HCB Chapter 246 The Cat Thief
Chapter 246 The Cat Thief
At night, the Inari Memorial Hall is only minimally lit.
The corridor was dark, the exhibition hall was dark, and there was no one in sight; even the nocturnal animals had vanished.
Cameras securely locked every entrance and exit, and the Hero Association specially deployed a security force to protect the exhibition hall 24 hours a day to ensure that nothing unusual happens.
—Because the guardian star of the magical girl Inari is kept here.
As a once-illustrious guardian of the port city, Inari handed over her guardian star and fox mask upon retirement, disappearing completely from the public eye.
These two items have thus become extremely valuable souvenirs. It is said that someone once offered an exorbitant price for the Inari Guardian Star on the black market, but to this day, no one has been able to obtain it despite the heavy guard.
"So, this exhibition hall at night is the most heavily guarded place in the port city, right?"
The catgirl crouched by the bushes, peeked at the heavily guarded gatekeepers in front of the memorial hall, and spoke to the other end of the magical communication channel.
[That's right, three shifts of sentries working in rotation, equipped with state-of-the-art psionic thermal imaging cameras, a masterpiece from the S-class hero
Heartmoon Fox's voice came through the magical communication channel.
Furthermore, the exhibition hall has an independent power supply and three internal emergency power sources. If the main power supply is interrupted, the emergency power supply will be switched on within one minute.
In other words, after the power is cut off, you only have one minute to enter the center of the exhibition hall, retrieve the fox mask, and then retreat the way you came.
It's a challenging task, isn't it?
"Yeah, trying to sneak in and steal the fox mask without alerting anyone under such tight security... that's pretty exciting."
Nan Jiayu muttered to herself.
According to tonight's plan, after the volcano monster and the bunny wolf hold off the magical girl team, I will sneak in undisturbed and must make sure not to alert anyone.
Based on their prior reconnaissance during the day, he and Fox had already identified a perfect infiltration route:
"I'll sneak in through the central air conditioning unit on the roof and find a way to get into the power supply room. I'll put your familiar inside to stand by."
Then I will control my familiar to prepare to cut off the power supply, and once everything is in place...
On the distant rooftop, Su Tianqing maintained her magical communication with the catgirl, grinning slightly.
The thrilling and exciting treasure-stealing segment was truly exhilarating.
"So..."
Su Tianqing whispered to the other end of the magic communication system.
"...Let's begin."
……
"Clatter".
The sound of it landing was extremely faint.
Under the cover of night, the girl wrapped in a dark blue cloak dispelled her flying magic, lightly touched the ground with her toes, and landed on the roof of the exhibition hall.
Hell Shrike looked around and confirmed that the surrounding environment was no different from when he scouted the location during the day. He walked silently to the air vent of the central air conditioning, his cloak tucked tightly into his body like a tight-fitting magical costume, and looked into the vent.
"Hmph... They even have fences on the ventilation vents... Too bad they can't stop me."
Nan Jiayu muttered to herself, magic forming a blade at her fingertips, easily slicing open the vent's grille and slipping inside.
The ventilation shaft was quite narrow, but thanks to the agility of a feline, the catgirl was still able to move around freely.
With the help of her familiar's location, the catgirl stealthily made her way forward. When the ventilation shaft became so narrow that she could not move forward even an inch, she slipped out through the nearest vent in the fence.
This is a warehouse, surrounded by cardboard boxes and piles of goods, like a souvenir warehouse for the exhibition hall.
There were no guards at the warehouse door, and no one could be seen in the corridor. There was only one camera pointing directly at the warehouse door, so it was absolutely impossible to walk out of the door in a swaggering manner.
"See that window over there? Climb up to the ceiling from the window. I remember there's a loose section of ceiling here, you can crawl into the mezzanine."
The deep blue cat familiar lay behind him and whispered in his ear.
Nan Jiayu felt that she looked somewhat like a proper magical girl with a stargazing ability, but when she thought that the cat behind her was actually Fox Fox's remote-controlled familiar, she quickly dismissed this illusion.
"How's the warehouse going?"
"!"
Just as Nan Jiayu climbed onto the ceiling, footsteps suddenly came from outside the warehouse. Two patrolling security guards walked past the door and started chatting.
"Everything is normal. The last patrol took place at..."
"Hey, have you heard? It seems like a defensive battle is being organized on the other side of the coastline."
