Nancheng District Precinct.
Around 7:50 in the morning, officers and administrative staff began arriving one after another.
Director Yang Guoming had gotten there earlier than anyone else, and now sat in his office with a face as dark as thunder.
Everyone who arrived and saw his expression shuddered, then quickly returned to their posts.
It was well known that the director had a bad temper—no one dared to test him this early in the day.
"What's up with the director today? Why the scowl first thing in the morning?"
"No idea. He was already sitting there looking pissed off when I walked in."
People were whispering, trying to make sense of Yang Guoming's grim expression.
Just then, an older officer quietly explained:
"Keep a low profile today—Director Yang is in a foul mood."
"I heard the Xicheng District nabbed a Thief King yesterday. And you all know what kind of relationship Director Wu from Xicheng has with our Director."
"What's worse, that Thief King was actually from our Nancheng District. He just got caught while doing a job over in Xicheng."
"Hiss—"
Everyone gasped.
Now they understood why Yang Guoming looked like he could explode.
Because of funding competition, Xicheng and Nancheng had always been fierce rivals.
Both districts constantly vied for better performance records.
While Xicheng typically edged them out, the difference hadn't been too large—
But even that had long been a thorn in Yang Guoming's side.
Now Xicheng had arrested a Thief King, instantly surpassing Nancheng in performance metrics.
Worse yet, the Thief King was originally from Nancheng—just happened to get caught while operating in Xicheng.
What did that imply?
It meant, "The guy your Nancheng folks couldn't catch, we Xicheng did."
And it wasn't just anyone—it was a Thief King!
How was Yang Guoming supposed to justify funding requests to upper management after this?
Everyone in the office wiped the sweat off their foreheads.
They could practically feel the steam rising from the director's skull.
Ring ring ring!
Right then, a phone rang.
Everyone instinctively glanced in Yang Guoming's direction.
"Hello."
Yang Guoming answered with his face still black as coal.
"Ha ha ha, good morning, Yang Guoming!"
Hearing that familiar voice, his face darkened even more.
"Spit it out if you've got something to say. Cut the crap."
"Heh heh."
Director Wu's gleeful laugh echoed through the receiver.
"I'm calling with good news, Yang Guoming."
"You know that Thief King from your district who's been giving you headaches for ages?"
"Not a problem anymore—I caught him. You can sleep easy now."
He called it "good news," but everyone could hear the smugness in his voice loud and clear.
"Thank you so much."
Yang Guoming's temple twitched violently.
He forced the words out through clenched teeth.
He knew this damn call was coming.
After all, he used to do the same thing when the tables were turned.
When you lose, you take the trash talk and bow your head. That's the rule.
"Ah, I'm thinking of putting in a request for two more vehicles this week."
"No choice—too many capable officers under my command. We're short on transportation."
Director Wu sounded genuinely troubled:
"What do you think, Yang Guoming? Should I request two cars? Or one car and one motorcycle?"
"Actually, how about lending me one of yours from Nancheng? You guys don't seem to need them anyway."
"Don't worry—if you ever get stuck with some pesky thieves, just hand them over to us in Xicheng. We'll get the job done! Hahaha!"
By the end, Director Wu couldn't hold back his laughter anymore.
Yang Guoming hung up the call with a scowl, then swept his gaze across the office.
The call had been on speaker.
Everyone had heard every single word.
Especially the law enforcement officers—each one lowered their head in shame.
Embarrassing.
Absolutely humiliating.
Even though the call hadn't been directed at them, they all felt their faces burning.
"You all heard that, right?"
Yang Guoming turned to the crowd, his voice thunderous:
"Does your face hurt? Do you feel ashamed?"
"That Wu Cheng'an dared to ask me for a car—because he has the right! Because he has results!
Maybe we should just hand over all our cars to Xicheng and let you all patrol on foot every day!"
Yang Guoming paced back and forth, pointing at everyone in the room, fuming:
"You're always complaining the cars are broken—this busted, that busted—asking me for replacements!"
"I'd love to get you new ones! But am I supposed to beg with my head on the chopping block?"
"What face do I have left to ask upper management for anything?!"
"If you have what it takes, go out and catch me a Thief King too!
I'll go file a request the very next day, and I'll camp there until they approve it!"
"But you don't give me that chance!"
The entire room was silent. No one dared speak.
"Alright, alright, Yang Guoming,"
Li Yongnian, the political instructor, finally stepped in to mediate:
"It was just Xicheng getting lucky this time. That Thief King had a sudden heart attack during a job, and they just happened to catch him in the act."
"This isn't about the Thief King!"
Yang Guoming was still seething:
"From today on, I want everyone fully alert and fired up!"
"Our district's Thief King has been caught, and the criminal world's without a leader!"
"Even if we can't wipe them all out, I want at least seventy to eighty percent of them in cuffs!"
"If we can't rack up some real achievements now, then none of us deserve to wear this uniform!"
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone shouted in unison, standing ramrod straight.
They could tell—this time, the director was truly angry.
And honestly, they themselves felt utterly disgraced.
Each one of them was now fired up, ready to give it their all.
"Director, we've got a situation."
Just then, the precinct's dispatch officer walked in with a grave expression, holding a stack of forms.
"Starting from last night, we've received a total of 258 reports—all thefts."
"And the calls are still coming in. Every one of them happened last night."
The room went dead silent.
Although the precinct got theft reports every day, two hundred and fifty-eight in one night?
That was insane.
"Have the thieves gone nuts? Are they coordinating now to see who's the best?"
One officer muttered in disbelief.
He didn't mean anything by it, but to some, the words struck like lightning.
Yang Guoming and Liu Yongnian exchanged sharp glances, eyes suddenly gleaming.
In perfect unison, they said:
"Thief King Selection!"
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