America: The Gear-Up Detective

Rhodes then asked some more questions about the deceased, Nathan.

According to his wife Renee, Nathan didn't pay much attention to health during his lifetime. He was a heavy smoker for most of his life, and he didn't like to see a doctor when he was sick, which led to him developing a chronic cough. He also drank alcohol as he pleased.

However, he is in good spirits and never touches addictive substances such as marijuana.

The few physical examinations I had all shown that there were no major problems with my health.

"Nathan wasn't very sociable. After work, he'd go back to his hotel, watch TV, and eat snacks. His life was fairly regular. I know he didn't like exercise, but... sudden death? That's absurd!"

Listening to Renee's description, Rod asked, "Why didn't he go home after work? Why did he stay in a hotel?"

Renee's voice trembled with a sob. After taking two deep breaths, she spoke slowly:

"Because we don't live in Los Angeles, we live in Riverside. He stays in hotels in Los Angeles from Monday to Friday, and only drives home on weekends, and that's always been the case."

Riverside is about 95 kilometers from downtown Los Angeles and is a satellite city adjacent to Los Angeles. With a permanent population of over 31, the cost of living is much lower than in Los Angeles, especially in terms of renting or buying a house. The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment is about $1750, which is almost half the price of the apartment Rod previously rented.

Therefore, many people working in Los Angeles, if they have the means, will choose to buy a house in Riverside.

Rod realized why Nathan had always stayed at the hotel.

After asking a few more questions, Rod indicated that Renee could leave at any time.

Before leaving, Renee held Rhodes' hand and pleaded with him to find out the cause of her husband's death.

All Rod could say was that he would do his best.

......

After seeing Renee off, Rod did not go to see Evan again.

Since Evan's previous investigations yielded no results, it's possible that his reasoning was flawed from the start.

Therefore, before more obvious evidence and clues are available, Rhodes does not intend to have much contact with Evan in this case, so as not to affect his thinking.

After much deliberation, Rod decided to drive to the hotel where Nathan had died to investigate the scene.

After briefly informing Captain Connor, Rod drove away from the police station.

An hour later, in the Seaport District of Los Angeles.

The Seaport District is located about 32 kilometers south of downtown Los Angeles along the San Pedro Bay. "Seaport District" is not a formal administrative division, but a collective term for the Port of Los Angeles and its surrounding communities.

Within the San Pedro community.

A powerful Ford Raptor pickup truck was parked in the parking lot in front of the Elligant Hotel.

The Elligant Hotel was a popular choice for nearby port workers to stay during their leisure time, and the deceased Nathan often stayed there.

Rod got out of the car and looked around the hotel.

This is a three-story building with a bar downstairs and a small swimming pool surrounded by palm trees on the left side of the hotel.

Among all the hotels and inns in the area, it is considered to have beautiful scenery.

According to Evan's records, Nathan usually stayed in room 348 of the hotel.

Rod pushed open the door and walked into the hotel lobby, explaining his purpose to the front desk staff.

The black guy on duty happened to remember this case from a year ago. Room 348 was also unoccupied, and the black guy readily gave Rod the room key.

……

Room 348.

Rod pushed open the door and entered.

The room is about 20 square meters. To the right of the entrance is the bathroom. Further inside, there is a TV cabinet on the left and a double bed on the right. In the corner further inside, there is a small gray single sofa.

Rod walked to the bedside, recalling the contents of the dossier.

According to previous investigations, Nathan and Renee would talk on the phone every morning after waking up, but on the day Nathan died, Renee's calls went unanswered.

Somewhat flustered, Renee sought help from two of Nathan's colleagues and drove herself to the hotel.

Nathan's body was discovered by two of his colleagues.

According to the two colleagues, they couldn't get the door open by knocking, so they asked the hotel manager to open the door with a spare key.

Nathan was lying on the carpet next to the bed, near the bathroom.

The room's doors and windows were tightly closed, and there were no signs of damage. He was the only person in the room, and there were no signs of a struggle.

This is a typical environment for committing a crime in a locked room.

Rod walked to the carpet by the bed. A year had passed since the incident, and the traces of the police scene had long since disappeared. The room was now spotless.

Rhodes looked at where the corpse should have been lying, stroked his chin, and suddenly remembered his equipment.

【Sunglasses Full of Love】Skill 2, Virtual Imaging: Can generate specific environmental scenes on the retina based on images/texts that the wearer has read or memorized. The more detailed the content, the more realistic the generated scene.

"Isn't this a great opportunity to test your skills?"

Thinking it over, Rhodes first activated his first skill, engraving every detail of the room into his mind.

They then reviewed all the descriptions of the body's condition that Evan had recorded in the case file, as well as all the photographs taken at the time.

Unlock skill two: Virtual Imaging.

Three seconds later, Rhodes opened his eyes and was stunned by what he saw.

The room, which was originally bright and well-lit at midday, was now dimly lit, just like early morning.

The once clean room now contains a corpse dressed in striped pajamas, lying face down on the carpet at Rhodes' feet.

The body was face down, with a burning cigarette still clutched in its left hand. At first glance, apart from obvious abrasions, there were no other obvious external injuries or traces of blood on the body.

Rod looked up and around the room. The double bed, which should have been clean and tidy, now had its left pillow raised and the sheets slightly wrinkled, as if someone had been lying in the bed not long ago.

In the center of the bed was a folded towel, on which were placed an ashtray, snacks, a lighter, and the remote controls for the television and air conditioner.

There were some drinks and alcohol on the bedside table to the left of the bed.

All of this was vividly presented to Rhode three seconds after the skill was activated.

Similarly, the mental attribute on the panel is also slowly decreasing, at a rate similar to the [Scan] skill. It seems that it should be able to last for five or six minutes as well.

Rod reached out to touch the corpse, but his fingers passed right through its back.

"So this is just a projection? Or rather, just a scene replay projected onto my retina?"

"Is this the effect of skill two? It's like being transported back to the crime scene!"

Because Evan's dossier was very detailed, and with the help of photographs, Rhodes felt as if he were standing at the moment the body was first discovered; everything seemed so real.

Rod focused his attention on the various marks on the bed, trying to reconstruct what happened:

"Based on these traces, it can be inferred that Nathan was probably half-lying in bed, watching TV, smoking, and eating snacks while he was alive."

I don't know what happened, but she fell off the bed and got facial abrasions?

Immediately afterwards, in Rhodes's view, the corpse that had been lying on the ground disappeared, and then a figure appeared on the left side of the mattress.

"what the..."

The sudden change in the scene startled Rhodes.

Rod instinctively drew his FN-509 pistol from his waist, his index finger already on the trigger.

However, the remarkable improvement in vision and the enhancement in dynamic vision made Rhodes realize that something was wrong.