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墨書 Inktalez
After Captain Zhou left, the position of the captain of the Qingcheng Criminal Police Team became vacant. Since there was no one appointed from above yet, I temporarily took over this captaincy. Once a suitable candidate is arranged, I will step down. Although I am just a transitional figure, it is enough to make me quite happy.
However, when I sat in this position, I realized that it was not as simple as I had imagined. It turned out that being a captain involved more than just solving cases; there were many trivial matters to attend to.
For instance, at this moment, I was writing a report about a domestic dispute. The incident arose when a couple fantasized about winning five million and ended up in a disagreement over how to allocate the winnings, escalating from verbal arguments to physical altercations. Fortunately, neither of them was seriously hurt; they only sustained minor injuries.
As I furrowed my brow, contemplating how to phrase my report, I heard a commotion outside the police station.
I pushed open the office door and stepped out to find Gu Chen and Guan Zengbin waiting outside. A crowd of about ten people was shouting and jostling each other, making me feel as if I had walked into a bustling market. It seemed like yet another neighborhood dispute had arisen; I had encountered such situations frequently in recent times.
A police officer shouted at the crowd, "Calm down! What seems to be the problem? Speak clearly! This is the police station, not a market! Many leaders are working inside right now; can't you come out calmly if there's an issue?"
With the officer's shout, the noisy crowd finally quieted down. Through the gaps in the crowd, I could see three individuals surrounded by onlookers. Their hands were restrained behind their backs, and they leaned forward slightly. However, their expressions were indifferent.
I frowned and walked toward them.
The officer noticed me and called out, "Captain Wu."
I looked at the individuals before me. Judging by their appearances and clothing, they seemed to represent various social classes. Some wore fur coats, others had on dirty sweaters, while some were dressed in trench coats—each different from the other. In terms of their mental state, some appeared to be bosses, while others looked like migrant workers or high school students; there were even some who resembled housewives.
In contrast, the three men being restrained looked quite well-dressed in their trench coats over shirts and wrapped in checkered scarves; they resembled high-end corporate white-collar workers.
With men and women mixed in the crowd, it did not seem like a simple domestic dispute—could it be another case of unpaid wages for migrant workers?
"What happened here?" I asked a few people.
However, Guan Zengbin and others shook their heads, indicating that they had just arrived and were unaware of what had transpired.
Clearing my throat, I addressed the crowd: "Stop pushing! Send one representative forward to explain what happened."
At that moment, a boy who looked like a high school student said, "These three are the thieves who stole the phones."
"Thieves? What happened?" I asked with interest. "Tell me the whole story."
Then, the high school student recounted the tale of these three phone thieves in detail.
All of these people were patrons of the Edge Internet Cafe. Around five o'clock in the afternoon, the three suspects entered the cafe. This was a peak time for business, and under the pretense of waiting for someone to finish using a computer, they wandered around the cafe, actually looking for targets.
They specifically targeted those who were engrossed in online games, staring intently at their screens.
The victims either left their phones on the computer desks or tucked them into their pockets. Nowadays, phones are quite large, with most of their bodies sticking out. These individuals were perfect targets for the three thieves. Once they identified a target, the trio pretended to watch someone else's gameplay while surrounding their chosen victim.
Two of them blocked the target and other customers, while one swiftly snatched the phone.
Once they succeeded, they would not linger; instead, they would use the excuse of too many people around to leave for another internet cafe. This way, when customers realized their phones were stolen and even suspected those three, it would be too late—the thieves would have already fled.
This time, they attempted the same tactic. However, during their operation, one person noticed them.
This individual was the security guard at Edge Internet Cafe—the only one on duty.
Upon discovering what was happening, the guard rushed over to confront the three. In the ensuing struggle, the stolen phone fell out, confirming that these three were indeed thieves. Infuriated and embarrassed at being caught in the act, they tried to force their way out. But at that moment, the guard blocked their path.
Knowing that lingering here would only worsen their situation, one of them pulled out a dagger.
The crowd scattered like a tide retreating from shore, but the guard showed no signs of backing down. The thief wielding the dagger was filled with rage and lunged at the guard's stomach.
