Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 272 - Chapter 272 Chapter 265 The Gentleman Thief

Chapter 272: Chapter 265: The Gentleman Thief? Chapter 272: Chapter 265: The Gentleman Thief? He didn’t end up seeing Huasheng Tang tease the little Pekingese, but he did learn about this matter.

After Zheng Tan returned to Chuhua University, he didn’t head straight for the courtyard in the East District. Instead, he went to a small grove on the edge of the campus, switched on his mobile phone, and sent a text message to Little Luo, mentioning Zhang Dong’s phone theft. He listed a few examples he had personally witnessed and even explicitly mentioned Zhang Dong’s company.

After sending the text message and turning off his phone, Zheng Tan finally felt relieved and headed home to have Jiao Ma wash his paws. He had done what needed to be done, and as for how things would develop, that was up to Little Luo. Although the guy seemed like an idiot, being in this line of work proved he wasn’t lacking in intelligence.

Even though Little Luo was mentally exhausted when he got back, he couldn’t fall asleep. The night is the most emotional time for humans, too quiet, leading to an excess of thoughts, especially after drinking and being lectured by a senior colleague. It was difficult not to dwell on things. He knew where his personality fell short. He wasn’t confused; he just often didn’t know how to reject people.

Just as Little Luo was starting to wonder if he was really failing at life, his mobile phone rang. It was a text message alert.

He couldn’t think of anyone who would be sending a text at this hour. If it was urgent business from the station, they should have called directly. As for text message senders, maybe it was the telecom operator?

But when Little Luo picked up his phone and saw a phone number with four sixes on the screen, he was puzzled.

It wasn’t the operator? A wrong message? Or a scam message?

As soon as he opened it, Little Luo’s gloom was swept away. He sat up and read the content of the message carefully from the beginning. It was packed with information and seemed genuine, not made up.

An anonymous tip?

How did this tipster know his mobile number? Could it have come from someone in the residential area?

In the residential area where Little Luo lived, the aunties often called him for help. Everyone knew his occupation and saw him as an honest and straightforward guy who didn’t ask for anything in return. In other, less pleasant words, he was too naive. So for any issue, they would directly seek him out, which was more effective than calling 110. Even for unclogging a toilet or dealing with a cat’s dental issues, they’d just call his mobile phone. Thus, the aunties in Little Luo’s residential area spent their days cooking, playing mahjong, and chatting about him. They knew his mobile number by heart and could recite it fluently even backward with their eyes closed.

And so, Little Luo thought it was possible that the informant might have learned his number from someone in the residential area.

Regardless, this was a meaningful clue amidst recent events. He took out his notebook to jot down some clues and personal insights to prevent forgetting them, planning to keep an eye on this “Zhang Dong” the next day. Little Luo tried calling the anonymous tipster to gather more details, but the person had already turned off their phone. After a moment’s thought, he sent back a text message expressing his gratitude.

Even though Zheng Tan despised Zhang Dong’s character, he had to acknowledge that Zhang Dong was quite good at hiding. He was careful to conceal his true self when socializing; otherwise, Teacher Xiao Bai would have discovered his real nature long ago.

However, if one were to purposefully tail him, identifying his anomalies was relatively easy.

Zhang Dong owned a house in the old community but had since moved, renting out his old place and taking up residence in an elevator-equipped apartment complex. He had some savings at hand, which allowed for renting in a high-end complex; otherwise, he could not afford it. Most low-level employees would go for cheaper alternatives, choosing between an attic for around a hundred a month, a basement, or those older residential areas.

Zhang Dong was in a bad mood for a while after Teacher Xiao Bai had broken up with him and publicly slapped him, causing embarrassment. When his mood soured, he sought ways to vent. Consequently, he committed several acts and relished the sight of others panicking over their lost items, which made him feel better. Zhang Dong’s penchant for theft wasn’t due to financial desperation or dire circumstances; it was a habit, a psychological spree. Perhaps at the beginning, it was monetary need that drove him, but even after securing a steady job and stable income, every time he felt down, he would still go out, taking things to improve his living conditions as an emotional adjustment.

While Zhang Dong was balancing his emotions and preparing for new prospects, he got caught in the act.

Beyond his thieving abilities, Zhang Dong’s other skills were lacking, like counter-surveillance. Just as with Zheng Tan previously wreaking havoc in his house, the guy had gleaned no clues. Without realizing Little Luo was tailing him, he was bound to get caught. Ermao and the others, on the contrary, could shake off a tracker in the blink of an eye.

After Zhang Dong’s arrest, Little Luo and the team followed the lead to uncover more incriminating evidence against him. This time, Zhang Dong was genuinely in trouble.

What Zhang Dong couldn’t understand was how the police had come to target him. Only a few people knew about his crimes, and there was no reason for them to betray him, as it wouldn’t do them any good either. Others who might be aware of his deeds only knew him by a nickname and had never seen him in person, nor could they link anything to someone like Zhang Dong.

After skillful interrogation, Zhang Dong finally confessed to stealing the 28,000-dollar phone. Little Luo and his team traced the information provided by Zhang Dong to recover the phone and return it to the out-of-town businessman.

