pjbooks Chapter 81 Stray Dogs and the Camp Incident
Chapter 81 Stray Dogs and the Camp Incident
Logically speaking, in this place, let alone a legendary gold item, even getting a common silver item would be considered a miracle.
What do homeless people believe in? They consider it a loss if they don't pick up things while walking, so why would they throw things out?
If the skill description hadn't clearly stated that it only marked "lost" items, Ma Jie would never have dared to take the risk, because it seemed like a trap no matter how you looked at it.
You just picked up the wallet, and before you could even look at it, a black bag was put over your head.
When I woke up again, I was lying on the roadside, and someone had cut off my kidneys.
There are indeed criminal gangs that specialize in this kind of business, and they specifically target homeless people. Anyway, the disappearance of one or two homeless people is a very normal phenomenon in poor neighborhoods. The police are too lazy to investigate, and they can't meet their KPIs.
When Ma Jieke arrived at the map marker, he was met with a large expanse of overgrown wasteland. In the grass, besides piles of garbage, there were also landmines of various sizes.
There's nothing you can do about it. Who's going to provide you with trash cans here? The government certainly won't build you toilets. Except for Max, who has a motorhome, everyone else lives in tents.
You never know when you might need to get up in the middle of the night, so you'll have to relieve yourself in the wild. Everyone tacitly agrees to stay away from the campsite to avoid letting the smell get over there.
"Damn it, why did I have to leave it here of all places?"
Ma Jieke muttered a complaint, took out a mask from his backpack and put it on, then turned on the flashlight function on his phone.
As they got closer, a stray dog suddenly darted out of the garbage heap. Startled, it ran away in a flash, seemingly carrying something in its mouth.
At the same time, the golden question mark on the map also began to move.
Ma Jie reacted quickly and took off after the stray dog.
First of all, it's definitely not food, otherwise it wouldn't be marked as a golden legend.
You know what, this little guy is pretty fast; his explosive speed is astonishing.
However, Ma Jieke chose to go full speed ahead, since he had the [Working Saint Body] to sustain him and wasn't afraid of losing stamina quickly.
The ability to "fly over walls" also comes in handy at this time, making one's running steps more agile.
Dogs are good at sprinting, and most adult dog breeds can easily outrun Usain Bolt.
But it doesn't work for long-distance running. Even when you're well-fed and watered, your endurance limit is only about 15 minutes.
But humans are different; they can run marathons for hours on end.
The reason is that the heat dissipation systems are different. Humans dissipate heat through sweat glands, and their entire bodies are covered with heat dissipation vents, which is a form of water cooling.
Dogs can only use their tongues to dissipate heat, which is inefficient and results in air cooling.
In addition, these stray dogs often go hungry, and if they are unlucky, they may not be able to find food for two or three days.
So he gave up after running for only five or six minutes, turned around, arched his back, glared fiercely at his pursuers, and let out a series of low growls.
Ma Jieke then realized that it was a Staffordshire Bull Terrier with yellow and white fur, about 30 centimeters tall, in the developmental stage from puppy to adult.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that what it was holding in its mouth was a brown paper bag wrapped with many layers of transparent tape. The outside had been torn to shreds, and from one of the damaged corners, one could see that it was bulging with cash inside.
"OK bro, I don't want to hurt you, how about an equal exchange?"
Regardless of whether the guy could understand, Ma Jie put down his backpack and took out a bag of sausages he had bought from a convenience store.
Then tear open the packaging, place it on the ground, and back away with your arms outstretched.
The dog smelled the aroma of food, hesitated for a few seconds, and then cautiously ran over.
Upon seeing the sausage, he spat the brown paper bag aside and began to wolf it down.
Ma Jie picked up the paper bag casually. It was very heavy because it contained mostly small bills, which were stacked in piles and tied together with rubber bands.
On the top of each bundle of banknotes, a simplified name was written in pencil.
Gale, Holmes, Lily, Ethan, Jimmy...
The largest bundle, worth about $280, had "Jack" written on it.
"Hiss...this looks like payment for the camp's goods?"
Ma Jie immediately realized that he had discussed with Jimmy before, dividing everyone into groups to guard the streets, and whoever collected the recyclables would mark the group leader's name on the woven bag.
Then, at fixed times, people line up at the recycling station to sell their goods. All the money from the sales is handed over to Jimmy for management. After taking a 20% cut, the remaining proceeds are distributed to everyone.
This effectively prevents underreporting and theft, ensuring unified allocation and management. If your income differs significantly from others, there's definitely something fishy going on.
It seems this kid has good execution skills and knows how to fill in the details to make the accounts clear at a glance.
It's a pity that in this last step, I don't know how it happened, so much money just disappeared like that?
If someone targets you and steals from you, I won't say anything. There's a reason for everything.
But you... well, I really don't know how to complain about this.
"Woof, woof." After finishing his sausage, the stray bulldog, Chongma Jack, barked twice.
After attracting his attention, she rolled on the spot, squatted down, and stuck her tongue out at him, looking adorably silly.
"You stupid dog, get lost now that you're full. You stole my midnight snack."
Ma Jie stuffed the payment into his backpack, waved to it, and quickly walked towards the camp.
As a result, this guy seemed to have become attached to me, following me around like a fool.
"Get lost, you hear me? Or I'll skin you alive and make soup out of you."
Ma Jieke doesn't have the habit of keeping dogs, let alone stray dogs. It's not that he hates animals, but he simply finds it troublesome and doesn't want to be a dog owner.
After being startled twice, the bull terrier symbolically shrank back.
But when Ma Jie wasn't paying attention, he quietly followed them again.
"Get the hell out of here, you mangy dog! I'm not running a shelter!"
After several repetitions, Jack Ma, in a fit of anger, picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the dog. The dog, however, twisted its body and escaped from between his legs.
Once inside the camp, it was indeed in complete chaos, with a group of people carrying cell phones, flashlights, and headlamps searching everywhere for the lost cash.
"Why are you making such a fuss instead of sleeping so late at night?"
Upon seeing Max holding a powerful flashlight, MaJack pretended to be unaware.
"You...you're back?" To everyone's surprise, this woman started stammering: "Why are you back so early today?"
"Good morning?" Ma Jie pointed to the sky: "Look closely, big sister, that's the moon, not the sun."
"Um, do you want to take a shower? I just filled the water tank today."
"Take a shower? OK, I like the feeling of being washed by water."
Faced with her invitation, Ma Jie naturally wouldn't refuse; he was the only one in the entire camp to receive such treatment.
What do you call this? Offering help for no reason is either a sham or a thief. They're deliberately stalling for time to cover for that kid Jimmy.
Watching Ma Jack get into the RV, Max quickly called for Jimmy and said with a serious expression, "He's back and is taking a shower at my house right now. Can you try to remember exactly when he went missing and where he left it?"