muttered discontentedly as he followed.
"Realized it? Not bad." Chi Feichi left, skillfully cleaning up traces along the way.
Feichi: "..."
The next day.
National Police Agency.
The young man sitting in front of the computer froze for a moment. With a serious expression, he copied the data, stood up, turned left out the door, and knocked on his superior's office door.
"What is it?"
"Mr. Kanehara, Numabuchi Kiichiro was arrested yesterday. I asked the Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters to provide details of the arrest."
"That bounty hunter codenamed 'July'?" The middle-aged man behind the desk looked up from a pile of documents. "Not bad. We need to grasp at least basic information like his age and appearance. Has the news from over there come in?"
There weren't many bounty hunters active in Asia; the excellent ones were almost all concentrated in Europe.
He originally thought the person was just someone with a bit of skill looking to make a living by taking risks. But catching Numabuchi Kiichiro in less than a day made him worth noting.
"Yes, but the Osaka Prefectural Police don't know his situation either. Age and appearance remain unknown," the young man said.
"Are they intentionally withholding information?" Kanehara Noboru frowned.
"No, the information they provided is very detailed." The young man handed over the memory card with the copied files. "You'd better take a look yourself."