Blackstone Code

"Do you think they'll expect us to come again?"

In the dim light of the warehouse, two young men were hastily searching for valuable goods. This time, they had taken two flyers from kids handing them out on the street, specifically to study what items would yield the most profit.

In terms of value alone, several used cars parked in the parking lot were undoubtedly more lucrative. However, obtaining those was difficult without the knowledge of how to start them without keys.

Even if they succeeded, fencing such items was also very risky.

In the Baylor Federation, car theft rings were organized crimes, forming an industrial chain. If they could find the car theft gang in the Sabin City area now, they could definitely see Lynch's car and some vehicle information from their lists.

Not only did they have these lists, but their contacts in other cities also had similar ones.

When someone placed an order, they would steal and deliver the specified car or motorcycle to the customer.

This setup ensured that each region had only one gang; they did not want to disappoint customers or their contacts. If any roving car theft gang entered Sabin City, their first trouble would not be from the police but from the local car theft ring.

The other person chuckled and shook his head. "They definitely wouldn't expect us to come back so soon."

In truth, neither of them feared much. In the federal jurisdiction, theft was not a serious crime. According to federal law, even if they were caught, their sentence would not exceed three years, possibly only a few months plus six months of community service. The low cost of crime made them indifferent to the risk of being caught.

They quickly searched for portable and expensive items, while the worker in the blue overalls, keeping watch outside, smoked in the shadows.

He didn't think anyone would notice him now. As a warehouse district worker in blue overalls, he knew well the complexity of the warehouse area.

Losing a few things in some warehouses was normal; as long as the losses were not significant, no one would investigate. This had become an implicit rule, with everyone participating. That's why even though being a blue overall worker was tough, many were willing to take on the job, knowing that reporting wouldn't do much good.

With one or two thousand resident workers in the entire warehouse district, finding suspects of crime here was not simple. The cost of investigation was too high, and the payoff too low, so cases often ended unresolved.

But this time, they were destined to run into trouble because Lynch was no ordinary person, and he wouldn't abide by the ordinary rules that others might follow.

The blue overall worker finished his cigarette, pulling out a pocket watch inherited from his grandfather. Under a streetlight, he checked the time; ten minutes had passed.

Maybe it was the end of his cigarette, or perhaps his attention was wandering. Time seemed to slow down in his perception of the world, and he grew increasingly impatient.

He wanted to urge those two idiots to speed up but thought better of it, resigned to waiting quietly.

Meanwhile, under Lynch's instructions, the staff sergeant and five other former soldiers, a total of six people, had already approached the warehouse. They had been observing the blue overall worker for some time.

Following the principle of catching thieves with the goods, they didn't move immediately but waited silently.

Born from a fear of nature, the sensitivity of the blue overall worker didn't alert him to the close surveillance he was under. He just felt increasingly restless and uneasy as the two fools spent too long inside.

Although warehouse security guards usually didn't adhere strictly to scheduled patrols at night, this unpredictability increased the risk. It was far more dangerous than regular patrols; who knew when a guard might decide to wander out on a whim?

Seven or eight minutes later, the two emerged from the pried-open door. They could have come out several minutes earlier, but they had hidden what they considered the most valuable items on their person and didn't plan to reveal them.

They were friends with the blue overall worker, but at this moment, they weren't entirely on the same side. They risked so much to earn the money, yet they would have to share it with the blue overall worker, who merely opened the door for them. This left them somewhat dissatisfied.

So, it was natural for them to conceal some valuable items.

In the darkness, the blue overall worker couldn't tell they had anything else on them. After muttering, "Took you long enough," he gently closed the pried-open door and led the two to blend into the night.

Just as they exited through a side door of the warehouse district, the soldiers took action.

Soon, they caught all three with stolen goods. They called the police, who quickly arrived and took custody of the three criminals.

Watching them shiver and pale-faced, the staff sergeant reported the situation to Lynch, who was quite satisfied.

He had no intention of resorting to vigilante justice; in the federation, that was illegal. He believed the police would make these individuals understand that crime came with consequences.

Initially, Lynch thought that would be the end of it. However, the next day brought him results that he couldn't believe.

"You mean... those three were released?" Lynch's voice carried a strange mix of amusement and absurdity. Just now, the police station called the contact number they left after reporting the incident last night to inform them of the case's outcome.

The outcome was unexpectedly absurd. After receiving confirmation, Lynch immediately called the police station. His tone was calm, concealing his inner displeasure. "Last night my warehouse was robbed. We caught three thieves and notified the police, but you just told me that the three thieves have been released. I want to know what's going on."

The operator on the other end was a girl who asked Lynch to hold for a moment. He waited for seven or eight minutes before she returned to inform him that indeed, the three had been released.

"Mr. Lynch, I apologize for what happened to you, but this was the result of a swift trial in the local fast-track court of Sabin City. It was their first recorded offense, and they were shown leniency by the judge. They've been sentenced to community service of no less than twenty hours a week, to continue for...," the operator paused, the sound of flipping pages were heard over the line, "nine months."

The call ended quickly, leaving Lynch feeling absurdly incredulous.

He immediately called Ferrall. Originally, Lynch had intended to publicly post the crimes and punishments of these three individuals around his warehouse after the trial, letting people know where they could and couldn't cross the line.

He hadn't expected them to only get community service, practically no different from no punishment at all.

Everyone knew that community service companies wouldn't offend their clients. Unless ordered administratively or by court order, the community service companies would timely report their clients' completion of their duties to the judicial authorities even if they hadn't done anything.

This was not the outcome Lynch had hoped for; it would only embolden these people further. He needed to understand what had happened.

After hearing about the situation, Ferrall only offered Lynch a few words of comfort. He informed Lynch that the prison of Sabin City was no longer accepting light offenders.

In other words, the prison doors were closed, a situation caused partly by deteriorating security in Sabin City and overcrowding in the prisons.

Another issue was that some people found that not only had they lost their jobs, but they also struggled to afford food, making it very difficult to survive.

In prison, however, they could get a job and didn't have to worry about food and other necessities. Even if they got sick, the prison hospital would cover their treatment costs to a certain extent, but only for minor illnesses.

As for how minor illnesses were defined, it mainly depended on whether the treatment costs were higher than the autopsy and cremation fees, and whether it was an infectious disease.

As a result, many people began committing crimes voluntarily and surrendering themselves. This ensured that their sentences wouldn't be too long, and they could have a worry-free life inside with food, shelter, and even a job.

But now, these people were no longer valuable resources and became a burden to the prisons. Their products had no market, so the prisons stopped accepting new inmates.

With prisons not wanting prisoners, courts not having the authority to detain them, and the police force experiencing shortages, Ferrall explained, anyone except for serious offenders would only receive community service.

It wasn't targeting anyone; it was simply an unavoidable solution.

Meanwhile, the three released individuals felt... something indescribable stirring within them. They had committed crimes but had been acquitted.

In their view, community service was tantamount to being declared innocent. They had never heard of committing a crime without going to prison. So, after a brief rest, they decided to cause trouble for the warehouse district and those who had caught them yesterday, teaching them a lesson.Please vote for this novel at https://www.novelupdates.com/series/blackstone-code/There are advance chapters available nowAccess will be granted 24 hours after the donationTier 1: 7 Advance chapters Link

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