Chapter 52: The Difficult Shell (Please Continue Reading)

After copying the report, Ao Xi went to hand it to Carlis. Carlis took it and placed it by his side. “Sit down, Ao Xi, I’d like to talk to you.”

“Alright,” Ao Xi replied, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

“Do you know, working in Chinatown is something many colleagues envy. Most people here are diligent and kind, well-educated, and it’s pleasant to get along with them. There are also many great restaurants. Serious incidents are rare, it’s relatively safe compared to other areas, and during random inspections you don’t have to worry about drivers suddenly pulling out a gun and opening fire.

So when I heard the Major Crimes Unit wanted to transfer you, and you agreed, I was shocked. I hope you can give me a reason.”

The Major Crimes Unit really moves fast, Ao Xi thought. After a moment, he said, “There’s no special reason. I’m still young; I just want to see more of the world.”

“No other reason?”

“None.”

Carlis spread his hands. “With an answer like that, I can’t persuade you. But I still hope you’ll give it more thought. After all, being a police officer is just a job. Life is more important.”

“Alright, I’ll think it over again.”

“I can tell you’re just being perfunctory with me, but that’s fine. Your transfer application needs my signature. I’ll hold on to it for now and give it to you when the time is right.”

“Carlis, come on, give me a reason.”

“You’re just a rookie now. If you go to Major Crimes, you’ll be bullied. Wait until you’re at least a First Class Patrol Officer, then I’ll let you go.”

“That will take a long time.”

“Earn more merits. Promotions come faster that way.”

Ao Xi rolled his eyes, got up to leave, and on his way out took Carlis’s iced Coke.

He twisted off the cap and took a satisfying swig, exhaling a breath of heat. He hadn’t expected the Major Crimes Unit to act so quickly, nor that Carlis would block him.

But Carlis had a point—going as a rookie wasn’t as good as going as a First Class Officer. It wasn’t so urgent after all.

Ao Xi greeted his colleagues and headed out on patrol. Today, he wanted to write more tickets; his recent administrative leave had left him behind on his quota, and Susan had told him to catch up.

He was far behind—catching up would be no easy task.

His eyes darted about as he considered his options. Maybe he could set up a sting with someone. Zhuo Ning? He was a bit reluctant; if she got hit by a car, that would be bad.

Better to call Zong Yiqiang. If he got hit, so be it.

Zong Yiqiang hung up before Ao Xi could finish speaking. What a jerk! No sense of camaraderie!

“Adam388, Teriyaki Madness restaurant on Truman Street has been robbed. Please proceed to investigate.”

“Received. On my way.”

A task had come in. He’d deal with the tickets tomorrow. Feeling justified, Ao Xi decided to postpone the ticket-writing and drove to the reported location.

He arrived at the intersection and got out of the car. A man approached him. “Hello, Officer. I’m James, the restaurant manager. I called the police.”

Ao Xi took out his notebook and wrote down the name. “Alright, Mr. James. Let’s take a look at the scene.”

“Of course, please follow me.”

The two walked to the restaurant’s front door and saw both glass doors smashed, shards scattered everywhere.

“Officer, look—the perpetrator broke our door and entered through here.”

Ao Xi squatted to examine the glass. He saw no bullet holes; it looked like it had been smashed. “Don’t you have a security system?”

“No, we only have surveillance cameras. That’s why the alarm wasn’t triggered last night. We only realized the theft when we came in this morning.”

A security system is like the alarm system banks use—press a button and the police are automatically alerted. For shops and restaurants, it’s much simpler: an infrared emitter and sensor installed behind the door. Once locked, if someone or something blocks the infrared beam, an ear-piercing alarm and flashing lights are triggered.

A more advanced system would have a night-shift operator monitoring the feed, who would call the police in case of a break-in.

Still, such systems only go so far. Usually, they’re enough to scare off small-time thieves. If not, well, wait for the police to handle it.

“May I take a look inside?”

“Of course.”

Ao Xi nodded, carefully stepping over the broken glass into the restaurant. The tables and chairs inside were untouched—the thief was surprisingly civilized.

The manager shrugged. “Our main loss is the cash register and the money inside.”

Following the manager’s gesture, Ao Xi saw the cash register had been knocked off the counter and smashed open, the cash drawer pulled out and empty.

“How much was lost? Why not remove all the cash at closing?”

“Not much, just some small bills—maybe a few dozen dollars,” the manager explained. “We’ve been open a long time and never had anything like this happen, so we got used to leaving some change in the register for the next day. Never thought it would make us a target.”

No trouble before—so they got careless.

Ao Xi was about to say something when he noticed a note stuck to the register. He walked over and saw a sticky note that read: “Sorry, need money for drugs. Won’t come back again.”

This addict had quite the manners.

The manager had already seen it and could only give Ao Xi a helpless smile.

Together, they went upstairs to the office to review the surveillance footage. The manager was well prepared; he’d already saved the relevant clips to a USB drive.

He plugged the USB into the computer. The footage matched Ao Xi’s expectations: in the middle of the night, a man dressed all in black, hooded and masked, entered with a hammer, broke the door, shone a flashlight straight to the counter, smashed the register to the ground, cracked it open, grabbed the cash, and left—all in a matter of moments.

“A seasoned pro—quite experienced,” Ao Xi remarked.

It’s like how people say that killing is easy, but disposing of the body is hard. Pulling off a quick, effective burglary with a guaranteed haul isn’t easy either. It requires scoping out the place, planning routes, preparing tools, disguising oneself, and having an escape strategy.

To become a habitual offender takes plenty of practice—and a heart tough enough not to fear setbacks.

America’s environment is uniquely suited for this; no one takes jail seriously. Arrest, release, repeat—it’s all too easy for career criminals to accumulate a wealth of experience.

“Do you still need this USB drive?”

After getting a no, Ao Xi happily slipped it into his pocket. He’d upload the footage to the department system later—the USB was his, a windfall worth dozens of dollars.

Who came out ahead—the thief or Ao Xi? Hard to say.

After bidding the manager goodbye, Ao Xi was preparing to get in his car when another man approached. He managed a store not far down the street and had been burglarized the same night.

Ao Xi went to check. The methods were almost identical, and the security footage confirmed it was the same person. This store, however, had fared worse.

The entire cash register had been taken—a newer, all-in-one touchscreen model that handled both in-person and online orders, valuable and high-end.

This time, Ao Xi was out-earned by the thief.