Chapter 5: Catching the Thief (Part 1)

"Big Bro, Second Bro, Fourth Bro—over here!" Chen Xu burst out of the bathroom, voice buzzing with urgency. "I know who stole our stuff!" 

The words hit like a brick. Three faces darkened instantly. Dong Qingjie—Fourth Bro—charged forward, fists clenched. "Son of a—! Third Bro—no, Third Boss! Who is it? I'm gonna beat his ass and get my wallet back!" 

That reaction—did Old Dong lose a fortune or what? The other three exchanged puzzled looks. 

Chen Xu pressed on, "The guy who ripped us off? Ninety-nine percent chance it's that creep who came by selling pens!" 

The trio paused, racking their brains. Dong Qingjie snapped, "You mean that short punk with the crap hair plastered over his forehead like a turd?!" 

"That's the one!" 

It clicked for Wu Yuan and Qin Xiao'an too. School started September 1st, but they'd arrived two days early. Every night, hawkers swarmed the dorms—some peddling $90 radios, others pushing year-long English newspaper subs or club sign-ups. Sure enough, there'd been a pen guy—toting a fat bundle of ballpoints, ten for four bucks. Wu Yuan, ever the cheapskate, had snagged ten. By today, scribbling random notes, six were already duds! 

"That bastard?!" Wu Yuan slammed the table, then winced, blowing on his stinging palm before growling, "Could be! I was on the phone when he showed up—my laptop was stashed. But Third Bro, you were using yours, right? How'd you pin it down?" 

"Exactly!" Chen Xu had his story straight. "Big Bro, you were chatting away, your phone out. Second Bro's new kicks were tossed on the bed. Fourth Bro was MIA, and I was gaming on my laptop. If he'd clocked your computer, he'd have torn the place apart to find it. Guy pried the damn door lock—think a cabinet would stop him? But he didn't see yours, just mine. That's why he didn't dig deeper!" 

"Makes sense!" Wu Yuan nodded. "But here's the hitch—even if it's him, we've got no proof. Guessing doesn't cut it!" 

"Proof?" Chen Xu pointed at Old Dong's ID and bank card on the table. "Right here!" He laid out his fingerprint hunch—tested and confirmed—while three pairs of eyes (four, counting Wu Yuan's glasses) lit up like jackpot slots. 

"That dog!" Old Dong slammed the table, radiating righteous fury. "To the police station!" 

The four stormed out, a whirlwind of vengeance, straight to the precinct next to campus. The cop on duty—same guy who'd checked out their dorm earlier—spotted them and grinned. "Well, well, here to give statements?" 

"Officer!" Old Dong barreled forward. "We know who the thief is!" 

The other three, hyped-up rookies until they crossed the station threshold, shrank back, awestruck by Old Dong's gusto. Man, he must've lost a ton, they thought. 

Most folks in China avoided cops like the plague unless they had to. First time in a station—even as victims, not suspects—felt weird. The trio, all bravado minutes ago, now stood there like timid lambs. 

"Hey, easy with the 'uncle'—I just graduated!" The cop chuckled, clearly cutting them slack. Fresh out of the academy, he probably felt for these four, cleaned out on day one. 

"You know who? Spill it!" 

"That jerk who sold pens in our dorm!" Old Dong raged, rattling off Chen Xu's theory in a torrent. He yanked out his ID and bank card—stuffed in a plastic bag, no less—thrusting them forward. 

The cop smirked. "Big Conan fan, huh? Fingerprint idea's solid, but here's the deal—what if it's not him?" 

Old Dong deflated, glancing at Chen Xu. All bark, no bite, Chen Xu thought, stepping up. "We're damn sure it's him!" he bellowed, chest puffed out. 

"That's not enough!" The cop, still amused, leaned back. "Look, we've got orders—'civilized enforcement.' No solid evidence, no dice. I'd help if I could—hell, I'd be pissed too—but we can't just mobilize on a hunch. Those dorm hawkers around opening week? Drifters, mostly. Where'd we even start?" 

He sighed. "Truth is, your school's thefts are on file—plenty of 'em this time. But these headless cases? Dime a dozen. Right now, the bureau's tied up with a cross-province robbery gang. Half our guys are on that. Your stuff's probably stuck on the back burner." 

It was a cold splash of reality. Translation: Your petty crap's too small to bother with. 

