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Henry was silent for a moment, seemingly gathering his thoughts, then said in a low voice, "Alan's parents were ordinary people. They loved him and cared for him, but one day three years ago, they suddenly stopped coming home. Since then, we've never heard from them again."

Lynn frowned: "Did you call the police?"

"Of course we called the police," Henry said with a hint of helplessness. "But the police found no clues. Their phones and credit cards hadn't been used; it's like they vanished into thin air."

Lynn nodded, clearly indicating that this was a highly suspicious disappearance: "What about Allen? Did he know about it at the time?"

“He was still young, so we didn’t tell him the truth. We just said his parents went to work far away,” Henry sighed. “But he’s a smart kid, and he slowly began to realize they weren’t coming back. Since then, he’s become more and more withdrawn.”

Lynn felt a pang of heaviness in his heart. Looking at Henry's weary face, he could sense the hardship the old man had endured raising Allen alone, and his endless worry about the whereabouts of his children.

"Mr. Henry, if you allow me, I would like to reinvestigate this matter." Lynn's tone was serious. "Perhaps I can find some new clues to help you solve this mystery."

Henry looked at Lynn, a complex mix of hope and doubt in his eyes: "Is it really possible? It's been three years, we've almost given up..."

"I can't guarantee I'll find the answer, but I'll do my best," Lynn said firmly.

Henry was silent for a moment, then finally nodded: "Alright, I'll give you all the information from back then. Thank you, Lynn."

Lynn took a stack of old police reports and some family documents from Henry. He said goodbye to Henry and returned to his office, immediately beginning to study the materials.

The missing person report indicates that Alan's parents, Catherine and George Miller, were on their way to a friend's dinner party, but they never reached their destination. Police located their vehicle on surveillance footage along the route, but the vehicle disappeared after a secluded section of road, seemingly deliberately avoiding all surveillance cameras.

"Deliberately avoiding surveillance..." Lynn muttered to himself, a feeling creeping into his mind that this was no ordinary missing person case.

He handed the report to the technical team, asking them to retrieve the surveillance footage from that time and look for any overlooked clues. Meanwhile, he began investigating Catherine and George's backgrounds, trying to uncover possible motives.

A few days later, the technical team reported a crucial discovery—near the section of road where the vehicle disappeared, a car had appeared multiple times on surveillance footage, and the owner's information indicated it belonged to a private security company. This company had connections to certain shady dealings but had never been convicted.

Lynn took a deep breath, sensing that the disappearance might involve something deeper.

Further investigation revealed that the private security company had recently had financial dealings with a biotechnology company. This company's research area happened to involve genetic experiments on mutants.

"Another genetic experiment..." Lynn's fist clenched involuntarily. Clearly, this clue was related to the experimental organization he had investigated before.

Lynn contacted several reliable agents and decided to personally investigate the security company. Outside the company, he and his agents disguised themselves as ordinary customers and approached the person in charge under the guise of providing consulting services.

During the conversation, Lynn noticed that the person in charge mentioned a remote "training base," a place the company used for "special missions." This place was clearly related to the disappearance of Catherine and George.

That night, Lynn led his team to the "training base." They found heavy defenses on the outside, but after careful planning, they successfully infiltrated the base.

Inside the base, an administrator was captured and, under Lynn's interrogation, finally confessed the truth: Catherine and George had inadvertently learned some secrets of the genetic experiments and became targets of the experimental organization. They were captured and forced to participate in experiments, and then transferred to other locations.

"Where are they now?" Lynn pressed.

The administrator was pale and his voice trembled: "I didn't know... They were sent to a higher-level facility. I was only responsible for basic security..."

Although he hadn't directly located Allen's parents, Lynn knew he was close to the truth. He compiled all the intelligence and contacted his superiors, requesting that the investigation be expanded to track down the remaining forces behind the genetic experiments.

