Accidental Hero: The Rookie Who Outshines the Force - Chapter 67

At the entrance of Jin’an Residential Complex, a number of returning residents were stopped. Police were conducting an operation inside.

A small crowd whispered among themselves. What on earth was happening in the complex?

Third floor.

Luo Yong pointed at the man with the “Crossing Dragon” tattoo. “What’s the story with his injuries?”

He glanced at Lu Cheng, who was unscathed. This didn’t look like a struggle against arrest. Could it be… Lu Cheng had taken matters into his own hands?

“He didn’t want to obey. Insisted on a one-on-one fight, so I obliged him,” Lu Cheng shrugged casually.

The “Crossing Dragon,” Kun-ge, lifted an eyelid, glanced at Lu Cheng, then lowered his head again. Face and pride utterly shattered, he resigned himself to going along quietly. Better to return to the sewing machine than to argue.

“One-on-one?”

Luo Yong’s expression twisted. A thief challenging a cop to a duel? That was… new.

He kicked at Kun-ge lightly. “Kun-ge, huh? I’m adding assault on an officer to your charges. No objections, right?”

Kun-ge: …

It was mutual combat, wasn’t it? How did it become assaulting a cop?

But as a lone thief, what could he argue?

Luo Yong turned to Lu Cheng. “Don’t do stuff like that in the future. Way too reckless.”

Lu Cheng replied, “Captain Luo, there’s a payoff. Won the duel, and Kun-ge spilled the location of the other gang’s hideout.”

…

Soon, a rural-urban bus stopped at the entrance of Jin’an Complex.

Residents stared in curiosity. A bus? Here? What was happening?

The bus doors aligned with the main gate. From the third floor of Building 7, Room 306, a gang leader stepped out first, followed by nine thieves, all hands bound behind their backs, walking in perfect order.

Luo Yong left a squad behind to inventory stolen goods and watch the prisoners.

He led the remaining two squads, with Lu Cheng at the front, to the neighboring complex.

Kun-ge had honored his bet and revealed the rival gang’s hideout—it was in the next complex.

Lü Zhengbo drove, with Chen Weimin arriving on the scene as well.

Both station chiefs, though now sporting beer bellies, had once been fierce in their youth. They patted the guns at their waists and joined Luo Yong’s team.

Seeing Lu Cheng unharmed, Chen Weimin scolded, “Can’t you let us breathe even once? Heard you wanted to storm the other gang’s hideout solo?”

“Go back and write a two-thousand-character self-reflection,” he added.

Lu Cheng said nothing. He could see the worry in Chen Weimin’s eyes and felt a little warmth in his chest.

They entered the neighboring complex, heading for the eastern building—Rooms 405 and 406 on the fourth floor.

The team split into two groups, moving quietly up separate staircases.

Within fifty meters, Lu Cheng’s skill [Flycatcher] activated automatically.

Five flies glowed green and blue, hovering in Rooms 405 and 406.

Eight in total—perfect.

Two glowed blue, the rest green.

The blue indicated two heavier-hitting thieves.

A pattern emerged: all the hideouts had curtains drawn, avoiding sunlight.

Before moving in, Chen Weimin, Lü Zhengbo, and Luo Yong exchanged glances with Lu Cheng, as if silently asking for confirmation.

The other officers looked stunned. Two station chiefs and a captain, checking with a trainee before action?

Lu Cheng nodded, and the operation began.

The old complex’s doors were thin, no stronger than wooden boards.

The two chiefs and Luo Yong decided to breach directly—take them all in one strike.

BANG!

The door flew open. The thieves inside hadn’t reacted before guns were pointed at their heads.

“Don’t move! Police!”

“Hands on your heads! Squat down!”

The lines were standard police procedure, but storming a den of thieves was rare.

Lu Cheng stayed at the very back, letting the rest of the team subdue the thieves before he strolled in.

Chen Weimin personally handcuffed one thief, then holstered his gun. He hadn’t felt this thrill in ages. The Type 54 hadn’t fired a shot yet—it was practically rusty.

Still, the gun was a deterrent. If it ever came to shots fired, things could get very serious.

Chen Weimin glanced at Lu Cheng, thinking about how the boy carried a fake gun on his waist, pretending it was real.

The previous ten thieves had been subdued with fake guns. Yet, it worked every time.

Lin Wenbin tried the same tactic but was instantly exposed, almost in serious trouble.

People were just incomparable.

For this operation, five or six officers from the Sanli Bridge station also joined. Naturally, they got a share of the credit. Delightful.

The thieves inside were caught napping, unaware that police had descended from above. Groggy and confused, they were quickly handcuffed.

They were baffled. The past few days had been quiet—they’d stayed in hiding. How could they be caught now?

Seeing the police pour in, the fully awake gang felt an icy chill run through them.

One thief’s eyes darted around, feigning innocence.

“P-Police officer, we’re just ordinary citizens! Are you in the wrong apartment?”

Another chimed in, “That’s right, Arthur! We didn’t break the law—why handcuff us?”

Luo Yong, used to this routine, sneered.

“Shut up! Think we’d arrest you without evidence?”

“We’ve been watching you for a long time. If you confess voluntarily, you may get leniency. If not, charges will max out—ten years or more, don’t expect a day less!”

His warning struck fear into some of the gang members.

“A-Arthur, I confess!”

“Call the officer!”

“Officer, I confess…”

Two thieves began confessing their crimes.

One officer activated the body camera, another took notes.

Case after case was confessed.

But within minutes, Lu Cheng frowned, as did Luo Yong.

No thief was truly innocent.

Some appeared meek and scared, but were cunning as foxes.

They confessed in detail—locations, times, amounts, even methods—but within minutes, each admitted only a handful of crimes.

All the stolen goods were claimed to be spent—eaten, drunk, enjoyed. Nothing left.

It wasn’t confession—it was deliberate concealment, counting on police having no proof.

No proof meant little jail time. They’d be out in days.

Luo Yong scowled. “You expect me to believe eight of you only did this much?”

“Officer, it’s true! We’re timid! We regret it immediately after, won’t dare again!”

Chen Weimin and Lü Zhengbo exchanged knowing looks.

These two appeared honest but were sly as monkeys—never spoke the whole truth.

Such situations were common. Some thieves confessed only recent acts, though their total crimes could qualify them as kingpins.

Luo Yong sighed. Without proof, there was nothing to do—just take them back for now.

Lu Cheng had two [Flycatcher] signals hovering over the confessing thieves, glowing blue.

Clearly, these two were the ringleaders.

He squinted, noticing one thief’s head bowed, hands over his head, but eyes furtively watching the police searching the inner room.

Lu Cheng took a step forward, heading into the room.