Chapter 15: Theft Alarm

Han Ling was not very skilled at mediation. After talking for half an hour and seeing that the man wouldn’t relent, he stopped intervening and handed the case over to the seasoned officers in the mediation room—they had more experience.

Mediation was part of his duties, but Han Ling didn’t particularly care. He had encountered far worse people; this crazy woman was merely a minor annoyance.

He moved toward the interrogation room, listening to the voices inside.

“Beating someone—isn’t that illegal? Speak for yourself!”

“You ran a red light and hit someone, and then you beat them! Don’t you realize how serious this is?!”

His colleague was still lecturing, sounding a bit angry. It seemed that even at the police station, the woman’s attitude remained difficult.

As time passed, when the woman learned she was likely to be detained, fear surfaced. Crying erupted in the interrogation room, accompanied by continuous apologies.

Leaning against the wall, Han Ling glanced up at the ceiling of the corridor.

Apologies do not mean true remorse.

He had seen many people cry and beg for mercy before him, but he knew they weren’t truly repentant—they were simply afraid.

Crying and begging were humiliating, stripping away the last shred of dignity.

Compared to these timid cowards who prey on the weak, Han Ling preferred the stoic men who remained calm in the face of death. Such men did not admit fault; they simply accepted defeat.

Those who accept the consequences of their bets at least deserved respect.

Han Ling never believed anyone genuinely admitted their mistakes from the heart. If so, it was an exceedingly rare exception.

The case dragged on until five in the afternoon. Zhu Yue returned and, upon learning the details, praised Han Ling’s work.

The mediation continued. The veteran officers ultimately got the man to agree to a settlement, which simplified matters—now it was just about compensation.

The man demanded ten thousand yuan; the woman, shocked, only offered five hundred.

The gap was enormous.

Zhu Yue told Han Ling that ten thousand was a bit exaggerated but did not reach the level of malicious extortion. Considering medical expenses, lost wages, and emotional damages, the total should be around two to three thousand. It depended on whether the man would insist.

If he held firm and demanded ten thousand, and the woman strongly resisted detention, she would certainly have to pay it.

Eventually, both parties agreed on a compensation of six thousand yuan, ending this farce.

Two punches cost six thousand yuan—no doubt the woman’s heart was bleeding. She had learned a painful lesson; the other party would surely think twice before acting recklessly again.

People’s personalities cannot be changed, and the impulsive behaviors they spawn are equally difficult to alter. But the law can suppress actions—that is the very reason for its existence.

“Xiao Wang and the others are still following up on that fraud case; it’s almost closed. Come, I’ll take you to see it, so you can familiarize yourself with the investigative process and we can grab dinner afterward.”

Zhu Yue was preparing to bring Han Ling to participate in a criminal case.

Just as they reached the lobby, a young man entered, carrying a long object wrapped in a burlap sack, glancing around nervously.

Zhu Yue’s gaze sharpened as he immediately reached for his waist and shouted sharply, “What are you carrying?! Put it down!!”

The voice echoed, causing a stir throughout the hall. All on-duty officers converged.

“Put the item down!”

Startled, the young man promptly dropped the sack.

“Step back!”

The young man obeyed, retreating five meters and saying, “I... I’m here to turn in a gun...”

Han Ling followed behind Zhu Yue, watching as colleagues opened the sack to reveal an old rifle and several packets of ammunition.

Actually, he had guessed what was inside long ago. If the young man had hostile intent, he wouldn’t have dared to stroll openly into the police station carrying a gun wrapped in a sack, so Han Ling remained relatively calm.

Zhu Yue was a seasoned officer and naturally cautious—this was standard protocol. After all, there had been deranged individuals who dared to attack police stations before.

When asked, the young man explained he found the firearm while clearing out his grandfather’s old house. After seeing the police’s public education posters about gun surrender, he worried that keeping it might cause trouble, so he brought it in.

It was a misunderstanding. The station praised the young man’s responsible behavior and even planned to apply for a reward.

Zhu Yue did not dwell on it and led Han Ling out of the police station.

