Chapter 12: Thief!

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
After Ken left Lan Jiao’s place, Mi Lai forgot about what he was going to say to Lan Jiao earlier on.
Seeing Lan Jiao’s displeased look, he tried his best to cheer her up.
“Lan Jiao, didn’t you say that those fat insects are good for the skin? I will go and get a few bottles of them, so you can get your fair skin back!”
Having said the words, Mi Lai turned around and went away with several empty bottles which had been placed at the doorstep.
What Lan Jiao did not know was that she had missed getting to know about the way of leaving Planet Trash. She had been just a breath away from knowing about it.
…
Captain Kite was really displeased these days. He had developed a fine palate.
After eating delicious food everyday, Kite almost went crazy eating porridge with small dishes during the past few days consecutively.
He told his nephew repeatedly that he wanted real food!
But his nephew informed him that the ordering service was not open at the moment.
Lan Jiao was consumed with the plan of leaving Planet Trash, so she was not in a mood to cook.
Since she was not so devoted towards making food, Kite found that the energy contained in the dishes made out of Nature Food these days was reducing!
That was the difference between dedicated cooking and casual cooking. So, Kite decided to personally visit the source of his high energy food source to see what had happened.
…
The next day, Lan Jiao and Mi Lai came home after catching insects and found that she had been robbed.
The door was open and the whole room was empty apart from the bed and a table.
The fruits and vegetables kept in the room, along with hundreds of bottles of low-level nutritive solutions, which had been on the table, were all gone.
Lan Jiao was shocked. A thief had just visited her place?
Mi Lai also noticed what happened in the room. He gasped and shouted angrily. “Who did this?!”
But no one was able to answer his question.
Lan Jiao was not fretting as much as Mi Lai. She was shocked initially by the theft but regained her poise soon.
Lan Jiao knew that the winds howled around the highest peaks.
All the locals in District Nine on Planet Trash were aware that she was extremely wealthy despite being an exiled criminal.
She had an endless amount of Nature Food and nutritive solutions in the room. Lan Jiao had heard this rumor about herself as early as one month ago.
She thought that with patrollers making their rounds, her stuff should not have been stolen. But she had underestimated the greedy nature of humans.
She made delicious food with Nature Food every single day, and had drawn the attention of everyone around. The aroma attracted lots of spectators at her doorstep at a fixed hour every day.
Watching her make food and smelling the delicacy had become one of the best entertainment programs for soldiers and locals in District Nine on a daily basis.
Hence, her room had been ‘visited’.
Lan Jiao could tell that there must have been more than one person who took away her stuff. A single person couldn’t have carried everything.
Also… she was nearly sure that these people must be exiled criminals.
Locals would not dare to do such a thing, with patrollers going around. But the exiled criminals were bold and fierce people who didn’t have much to lose.
It seemed that the lunch could not be made from Nature Food ingredients today.
Lan Jiao lowered her head and spotted the bottles of insects in Mi Lai’s hands. She decided that she would cook these small things to finish the food mission of the day.
When Captain Kite arrived, he spotted Lan Jiao who was cleaning the insects patiently.
Kite felt the hair rise at the back of his neck. He was given a bowl of porridge the day before, but it seemed that he would not even be able to get that much today.
Kite knew that his nephew loved these insects and he had tried the dish a few times. His nephew gave it to him every now and then, when he came to deliver his meals.
These insects were tasty, but contained way too little energy compared to the dishes made out of Nature Food.
Kite was seeking energy and did not care much about taste.
As the administrator and chief of a district, Kite attracted the attention of many soldiers who were watching Lan Jiao making food as he appeared.
Ken, who was waiting to get the food, was no exception.
Surprised, Ken looked at Kite. “Uncle, what are you doing here?”
Kite threw a look at Ken and walked up to Lan Jiao without saying anything.
The soldiers were gathered around Lan Jiao.
The moment Kite spotted Lan Jiao, his serious demeanor turned affable instantly. “Miss Lan, I am not eating this today, am I?”
Kite was displeased but the grievance was not visible on his face. He spoke in a flattering way as if he were asking a random question.
He was in a supreme position in District Nine, and everyone was under his charge. Yet he could not offend this little person, who was able to make high energy food like no one else.
He knew that only by flattering Lan Jiao would he be able to get the high quality food which he coveted.
If she was offended and refused to make food for him, he would face a huge loss.
Lan Jiao was skilled enough to become a wonderful chef. Her abilities were the best in District Nine, probably better than everyone in Alliance Stars.
He had found a piece of treasure like Lan Jiao on Planet Trash!
Hence, Kite didn’t even think about threatening Lan Jiao with his status.
He was a soldier, who was bold and full of integrity. Any capable person was worth his respect. He was not going to achieve his goal through a mean method.
Hearing his voice, Lan Jiao looked up at Captain Kite.
She has not seen Kite ever before but judging from what he said, Lan Jiao could tell who he was.
While flipping and stirring the insects on the iron plate, Lan Jiao straightened up and said apologetically to Captain Kite, “Something happened today.”
“What happened?”
Kite was here to find out why the food quality was declining these days.
Lan Jiao did not want to answer Kite’s question honestly. She did not want him to investigate those who had stolen her stuff.
Although, she had an idea about who those thieves were…
She wanted to observe the situation carefully for sometime so as to confirm her suspicion.
She could easily get food and the raw ingredients by making some dishes but those people could not.
Lan Jiao had felt quite sad hearing that other criminal exiles were dying all the time.
Maybe the stolen food could make them live for a bit longer.