Old days, dice and investigator's manual

The two people and their dog entered the cafe. Isaac chose a seat towards the back, with a wall behind him and a wide view. He could see the street activity through the window and keep an eye on the situation at the entrance.

A waiter came over and handed him the menu. Isaac said to the waiter, "We'll look at it for a while."

The waiter understood and stepped aside.

Seeing that the waiter made no attempt to stop Fenri, Li Jiehao muttered, "How did Dog Brother manage to get in so easily?"

"Why not?" Isaac asked.

"Uh, environmental sanitation issues?"

As Li Jiehao spoke, he realized that in this era, people didn't seem to care much about the cleanliness of the store environment. Moreover, those who had the leisure to bring their pets into the coffee shop wouldn't have low incomes, and the shop owners wouldn't be so inconsiderate as to let people leave their pets outside.

Isaac gestured for Li Jiehao to order, and Li Jiehao forced himself to focus on the names of the dishes: "A black coffee, and another... this, a buttered bread? What do you want?"

"Same."

"Okay." Li Jiehao put down the menu and pushed it in front of Isaac, pretending to discuss what to order. "So, have you seen him?"

"They didn't follow us in; they must have stopped on the street." Isaac also pretended to be studying the menu. "If I were the follower, I wouldn't go straight into the store; that would be too easy to spot. I would most likely find a spot on the street where I could observe the entrance and wait there."

"Should we try to escape through some back door or something? I've seen that's how it's portrayed in movies and TV shows..."

"Let's wait and see how things go." Isaac glanced at Fenri.

Fenri, who was lying on the table, noticed Isaac's gaze and turned her head towards the window again, indicating that the person following her was still there.

Isaac looked around, trying to spot the most suspicious person among the people walking or stopping on the street, but unfortunately he didn't find anything.

He calmed himself down and called over a waiter to order.

A moment later, the waiter brought two cups of black coffee and two servings of buttered bread.

"I never thought I'd be enjoying afternoon tea like this," Li Jiehao smacked his lips, trying to distract himself from the tension of being followed.

He picked up the cup, took a sip, his expectant expression twitched, and he swallowed with difficulty: "It's so bitter... Is there any sugar?"

Isaac glanced at the menu: "Yes, but you have to pay for it yourself. It's three pence a plate, and five candies in total."

"Selling by the piece? This store is so stingy. Even though it says it's imported high-end sugar cubes from the South..." Li Jiehao broke off a small piece of bread and stuffed it into his mouth, his expression finally relaxing a bit.

Isaac sipped his coffee, continuing to gaze out the window.

People were coming and going on the street. A figure walked past the window, and Isaac's gaze followed the figure for a moment.

The figure looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he had seen him before. Isaac kept a close eye on it and memorized the person's physical characteristics: slightly overweight, wearing a baseball cap and a dark coat.

About two or three minutes later, the figure "passed by" again from the direction it had just walked across the street.

This time, the man deliberately followed a couple, and the three of them walked together as if they were traveling together, but at a distance from each other. If Isaac hadn't been paying special attention, it would have been easy to mistake them for ordinary pedestrians and overlook them.

Isaac had a general idea of ​​what was going on: the other person wasn't in a position where they could be seen from the window, but had chosen a blind spot, focusing only on the doorway.

However, he probably couldn't see the situation inside the store clearly from the blind spot where he was. If he couldn't see the store, he couldn't confirm whether Isaac and Li Jiehao were still in their original positions. So he would "pass by" every now and then to quickly check if the target was still in his seat.

This technique isn't particularly clever, but if you don't pay close attention to what's outside the window, it's hard to notice a passerby walking back and forth.

The man has been spotted; should we lure him out directly...? Isaac lowered his gaze.

If we don't seize this opportunity to lure out the stalker, it might be difficult to catch up with this line again later, and we'll have missed the chance.

However, taking direct action also carries risks. First, it might alert the organization behind the other party, and second, it's uncertain whether they can be apprehended on the spot.

The worst outcome would be to alert the other party but fail to capture them, resulting in a lose-lose situation, which would be very awkward.

Isaac glanced around the café, made up his mind, and gestured to the waiter, "Excuse me, may I ask...?"

……

The man took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. The summer in Vista wasn't particularly hot, but walking around on the street for a long time and having to keep a close eye on his target had made him sweat quite a bit.

He cursed inwardly. Those two guys went into the coffee shop to enjoy themselves, but he wondered how long they were going to stay there.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a passerby brush past him, and the man took the opportunity to step forward, preparing to "pass by" again.

He glanced out the window of the coffee shop, froze, and rubbed his eyes.

The person in the seat is gone.

The man's heart tightened, and he looked again to confirm.

I didn't see those two people come out. Could it be that they spotted him and left through the back door or something?

The man gritted his teeth, hesitated for a moment, and walked towards the coffee shop.

Pushing open the door, the man glanced at the table again; the plates and cups were gone, and a waiter was clearing the tablecloth.

The man strode towards the waiter, who turned around and asked, "Sir, what would you like?"

"Where are the two people who were just sitting here?" the man asked, pointing to the empty table.

The waiter was puzzled: "Excuse me, sir, I don't understand..."

The man lowered his voice: "The FBI is handling cases, you'd better know your place."

The waiter was still confused: "This..."

"I'm asking you a question, did those two leave through the back door?"

"Well, if you're looking for those two gentlemen...aren't they right there?"

The waiter pointed behind the man, who was startled and immediately turned around.

The person closest to the cafe entrance, Isaac, Li Jiehao, and the black dog at the table were all staring at him.

Oops... Oh no!

The man realized something was wrong; he'd been ambushed!

Isaac thought to himself that this move seemed to be going quite smoothly.

He had just made up his mind when he called over a waiter: "Excuse me, could you please change our seats?"

Although the request was a bit strange, the waiter saw that Isaac's demeanor and clothing were not those of an ordinary person, and the other person looked tired and did not seem to be a regular customer of the café. He figured that there must be some special business involved, so he simply agreed to avoid any unnecessary disputes.

So, as Isaac requested, he moved their meal to a table near the door, a "blind spot."

Isaac considered two aspects in this regard, using the "disappearance" test to gauge the stalker's reaction.

If the person sees they've disappeared and immediately runs away, it means they're a "guilty thief" who prioritizes stealth. In that case, you can try chasing after them and see if you can catch them.

If that person sees they're gone and chooses to go into the store to inquire, it means they're the type who's "confident and fearless," actively offering themselves up. There are more measures you can take then, such as closing the store and leaving some air freshener.