Bullets Are More Persuasive Than Words

The murder scene.

It was inside a motel somewhere along the highway from Los Angeles to Long Beach.

Long Beach was a major city in the Greater Los Angeles area. Its current total population was nearly four hundred thousand, making it the second-largest city by population in the Greater Los Angeles area. It had one of the top ten busiest ports in the world, and its endless coastline had created a thriving tourism industry.

Every year, many people went to Long Beach for vacation.

When there were too many people, problems tended to happen.

Especially since many places had no surveillance.

On top of that, America's infrastructure was garbage. Once you left the city, the cell signal was like dog shit.

If you really ran into danger.

You couldn't even call for help.

Back when Brian was at the Forensic Bureau, he heard about quite a few highway murder cases every year.

But one that happened in a motel, with methods this brutal?

Those were genuinely rare.

Because the more brutal the method, the more attention the police would pay.

Killing someone with a pistol and killing someone by skinning them had completely different social impacts.

Besides, dumping a body in a motel...

The body would be found very easily.

It was not a killer's first choice of location!

Even if someone committed murder in a place like a motel, anyone with a somewhat normal brain would choose to buy a large suitcase, then take the body away and dispose of it in the wilderness.

Brian's instincts told him.

Something was off about this case!

On the road.

Brian told Susan, who did not have much experience in this area, his analysis.

Susan shook her head.

"Maybe.

But past experience doesn't really apply now.

In fact.

After the Blood Moon, the crime rate across the entire Greater Los Angeles area rose by more than three hundred percent.

Only a small number of those cases involved out-of-control Aberrants.

Most were impulsive murders committed by people who, after being exposed to Blood Moon radiation, weren't infected, but had their emotions amplified."

Brian was startled when he heard that. "Ordinary people can be affected by the Blood Moon too?"

"Not just ordinary people.

It should be said that in the year or two after the Blood Moon, most living beings with spirituality will be affected.

Including some animals!"

Worry flashed through Susan's eyes. "In the past, it was because information didn't circulate well that most ordinary people weren't sensitive enough to these things. Who knows what it'll be like in the future."

Seeing Brian fall into thought.

Susan lit a cigarette and continued.

"Do you know why we have so much authority, to the point that we don't even need administrative leave after shooting someone directly?

This is why!

Our duty is to protect ordinary people's lives from the impact of the Blood Moon.

But keeping ourselves alive is more important!"

Brian nodded.

This was the difference between America and the frontline departments from his previous life.

Here.

If the benefits were good enough.

I could consider going in.

Too dangerous?

Sorry.

Then I can't do it.

Even if you're the president!

Susan still placed great importance on Brian, her "talented" subordinate.

He was afraid Brian hadn't understood what she meant.

So she put it even more bluntly. "Brian, what I mean is, from now on, when you're working a case, if something feels off, don't hesitate. Just shoot. Whatever the consequences are, I'll cover for you!"

Brian nodded. "Got it, boss."

Working under a leader like this...

It was seriously awesome!

Completing obsessions in the future would be much easier.

The only problem was that his execution rate for murderers would be too high.

Brian felt like he might end up with another title: Bloodthirsty Coroner.

Mm.

Sounded pretty good.

When Susan heard Brian call her boss, her eyes curved into crescents, and she excitedly floored the gas.

It was the first time anyone had called her that.

She was happy.

The case had been assigned to the Los Angeles side.

Since it was within range of the city, it naturally wouldn't be too far away.

Half an hour later.

A sign stacked out of worn-out tires appeared before Susan and Brian.

A police car was also parked beside the sign.

Judging by the plate and the paint job, the highway patrol had arrived first.

Susan glanced at the motel's name, slowed down, and pulled over by the roadside.

It was a medium-sized motel that offered lodging, short-stay rooms, landline phone communication, food, and gas.

But those were only the surface businesses.

For motels close to the city like this, the main business was providing a safe battlefield for people having affairs.

