American comics: I am full of martial virtues and I love to be kind to others.

Chapter 229 A New Goal

"According to the intelligence we have," Lynn said, his tone full of pressure, "this organization has entered the next phase. They are targeting several key buildings in Manhattan, aiming to create even greater panic."

Carter added: "We have rescued some documents from the abandoned villa. Although a lot of information was destroyed, we can confirm that this operation involved at least three locations: the Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan Financial Center, and Grand Central Terminal."

A murmur echoed through the conference room. Each location represented the heart of Manhattan, a symbol of social stability.

"These places are densely populated, and if they succeed, the consequences will be unimaginable," Lynn continued. "But their specific methods of action are not yet fully understood, so we need to prepare for it."

An agent asked, "Inspector, will this 'Rose Master' personally participate in the operation?"

Lin En shook his head. "Based on current analysis, the 'Rose Master' is more likely to be a behind-the-scenes orchestrator. The likelihood of him taking direct action is low, but we can't let our guard down. Everyone must remain vigilant."

After the meeting, Lin En led the technical team to continue tracking down the Rose Overlord's identity. Based on the remaining documents in the basement, they discovered a deeply hidden encrypted server. This server seemed to be the communication hub for the entire organization.

"This encryption is extremely complex," the technician said as he tapped away at the keyboard. "It'll take some time to decrypt it, but I can guarantee we can trace it back to its source."

Lin En stood in the technical room, his eyes fixed on the screen: "Speed ​​up. Time waits for no one."

Hours later, technicians finally deciphered a portion of the encrypted data and located it in an unexpected location: a high-end hotel in Midtown Manhattan.

"The source of this server's signal is the penthouse suite of this hotel," the technician said excitedly, "but we can't confirm whether the person who sent the signal is still there."

Lin En and Carter exchanged glances and quickly decided: "Lead the team and go, we must find out."

Lynn and Carter led the team to the hotel quickly. Under pressure from the police, the hotel management agreed to cooperate and they obtained the key card for the top floor suite.

"Prepare for action." Lynn whispered, leading the team to approach the target quietly.

The door quietly opened, and Lin En walked into the suite first. The room was luxuriously decorated, but empty. A laptop sat on the table, a bright red rose displayed on the screen.

"No one?" Carter asked in a low voice, frowning.

Lynn didn't answer. He quickly walked to the computer and found that an encrypted video was playing on the screen.

In the video, a masked man sat in a dark room, his voice low and cold: "Inspector Lynn, I knew you would find this place. Unfortunately, you are one step too late."

"This guy is provoking us." Carter said gritting his teeth.

The video continued: "Our plan has already been launched. Your every move is under our control. Three targets? No, that's just a deception. The real action will take place in places you least expect."

Lin En clenched his fists and stared at the masked man on the screen: "He is distracting us."

After the video ended, the computer screen suddenly went blank, apparently triggering a self-destruct sequence.

"Take it back and see if we can recover some data." Lynn ordered the technician.

Just as Lin En was about to evacuate, Carter received a call. After he answered the call, his face suddenly changed.

"Lynn, I just received an urgent report that there was an explosion outside Central Station."

Lin En looked up suddenly, anger burning in his eyes: "They moved faster than we thought."

When Lynn and Carter arrived at Grand Central Station, it was already in chaos. Police officers and medical staff were rushing to rescue people, injured people were being carried on stretchers, and the air was filled with anxiety.

"What are the casualties?" Lynn asked a commander on the scene.

"Three people have been confirmed dead and over ten injured," the commander replied, his tone heavy. "The explosive device was placed in a trash can outside the station. It wasn't very powerful, but it caused a huge panic."

Lin En scanned the scene and quickly noticed a red rose pattern on the ground. This was the murderer's mark, indicating that the explosion was undoubtedly theirs.

"This is just a warning." Lin En whispered, a cold light flashing in his eyes, "Their real action is still to come."

