American comic book: I, with my abundant martial virtue, love to do good to others.

The following morning, Lynn received a call from Kate. Kate's voice held a hint of excitement: "Lynn, I've found an interesting lead. A relative of a missing person sought help from the media, but the report was quickly suppressed. That relative is willing to talk to us."

"Great!" Lynn immediately perked up. "Tell me the location, I'll be right there."

Kate and Lynn met the relative at a café. The man was middle-aged, with suppressed anger and pain in his eyes. He told Lynn that his wife had suddenly disappeared two years ago, and that she had received a strange email before her disappearance.

"The email was vague, but it mentioned a 'life-changing opportunity.'" The man handed Lynn a printed copy of the email. "I think it must be related to her disappearance, but the police said there wasn't enough evidence."

Lynn looked at the email and noticed that it mentioned an "advanced medical research project," which was a common pretext used by experimental organizations.

"We will find out the truth." Lynn accepted the email and reassured everyone, "Don't worry, we will do everything we can to find out the truth."

After leaving the coffee shop, Kate looked at Lynn, her tone relaxed, "It seems we've found a new direction. It's been great working with you."

Lynn smiled and nodded, saying, "That's true. Perhaps we should collaborate a few more times."

Kate is a journalist who never gives up on any lead, especially when she realizes that a larger conspiracy lies behind this case. She is determined to use all her resources to help Lynn. Upon returning to the newspaper, she immediately contacts several friends with deep connections in the journalism circle, hoping to uncover more information about "Daedalus" and the experimental organization.

The next morning, Kate called an old friend, a veteran journalist named Sam, whom she had met while covering some international investigative news. Sam had spent years investigating the gray areas of technology and biomedicine and knew a lot about the inside story.

"Kate? Sounds like you have some big news to follow." Sam's slightly tired but excited voice came from the other end of the phone.

"You guessed it, Sam," Kate said, getting straight to the point. "I'm following a lead involving genetic experiments, which connects to an organization codenamed 'Daedalus.' I need you to help me look into the name and the background of this experimental organization."

Sam paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I've heard the name 'Daedalus' before. It appears in some classified documents related to biological weapons development. It's supposedly a multinational research program, ostensibly masquerading as medical advancement, but actually involving illegal gene editing and human experimentation. How did you get involved in this?"

Kate didn't reveal much, only briefly explaining the general background of the case: "It's a missing person case, but it involves many people. I need to know more about this organization, especially their funding sources and operating model."

"Understood." Sam's voice turned serious. "I need time, but I'll do my best to help you. You also need to be careful; the power behind this organization might be more terrifying than you imagine."

"Thank you, Sam." Kate hung up the phone, but her heart felt even heavier. She knew she was walking a dangerous path, but thinking of Lynn's persistence and the innocent victims of persecution, she had no hesitation.

A few days later, Sam sent a detailed report containing background information on "Daedalus." Kate read it carefully and discovered that, as Sam had said, the organization was indeed involved in illegal experiments and had financial dealings with several multinational corporations and private institutions. These institutions provided financial support to "Daedalus" through a series of offshore accounts and shell companies, concealing their true purpose.

Even more shockingly, the report mentions that Daedalus has experimental facilities in multiple countries, mostly located in areas with weak legal oversight. The facility near Manhattan is one of its main bases, used for experiments on "enhanced individuals."

Kate immediately contacted Lynn and arranged to meet him at an unassuming café. She handed him a printed report, her voice tinged with nervousness: "Lynn, this is detailed information I obtained through a friend about Daedalus. Their background is more complex than we imagined."

Lynn flipped through the report, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. His gaze lingered on a table listing the sources of funding: "The names of these multinational corporations... I've seen some of them before; they have some connection to the missing persons files."

Kate nodded: "That's right. They're very good at disguising themselves, operating under the guise of charity and medical research, but in reality, they're involved in these illegal experiments."

"If we can find the ultimate beneficiaries of these fund flows, we can uncover the mastermind behind this organization," Lynn said with a hint of determination.

Kate looked at him and said softly, "Lynn, this has gone beyond the scope of an ordinary case. If you continue to investigate, you may face greater resistance, or even danger."

Lynn put down the report and looked at her with unwavering eyes: "I know. But these missing families, and Alan's parents, need answers. I can't give up."

Kate was silent for a moment, then gave a faint smile: "In that case, I will continue to help you. No matter how dangerous it is, I will stand by your side."

Lynn paused for a moment, then nodded. "Thank you, Kate."

Over the next few days, Lynn, based on information provided by Kate, worked with Mark to investigate the financial flows of the Daedalus organization. Through their technical team, they traced the funds and uncovered a crucial transaction chain. The funds ultimately flowed to a private research institute, whose registered address was the same as the "Safe Haven" base they had previously discovered.

"This is our breakthrough," Lynn said at the briefing. "The safe haven may be their deepest hidden base and a key facility for their continued experiments."

Mark nodded. "But we can't act rashly. If this is truly their core stronghold, its defenses will definitely be much tighter than their previous bases."

Lynn pondered for a moment, then made a decision: "We need to thoroughly understand the internal structure of the safe haven before formulating a raid plan. There can be no mistakes this time."

Meanwhile, Kate wasn't idle either. She tracked reports about the safe haven base through journalistic networks and discovered that residents had reported unusual activity near the base several years ago, including late-night cargo transport and the occasional appearance of unfamiliar vehicles.

Kate immediately passed this information on to Lynn, making it an important reference for them in formulating their action plan.