The businessman was quite grateful to Little Luo. His daughter had bought him the phone, and he enjoyed showing off his daughter’s filial piety more than boasting about the phone’s cost or high-end status. Later, when the businessman spoke with several junior leaders, he brought up Little Luo’s name multiple times. As a result, when rumors from the police substation reached the station, many speculated that Little Luo’s luck was turning, at the very least, he wouldn’t miss out on a bonus.

On the other side, Zhang Dong, who had admitted defeat, asked to “die with understanding.”

After being arrested, Little Luo was among those responsible for the interrogation. He was the greatest hero of this incident, and only he knew why Zhang Dong fell into the trap.

However, when faced with Zhang Dong’s request, Little Luo did not agree. Many people had asked him before, and Comrade Little Luo was very tight-lipped, not revealing any information about the informant. Although he only knew a phone number, he refused to say anything. He was not very adaptable, but he also knew that sometimes, the information provider had to take risks and could easily be subject to retaliation. Therefore, he chose to keep silent.

Leaders and colleagues also asked him, but they knew Little Luo’s nature. If he didn’t want to speak, no one could pry it out of him. So, after that, no one asked again. However, before Zhang Dong was taken away, in front of Little Luo and several other officers, he mentioned a mobile phone number.

“It’s that person with the four sixes, right?” Zhang Dong looked toward Little Luo and several others. “Only he could have set me up, hey, that person’s thieving skills are much better than mine!”

Zhang Dong had also made up his mind that even if the incidents on Chunning Avenue had nothing to do with the person using that number, he hoped to drag the other party into the mess. That number was a thorn in his side.

Zhang Dong was good at reading facial expressions, and the instant reaction on Little Luo’s face when he mentioned that mobile number sent a chill down Zhang Dong’s spine. Little Luo’s facial expression told Zhang Dong that indeed, he had been set up by the person with the four sixes!

At this moment, Zhang Dong’s feelings were more of fear than hate. It was like standing in pitch darkness, knowing that a pair of eyes hidden in the dark was watching him, waiting to strike a severe blow at any moment. He could not find out who owned those eyes or where the other person was. Until now, he had been tripped up by the mysterious figure twice, maybe three times, considering Xiao Bai’s incident might also involve them.

Who could it be, after all?

An anonymous tip-off. Zhang Dong believed that Little Luo did not know the person. He also believed, which made him even more fearful, that if even the police suspected that person was involved in some cases on Chunning Avenue, they likely dealt with a mysterious and skilled individual who wouldn’t be easily caught. Perhaps no one could ever catch him.

To the end, Zhang Dong never found out who was behind the scenes, framing him. It never crossed his mind that this was merely the result of him offending a cat.

Since Zhang Dong mentioned it in front of several police officers, Little Luo couldn’t avoid pursuing it further, and the others also wanted to make a merit by identifying the user of the four sixes phone number.

However, the brief checks they conducted revealed that the number did not match any individual. As Zhang Dong said, it was a card he found someone to buy, so it wouldn’t have any real user information. Check the consumption and recharge records? Useless. Since being stolen from Zhang Dong, the phone had been recharged three times, once with a recharge card, and the other two times were through indirect recharging; the two parties who did the recharging didn’t even know who was behind the number.

Trace the phone’s location? Those in the station didn’t have that authority. Of course, they could check, but it was a hassle, with procedural matters not being so simple to bypass, requiring appropriate approval procedures. The current user of that number didn’t warrant such attention, and they were also wary of a potential countercharge, as everyone had become afraid of complaints recently. They didn’t want to bring trouble upon themselves by chasing uncertain merits, which might not be worth it. As for some companies that could offer location services, even checking someone’s location required the consent of that person. The user of the number was not foolish enough to agree to that.

Zheng Tan should be relieved that at this time, the intelligence of phones was not that high, and certain location services were not so simple. Otherwise, he would have had more trouble.

The two phones that Zhang Dong had just stolen and were then stolen from him were also inquired about by the young police officers. The pink phone had already been returned to its original owner, but there was no report of the other phone being lost, and it could not be located now.

Since all sides faced difficulty in inquiries and the owner of the number didn’t seem like a bad person, and since Chunning Avenue had become much quieter after Zhang Dong was caught–whether because the main culprit was caught or some criminals there had become cautious and restrained themselves recently–Little Luo and his colleagues had not received any new reports or complaints from the public. The case was considered closed.

During their free time, several colleagues called Little Luo to chat with them.

“What do you guys think, is the person behind this number trying to be an urban vigilante thief? Stealing from thieves and returning goods to their rightful owners and such,” one of them said.

“Do you think this is some new-age Chu Liuxiang combined with a domestic version of Spiderman? Climbing and stealing like a vigilante!” someone scoffed.

“Let’s not continue investigating. The higher-ups haven’t said anything, so why bother? Do you think we’re major case detectives?”

Little Luo sat beside, not joining the conversation. He was wondering why the informant had not turned on the phone and if he planned to give up the card.

Zheng Tan indeed had not had the chance to play with the phone for a few days, as he had run into some trouble. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it at Qidian (NovelFire.net), your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.NovelFire.net.)

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