Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 49 Receiving Orders
The autumn air is crisp and clear, with a refreshing breeze.

Early in the morning, Chen Shu arrived at his office at the Zhongshan Institute. After cleaning it up, he made himself a cup of instant coffee as usual.

He adjusted his posture, comfortably leaning back on the genuine leather sofa he had bought at a flea market for over a thousand yuan in the office, and slowly sipped his coffee.

At eight o'clock sharp, I made a phone call to Zhu Chaoran.

"Beep beep beep beep."

The phone rang for a long time and no one answered.

"Beep beep beep beep."

"Hey, Brother Shu? I'm still in bed. Are you at work? What's up?" Zhu Chaoran's groggy voice came through the receiver.

Chen Shu said calmly, "Fatty, at least set a few more alarms on your phone. Don't you have any shame about constantly making me call to wake you up?"

"Hey, Brother Shu, it's almost the end of the month. We've met all our targets. I just want to relax a bit." Zhu Chaoran spoke his mind freely to Chen Shu.

Chen Shu was somewhat helpless, but his style of doing things wasn't the kind that focused on people clocking in and out at work, or that paid attention to cleanliness and tidiness all the time.

As long as the targets are met, or if they are serious and focused when on a mission, he will still give them some leeway during their free time.

“The police station called me last night. They’ve received a lot of reports of electric bicycle thefts lately, and they’ve sent us out to check things out these past few days.”

Ma Wei, the deputy director of Zhongshan Police Station, is responsible for the station's crime-fighting efforts and is Chen Shu's direct superior.

"Okay, I'll be right over."

Upon hearing that it was an assignment from his superior and that there was indeed a reason for it, Zhu Chaoran didn't hesitate and readily agreed over the phone, his lazy tone vanishing.

Although Zhu Chaoran is young and occasionally likes to slack off, he still proves capable when it matters. He has the drive and energy that young people should have.

"Okay, I'll wear casual clothes today."

"receive."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shu got up, walked to his desk, turned on his computer, logged into the law enforcement case handling system, and began reviewing the interrogation records of electric bicycle theft cases received by the Zhongshan Police Station recently.

According to numerous testimonies, most of the thefts occurred between midnight and 6 a.m., usually at secluded road corners or in urban villages, and the vehicles involved were mostly older, medium-to-large-sized electric scooters.

With manufacturers' technological advancements, the anti-theft technology of new electric bicycles is constantly evolving. For example, the GPS system on modern electric bicycles is now soldered directly onto the motherboard. If a thief wants to remove the GPS, they must disconnect the power, and are better off pushing the bicycle away or throwing it into a van.

This is likely one of the reasons why most of the reported cases are concentrated on older models of electric bicycles.

Currently, there are three methods for stealing electric bicycles.

The first method involves unlocking the electric scooter using technical means or by force to connect to the power source and ride away directly. This method primarily targets older, technologically outdated electric scooters.

The second method involves simply throwing the car into a van and driving it away. This type of theft is usually accompanied by a coordinated criminal chain.

The most outrageous case was when the owner came to report the theft in the morning, saying their electric scooter had been stolen the previous night. We discovered through the owner's GPS software that the vehicle had actually ended up in some remote corner of a neighboring province.

The third method involves stealing the battery, leaving the vehicle untouched. The most valuable part of an electric scooter is its battery. The scooter itself is mostly made of plastic, bulky, inconvenient to move, and not very valuable, so some thieves simply discard it.

After reviewing the statements, Chen Shu selected cases in which the suspects appeared in the surveillance videos.

After reviewing some of the surveillance footage, he identified two men who had committed multiple crimes together. Because the crimes all occurred in the middle of the night, and both men were wearing baseball caps, the surveillance footage could not clearly show their facial features.

Fortunately, one of the men was wearing a long-sleeved shirt with a prominent cartoon logo (Doraemon) when he committed the crime during this period, so he could be initially identified as the perpetrator.

The surveillance footage shows that both men appeared on foot. After spotting their target, one acted as lookout while the other used lock-picking techniques.

The crime usually takes about ten minutes. If successful, the two will leave together in a car; if unsuccessful, they will switch to another electric scooter to continue the crime.

Their targets were all old-style electric bicycles.

They are highly skilled and have a well-coordinated team. They basically commit crimes every other day, and if you include those that weren't reported, they probably steal cars every day.

There should be stable downstream buyers.

In the morning, Chen Shu thought about going to the nearby second-hand market and began to organize the brand names and physical characteristics of the stolen electric bicycles mentioned in the record.

After a short while, Zhu Chaoran, dressed in casual clothes, arrived at the office looking refreshed.

Chen Shu glanced down at Zhu Chaoran's pants and was somewhat surprised to see they weren't police pants.

"Fatty, it's rare to see you not wearing police trousers today? Did something happen?"

Zhu Chaoran swayed his large waist and turned his hips, a smug smile on his face.
"Brother Shu, my police pants feel a bit tight, they're uncomfortable. Xiaomin bought me new pants this time, they're much more comfortable to wear."

"Alright, as long as you're comfortable. Now I need to... wait! Who? Xiaomin, which Xiaomin? That Xiaomin!" Chen Shu jumped up in surprise.

It seems I've discovered a new continent?

He stared wide-eyed at the fat man in front of him, whose chubby face was flushed with embarrassment and whose fat waist was twisting.

"Um"

It seems that the last trip to the movie theater turned out to be a lucky accident... Chen Shu felt a little lonely.

"I'm going to continue reviewing the case's video surveillance footage. Here's a list I just compiled of the brand names and physical characteristics of the stolen electric bicycles."

Later, go downstairs to the plainclothes police station and find someone to help you. The two of you can go check out the nearby used electric bicycle shops or repair shops.

Zhu Chaoran took the documents, nodded, and rushed downstairs.

"No matter what, give me a call later!" Chen Shu shouted loudly from behind as Zhu Chaoran walked away in a hurry.

"Know it!"

After Zhu Chaoran left, Chen Shu reviewed all the surveillance footage related to the case provided by the video surveillance team in his office alone, but to no avail.

Judging from the distance, the way the two people walk and run in the video is agile and fluid. Coupled with the cartoon drawings on their clothes, it is very likely that it is Chen Shu, a young man in his teens or twenties, pacing around in the office.

Working out at midnight, I'll probably need to catch up on sleep in the morning. I'll likely be out and about this afternoon. These days, young people's activities are either playing mobile games or going to internet cafes in pairs to play PC games.

Based solely on the conditions of "being in their late teens or early twenties" and "going to the internet cafe together," it wouldn't be easy to investigate at a nearby internet cafe. We can't just waste our time.
Chen Shu took out a cigarette, lit it, and muttered to himself, "I need to go and find out what's going on with Old Zheng at the secondhand market."

(End of this chapter)