Lynn compiled all the investigation materials into a detailed report and submitted it to his superiors, hoping to utilize more resources to track down Allen's parents. However, a few days later, when he was summoned to his superior's office, the documents in front of him were pushed back onto the table.

"Lynn, I understand your passion and your desire to help this family find answers." The superior's tone wasn't harsh, but the refusal was unmistakable. "However, three years have passed, and there isn't enough evidence to suggest this is a valuable case."

Lynn took a deep breath, trying to calmly retort: ​​"Sir, the connections we found between the security company and the gene experiment organization, as well as this 'training base,' all indicate that their disappearance is not an ordinary case. This lead may be linked to more criminal activities."

The superior shook his head: "The probability isn't high enough to justify mobilizing large-scale resources for an investigation. Furthermore, the last genetic experiment already consumed a significant amount of manpower; we can't afford to invest too much in similar cases. I'm sorry, Lynn, but you have to put this case aside."

Lynn remained silent for a moment, knowing that further arguing would be pointless. He nodded and put the file back into his folder: "Understood, sir."

As Lynn stepped out of the office, his hand unconsciously tightened around the folder. His emotions weren't calm, but not because of anger; rather, they stemmed from a deeper conviction. He couldn't simply shelve this case, especially after seeing the look in Allen's eyes, which only strengthened his resolve.

Back in his office, Lynn sat down at his desk and reviewed the documents, trying to find a breakthrough from the available information. Not long after, Mark pushed open the door, a hint of unease on his face.

"I heard." Mark closed the door and sat down opposite Lynn. "The higher-ups haven't approved any further investigation, right?"

Lynn nodded and pushed the folder aside: "Yes. They don't think this case is worth the resources."

Mark looked at him, pondered for a moment, and suddenly said, "Detective, I can help you. It's just the two of us. Although we don't have all the resources, we can try our best."

Lynn looked up, a hint of surprise in his eyes: "Mark, this could get you into trouble. After all, it's beyond our jurisdiction."

Mark gave a resolute smile: "What's trouble? You always teach us that justice shouldn't be compromised because of difficulties. Since you're not going to give up, neither will I."

Lynn's lips curled into a slight smile: "Alright, since you're willing, let's do it together."

The two reorganized the data and began to investigate the list of personnel related to the security company and the "training base." They discovered that the company had employed several individuals connected to the experimental organization, and one of them had recently appeared in the Manhattan area.

"This is a breakthrough," Lynn said, pointing to a document. "This man is Eric Dunn, formerly the logistics director of the experimental organization. He may know more about Catherine and George's whereabouts."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Mark stood up, grabbed his coat, and said, "Let's go find him."

Following the clues, the two located Eric's address, a run-down apartment building in Manhattan. Lynn and Mark, posing as ordinary detectives, knocked on his door under the pretense of a routine investigation.

Eric was clearly unprepared for anyone to come knocking. His expression tensed for a moment upon seeing the two men, but he quickly regained his composure: "Agents, what can I do for you?"

"We have some questions about your past employment history that we need to confirm," Lynn said calmly, but her gaze was sharp as a knife. "Did you handle any matters for 'Catherine and George Miller' three years ago?"

Eric's expression changed instantly, but he tried to hide it, feigning confusion: "Mr. and Mrs. Miller? No, I don't remember that name."

Lynn gave a cold laugh, her gaze still fixed on him: "Are you sure you don't remember? Or do you not want to remember?"

Eric was forced to take a step back, his eyes flickering: "I...I don't know what you're talking about."

Mark suddenly stepped forward and pressed his shoulder against him: "Stop pretending, Dunn. We know you're connected to the experimental organization, and we know you were involved in that security company's 'training base' operation. You'd better cooperate now, or we have plenty of ways to make you talk."

Eric broke out in a cold sweat. He hesitated for a moment, then finally broke down and said, "Okay, okay! I do know a little bit, but I was only in charge of transportation. I didn't do anything else."

"Then tell me everything you know." Lynn's tone was as cold as ice.

