Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 227 Accidental collision
Qian Wei discovered that the thieves in Zhuzhou were bolder than those in Zhangzhou.

At least in Zhangzhou, he had never seen a thief dare to target a package. While the other person was putting the package on the motorcycle and turning to move other packages, this guy would reach out and slip the topmost package into his pocket.

The small cardboard box, barely the size of a palm, seemed to startle the thief with its weight. He quickly stuffed the package into his clothes and tucked it under his arm, then continued walking as if nothing had happened.

The unfortunate guy, who had bent down to move the other packages from the ground, turned around to find, to his astonishment, that one of his packages was missing in just two or three seconds. He looked around but couldn't find anything wrong, and with a bewildered expression, he began to wonder if he had misremembered.

Qian Wei ignored the careless fellow. Seeing the thief quicken his pace, he rushed forward and grabbed the thief's shoulder.

"Kid, you think you can just walk away after stealing something?"

The thief's face visibly turned panicked, and he stubbornly said, "Who are you? Why are you touching me? Take your hand off me right now!"

"Heh... You won't admit it until you see the coffin, huh? Stealing things right under my nose, you think you can disregard the police?" Qian Wei sneered, then turned to the unfortunate man who had lost his package and said, "Sir, was your package stolen? Don't bother looking, it's hidden in this guy's arms! When I take him to the police station later, you can be my witness. If you don't have time, you can record a video for me now."

"Police...Police?"

"police?"

To Qian Wei's slight surprise, both the thief and the victim were startled, and their expressions became very tense.

"Ok?"

Qian Wei narrowed his eyes.

"No...no need, right? It's a small matter. It's enough to get the things back. There's no need to make such a fuss, is there?"

The victim gave a dry laugh and waved to Qian Wei, saying, "Officer, just have him return the package to me. It's not worth troubling you to make such a big deal out of such a small matter. Besides, maybe he's just being immature, so let's give him another chance."

As she spoke, the victim snatched her package back from the thief's arms, glared at him fiercely as if to remember his face, then smiled apologetically at Qian Wei, showing no intention of cooperating with him.

While it's true that many victims refuse to be police witnesses because they find it troublesome or risk getting into trouble, or because they feel that police stations are unlucky and don't want to go there, Qian Wei had never seen anyone like this person who would actually speak up for a thief.

He might not actually believe that the thief is forgivable; he might just simply not want to deal with the police.

So, this guy's identity...

Qian Wei remained calm and didn't continue to persuade him. He simply held the man's hand, preventing him from putting the package back on the motorcycle: "Check it! Don't underestimate these thieves' methods. Be careful, the contents might have been switched. Oh, by the way, what did you buy inside?"

The man's face visibly darkened, and he waved his hand, forcing a dry laugh, "N-nothing... I just bought some gold bars as an investment. Gold prices have been rising all the time, so investing in gold is more profitable than putting money in the bank. Hehe..."

"Gold."

Qian Wei nodded in agreement, saying, "Gold prices have risen sharply recently, so it's definitely an investment avenue. But something this valuable should be opened and inspected. By the way, how heavy are the gold bars? Even a few grams of this stuff is a huge amount, so we shouldn't let the thief who stole it get away with it, right?"

Qian Wei looked at the victim, then at the ashen-faced thief.

Upon learning that he had stolen a box of gold bars, the thief was filled with regret, frustration, and disappointment. He wondered how long he would have to spend in jail if he hadn't been caught by that damned cop...

"Multiple? This..."

The victim paused for a moment, seemingly bewildered.

Qian Wei and the thief were also stunned. Did they not even know how heavy the gold bars they bought were?

Passersby stopped to watch the spectacle. Seeing the victim's expression, they were all puzzled. Was this guy just careless, or had he bought too much and couldn't remember?

Seeing this, the victim, who had a slightly chubby face and a large black mole on her right cheek, quickly forced a smile and said, "You're right, let's check it then. Oh, just a moment, I'll tear off the tape."

Unfortunately, perhaps because the contents were valuable, the small cardboard box was tightly wrapped in layers of tape. Even the tape wasn't the special kind with jewelry store or large, reputable brand logos; it was just ordinary transparent tape. The man tried to tear it open for a while without success. Then, he opened his coat, took out a bunch of keys from his waist, selected a pair of nail clippers with folding clippers, and forcefully ripped open all the layers of tape.

Porsche?

Qian Wei noticed a Porsche car key hanging on his belt as well. But he didn't say anything. He just held the thief's hand and watched quietly as the man opened the cardboard box and pulled out two heavy gold bars, each about the size of a palm, from the tightly wrapped newspaper.

"Oh, everything's still here! It's okay, I'm lucky."

The victim breathed a sigh of relief, looked up at Qian Wei and smiled, "Officer, can I go now? I have some troublesome things at home. How about I leave you my phone number so you can call me when you need to take my statement?"

"Okay! I'll have to trouble you then."

Qian Wei had already mentally marked this person as important, but he remained outwardly calm. He nodded, took out his phone, wrote down the number the person had provided, and dialed it. Only after hearing a reply from the person's pocket did he end his probing.

Waving his hand to indicate that he had something to do and could leave first, Qian Wei decided to take the thief back to the police station first.

