Whoever Wants to Eat This Soft Rice Can Eat It!

Susan reacted quickly.

That made sense.

If the address and such were written on the inside of the lid, then the deliveryman would have to open the box to look, which would give people the feeling that it was unsanitary.

"So what does this mean?"

Susan chose to toss the question to everyone else.

Ivan and Glenn shook their heads.

This was their first time seeing something like this too.

Old Harden, however, had some thoughts. He said uncertainly, "This might be a transaction location. In the past, some people liked to put contraband drugs, chemical narcotics, inside certain special foods and carry out transactions through fast-food delivery. Also, I heard that Los Angeles recently has a new kind of sex-for-money transaction method, and that's takeout delivery."

"Takeout delivery?"

Susan and the others grew interested.

Brian's face, however, turned dark.

Damn it!

He had originally been thinking that when everyone else expressed confusion, he would step in and explain!

As expected of an old-timer!

You stole the whole show!

What am I supposed to show off with?

Old Harden did not notice Brian's dark expression.

He said somewhat awkwardly, "I only heard it from a friend. The basic process is that someone orders a takeout set meal, then the john acts as the deliveryman himself, follows the address, finds the 'person who ordered,' and then starts tasting the takeout. There are also some role-playing elements. Lots of tricks."

Brian:

Oh no.

This old-timer really did know.

One had to know.

This idea had been something he had casually mentioned, based on a certain takeout app from his previous life, during a vehicle inspection.

In the end, it had been carried forward and flourished.

It was just that in his previous life, the delivery workers had been those black-stockinged young ladies.

In this life, it was the johns themselves.

In fact, it was not only deliverymen. The johns played many other roles too.

For example, plumbers who came to fix pipes, teachers who came for tutoring...

Susan looked thoughtful.

In the past, she had rarely come into contact with this kind of information.

Ivan, however, looked puzzled:

"What's the point of that?

Los Angeles not only has fixed-location transactions, but also roadside transactions, phone calls...

Transactions of this type.

There are too many methods.

This doesn't count as anything new, does it?"

Old Harden shook his head:

"You don't understand.

Fixed-location transactions are easy to get caught in.

Roadside transactions are easy to get baited in.

Those girls and johns both feel very unsafe.

Phone transactions.

Home services are too expensive.

This new type of transaction is different.

It's cheap, and between the john and the girl, there's no exchange of money or information.

The john delivers himself to the door.

It's extremely inconspicuous.

Even if they're targeted, they can say that while delivering the food themselves, they and the lady receiving it sparked a romance.

Without evidence.

There's no way to convict them."

Just as everyone was marveling at how creative those pimps were...

Brian drawled, "Old Harden, you know an awful lot about this stuff. Don't tell me it's all from personal experience?"

Old Harden:

His old dark face flushed. "Brian, that is a desecration of my professional integrity over more than thirty years in law enforcement..."

"What was it like playing the plumber and the teacher?"

"Pretty novel, just—"

Old Harden slipped up for a moment, and by the time he reacted, he had already exposed himself. He could only cover his face and flee. "I'm going to the tech department to hurry them up on the 3D reconstruction of the explosive bottle."

After driving off Old Harden, who had stolen his spotlight...

The petty Brian cleared his throat.

"Based on what we currently know, in this bombing case, the owner of the fast-food truck was most likely the killer's real target. So next, I need to perform a careful autopsy on his body. Does anyone want to be my assistant?"

"I'll do it," Susan volunteered, then looked at Ivan and Glenn. "When it comes to solving cases, you're the professionals. What are you planning to do next?"

Ivan stroked the stubble on his chin and thought for a moment before saying:

"In a typical homicide investigation, the key is finding the killer's motive.

Glenn and I need to first look into the victim's connections while he was alive.

Also, the matter Old Harden mentioned...

We'll have informants help investigate it too.

That may take some time."

Once the tasks were assigned...

Brian and Susan arrived at the branch's temporary morgue.

After completing the registration...

The two began changing clothes.

Susan was unfamiliar with all of this.

Brian did not find it troublesome. He taught Team Leader Susan how to change clothes step by step, hands-on and close by.

Looking at Brian, who was careful, considerate, and quite easy on the eyes, Susan could not help saying, "Brian, you really are a gentleman. Not like Old Harden, who's so old and still goes whoring."

Standing behind Susan and helping tie her straps, Brian looked at the graceful curve of her back and smiled faintly. "Thank you for the compliment. If I may be frank, aside from judging people by their looks, I don't have any flaws."

"Hahaha, you're really funny."

Susan chuckled, then sighed. "I used to think I was pretty capable. Before coming here as team leader, I was full of confidence too. But once I actually ran into a case, I realized I didn't understand anything. Not like you guys, each one of you so impressive."

Following the case number, Brian laid out the items they needed one by one and said casually:

"No one is born knowing how to do everything.

As a leader...

You only need to understand your subordinates' abilities and assign the right tasks to the right people.

By the way, Team Leader Susan.

What did you do before?"

After hearing Brian's words, Susan felt much better.

She said seriously:

"I was actually a member of the VIP protection unit before, specifically responsible for protecting the female family members of national dignitaries and visiting foreign guests.

I was quite happy there at first.

Until an accident happened. I shot seven or eight thugs in the head, terrifying that foreign guest's wife into a mental breakdown, and then I was dismissed."

Brian:

His expression stiffened. "You shot seven or eight thugs in the head?"

"Yes." A troubled look appeared on Susan's face.

"Those people were holding knives and Molotov cocktails.

My reaction was a little stress-induced.

Before they even got close, I instantly emptied the cylinders of two revolvers and killed every thug at the scene.

There was an investigation afterward.

They found out it was just a standoff caused by an uneven split after a looting incident.

The protection unit's supervisor thought I was a bit too straightforward.

Not suited to protection work...

After that, I got bored.

I wanted to become a cowboy or a bounty hunter.

"To make a name for myself."

"I even went over to Texas and entered a competition. Won a Gunslinger medal."

"Then something happened back home."

"So I came back."

Uh, well.

She had instantly headshotted seven or eight people.

A Gunslinger medal.

I was just bragging to you.

And you went and made it real?

Brian's teeth started to ache.

In life, you really had to rely on yourself.

As for living off a woman, whoever wanted that could go right ahead.

Brian, at least, didn't want any part of it anymore.

He was afraid that one day he'd bite into a bullet in his meal!

Brian hurriedly changed the subject. "All right, Team Leader Susan, please turn on the camera. I'm going to begin the autopsy."

"Mm, okay."

Susan obediently did as she was told.

The freezer drawer was pulled open.

What came into view was a corpse charred black from head to toe, still wrapped in a black, carbonized leather apron.

A numbered tag still hung from the corpse's foot.

What surprised Brian was—

A small dark-red ball was floating directly above the corpse.

A good start!

As expected, the remains from homicide cases were more likely to drop obsessions!

Brian, full of anticipation, ran his palm over the little ball.

If the dead man's obsession contained information about the killer, that would be perfect!

Good afternoon.

This book will be going up for its first round of recommendations on Sunday.

No idea whether, with so many big shots attacking from both front and back, it'll be able to preserve its innocence.