Accidental Hero: The Rookie Who Outshines the Force - Chapter 21

“Lu Cheng, that kid… clearly he could coast on his good looks, but no, he insists on relying on skill!”

Lin Wenbin’s tone was sour. Yesterday, fine, a TV interview. But today? A perfectly good anti-fraud awareness campaign had somehow turned into a matchmaking event.

All the elderly grandpas and grandmas with granddaughters were lining up to introduce them to Lu Cheng.

Meanwhile, Lin Wenbin was still single. Truly, some drown in drought, others in flood.

Guo Lei, standing beside him, said softly, “Lu Cheng is excellent inside and out.”

At the event, Lu Cheng patiently explained,
“Grandpas and grandmas, remember this: any call from a stranger—no matter what they say—the end goal is to trick you into transferring money into an unfamiliar account. Don’t believe it.”

“Scammers keep coming up with new scripts. Some even imitate your children’s voices to swindle you!”

“Really? They can mimic my son’s voice exactly?” asked one elderly man, white-haired and wide-eyed.

Lu Cheng nodded toward Lin Wenbin. “Brother Lin, show them your talent.”

Lin opened his laptop. “Sir, do you have a video or audio of your son?”

The old man quickly pulled out his phone. “Yes, I’ve got a video of him taking my grandson to the amusement park. His voice is in there.”

Lin tapped away on the keyboard, running a specialized program. Within minutes, the computer reproduced the son’s voice perfectly.

Not just similar—identical.

The old man nearly jumped out of his seat, while the other elderly residents gasped in astonishment.

“My goodness! These fraudsters are too clever nowadays!”

“Officer Xiao Lu, how do we defend against this?”

“Simple,” Lu Cheng replied. “Download the National Anti-Fraud App!”

The three of them spent the next hour helping fifty or sixty residents install the software.

“Officer, my phone’s too old—it can’t download apps.”

“Then here’s what you do: if you ever get a strange call, talk about anything you want—just don’t talk about money.”

…

Watching this, Lin Wenbin realized something unsettling—Lu Cheng’s anti-fraud knowledge surpassed his own. And Lin had been at this for two and a half years already, running countless awareness campaigns.

Yet everything Lin knew, Lu Cheng also knew. And the things Lin didn’t know—Lu Cheng still knew.

Overseas romance scams, fake shopping platforms, “tea girl” traps, pig-butchering schemes, ETC card upgrades, insurance fraud, rebate scams, shady pension products, even a scam involving… bottle caps?!

Curious, Lin asked, “Lu Cheng, what’s this bottle cap scam?”

Guo Lei perked up too—she’d never heard of it.

Lu Cheng explained, “An old person or child asks you to help open a bottle cap, saying they’re too weak. The moment you do it, someone steps in and accuses you of giving them something to drink. You turn around, and suddenly the person is lying on the ground. Then they demand compensation.”

“This one’s fairly new. No reported cases in our province yet, but better safe than sorry.”

Lin stared at him. “How on earth do you even know all this?”

“Looked it up online last night.” Lu Cheng shrugged. What he didn’t say was that, thanks to his [Memory Reinforcement], he’d memorized every scam method currently circulating in the country—in one night, effortlessly.

“…Right.”

Lin fell silent. Fine. The kid was extraordinary for a reason.

Guo Lei, on the other hand, felt a pang of shame. She’d only bothered to memorize what was in the standard pamphlet. Compared to Lu Cheng, her efforts were sorely lacking.

As the weather warmed, some residents had bought mosquito repellents. Lu Cheng took the chance to add a reminder:

“By the way, mosquito repellent is classified as a pesticide. Always check the registration code. For mosquitoes and flies, the code starts with ‘WP.’ If it starts with ‘PD,’ it’s counterfeit.”

The residents, startled, quickly checked their bottles.

A middle-aged woman cried out, “Oh no! Mine starts with PD—is this fake?”

“Where’d you buy it?”

“Online.”

“No wonder. Better to stick with big supermarkets for things like this.”

Lin Wenbin gawked at Lu Cheng. “Mosquito repellent is a pesticide? You looked this up last night too?”

Lu Cheng shook his head. “No, my family runs a supermarket. We sell the stuff, so I know.”

“…”

Thanks to Lu Cheng’s presence, this awareness campaign was a huge success. The residents were engaged, learned a ton of scams, and left with newfound confidence that no fraudster could ever touch their savings again.

Back at the station, the three reported their work to Chen Weimin.

“Excellent. You three did well. From now on, all community anti-fraud work will be your responsibility.”

Receiving the station chief’s praise, Lin Wenbin and Guo Lei felt their two hours of effort had paid off.

Meanwhile, Lu Cheng sipped water, listening for the system’s response. Nothing. Seems like these outreach campaigns didn’t count as “cases,” so no reward.

A pity.

Just then, the landline on Chen Weimin’s desk rang. Song Chengfeng called him over—headquarters was on the line.

Five minutes later, Chen Weimin emerged, his expression grim. He immediately ordered all officers assembled.

The moment they saw his face; the entire team grew tense.

“Attention! First-level interdiction duty is now in effect!”

The room went dead silent. This meant a major case.

Lu Cheng’s heart tightened. So soon? A case already?

Chen’s voice was solemn.
“Just now, we received an urgent notice from the municipal bureau. An overseas cargo van is suspected of carrying ten kilograms of narcotics. It entered Jianghai City from the north via the G15 Shenyang–Haikou Expressway. Based on intelligence, it’s likely to move into Yuhua, Fuan, or Hongtang districts within the next twenty-four hours.”

Song Chengfeng unfurled a map of Jianghai’s roadways.

“The Narcotics Division has formed a special task force, working jointly with all district criminal investigation units. Every precinct must cooperate fully!”

“Traffic police have already blocked three ETC lanes at the toll stations, leaving only the manual worker lanes open, enforcing triple checks: licenses, manifests, and cargo holds. Priority inspections: cold chain trucks and modified containers. Now for assignments—”

“Group One: Zhao Han, with Xiao Lin and Lu Cheng—Provincial Road 212, Zhengyang North checkpoint.”
“Group Two: Cheng Zhijie, with Chen Zelong and Lao Mao—Township Road 035, Sanmei checkpoint.”
“Group Three: Wang Guodong, with Lao Ding and Guo Lei—Dongfu Line checkpoint.”
“Group Four: I’ll take Yuan Jie and Xiao Chen—Provincial Road 217 checkpoint.”

“Each checkpoint team will have a Narcotics Division officer leading the action. All movements follow their command.”

“And especially you trainees—follow orders to the letter. No heroics!”

Because intel wasn’t precise, they didn’t know which route the smugglers would take. The whole city needed to be locked down—three steps a post, five steps a guard. That required manpower, so even trainees were pulled in.

For a normal operation, they’d never be allowed on the frontlines.

After a final round of warnings, everyone donned their gear and set off.

On the way, the mentors kept drilling their rookies. “Stick with the task force officers. Follow orders. No exceptions.”

Drug traffickers weren’t ordinary criminals—they were ruthless, often desperate. Even hardened veterans like Zhao Han felt their nerves tightening, forcing themselves to steady up.

At the checkpoint, the traffic police had already set up barricades.

“You’re from Sanliqiao Precinct?”

“Yes, sir. Zhao Han. This is Lin Wenbin, this is Lu Cheng.”

“Good. Wang Maosheng, Narcotics Division, Third Squad.”

Introductions exchanged, they immediately began the search.