Chapter 487 - Ambush on the Road
Chapter 487 of "Exploring Technology in a Wizard World" opens introducing characters: On the stage, the Circus had started its performance, but Richard had no interest in... Find out more!
On the stage, the Circus had started its performance, but Richard had no interest in watching and turned away to leave.That night, he stayed in a townâs inn.
When daylight broke the next day, ready to leave, he passed through the town center and saw that the wooden stage set up by the Circus had disappeared without a trace, and all members of the Circus were nowhere to be seen, which made him raise an eyebrow.
He stopped an early riser and after asking a few questions, Richard then learned that the Circus, where the Clown belonged, had not stayed overnight in the town after performing last night; they had left immediately.
This isâ
His eyes twinkled as Richard muttered to himself, "Was this giving up? If thatâs really the case, then yesterdayâs math game wasnât played in vain."
With that, Richard spurred his horse and left the town, heading north.
In the blink of an eye, it was noon.
On a dirt road, Richard reached out to pull the reins, gradually slowing the speed of his rushing horse.
Riding on his horse, Richard looked ahead and murmured, "So I overthought it? They havenât given up after all. But what could be the situation this time?"
As he approached, not far ahead by the roadside, all members of the Circus were standing as if they were resting, but upon coming closer, it was evident they were arguing, and everyoneâs faces looked rather unpleasant.
Among them, the Circus director Oliver was red-faced with anger, waving his almost indiscernible palms, yelling at everyone, "Iâm telling you, unless we clear this up, no one leaves; we will just waste away here, yes, waste away here! You damned thieves daring to steal my money! Thatâs the money I worked hard for; how could you still steal it? How could you bear to steal it?"
"Itâs our money that we worked hard for," someone retorted softly.
Oliver glared, "Who? Have the guts to stand up and say it!"
No one responded.
Richard rode up and saw the highly agitated Circus director, then turned to look towards the Clown who seemed to have been waiting for a while and said, "Mr. Clown, it seems your Circus is in some trouble?"
"As you can seeâ" the Clown spread his hands, "Passerby, our Circus has just suffered a theftâthe directorâs money is gone. Well, it didnât exactly happen just now, as our director canât say precisely when it disappeared but can confirm that he last saw it three days ago before going to sleep.
Thus, over these three days, everyone who had contact with him is a suspect, with the biggest suspects being us few here."
"Is that so?" The twist of Richardâs eyebrow drew his gaze towards director Oliver.
The Clown also looked at Oliver, his voice playfully asking, "Hey, director, you donât suspect me of stealing your money, do you?"
Director Oliver looked at the Clown, surveyed him seriously, and said gruffly, "Logically, you should be the last person I suspect of stealing my money since youâre the oldest member here, and I should trust you. But... now I canât guarantee one hundred percent that youâre innocent, as the least likely ones could have the motive."
"Okay, okay," the Clown replied with a wry smile, "Director, I accept your suspicion, but... I must declare, I truly didnât steal your money. If you donât believe it, you can search me." Saying so, the Clown spread his arms openly.
At that moment, the burly Tain did likewise, stretching out his arms towards Oliver and said, "Director, I didnât steal your money either; if you donât trust me, you can search me too."
The limping Coachman Maki joined in, echoing, "Me too, Director, you can search me as well," also raising his arms.
Oliver scoffed, muttering, "Who knows if you three didnât move the money elsewhere?"
Clown: "..."
Tain: "..."
Maki: "..."
The atmosphere grew somewhat awkward and silent.
Then, the Beast Tamer Tolles spoke up, breaking the awkwardness, casting a glance at director Oliver and directly said, "Oliver, youâre free to suspect me. But I must tell you, Iâm too busy tending to my lions every day, I have no time to steal your money." Having said this, the Beast Tamer took a piece of bloodied meat from his bag, walked to the lionâs cage, and threw it inside. The lion in the cage immediately devoured it hungrily, with blood splattering everywhere.
Oliver looked at Tolles and then at the lion, said nothing as if somewhat fearful that Tolles might let the lion out to bite people, his neck shrank slightly as he turned to look at the last person in the Circusâa beautiful young woman, Amy.
At that moment, Amy was applying makeup in front of an old-looking copper mirror, looking too lazy to join the discussion. Feeling Oliverâs gaze, Amy confidently turned her head towards him, her confidence not that of someone confident they wouldnât be caught, but of someone very certain of her innocence.
Amy spoke, her tone slightly impatient, "Okay, Oliver, no need to suspect me; I am absolutely innocent! Honestly, I wanted to steal your money, but you treasure it more than life itself. No one in the entire Circus other than you knows where youâve hidden it, so itâs unstealable. Thus, it serves you right that itâs gone!"
"You!" Upon hearing Amyâs words, director Oliverâs face darkened, he deeply inhaled, and looking around at everyone angrily said, "Humph, if itâs not you, and itâs not him, then how did my money get lost? Did I lose it myself?!"
"Thatâs hard to say." Amy responded with a hint of sarcasm, "Who knows where you hid the money, maybe it was tucked in some corner, and it fell out along the way!"
"Thatâs impossible!" Oliver contested loudly, revealing important information, "My money was hidden inside a pillow, the pillow is still here, but the money is gone, so... it must have been stolen by you!"
"Oh, so it was in the pillow, huh?" Upon hearing Oliverâs words, immediately, Amy, Maki, and Tain all showed expressions of sudden realization.
Beast Tamer Tolles didnât react too much, pulling another piece of meat from his bag and throwing it to the lion.
The Clown then turned towards Richard, speaking up, "Passerby, looking at the situation now, who seems most suspicious? In your opinion, who could be the thief who stole our directorâs money?"
Richardâs eyes narrowed slightly as he asked the Clown, "Mr. Clown, are you trying to get me to help you solve the case, to find the thief?"
"How about that, challenging, right? Itâs time to put your clever mind to use!" the Clown said.
"You make a point," Richard agreed, then shifted his tone, "But... this has nothing to do with me, and Iâm also not very interested, so why would I get involved?"
Clown: "Thisâ" found himself at a loss for words.