"Ambush?... Oh, so Koko summoned the volcanic monster on the coast, right? I saw that news."
"Old Zhang and his team were supposed to patrol the coast tonight, but suddenly, their patrol is canceled. I wonder which shelter they're in right now, drinking and watching TV."
"Tsk tsk tsk..."
The security guards left chatting and laughing, completely unaware of the catgirl hanging in mid-air in the corner of the warehouse ceiling.
"...Let's go. The next patrol won't be here for at least an hour."
"Um."
The catgirl responded softly, slipped out of the warehouse window while remaining in the blind spot of the camera, and gently closed the blinds behind her as she deftly climbed up the mezzanine through the loose ceiling.
Moving forward in silence.
"By hiding the camera in the central air conditioning unit, Kitty, your plan is truly ingenious."
Su Tianqing couldn't help but sigh.
An ordinary person would absolutely not be able to sneak through the fragile gap in the ceiling.
With the help of magic, Xiaoyu was able to prevent the ceiling from collapsing under her weight, and no one would have imagined that someone could sneak in from such a place.
I'm here, Kitty, call me when you're ready.
"Um."
A concise and to-the-point reply.
Nanjia Fish slithered to the end of the ceiling mezzanine, emerged from an entrance for cable maintenance, and lay on the top floor of the central exhibition hall, looking down at the bulletproof glass display case on the ground, which was firmly covered by a laser alarm net.
"...I've already spotted the target."
"That's what the catgirl said in the magic communication."
Looking down from the top of the ceiling, the Inari fox mask lay quietly in the display case, emitting a faint magical fluctuation.
This mask is Inari's signature outfit, and she wears it every time she appears in public without exception.
She didn't remove her mask until she retired, revealing her mysterious face. Her delicate and clever features captivated countless fans, but it was a sight that could never be seen again.
"Let's get started."
【Alright! Power outage coming up!】
The cat-like familiar forcefully pulled down the power switch.
In an instant, the power went out throughout the exhibition hall. The patrolling and guarding security guards were all stunned. They turned on their flashlights in the dark and looked around. The walkie-talkies immediately started making a jumble of noise.
"What happened?" "Why is there a power outage?"
"Has the coastline fallen?" "Quick, go check the power supply station!"
The deep blue catgirl leaped from the ceiling, her ankles hooked by magical ropes, hanging upside down in mid-air, her hands cupping the sturdy bulletproof glass display stand in front of her.
I have one minute to open this booth.
But the moment Nan Jiayu touched the booth, she sensed something was wrong.
...This glass was imbued with defensive magic by the support members of the Aquamarine team.
It's impossible to destroy it using physical means, but if you try to break through this defensive magic with your own magic, it will inevitably create a huge commotion and sound...
"Fox, we're in trouble. This booth is protected by powerful defensive magic. I can't cut through it in a short time."
Hmm... just as I expected.
Su Tianqing pinched her chin, her brows furrowed just like Nan Jiayu's.
Fifty seconds, forty-nine seconds, forty-eight seconds.
The security team is quickly switching to emergency power, and the lights in the corridor are being restored rapidly. A decision must be made within this brief minute!
"If we forcibly break through the defensive magic, Aquamarine and the others will definitely find out what's going on here, and they might come back to ambush us."
"...Then take the entire exhibition booth with you!"
Nan Jiayu decisively changed her actions, extending the rope slightly to lower her upside-down body to a lower position. The magic blade precisely severed the base of the display stand, embracing the entire glass display stand in her arms!
Thirty seconds.
Twenty-nine seconds.
The magic rope tightened, and the catgirl silently rose in the dark central exhibition hall, returning to the ceiling where she had entered the hall.
However, the enormous size of the booth was blocked by the entrance in the ceiling.
Twenty seconds.
Nineteen seconds.
Time ticked by, and Nan Jiayu decisively raised her hand and cut off a section of the ceiling, bringing the entire booth into the mezzanine, and then carefully used magic to put it back in its original position.
In the final ten seconds, emergency power was restored ahead of schedule.
The exhibition hall was brightly lit, the laser defense network was activated, and security guards immediately began searching throughout the hall.
But when they arrived at the central exhibition hall and saw the central exhibition stand that should have been there but was now empty...
"--not good!"
"Urgent report! Urgent report!"
"The Inari mask and the stars... have disappeared!!"