Chapter 4: The Offender's Surrender
Why is there such a bothersome thing! It is so annoying!
For the Su Ying Town Police Station, it is quite rare to have newcomers; at most, one arrives in a year, and sometimes no one comes for three or four years. Logically, everyone should be quite warm towards Lu Ling, but Sun Guolong seemed to show little emotion, simply giving a few brief instructions and then falling silent.
Two police cars from the police station, along with the private cars of the station chief and deputy chief, returned to the town one after another for refueling. It was only then that Lu Ling saw the other personnel from the police station. Station Chief Wang Xingjiang did not say much; he had a brief conversation with Lu Ling and then directly assigned him to the roster, sending him out on duty with a police car without even changing his uniform.
As long as this suspect is not apprehended, it will not be possible to return today. A full tank of gas in the car can probably last through the night. Sun Guolong directly assigned Lu Ling to keep watch for the first half of the night, telling him to wake him up at 3 AM, and then he reclined the seat and fell asleep immediately.
But why is there a child in the car
Now, not only the police, but the female car owner has also posted a video on Douyin, which has gone viral. Countless people in the area have already seen this incident and are feeling distressed about it, yet to this day, no one has discovered the whereabouts of the off-road vehicle
Lu Ling looked at Sun Guolong's dazed expression, unsure whether to share this information with him. However, he himself felt extremely distressed, so he finally spoke up: "Sun, that thief threw the child outside, and the child has already frozen to death"
You cry
He felt that his perfect and exceptionally fortunate theft was ruined by this little brat
The person in the same vehicle as Lu Ling is Sun Guolong, the deputy director of the police station. He is approximately 40 years old this year, has very dark skin, and his eyes often have a hazy appearance, giving the impression of someone who is difficult to communicate with
At minus 15 degrees Celsius, a two-month-old child could lose their life completely in just a few minutes. Additionally, with the thick snow by the roadside, the child was buried within it and remained undiscovered for a long time
He is not a habitual car thief; he has stolen small items like mobile phones in the past, but this is his first time stealing a car. He only knows how to dispose of stolen goods. When he encountered an unlocked car, he acted impulsively in an instant, without any thought, and instinctively got into the vehicle
Lu Ling did not understand these matters, so he just kept staring; if there were any abnormalities, he would wake Sun up.
Why the hell are you crying!
It is already the year 2022, yet the police car surprisingly does not have a vehicle-mounted charging port
If he could think at this level, then he would naturally not blame the child
Attention all duty units at the checkpoints, this is the command center of the municipal bureau. I have just received a report from the Linan County Public Security Bureau regarding a car theft that occurred this morning on Zhuangpuzi Street in Linan County. The main suspect has surrendered to the authorities. Please arrange your work accordingly.
In a fit of anger, the car thief directly threw the child to the roadside in the outskirts.
This instruction was announced twice, and Lu Ling listened very carefully, wanting to hear if there was any other content, but there was no sound from the radio. Just as he was about to call Sun Guolong, he found that Sun Guolong had already raised his seat and engaged the forward gear of the vehicle.
This child has ruined his good fortune
... ...
He certainly did not expect that if it were not for the cold outside, if it were not for the women fearing that the children would freeze, and if it were not for the fact that the heating could not be turned off, this car would not remain unlocked
If it were someone else, they might think that the leader is bullying them, but Lu Ling does not share this view. It is impossible for him to fall asleep right now; even falling asleep at three in the morning would be quite an achievement. Thinking of this, Lu Ling feels a bit of admiration for Sun Suo, who can actually manage to sleep under such circumstances
He is aware of how cold it is outside, separated by a layer of glass, with a temperature difference of nearly 50 degrees. Lu Ling is skilled at handling interpersonal issues, but he also knows that one cannot directly contend with nature.
After the thief fled, he heard on the radio that he was being wanted by the police. He dared not go anywhere and hid in the woods for a day. When night fell, and the car was almost out of fuel, he wanted to sell it. However, this time was different from before; the once bold older brother refused to take his car, not even for 10,000 yuan, and simply drove him away.
