Empire of Shadows

The hurried footsteps, accompanied by knocking, startled Officer Lukal from his half-asleep state. He cursed under his breath, then forced a smile as he looked at the female officer on duty at the door. "So, the rebels have stormed the Presidential Palace, have they?"

The recent controversy over immigration issues has been significant, with people gathering outside the Presidential Palace to protest the federal government's 'inaction' on illegal immigration and smuggling. Some jokingly used 'storming the Presidential Palace' as a call to action, urging people to stand up against the government's do-nothing approach.

Being woken up during a drowsy night shift, he was bound to vent his frustration.

It could be understood as dissatisfaction with the current situation, or as a complaint about the system.

The female officer, who initially had a serious expression, couldn't help but laugh after a brief moment of surprise. Realizing that this was inappropriate, she quickly said, "A serious case of aggravated burglary has occurred. The precinct needs you."

The Criminal Investigation Team of Golden Port City Police Department is under the direct control of the main bureau. After receiving a criminal case, the precinct submits it to the main bureau for case assignment. The precinct does not have the authority to handle criminal cases.

Of course, 'handle' here does not mean that the precinct police ignore criminal cases they come across. They still have the responsibility to stop crimes and apprehend criminals on the scene. However, the investigation work of the case will be entirely transferred to the Criminal Investigation Team of the main bureau, which will integrate the city's resources to solve the case.

This is a form of resource optimization.

Officer Lukal was one of the three criminal investigation officers on duty at the main bureau tonight. The other two had already left, as the night in Golden Port City was not safe.

He straightened up, slapping his thighs, rubbed his face, and walked towards the door with a cigarette in his mouth. The female officer quickly followed behind him, handing him a note with basic information.

Lukal drove quickly to the scene of the crime, Johnny's Bakery. He put on gloves, crossed the police line, and entered the bakery.

Many colleagues were already working inside, collecting evidence and such. The current person in charge of the scene was the night patrol officer from the precinct.

"Hey..."

The two knew each other. Lukal walked to his side, offered him a cigarette, and they started smoking together. "What's the situation?"

The patrol officer briefly explained, "Someone reported a violent home invasion. The hospital said there were more than twenty fractures. Over a thousand dollars was stolen."

Lukal noticed some labeled bags placed on a table. These were all exhibits.

Among them, several packaged brown paper bags of bread caught his attention. "What's in these?"

"Bread and ham."

Officer Lukal opened one of them and whistled. "Looks like they left their midnight snack behind."

He turned to the patrol officer. "What do you think?"

The patrol officer briefly explained some of his findings. "There were no signs of forced entry. The windows were all locked, no traces of climbing were left behind. The only way in was through two doors, and they were fine. They entered and exited through the main door."

"The main door is also intact?"

"Could they have picked the lock?"

Ordinary people may not know, but as a police officer, he was well aware that current locks were not too secure. Skilled individuals could easily pick them without leaving any traces.

The patrol officer shook his head. "The lock was on the inside."

Officer Lukal raised his eyebrows. "Then, at the time the owner was attacked, there should have been a second person in the bakery."

The patrol officer nodded. "The bakery apprentice."

The case was basically clear to him. He glanced again at the paper bags, packed very skillfully, as if they often did this kind of work.

If there was only bread or only ham inside, it might not mean anything.

But with these two things together, it was obviously suspicious.

Because bread and ham together would affect the taste, the ham's flavor would permeate the bread. As a commodity, neither the owner nor the apprentice would make such a mistake.

Then it could only mean that it was done outside of work.

Looking at the breadcrumbs scattered all over the floor, he had already roughly deduced the course of events in his mind. "Where is he?"

"He went to the hospital with his boss."

"This kind of case shouldn't be submitted to us."

He couldn't help but complain. A case that could be understood at a glance didn't need to waste police resources at all.

Most importantly, there was absolutely no need to disturb his rest!

The patrol officer smiled. "Actually, I didn't want to either, but those are the rules."

After shaking hands, Officer Lukal returned outside the police line, drove back to the main bureau, and called the radio to request backup. He didn't need to go out for an arrest.

At this time, Johnny had just fallen asleep.

