Chapter 11: Boss, Today Is the First Day I Corrected My Wayward Path-Desafio de transmissão ao vivo: Cem vezes entrando por engano em cenas de crime(Gato de rua)

Inside the Zongyong Temple Police Station, smoke hung thick in the air, and cigarette butts were scattered all over the cement floor.

Chief You Gaojie furrowed his brow, his expression complicated.

“Lately, the number of theft reports we've received has surged. As you all know, we’re in a tourist area, and reputation is everything! If there are too many thieves, who would dare come here? The county leaders have already talked to me, demanding that we quickly put an end to these brazen thieves' antics. Starting today, during the temple’s opening hours, everyone must work overtime to catch these reckless criminals.”

Fan Wenyao flicked away his cigarette butt. “Chief You, you understand as well as I do that this is a scenic spot with tens of thousands of visitors coming and going every day. Even if we put all the officers and police dogs on duty, it’s like a drop in the ocean—no different from throwing a pinch of salt into the Pacific. Besides, this is a temple, and most of the victims are elderly women who carry cash out of habit when they visit. They often don’t realize when their money goes missing. Even if there’s surveillance footage, finding the culprit is like searching for a needle in a haystack among a sea of videos. How are we supposed to catch them?”

You Gaojie slammed his fist on the table. “Enough with the complaints! If you don’t catch a single thief within a month, next month you’re all being transferred to the mining station to hunt wild boars!”

The mining area had once been prosperous, but since Director Ma’s transfer, it was now a deserted factory zone, eerily reminiscent of a post-apocalyptic scene.

Thus, being sent to the mining station was practically a form of exile.

“Ring, ring, ring!”

The police station’s landline rang. You Gaojie picked up. “Zongyong Temple Police Station, this is Chief You.”

His voice suddenly rose sharply. “What? Got it, we’re on our way.”

He hurriedly stubbed out his cigarette on the floor.

The other officers looked puzzled. “Chief, what’s going on? Something big?”

You Gaojie grabbed handcuffs and a stun gun from the drawer. “The Criminal Investigation Division at the city bureau called. Someone reported a thief caught inside Zongyong Temple. The CID wants us to verify the situation first. If it’s not serious, the case will be handled by us.”

Fan Wenyao frowned. “CID? How did the call end up with them?”

You Gaojie waved his hand. “Probably the call went to the emergency center, which forwarded it to CID. They want us to check it out first. No time to waste—this could be a breakthrough. Let’s move.”

The officers mounted their electric scooters and hurried toward Zongyong Temple.

---

On a livestream platform, singing streamer Little Salted Fish Azhai twisted her waist while making heart shapes with her hands.

“Thanks so much for all your support, my dear viewers! If you like me, don’t forget to follow and send some hearts! Muah~ Love you all!”

Yet, no comments discussed her.

<Whoa, the streamer next door just caught a thief!>

<Yeah, give the room number! We can watch singing every day, but catching a thief? That’s rare!>

In the next moment, the viewer count plummeted from 1,500 to 700.

The girl pursed her lips, nearly in tears. “Family, are you really going to abandon such a cute streamer?”

The stream was going well, but in an instant, half the audience was gone. Her mood couldn’t recover.

<Don’t worry, Little Azhai, I’ll check things out over there and be back soon.>

But within seconds, the viewer count dropped again, leaving just over 200.

One minute passed... five minutes... ten minutes... and including those who disliked the stream, fewer than 20 remained.

Little Salted Fish Azhai gave up and stopped streaming. No point trying if no one’s watching. She decided to check out Lu Xingzhou’s livestream instead.

She wasn’t the only one turning off her stream to watch Lu Xingzhou.

Lu Xingzhou’s channel seemed to generate a gravitational pull, drawing viewers from other streams. His viewer count exceeded 100,000, rivaling top streamers during peak hours.

Human nature is just drawn to juicy gossip.

---

The thief was cornered against a wall, trembling at the sight of Lu Xingzhou’s bulging muscles.

“Big brother, here’s your phone back. If it's not enough, I’ll compensate you 200 more. Just don’t hurt me.”

The young novice monk was fuming. “You actually stole from a monk! Aren’t you afraid of divine punishment?”

The thief blushed and argued, “Stealing from a monk? That’s not stealing. Didn’t the Buddha say to cut flesh and feed the eagle? This is just reverse almsgiving.”

“Besides, I always get the Buddha’s permission before I steal.”

The monk stepped forward. “Nonsense! How could the Buddha approve of such a thing?”

The thief glanced at the courtyard. “Before every theft, I spend 20 yuan to draw a lot in front of the Buddha. It’s either the best or second-best lot. If that’s not approval, what is?”

The monk gritted his teeth. “That’s because your lot container only has the best and second-best lots!”

---

Soon, Chief You Gaojie arrived with several officers, pushing through the crowd of onlookers.

The first person to catch his eye was Lu Xingzhou. He felt he’d seen him somewhere before.

Then he looked down at the frightened thief crouching on the ground.

“Oh, a familiar face.”

“Fu Fan, it’s you again? Tell me, how many times is this now? This time, we’re going to lock you up for a good long while—how about a three-year stay with meals and lodging included?”

Fu Fan jumped up quickly. “No, Chief, you know my family situation. My parents divorced early, my sister’s divorced, and I’m the only one supporting grandpa’s college tuition and taking care of grandma during her confinement. If you send me to jail, our family will fall apart!”

You Gaojie waved him off. “Don’t give me that nonsense. We’ve received over a hundred theft reports recently. All yours, right? Come with me.”

Hearing “over a hundred,” Fu Fan leapt back and hid behind Lu Xingzhou.

“Chief, you’re trying to kill me! Today’s my first day back on the right path, and I get caught right away.”

He quickly pulled out everything he’d stolen: three wallets, four phones, six gold rings, two gold bracelets, and a branded handbag that looked quite valuable.

Fu Fan glanced over the loot, roughly calculated the worth, and quickly tucked the designer handbag away.

You Gaojie gave Fu Fan a glance but said nothing.

Fu Fan hurried to explain, “Chief, that bag’s mine, really. I haven’t been out making money lately because I’m involved with a wealthy woman. She gave me that handbag.”