American homeless people, surviving in the city

The moment Lin Qi saw the two faces inside the oncoming car window, alarm bells went off in his head.

Almost instinctively, he grabbed Lucas's hand and pulled him into a corner.

"W-wh-what happened? What's going on?" Lucas was completely unaware of what had happened and was almost staggered as Lynch pulled him away.

"I'll explain later. For now, shut up."

Lin Qi made a shushing gesture, hid in a corner, and secretly observed the movements of the black sedan.

The moment he realized that the people in the car were cult members, he was certain that there was a reason why they had come to this place.

Sure enough, the car soon pulled up to the side of the road.

Two robed believers got out of the car, walked around, and exchanged a few words with the homeless people by the roadside, clearly trying to confirm something.

The good news is that because Lynch hid quickly enough, and because he had gone to buy breakfast beforehand, and was already some distance from the food truck, the cultists didn't seem to notice that someone was peeking out from the corner and watching their every move.

After his initial confusion, Lucas realized that Lynch seemed to be avoiding and observing something, so he quietly peeked out from behind Lynch, looking and asking:

"Who are you hiding from? Do you have an enemy?"

"No," Lin Qi replied in a low voice, then took the opportunity to confirm, "Look at those two people in robes, are the patterns on their clothes the same as the patterns on the clothes of the people you've seen before who were accompanied by police?"

Lucas squinted, carefully examined it for a few seconds, and then nodded: "I wouldn't say exactly the same, but it's very similar."

Lin Qi took a deep breath: "I really don't want to hear that answer... Are you sure those plainclothes officers you saw before were plainclothes police officers?"

"This..." Lucas hesitated. "I've always thought I could tell if someone was a policeman by their demeanor and habitual movements, but if you ask me that, I'm a little unsure."

"You mean, at least you feel that those accompanying these people in strange robes are indeed plainclothes police officers?"

"You could say that..."

Upon hearing Lucas's answer, Lynch fell completely silent.

Prior to this, the police's hasty conclusion of the murder case in the lakeside villa area may have been due to some external coercion, and did not necessarily mean that they were colluding with the cult.

But if plainclothes police officers are actually collaborating with cult members, then that means something entirely different.

The thought of this terrifying possibility made Lynch feel increasingly suffocated.

Under Lynch's repeated questioning, Lucas became increasingly aware of what Lynch was focusing on. He pulled his head back and looked at Lynch with some curiosity:

"So, this is the reason why the food truck hasn't set up its stall, the reason you've been keeping quiet about it all this time?"

"Are those weirdos involved in something? Are the police and criminals colluding? Do you know something inside?"

...This guy's intuition is really accurate!

Lynch wanted to tell this guy to stop causing trouble, but bad news kept coming, and his anxiety left him with no energy to deal with Lucas, whose mind was only on the news. So he just sighed.

"No, no, I don't know the specifics either, so don't think too much about it. But those people in robes are definitely suspicious and dangerous. If you see them, try to avoid them."

Lucas: "Who are they?"

"I can't say too much right now..." On one hand, Lin Qi didn't really know much about this cult, and on the other hand, he didn't want anything he said to be posted online by Lucas.

It would be even worse if it attracted the attention of a cult.

Seeing Lynch's serious expression, Lucas finally shut up and stopped asking questions.

The two hid in the corner for a while longer. A dozen seconds later, the cultists seemed to have confirmed the situation in the vicinity, so they returned to the black sedan and drove away in an instant.

Seeing the car drive away, Lynch stood up, stretched his limbs, and then turned to Lucas:

"Alright, that's enough of this rambling. I have a lot to do today, so I should go now."

"You'd better take my advice to heart; it's for your own safety."

"You'd better not get involved in these messy things."

Upon hearing this, Lucas smiled slightly, but the smile vanished in an instant, replaced by a serious expression: "If I were just an ordinary video blogger who made a living by spreading fake news, I certainly wouldn't get involved in these troublesome matters."

"However, as I should have said when we first met, I am also a blogger who focuses on various social issues in Seattle. I love this city and hope it can become better. In this regard, I will not fabricate anything, but I hope to record every bit of truth."

"Therefore, I appreciate your good intentions. However, if given the opportunity, I still hope to see the truth."

His voice was soft: "If you trust me, you can tell me if you have any news."

"Although I don't know what you're investigating, if public opinion can help the situation, I actually have quite a few friends in Seattle—in the media, social organizations, and even some NGOs—who can help you spread the word. At the very least, it can let more people know."

...You were just asking me for fake news, what are you trying to prove now?

Seeing that the other party seemed genuinely serious, Lin Qi blinked and finally shrugged helplessly.

"Fine, since you insist on doing it this way..."

"I will contact you if needed."

After saying that, Lynch patted Lucas on the shoulder and strode towards the camp.

Because of Lucas's unexpected appearance, he has already wasted too much time at the relief food truck. Next, he must get to the lakeside area immediately to finish today's investigation and cleaning tasks as soon as possible so that he can focus on preparing for tonight's boxing match.

To be honest, after experiencing so much these past two days, the underground boxing matches that were originally a heavy burden in Lin Qi's mind no longer seem so scary.

Compared to cults lurking in the shadows, plotting unknown schemes, the simple fistfights between gangsters even seem somewhat endearing.

On the way back to camp, Lin Qi was lost in thought when he took out his phone and sent messages to Chen Kelei and Kayla respectively.

Chen Kelei said last night that he would try to find out Kayla's opinion on the hasty conclusion of the case, but he has not yet replied to Lin Qi.

Therefore, Lynch sent a message to Kayla to ask if today's cleaning could continue as normal.

He then sent a message to Chen Kelei, asking which areas he should focus on investigating besides emptying the escape room.

This will be the focus of his work going forward.