Chapter 453: Accident

"Whoa, this pig's trotter smells so good!"

Heart 9 sniffed hard at the dishes on the table, unable to help but swallow.

"Iya!" The Jester grabbed the table with both hands. Because he was too short, he had to hang in the air, but that didn't stop him from drooling over the table full of dishes, the drops falling onto the floor.

"Senior, your drool is about to flood the kitchen!" Jian Changsheng looked at the two of them and couldn't help but complain. "Can we show some restraint?"

The Jester silently closed his mouth, but the drool didn't disappear; it just flowed back into his stomach as he swallowed frantically, his little face full of grievance.

Jian Changsheng sighed deeply. "I said we shouldn't have come here... If this keeps up, they'll find us sooner or later."

"Relax, they won't find us."

Heart 9 said nonchalantly, "This kitchen is two stories high and huge, with too many places to hide... Unless they do a deliberate carpet search, it's hard to find us."

Hearing this, Jian Changsheng scanned the surroundings. It was indeed as Heart 9 said; the place was spacious, and there were many appliances for storing ingredients. Just by looking, he had already spotted several good hiding places...

This place is actually pretty good? Did Heart 9 really choose it not because he was hungry, but because he actually had experience?

Jian Changsheng looked at Heart 9 with a bit more respect, thinking that as a senior of the Twilight Society, he still had a lot to learn in this regard.

"By the way, what's the next step?" Heart 9 asked, puzzled, while grabbing a chicken foot from a plate and gnawing on it.

“……”

Jian Changsheng's eyes widened. "You're actually eating??"

"What's there to be afraid of? With so many dishes piled together, who would notice one missing?" Heart 9 said carelessly.

Seeing Heart 9's deadbeat attitude, Jian Changsheng knew he had overthought it. This guy was just a lunatic with a strange brain circuit... He sighed and said:

"Next, we wait for Heart 6 to send us a signal to see if that painting is here."

"Send a message?"

"He said... as long as we are also on the 'stage', fate will deliver the message to us."

Just as the three were talking, a gust of wind carried a paper crane, which flew in lightly from outside the window. After spinning in the air for a moment, it wobbled and landed right in the middle of the three.

"Holy crap." Heart 9's eyes widened. "What kind of trick is this? Can you even do that?"

Jian Changsheng immediately picked up the note and opened it. The first line read:

[The note carrying the message dances in the wind. Perhaps favored by fate, it lands right in the middle of the three slackers. Even if they are slow, they know it's time to act...]

Jian Changsheng looked at the line, his expression turning strange. "...Is he insulting us?"

"That's not important. Look at the back."

Heart 9 pointed to the back.

Jian Changsheng flipped the note over and saw a few lines of scribbled text, clearly written just now.

"The painting is indeed at the Huadu Conglomerate." Jian Changsheng's eyes lit up. "He said the painting is currently mixed in with over a hundred others, being transported from the top floor to the warehouse by staff. This is the best time for us to act!"

"Let's go! Then hurry..."

Before Heart 9 could finish, voices came from outside the door. He and Jian Changsheng changed expressions and looked at each other.

"Someone's coming in. Let's hide first."

In the blink of an eye, Heart 9 dove behind the oven. At the same time, the Jester had already disappeared somewhere. Jian Changsheng stood there for a moment, then hurried to a freezer he had scouted earlier and hid inside.

There were nine such freezers in the kitchen, lined up in a row. The frozen meat inside was enough to cover Jian Changsheng's figure, making it the best hiding spot in the entire kitchen.

"Hurry, the Chairman is rushing the dishes! Move it!!"

"Serve the dishes that are already done! Which ones are we still missing?"

"There's still a pork chop."

"Then make it fast! It must be served within fifteen minutes!"

“……”

A figure who looked like the head chef walked into the kitchen with a group of people, immediately covering the finished dishes with metal lids and transporting them out on exquisite carts... Perhaps the process was too rushed, as no one noticed that bones gnawed clean by Heart 9 had been mixed in with the chicken feet.

Once the dishes on the table were mostly transported, several chefs began to cut vegetables quickly, seemingly preparing to start making the main dishes. At the same time, a figure walked straight toward the freezers.

"We still have plenty of pork chops, right?"

"Plenty. They're all in those freezers. Pick a few."

"Got it."

The man walked casually to a freezer, took the two pork chops on top, and was about to turn and leave when he saw a pair of startled eyes buried under the frozen meat, looking at him in disbelief...

The man rubbed his eyes, confirmed he wasn't dreaming, pointed at the freezer, and shouted "Holy crap!"

"There's someone hiding in here!!"

"Damn it!!"

Jian Changsheng couldn't help but curse. He leaped out of the freezer like a blur, grabbed a piece of frozen meat, and smashed it hard into the back of the man's head, knocking him out instantly.

But this sudden turn of events also attracted the attention of the other chefs. They looked in shock at Jian Changsheng, who had jumped out of the freezer. Before they could react, another figure flashed out from behind the oven and knocked them all out in a few quick moves!

Looking at the group of chefs lying on the ground, Jian Changsheng was furious.

With so many freezers lined up and dozens of pieces of meat piled like a mountain, you just had to pick the one I was in. What kind of luck is this... Now that these chefs have been taken down, they'll notice something is wrong over there soon. Their presence is basically exposed.

Jian Changsheng never expected that Heart 9 and the Jester, who had been messing around, would be fine, while he, who had been doing things properly, became part of the "accident." He felt extremely depressed.

"They'll find out sooner or later. We have to hurry." Heart 9 didn't mock Jian Changsheng but became uncharacteristically serious. He said in a low voice:

"Since exposure is inevitable, don't be timid... Grab the painting as fast as you can and get out of here!"

A flash of determination crossed Jian Changsheng's eyes, and he nodded heavily. "Okay!"

The two looked at each other and rushed out of the kitchen, flying toward the estate!

……

Meanwhile.

Chen Ling sat down slowly in the estate's dining room.

Immediately after, under Zong Wen's instructions, metal-covered dining carts were pushed into the center of the luxurious dining room...