Chapter 181: Chapter 181: A Thief Has Entered?

The Police Station had specifically dispatched additional manpower and intensified investigations due to the recent rampant theft and two cases of malicious, deliberate retaliation.

Lu Xiaoting had recently been busy with matters at the station, leaving home early and returning late each day, his siblings hadn’t seen him for several days.

That day, Lu Xiaoting had just switched shifts with a patrol colleague and arrived home.

“Soak your feet a bit, it’ll feel better.”

Feeling the warmth on his feet, Lu Xiaoting comfortably dozed off.

“Dry your feet and go straight to sleep; I’ll go pour out the water.”

“Thanks, wife.”

Susu glared at him playfully, “Alright, hurry up and lie down to sleep.”

After Susu poured out the foot-soaking water in the toilet and groped her way onto the bed in the dark, she listened to the man’s breathing as he slept soundly and was just about to drift off to sleep herself.

“Thud—”

“Woof woof woof woof…”

Susu and Lu Xiaoting were awakened by Da Hei’s barking, turned on the light to see Da Hei barking incessantly at the door.

“What’s wrong, why is Da Hei barking so fiercely? Could it be a thief has broken into our home??” Father Lu and Mrs. Lu awoke in alarm and came in, draped in robes.

“Dad, you stay and watch the kids at home; I’ll take Da Hei out to have a look.”

Lu Xiaoting quickly put on his clothes and shoes, grabbed the shovel at the entrance of the hall, “Dad, I’m going out and will lock the door from the outside.”

With a serious face, Father Lu said, “Hmm, be careful, second son.”

“Yeah, I got it dad.”

The three adults peered out the window, their hearts racing as they watched the single beam of light in the pitch darkness.

The siblings were sleeping soundly on the heated brick bed, completely unaware that a ruthless thief had entered their home.

“Mom, don’t worry.”

Susu, seeing her mother-in-law’s frightfully pale face, was worried that grandma might be shocked into illness, so she quickly held her mother-in-law’s hand to comfort her.

Mrs. Lu felt like her heart was about to leap out of her throat and started praying to the bodhisattva, “Bodhisattva bless us, hopefully the thief has been scared away. Bodhisattva bless us…”

In the dark courtyard, Lu Xiaoting, flashing his flashlight around several times, made sure that no one was hiding in the yard before he proceeded to carefully inspect the area with Da Hei from left to right.

By the wall to the left of the main gate, he found traces of blood and a ladder; it appeared someone had dropped it in a panicked escape.

The intruder hadn’t expected there to be a dog at home, and in their panic, they were cut by the broken glass on the top of the wall; judging from the bloodstains on the wall, the injury seemed severe.

Lu Xiaoting, not feeling reassured, thoroughly checked once more with Da Hei, confirming that there was no one around and that the yard gate was properly locked, before taking Da Hei back indoors.

“How is it? Did they run off?”

Lu Xiaoting nodded, “They even left their ladder behind, which I’ve put away and locked in the new room. Let’s rest for now, we can talk about it tomorrow if there’s anything.”

Lu Xiaoting, not wanting to frighten his parents and wife, didn’t mention that the perpetrators could have been a gang. Although he couldn’t sleep, he still closed his eyes and forced himself to try to sleep.

Only by doing so would he have enough energy to catch the thieves and apprehend them soon, to prevent more families from suffering.

Susu tossed and turned, unable to sleep, her mind up and down with worry, fearing that the group from earlier might return.

The next morning, Lu Xiaoting went out early to check the area outside his courtyard wall, where he found messy footprints and a couple of homemade cigarette butts.

Moreover, three stones had been placed at the very bottom of his front door.

As a veteran public security officer, Lu Xiaoting sensed that something was amiss; it couldn’t have been mere coincidence.

Susu had fallen asleep hazily just before dawn, still vaguely hearing the sound of her man opening the door.

She hadn’t slept all night, her eyelids heavy as lead.

“Susu, at the east end of our alley, a family got robbed. I’ve heard that the old couple woke up to noises in the middle of the night and got themselves brutally beaten.”

Mrs. Lu, still frightened, patted her chest, “If it hadn’t been for Da Hei’s barking, we might have been injured too. It’s also a blessing no one was killed; weren’t those bandits in the past known for committing murder for money?”

Susu felt a shiver of fear too. Although the man’s skills were formidable, there was no telling what might happen if they were outnumbered, with the elderly and children at home…

“Mom, we need to thank Da Hei. I’m going to buy some meat later to give him a good reward.”

“Yes, yes, that’s right.”

“Woof woof woof.”

Da Hei wagged his tail frantically, his shiny black eyes gleaming brightly.

“Mommy mommy, we want to go with you.”

“You kids stay home with grandma. Mommy will be back soon, and I’ll bring you some smoked chicken, okay?”

“Okay, Mommy, hurry back.”

Susu made sure her in-laws were settled and bolted the courtyard door from the inside before leaving.

Meanwhile, at the Police Station on Second Road,

After Lu Xiaoting reported what he had discovered last night and this morning to his superiors,

“This is a breakthrough. Except for Xiao Li, who will stay on duty at the station, the rest of you should split up and re-examine the homes that were previously burglarized.”

“Yes!”

From the chief to the junior officers, everyone cycled out in full force.

After a meticulous inspection by the station’s personnel, they found even more.

There were hidden pebbles placed at the bottom right corner of the gates of all the burglarized homes, and there were also different patterns marked on the walls at the entrance of each household.

After the police investigated the family information of the homeowners, they found that there was a definite connection between the patterns and the homeowner’s information.

It was speculated that the burglary gang might have scouted the area in advance, marking the living conditions of each household, as well as the targets they had cased.

…

The children were unaware of the previous night’s danger. After shopping at the market, Susu went straight home.

Upon entering, she saw An’an riding on Da Hei’s back, hugging his neck, while Pingping and Lele, one on each side, stood guard.

Susu resignedly patted her third child’s chubby bottom and lifted him off, “You little rascal, why are you climbing on Da Hei again? Just because he doesn’t bite?”

“Hehe, Mommy, you’re back~”

“Giggle, Mommy, we were just playing with Da Hei, we weren’t tormenting him.”

“Mommy, hug.”

Susu patted the little chubby girl’s bottom, “Ahem, Mommy didn’t sleep well last night, I’m not feeling strong today.”

“Mommy, Daddy, didn’t you sleep for a while?”

“We’re old and don’t need much sleep, we’re not very tired. You go get some rest, Susu,” Mrs. Lu said as she took the meat and busied herself.

Susu didn’t stand on ceremony. Feeling dizzy and heavy-headed, she really needed to sleep for a bit. It hadn’t been peaceful lately, and she also needed to pick up her eldest from school.

She slept straight through until 11 a.m. and only after sitting up to clear her head did she cycle out.

“Mommy.”

Tianyu, laughing and chatting with classmates, spotted the most radiant mother at the school gate and trotted over.

“Say goodbye to your friends, we’re heading home.”

“Li Hao, Wang Xuan, Liu Jiacheng, bye-bye, see you this afternoon.”

Susu pedaled her bicycle quickly into the alley where they lived.

Mother and son chatted and laughed, and as Tianyu was telling his mom about funny incidents at school, the bicycle slowly came to a stop.

Susu’s eyes met those of a man lurking suspiciously by their house.

Facing the unfamiliar face that clearly didn’t belong to a well-intentioned stranger, Susu’s heart jumped erratically, suppressing her panic to feign calm as she pushed her bicycle along.