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Eric swallowed hard and said haltingly, "The couple... they were sent to a more secretive experimental base. I was in charge of arranging the vehicles... but I don't know the exact address. I only know that the base's code name is 'Daedalus,' and it's located far from the city."

"Daedalus?" Lynn quickly jotted down the name. "Anything else? Who's in charge of this base?"

"I really don't know! They never let me participate in core affairs." Eric was almost in tears. "I've told you everything I know!"

Lynn stared at him coldly for a moment, then said to Mark, "Take this information back and continue investigating the clues about 'Daedalus'."

Eric slumped into his chair, watching Lynn and Mark leave. Lynn knew things were starting to take a turn for the better, but there was still a long way to go to uncover the truth.

Back in the office, Lynn and Mark entered the codename "Daedalus" into the database. After several hours of searching, they discovered that it appeared to be an independent facility with only weak connections to the other bases of the experimental organization.

"This might be their most secretive place," Lynn mused. "We must find its exact location."

Mark nodded and said firmly, "Detective, we've come this far, we can't stop now."

Night fell over the security company's training base, and all was silent except for the occasional patrol lights sweeping across the area. Lynn and Mark, along with a small team, concealed themselves behind some abandoned bushes, keeping a close watch on the base's entrance.

"Target confirmed. There are two guards at the main gate, and at least two surveillance vehicles are patrolling the perimeter," Mark reported in a low voice through his night-vision binoculars.

Lynn nodded and whispered instructions: "We'll split into two groups. The main attack group will draw attention from the front, while the infiltration group will sneak around to the rear. The operation must be swift, and we must ensure we don't alert the enemy."

The team quickly split into two groups. Lynn led the infiltration team to the side of the base. They moved close to the wall, avoiding the surveillance cameras, and soon found an entrance to a ventilation duct. Mark led the main assault team to create slight noise at the main entrance to attract the guards' attention and buy Lynn time.

"Are the cutting tools ready?" Lynn asked one of the team members.

The team member nodded, took out a portable cutting machine, and silently cut open the grille of the ventilation duct. Lynn led the way, climbing into the duct, followed closely by the infiltration team. The base was silent, broken only by the occasional sound of footsteps in the distance.

At the end of the ventilation duct was a storage room. Lynn opened the grille, cautiously poked his head out, and after confirming it was safe, jumped down with his team members.

"This should be the supplies storage area," Mark's voice came through the earpiece. "We're drawing away the outer patrols. You have ten minutes."

Lynn gestured for his team to spread out and search, and they quickly found some seemingly important files among a pile of filing cabinets. He casually flipped through a few pages, his brow furrowing slightly: "These documents mention 'Daedalus' and experimental data, but they don't specify their location."

"Keep searching," he commanded in a low voice.

The team members acted quickly, collecting all the documents and electronic devices in the storage room. Just then, the footsteps outside suddenly increased in volume, as if someone was approaching the storage room.

"Someone's coming," a team member whispered a warning.

Lynn quickly directed his team members to hide in the shadows, while he himself hid behind the door, gripping his pistol tightly.

The door was pushed open, and two armed guards walked in. Their eyes swept around the room, and one of them frowned, saying, "We just heard some noise over here. Check it out."

Just as one of them reached the filing cabinet, Lynn suddenly darted out from behind the door and struck him on the back of the neck with the butt of his gun. Another team member quickly subdued the other guard, and the two didn't even have time to sound the alarm.

"Clean up the scene," Lynn said in a low voice.

They dragged the guard aside, closed the door again, and continued searching for documents.

A few minutes later, Mark's voice came through the earpiece again: "The guards at the main gate have changed shifts, but we don't have much time to draw their attention. You need to hurry."

"Understood." Lynn quickly flipped through the documents and finally found some key information in one file: "Catherine and George Miller... have been marked as 'experimental subjects'... and transferred to Daedalus Base for 'genetic ability testing'." (End of Chapter)