Indeed, a child of five or six years old looked very tall, and his skills at twenty-five or twenty-six were clearly those of an adult.
Following Hu Jia's instructions, Luo Wenwu found the leader of the city's beggars and secretly investigated several short individuals in the city, but found no suspicious activity from any of them.
After two days of effort, Hu Jia began to doubt himself. Had he gone in the wrong direction?
"I wish I had just left the key lying around carelessly; then it wouldn't have been stolen by mistake." Hu Jia felt a deep sense of guilt about losing the key.
He knew too well the effort everyone had put into finding this key, and now, due to his own momentary oversight, it had been stolen.
He couldn't forgive himself.
"No one could have predicted this would happen. It was a coincidence, so don't blame yourself." Lu Qingqing, seeing his low spirits, would go over to comfort him from time to time.
Indeed, no one had expected a thief who liked to steal boxes. They thought the key was unremarkable, only to be foiled by an inconspicuous pearwood box.
"I've ruined ten years of everyone's efforts." This was what hurt Hu Jia the most. It wasn't just a key; it was related to the shooting case ten years ago, his father's revenge, and everyone's hard work.
"It won't be like that, it won't be like that." This was the first time Lu Qingqing had seen Hu Jia so dejected. He used to be full of confidence and drive when facing any case, but this time, although he appeared energetic on the surface, only Lu Qingqing knew that Hu Jia locked himself in his room every night, and even his usual playful interactions with Xiao Bao had ceased.
The case continued, and the training on the streets also continued. Four days had passed since Hu Jia lost the key.
"Haven't you noticed, the number of reported cases has decreased these past two days?"
"Mm, it seems that thief has had his fill."
"This is getting interesting. If the thief doesn't show up again, will this assessment still continue?"
"I don't know. Maybe this is just for fun."
Guan Jinsong and Zhou Fengjiu chatted as they walked. In the past two days, they hadn't heard anything about the thief, let alone seen any sign of him. While catching the thief was important to them, it was a much bigger deal if this graduation exam were to be canceled because the thief had disappeared.
While the two were idly talking, they saw Zhan Ruoxuan approaching.
"You're not patrolling your area; what are you doing here?" Guan Jinsong teased him. "What, the thief isn't making any moves, so you guys are free too?"
"Free my ass!" Zhan Ruoxuan said with annoyance. "That thief has already been caught."
Huh?
Guan Jinsong and Zhou Fengjiu were surprised. When were they caught? Who caught them?
Zhan Ruoxuan knew they would have that expression and said indignantly, "Tong Meng is really shining now. She's really made a fortune in silence."
Tong Meng?
...
City Police Bureau.
Those who heard the news were arriving one after another.
Hu Jia ran the fastest. He didn't care who caught the thief, nor did he care if the thief was male or female. He cared whether he could recover the stolen items.
Seeing Hu Jia's hurried steps, Tong Meng acted like a proud peacock. "Brother Hu Jia."
It was obvious she was here to show off.
"Mm!" Hu Jia glanced at her without looking, his eyes scanning the surroundings.
Tong Meng's smile stiffened. "That little thief is still being interrogated and hasn't come out yet."
Just as Hu Jia was about to enter, Lu Qingqing walked out.
"Don't bother," Lu Qingqing's tone sounded dejected.
"What's wrong?" Hu Jia was taken aback. "Did you see that petty thief? Did he say where the items are?"
Lu Qingqing sighed. "We probably won't get it back."
Although it was within Hu Jia's expectations, he was still disappointed to hear Lu Qingqing say this. If it had been gold or treasure, the items might still be there, but when the thief found out it was just a key, he would have likely thrown it away.
"No, I still have to ask him. Maybe he can remember something." Hu Jia was unwilling to give up.
"Forget it, I know that petty thief. He won't remember," Lu Qingqing said.
"You know him?" Hu Jia was shocked. "Someone you've arrested before?"
Lu Qingqing pouted. "Kind of!"
Just as Hu Jia was about to ask more, a group of people walked out of the city bureau.
Leading them was Director Ren from the Judicial Department, with Ouyang Wen walking just behind him. Seeing Hu Jia's questioning gaze, Ouyang Wen shook his head slightly, indicating that the key was indeed beyond hope.
After a series of official pleasantries, Director Ren began praising Tong Meng. Amidst warm applause, Tong Meng stepped forward. Her triumphant gaze swept over the people below, finally landing on Hu Jia and Lu Qingqing.
Lu Qingqing was not in the mood to accept her provocation and show-off. She only felt Hu Jia's disappointment and helplessness.
"Speaking of which, this can also be considered a coincidence," Tong Meng proudly recounted the entire process of solving the case. She said she had been guessing the thief's identity. Yesterday, she saw several street performers in the bustling market, doing fire hoops, sword swallowing, and bowl balancing. The liveliest performance was a monkey show.
"Seeing that monkey, I remembered something. Lu Qingqing from the Special Task Force once handled a monkey-related murder case, so I wondered if this might also be a case involving a monkey. After all, as police officers, we should learn from past cases and draw on our experiences."
Zhan Ruoxuan and the others were speechless. This Tong Meng was always belittling Lu Qingqing. You can talk about your own achievements; why bring up Lu Qingqing as a comparison?
It was as if Lu Qingqing didn't learn from her case experiences.
"So, the culprit was a monkey?" the people below murmured. Everyone was surprised that this was the final answer.
"Yes, not only a monkey, but the very monkey that Lu Qingqing released back into the mountains back then." Tong Meng sighed dramatically. "Alas, no one expected that Lu Qingqing's act of kindness back then would bring property losses to the city's residents and prevent everyone from having a good year."
Lu Qingqing glanced at Tong Meng and said nothing.
She was indeed speaking the truth, but for a living creature, Lu Qingqing didn't think she had done anything wrong. Monkeys themselves don't steal; the person with the intention to steal is the trainer who instigates them.
Tong Meng continued to narrate her process of catching the thief. She said that with this suspicion, she began to pay attention to the monkey trainer. She discovered that the monkey trainer had walked around a certain household last night.
She inferred that the monkey trainer was casing the place, so she made preparations in advance. As expected, that night, he and his monkey appeared.
The monkey was very well-disguised, wearing a dark outfit and a bandana around its head, with only its face exposed.
Under the monkey trainer's command, the monkey successfully entered the house and then ran out with two boxes, at which point Tong Meng caught them red-handed.
After finishing her account, a police officer led out a monkey from the police station.
The monkey clearly didn't know what was happening, scratching its ears and cheeks, looking quite cute. Perhaps seeing Lu Qingqing, it even wanted to jump towards her to show affection.
The monkey's appearance finally brought a glimmer of life back to Hu Jia's dejected expression. "Where is its owner? I want to see him."
Ouyang Wen held him back. "It's no use. We've already searched his usual hangouts, and he's not there."