Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
Almost Scammed by a Thief
墨書 Inktalez
When I discovered that the Battery was missing, I was completely stunned. How could a thief have the audacity to steal a Battery? Who would even steal an old Electric Bike? I rushed to the Property Office, demanding to review the surveillance footage.
"What? The Electric Bicycle Battery is gone?" A woman in blue work attire frowned at me, looking displeased. Her reaction made me feel a bit embarrassed, as if I had caused her a billion-dollar loss.
"Can I check the surveillance footage?"
"No."
I was frustrated and barged into the office, "Why not?"
The woman sized me up and asked, "Which area are you from?"
"Building 2 in Area A," I replied honestly.
"Then just go ask the Owner Group if any residents captured it on camera."
I wasn't ready to give up, "Can't you retrieve the footage?"
The woman crossed her arms and maintained a cold expression, "No."
Great. With her saying that, what else could I do? I pulled her up from her seat and sat down myself, "I'm in a hurry, so please hurry up."
She glared at me, "What are you doing? Why are you taking matters into your own hands? Be careful or I'll call the police."
I pointed at the computer screen, "Go ahead and call the police. I want to report a theft too; someone stole my Battery. Help me file a report and catch that person."
The woman fell silent.
Suddenly, she said, "Wait a moment." She walked over to the computer and started typing rapidly on the keyboard, pulling up the surveillance footage for our building.
"Only show you for ten minutes, keep an eye on the time."
In the surveillance footage, there was indeed an Electric Bike parked in our Bike Shed.
However, since the camera was facing the front of the bike, it only captured the Basket and not the body or rear seat of the bike.
I scrutinized the footage for a long time but couldn't find anything special about this bike.
Just as I was about to give up, I suddenly noticed a tuft of white hair beneath the Windbreaker.
That tuft of white hair seemed completely out of place with the entire Electric Bike.
I quickly took out my phone and captured a screenshot of the image.
After reviewing it several times to confirm I wasn't mistaken, I switched my computer back to the previous interface.
"Thank you."
The woman waved her hand, "Alright, you can leave now."
I returned to the Bike Shed and circled around that Electric Bike several times.
This Electric Bike was just too ordinary, with nothing particularly noteworthy about it.
Moreover, there was a bike lock key placed inside the Basket.
Wait, a bike lock key?
I took out my phone and snapped a picture of the bike lock.
Back in the office, I opened my computer and started watching today's Surveillance Replay.
Soon enough, I found the thief who stole the Battery.
Around three in the morning, a figure appeared in the surveillance footage.
This person wore a baseball cap, had a mask on their face, and gloves on their hands, wrapping themselves up tightly.
They skillfully opened the door to the Bike Shed and walked straight towards that Electric Bike.
I watched as they removed the front wheel of the Electric Bike and pulled out a key from their pocket—
Wait, a key?
I rewound the footage again and captured it with my phone.
That's right, it was a key.
The person used a key to unlock the rear seat of the Electric Bike, took out the Battery, and then pushed the front wheel out of the Bike Shed. The entire process took less than a minute.
The most critical point was that the thief was very skilled, as if he were a seasoned criminal. Moreover, he only stole the Battery and left everything else untouched. I guessed that this person was likely a small-time hoodlum who roamed the streets every day, looking for unlocked bikes to casually take the Battery from.
Unfortunately, the surveillance footage did not capture his face, and even his figure was unclear. Trying to catch this person would be like finding a needle in a haystack. I copied the video onto my phone and went to the police station to file a report.
To my surprise, when the officers saw that the stolen item was a Battery, they immediately dismissed me. "A Battery isn't worth much; you should go back and coordinate with Property Management to strengthen security in your community."
"We don't handle cases like this." I argued back, "The Battery is also my legal property; on what grounds do you refuse to take my case?" The officer handling my case glanced at me and said, "We have so many major cases to deal with every day; handle this minor issue with Property Management yourself."
"You can tally up your losses and then sue in court if you want." I was both angry and amused. The two Batteries together were worth less than a thousand yuan; just the lawyer's fees would exceed that amount if I went to court.
I realized how things worked now. In today's society, people without money are the safest. Because they have no money, there are no thieves stealing from them, no con artists scamming them, and no one chasing them with knives. This is the greatest advantage of being poor.
I resigned myself to the situation. There was nothing I could do but return home in frustration.
Comment 0 Comment Count