Carter frowned: "Lynn, if this is just the beginning, what exactly is their goal?"

Lin En looked at the burning ruins in the distance and said in a low voice, "We must find out the true purpose of the Rose Overlord, otherwise Manhattan will fall into an even greater crisis."

Lynn stood in front of the ruins of Grand Central Station, sorting out clues in his mind. Every explosion and every attack was conveying a message to him - this was not just a murder, it was a psychological warfare, a carefully planned terrorist operation.

"Detective," Carter whispered, approaching from a distance, "we just found a clue from the surveillance footage. Someone left the explosives area five minutes before the explosion, but their face was obscured, so their identity is unclear."

"Take me to see it." Lynn said in a low voice and followed Carter to the command vehicle.

Inside the command vehicle, the technician zoomed in and adjusted the angle of the surveillance footage, finally finding the suspicious figure. He was wearing a gray hoodie, his head lowered, his hands in his pockets.

"Look here." The technician pointed at the screen and paused the video. "He stayed near the trash can for a few seconds, then quickly left."

Lin En stared at the screen, his brows furrowed. "Can you track his route?"

The technician nodded. "We tried. After leaving the station, he walked north along Sixth Avenue, entering a surveillance blind spot. But shortly after leaving the station, his figure was captured on a taxi's dashcam."

Lin En's eyes lit up: "Trace the route of that taxi and find its passenger records."

The technicians acted quickly and had a result less than ten minutes later: "The taxi driver confirmed that his passenger was dropped off in an industrial area in Brooklyn."

"Brooklyn again." Carter frowned. "These guys seem to have a special liking for that place."

"The Brooklyn Industrial District might be another stronghold of theirs." Lin En looked at the markings on the map, his tone becoming more resolute. "But this time, we can't delay any longer."

Lynn led a fully armed team to the Brooklyn industrial area. When they arrived, it was already late at night. The industrial area was dead silent, and the dilapidated factory buildings looked particularly gloomy in the night.

"It's quiet here, too quiet," Carter whispered, weapon raised, nerves tense.

"Search separately and don't miss any corner." Lin En gave the order and the team quickly dispersed.

Soon after, an agent discovered some suspicious items in a warehouse. They entered and found a long table in the center of the warehouse, with several laptops and a stack of documents on it. "These guys always like to leave things behind," Carter muttered.

Lynn quickly flipped through the document and found that it detailed the floor plans and security deployments of several important buildings in Manhattan.

"These are future targets," Lynn whispered, a chill in his tone. "They're not planning on stopping yet."

At this moment, a laptop suddenly started up automatically, and the familiar red rose pattern appeared on the screen again.

"Inspector Lynn," the Rose Lord's voice sounded, with a hint of provocation, "Welcome again. I guess you want to stop our actions again, but unfortunately, you are still too slow."

Lin En approached the screen and said coldly, "This game is over. It's only a matter of time before you're exposed more and more."

The Rose Overlord chuckled. "Game? No, Inspector, this isn't a game, this is faith. This city has been consumed by corruption for too long. It's time for a change. And we are the executors of that change."

"Killing innocent people is change?" Lin En suppressed his anger. "You are nothing but a bunch of cowardly terrorists."

"Innocent?" The Rose Overlord's tone turned cold. "No one is innocent. We simply exposed their disguise and did what the law dared not do."

Lynn was about to retort when the screen suddenly switched, displaying a string of coordinates.

"I'll give you a chance, Inspector," the Rose Lord said. "If you're quick enough, you might be able to prevent the next move. But I must remind you, time is running out."

After saying that, the screen suddenly went out.

Lynn quickly wrote down the coordinates and immediately ordered his team to rush to the target location. This time the coordinates were located in an abandoned building in downtown Manhattan.

When they arrived, the building was dark, but the air was thick with a strong chemical smell.

"It's the smell of explosives." Carter whispered, his face becoming more nervous.

Lynn led the team into the building quickly. In an empty room, they found a box full of explosives. The timer showed that there were still 30 minutes left.

