Accidental Hero: The Rookie Who Outshines the Force - Chapter 37

The bus screeched to a halt at the station.

A middle-aged man with a wiry mustache got off with his briefcase. Lu Cheng followed him.

Only the two of them alighted at this stop, naturally drawing the man’s attention.

Behind his sunglasses, those narrow triangular eyes swept over Lu Cheng. But when he saw Lu Cheng heading off in a different direction, he finally relaxed.

What he didn’t know was that a tiny fly was latched onto his back.

Within three hundred meters, he was nothing more than a moving locator beacon.

Keeping a safe distance, Lu Cheng trailed after him.

The man eventually entered a cluster of tin-roofed shacks in the village. After weaving through several turns, he slipped into one particularly secluded shack.

The green dot on Lu Cheng’s tracker stopped moving. This must be the thieves’ hideout.

Meanwhile, on the bus.

Passengers finally realized their belongings were missing. Chaos broke out.

The driver pulled over to the roadside but kept the doors firmly shut to prevent the thieves from escaping.

Suspicion rippled through the crowd—maybe the pickpockets were still on board.

But human nature is selfish. Those who hadn’t lost anything shouted at the driver to keep moving; they didn’t want to waste time.

The victims, however, were furious. They demanded the driver take the bus straight to the police station.

Some passengers insisted on getting off and taking another bus.

But if you wanted to leave, you had to prove your innocence. After all, what if you were the thief?

So the anxious passengers turned out their pockets in front of everyone to show they carried no stolen goods.

Two young thieves in skintight outfits were quickly cleared—they couldn’t possibly hide anything beyond their own phones.

They slipped off the bus.

Lin Wenbin emptied his pockets too, then quietly followed after them.

Back at the shack.

Lu Cheng crouched outside, pressing his ear to the metal wall. Faint voices drifted out. There were others inside.

“Brother Ji, three cartons of smokes, two cartons of He Tianxia, and a pair of big gold bangles—we hit that rich guy’s three-story villa in the next village last night.”

“Mm. Good work, Glasses. But don’t target that village again. Too many cameras. Outsiders stand out too easily.”

“Got it, Brother Ji. Where’s Rat and Nana?”

“On their way. Just cleaned out a bus—more than five grands in cash, not bad. Around a dozen phones too. Old ones fetch three hundred each, newer ones five hundred. We’ll offload them at the usual place tonight.”

“And the jewelry? Still with Qiangzi?”

“Yeah. Same deal as always. Seventy percent cut.”

Lu Cheng listened carefully, catching every word. He filed away three key names—Brother Ji, the usual place, Qiangzi.

Brother Ji was clearly the ringleader. If they took down this crew, they could unravel an entire chain of fences and buyers.

Phones, jewelry, gold—it was a whole black market pipeline.

Twenty minutes later, the young couple from the bus walked in.

Lin Wenbin arrived too, meeting Lu Cheng. They synced their phone locations, ensuring they wouldn’t lose each other.

Forget those TV dramas where someone’s phone rings at the worst possible moment and blows the operation. That was nonsense. Before any mission, they checked their gear—phones, equipment, even belts—to make sure nothing would go wrong.

Especially for undercover work like this, caution was everything.

“This is their nest?” Lin Wenbin whispered, excitement and nerves bleeding into his voice. It was his first time going after an entire gang.

Lu Cheng nodded.

“How many inside?”

“Five, give or take.”

“What now? Call for backup?”

In his excitement, Lin Wenbin forgot he was just a two-and-a-half-year trainee, and Lu Cheng was only an intern cop. Yet instinctively, he looked to Lu Cheng as the backbone of the operation.

“Two of us is enough,” Lu Cheng said with a faint smile.

“What? Two against five? What if they run?”

“They won’t dare.”

“Why not?”

“Because I have a gun.”

With that, Lu Cheng drew a black, icy pistol from his waistband—the 92-type modification. The sight of it nearly made Lin Wenbin’s heart stop.

“Lu Cheng! Wh-where did you get a gun?!”

“Toy store.”

“…Huh? You mean it’s a replica?!”

Lin Wenbin swallowed hard.

After confirming the shack had only one exit, Lu Cheng kicked the door open and stormed inside.

“Don’t move! Police! Hands on your heads, squat down!”

One hand gripped the pistol, the other flashed his badge. His tucked-in shirt revealed the gleam of handcuffs at his waist.

The holy trinity of intimidation—gun, badge, cuffs.

Lin Wenbin rushed in behind him. “Nobody move! Police!”

He had no gun, so he brandished his badge in one hand and handcuffs in the other. His heart was racing, but damn, it felt cool.

The sudden intrusion nearly gave the thieves heart attacks.

The word “police” alone drained the blood from their faces.

The young couple collapsed straight onto the floor.

Two others—Glasses and Sanmao—instinctively tried to bolt, but with both officers blocking the doorway, their hope evaporated instantly.

Brother Ji, the mustached man from the bus, was calmer than the rest. They had five men against only two cops—numbers were on their side.

But then his eyes locked on the black barrel pointed at him.

Opportunity? What opportunity? That was a gun!

Forty-odd years of living, and it was the first time he’d ever stared down the muzzle of a real firearm.

His knees wobbled.

Seriously? They were just petty thieves—why send armed cops after them?

And how the hell had their hideout been discovered?!

Brother Ji squinted at Lu Cheng’s floral shirt and face. Recognition hit. His stomach dropped.

Lu Cheng barked coldly, “Squat down! Hands on your heads! Refuse, and I’ll treat it as resisting arrest. I’ll shoot without hesitation!”

At the word “shoot,” all five shrank like quails, dropping to the ground, hands locked over their heads. Not one dared meet his eyes.

Lin Wenbin stole a glance at Lu Cheng. Damn, this kid with a fake gun looks scarier than most with a real one.

Lu Cheng tossed him a pair of cuffs. “Start tying them.”

After cuffing Brother Ji and Glasses, they ran out.

Lin Wenbin looked around helplessly. “What now?”

Lu Cheng calmly pulled out a bundle of heavy-duty zip ties from his pocket. “Use these.”

Lin Wenbin gawked. This kid came prepared.

One by one, the thieves were bound. The zip ties were even more effective than cuffs—tight, unbreakable, completely immobilizing.

Where’d he get them? A hardware shop next to the toy store. Thick, reinforced, impossible to break with human strength, especially with hands tied behind the back.

“Brother Lin, search them. Make sure no blades are hidden.”

“Right.”

While Lin Wenbin frisked them, Lu Cheng gathered up their loot and tools.

The shack was a treasure trove—thirty-odd phones, more than twenty wallets stripped of cash, piles of jewelry and gold. Around seven to eight thousand yuan in loose cash.

In one corner lay a mountain of fresh copper cable, easily a thousand catties. Even at the cheapest price, it was worth over twenty grand.

Lu Cheng nodded in satisfaction. Plenty of evidence. Minimum two years in prison.

Lin Wenbin whistled under his breath. So this is the weight of a theft syndicate. Worth every second.