Chapter 32: The Arrest

Xu Qinghe quickly registered her information and filed a police report. The next steps involved gathering detailed information, visiting the crime scene, and reviewing surveillance footage to establish the facts.

Reviewing the footage serves two purposes. First, it determines whether the phone was truly stolen or simply misplaced, as the complainant might only subjectively believe it was stolen. Second, if the phone was indeed stolen, it checks whether the surveillance captured the suspect's criminal act.

In the current era, phone tracking is limited by technical capabilities and scope of application. Furthermore, the approval process is extremely complex and cannot be applied to simple mobile phone theft cases. With so many people losing their phones across the country, if every lost phone were tracked, let alone the accuracy, the technical investigation team at the municipal bureau would be overwhelmed even if they never slept. Therefore, local police stations still rely on traditional investigative methods for phone theft: checking surveillance and conducting door-to-door canvassing.

For the formal investigation, Zhu Yue specifically assigned a police car to Han Ling.

"Let’s take the police car; I’ll drop you back later. It’s more convenient," Han Ling said, seeing that Xu Qinghe was about to drive herself.

Xu Qinghe agreed: "Fine."

The three of them got into the car and left Wanglou Police Station, heading toward Fengshanghui. Han Ling was driving, with Zhang Silei in the passenger seat—auxiliary police officers are not permitted to drive police vehicles.

"Ms. Xu, what are the specific details? How do you know the phone was lost at Fengshanghui?" asked Zhang Silei.

When he first met Xu Qinghe, he had indeed been struck by her beauty, but a woman of her caliber would never cross paths with him; their worlds were too far apart. Besides, he was already happily married, so he simply appreciated her from a man's perspective. If there were any romantic potential, Han Ling would be the one with the better chance.

Xu Qinghe described the situation. She realized her phone was missing after she had already left Fengshanghui. Recalling the events, she remembered sitting outside the mall to rest after shopping, at which point a woman came up to ask for directions. While the woman was asking, she faintly sensed a second person approaching on her left, but she didn't pay it any mind. Now that she thought about it, it was highly likely that the two had worked together to steal her phone.

Zhang Silei understood. He noted that they would know for sure once they checked the surveillance. He then asked if she had tried calling the phone.

"I borrowed a passerby's phone to call, but it was turned off," Xu Qinghe replied.

Suddenly, Han Ling spoke up: "Since you borrowed a phone, why didn't you call the police immediately? Instead, you came to the station in person."

Xu Qinghe answered: "By the time I borrowed the phone, I was already very close to the police station."

Han Ling said nothing further.

Upon arriving at Fengshanghui, the pair checked the exterior surveillance. The footage captured the spot where Xu Qinghe had been resting quite clearly. Xu Qinghe’s suspicions were correct; it was indeed a two-person operation, with one distracting her while the other snatched the phone. It had been an easy theft; the phone was partially exposed from her jeans pocket, and could be pinched out with two fingers.

Having confirmed the situation, Han Ling called the station to officially register the case. The next step was to conduct a dragnet based on the surveillance footage, gradually narrowing down the suspect's range of activity and immediately capturing any clear, close-up images found along the way.

The surveillance coverage at Fengshanghui was limited. Police academy training taught the video tracking method: connecting points to form lines, and lines to form a complete picture, following the suspects' path bit by bit until they either disappeared or reached their destination (their residence).

"Let's go, we're heading back."

Han Ling drove Xu Qinghe back to Wanglou Police Station, advising her to leave alternative contact information and go home to wait, promising to notify her immediately if there were any developments. Xu Qinghe did not linger; she thanked them and left.

Han Ling went to report to Zhu Yue, who, upon learning the situation, added two more investigators. He instructed the four of them to use the surveillance footage to lock in the suspects' general residential area as soon as possible. Once the location was pinned down—even if it was just a general area—they could find them in a short time through canvassing. This was traditional criminal investigation, testing the endurance and stamina of the officers.

The four set out for Fengshanghui, starting from the point where the suspects vanished. Surveillance is generally divided into three types: public security networks, which are the precursor to the "Skynet" system; private surveillance, which is the most important auxiliary for police investigations; and traffic surveillance, usually used for vehicle investigations. Except for the public security network, which they had permission to access, the others required coordination, though the process was not difficult.

After the tasks were assigned, the four split into two groups. At this moment, Han Ling asked Zhang Silei to wait a moment, saying he needed to go back to Fengshanghui, without mentioning why. Zhang Silei did not ask questions and waited at the small intersection where the suspects had disappeared. The street ahead was lined with private cameras, and they would need to communicate with each shop one by one. Normal business owners would not refuse; there was no reason to antagonize the police.

Han Ling returned to Fengshanghui and pulled the surveillance footage again. It wasn't just from today, but from the past week. He watched quickly. Counting today, Xu Qinghe had appeared at the same spot three times. It was reasonable to suspect that she had come to Fengshanghui specifically to have her phone stolen. Within the jurisdiction of Wanglou Police Station, the rate of theft at Fengshanghui was quite high.

At this moment, Han Ling was convinced that this woman was trying to get close to him. Was it a false police report? No, because the phone had truly been stolen.

"How did she know that thefts frequently occur at Fengshanghui? How did she know I would be at the station and not out on patrol? And how could she guarantee that I would be the one in charge of the investigation? Was she just banking on luck?" Han Ling pondered.

Perhaps it was luck, or perhaps she had an acquaintance at the station; there were over a hundred people at Wanglou.

"Fine, I'll play along and see what she's really after."

The surveillance investigation lasted two days. Eventually, the suspects' location was narrowed down to the vicinity of a residential complex. The team took the surveillance screenshots and canvassed the area, confirming that the two were a couple who lived in the complex.

They staked out the area to make an arrest. At 6:00 PM, the couple walked out, chatting and laughing while preparing to hail a taxi. The four officers closed in from four directions, accelerating as they got closer, and instantly pinned the two to the ground.

"Don't move! Police!"

Public arrests were rare, and the attention of everyone nearby was drawn to the scene.

"Do you know why we're arresting you?" one of the investigators asked coldly after putting them in handcuffs and pulling them up.

The two were surprisingly compliant, not daring to resist, their heads hung low in silence.

"I asked you a question! Are you mute?!"

The man finally spoke: "I... I know. Stealing a phone."

They were taken back to the station for interrogation. They had criminal records and were habitual offenders. The case wasn't over yet; the phone hadn't been recovered. Through interrogation, they learned the phone had already been sold. Han Ling and Zhang Silei immediately rushed to the phone shop where the stolen goods were fenced, with no time to catch their breath.

"That woman... just you wait."

Han Ling felt a sense of resentment toward Xu Qinghe. However, this behavior didn't necessarily waste police resources; if those two hadn't stolen from Xu Qinghe, they would have stolen from someone else. Their capture was only a matter of time.

If he told his colleagues he suspected the phone was lost on purpose, they wouldn't believe him and might even think he was losing his mind. Given Han Ling's cautious nature, he wouldn't say a word to anyone until he figured out Xu Qinghe's true motives.