"Alright, everyone, calm down! We're PubSec Officers. What's going on here?"
Seeing the argument on the verge of spiraling out of control, Zhu Yuan and Qingyi stepped forward at the same time, placing themselves between the opposing sides to prevent the situation from escalating further.
The man who had been yelling the most didn't calm down, but relief clearly crossed his face.
"Thank god you're here. Let me tell you what happened..."
As he began to explain, everyone learned that his name was Gael, a truck driver employed by Pegasos Logistics. He had arrived in the area earlier that day to make a delivery.
But after making a phone call, he suddenly heard a bang, followed by the sound of the truck door opening.
Moments later, all the ducks inside the truck scattered and ran off.
Gael couldn't stop the ducks from getting away. The only one near the truck was a nervous Bangboo, Give Change from 141 Grocery Store.
"Ne-Nhe... Nhu-na Ehn-nu. (No… it wasn't me… I didn't do anything bad!)"
Faced with Gael's fierce accusations, Give Change looked terrified, yet he still timidly insisted on his innocence.
Gael was certain Give Change had released the ducks, while Tin Master and the others argued the opposite. Both sides stood their ground, the dispute going nowhere.
Even Wise felt a headache coming on just from watching, so it was easy to imagine how Zhu Yuan felt dealing with it firsthand.
"We'll take care of this properly. Everyone, please calm down," Zhu Yuan said as she stepped forward and addressed those gathered.
Arguing endlessly would solve nothing. After Zhu Yuan spoke with him, Gael eventually agreed to compromise.
He explained that if all the missing ducks were recovered by the end of the day, he would accept a settlement.
At those words, the crowd, including Tin Master, began to scatter, each person heading off to help search for the ducks.
The people of Sixth Street were clearly willing to lend a hand. When they were gone, only Wise, Belle, the two parties involved, and the officers were left behind.
Since there were no cameras around, the only real way to get any useful evidence was to check the Bangboo's visual records. However, that process would likely take two or three days.
Zhu Yuan didn't want the residents to think that the Public Service officers were avoiding responsibility, so she chose to continue the investigation alongside Qingyi.
They would also help the residents search for the ducks. Seeing this, Wise and Belle naturally stepped forward to assist knowing that with Fairy's assistance, it would be a simple task.
Although Fairy couldn't be revealed to others, there was no issue with letting her find potential hiding spots for the ducks along the street.
After organizing the teams, it was decided that Zhu Yuan would work with Wise, while Qingyi would team up with Belle. Once the plan was set, they separated to continue the search.
"Zhu Yuan, let's head this way," Wise said, already moving forward.
Being a local resident, he was familiar with every corner of the area, which made him the ideal guide.
"Okay. Sorry for bothering you again," Zhu Yuan replied.
"Don't worry about it. We're friends. This isn't a big deal, and we're helping Give Change too."
As Wise said this, an oddly powerful presence seemed to rise around him.
'Could this be… the legendary aura of a gentle protagonist?' he wondered quietly.
That invisible pressure made Zhu Yuan pause for a brief moment before she nodded.
"You're right... I was acting a bit distant."
[Ding! Target Zhu Yuan: has increased her favorability toward the host by 3. Her current favorability is now 68. Additionally, 200 Emotional Value has been obtained.]
[Current Emotional Value: 14000]
The sudden rise in favorability came as a pleasant surprise. Soon after, Wise guided Zhu Yuan toward the closest spot indicated by Fairy.
She never expected it to be a modification shop. At first, Zhu Yuan found it hard to believe that ducks could get inside such a place, but faint quack quack sounds leaked through the door.
Wise called out for Uncle Enzo, but there was no response. The shop owner was nowhere to be seen. After checking the surrounding area, they finally spotted him on a nearby street.
What caught their attention wasn't just Uncle Enzo, but a small car that had clearly been in an accident.
The driver was an elderly woman, yet the one lying injured on the ground wasn't Uncle Enzo. It was a black Bangboo.
Seeing that, Wise stepped in to help Uncle Enzo repair the Bangboo. Zhu Yuan couldn't help but feel surprised, not expecting him to have that kind of skill.
After that small interruption, the two got into the shop with Uncle Enzo's help and managed to catch the ducks.
Later on, they discovered another duck hiding within a pile of cola crates along the street.
When they headed toward the next location, they happened to meet Qingyi and Belle, who had split up from them earlier.
Both of them stood beside a truck, their expressions troubled. After a brief exchange, Wise and Zhu Yuan learned that a duck was hiding underneath the vehicle.
The spot was too deep to reach, which explained why Qingyi's team hadn't taken action yet. On top of that, Qingyi was worried that her method might damage the truck.
"Hey! I've got an idea!" Belle suddenly said, raising her finger with a grin.
Wise, who knew her all too well, immediately felt a bad premonition. Belle abruptly pinched her throat and let out a few strange squawk squawk sounds, eerily similar to an eagle's cry.
The duck under the truck was instantly frightened, shrinking even farther inside. Qingyi looked at Belle with a strange expression.
"From that sound, were you trying to scare it by copying its natural enemy? That won't work. When animals sense danger like that, their instinct is to hide or run."
"Uh… no. I was actually trying to copy a duck's quack and lure it out" Belle explained, looking slightly embarrassed.
Afterward, everyone gathered to discuss the situation and called the Bangboos from the grocery store, hoping they could start the car and scare the duck away.
However, the car conveniently chose that moment to break down. Qingyi simply remarked that depending on oneself was more reliable than depending on others.
Then, right in front of everyone, she pushed the truck aside with her delicate arm. While the duck was still confused, she quickly caught it.
After the group continued searching, the last duck was soon caught in the parking lot behind the video store.
With that, the duck-finding finally came to an end, and both Zhu Yuan and Qingyi expressed their gratitude to them.
Still, Qingyi couldn't help feeling a little puzzled. Wise and Belle always seemed to know the exact location of the ducks.
If she hadn't been with them the entire time, she might have suspected the two had deliberately hidden the ducks themselves.
Fortunately, the matter was smoothly brushed aside, and Qingyi chose not to look into it any further.
"Hmm, strange. Why are the headlights flickering?"
At the same time, Wise noticed something wrong with his car nearby. Along with the flickering headlights, the windshield wipers began moving back and forth on their own.
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