America: The Gear-Up Detective

Feeling they had worked out enough, Rod looked away, and the two quickly washed up in the gym's restroom before leaving.

The two walked out of the gym and glanced at the time. It was only around four o'clock in the afternoon. They had been working out on and off for three hours.

"Shall we go back?" Rod asked.

"Alright, I wasn't prepared today. I'll get a good rest tonight, and I'll show you what I'm capable of tomorrow~"

Rod smiled.

The two got into the car. Liu Qingxi fastened her seatbelt, paused, and asked, "How's your grandfather's leg? Is it better?"

"Pretty much. It wasn't that serious to begin with; a few dressing changes should be enough."

The two chatted idly like that.

Shortly after, downstairs at the Plaza La Reina Hotel.

Rod slowly parked the car on the side of the road, without driving into the hotel parking lot.

The parking fee was too expensive. I parked for about half an hour in the morning, but they charged me the price for the whole day, a full fifty dollars.

Liu Qingxi unbuckled her seatbelt, turned her hat upside down, and then, under Rod's slightly surprised gaze, leaned over and gently touched Rod's cheek.

It then quickly retreated.

Seeing Liu Qingxi's flushed face, before Luo De could speak, Liu Qingxi interjected, "Be careful!"

After saying that, he pushed open the car door and ran back to the hotel in a flash.

Rod smiled, touched his cheek, watched Liu Qingxi enter the hotel, waited for a while, then started the car and prepared to leave.

On the way back, my phone vibrated.

While the light was red, Rod glanced at the message and saw it was a message from Liu Qingxi:

"Thank you for today. And please continue teaching me tomorrow."

Over the next two days, Rod got up early every morning, packed his things, and began to move slowly.

In the afternoon, Luo De spent time with Liu Qingxi at the gym. After teaching Liu Qingxi some techniques, Luo De also took the opportunity to work out a bit, since he was already there.

Although his physical attributes haven't increased yet in the system panel, Rodon can clearly feel that his physical condition has improved a lot.

Neither of them mentioned the kiss that afternoon, as if it had never happened. Mainly, Rod, looking at Liu Qingxi's natural expression, was somewhat confused about what had happened that day.

Looking at Rhodes, who still showed no reaction after she took the initiative, Liu Qingxi couldn't help but silently criticize him, "No reaction at all, does he not like me? Or is he just incapable of taking the initiative himself..."

No matter where you are, holidays always pass too quickly. In the blink of an eye, Rhodes' three-day leave was over.

Friday morning.

Rod had already moved his things over a couple of days ago.

Rod just wanted to find a suitable time to invite his family and friends to gather at the new house before officially moving in, so he was still staying at his grandfather's ranch for the next few days.

Amidst the chattering noise of the Vermilion Bird of the Americas, Rod opened his eyes, and after a moment, got up to wash.

It's strange, I had a good rest a few days ago and felt energetic every morning, so why do I always find it difficult to get up in the morning when it's time to go to work?

After a quick breakfast, Rod drove to the detective station.

Second floor, the office of Team Six.

"Good morning, Hank!" Rod greeted Hank, who was sitting idly in a swivel chair.

Hank waved his hand listlessly.

Rhodes looked around, then asked, "Who's off today?"

"Evan and Anna, it'll be Jose and me next Tuesday," Hank replied.

Rhodes nodded and went to his seat.

I turned on my computer and, as usual, started cleaning up the emails in my inbox.

That's how it is in the Murder and Robbery Division; you might not receive a single case for days, or a single case could keep you up for months.

However, this doesn't mean that the case will definitely be solved after a few months. Rather, if a case remains unsolved for several months, there's no need to continue the investigation.

Typically, a reward is offered for a lead, and then the case is thrown into a pile of files in the archives. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, no one will remember the case for decades to come.

An hour later, Rod got up and stretched. Although there were still some strange things in the email, there were no useful clues.

Rod took a glass of water and, as he passed Jackson's seat, suddenly felt something was off.

Looking around but not seeing Jackson, he asked, "Hey, Hank, did you run into Jackson this morning?"

"Okay, Walter, I have something to do. Talk to you later." Hank, who was making a phone call in a low voice, hung up.

Upon hearing Rod's question, he thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Did Jackson come this morning? I don't think I saw him."

Rod thought for a moment, then walked out of his office and made a phone call to Jackson.

After a long ringing, the phone went unanswered.

Hank also came out, looked at the phone in Rod's hand, and asked, "What's wrong? Nobody's answering?"

Rhodes smiled, shrugged, and said, "Yeah, maybe he overslept?"

Hank thought for a moment, his extensive experience in handling cases making him feel that something was amiss. He then touched his bald head and said to Rod, "Do you have time? Let's go straight to Jackson's house and take a look. I have a bad feeling about this."

After thinking about it, Rod decided to go and see for himself along with Hank.

The two then drove to Jackson's neighborhood.

Hank had been to Jackson's house before, and he parked his car on the street in front of Jackson's house.

After the two got out of the car, Hank was about to knock on the door, but as soon as he raised his hand to the door, the door opened by itself.

Rod and Hank exchanged a glance, then Hank yelled, "LAPD! Jackson, are you in there?"

No one answered.

Hank continued shouting, "Jackson! Please respond if you receive this!"

Behind him, Rod dialed Jackson's number again.

A short while later, the faint sound of a cell phone ringing could be heard coming from inside the room.

Hank also heard the bell and said to Rod, "I suspect there's been an accident involving some officers at the scene. Prepare to enter the room to search."

As he spoke, he pushed open the door, drew his sidearm from his waist, and Rod followed without saying a word.

The two used a tactic of alternating searches, examining the entire room one by one.

"Living Room Safety"

Kitchen safety

"The bedroom is...safe."

Toilet safety

Inside the bedroom, Rod looked at the cell phone, police badge, and service pistol on the bedside table and had a bad feeling.

As a qualified detective, Jackson was quite experienced. Whether he was out or at work, he might forget to wear his badge, but he would never forget to wear his gun.

After another quick search, Rhodes discovered a strange phenomenon.

"Hey, Hank, did you notice? All the trash cans are clean, there are no trash bags, and there's no trash inside."

"That's right, and the knives, forks, and plates in the kitchen were still in the sink, which means Jackson may have made breakfast that morning."

The two exchanged a glance, and Rod said in a deep voice, "Then it's impossible not to produce garbage."

Then, Rod glanced at a green trash can on the other side of the street, opposite Jackson's door.

Stepping out of his room and across the street in the community, Rod headed straight for the trash cans.

But not far from the trash can, on the asphalt ground, there were two dark marks.

Even without activating the [Scan] skill, Rhodes could tell at a glance that these were tire marks left by a car braking suddenly.

Hank, who was behind them, saw it too and muttered, "Fuck, I had a feeling this was going to happen!"

Subconsciously, Rod recalled the altercation at the bar three days ago and muttered to himself, "It was just a fight, it can't be that serious..."