America: The Gear-Up Detective

After thinking for a while, Rhodes decided to put the upgrade idea aside for the time being. Skills can be upgraded at any time, and it wouldn't be too late to upgrade when he really couldn't get any information out of the interrogation.

Rhodes sat in his seat, his mind racing through all the clues in the case, trying to piece together a truth.

But no matter how Rhodes pieced things together, he was always missing the most crucial element: evidence.

Perhaps the truth is as Rhodes and his friends suspect, and the real culprit is Kerry, but without evidence, it's all useless.

"well..."

Rod sighed. He could only wait until tomorrow to see if Kerry's ex-girlfriend had any clues.

Rhodes composed himself and turned his attention to his application for a Level 2 detective position.

The application form is very simple; it just involves filling in your resume and the cases you've handled.

Before long, Rod finished writing the application form and handed it to Connor.

Connor took the application form, glanced at it, and nodded, saying, "Okay, I'll give it to the director tomorrow, and it should be approved in a few days."

"So fast?" Rod was slightly surprised.

Connor smiled.

When I left the team leader's office, it was already time to leave work.

Almost no one chose to work overtime this time. The reason is simple: this case has reached a bottleneck, and it cannot be solved simply by working overtime.

Police station, underground parking lot.

Rod got into the driver's seat, turned the steering wheel, lightly pressed the accelerator, and drove out of the police station.

Driving slowly on the road, Rod looked around at the vehicles traveling at normal speeds with some curiosity.

Looking further ahead, several police cars were parked not far away. "No wonder these guys didn't speed today!"

There were an unusually large number of police officers patrolling the streets today, with one or two officers conducting random checks every so often.

This is, of course, due to the police station shooting two days ago. Now, patrol officers from all precincts have been mobilized in large numbers to ensure that the streets and communities are filled with police.

Areas where gang members frequently operate have become a key focus of the police department's attention.

The Los Angeles underworld was in a state of panic and turmoil during this period.

Fortunately, it did not have a significant impact on the world of ordinary people. It seems that this joint operation by the police was not a spur-of-the-moment plan, otherwise the level of control would not have been so great.

Rod was lost in thought, letting his mind wander.

Before long, we returned to my grandfather's ranch.

As soon as I entered, I saw my grandfather Edgar sitting on the large leather sofa in the living room, head down, brows slightly furrowed, scrolling through his phone.

Hearing the noise at the door, Edgar looked up and saw it was Rhodes, then put down his phone.

"Grandpa, have you eaten?"

Rod stepped forward and greeted him.

Because his son-in-law was of Chinese descent, Edgar was already used to this unusual way of greeting each other.

Nodding slightly, Edgar said in a deep voice, "I've already eaten."

Seeing his grandfather's furrowed brow and troubled expression, Rod hesitated for a moment before asking, "Grandpa, is something wrong?"

Edgar stroked his beard and sighed. "It's not a big problem regarding the ranch."

Signs of a large group of coyotes have been found nearby, and I am worried that these wolves may harm the newborn calves and lambs.

This is really a troublesome matter.

Rod's lips twitched. He thought it was something serious, but it turned out to be just a few coyotes.

Edgar understood Rhodes' expression and sighed again, "This time it's not just a few coyotes."

Coyotes have been spotted at nearby farms and ranches, suggesting a large pack!

"Are you sure it's a coyote?" Rhodes asked in return.

There are two common wolf packs in California: coyotes and gray wolves.

The California gray wolf is an endangered species protected by both state and federal laws and must never be hunted; touching it is a serious crime.

Coyotes can be hunted, but there are strict conditions: a hunting license is required, and the shot must be fired in a legal area.

Otherwise, it will still be a violation of the law.

Edgar rolled his eyes at Rhodes and said in a low voice, "I'm not so bad that I can't tell the difference between a coyote and a gray wolf."

Rod continued, "Then why not just hire a professional hunter to clean it up?"

Edgar shook his head and said in a deep voice, "It's not that simple. This time it's a large pack of wolves, far too many of them."

Coyotes are native to Southern California and are highly adaptable, found from the wilderness to urban communities in Los Angeles County, including ranch areas. Their tracks extend from the San Gabriel Valley all the way to Long Beach, and they are also frequently seen in human-populated areas such as Griffith Park and Hacienda Heights.

For farms and ranches near Los Angeles, the most direct harm caused by packs of coyotes is economic loss and constant harassment. These highly adaptable animals view ranches as a stable food source.

Sheep and calves are prey on the coyote’s menu. The mere presence of coyotes can cause stress in cattle, affecting their reproduction and weight, and often resulting in losses of tens of thousands of dollars.

For small wolf packs or lone wolves, direct hunting is often the most effective method.

However, for medium to large wolf packs that have already established themselves, the situation becomes much more complicated, and simply hunting them may even make things worse.

When a coyote pack's structure is disrupted by human hunting, the reproductive rate of surviving female coyotes and the survival rate of their pups will increase, and the population size may recover rapidly or even increase.

A stable coyote pack defends its territory and prevents outsiders from entering. Whenever a large number of coyotes are hunted, a vacuum in the territory is created, attracting more stray coyotes to enter. These newcomers then prey on livestock in order to survive.

But the biggest problem isn't here; no matter how many wolves there are, they can't withstand the bullets fired from cold guns.

The difficulty lies in the fact that if they are not killed, the wolf population will become excessive.

Killing only a portion of them will lead to the situation described above.

But what if they were all slaughtered?

Sorry, there is an organization in the United States called the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), commonly known as the Animal Protection Association.

Indiscriminately killing wild wolves? If these people target you, you'll be lucky to escape with your life.

Rod frowned, thinking of a solution.

Edgar glanced at it and said, "Never mind, it's just a few lone wolves that have wandered into my ranch. The real headache is for my old neighbors. Let them think about it first; I don't need to rush."

After a pause, Edgar looked at Rhodes again, holding up his phone and winking at him, saying, "Hey kid, not bad, when did you start training?"

Rhodes was bewildered by the sudden change of topic. "What?"

"That video of you subduing a shooting suspect with your bare hands at the police station, you were pretty good!"

Rod was both amused and exasperated. "You promised to use thick mosaics, how come everyone can still recognize me?"