Most Probably Stolen characters with a story are wanted customers. The first time each one comes into your shop, you choose: press the alarm and collect the bounty, or let them go. Sparing some of them pays off later. Li Bei Wen gives you a drug formula, Odin Haraldsson becomes a buyer you can phone and James Bailey, The Butcher and Juan keep coming back to sell. Reporting has its own costs: report The Butcher and he hunts you until you pay Sawyer's Crew to deal with him.
For what the game is and every guide we publish, start at the Probably Stolen guide hub.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Story characters with their own guide | Eleanor, Lou, Cadet Serpico and John Smith. Source: In-game text. |
| Other wanted customers | James Bailey, The Butcher, Arthur Lafleur, Odin Haraldsson, Li Bei Wen, Juan and Leroy. Source: In-game text. |
| A regular with a story | Officer Lun. Source: In-game text. |
| How wanted customers appear | Once per run each, at random, except Odin, Lou and Cadet Serpico, who arrive on their own schedule. Source: The game code. |
| Pleas | James Bailey, Arthur Lafleur, Li Bei Wen and Juan beg you not to report them; The Butcher warns you. Source: In-game text. |
| Endless Mode | The random wanted customers, Lou and John Smith still appear; Officer Lun does not. Source: The game code. |
If you are looking for Probably Stolen quests, these characters are where they come from: each one brings a short chain of visits and a choice.
How the Wanted List, the alarm and the reward for reporting work is on the Security and Wanted List page. This table covers what each character does differently:
| Character | Who they are | If you report them | If you spare them |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Bailey | Sells Security gear | Arrested | Keeps coming back with Security "surplus" gear |
| The Butcher | Sells "fresh meat" from the Abandoned Sections | He takes revenge (see below) | He keeps coming back with meat |
| Arthur Lafleur | Former Revolution leader | The next day's paper: "Lower Level Revolutionary Captured!" | Your Revolution reputation goes up |
| Odin Haraldsson | Revolution supplier | "You will regret this." | Hands you a card and buys from you by phone |
| Li Bei Wen | Chemist working on a painkiller | "No! My research!" | Asks for chemicals, then gives you the formula |
| Juan | Sells cheap food | Arrested | Keeps coming back with cheap food |
| Leroy | Poses as a Security inspector | "Impersonating a security officer is a serious crime!" | Nothing more |
| Lou | Black Market figure | Her story starts; see our Lou guide | She never comes back |
| John Smith | Says he was mistaken for a robber | He returns angry; twice gets your store vandalized (John Smith guide) | He keeps buying food |
| Cadet Serpico | Security cadet who is framed | His story ends (Cadet Serpico guide) | You can help him expose corruption |
Eleanor is not on the Wanted List, but her story has a choice of its own: a man who calls himself her uncle leaves a stolen crate with you, and reporting him is the safe answer. Her whole story is in our Eleanor guide.
The Butcher has just come back from the Abandoned Sections with "some good stuff" and offers 25% off if you take everything. When you go to report him, he warns you: "Are you sure you want to do that, friend? Meat this fresh is hard to come by. Somebody always pays for it." If you let him go, he comes back every so often: "Hello again. I'm back with fresh meat."
If you report him, his revenge comes in steps:
Meat Cleaver So the fastest way to stop The Butcher is to pay Sawyer. Until you do, keep a gun in your backpack whenever you go out after hours.
"Hello, My name is Li Bei Wen. Please don't report me, I am innocent." Li Bei Wen claims to be close to finishing "a non-addictive version of Oxymore", says the big pharma companies don't want it on the market and blames them for getting Security to issue the label "an armed cartel cook". Li Bei Wen sells you samples to fund the research. If you reach for the alarm: "Let me go, and I'll share my formula with you once it's finished!"
Nomore Injector 
Li Bei Wen's Nomore Formula To get the formula:
The more chemicals you hand over, the sooner the formula arrives. How the chemistry equipment works is in our Probably Stolen chemistry guide.
Odin arrives early in a run, while the tutorial is still going, and is not one of the random wanted customers. "Don't press your alarm. My name is Odin, Odin Haraldsson. I have a business proposition for you." Odin's people need "guns, ammo, armor, poison, supply crates and access cards." There is a catch: "Contraband is no issue for us, but we won't pay you as much as you might get elsewhere."
James Bailey. James Bailey has "some extra gears I am not using", Security equipment such as stun batons and access cards, at 33% off if you take everything. The plea: "If you don't report me, I can keep bringing you Security gear." Spare James Bailey and the visits continue now and then, with Security "surplus" gear.
Arthur Lafleur. Arthur Lafleur only wants food and materials. The plea: "I don't have much to do with the Revolution anymore. If you let me go, I'll put in a good word with the young blood of the Revolution." Let Arthur Lafleur go and your Revolution reputation rises. Report Arthur Lafleur and the next day's paper says Arthur Lafleur, "a known activist and part of the former leadership in the failed revolution attempts of the lower levels, has been apprehended."
Juan. "Got some extra food to sell. I have more in the future if you want." The plea: "I can keep bringing you cheap food, I promise." Spare Juan and the visits keep coming: "Same deal as last time, if you want it."
Leroy. Leroy comes in posing as a Security inspector and asks to inspect your shop. Report Leroy and Security answers, "Impersonating a security officer is a serious crime! You are gonna tell us where you got that uniform from, scum!" Leroy has no further visits either way.
Officer Lun is not on the Wanted List. Lun is a Security officer whose visits tell a short story, and how it ends depends on what you sell:
This page doesn't cover whether pressing the alarm while a character is pleading counts as a report, or whether The Butcher's hunt has effects beyond keeping you in without a gun. On the open beta branch, patch notes of November 4, 2026 let you shoot most story characters to end their stories at once; that is not in the public build this page describes. We will update this page when that change reaches the public build.
The story characters are Eleanor, Lou, Cadet Serpico and John Smith; the other wanted customers are James Bailey, The Butcher, Arthur Lafleur, Odin Haraldsson, Li Bei Wen, Juan and Leroy; Officer Lun is a regular whose visits tell a story.
Spare Li Bei Wen for the Nomore formula, Odin Haraldsson for a phone buyer and Arthur Lafleur for Revolution reputation. Leroy is safe to report. Think twice about The Butcher, who takes revenge.
Pay Sawyer through the Nightly Service terminal after the offer to help. Sawyer's Crew ends the hunt that night. Until then, carry a gun when you go out after hours.
Don't report Li Bei Wen, then hand over common or restricted chemicals on the return visit. When the research is done, you get the formula and two Nomore Injectors.
A Revolution supplier who arrives early in a run. Let Odin go and you get a Business Card (Green), so you can phone Odin to sell weapons, ammo, armor, poison, supply crates and access cards.
Sell Lun narcotics after the ambush and an addiction starts; Lun then tries to sell you Armory surplus and runs a surprise inspection. Report Lun on either visit and Security makes an arrest.
Sources and version history for this guide: Probably Stolen sources and versions.
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