Around four in the afternoon, in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of northwestern Queens, New York.
Lin An crouched outside a closed barbershop. Behind him was a faded mural. He kept himself tucked into the shadow of the eaves, like a cat that didn't want the sunlight to find him.
Gloves, hat, mask, sunglasses.
Nothing was missing.
Not a patch of Lin An's skin was exposed to the air, from head to toe.
If you ignored his Asian squat, you probably couldn't guess his ethnicity.
[Streamer, why are you wearing a mask and gloves?]
"To keep my fingerprints from being exposed again."
Lin An sighed.
"I was in too much of a rush last night. I'd barely woken up before I was forced to act, and I didn't have time to prepare. The New York police have probably found my hair and fingerprints."
[We're screwed.]
[Streamer, why don't you get out of here now? Escape New York.]
[There's really no need to be that scared. Don't give the 2009 New York police too much credit. Their DNA database wasn't fully built yet. That only happened gradually later on.]
[In 2008, the New York City Police Department's overall clearance rate was around 25%. It was higher for murders, nearly 70%, but those were cases with clearly identified victims. Burglary was under 15%, and robbery under 30%.]
[For a murder like last night's, with no rhyme or reason, the New York police wouldn't give a damn. They'd treat it as gang violence, file a report, put together a token task force, then disband it a week later.]
[More likely, the FBI would take it over and do exactly the same thing.]
[Lol, are American law enforcement agencies really that absurd?]
Lin An was absorbed in watching the Bullet Screen roll by when Darnell came over from the corner with a few young Black guys.
"Hey!"
Darnell's voice boomed from the corner, carrying a natural volume that could fill the whole street without a microphone.
"...You guys, come here. I want you to meet a good bro of mine."
Lin An looked up.
Darnell led three young Black men over, swaying as he walked, his hands in his pockets and his jacket open to reveal a white T-shirt that looked like it had been washed eight hundred times.
Three other Black guys followed behind him. Aside from their different heights and builds, they were much alike, even in how they dressed.
Darnell walked ahead of them. His prematurely aged face made him look like a gang boss leading his underlings.
He was planning to introduce the three young men to one another and bring Lin An into his little circle of friends.
But just before he began, Darnell suddenly remembered something... He still didn't know his good bro's name.
But would it be embarrassing to ask in front of his underlings?
Darnell fell into thought. Just as he was about to make up a random name for Lin An, Lin An immediately guessed what he was thinking from his weathered face. He stood up on his own and took off his mask and sunglasses.
"My name's Lin An."
Hearing Lin An's name, Darnell breathed a sigh of relief. He cheerfully introduced the three young Black men to Lin An, and the others responded with easy laughter. The mood quickly grew lively.
To be honest, though, Lin An wasn't particularly invested in joining Darnell's circle. He could think of ten or eight reasons if asked, but the real reason was that he didn't want to.
So Lin An was a little perfunctory in response to the Black guys' enthusiasm.
Darnell and the other young men didn't seem to mind. If anything, they thought Lin An was just what you'd expect of a real Chinese guy: obviously shy and bashful.
Amid the Black guys' racket, a protest march turned onto Roosevelt Avenue. There were around two hundred people, most of them Latino, mixed with some Bangladeshis and a few white people. They shouted slogans Lin An couldn't understand, making quite a spectacle.
Meanwhile, two police cruisers followed the march at the front and back. A few officers had even taken up scattered positions at the intersections along the route, looking utterly bored.
Darnell and his friends, along with the other poor Black and white guys hiding around the area, began rubbing their hands together. They were ready to wait for the march to pass, then rush the commercial strip for a bout of "shopping."
[Hey, wait, I know that guy.]
[He was the mercenary captain at the factory last night—the one who ran away.]
"Hm?"
Lin An, who had been lounging listlessly, perked up at once. He stood and looked toward the crowd.
"Where? Where is he?"
Darnell was startled by his reaction.
"What are you talking about?"
[At the back of the march.]
[He's crossing the street.]
Following the Bullet Screen's directions, Lin An soon spotted a man at the tail end of the chaotic crowd. He wore a blue windbreaker and had his face hidden beneath a baseball cap.
