“Officer, you’re finally here! The people’s police truly love the people. I was just thinking it would take someone with real skill like you to arrive, so I helped the government subdue this thief first. He’s a thief! If you don’t believe me, check—he definitely has something in his pocket!” Brian Carter turned his head, utterly impressed with himself, only to find that the person behind him, trying hard to twist his right arm back, was actually a policewoman in uniform. Brian Carter didn’t have time to take a good look at her appearance—this was no time to admire a woman’s looks. The top priority was to put himself and the police on the same side, so the rest would be easier to handle.

“Hey, you, let go of me!” Before the policewoman could say anything, Brian Carter suddenly darted toward the thief lying on the ground like a startled rabbit, almost throwing himself on top of him. But it was too late—the thief wasn’t exactly an amateur. Even after being beaten up by Brian Carter, he hadn’t forgotten the most basic task upon seeing the police: he quickly tossed something from his pocket into the nearby sewer.

Brian Carter felt utterly defeated—what rotten luck! After a once-in-a-century street fight with a thief, the guy still managed to get rid of the evidence. And not just anywhere—he threw it into a sewer… Was he blind? Would it have killed him to walk a few more steps before hitting the guy? Why did there have to be a manhole right here? Looking closer, great, it wasn’t even a storm drain or a utility hole, but a sewage drain. Where was he supposed to find that now?

“Officer, did you see that? He threw away the evidence!” Now Brian Carter could only turn to the policewoman for help, hoping she had enough experience not to be fooled by the thief’s little tricks. But he wasn’t confident at all, because he knew how personnel were assigned in the police system. Usually, young and attractive policewomen like her worked in offices at the district level or above, rarely at the grassroots. Even if there were a few exceptions, they were usually technical officers who didn’t deal with so many criminal or public security cases, so they lacked experience.

“I saw you hit him, but I didn’t see him throw away any evidence. You say he’s a thief—do you have proof? Show me your ID first!” The policewoman’s words confirmed Brian Carter’s suspicions—she hadn’t seen anything she was supposed to, nor did she know where to look, but she did have a good heart for upholding justice.

“I didn’t bring it…” Brian Carter patted the pockets on his pants, showing they were empty.

“Comrade, are you hurt? Do you need an ambulance?” The policewoman ignored Brian Carter, turning to squat beside the thief.

“If you ask him if he needs a helicopter, he’ll say yes too. Just feel his chest—ever since he saw you, his heart’s been beating two hundred times a minute…” Brian Carter was speechless. How new did a cop have to be to ask such a dumb question? Did she really need to ask about these minor injuries? An experienced officer could tell the severity at a glance. At the very least, she should ask about what happened first, see if the stories match, and then talk about medical treatment. If you send someone to the hospital first, giving them plenty of time to think, what story couldn’t they make up? How would you ever get the truth? There wouldn’t even be a chance to cross-examine.

“I hurt all over, he’s unreasonable… I just accidentally stepped on him from behind while getting on the elevator, and he hit me. Look, he even pulled out my hair.” The thief lying on the ground probably had the same idea as Brian Carter, but instead of despair, he was overjoyed. He immediately put on a pitiful, innocent, and honest act, tearfully accusing Brian Carter of violence.

“That’s right, officer, this man kept hitting him—I saw the whole thing!” As if the thief’s sob story wasn’t enough, there was a bystander eager to uphold justice.

“Yes, yes, I saw it too! He was way too rough, kicking with those big shoes—what kind of grudge do you have? Young man, you can’t be so vicious. No matter what he did wrong, the government will handle it. You can’t just beat him like that!” One do-gooder wasn’t enough—another one chimed in, even taking the opportunity to lecture Brian Carter on how to behave.

“Sir, did you forget your reading glasses today? You call these big shoes? You’re not wrong—they’re leather, cowhide even—but have you ever seen big leather shoes with open toes? If you ask me, you should just go about your business. Your wife’s waiting for you to bring home groceries for lunch. The officer’s here, so why are you making things more complicated? He’s a thief—didn’t you see him steal from me?” Brian Carter couldn’t help but laugh at the old man with the shopping basket. With that description, he sounded even more vicious than the Japanese invaders of old.

“You say he’s a thief—do you have any proof? You can’t just call someone a thief because you say so. Besides, even if he is a thief, is it your place to punish him? If everyone caught and punished thieves themselves, what would we need courts and police for?” The policewoman, who had been squatting on the ground, stood up as soon as she heard Brian Carter arguing with the old man, and sternly lectured Brian Carter with textbook-perfect words. She probably hadn’t graduated from the police academy very long ago.