Including this one, we've finally caught ten thieves. That was really tough!
The despondent thief didn't struggle anymore. After all, it was just theft; there was no need to add any other labels to his name. Besides, he wasn't stupid. The victim had questionable circumstances, and it was uncertain whether he would testify.

"Mimi?"

He hadn't taken two steps when Qian Wei suddenly spotted the cat perched on the railing ahead. He knew it all too well, especially that disdainful look in its eyes; Qian Wei was willing to bet there wasn't another one like it in the world. "Meow!"

Lin Ge, unusually, called out to Qian Wei. But his gaze remained fixed on the victim who was muttering something under his breath, tying seven or eight packages to the back rack of his motorcycle while glancing at Qian Wei's back out of the corner of his eye.

Qian Wei glanced back and laughed in realization, "That guy is your target? That makes sense, you've always looked down on small cases like catching thieves. Heh... Looks like I've accidentally found you a big job?"

Lin Ge ignored him and watched as the man finished packing the package, got on his motorcycle, and instead of leaving immediately, took out his phone and started making a call.

"Hey? Old Song."

"I was terrified, I ran into a cop."

"It's alright, I wasn't caught. I just said I was buying gold bars as an investment, what's there to suspect?"

"Yeah, I'll be right back. I have four or five more packages arriving today, so I'll have to go back to them later. It's fine, I'm just picking up a package normally, what could they possibly notice?"

"Okay, you'll calm me down tonight."

The man spoke briefly and quietly on the phone. With no one around paying attention, he lowered his guard. Little did he know that a cat nearby had such sensitive ears that it had heard everything he said clearly.

He glanced back at the plainclothes policeman who was pulling out a cigarette and talking to the thief while smoking, grunted, started his motorcycle, and sped away without looking back.

At this moment, Zhang Ke also came running over from a great distance, taking a roundabout route.

"Hey, Brother Qian!"

After greeting Qian Wei, he chuckled and joked, "You've opened for business again? Why are you so interested in catching thieves? With all this, the people of Zhuzhou should thank you for bringing them business; they might even get you a banner of appreciation!"

Stop talking nonsense!

When it comes to serious matters, Qian Wei is not that carefree. He waved to Zhang Ke and pointed at Lin Ge, saying, "Mimi has discovered a problem. There's something going on with the person who was robbed earlier. Anyway, I won't pry into your affairs. I'll leave the rest to you."

Qian Wei then recounted what had just happened to Zhang Ke, focusing on the man's appearance, his unusual emotions, the unusual delivery, the motorcycle's model and license plate, and the fact that he also owned a Porsche, among other things.

"Investing in gold bars?"

Zhang Ke's expression turned serious.

He hadn't forgotten what his mission was today. The case Xie Changjun was in charge of initially involved a victim who was swindled out of a large number of gold bars under the guise of gold investment, using express delivery as the means of transport.

Zhuzhou City was an important address for her to send out packages.

"What a coincidence! Just as he was transferring the stolen goods, a pickpocket snatched them away, and then Brother Qian caught him red-handed? That guy... he's a bit unlucky!"

Zhang Ke was somewhat gloating, while Qian Wei next to him couldn't help but shake his head. He never imagined that his efforts to catch thieves would lead him to become involved with a fraud ring, and that he would even be lucky enough to obtain an important clue that the police were struggling with.

The thief next to him was also dumbfounded.

Stealing things, and stealing from a criminal gang? According to Hong Kong movie plots, wouldn't that get you hunted down to death by the underworld? It turns out that such coincidences really do exist in the world—an important item being stolen, causing a stir in the underworld and all that.

This guy was quick-witted; his eyes lit up and he raised his hand, saying, "Officer, does this count as redeeming myself through meritorious service? If there's a really big case, and I played a crucial role, could I get a reduced sentence for good behavior? Oh, and you guys have to protect me! I only tried to steal a few things and didn't even succeed; I don't need to be silenced, right? Or... or maybe I should stay in jail for a few days while you solve the case first?"

Qian Wei and Zhang Ke were speechless after hearing this, while Lin Ge next to them was also exasperated. Has this guy been watching too many Hong Kong dramas?

"Shut your mouth and shut your ears! Who gave you permission to ask about these things? Believe me, I'll kill you right now!"

Qian Wei glared back menacingly; he was still itching to take action! Last time he caught thieves, he beat these guys until their faces were covered in bruises, but this time the guy was being too honest, leaving him no opportunity or excuse to strike.

"hey-hey……"

The clever thief pulled his hand in front of his mouth, making a zipper-like closing motion.

Zhang Ke ignored Qian Wei's ridiculous hobbies. After finishing his business, he asked Qian Wei for the police officer's number from the Zhuzhou Public Security Bureau, called him, got Xie Changjun's number, and quickly informed him of what had happened.

"You mean, you saw the suspect?"

In the residential compound, Xie Changjun, who was still negotiating with the property management, was dumbfounded. He hadn't even opened his shop yet, and the Zhangzhou police force, led by that cat, already knew exactly what the suspect looked like.

They even saw two gold bars with their own eyes, so there was no doubt that the person was a prime suspect.

"Heh! This really came without any effort! I'll go there right now. There are definitely security cameras at the nearby courier station, and they must have captured his face! Add to that the crucial clues of the motorcycle license plate and the Porsche, and he can't escape now!"

Xie Changjun didn't alert the enemy and simply left the residential area with two auxiliary police officers.

(End of this chapter)