Welcome to Ant Detective Quest, where you play as the titular Ant Detective.This is your office, it's rather messy. Your filing cabinet is filled to the brim with hot cases you'd like to sink your mandibles into. The messaging application on your computer is also filled with unanswered queries, on account of you not having found a solution for actually using it.>What will you do?
>>6474653>Look for crumbs
>>6474653>Crumbs!!!
>>6474653>LOOK FOR CRUMBS
>>6474653>Conceptualize the nature of CRUMBS.
>>6474658>>6474660>>6474667>>6474669Of course, just what every good detective needs, a pick me up!You step out of your office building, the smell of fresh baked bread and cigarettes greets you. The pavement is cold and damp, there's a slight nip in the air.But, oh, what's this? A delicious treat discarded by an unlucky pedestrian?It would seem you have located, "crumbs".>What will you do?
>>6474679>Drag the whole big thing of it to your office like a predatorial animal dragging its kill to its lair
>>6474679>Put one of the smaller crumbs under our hat. For safe keeping.
>>6474679>>Drag the whole big thing of it to your office like a predatorial animal dragging its kill to its lai
>>6474684You lug the entire treat back to your office, it's hard work, but you manage. Seems like you're all set on food for the foreseeable future.>>6474685You store a crumb in your hat for later. As a detective, you can never be too prepared.Now that you've had some brain food, it feels like you're finally ready to get down to some really important detective work. It's not a pretty job, but you love what you do.>What very important thing will you tackle first?
>>6474712Clean up. Then a broad with gams that don't quit will show up.
>>6474712Call your cousins to clean up the office, they live in the walls and help you with stuff in exchange for food and lodging. Share your donut.
>>6474723+1 Also>Offer to hire one as a muscle for the next case we have yet to actually decide upon (can never be too careful)
>>6474723You call cousin Vinny to come help clean up, telling him that he'll get something nice out of it. He shows up with some of your extended family and they make quick work of the mess. Vinny greedily accepts a quarter of your pillaged dessert as payment.>>6474735You explain to Vinny that, due to the dubious nature of your clients as of late, you'll be needing some muscle. He agrees to help you out and, in exchange, you'll have to pay him up front with another quarter of your donut.>What will you do?
>>6474744>Tell Vinny we'll contact him if we need it later, since it's not guaranteed muscle will be useful on the next case, and finally get on with the plot the QM has been nudging us towards since the very first post by inspecting one of the hot cases in the filing cabinet
>>6474744>Enter: Troublesome Dame
>>6474744>look at the messages on your iBanana computation device
>>6474798You climb up to your laptop and find the messaging application open, filled with unanswered correspondence.Namely, your landlord seems to be pressing you on rent for this month. Having already used up any good faith between you two, you really can't afford to miss another payment.
>>6474782You send Vinny on his way, he tells you to be safe.You grab several case files from your filing cabinet and spread them out on the floor. You're particularly interested in these three.From left to right, the cases are...1. A string of murders in the area. 2. A missing person report with a picture of a mantis.3. A drug trafficking ring run by someone called "Don Slug".The last of the three has hit a wall, but you're always keeping a feeler out for new leads.>Which case will you choose?
>>6474824>2. A missing person report with a picture of a mantis.
>>64748242. A missing person report with a picture of a mantis.
>>6474824>2. A missing person report with a picture of a mantis.The heart next to an antscort girl on the sticker has the same color as the word "missing" on the poster. This surely isn't a coincidence. Call her.
>>6474871Reviewing the content of the missing person report, you discover the Mantis's name is Orchid. Apparently, he's a dancer at a popular nightclub, and was last seen walking home after a night shift. His place of work called in a wellness check after he missed 3 consecutive shifts with no contact. A missing person report was filed after officers found his apartment broken into and completely wrecked.>>6474885You pause a moment as you read the name of the club Orchid works at, "The Crunchy Leaf". You recognize it as one you visited quite recently. One of the workers there gave you her headshot and wrote her phone number on the back. You figure it wouldn't hurt to call.After some ringing, a sultry voice greets you, it seems she recognizes your number.>What will you say?
>>6474892>Greet her back in even more slu- uh, sultrier voice, initiate small talk and then invite to your place. If you'll make her like you, it might make her more willing to share something shady about Orchid. While waiting for her to arrive, quickly forge for both yourself and her resignation letters with job applications dated yesterday evening and tomorrow morning respectively. Worker ants are biologically unable to crunch each other's leaves, so you'll need to go temporarily unemployed.
>>6474892>>6474962Good plan, I'll support it.
>>6474962>>6475004You put on the sultriest voice you can muster and the conversation begins. It all comes very organically, and it's very pleasant. You feel a bit bad, wasting such a nice conversation for the sake of a lead, but this is the life you chose. You can never truly let yourself get too involved.The conversation naturally leads to her coming over, she says that sounds lovely, and that she'll be there in an hour, give or take. You say your goodbyes and begin getting everything in order for her arrival.As soon as you finish putting in the order for some forged work documents, you hear a knock at your office door. You let her in, she's a little earlier than expected, but you accounted for that. Seems like she brought a gift with her.>What will you do?
>>6475101>Offer some of the donut