Over the next few weeks, Lynn's team conducted detailed intelligence gathering, gradually uncovering the layout of the haven through drone surveillance and technical means. They discovered that the base was hidden underground in an abandoned industrial area, disguised on the surface as an ordinary warehouse, but the underground facilities were massive and equipped with advanced technology.

With everything in place, Lynn and Mark led their commando team stealthily toward Safe Haven. They knew this would be a life-or-death operation, but everyone understood that they bore the mission of seeking justice for the persecuted.

Before setting off, Kate sent Lynn a message: "Be careful. No matter what happens, I'll be waiting for you outside."

Lynn looked at his phone screen, a slight smile playing on his lips. He put the phone in his pocket, his gaze hardening: "Let the operation begin."

Lynn and Mark's commando team stealthily approached the "Safe Haven" base, and everything seemed to be going smoothly. However, once they entered the underground facility, they discovered that things were not as they had expected.

The base was in a mess. Filing cabinets in many rooms had been emptied, and the floor was piled with burned papers and fragments. A faint smell of burning still lingered in the air.

Mark crouched down to examine the scraps of paper on the ground, frowning as he said, "They were more vigilant than we thought. They clearly knew we were coming, and all the crucial documents were destroyed."

Lynn looked around, his gaze settling on a piece of hard drive debris that was still smoking. He walked over, stomped on it a few times, and whispered, "They're even willing to destroy equipment, which means we're really close to the truth."

A technician ran over and handed Lynn a fragment of a document recovered from a discarded hard drive: "Detective, we tried to recover this data, but much of it has been completely destroyed. The only readable information is a transfer record that mentions their core experimental personnel and subjects have been evacuated to a 'backup facility'."

"Backup facilities?" Lynn quickly flipped through the documents, but they only mentioned code names, not specific addresses.

Mark stood up, looking frustrated. "They gave us too little time. We have to find that backup facility, or these people will disappear again."

Lynn nodded: "Continue the search, leave no corner unchecked. Even if they destroyed the documents, they might have left some behind."

The commando team intensified their search, but almost all the rooms had been thoroughly cleaned. Aside from a few pieces of experimental equipment and a damaged hard drive, there were almost no other valuable clues. Just as Lynn began to realize the situation was unusually complicated, a team member discovered a hidden room in a corner of the underground facility.

The latest novel is first published here!

"Detective, there's something here!" the team member shouted excitedly.

Lynn rushed to the scene and found several servers that were not completely damaged and backups of experimental records in the sealed room. The technical team immediately took over and began trying to extract the data.

Just then, a rapid alarm sounded within the base. Lynn heard the outer perimeter report through his earpiece: "Detective, unidentified armed personnel are approaching the base! We may be surrounded!"

"Damn it!" Lynn gritted his teeth and immediately ordered, "Evacuate the team, take all the equipment you can! We can't stay here any longer."

As Mark directed his team to retreat, he anxiously asked, "What if they catch up?"

Lynn's gaze was calm: "If necessary, we'll confront them head-on, but the key is to preserve this evidence. It's our only hope for continuing the investigation."

The commando team moved swiftly, but the evacuation did not go smoothly. Armed personnel quickly surrounded the base, and a firefight lasted for nearly ten minutes, nearly trapping the team. Ultimately, under Lynn's precise command, they successfully broke through the encirclement, retrieving the salvaged server and documents back to safety.

Back at headquarters, the technical team immediately began analyzing the data extracted from the server. However, the results were disappointing for everyone.

"Detective, the encryption level of this data is very high, and decryption may take several weeks," the technician said helplessly. "Moreover, many files are partially corrupted, and we may not be able to fully recover them."

Lynn leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowed. He knew time was of the essence for them, and the current situation had clearly brought the investigation to a standstill.

Meanwhile, the experimental organization began to take countermeasures. Lynn discovered that several key witnesses had suddenly disappeared, and even an informant reported being threatened. Worse still, his operational report was being questioned within headquarters.

Lynn's superiors questioned him at the meeting: "Your actions resulted in multiple injuries and even triggered a direct conflict with an unknown force. We cannot confirm whether these devices and data are valuable enough to justify our continued investment of resources."

"Sir," Lynn said calmly but firmly, "the experimental organization has clearly demonstrated its dangerousness. They are not only involved in illegal genetic experiments, but also pose a threat to public safety. Our mission is to stop them, no matter the cost."

"But there's no solid evidence to support your claim." The superior shook his head. "We need you to suspend this investigation until it's declassified before deciding on the next steps."

Lynn knew this meant he would be completely stripped of his initiative in the investigation. He left the meeting room and returned to his office, looking exhausted.

Mark pushed the door open and sat down opposite him: "So, they told us to stop again?"

“That’s right,” Lynn said coldly. “They don’t think this is a top priority. But we know that if we give up, the experimental organization will continue to act with impunity.”

Mark was silent for a moment, then said in a low but determined voice, "Detective, if the higher-ups don't support us, we can continue the investigation ourselves. We've come this far; we can't just give up now."

Lynn looked at Mark and gave a tired smile: "You know what? You remind me of myself when I was young, always so impulsive."

"Whether it's impulsiveness or persistence," Mark shrugged, "the first thing you taught me is that justice needs someone to uphold it."

Lynn stood up and patted Mark on the shoulder: "Okay, we'll do it ourselves. We'll start with the transfer records to find the location of the backup facilities. That will be our breakthrough."

The two worked through the night, trying to deduce the possible location of the backup facility using existing records and previously collected data. After several hours of analysis, they finally found some clues: a logistics manifest showed that a batch of experimental supplies had been transported to a remote mountainous area. (End of Chapter)