HLM -Chapter 756 A Mess of Information

Leston blinked. “The cattle theft case? You mean the one where four ranches lost a total of seven hundred cows?”

“Yes. Do you know anything about it? If you can give me something useful, I’ll let today’s incident slide and let you two go.”

“Really?” Leston was overjoyed.

Wang Bo raised his hand and swore, “Before God and the Holy Mother, everything I say is true. As long as Leston and his friend provide useful information related to the cattle theft case, I’ll let them go.”

Hearing this oath, the two young men suddenly perked up and started talking over each other—

“The biggest loss was at Anderson’s dairy farm—five hundred cows stolen! I bet the thieves used a Renault Highway King Gen-21 truck…”

“No way! It had to be a Volvo SSG! My old neighbor’s got one—an absolute monster! It could haul a thousand cows easy!”

“F*** you, Stephen! You think size solves everything? The bigger it is, the easier it gets spotted!”

“But those idiots didn’t even notice! They think New Zealand’s a paradise garden? Ha! This isn’t China—law enforcement’s not that great here…”

Watching the two of them argue heatedly, Wang Bo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Did these kids have no brains? Was now really the time for them to bicker?

Worse yet, none of what they said was remotely useful. It made him frown. “Shut up! F***—shut your mouths! You don’t know anything, do you? You can’t give me anything useful—then go to hell!”

After roaring, he waved his hand. “Back to the station. Throw them in jail.”

Leston quickly sobered up and grabbed his arm. “Wait, wait, officer! We got a little carried away earlier. We do know something—some inside info! Really, we do!”

Wang Bo narrowed his eyes. “Then talk. What do you know? Last chance.”

He already thought Uncle Bing’s idea of questioning these punks was pointless. How could they possibly have intel? If they did, then surely the Dunedin police would already know. Wang Bo didn’t believe there weren’t undercover informants among the locals.

Sure enough, the two could barely recall which cars had been stolen recently—nothing at all about the ranch cases.

They went on spouting random “inside” details, but it was either information Wang already knew or complete nonsense—nothing helpful to the investigation.

Growing impatient, Uncle Bing handed them their confiscated phones. “Call your friends. Think of someone who might know something and make the call.”

The two brightened again and started dialing. Soon Wang Bo found himself listening to a stream of chaotic chatter through their calls.

At first, it was all meaningless gossip—but gradually, pieces of what they said began to catch his attention.

“…Is Anderson an idiot? How do you lose five hundred cows and not notice? Oh, he’s got a big dairy farm? Raises milk cows? Damn, he must never pay for milk himself!”

“…Any cattle thieves seen around lately? No? Only smugglers? Where are their ships going? Africa? What—you mean they ship sick cattle and sheep?”

“Why ship dead animals? They’re worthless! Who’d buy dead cows? Africans eat anything? Fine, fine—back on topic. So, really no cattle thieves around?”

“Anderson fired some workers? Could they be taking revenge? No? Then why’d he fire them? Didn’t take care of the cows properly? What’s that mean—there was an outbreak on his farm?”

“Oh, not just his—most of the South Island’s dairy farms had an epidemic in early spring? Damn… okay, that’s something…”

“So, apart from Anderson’s, three other farms were hit too? What’s that—you mean all three were insured? They don’t even care about the losses? Shit, must be nice being rich. When’s my turn to live like that?”

“Bro, I’m in a bit of trouble—something to do with the cattle theft. No, I didn’t steal anything! I just helped some buddies gather info about the thieves…”

“No info? No way! I don’t believe cows can just vanish! What, did they grow wings—or teleport to another world?”

Uncle Bing kept jotting notes, while Wang Bo listened intently, his brow slowly furrowing. When their eyes met, each could see the same realization dawning in the other’s gaze.

The calls went on from dusk until full dark. Eventually, both phones died. The two young men slumped helplessly and looked pitifully at Wang Bo. “Officer, could we… use your phone?”

Wang Bo started the car. “Even if I let you call for another day and night, it wouldn’t matter. You don’t know any inside info at all.”

“No, no, we do! Please don’t take us to the station!”

Wang Bo gave them a sidelong look. “Should’ve thought of that earlier. When you stole someone’s car, did you think about how much it’d hurt them? Go to jail and do some soul-searching.”

“But I’ll let you off this time. Considering you tried, I’ll forget the bribery attempt. I won’t press charges for that.”

The two drooped in the backseat—but perked up slightly at that last part. Bribing an officer was a serious offense in New Zealand, not much lighter than grand theft.

Wang Bo wasn’t letting them go out of sympathy—he didn’t believe in pitying crooks. The real reason was that bribery charges were troublesome to prosecute. Under New Zealand law, such a case required approval from the Solicitor-General.

Besides, Leston had been cunning from the start—when offering money, he’d claimed he only wanted to “make friends.” If this ever went to court, that wording could be used in his defense. Wang Bo figured it wasn’t solid enough evidence to hold up.

Uncle Bing misunderstood and said, “Boss, you really keep your promises.”

Wang Bo raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“They did give us enough information, didn’t they? So, as promised, you’re letting them go.”

Wang Bo shot him a knowing look. “You’ve realized it too?”

Uncle Bing shrugged. “Of course. I don’t know what Dunedin police have been doing—this stuff’s right in front of their faces. How could they not piece it together?”

When they got back to the station, the task-force members were eating. Wang Bo handed the two thieves to the local police.

Sheriff Smith grinned and handed him a takeaway box. “Here’s your reward—one chicken drumstick. Catching thieves too, huh? Not bad!”

Wang Bo replied, “It’s more than just catching thieves, Sheriff. That reward’s not nearly enough.”