Chapter 136: Public Trust in Peril

“Comrade Changfeng, thank you and Aofeng for the help you’ve given us. Without you two, this case wouldn’t have been solved so quickly,” said Director Zhang, gripping Song Changfeng’s hand and thanking him repeatedly.

Song Changfeng shook his head. “We only did what little we could. The real credit goes to your team here.”

Director Zhang beamed. Accomplished but not arrogant – a model comrade! No wonder that old fox Lei Liming had pulled him from the Police Dog Training Base into the Criminal Investigation Detachment. With talent like this, keeping him at the base just to train dogs would be a waste.

Well, maybe that’s not entirely fair. Director Zhang’s gaze dropped and met Aofeng’s eyes. Aofeng wagged his tail in a friendly gesture. Song Changfeng was outstanding on his own, but without Aofeng’s help, he wouldn’t have been nearly as effective. The two of them together were what made the real difference.

As he watched Song Changfeng and Aofeng slowly drive away, Director Zhang adjusted his cap and headed back into the Public Security Bureau. Though the two suspects had confessed, there was still a lot of work to be done.

…

“Did you hear? Another house in that community got robbed.” On a bus headed toward the Municipal Public Security Bureau, two older men were chatting. One of them, sporting a balding crown, spoke with great interest about a strange case in Anyang City.

“How many houses is that now? Why haven’t they caught the guy yet? Didn’t that neighborhood have a bunch of surveillance cameras?” asked the other man, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan¹.

“The police did investigate, but the cameras at the gates and in the hallways didn’t show anything suspicious. Funny thing is, the homes that had their own cameras inside weren’t targeted. Looks like the thief deliberately picked places without indoor surveillance.”

“Well, in that case, the people selling security cameras must be making a killing. I bet a lot of folks are rushing to get them installed now.”

“You bet. They’ve sold out of cameras. My neighbor’s son-in-law’s friend lives in that neighborhood, and he said the place is crawling with installation guys these days. Must be making a fortune!” The balding man sighed with emotion. Talk about money falling from the sky.

“Some people just have all the luck…”

Aofeng lay beside Song Changfeng’s leg, ears perked up as he listened to the two old men gossip. He hadn’t expected that while they were away, a “phantom thief” had appeared in Anyang City, slipping past layers of surveillance to steal from people’s homes.

In a wuxia novel², that might seem impressive. But in real life, theft is a serious crime. When courts handle such cases, they consider the number of offenses, the tools used, and the value of the stolen goods. The sentence can go up to over ten years in prison, or even life imprisonment.

From what they were saying, this guy was clearly a repeat offender. Once the residents of that community finished installing cameras, he’d probably move on to the next neighborhood. Who knew when they’d finally catch him? Unfortunately, cases like this usually didn’t fall under the Criminal Investigation Detachment’s jurisdiction. Otherwise, Aofeng would’ve loved to see how this thief was managing to dodge all the surveillance.

What Aofeng didn’t expect was how quickly the opportunity would come. Just as they were dropping off their luggage and heading to Lei Liming’s office to report in, they ran into him holding a stack of case files, calling everyone to a meeting.

When he saw Song Changfeng and Aofeng, Lei Liming’s eyes lit up. “You’re back? Perfect timing. We’ve got a tricky case here. Let’s have a meeting and figure out the best angle to approach it.”

Song Changfeng had no objections, and neither did Aofeng. Man and dog took their seats in the meeting room, where colleagues greeted them one after another. Judging by the order of greetings, Aofeng was clearly more popular than Song Changfeng, which made him very happy. His tail started wagging uncontrollably.

Soon, the room quieted down as Lei Liming took his seat and began speaking.

“By now, I’m sure you’ve all heard about that situation.” Lei Liming looked around the room. Everyone except Song Changfeng nodded silently. “In just over ten days, there have been more than twenty thefts in Mingyang Community. That averages out to one or two incidents a day.”

Aofeng immediately realized this was the same gossip they’d overheard on the bus. So it hadn’t just happened over the past few days, but had been going on for over a week. Strange – they had still been in Anyang City during that time. How had they not heard anything about it?

“When the first reports came in, the local precinct thought it was just a routine burglary. They checked the hallway surveillance and started identifying suspects. But the footage showed no one entering the building except residents. And the doors and windows were all intact, with no signs of forced entry. So the investigators suspected it might have been someone familiar with the victims…”

So that’s how it was. Aofeng nodded. Theft cases were among the most common, so naturally, they wouldn’t be treated as major crimes right from the start.

“But over the next few days, more and more households went to the local police station to report that their belongings had been stolen too. The officers began to take the matter seriously, assigning more personnel to the case. They pulled surveillance footage from the gates and hallways and watched it all overnight. As you can probably guess, just like the first time, they found absolutely nothing.”

Everyone began talking at once, discussing the most sophisticated theft methods they’d seen over the years and speculating on what kind of technique the thief might be using to evade the cameras and pull off the heists. Aofeng’s ears were practically spinning like fans as he tried to absorb every bit of information he could hear. By now, he had the professional instincts of a seasoned officer. He was no longer the clueless rookie he had once been.

“Ahem,” Lei Liming cleared his throat, cutting off the chatter. “Because of this, the local station officers became extremely alert, ramping up patrols in the neighborhood day and night, determined to catch the thief who was blatantly mocking the law. The first day passed without incident, but starting from the second day, the number of reports surged. Everyone claimed their homes had been burglarized. The surveillance still showed nothing unusual, but this time, after comparing the footage, they discovered a pattern: every household that had been robbed lacked indoor surveillance, while those on the same floor and in the same building that weren’t hit all had cameras installed.”

“This tells us the thief is very smart, deliberately avoiding homes with surveillance before making a move. Once the residents found out, they all started installing cameras. They didn’t say much in public, but behind closed doors, there was plenty of talk—mostly blaming the police for being incompetent and failing to solve the case. This has been a serious blow to the entire law enforcement system of Anyang City. If we can’t crack this serial theft case and bring the mastermind to justice, the public’s trust in us will take a huge hit. In the future, people might not even consider calling the police when something happens.”

This wasn’t just a challenge to the law—it was a direct challenge to them, the public servants. Pulling off crimes right under the police’s nose without getting caught had always been a point of pride for these “rats.” No officer could tolerate such provocation. Lei Liming looked around the room again, satisfied to see the serious expressions on everyone’s faces, each one simmering with barely contained anger.

“That’s why Bureau Chief Shen called a special meeting this morning and assigned the case to our Criminal Investigation Detachment. He wants us to solve it as soon as possible! This is a challenge, but also an opportunity for us to elevate the reputation of the Criminal Investigation Detachment throughout Anyang City! Comrades, do you have the confidence to crack this case?” Lei Liming’s voice boomed like a bell across the room.

“Yes!” came the unanimous reply from the crowd. Even Aofeng barked a powerful “Woof!” to show his resolve.

Such an important task—protecting the credibility of law enforcement—was now in their hands. They couldn’t let those criminals think the police of Anyang City were easy to mess with. And even more, they couldn’t let the people of Anyang lose faith in their protectors.

“Good, very good! Since everyone’s so fired up, I hereby declare the special investigation team for the Mingyang Community Theft Case officially established. I hope each of you gives it your all and solves this case as quickly as possible!”

As soon as Lei Liming finished speaking, the conference room erupted in applause. Faces lit up with excitement, as if they were ready to charge into Mingyang Community that very second and bring the elusive thief to justice.

Translator’s Notes