America: The Gear-Up Detective

Watching the card slip from the book's pages, Rod was momentarily at a loss for words. He subconsciously remarked to Liu Qingxi:

"You are truly my lucky charm!"

A blush rose on Liu Qingxi's fair face as she casually picked up the card that had fallen on the table.

This is a beautifully crafted playing card, with a symmetrical six-pointed star outlined in dark gold on the back.

On the front is a lifelike red clown drawing.

This is a Joker card!

In all the rules of poker, the Joker card often plays the role of "rule breaker".

"I wonder what the effect of this equipment is?"

[The Joker card: ...]

Rod picked up the Joker card, but since it was still a public place and Liu Qingxi was sitting opposite him, he didn't equip it immediately.

"Let's go, I've found what I'm looking for!"

Liu Qingxi looked curiously at the card in his hand and asked, "Is this it? Why is it tucked inside the book?"

She had just examined the card carefully. The style was simple and the workmanship was exquisite, but it was obvious at a glance that it was a craft product, not some kind of collectible or antique.

Rod casually explained, "Oh, I have a deck of cards that I really like. My brother accidentally left it here last time, so I came here to look for it carefully."

The reason was absurd, but fortunately Liu Qingxi didn't care. It seemed that going on an "adventure" with Luo De was a very happy thing.

After putting the book back on the shelf, the two walked out of the library.

"It's noon. What would you like to eat? You can pick a place," Rod said to Liu Qingxi in Chinese.

Liu Qingxi laughed and said, "Am I picking again? What if we run into another poisoning case this time?"

"Then I'll call you Death College Student!" Rhodes teased.

Liu Qingxi looked slightly surprised. "You even know the internet slang and memes?"

"Whom do you look down on?"

In the end, the two chose a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, and Rod finally had a Chinese meal after a long time.

Perhaps because both of them spoke Chinese, the meal was quite authentic.

After the meal, Luo De drove Liu Qingxi back to school and then drove away.

Halfway there, Rhodes finally couldn't contain his excitement. He found a parking lot, parked the car, and took out the [Clown Card] to equip it.

[Equipment assembly in progress... Assembly complete... Information updated, please check promptly.]

Information Panel

On the next screen, a semi-transparent light curtain appeared on Rhodes' retina.

Name: Rod Lee

Age: 25

[Height/Weight: 186/83.7]

[Position: Detective (Murder and Heist Division)]

【property:

Strength: 10.3 (+1)

Agility: 9.9 (+1)

Constitution: 9.1 (+1)

Spirit: 13.1 (+2.5)

Luck: 14

(Note 1: The average value of the attributes of healthy males is 10, and the extreme value is 20.)

(Note 2: Luck is a special attribute and cannot be increased by adding attribute points. Furthermore, the luck value of the same person will fluctuate at different times and is not fixed. The daily luck value is 10.)

【Equipment slots (3/3):】

1. Detective Badge: Increases efficiency by 20% when performing physical training.

2. Glasses Filled with Love: 1. Scanning: ... 2. Virtual Imaging: ...

(Note: The duration of active skill activation is determined by the Spirit attribute.)

3. Joker: At the poker table, it is a versatile trump card that can turn the tide of battle.

Culturally, it is a symbol that represents multiple aspects, including fools, wise men, chaos, freedom, and change.

It is nothing, which is why it can be everything.

When equipped, Spirit attribute +0.5

skill:

Bewitchment: After activating this skill, Agility is increased by 1. During the skill's duration, anything you say will be convincing. (Effect depends on the target's willpower.)

[Available Experience Points: 1031]

【Skill:……】

Rhodes carefully examined the Joker card's skill description; its effect was undeniably powerful.

The equipment effect directly adds 0.5 to the Spirit attribute, and after the skill is activated, it directly adds 1 point to the Agility attribute.

"It's a pity, it would have been so much better if it had been added directly to the constitution attribute."

While reflecting on his experience, Rhode activated the skill [Bewitchment].

Of course, no one is currently targeting Rhodes to test the skill's effects. Rhodes just wants to see the mental energy consumption after activating the skill and how long the skill can be maintained.

On the panel, the mental attribute dropped rapidly, decreasing by three points in just ten seconds.

"Based on this ratio, with 13.1 spirit, [Bewitchment] can only be active for a maximum of forty seconds?"

After thinking for a moment, Rhodes shook his head again. "We can't calculate it that way. We also need to reserve the mental energy for other skills, and we can't let it affect our normal lives. Just to be on the safe side, the activation time of [Bewitchment] should ideally not exceed twenty seconds!"

Perhaps because he was already used to being a detective, Rhodes' first thought was that this skill would be very useful in the future, whether in calming down suspects or during interrogations.

Not telling the truth? Take this [Bewitchment] first, and if you can withstand it, you've got a strong will.

The Spirit attribute increased by 0.5, but apart from feeling like a cooling balm was applied to his temples, Rhodes didn't feel any other significant changes. Perhaps it was because his initial attributes were already quite high?

After a short while, Rod drove back to his grandfather's ranch.

From the moment Rhodes fired the shot, his two-week paid leave had already begun. Of course, he would also have to cooperate with the FID investigation in a couple of days.

Now he finally had some free time, something he hadn't had in a long time, but Rhodes wasn't used to it.

Sitting on the large wooden sofa, Rod thought for a moment and then sent Hank a text message.

One is about renting a house. I remember Connor mentioned not long ago that Hank's brother-in-law, Walter White, is coming to Los Angeles to teach chemistry, and he even took half a day off. He should have a reliable real estate agency to recommend.

Another thing was to ask Hank to help check the files or records of the case that Ida Emerson had mentioned.

Although the system hasn't given any task prompts yet, Rhodes has a feeling that there's still room for exploration in this case.

This feeling has no particular reason; it might be due to an increase in mental attributes.

After the message was sent, Hank did not reply immediately, presumably still busy with the Emily poisoning case.

"Thinking about it carefully, this administrative leave just happened to save me from the most troublesome part of organizing the case files and reports following the body dumping case, the shooting case, and the poisoning case."

Can I say I was pretty lucky?

Rod smiled.

With nothing else to do for the moment, Rhode decided to go to the gym for a workout, not wanting the 20% boost from the [Detective Badge] to go to waste.

Improving physical fitness cannot rely solely on equipment; personal effort is also essential.

As soon as Rod got into the car, Hank sent him a message.

"?"

Rod thought Hank was a little reluctant, so he replied with a smile, "I'll really treat you to a hot dog another day."

Hank sent me the contact information for a real estate manager.

Then another document was sent, which continued:

"I've noted down the hot dog."

I just want to ask, why are you looking for a case file that's already closed?

Rod looked at the information on his phone, slightly puzzled. What did he mean by a case file that had been closed?