CHAPTER 163: CHAPTER 124: I DON’T LIKE HOLDING GRUDGES OVERNIGHT; I TAKE REVENGE ON THE SAME DAY!_4

He had been working overtime through the night, dealing with the case files and report materials for the Jia Zuoying and Wang Fenlan case. Just as he finished and was preparing to clock out, he discovered someone had called the police in the Mountain and Water Garden District. So, he rushed over without stopping.

"Off-Officer..."

Meanwhile, Chen Ping’s heart trembled with fear as he listened to the conversation between Qin Mu and Shen Dao. The exchange hadn’t been long, but the words "twenty years" echoed relentlessly in his mind. Now, his gaze towards Qin Mu was tinged with dread.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the law. On the contrary, it was precisely because he was *too* familiar with it that he couldn’t help but be terrified. In times of peace, to be sentenced to twenty years without committing murder or arson... It’s almost impossible!

"Alright, what’s the issue this time?" Shen Dao asked, his gaze sweeping over the lottery shop.

Before Qin Mu could speak, Chen Ping hurriedly stepped forward to explain, "Officer, it’s like this. Today, this gentleman bought a lottery ticket in our shop and won first prize. However, at the time, he only provided the number combination and didn’t take the physical ticket.

"I’d been printing tickets all day and was a bit tired, so I mistakenly printed the wrong one for him. As a result, he didn’t get the first prize, only the fourth.

"Then... he called the police."

In front of the police, he didn’t embellish the story. Aside from concealing the distorted truth, he recounted everything else accurately.

"A lottery dispute? How much is the first prize?" Shen Dao asked instinctively after listening.

Chen Ping quickly replied, "Seven million yuan."

Shen Dao then asked, "And how much is the fourth prize?"

Chen Ping swallowed hard, not daring to hide it. "Two hundred and thirty-seven yuan."

Shen Dao’s mouth twitched. He gave Chen Ping, the lottery shop owner, a long, hard look.

The difference between what was expected and what was received... If this had happened to me, I’d definitely explode too. The disparity is night and day!

"Officer, I didn’t want this to happen either! How could I have known he would win first prize?" Chen Ping continued, his face a mask of grievance. "But what can I do about printing the wrong ticket? I even tried to negotiate compensation with this gentleman just now, but he refused..."

Shen Dao frowned, lost in thought. In all his years as a police officer, he’d rarely encountered such an incident. Lottery tickets don’t involve contracts; purchases are entirely verbal. Even prize redemption isn’t tied to a real name—it’s all based on presenting the physical ticket. Legally, determining responsibility would be difficult as there’s hardly any basis. Moreover, every two-yuan lottery ticket theoretically has a chance to win first prize. An error like printing the wrong ticket *before* the draw... it’s difficult to legally define.

"What about your shop’s surveillance footage? Can it confirm the time Qin Mu came in to buy the ticket?" Shen Dao asked after a moment. He took a deep breath and pointed to a camera in the corner of the shop.

His plan was to start with the surveillance footage, determine the ticket printing time, and then compare it with the fourth-prize lottery ticket in Qin Mu’s hand for confirmation.

But Chen Ping replied with a bitter smile, "Actually, we usually have recordings, but the machine malfunctioned today. Somehow, all the surveillance data for today has disappeared."

"All gone?" Shen Dao’s expression darkened.

Chen Ping then cooperatively opened the surveillance system’s backend to check the video data. The footage from yesterday, the day before, and even earlier was all there. Only today’s entire recording was missing.

Finally, after a round of investigation, Shen Dao looked at Qin Mu and said earnestly, "Qin Mu, regarding this dispute... perhaps it’s best if you settle it privately with the shop owner. You can try to mediate yourselves or file a lawsuit in court."

Although his instincts told him something was off about this case, based on the current situation, he truly couldn’t file it at the police station. It was difficult even to find grounds for filing a case. Legally speaking, buying a lottery ticket is an event involving luck, inherently characterized by chance. Even if the ticket was printed incorrectly, those wrong numbers could still potentially win. So, even if a massive amount is involved, the law wouldn’t typically allow a case to be filed based solely on such a chance event. Comparatively, the courts would most likely accept such dispute cases.

Having considered all this, Shen Dao was about to lead his team away when Qin Mu stopped him.

"Wait!" Qin Mu interjected, pointing at Chen Ping, the shop owner. "I’m not reporting a lottery dispute. I’m reporting theft!

"After work today, I bought a lottery ticket at this shop. The numbers were 23, 33, 16, 18, 20, 21, and 15. I personally saw the ticket being printed, and then it was lost right here in this shop!

"This ticket is currently worth seven million yuan—a huge sum. Therefore, I request police intervention and investigation!"

By now, Qin Mu had realized the crux of the problem: the first-prize ticket wasn’t in his possession! Today, after work, he had casually given a set of numbers to the lottery shop owner to test his luck. Just like other days, because there was a bit of a queue for ticket printing, he hadn’t waited at the shop for it. He went straight home to record video material instead. That’s what gave Chen Ping the opportunity—exploiting the nature of lottery tickets—to claim he had printed the wrong one. The act of ’printing the wrong ticket’ supposedly happened *before* the lottery draw. Before the draw, any set of numbers could potentially win, so an individual ticket’s value wasn’t significant. But now, *after* the draw, that first-prize ticket was no longer a matter of mere chance. It was a voucher that could be exchanged for a massive seven million yuan!

"Nonsense!" Chen Ping’s expression changed drastically upon hearing Qin Mu’s words. He retorted, "You just gave me a set of numbers and left! What theft are you talking about? The ticket I printed for you is the fourth-prize one you’re holding!"

Qin Mu glanced coldly at Chen Ping. "This is a fourth-prize ticket," he said calmly. "It’s not mine.

"I personally saw the ticket with numbers 23, 33, 16, 18, 20, 21, and 15 successfully printed. It was then lost here in your store.

"If you don’t believe me, why don’t you check the surveillance footage?"

Chen Ping trembled with anger at Qin Mu’s "slanderous accusations" but found himself unable to refute them. He had deleted the surveillance footage to destroy the evidence, so now he couldn’t prove his ’innocence.’

"You... you’re shameless!" Chen Ping gritted his teeth, glaring daggers at Qin Mu. He never imagined Qin Mu would be so brazen as to pull such a stunt.

After stating his reason for calling the police, Qin Mu turned back to Shen Dao and asked, "Captain Shen, can you file the case now?"

Shen Dao’s mouth twitched. He shook his head. "You’ve only suggested the possibility of lost property. Without concrete evidence of a crime, we still can’t file a case."

Although lost property could imply theft, protocol dictates that a case cannot be filed without concrete evidence of a crime. Otherwise, if anyone could just claim they lost something, possibly in someone else’s house, the police would be completely overwhelmed.

"A case can’t be filed even like this?" Qin Mu was momentarily stunned; this was unexpected.

In recent days, he had only glanced at legal statutes. He hadn’t yet familiarized himself with the enforcement practices or case-filing standards of local authorities. No wonder the System had said this mission was a bit difficult, with a rare reward possible upon completion.

"Officers, you’ve worked hard. Please, go on with your duties. We’ll just settle this matter privately," Chen Ping said from the side, his tense heart finally relaxing as he observed Shen Dao’s by-the-book approach.

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PS: This is based on a real case from two years ago where someone won 10 million yuan, but hadn’t taken the ticket, and it was fraudulently claimed by the shop owner.