It will soon be dark.
Sun Guolong may have stepped on the brake, and even vehicles equipped with anti-skid chains experienced some slipping. Subsequently, the vehicle continued to move forward, and he seemed unconcerned, lightly nodding his head: "Mm, understood"
Lu Ling currently has three tasks. The first task is to listen to the notifications from the vehicle's radio. The second task is to keep an eye on this intersection; if any vehicles involved in the case pass by, they must be detected promptly. The third task is to monitor the car; if the engine temperature is too high or the fuel level is too low, it is necessary to return for refueling. If the engine temperature is too high, it is generally due to a lack of coolant. Simply turning off the engine and restarting it will not lower the temperature; this is merely a temporary measure. It is still necessary to return and add coolant.
He was eager to know the details of the case
Until after 1 a.m., the radio suddenly came to life, and Lu Ling instantly became alert
From the surveillance footage during the car theft, it is evident that the thief was indeed targeting the vehicle. Upon noticing that someone had left the car unlocked and entered the store, he simply could not resist.
Returning, Sun Guolong showed no signs of morning grumpiness, his voice still lacking in emotion: "Tomorrow is likely a day off, but there is a morning meeting at 8:30 AM."
After half an hour, he began to feel restless following the excitement. What was supposed to be a simple car theft, considering it was a private vehicle, surely lacked GPS. If he just changed the license plate and turned it into a water truck, he could at least sell it for 50,000.
This is the entirety of the case, chilling enough to make one's heart feel cold
When the child was found, they were already frozen stiff, their skin a bright red, and their face wore an expression that seemed to be a smile yet not quite, leaving one to wonder what their opinion of this world might be
Becoming a police officer here in Liaodong is a choice made by Lu Ling himself. For those who are not graduates of police academies, the difficulty of becoming a police officer is significantly greater than that for typical police academy graduates. Fortunately, Lu Ling possesses a balanced set of skills, and his scores in the written examination and the essay portion are quite respectable, allowing him to successfully secure a position and arrive here
"Sun said," Lu Ling still spoke up: "What are we doing here?"
This arrangement was actually requested by Lu Ling; he simply cannot accept waiting at the police station.
Lu Ling's phone only has 45% battery left, and it is not yet 7 PM. He needs to stay connected for eight hours straight. After glancing at the group chat and seeing no new messages, he set his phone to power-saving mode and then stared out the window.
At this moment, he does not know what he should do, gazing at the light snow outside, unable to make sense of it no matter how he thinks.
As he had previously speculated, the thing he was most worried about has indeed occurred
It was originally going so smoothly
The snowflakes continued to fall, and he opened the window just a crack. Soon, he felt the cold seeping in through the gap, which made Lu Ling feel a bit more alert, yet his heart remained concerned for that child
He didn't even have money to refuel, nor did he dare to go for refueling, and he had no idea what to do. After running out of fuel, he froze in the car for a short while before ultimately calling to turn himself in
Sun Guolong slept soundly, seemingly not taking this matter to heart at all. Fortunately, Lu Ling was a person who enjoyed tranquility, simply watching the snow and occasionally opening the window a crack to let in some fresh air. Time passed swiftly in this manner
He cannot think of it
In other words, it is highly likely that this thief is not a human trafficker; in this case, a two-month-old child would only be a burden.
It is unclear what the reason is, but the thief, driven by passion and crime, becomes unusually agitated when facing this child
He is not a police academy student; during his university and graduate studies, he focused on psychology. He does not have much feeling for the hierarchy within the system and is diligently fulfilling his duties while sitting in the passenger seat. The only issue is the long night, the phone battery is insufficient, and there is no charging port in this car
After stealing the car, the thief discovered that there was a child inside. Initially, he ran with the child for half an hour, during which the child kept crying
Understood. Lu Ling nodded, then took out his phone to check, which still had 12% battery left