America: The Gear-Up Detective

[Mission Complete: Mysterious Disappearance - Was it a wandering or deliberate act? Corpse Found in the Wilderness - Was it an accident or a provocation?]

A reward will be given for solving this case.

Settlement:

The killer's identity has been confirmed; 100% complete.

The chain of evidence is complete, 77% complete.

The capture/death of the perpetrator is 100% complete.

[Completion Reward: System Function: Equipment Recycling]

"Equipment recycling? What's that?"

Rhodes looked at the system's reward, a newly introduced feature that, judging from the name, allowed him to recycle equipment he no longer needed.

Equipment Recycling: Recycle equipment that you find useless or mediocre to exchange for experience points.

Each piece of equipment, depending on its function and purpose, can be exchanged for 500-1000 experience points.

Depending on their function and purpose, recycled equipment can be redeemed again for 1000-2000 experience points.

Rhodes understood: if he acquired equipment that was of little use, the system could recycle it for 500-1000 experience points.

If you change your mind and find the equipment useful again, you'll have to spend 1000-2000 experience points to "buy" it back.

"Is there a price difference in this system?"

Rhodes smiled. Fortunately, apart from the Wolf King's side quest which clearly pointed to a piece of equipment, he hadn't encountered any other equipment yet.

And it's unclear when the Wolf King mission will be completed.

Looking at the time, it was almost time to get off work. Rhodes rubbed his eyes. The mental exertion was quite significant, but thankfully it was just a bit uncomfortable, not as bad as when his legs went weak at the beginning.

Rhodes lay on the table, preparing to take a nap, and no one bothered him.

Soon, it was time to leave work. Rod's alarm clock rang, and he rubbed his eyes, feeling a bit better.

[Mental State: 5.6 (Recovering)]

Rod packed his things and prepared to go home after get off work.

As soon as I stepped out of the office, I saw Hank leaning against the stairs, as if waiting for someone.

Seeing Rod walk over, Hank rubbed his bald head and chuckled, "I knew I'd be able to catch you here after get off work."

Rod smiled as he watched Hank revert to his tough-guy demeanor and said, "What's wrong? Not planning on working overtime today either?"

Hank walked over to Rhodes and put his arm around Rhodes' shoulder, but because of the height difference, it looked a bit comical. He then laughed and said, "There's no end to the work, no end to the suspects, and crime is happening every moment."

As your senior, I'd like to offer you this advice; please remember it.

The two walked to the police station's underground parking garage, chatting along the way.

Rod realized that Hank wanted to say something to him, but he kept rambling on and on.

When Rod was almost at his car, Hank said seriously, "Hey, Rod, thank you."

Rhodes was completely confused. "Thank me? Why?"

"You should have noticed that I'm not in a good mood today."

Rod nodded. Hank's performance today was indeed different from his usual work. In his memory, Hank could always remain calm even when he encountered serial murders, but today he lost control of himself several times.

Then, Hank explained, "That's because when I was little..."

Hank then began to recount his past.

When Hank was little, he lived in New Mexico, where he had a younger sister.

When Hank's sister was fourteen, one evening while they were out playing, she was mistreated by a gang member for several hours.

The family found it strange that their younger sister hadn't returned after so long, so they went out to look for her. They found her covered in blood in a patch of grass less than 300 meters from their home.

Unfortunately, there were no surveillance cameras or similar devices at the time. After the police were notified, they quickly identified the suspect based on the bodily fluids found in the sister's body. However, after several days of searching, the police did not catch the murderer. They suspected that he might have left New Mexico and subsequently issued an arrest warrant, but then stopped paying attention to him.

But Hank and his family never forgot about it, especially his sister, who suffered from severe depression after experiencing that torment and soon committed suicide.

From that moment on, Hank resolved to become a police officer, not to serve the taxpayers, but simply to make it easier to find the murderer who had escaped and whose whereabouts were unknown.

Because of the rampant drug problem in New Mexico, Hank guessed that the killer was probably a drug dealer, which is why he had the means to leave New Mexico so quickly.

After several years of hard work, Hank successfully joined the DEA (Denis Agency for Drugs and Crime), where he was specifically responsible for combating illegal drug trafficking and drug trafficking organizations.

God did not abandon Hank. After ten years of hard work in the DEA, Hank finally discovered the killer from back then during a joint operation. He had joined a notorious gang in Arizona.

So Hank resolutely left the DEA where he had worked for ten years and was transferred to the Anti-Organized Crime Division in New Mexico. Finally, a few years later, Hank got his revenge.

As for his arrival at the Los Angeles Police Department, that's another story.

After hearing Hank's story, Rod understood why Hank hated Kerry so much; it was almost a carbon copy of the same incident.

Patting Hank on the shoulder, Rod said softly, "Sorry, Hank."

Hank shook his head. After so many years, he thought he had come to terms with it, but he didn't expect that encountering a case like this again would still make him unusually angry.

Rod didn't know how to comfort him, but Hank waved his hand to indicate that he was fine. "It's okay. Connor and Evan know about these things. Now that we're partners, it's okay to tell you some things."

Rod nodded, and the two chatted for a few more minutes before Hank went to get his car to go home from get off work.

Back at his grandfather's ranch, Rhodes did not see Edgar.

I made a phone call and found out that a rancher in the area who was suffering the most from wolf attacks had gathered several of his fellow ranchers to discuss countermeasures. Although there were no signs of intrusion into Edgar's ranch yet, we decided to go and check it out, just in case.

Rod had no choice but to cook a simple bowl of spaghetti and then make a tomato and egg stir-fry.

Mix the two together, and a bowl of tomato and egg noodles becomes Rod's dinner.

After dinner, Rod felt a little tired and didn't want to go to the gym, so he lay in bed scrolling through his phone, preparing to go to sleep.

Just then, Liu Qingxi suddenly sent another message.

"Hello Rod, when are you free?"

Rhodes replied, "What's wrong?"

I don't know when it started, but Liu Qingxi has begun to call Luo De by his full name, whereas before she would have included the word "police officer".

"Didn't you say you'd teach me some self-defense skills? It's been almost two weeks... *pokes hand*"

Rod had indeed forgotten, and immediately replied, "Of course I haven't forgotten. How about Friday? After practice tonight, you can rest on Saturday."

Liu Qingxi replied instantly: "Okay, then I won't disturb your rest. Good night."

"Good night."

Just as Rod put down his phone and was about to go to sleep, his phone beeped again.

Leila Cross, Rod's ex-girlfriend, a forensic pathologist: "Are you free Friday night?"

"?"

P.S.: Tomorrow is Tuesday, could I please read this again? Thanks!