Lin An hadn't seen this man inside the abandoned factory last night. If they'd crossed paths, he certainly wouldn't have let him escape.
Even though he didn't recognize him, Lin An trusted the Bullet Screen completely. He immediately tapped Darnell.
"I saw a gunman who escaped from the factory last night. He went into the pharmacy across the street."
Lin An pointed toward the pharmacy entrance. Darnell's lips pressed into a thin line as he looked over at the shop.
"Bro, are you sure...?"
"I wouldn't mistake him."
Lin An's reply was firm.
Darnell had acted unconcerned when he left the house that day, but it turned out he wasn't truly indifferent. He quickly stepped back and quietly spoke with the three young Black men behind him.
Ni Ge might be unreliable when it came to big things, but when it came to small things, they were certainly loyal to their friends.
For example, when Darnell asked them to help catch someone, the three of them agreed without a second thought.
They were definitely going to act. That left two questions.
First, how and where should they make their move?
Second, once they succeeded, how should they get the man away from the scene and interrogate him?
When Lin An asked the questions and turned around, he saw four bewildered faces.
Darnell and the other three were crammed into the recess by the barbershop entrance, like a group of penguins stranded on shore.
Their expressions were uncannily alike: mouths slightly open, eyebrows raised, and eyes blinking three times as fast as usual.
"So..."
One of the clean-shaven Ni Ge spoke first, his voice low.
"We're supposed to rush into a pharmacy, grab someone, and then... then what?"
"Find out who's hunting me," Darnell said.
"How do we ask?"
The second Ni Ge scratched his head.
"I only know how to ask with my fists."
"Fists should be enough, right?"
Darnell didn't sound as sure of himself as usual.
The four exchanged glances, then all looked at Lin An.
Lin An sighed. He knew he shouldn't have expected the Ni Ge to come up with anything clever. This one was on him.
Darnell took a deep breath and opened his mouth, then closed it again.
"We..."
He began.
"Could we wait until he comes out, then make our move outside?"
"There's a protest outside, and there are cops."
Lin An's tone was as calm as if he were reading from a menu.
"You're planning to make a move in the middle of Roosevelt Avenue? There are over two hundred witnesses and two patrol cars. How far do you think you'll get?"
Darnell pressed his lips into a thin line.
"Then... the back alley? We Ni Ge can all run..."
"The back alley only has one exit. The other end is blocked off. If you corner him in there, he'll corner you too. He's a mercenary, so he probably has a handgun on him.
"We can't give him a chance to draw it."
The four Ni Ge fell silent again.
[Lol, all four Ni Ge are completely clueless.]
[The streamer's actually expecting them to come up with a plan?]
[Just rush in. What's there to think about?]
[Right, the pharmacy. I checked earlier, and there's only one employee inside. A woman.]
[Then what are we waiting for? Rush in, pin him down, ask our questions, and leave.]
[Wait, here's the question... What do we do with him afterward? Let him go? Kill him?]
[Ask him first. Once he tells us who's behind it, he's useless.]
[He's seen Darnell's face. Aren't you worried he'll come back for revenge if you let him go?]
[Who do you think he is? He's a mercenary. Is he going to have time to get revenge on some Ni Ge?]
[Fair enough.]
[But there are a few other problems. First, there are security cameras in the pharmacy. Second, you Ni Ge are way too recognizable. Third, does the mercenary know Darnell?]
[He probably doesn't. Darnell ran off fast last night, and they never came face to face.]
[Then it's simple. Cover your faces, go in, control the employee, grab the guy, destroy the cameras, interrogate him inside, then leave.]
[Interrogate him in the store? What if someone comes in?]
[The march will last at least half an hour. Everyone on this street is watching. Who's going to go into a pharmacy?]
[Besides, once the march passes, the cops will follow it. That leaves a window with no one around.]
[Streamer, are we doing this?]
Lin An finished reading the Bullet Screen and turned around.
The four were still in place, their expressions having shifted from "bewildered" to "anxious." Darnell had something clenched in his pocket, possibly the can of pepper spray—the one Lin An had bought that afternoon.
"I have a plan," Lin An said.
The four pairs of eyes lit up at once.
Before you continue