The morning Lou left something ticking in my back room, the fluorescent lights hummed louder than usual. You felt the store shrink around that single decision: call Security or let her go. I called Security — and watched a story unfold that cost me favors, credits, and a quiet conscience.
Lou is a razor hidden in a velvet glove. You’ll want to know how to handle her without bleeding your resources dry.
Before the walkthrough: this guide assumes you already bought the Business Permit (week 5). I’ll walk you through the exact triggers, the timeline, the items she asks for, and what each choice pays out so you can make the call you won’t regret.
Observation: In the real world, people who show up unannounced rarely leave anything useful behind.
Probably Stolen Lou quest walkthrough
You won’t see Lou on a schedule. She appears randomly after you buy the Business Permit in week five and only if she decides you’re worth testing. When she arrives she introduces herself, asks for a handful of odd “tools,” and dares you to play a game.
How do I start Lou’s quest in Probably Stolen?
Trigger her arc by calling Security on Lou and claiming the 1,500 Credits (€1,500) bounty. That act brands you in the story and sets a Republic agent on your tail the following week.
The sequence is straightforward: call Security → collect bounty → wait for the Republic Operative visit. That visit hands you a Republic Transmitter and an odd offer: plant the transmitter in something and give it to Lou for 700 Credits (€700). She will almost certainly return.
Observation: A stranger offering a “solution” at a counter is usually selling you a problem with polite packaging.
The transmitter, the fake bomb, and the game
When Lou drops by again, she invites you to play. The next morning she tells you there’s a bomb in your inventory and gives you until midnight to deal with it. Panic registers; you check the Plastic Explosive—only to find it’s a dud. The threat is performance, not physics.
Is the bomb real?
No. The Plastic Explosive is fake. Treat the sequence like a staged interrogation: your choices are watched and will change how Lou values you.
If you accepted the Operative’s transmitter, you can hide it in a package and hand it back to Lou on her next visit for the promised payment (700 Credits / €700). If you didn’t plant the transmitter, the staged bomb still advances the narrative: Lou’s testing your nerve and your store’s inventory management.
Observation: People who leave you a locked box usually want you to carry responsibility for what’s inside.
The Box of Toys and the small wins
About five days after that fake close-call, Lou drops off a “Box of Toys” and tells you not to touch it. The box contains a document that reveals more about her past and her ties to the Republic. You can read the document safely without touching the box’s contents.
When she returns the next day, if you have not removed the box contents or planted the transmitter in it, she offers you a choice of rewards. Pick one:
- 1x Advanced Turbo Booster
- 1x Smuggler’s Bay
- 1x Backpack (Small)
- 2x Module Expansion Kits
Those are reliable mid-game upgrades that keep your shop running smoother. If you planted the transmitter and handed the box back, you still get the narrative closure and the items Lou leaves behind.
Observation: People who ask for favors usually expect a bill later, in credits or in reputation.
The final trade, the price, and the paper trail
Lou will visit one last time posing as an inspector. She says her “guest” finally delivered the intel she needed and asks for 750 Credits (€750) — or 500 Credits (€500) on lower difficulties — in weapons, armor, or meds as payment for the bounty you originally collected. You have one week to assemble those items; if you can’t, she accepts the Credits instead.
When she receives the agreed tools or Credits, Lou says thank you and leaves. The next morning a headline announces an admiral’s assassination, and she sends you a note plus a Storage Bay Expansion Kit as a final parting gift.
The Republic Operative returns after that, mentions a hunt for Lou, and hints you might be under scrutiny. Your name doesn’t get printed, but your actions echo in the game’s political noise.
The Republic Operative is a clockwork rat. Think about that when you decide whether to cash a quick bounty or keep your hands clean.
If you finished Lou’s thread, don’t forget other useful goals in the game: producing Huge Nutrifruits and going for the Green Thumb achievement can pay off later when reputation matters more than Credits.
Want to argue whether turning Lou in was justified, or whether you should have planted the transmitter yourself?