Strange Life of a Cat

Chapter 360 - 360 353 Bah

?Chapter 360: Chapter 353: Bah! Chapter 360: Chapter 353: Bah! Zheng Tan had a hard time finding the four students who stole bikes. It was even harder to capture them stealing during the broad daylight, so he could only wait in the yard behind “Sai Ma Car Shop,” knowing they would eventually show up there after each theft. They always arrived together because there needed to be accomplices around to handle any potential situations.

For instance, when stealing women’s bikes, there would be at least one guy around. If caught, and an argument ensued, a man could step in and dominate the scene, making the relatively weaker girls more likely to evaluate the situation and back down from continuing the argument. When stealing men’s bikes, that same girl would definitely be nearby. If a fight broke out between the thief and the bike owner, a seemingly gentle female student intervening to mediate could defuse the situation since most men wouldn’t physically assault a woman. Moreover, since they were all students, their temperaments were somewhat simpler, and many didn’t have the nerve for confrontation, generally preferring to keep the peace. This only emboldened the thieves.

Upon arrival at the back of the shop, Zheng Tan jumped onto the courtyard wall and flipped onto the second floor balcony, where a nondescript gray-black cell phone lay.

Once he had turned it on, Zheng Tan looked around to ensure no one was watching, grabbed the phone, and then went looking for the bike that the girl who posted online had lost. The bike was freshly painted, but its seat hadn’t been replaced. Zheng Tan quickly took a few more pictures, then returned to the second floor balcony to keep watch, forgoing lunch as well.

The gang likely chose to strike during midday, when students often stepped out for lunch off-campus, so leaving right now meant risking missing them.

Right around one o’clock, the courtyard door opened, and the same four people came in, pushing a freshly stolen bike. Zheng Tan immediately activated the camera on his phone and began filming, careful to breathe softly to enhance the microphone’s capture of their conversation.

The group discussed how they had almost been caught stealing the bike earlier that day, remarking on the high quality of the bike that could fetch several hundred yuan if refurbished.

Later, they swapped out the freshly painted bike’s basket and seat, a routine aspect of their operations, making Zheng Tan grateful he had taken extra photos earlier. They were quite cautious.

Zheng Tan didn’t know how long the “Liu Ba” model phone could continuously record. Normally, cell phones don’t record video for very long, but this one managed a half-hour before indicating it needed to restart.

Zheng Tan was satisfied with the clarity and quality of the footage captured.

In the courtyard, the people laughingly discussed how much money they had made from selling the stolen bikes over the last few days, completely oblivious to the fact that a cat was hiding behind a pile of clutter on the second floor balcony, secretly recording their every word and action.

By 2:00 p.m., three of them had left, leaving one person continuing to refinish a bike. Zheng Tan seized the opportunity to leave when that person went to the bathroom. He left the phone behind, as it was too conspicuous to take it in broad daylight and there was nothing left worth filming. He planned to return in the evening to retrieve the phone.

After leaving the shop, Zheng Tan headed straight for Jiao Wei’s family’s small restaurant, as he hadn’t eaten lunch and was hungry.

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