The onlookers seemed to anticipate a gruesome scene unfolding before them—blood spraying everywhere as if it had already been scripted in their minds. But unexpectedly, a loud clatter rang out as the dagger fell to the ground.
The security guard firmly grabbed the man's arm with one hand and suddenly twisted it backward. There was a loud "crack," and the man's arm dislocated. The other two thieves had never witnessed such a scene and attempted to escape amidst the chaos. However, the security guard paid no attention to their feelings, using one hand to hold one of them.
Before anyone could comprehend what was happening, the two thieves were already on the ground.
Then, the crowd gathered around, surrounding the security guard as he escorted the three thieves to the police station.
It turned out to be an act of bravery. In the midst of it all, a man was pushed forward. I took a closer look at him; he was a man in his forties, with dark skin, wearing a gray sweater and an unzipped leather jacket. He seemed serious and was slightly shy as he was pushed into the spotlight.
"Officer, lock these three up!" shouted the crowd.
One of the thieves protested, "What theft? You need evidence for that. Which one of you saw us steal anything? Did we steal a phone? Where's the stolen phone? Where's the victim?"
His voice was somewhat frantic, and he wore a defiant expression, seemingly confident that we wouldn't take any action against him. In truth, he had a point; without the owner coming forward to file a report, this matter would likely end without resolution. From this perspective, he seemed to have some understanding of legal matters.
I looked at the crowd and asked, "Where's the victim?"
No one spoke for a while until an older woman chimed in, "That tall guy ran away! You all caught these thieves for whom? For him! But when he saw things going south, he grabbed his phone and took off. Our country has too many people like that. There's a saying: the saddest thing in this world isn't the evil deeds of bad people but the silence of good people."
The woman didn't seem like someone who frequented internet cafes; she probably just heard the commotion and came to see what was happening. Her eloquent words immediately sparked cheers from the crowd.
I scratched my head and said, "Even without the victim, if you all can provide testimony proving these three are thieves, then we can detain them even without the victim."
But at that moment, one of the thieves spoke up defiantly: "Sure, go ahead and testify. Stealing a phone isn’t punishable by execution, but giving testimony will leave your names on record. Once I get out, you'll regret it. I'm all alone here, but you all have families. Think about what that could mean for you."
With that, he shot a fierce glare at those nearby and shouted, "Let go!"
The person behind him jumped in surprise and instinctively released his grip.
At that moment, the woman who had been talking earlier continued, "Oh, right! I still have water sitting at home. I better hurry back and check on it."
The high school student chimed in, "Something feels off. I think I have a tutoring class to get to. I need to rush!"
In an instant, the crowd that had been leisurely chatting transformed into bustling Wall Street traders, each person too busy to spare even five minutes. The once lively throng dissipated completely within just a few minutes, leaving only the security guard from the internet café behind.
This thief, still looking quite arrogant, turned to the security guard and said, "I advise you not to meddle in things that don’t concern you. This is just attempted theft for me; I’ll be out in ten days or so. But you? You might lose your job."
Hearing this, Gu Chen stepped forward and slapped him across the face. "You dare threaten someone in front of a police officer? You three better explain what happened clearly."
Despite his bravado, the thief dared not retaliate against Gu Chen and reluctantly followed him toward the police station.
Through taking statements, we learned that the security guard's name was Hao Ren, and he was forty-four years old. Before becoming a security guard, he had trained in martial arts under a master in the countryside. His dream was to open a martial arts school, but that seemed unrealistic in this day and age. So when faced with a knife, he felt no fear at all.
We contacted Edge Internet Café and obtained surveillance footage that confirmed these three were indeed thieves.
They were sentenced to fifteen days of administrative detention.
As we were leaving, we expressed our gratitude to Hao Ren. He replied, "It's nothing; it's what I should do. My master always told me that those who practice martial arts must act with righteousness and stand up for justice."
Watching Hao Ren's retreating figure, I suddenly remembered the martial arts stories I had read before.
But the heroes in those tales were far more handsome than Hao Ren.
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