The real life of an American police officer: Winning over others with virtue

Chapter 292 Tech Giant
Go home.

Eric parked the car in the spacious open area outside and then got out.

If a regular guest were present, he would notice that Eric's house seemed to have changed a lot.

Bathed in the afterglow of the sun, this place presents a peculiar, unfinished aesthetic.

One half is a heavily fortified fortress, while the other half remains a bustling battlefield.

The original fence has been completely removed.

Instead, a dark metal fence, more than two meters high, stands majestically along the eastern boundary of the house.

The fence posts are thick and sturdy, deeply embedded in the ground, with sharp anti-climb spikes at their tips gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

Even though it's only halfway done, it already sends a strong signal that it cannot be violated.

Meanwhile, inside the existing fence, a low brick and stone wall, several tens of meters long, has been erected simultaneously.

Although the wall is not high, it is quite thick, forming a double barrier of varying heights with the tall metal fence.

Eric nodded in satisfaction. Diego's team was really quite good; professional and worry-free.

Eric's gaze fell on the other side, where the exposed deep trench had been fully secured with steel reinforcement, just waiting for the concrete to be poured.

Next to it were various building materials, including rolls of metal mesh fencing, stacks of bricks, bags of cement and sand, etc.

Next to a pickup truck, team foreman Diego was talking on his phone while making notes in a notebook, seemingly checking a materials list.

But he seemed somewhat distracted, his brows furrowed slightly, and his expression was unpleasant.

This is unlike Diego, who is usually focused on his work and has nothing but his eyes on it.

Something on your mind?
Eric turned off the engine and got out of the car. The sound of the door closing made Diego look up. He immediately forced a smile, but there was a hint of anxiety in his eyes that he couldn't completely hide.

“Mr. Stevens, I was just thinking you should be back,” Diego said, putting away his notebook and walking over.

"Look, the foundation pouring and low wall construction on this half should be completed today."

"Hmm, not bad progress," Eric casually glanced around and asked.

"What happened, Diego?"

In retrospect, perhaps it was because his boss was approachable that Diego and his team became increasingly familiar with him.

Moreover, he has learned a lot from Diego in the past few days, which has improved his architectural analysis to LV3 (Mastery).

He has also improved in other related skills, which means that Diego is a really good person and doesn't hold back his knowledge.

"No, it's nothing," Diego forced a smile, trying to make his tone sound normal. He pointed to the construction site, but his movements were somewhat stiff.

Do you have any other questions? Perhaps... perhaps I can answer them?

Eric shook his head: "It's okay, you can continue with your work."

Since Diego didn't want to talk about it, there was no point in pressing him for an answer.

Diego nodded, forcing a smile, and watched Eric walk into the house. His expression instantly turned extremely ugly, his eyes filled with a deep anger.

---------------

It was still 10 p.m.

Eric had just finished showering and was lounging on the sofa in his loose loungewear, a can of ice-cold beer in his hand.

Only a warm yellow floor lamp was on in the living room, and the TV was playing sports highlights on silent.

His phone was on the coffee table, on speakerphone.

"To be honest, it feels a bit strange that I can't drive a patrol car around the streets anymore," Eric said, taking a sip of his beer.

“Honey, in my opinion, you should have gone to the detective agency a long time ago. With your abilities, it’s a waste of resources for you to stay in the patrol department,” Tifa’s voice came from the other end of the phone.

She paused for a moment, then said, "But a month's vacation is really a luxury. How do you plan to squander it, besides staring at your house that's turning into a fortress?"

Eric looked at the silent television with a slight smile on his face.

"Haven't thought about it carefully yet, should I just sleep for three days and three nights first?"

As he spoke, Eric adjusted his posture, picked up the tablet sitting in one corner of the sofa, and made a video call.

Then, Tifa's helpless smile appeared on the screen, her cheeks slightly flushed from the moisture.

"Take a bath?" Eric raised an eyebrow, looking at her fair, glowing upper body with a rosy tint connecting to her alluring private parts, and asked directly.

"let me see?"

Tifa rolled her eyes, indicating that he was dreaming, and then continued.

"You still haven't answered me?"

"Maybe we'll plan something else?" Eric lay down and chuckled.

"I'll probably take care of the security cameras at home first; I'm going to ransack someone's house."

