New Case 136

The landlady of the farmhouse restaurant, a woman in her thirties, was tall and full-figured—the very picture of someone capable and industrious.

Han Bin gestured to her.

She walked over with the menu in hand. "Would you like to order anything else?"

"Landlady, what is your Wi-Fi password?"

"Two Fs, then one, two, three, four, five, six."

Han Bin found the restaurant's network on his phone and began typing in the password. "Has the signal here always been this poor?"

"Not really. Even though we’re a bit tucked away and right against the mountain, there’s a base station on the ridge. The signal is usually just as good as it is in the city," the landlady replied.

"Exactly. I was wondering about that myself. The reception here used to be great; I wonder what happened today?" Wang Qingsheng said, taking another sip of his drink.

"I’m not sure of the specifics, but ever since I woke up this morning, the signal has been terrible. Customers couldn't even get through to make reservations. It’s really hurting business," the landlady sighed.

*Buzz, buzz...* As soon as Han Bin connected to the network, his WeChat started chiming incessantly. He opened it to find a flurry of notifications.

There was a private message from Li Hui: "Bin, where are you? Why can't we reach you?"

The group chat was even busier.

The first message was from Zeng Ping: "We have a case."

"Received," Li Hui replied.

"Received," added Tian Li.

"Captain Zeng, what kind of case is it?" Zhao Ming asked, attaching a confused emoji.

"Base station theft. It’s right near the Antique Street."

"Aren't regular thefts handled by the local police station?" Zhao Ming pressed.

"It was reported to the local station initially, but they haven't been able to catch anyone. Similar incidents have occurred elsewhere, so it’s now classified as a serial theft case. The local station can’t handle it, so it’s been transferred to our precinct," Zeng Ping explained via voice message.

"Stealing base stations? These criminals have no limits," Tian Li huffed.

"A base station near the Antique Street was just hit. The scene hasn't been compromised yet. We’re going to investigate and get a better look at the situation," Zeng Ping said.

"Captain Zeng, Brother Bin hasn't responded yet," Zhao Ming noted.

"Li Hui, call Han Bin."

"I just tried, but I couldn't get through."

"You guys head over; I'll try calling him," Zeng Ping said.

...

After reading through the messages, Han Bin understood the situation. No wonder his phone had no signal—the nearby base station had been stolen.

Han Bin sent a message back: "Captain Zeng, I’m near the scene. My phone had no signal; I just managed to connect to the network."

"Send your location. We’ll come pick you up."

"OK." Han Bin shared the location of the Shanlihong Farmhouse.

With that settled, Han Bin continued his meal, unsure when he might get to eat again.

"Bin, what’s going on?" Wang Qingsheng couldn't help but ask.

"A nearby base station was stolen. The case has been assigned to our team. My captain is coming to pick me up soon," Han Bin said.

"I thought as much. Why is the signal so bad? These people must be desperate, stealing base stations. Do you have any idea how many people this affects?" Wang Qingsheng grumbled.

In a way, both he and Han Bin were victims.

"It’s pretty hateful. Maybe some girl who has a crush on me is trying to call, and she can't get through," Han Bin shrugged.

Wang Qingsheng: "..."

*This kid is thicker-skinned than I am. It’s a shame he’s not in my line of work.*

...

Forty minutes later, Zeng Ping and the team arrived at the farmhouse, picked up Han Bin, and drove straight into the mountains.

"Bin, what brought you out here?" Li Hui asked curiously.

"My uncle wants to open an antique shop, and he asked me to come help him vet the place." Han Bin pulled out a few bottles of mineral water and handed them to the others in the car.

"Did this interfere with your plans?" Zeng Ping asked.

"Not at all. We finished looking at the shop this morning. Now I can jump right into the case—saves me a trip back to the station," Han Bin said with a smile, then asked, "Captain Zeng, how many base stations have been stolen so far?"

"Including this one, this is the seventh," Zeng Ping said, handing a folder to Han Bin. "These are the files transferred from the local stations. Take a look."

There were two files—one from the Jinshatan Police Station and one from the Tong'an Road Station. For cross-jurisdictional theft cases, if the local stations can't apprehend the suspects, they always escalate the case to the precinct.

The first theft occurred on September 3rd in the Jinshatan jurisdiction.

The second and third occurred on September 4th in the Tong'an jurisdiction; the suspect hit two stations in succession.

The fourth theft happened on September 6th in the Jinshatan jurisdiction.

The fifth and sixth occurred on September 7th and 8th, respectively, both in the Tong'an jurisdiction.

Today is September 8th, and the local station received the report of the latest theft.

Zhao Ming leaned in to look at the files as well, asking instinctively, "With so many thefts, how come there are no clues from the surveillance footage?"

"Base stations are usually built in isolated areas. The locations these suspects chose are mostly deep in the mountains—there are barely any people there, let alone surveillance cameras," Zeng Ping explained.

"What exactly are they stealing from the base stations that’s so valuable?" Tian Li asked, not entirely familiar with how they worked.

"There are wires, cables, and batteries inside. The most valuable parts are the battery storage units, which can be worth tens of thousands," Han Bin said, popping a piece of gum into his mouth. "And that’s just the cost of the batteries; the loss caused to the telecommunications company and the public is immeasurable."

"That’s true. Look at us—we were almost unreachable because of it," Zhao Ming noted.

"I just received this case, and already the brass is calling, urging me to solve it as quickly as possible. We can't have this serial theft impacting the development of Qingdao or the daily lives of the citizens," Zeng Ping said with a grave expression.

Han Bin put the files aside. Based on the current leads, the suspects were likely to strike again.

"To each their own specialty. The local officers are great at keeping the peace, but solving crimes is a job for us detectives," Li Hui said with a laugh.

Tian Li nodded involuntarily; she agreed wholeheartedly.

From a distance, the towering steel frame of the base station came into view. After driving for a few more minutes, the car stopped near the site, and the team climbed out.

The base station tower was enclosed within a courtyard, with a small machinery room nearby. As they approached, a man wearing a blue vest and a yellow hard hat walked over.

"You must be the officers from the police bureau," the man in the hard hat asked.

Even though Han Bin and the others were in plain clothes, they had arrived in a police vehicle.

Zeng Ping flashed his badge. "How should we address you?"

"I’m Li Weili, an employee of the telecommunications company."

"Are you responsible for the maintenance of this station?" Zeng Ping asked.

"Yes, I do the routine maintenance," Li Weili replied.

"When was the theft discovered?" Han Bin asked.

"This morning. A resident contacted our company complaining about the poor signal, so they sent me over to check. I arrived around nine o'clock." As he spoke, Li Weili’s shoulder twitched.

Han Bin frowned slightly. That was a sign of insecurity—a clear indication that the man wasn't confident in what he was saying and was likely lying.