Legendary FBI Detective

Special Investigation Team, office area.

Mona needed some time to handle the computer. Meanwhile, Luo An took out his phone and called the owner of a nearby restaurant, ordered several dinners, and asked them to deliver to the office area of the investigation team. Then he called Reesi.

"It's me, Luo An, how's everything on your end?"

"Everything is going smoothly."

The voice on the other end of the call was somewhat noisy. Luo An heard Reesi apologizing to some people, then moving to a quieter spot and said in a low voice:

"I didn't directly contact Ke Green, but went to his favorite bar.

Ke Green isn't flashy with spending money, nor does he seek out women or gamble, which made me wonder if I got the wrong person for a moment."

Luo An raised his eyebrows and asked:

"What did you find?"

"I found this guy to be too stable, unnaturally stable."

Reesi sneered and said:

"Ke Green has been unemployed, with most of his daily expenses coming from odd jobs like moving stuff for the bar or nearby supermarket, earning hard physical money with an extremely unstable source of funds.

However, Ke Green not only doesn't show any signs of stress but is very calm, indifferent even to some mockeries from the punks in the bar, even showing a bit of disdain in his eyes…"

Luo An nodded, understanding the implication of Reesi's words. Ke Green seemed to be living a precarious life, yet he exuded an arrogance of being able to turn his life around whenever he wanted.

Moreover, Ke Green doesn't smoke green hemp, doesn't do cocaine, and doesn't drink much; he just likes to smoke cigarettes and is mentally stable.

Reesi summed up:

"I suspect that Ke Green is likely one of the bank robbers, and that money is either hidden by him, waiting for the heat to die down before spending it; or that the money has not been laundered yet, and he's still waiting."

"Good, you've worked hard."

Luo An pondered for a while, discussed the future investigation plan briefly with Reesi, then hung up the phone.

Soon after, the dinner he had ordered by phone was delivered to the office area. Luo An took out a few US Dollars for the delivery person, then walked into the office area with the food, smiling:

"Ladies, a piece of good news, our dinner has arrived."

"Thank you."

After receiving the dinner, Michelle offered thanks, and Mona looked up, smiling:

"I also have some good news, Professor Lloyd Webster's computer has been recovered by me."

Mona put the dinner aside casually, then showed the computer to Luo An, saying:

"And I found the thing that was erased, it's a chat record from an online chat room."

Luo An's eyes lit up as he bent down to look at the computer screen. The chat records spanned a long time, but the content was not complex.

Half a month before the military launched that top-secret experiment, Professor Lloyd Webster met a man named "White Bruce" in the chat room.

The man "White Bruce" indicated that he knew Professor Lloyd, as well as his son's situation.

He respected and sympathized with Professor Lloyd, willing to donate 50,000 US Dollars to Professor Lloyd's son but also wanted Professor Lloyd to do him a favor, specifically to produce a bottle of botulinum toxin.

Professor Lloyd initially refused "White Bruce" outright, but as his son's condition worsened and the funds saved over the years were gradually running out, Professor Lloyd actively approached "White Bruce" agreeing to make a bottle of botulinum toxin for 300,000 US Dollars.

"White Bruce" stated the price was too high, and after bargaining, the final price was set at 100,000 US Dollars.

After the bottle of botulinum toxin was successfully produced, Professor Lloyd took that bottle under the pretext of going to Los Angeles to see his son, but in reality, he went to Los Angeles to make a deal with "White Bruce."

At the same time, Michelle found out that Professor Lloyd's son did not die painfully from late-stage brain cancer, but instead committed suicide by jumping off a building in the hospital when the nurse was not watching.

The timing coincidentally matched with the period when Professor Lloyd went to Los Angeles with the toxin for the deal.

Luo An's frown deepened as he scrolled through the chat logs. "White Bruce" never met Professor Lloyd at the prearranged time and place, nor did he get the poison gas, so he turned back and demanded an explanation in the chatroom.

Initially, Professor Lloyd didn't reply. The next day, while handling his son's funeral affairs, he logged on just long enough to say that his son had died and the deal was off.

Luo An pondered for a long while before asking Mona to look up the owners of the safety deposit boxes that had been robbed at the California First Republican Bank.

Soon after, Mona found a safety deposit box registered to a "Avery Owen" - it had been rented for four months.

That was the name of Professor Lloyd's ex-wife.

The chat log mostly consisted of "White Bruce" asking for the location of the poison gas and requesting to continue the transaction, even offering to pay a higher price.

Professor Lloyd kept ignoring him, until "White Bruce" threatened his life. Then, Professor Lloyd said if it came to it, "White Bruce" could kill him, but he would still not get the gas.

"White Bruce" fell silent for a long while before going offline, and he never spoke to Professor Lloyd again. The chat record ended there.

...

After reviewing the conversation, the office of the Special Investigation Team grew quiet.

Thinking for a moment, Michelle summed up with a frown:

"Professor Lloyd originally planned to sell the poison gas for his son's sake, but his son, not wanting to burden his father, committed suicide by jumping off a building. Consequently, Professor Lloyd unilaterally canceled the deal and stored the poison gas in a safety deposit box at the California First Republican Bank."

Mona tilted her head, pondering, then concluded:

"Perhaps seeing the poison gas he temporarily stored in the bank lead to so many deaths, coupled with his son's suicide, led Professor Lloyd to lose his will to live and ultimately choose suicide."

Luo An nodded; the analysis by Mona and Michelle made sense, but his focus was now on another issue:

Was this "White Bruce" the same person who had infiltrated Professor Lloyd's home earlier?

So, Luo An patted Mona on the shoulder, a grave expression on his face:

"Mona, find a way to ascertain the identity of this 'White Bruce'.

We need to find out what this person is so desperate to do with the poison gas.

Also, since he didn't get the gas from Professor Lloyd, is it possible he's turned his attention to others? Has he obtained the gas from someone else?"

Poison gas is something that, if used, results in guaranteed multiple deaths.

"White Bruce" displayed clear antisocial thoughts in his words, leading Luo An to suspect that since he hadn't gotten what he wanted from Professor Lloyd, he'd likely try contacting others.

"OK, I'll start investigating!"

After hearing Luo An's analysis, Mona's face turned solemn, and she nodded firmly, immediately starting to type on the keyboard, while Michelle moved next to her to assist.

Luo An walked to the whiteboard, frowning deeply at a photo of the poison gas, when suddenly his phone rang.

Picking up, he saw it was the supervisor from the Special Investigation Team:

"Good evening, Sir."

Potante Byrne from the other end grunted a brief acknowledgement, cutting straight to the point:

"I've received some information from the Federation Army. Some of their departments recently collaborated with University of California and Hudson University on some experimental activities, parts of which were related to botulinum toxin..."

...

Listening to Potante Byrne's discovered clues and analysis, Luo An felt a headache brewing.

This information, if only received a bit sooner, wouldn't have left them scrambling like this now.

Just as Luo An was hesitating on how to recount the discovered clues to the excited Potante Byrne, Mona's phone suddenly rang.

Mona pressed the answer button, and an anxious voice of Reesi rang through:

"Mona, hurry and pass the phone to Luo An, Ke Green is planning to leave Los Angeles!"