To his credit, the cop wasn't a jerk—no barking orders or shooing them out. He had his own headaches. But knowing the thief and not nabbing him? That stung worse than cluelessness. 

People saw cops as public servants, but Chen Xu was starting to get it—resources were thin. Still, the brush-off lit a fuse. "So our case isn't big enough?" he growled. 

The cop blinked, then smiled patiently. "Kid, things don't always work out how you want." 

Wu Yuan and Qin Xiao'an tugged Chen Xu's sleeve—Drop it—but he was a mule when riled. He slammed the table. "Fine, we'll file again! We didn't just lose an 8,000-yuan laptop and a 2,000-yuan phone—my computer had nuclear weapon blueprints!" 

Crash! Everyone—cop included—hit the floor in shock. 

"You're insane!" After the cop, half-laughing, half-fuming, herded them out like stray chickens, Wu Yuan and Qin Xiao'an gave Chen Xu thumbs-ups. "Nuclear weapon blueprints? You're a freaking genius!" 

"Hey, what're you guys doing here?!" A familiar, booming voice cut through their muttering as they slunk away. 

Chen Xu looked up—Wang Dong, the senior from earlier, flanked by a few grizzled upperclassmen. 

"Senior Wang Dong? What brings you here?" 

Wang Dong grinned. "There's a killer pickled fish joint nearby—close to campus. That one over there. You lot, though—what's with the station visit?" 

Sweat beaded on their foreheads at the phrasing. They'd only met twice, but Chen Xu liked Wang Dong's vibe. "Senior, we figured out who jacked our dorm!" 

"Who?!" 

"That pen-selling creep!" 

"Short guy, sparse hair—like a turd smeared on his head!" 

"Four bucks for ten pens—damn things die in five minutes!" 

"Turd hair?" Wang Dong frowned, turning to his crew. "Ring any bells?" 

One lanky guy nodded. "Yeah, I saw him. Last night, hitting up their dorm for club recruitment. I chewed him out—those garbage pens barely write a sentence before crapping out. He tried hawking them anyway. Pulled me aside after…" 

"You fought him?" 

"Nah!" Lanky rolled his eyes. "Guy slipped me a smoke, said he's Old Zhang's—the dorm manager's—cousin. Couldn't say much after that. Told him to quit scamming on the second floor—hit up the first instead. He scampered off." 

"Cousin?" Chen Xu blinked. "Why the first floor?" 

Lanky smirked. "Second floor's our department—gotta protect our own. First floor's mech engineering. Not my problem!" 

Everyone sweat-dropped. 

Wang Dong cracked his knuckles, joints popping. "Old Zhang's kin? Bullshit. Zhang's been dorm boss forever—seniors from my freshman year said he looked out for them. How'd he spawn this loser? Whatever, we've got a lead. Let's roll—find Zhang, track this punk down, raid his hideout. He didn't just hit your room—other dorms lost phones, MP3s, you name it. I'll round up some guys; we're settling this!" 

The four freshmen sweat-dropped harder. This sounds like a mob hit! 

"Hey, hey, Wang Dong—what're you up to?!" The cop poked his head out, spotting the huddle. 

Wang Dong grinned, tossing him a cigarette with practiced ease. "Li Bro, we're cracking your case for you!" 

The cop took the smoke, face stern. "Keep it chill this time, alright? You've got a temper. Last week, some punk stole a bike on campus—you beat him half-dead. By the time I got there, he was gasping. Hospital said mild concussion. Ease up, man!" 

Wang Dong chuckled. "Just doing the public a favor!" 

"Favor my ass!" The cop laughed, swatting at him. "Watch yourself—thieves run in packs these days. Piss off one, and who knows what you're in for? China's light on mafia, but local snakes? Plenty. You're a student— traceable. Don't get brained in an alley!" 

They bantered a bit, then the cop relented. "Fine, you've fed me enough meals—I'll tag along. Gotta stop you from hospitalizing someone again. We'll do this by the book." 

Chen Xu gawked—Wang Dong and this cop were tight? A few words, and he was in? "Didn't he say they're short-staffed—no random callouts?" 

The cop grinned, cursing playfully. "I'm off-duty now—personal time, no manpower excuse. Once you nail this guy, goods in hand, I'll switch to 'on-duty' mode!"