Ever since motels, drive-in theaters, and the like had swept across America, "Where's Daddy?" had directly become a major social issue in America.

As a result, TV shows and radio programs that blew up because of it were increasing by the day.

Some people watched for fun.

Some people were looking in the mirror.

And some people were studying how to find their biological father.

When Susan and Brian walked into the motel, they saw seven or eight pairs of men and women waiting there with different expressions.

The floor was littered with cigarette butts.

Behind the counter, a bearded white man holding a shotgun paced back and forth, looking somewhat like a live-action Dave from Plants vs. Zombies, seeming especially agitated.

Aside from these people.

There were also two men in police uniforms, one white and one black, blocking the entrance.

Susan and Brian's arrival immediately drew everyone's attention.

Susan didn't quite know how to handle a scene like this.

She subconsciously looked at Brian.

Brian tactfully stepped forward.

Only after confirming identities with the two highway patrolmen did he look at the others. "LAPD. Who reported the case?"

"Me!" The middle-aged white man behind the counter immediately put down the shotgun in his hands and walked out from behind the counter. "I'm the owner of this motel. When I was clearing rooms today, I found that the female guest who came in early last night had been killed and hung on the wall, like..."

Thinking of that scene.

The owner, who didn't exactly look like a good guy himself, actually made a retching reaction.

Brian nodded and was just about to say something.

A white man among the waiting crowd saw that Brian looked mild-mannered, so he spoke in a very aggressive tone. "Officer, my girlfriend and I have a very important meeting to deal with. Can we—"

"Shut up!"

Brian's friendly expression changed, and he looked at the man who had spoken with hostility. "Everyone at the scene is a suspect. If you want to be charged with obstruction of justice and have it affect your job and credit file evaluation, then keep getting in our way!"

Although he had never worked a case before.

His colleague Tom had often told Brian about his past casework experiences.

Because of factors like drug abuse, the spread of marijuana, and happy education, the chance of idiots appearing in this country was not low.

So when working a case, he absolutely couldn't give them a nice face!

The moment he did.

Then you were hard to deal with.

In the end, Brian had still underestimated just how low an idiot's ceiling could be.

When the woman beside the man saw this, not only was she unafraid, she even sneered. "I'm a field reporter for the Los Angeles City News. Officer, may I ask what your badge number is? I—"

This was news material walking right up to her door!

The dark muzzle of a gun.

It cut the reporter lady off directly.

She screamed and collapsed to the floor in fright.

She needed news, but she definitely did not want to become the news!

Susan withdrew her revolver and said to the two highway patrol officers:

"Call dispatch and investigate these two people's identities!

If they have spouses, have their spouses confirm the situation.

If they don't have spouses, contact the companies they work for and confirm it with them.

Remember, make it clear that they were at a motel with companions of the opposite sex, obstructing and threatening the police in the course of an investigation!"

Hiss—

The other couples moved away from those two without another word, at the very first opportunity.

As for the man and woman who had spoken, their faces turned even uglier.

Now they were completely screwed.

Not only was their marriage going to have problems, their jobs were going to have problems too.

After dealing with the man and woman who had stuck their necks out, Susan raised an eyebrow at Brian. "Buddy, you're too gentle. Bullets are more convincing than words!"

Hearing her say that without the slightest attempt to hide it, the unlucky guests who had checked in lowered their heads even more.

Only one or two female guests couldn't help sizing Susan up, wanting to go over and ask for her contact information.

This female cop had so much presence!

Brian had already gotten used to Susan's way of doing things.

He shrugged. "All right. Let's go upstairs and check the crime scene first."

Led by the owner, the three of them arrived at the fourth room on the third floor.

"304."

Brian felt like he had quite the connection with this room number.

Thanks to reader "Night's Radiance" for the ten-thousand-coin tip. Thank you, Boss Night. (Boss Night, you tip every day, and I'm getting a little nervous.)

Thanks to reader "xin Crystal xin" for the previous coin tip. Thank you, beautiful reader!