Both of his arms were fractured into seven or eight pieces. In the doctor's words, it would take at least six months to heal completely, and even then, there would be some deformities, and it would be difficult for his hands to bear heavy movements in the future.

Forget about kneading dough and the like. The apprentice had been trying very hard to hold it together, but his face still revealed a strange kind of happiness.

"Your boss has medical insurance, which is good news, but there are some non-insurance expenses that need to be settled, such as the ambulance fee. You'd better notify his family."

Soon, the owner's daughter and her boyfriend arrived. The apprentice had heard that she had a boyfriend, but this was the first time he had seen him. He had slightly dark skin and looked to be in his thirties.

"How's Johnny?"

As soon as she arrived, she immediately asked the apprentice. The apprentice explained the general situation.

Just as he was comforting the owner's daughter, two police officers walked over. "...Sir (apprentice), we need you to cooperate and explain what happened at the time."

The apprentice comforted the owner's daughter for a few words and quickly followed the two police officers away.

However, he had no experience. In theory, if he was just a victim, the statement should be taken in a quiet place.

But he was taken directly back to the main bureau and sent to the interrogation room.

At this point, he also felt that something was wrong.

It was ten minutes later when Officer Lukal came in with a clipboard. The 'quiet' time had not only failed to calm him down, but had made him even more uneasy.

The moment he saw Officer Lukal come in, he subconsciously stood up, wanting to say something, but not knowing how to start.

Officer Lukal sat down opposite him and motioned for him to sit down. "Do you smoke?"

The apprentice shook his head. "No, thank you."

Officer Lukal took out a cigarette for himself. "Do you mind?"

"No."

He lit it, took a deep breath. "Can you tell me why you hurt your boss?"

The apprentice was stunned for a moment, then immediately denied, "I didn't do it!"

His innocent expression made Officer Lukal find it a little funny. It was too fake, his acting wasn't up to par.

Here, he had seen all kinds of criminals, some with bad acting skills.

There were also people with such good acting skills that he even doubted whether he had arrested the wrong person, whether he had mistaken the evidence.

The young man in front of him belonged to the category of bad acting. He couldn't hide his emotions.

"The door lock was on the inside. In other words, someone opened the door for them, let them in. There were two people in the house, you weren't injured, your boss was not only robbed of money, but also seriously injured. Do you think this is a coincidence?"

The apprentice was already covered in sweat, and his body was shaking slightly. He felt hungry and wanted to defecate. He was still trying his best to defend himself. "Maybe... we just forgot to close the door at night."

Officer Lukal laughed. "The bread you packed for those people, they forgot to take it. Your fingerprints are on it, and so are theirs."

Looking at the completely dumbfounded apprentice, Officer Lukal shook his head. Disturbing his midnight rest for such a simple little case was really a bit speechless.

He was lazy and had no interest at all. "Write down their names, and write down how you conspired. That way, I will plead with the judge for you, and at most, you'll get two or three years of imprisonment."

"If we investigate it ourselves, violent home invasion is a serious crime. If they say that you planned and orchestrated everything, you may face more than ten years of imprisonment."

"There's no controversy in this kind of case. Even if you don't say it, if I investigate your social interactions, I can find these people."

"The reason I'm saying this is not only because you're young, but also because I don't want to waste unnecessary police force and time on your little case."

"You've already made a mistake!"

The apprentice sat there blankly for a long time, with only one question constantly troubling him in his mind. Didn't the movies and storybooks say that the police were all morons?

How... had he been caught in less than an hour?

About two or three minutes later, his whole body suddenly tensed up, but quickly relaxed again. He lowered his head and began to confess the names of those people, as well as his motives for the crime.

When he heard that he had only wanted to find a way to learn the boss's recipes and techniques, and had taken the initiative to invite people to commit the crime, Officer Lukal's mind was also a little confused.

In the end, he looked at the apprentice's signed statement and touched his eyebrows. Even with cooperation, it was still more than five years.

From a legal cause-and-effect perspective, he was the mastermind, the planner of the entire case, while those people were actually just the implementers.

The law's hatred for masterminds is far greater than for implementers!

He gave the apprentice one last look of pity. "I hope this incident will teach you a lesson, kid."