Tifa immediately understood: "You mean that Bauer who loves eating donuts and would rather die in a donut-made grave?"

“Yeah, that guy is pretty impressive. Don’t let his fat appearance fool you, he’s actually a tech genius,” Eric chuckled, staring at Tifa with a hint of fervor in his eyes.

"Of course, a month is too long, and there may be other plans besides these."

Tifa noticed it and deliberately moved closer to the screen; the exposed half of that area looked even more alluring, and her eyes sparkled.

"Oh? What plan?"

This made Eric grit his teeth, like seeing a delicious meal but not being able to eat it.

"Go see that girlfriend who's always flying around?"

"puff!"

Seeing Eric's itchy expression, the usually aloof Tifa broke into a smile: "Want to pull off a surprise romantic gesture? Planning to check my flight status and then bump into me?"

Eric shook his head and chuckled, "A chance encounter is too unskilled; I'd rather know your coordinates directly."

So, Dr. Tifa, would you mind sharing your schedule for the next two weeks with people on vacation?

Tifa pretended to think, tapping her chin with her finger: "Hmm, let me think. I'm writing a report in Quantico next week, it's terribly boring, but then there's the week after that."

She drew out her words, looking at Eric's helpless expression, and couldn't help but laugh: "Next week, there's a short-term international exchange program in Paris, France, a criminal psychology seminar led by Interpol, which will last about a week."

Eric raised an eyebrow, a slight increase in interest: "Paris?"

Come to think of it, in his previous life he had never left a single province, and in this life he's only ever traveled around the United States, never actually going out to see the world. Tifa, seeing the man's thoughtful expression on the screen, smiled and said, "Hmm, Paris, the City of Lights. Interested?"

Eric hadn't answered yet, but he also thought of the plane incident, though the shadow in his heart seemed to have dissipated quite a bit now.

Seeing the obvious expectation in Tifa's eyes, and then looking at her alluring appearance, Eric smiled and said:
"A month-long vacation and flying to Paris seems like a good start."

While you're in a meeting, I can wander around by myself and, incidentally, act as a temporary bodyguard to prevent some profiler from being snatched away by a romantic French man.

Tifa smiled and said, "I'm going to a meeting, not a social gathering, and besides," her eyes sparkled with a hint of allure.

"Do you think any of those boastful guys can compare to my future detective, who can subdue a suspect with one hand and cook an excellent meal?"

Eric chuckled, a hint of teasing in his voice, and said, "I'm not only good at this, but I'm also very skilled in certain areas."

For some reason, Tifa suddenly remembered all the absurd things that had happened before, and her cheeks flushed, but she met Eric's gaze without backing down.

"Okay."

Looking at Tifa, Eric lowered his eyelids, and for a moment he suddenly felt the emptiness of the surrounding space.

The house is big and seems nice, but living alone, it does feel a bit lonely.

“Tifa. I’m starting to miss you now,” Eric said earnestly, his tone sincere.

Tifa's heart skipped a beat, and her voice softened: "I miss you too, darling, so much."

She paused, then added softly, "So I've heard that the soundproofing in the double rooms of hotels in Paris is supposedly very good."

Eric's Adam's apple bobbed, and he took a deep breath: "Send me your flight and hotel information, and I'll make sure you never feel alone in a foreign land, Agent Allison."

Tifa laughed and said, "So it's settled then? Are you sure you're willing to waste your month-long vacation on my meetings?"

Eric affirmed, “Being with you is never a waste, and I assure you, meetings only make up a small part of our schedule.”

Tifa laughed, "I can't wait!" She glanced at the time.
"Okay, I have to get up. It's late, honey. You should rest."

Eric nodded and said, "Okay, good night."

To his dismay, Tifa blew a kiss to the screen while also teasing his desire.

Goodnight, darling, see you in my dreams. Perhaps you could do some research on Paris first?

Then, amidst her mischievous laughter, the video call was disconnected.

Then, not long after, Tifa sent a message with information about her flight, the location of the meeting in Paris, and the hotel she had booked.

Eric sat up, his face a mixture of planning and anticipation.

Although he knew that Paris was the capital and largest city of France, and one of the world's five major international metropolises, he had never actually been there.

