CHAPTER 203: CHAPTER 201 CHALLENGE LETTER

"Miss, you want to force the thief to reveal himself?" Claudia was somewhat skeptical and didn’t quite understand Perfikot’s decision, as a thief was unlikely to disclose himself for such a reason.

"Utilize the city’s underworld and ordinary people. After all, no matter how well he hides his identity, as a thief, he needs to fence the stolen goods. We might find him through this line." Perfikot picked up her Golden Touching Rod, ready to check for any damage: "After all, snakes have their paths and rats have their trails; these people generally have more information than official channels.

Moreover, I’m interested in the unofficial Extraordinary colonists in the New Continent. Perhaps they can be of use to me."

As she spoke, Perfikot inspected the Golden Touching Rod in her hand. Seeing no issues, she intended to put it away, but then she smelled a scent of perfume.

Perfikot frowned, picked up the Golden Touching Rod, and sniffed it carefully. Indeed, she found a scent of perfume, which she felt she had smelled somewhere recently.

"Claudia, can you identify the scent on this as perfume?" Perfikot handed the Golden Touching Rod to Claudia and asked her.

Claudia had noticed the perfume scent upon retrieving the Golden Touching Rod. She nodded and replied, "It should be a luxurious perfume that appeared in the Langton market just last Christmas, intended for nobles and high society. I smelled it on a Duchess before."

After speaking, Claudia seemed to want to add, "However, I didn’t smell this scent during the pursuit. My sense of smell has been specially modified and enhanced, so I’m quite sensitive to the scents I detect."

"Interesting, according to you, the thief should be a man, but he has this luxurious perfume scent..." Perfikot could confirm it was not her scent, as she never used perfume.

The situation suddenly became intriguing.

"Great, it seems we now have more clues. At least we can deduce that the thief should be wealthy, and he can frequent high society, suggesting he might have a significant status." Perfikot made a reasonable inference.

Langton City introduced luxurious products exclusively for nobles and high society last Christmas. Obtaining such items in the colonies isn’t easy.

The shipping company’s winter flights have decreased significantly, not to mention the increase in sea ice and the high risk of shipwrecks, which severely raised the shipping costs between the mainland and the colonies of the Empire.

Under normal circumstances, it takes six months to a year for trendy items from the Empire to spread to the colonies. Top luxury items might be sought after by someone, but it would still be delayed by a few months.

Being able to obtain the luxurious items trending in Langton’s high society almost immediately is a substantial test of wealth, status, and even power.

As for people of status not becoming thieves? In Perfikot’s original world, during World War II, the Egyptian king had a penchant for theft. He always stole something from his ministers during meetings, and even guests were not exempt. The British Prime Minister Churchill was robbed of his pocket watch during the Cairo conference held in Egypt.

Therefore, it’s not surprising for Perfikot that people of status steal; kleptomania is a psychological disorder, and some people don’t steal for money but merely for the urge to steal something.

"If we look at it this way..." Perfikot had a new speculation. After thinking about it, she issued a new command to Claudia: "Claudia, tell the Governor to halt the arrest operation, then publish a headline on all colonial newspapers saying that I already know who stole my belongings at the banquet, but I despise his stealing skills and feel quite dissatisfied with such a clumsy thief stealing my things, so I’m issuing him a challenge.

Two days later, I’ll host a banquet in the busiest place in New Shaker City, where I’ll exhibit one of the world’s most precious treasures. If he truly has the ability, let him come and steal it, proving he’s the world’s greatest thief."

If the person is a kleptomaniac, he’d certainly take pride in his stealing skills. Faced with such a challenge from Perfikot, he’d likely be unable to resist, especially since he stumbled once and would be eager to prove himself.

"Miss, what are you planning to do?" Clearly, Claudia couldn’t quite comprehend Perfikot’s logic, even thinking Perfikot seemed somewhat irrational.

However, Perfikot had no intention of explaining and simply ordered Claudia, "Do as I say, and have the newspapers use feminine adjectives when describing the thief."

"Feminine?" Claudia felt more confused but ultimately did not inquire further and relayed Perfikot’s orders.

----------------------------------

The Blood Count was robbed by a thief at the banquet, which was undoubtedly a sensational news event in New Shaker City.

All the newspapers, upon receiving orders from the Governor’s office, urgently revised their content and published the news along with Perfikot’s challenge letter on the front page.

Unquestionably, under such circumstances, it only took half a day for the entire New Shaker City to hear about Perfikot’s challenge to the thief who stole her belongings.

Most people thought there might be something wrong with Perfikot’s mind, as the thief would have to be likewise mentally unstable to walk into her carefully laid trap.

But sometimes, the majority doesn’t represent the right opinion, especially when neither party involved in this matter is considered an average person.

Perfikot analyzed the issue from the perspective of criminal psychology in her original world, deducing that the thief who stole from her must be very confident in themselves, hence putting on such a posture to challenge the opponent.

Because generally, such people cannot tolerate having their most proud skills being challenged.

There are too many cases proving its correctness.

For instance, when hearing a passerby discussing one’s area of expertise and it’s full of errors, most find it hard to resist the urge to interject.

So, for a thief very confident in their stealing skills, this declaration of war is enough to provoke their competitive spirit.