A New Obsession

By the time the familiar villa appeared before his eyes, Brian was numb.

I only left at dawn.

It wasn't even ten in the morning, and you already brought me back?

Is that appropriate?

Eight or nine police cars were already parked outside the villa. Large stretches of police tape had been pulled up, and through the gate, busy crowds could be seen examining the scene with extreme care.

Besides that, Los Angeles officers with CALL pagers on their shoulder straps were patrolling every intersection.

Forget people.

Even a dog passing by would not dare come close.

Brian put on an act and said, "What a grand scene. Was some billionaire murdered?"

With a beautiful drifting tail swing, Susan parked the car by the roadside. The corners of her mouth kept rising despite herself, and her tone was cheerful. "No. It was a guy I really hated. If it weren't for him, I would've become a bounty hunter long ago."

As she spoke, she opened the car door, ran around to Brian's side, and helped him out of the car.

The patrol officers at the intersection noticed this odd pair.

In particular, the two big guns at Susan's waist were far too eye-catching.

One Black patrol officer hurriedly put his hand on his waist, called his partner, and came over. "LAPD, hands—"

The Black patrol officer could not continue.

Because Susan had turned around.

His pupils widened. "That badge is so big and majestic!"

Susan noticed his gaze and said coldly, "I'm NW Department, B6 Team leader. Move!"

Her aura was far too powerful.

The Black patrol officer and his partner apologized repeatedly and stepped aside to the roadside, watching Brian's back with envy, jealousy, and hatred as Susan stayed pressed close while supporting him, wishing they could take his place.

Their badges cleared the way the whole way in.

The two entered the villa district smoothly.

The person in charge of this case received the news and came out to greet them with an assistant. "Susan, why are you here?"

"I heard Vadim got blown to death. I'm very sad, so I brought the best member of my team over to see if we could offer any help..." Susan clearly knew him, and as she spoke, she even deliberately wiped at nonexistent tears.

The person in charge was a white young man who looked somewhat like Schwarzenegger in his younger days.

He was tall and well-proportioned, dressed in an exquisite custom suit, with the same style of police badge as Susan's hanging from his collar. Faint lines shaped like the Chinese character for "river" showed on his forehead.

At first glance, he seemed somewhat stern.

Aiden glanced at the corners of Susan's mouth, which were harder to push down than an AK, then helplessly shifted his gaze to Brian, who was leaning on a crutch, and held out his hand. "Hey, buddy. I'm Aiden, leader of B1 Team. Thank you for coming to help despite your injuries, but we can handle this."

He clearly did not want Susan interfering in this case.

Susan's big eyes widened, and she was about to flare up.

Brian immediately took a step forward on his crutch and clasped Aiden's firm, powerful hand.

"Hello, Leader Aiden. I'm Brian, the autopsy officer of B6 Team.

"We're not planning to interfere in this case.

"But after all, the deceased knew Leader Susan. One more person means one more bit of strength.

"Why don't you let us go in and take a look at the scene?"

Aiden was clearly a very proud person and refused with a shake of his head. "Sorry, the deceased's identity is special, and we've already obtained key evidence. There's no need."

Brian ignored him completely. His gaze passed over the swimming pool ahead and fell on the glass fragments around it as he spoke with confidence.

"Judging from the commotion, "the deceased should have died in an explosion.

"Looking at the even distribution of the glass fragments around the area, "the blast point was in the master bedroom on the second-floor balcony.

"The location was very precise.

"The killer either knew the villa's structure very well and placed the explosives in advance, "or climbed up from the first floor, confirmed the deceased's position, and then threw the explosives inside.

"I noticed that the villa has a very comprehensive security system inside, and it is still running right now.

"This kind of security system has a special power supply.

"The wiring is installed separately.

Only the homeowner and the security company knew where the security system's power supply was located.

Once it was cut off...

Only the security company's logistics team could provide repair service.

That meant the killer had not deliberately cut the dedicated power supply for the security cameras before making his move.

I speculated...

The killer was one of the former.

He was very familiar with the victim's situation and had prepared timed explosives in advance!

This was a premeditated murder!"

Brian's tone was very confident.

There was no helping it.

He had created the entire crime scene himself.

He had just deliberately gotten it wrong.

Susan listened to Brian's understated deductions, nodding from time to time in agreement.

This was the elite she had chosen!

Pride appeared on her face as she looked at Aiden and raised an eyebrow.

As if to say:

Are you sure you don't want our help?

"Clap, clap, clap."

Aiden clapped his hands and nodded at Brian with considerable approval.

"A wonderful deduction.

Too bad you're wrong!

The killer climbed in right in front of the cameras, then climbed up to the second floor. After confirming Vadim's location, he climbed back down, then—"

He made a throwing motion.

"The killer threw two pull-wire detonators into the second floor, then confidently left once the maximum detonation time arrived.

In fact, his throws were truly accurate.

The detonators landed precisely between Vadim and his lover, killing them both instantly."

"Huh?" Brian showed just the right amount of surprise. "Committing the crime right in front of the cameras? The guy was that arrogant?"

Susan's focus was different.

A gossipy light gleamed in her eyes. "Lover? What lover? Didn't Vadim have a pretty good reputation in the circle?"

Aiden looked at the gossipy Susan, the crease between his brows tightening into a deep furrow. In the end, he sighed. "Forget it. Go in and take a look. The crime scene is simple enough anyway. Oh, right, your name is Brian, isn't it?"

As he spoke...

He handed over a business card. "Your reasoning and observation skills are excellent. Our team is still short of a sufficiently capable medical examiner. If you want, you can transfer over to me."

After saying that...

He stuffed the business card into Brian's hand and jogged away while Susan still had not reacted.

"Fuck you!"

Susan belatedly realized what had happened and raised a middle finger at Aiden's retreating back, then looked at Brian with dangerous eyes.

Brian immediately tore the business card in his hand to pieces. "That guy's no good! He's trying to destroy the steadfast colleague friendship and comradeship between us!"

Susan nodded in considerable agreement, then put on an act and said, "Aiden used to be a member of my squad. He's actually not a bad guy, and he's very capable and loyal. He likes capable people. If you went over to him, you might develop even better."

How could Brian be stupid enough to fall for that? He shook his head like mad. "Susan, don't do this. Ever since you protected me at Ace Base, I swore in my heart that as long as you need me, I'll always stay by your side and become your most reliable companion!"

"Brian..."

Susan was touched.

She had not expected Brian to be so genuine.

If this were a dating-sim strategy game, a string of affection +1 notifications would already have appeared above her head.

Susan felt ashamed of her test.

She lowered her head in embarrassment, only to find her view blocked. She had no choice but to turn her head to the side and point at the body-collection vehicle nearby, changing the subject. "Let's go. We'll see what that guy Vadim got blown into."

Brian let out a breath of relief.

He had gotten through it.

And he had even farmed a little affection on the side.

I'm fucking awesome!

Aiden's team had already collected the shattered bodies of the victim Vadim and his lover and laid them out on the morgue vehicle.

Before he even got close.

Brian saw it above one of the hearses—that brilliantly vivid little red ball.

A new obsession had dropped!