This was also his first time visiting another country.

Eric opened his browser and started typing Los Angeles-Paris flights into the search box. The screen light reflected in his eyes, dazzlingly bright.

-

After welcoming Diego and his team the following day, Eric drove away from home.

In the East Side of Los Angeles, a Ford Raptor arrived at an ordinary middle-class home that looked no different from the surrounding neighborhoods.

Eric parked his car on the street corner, carrying a paper bag with Randy's Donuts' iconic donut roof logo.

He walked to the door, his gaze sweeping over the ultra-wide-angle camera disguised as a door light above the porch, and waved the paper bag in his hand at the camera.

A slightly more urgent electronic voice immediately came through the intercom: "Biometrics successful! Sugar and fat detected by calorie signal? Come in quickly, Eric! The garage door is open!"

The garage door next door rose silently at top speed. Eric shook his head and went inside. This guy is really invincible. If someone catches him, they don't need anything else, just a donut would be enough to make him sell his soul.

The door closed behind them.

The interior is a cyberpunk-style laboratory that he is quite familiar with.

There are no vehicles here, but rather a high-ceilinged, expansive high-tech laboratory and workshop.

The air circulation system maintains a constant temperature and humidity, and the air is filled with a faint smell of ozone, the pine scent of solder paste, and a hint of the oily and sugary aroma of donuts.

In the center are several huge stainless steel workbenches, piled high with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, 3D printers, hot air soldering stations, and various precision tools, the parts scattered but not disorderly.

On a weapon rack along one wall, several AR platform rifles have been heavily modified, integrating laser rangefinders, miniature thermal imaging cameras, and data transmission interfaces. Additional battery packs are also attached to the stock, making them look like props from a science fiction movie.

The other wall is a drone gallery, with a wide variety of drones, ranging from tiny quadcopter reconnaissance drones that are only the size of a palm and have foldable rotors, to larger six-axis medium-sized drones with multiple mounting points.

At the deepest part is a monitoring wall composed of multiple ultra-thin displays, on which complex data streams and codes flow.

This is exactly the future of his basement, except that his should have a mechanical feel, not as dreamlike as this.

“Bauer?” Eric called out.

"Here, here!" Bauer peeked out from behind a cluster of server racks shimmering with a ghostly blue light, his eyes fixed on the paper bag in Eric's hand, and he even sniffed exaggeratedly.

Is it Randy's? Classic frosting or chocolate shavings?

Eric looked at Bauer's face, which was noticeably rounder than when they last met, and his T-shirt, which seemed tighter, and smiled helplessly before handing him the paper bag.
"Double frosting, plus a few jam fillings, Bauer, seriously, has your physical fitness test standard been lowered to the point where you just need to reach out and grab a donut from the worktable to pass?"

Bauer snatched the paper bag, pulled out a donut covered in frosting, took a big bite, and his face instantly lit up with extreme happiness as he mumbled a rebuttal.

"Superficial! This is a high-density energy source. Carbohydrates and sugars are the best catalysts for the brain. You... you can't understand this kind of high efficiency!"

What else could he say when he could make such a claim about the calories in a donut? Eric had to admit defeat.

"Okay, okay, high-efficiency catalyst, you're really awesome, Bauer."

Eric smiled and shook his head, then looked around Bauer's futuristic laboratory once more.

"I heard you've been on a long vacation? And you've been promoted to detective? That's impressive, Eric!" Bauer said, taking a bite of a donut after each word. He didn't seem to care that the frosting got on his fingers; he just wiped it off on his T-shirt.

"You didn't come to me for a beer, did you? What small request do you have? Also, your custom-made gun is ready, just waiting for you to take it."

"We'll get the beer next time." Eric's eyes were already drawn to the various gadgets in the lab.

Bauer's modifications or skills are probably maxed out; there are some things he can't even understand.

Who knows why, or for what bizarre reason, such a genius went to work for the police.

“Besides the custom gun, there are indeed other minor needs, but this time the needs might be a bit comprehensive,” Eric said, giving a general description of his home security upgrade plan, from fencing and lighting to surveillance and drones.

Bauer's eyes lit up, as if he had found a kindred spirit: "Wow! Complete fortification? I love it! Come, come, let me show you something good!"

(End of this chapter)