At that moment, a middle-aged man hurried through the door. Upon seeing Zhu Yue and his group, he called out loudly, “Hello, officers! Is this where I report a case?”

“Report a case?” Zhu Yue removed his hand from the car door. “Yes, what’s the situation?”

The man approached and said, “I run a scrap metal recycling station. We’ve had people stealing from us all year. I’m here to report it.”

Hearing it was a theft case, Zhu Yue grew serious. “What was stolen? What’s the value?”

“Metal,” the man answered immediately. After some thought, he estimated, “About five or six thousand yuan worth.”

Five or six thousand yuan exceeded the threshold for filing a theft case and was considered a significant amount, requiring serious attention.

“You said this has been happening for a year?” Zhu Yue asked, puzzled. “Why report it only now?”

The man sighed. “At first, it was small amounts here and there. Later, the monthly total rose to several hundred, but I thought it was an accounting or weighing error, so I didn’t pay much attention. The past two months, losses have exceeded a thousand each month.”

“Also, about a week ago, I lost several dozen kilograms of copper wire. That’s when I realized something was wrong—someone’s definitely stealing from my station. What kind of nonsense is this?”

Zhu Yue nodded slightly and called out to the reception hall, “Xiao Li!”

Soon, a young officer dashed out. “Captain Zhu, what’s the matter?”

Zhu Yue pointed to the middle-aged man. “Register his information. It’s a theft report.”

“Got it.” Xiao Li gestured, “Follow me.”

After the two left, Zhu Yue said, “Forget the fraud case for now. Let’s go check out the scrap recycling station. It’s a new case—you should learn more by asking and observing.”

Han Ling responded with a nod, already instinctively analyzing the situation.

The scrap yard should have private surveillance cameras.

For an entire year of theft targeting only one recycling station, losing five or six thousand yuan without being caught, this said a lot. From a suspect’s perspective, only an insider would have such easy access.

The likelihood was high that the culprit was someone on the inside.

If it was indeed an insider, identifying their method of operation could solve the case.

The middle-aged man soon left the lobby. He had come by car. After brief conversation, both parties drove to the scene.

The recycling station was not far—about a five-minute drive. Otherwise, the owner wouldn’t have come personally to report it; he could simply have called 110.

“Quite a large operation. No wonder a few hundred yuan here and there didn’t raise alarms,” Zhu Yue remarked as they parked and entered the yard.

The scrap recycling station was sizable, likely converted from an old factory building. Various piles of scrap were stacked as far as the eye could see. The air was heavy with a mixed scent of plastic, metal, and cardboard.

Not far off, two German Shepherds were tied up.

The dogs barked fiercely at the strangers, their sharp teeth gleaming menacingly.

The owner shouted loudly; the dogs, unwilling to disobey their master, tucked their tails and returned to their kennels.

Han Ling glanced over. With guard dogs present, the possibility of an outsider committing the theft further diminished, while the odds of an inside job increased.

Once the dogs settled down, the owner replied to Zhu Yue, “It’s not huge—medium-sized for Qingchang. We make about ten thousand yuan a month.”

He was modest, but ten thousand yuan was no small sum. Back in 2009, his regular salary was just over two thousand yuan.

Han Ling took the initiative to ask, “You said ten thousand yuan—is that net after all costs? Including employee wages?”

He noticed three men busy at work nearby.

The owner nodded. “Yes.”

Han Ling continued, “How many employees does the station have in total?”

“Four. And there’s a girl over there,” the owner said.

Han Ling looked over and saw a young girl sorting through scrap cardboard and paper. He hadn’t noticed her earlier due to the cardboard’s obstruction.

She looked quite young, maybe fifteen or sixteen years old.

Anticipating Han Ling’s thoughts, the owner quickly explained, “She’s sixteen; I’ve checked her ID.”

The law forbids employing child labor under sixteen.

Han Ling acknowledged this with a quiet “Oh.”

At that moment, Zhu Yue lowered his voice. “Boss, have you ever suspected any of your employees?”

Han Ling turned his head, seeing that the team leader was already thinking along the same lines.