Famous was the first to go up to the fifth floor. Its vision was better than that of humans, but the topography of such a large floor was complicated. The dark passages and countless rooms were like a maze, and the moonlight formed a contrasting line between light and dark.
It didn't rush forward. It lowered its head and sniffed, waiting for Zhang Zian at the top of the stairs.
"How is it? Is anyone there? "Zhang Zian panted and adjusted his breathing, scanning with his flashlight.
"There's a smell, but I don't see anyone," Famous replied.
While they were talking, Old Time Tea and Xinghai also came up.
"Zian, did you find anyone?" Old Time Tea asked. "Should we split up?"
Zhang Zian hesitated, shook his head, and said, "Let's not split up."
Old Time Tea was bold enough to make such a suggestion. Splitting up might help them find each other faster, but it would obviously bring more danger to themselves. In those low-budget horror movies where people went to remote places to seek death, they were full of silly men and women who ran away from each other when a disaster came.
"Okay." Old Time Tea seemed to understand his concerns and nodded in agreement.
Famous was still leading the way. Its sense of smell was the best radar, but it wasn't easy to find smells on complicated roads. It didn't receive professional tracking training like Zhan Tian, so it would occasionally get lost or go around in circles.
Zhang Zian knew that the person was familiar with the terrain and might have already run away. There was no point in rushing, so he didn't rush Famous and let it look for the source of the smell.
He considered bringing Zhan Tian with him, but how could he describe the smell of the Holy Cat statue to Zhan Tian? Even the best police dog had to smell the clothes of the criminal first when tracking the criminal, and the Holy Cat statue didn't have any clothes.
In addition, he was also worried that if they encountered the cat abuser, Zhan Tian might hurt the person if its mouth was too harsh. After all, it wasn't against the law to abuse cats, but it was against the law for a dog to bite people. If Zhan Tian's mouth was too light, it might not hurt the person, but it might get hurt when the person fought back … So he decided not to bring Zhan Tian.
He was also very glad that he didn't bring Fina. When Fina saw the cat that had fallen from the building, it would probably explode in anger.
Famous sniffed hard and followed the smell to the outside of a large, empty room.
The walls of the room probably hadn't been built yet. There were only a few load-bearing walls.
Before entering the room, Famous sniffed around the room twice and whispered to Zhang Zian, "This room has the heaviest smell. There are people and cats in it."
Zhang Zian gestured to Old Time Tea with his eyes, asking it to get ready. He then waved his hand to ask Galaxy to step back a little, in case it got hurt.
When he stretched out his fingers and gestured "three," he rushed into the room with Famous and Old Time Tea.
The room was empty, but the food wrappers and empty drink bottles on the floor proved that there had been more than one person there.
Zhang Zian carefully approached the window that did not have a frame or glass, and looked out. Below him was the entrance to the corridor.
There was a pile of ashes on the floor in the middle of the room. Old Time Tea stretched out its paw and got closer to it, feeling the residual heat of the ashes. "It's still warm. They just left. Should we chase after them?"
Zhang Zian was a little hesitant. The cat abuser was familiar with the terrain and could have left the unfinished building by another route. He might not be able to catch up in time.
At that moment, Famous suddenly shouted, "The smell of the Holy Cat Statue!"
Zhang Zian perked up. Their primary purpose for coming here was to find the Holy Cat Statue. Since Famous had smelled it, it proved that Snowy's information was correct.
"Where is it?" He and Old Time Tea approached Famous.
Famous walked around the food wrappers and empty drink bottles a few times. "It should be nearby … but …"
It was strange. It could clearly smell that the Holy Cat Statue had appeared around the ashes, but it could not pinpoint the exact location of the statue.
"Nearby?"
Zhang Zian was very surprised. If the Holy Cat Statue was nearby, it meant that the cat abuser had been in close contact with the Holy Cat Statue. Did they pick up the statue? Did they carry it with them after that? Did they bring it with them when they abused the cat? Did they bring it with them when they escaped?
Although it did not make sense, from the perspective of the cat abuser, was it necessary? They should not know the connection between the Holy Cat Statue and cat abuse, and the Holy Cat Statue was heavy. It was unlikely that they would carry it with them.
This pile of ashes should be the lighter that Old Time Tea saw. The cat that fell from the building was also placed on this pile of ashes to roast before it died.
Old Time Tea was patrolling nearby, and Xinghai was also wandering around curiously.
Near the ashes, there was a large piece of reinforced concrete debris that seemed to have collapsed from somewhere. Some cat abuser might have used it as a seat, and there was a half-empty can of iced coffee on it.
After staring at the debris for a while, Zhang Zian suddenly had an idea. He moved the flashlight up and raised his head.
Right above the ashes, there was a small hole in the ceiling. The sixth floor could be seen through the hole, and the shape of the debris and the hole basically matched. It seemed that the building materials chosen by the developers were also fake products. Fortunately, there were no people living here, or something would have happened sooner or later.
Famous also saw it and vaguely understood what was going on. It was very ashamed of its blindly sniffing behavior, so it said, "You guys stay here. I'll be back soon!"
"Be careful!" Zhang Zian could not stop it in time and could only remind it from behind.
After a while, a few wisps of dust fell from the hole, and Famous's voice came from above the hole. "I can't be wrong. The Holy Cat Statue was just where I am now!"
"Can you smell where the statue went?" he said to the hole.
"I can't smell it. It's like it disappeared into thin air," Famous replied.
"Okay, come down." His voice could not hide the helplessness and regret in it. It was not easy to find a clue, but it was broken again.
After a while, Famous returned to the fifth floor, safe and sound.
Zhang Zian took a few steps back and put the concrete debris, the hole in the ceiling, the ashes, the food packaging, and the empty drink bottles into his field of vision, forming a panoramic image.
An awe-inspiring chill welled up in his heart, causing him to tremble with fear!
He seemed to see the cat abusers sitting around the fire, eating and drinking while abusing the cats for fun.
However, above their heads, where the fire could not reach, the Holy Cat Statue was upstairs, coldly staring at their every move through the hole.
Did they know that while they were abusing the cats for fun, there was an extremely terrifying existence quietly lurking next to them?
It was probably better not to know. Otherwise, they might be scared to death on the spot.
Old Time Tea and Famous also thought of this. Even though they were strong, their expressions changed slightly.
"Really … If you don't look for trouble, you won't die …" Zhang Zian sighed and said to the elfins, "There's nothing for us here. Let's go home."
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