"They're planning to blow up the entire building," Lin En said calmly. "Technical team, start defusing the bomb immediately."

The technical team immediately took action, while Lynn and Carter remained on guard. Time ticked by, and everyone's nerves were stretched to the limit.

Just as the technical team finished the demolition, a message from another team came through Lin En's headset: "Inspector, we found two suspicious people nearby, and they are evacuating quickly!"

Lin En immediately led his men in pursuit, chasing them along the alleys until they finally stopped the two fleeing suspects in a dead end.

"Don't move! Put your hands up!" Lynn shouted.

The two men raised their hands, and one of them turned around with a strange smile on his face. He whispered, "Inspector, you won one round, but the game isn't over yet."

Just as he finished speaking, he pressed a device in his pocket—another building in the distance suddenly exploded violently, with flames shooting into the sky.

Lynn clenched his fists and his eyes were as cold as a knife.

Lin En stood at the edge of the firelit ruins, his ears filled with the wailing of police sirens and the screams of the crowd. In the distance, the bombed-out building was reduced to a charred ruin, with thick smoke billowing into the night sky. Although the building had long been abandoned and there were no casualties, the impact of the explosion was still shocking.

Carter came running over, panting and reporting, "Lynn, the technical team has confirmed that the bomb in the other building is much more powerful than the previous one. They obviously used the first explosion to distract us."

Lin En clenched his fists, his eyes filled with anger: "The Rose Lord knows that we will follow his clues. He is playing with our reaction time."

Carter nodded, his face solemn. "But there's good news. The two men we captured have been brought back to the station for questioning. One of them has been identified: Daniel Walker."

"Daniel Walker?" Lynn sneered, "I finally caught you."

In the interrogation room, Daniel Walker sat in a chair with a haughty smile on his face. Lynn pushed open the door and walked straight to him, his hands on the table, his eyes sharp as a knife.

"Daniel Walker, don't try to play tricks." Lin En's voice was low and oppressive. "We already have enough evidence. The abandoned industrial area, the explosion site, and your connection with the Rose Lord. Tell the truth, and perhaps you will suffer less."

Daniel laughed and shrugged. "Inspector, what do you think I'll say? I'm just an ordinary clerk. How could I be involved in these things?"

"Ordinary staff member?" Lynn slammed a stack of documents on the table. "These are records of you attending Elliott Weiss's gatherings, as well as surveillance footage of you appearing at multiple bombing sites. How many people are there in your organization? What is the Rose Overlord's plan?"

Daniel's expression finally changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure: "Rose Overlord? Are you talking about our leader? He won't let you find him easily."

"So you admit that you are a member of this organization." Lin En pressed on.

Daniel sneered, "So what if you admit it? The Rose Lord has long anticipated that you would capture me. He asked me to tell you a message - every time you capture someone, it will trigger a larger action."

Lin En's eyes turned cold: "What is his plan?"

Daniel's smile became even more strange: "Don't worry, Inspector, you will know soon. And, I promise that the scene will be unforgettable for you for the rest of your life."

Just as Lin En was about to press the issue, Carter pushed the door open and whispered in his ear, "Lin En, there's a new clue."

Lynn nodded and gave Daniel a cold look: "Enjoy your time here. You will wish you had never joined this organization in the future."

Daniel watched Lynn leave with a disdainful smile still on his face.

Carter handed a document to Lynn. "The technical team cracked some of the data brought back from the villa. They found a hidden message sent using a special encryption method. The content mentioned a new target."

Lynn opened the file and saw a map with a new location marked on it - the Manhattan Bridge.

"The Manhattan Bridge?" Lynn frowned. "This bridge is not only an important transportation hub, but also a symbolic landmark. What do they want to do?"

"Judging from the data, the scale of the target this time may be even larger," Carter said. "Their plan may not just be an explosion, but a complete paralysis of the entire city's transportation system."

(End of this chapter)