American homeless people, surviving in the city

After checking the envelopes and money orders scattered on his desk, Lynch gathered them together, photographed them one by one as evidence, and then stacked them all together, stuffing the thick stack of paper documents into the sealed bag he had originally intended to use for trash.

Although there was a lot of material, considering that it was suspected of being related to a cult, he had to take it all away and hand it over to Chen Kelei as evidence.

After tidying up all the envelopes, Lin Qi looked back at his desk and found that only a thick, black book remained on it.

Compared to the envelopes scattered all over the table, this book doesn't seem particularly eye-catching at first glance.

But when he looked closer, a small pattern on the cover of the large black book caught Lin Qi's attention.

The cover of the book features the same eerie pattern of bones intertwined on a lotus flower, exactly the same as the pattern on the silver bowl and robe in the oil painting in front of the secret chamber!

This book is clearly also related to that cult!

Seeing cult symbols printed on such a thick book, Lin Qi didn't want to touch it for a moment, fearing that he might find some inhuman and grotesque images when he opened it.

But in order to gather more clues, he gritted his teeth and took it in his hand, slowly turning it over.

He quickly saw what was inside.

It turned out to be a photo album.

The good news is that, at first glance, the contents of the album seem no different from those of an ordinary family's photo album.

The album contains many photos, most of which are simple group photos of two people.

The compositions are simple, the lighting is bright, and the backgrounds are often pleasant countryside under blue skies and white clouds, or some elegantly decorated buildings. There are no terrifying or bizarre scenes as Lynch imagined.

But upon closer inspection, Lin Qi quickly noticed something unusual.

In these photos of two people, one of them is often a middle-aged or elderly man or woman in a suit and tie, who looks like an elite person from the upper echelons of society.

There were also some people with disheveled hair and fashionable clothes, who looked like unrestrained artists or celebrities.

Even though Lynch wasn't that familiar with American celebrities, he seemed to recognize a few faces among them.

In these photos, these social elites or artists and celebrities, despite their different identities, all share the same thing on their faces—

A complex expression, a mixture of fear, fanaticism, and greed.

And without exception, all of these people are taking photos with the same elderly man.

The old man was bald, without a beard, and wore a dark red robe, with one arm bare. Although even his eyebrows were gray, the skin on his face was still taut, making him appear quite young at first glance, and it was difficult to tell his age.

The old man always stands next to the other person in the group photo, with a kind smile and benevolent eyes. He makes a complex hand gesture with his hands, which looks a bit like a Buddhist gesture and a bit like a Hindu mudra.

And on the old man's deep red robe,

The embroidery was the kind of pattern where bones and lotus flowers intertwined, which Lin Qi was all too familiar with!

Lin Qi didn't know what these photos meant, but even just looking at the images in the photos, he could roughly guess that the people taking photos with this old man were likely supporters of a cult, and that the old man was likely a high-ranking member of a cult!

Faced with this unexpected discovery, he quickly took a few photos and sent them to Chen Kelei, and then packed the photo album up and took it with him.

With a bag of envelopes and money orders in his left hand and a thick, heavy photo album in his right, Lin Qi suddenly felt that his posture was a bit funny as he walked out of the study.

She came here to be a cleaner, but today she's already carried several bags of stuff out of the villa.

If you didn't know better, you'd think they were here to raid your home.

However, the thought that the bags he was carrying out of the house contained clues related to cults made Lin Qi's smile fade.

Soon, Lin Qi put the envelope and the photo album into the broken car.

Almost simultaneously, the phone rang again.

Lin Qi answered the phone, and Chen Kelei's anxious voice came through:

"Where did you find those photos?"

"In the study of the villa, there's a photo album with cult-themed designs. I only took a few pictures for you initially; there are many more like this in the album... all group photos like this." Lin Qi replied quickly, "Do you know any of the people in those pictures? I suspect they're all connected to cults."

"It's more than just knowing each other..."

A bitter laugh came from the other end of the call. Then, Chen Kelei remained silent for a good ten seconds before slowly speaking:

"I don't know all the people in the photo, but I can tell you about the ones I do know."

"The green-eyed man in the first photo, who looks to be in his forties, is Nash Coughlin, a Seattle City Council member."

"The old man in the fifth photo, Vasquez Harrington, is the deputy director of the Washington State Environmental Protection Agency. I've dealt with him before...;"

"The red-haired middle-aged woman in the sixth photo is Margaret Griffin, the general manager of Seattle's largest lumber trading company."

"These are just the people I can recognize at a glance. In fact, there are many others who look familiar to me. Perhaps if I just do some research, I can find out their identities."

"As for this old man, I have no recollection of him, but he looks like a religious figure. If I go to the university and consult some of the professors I know, I might be able to find out his identity."

Lin Qi listened with trepidation as Chen Kelei rattled off one prominent name after another. Then, Chen Kelei's weary voice drifted over:

"Brother Lin, I actually agree with your guess. These people clearly have ties to a cult, but..."

His voice was very low: "After hearing my explanation of their identities, you should be able to guess that these people's identities have probably formed a dense network."

"And we, perhaps, have already stepped onto the last red line before crossing this net. So..."

After saying that, Chen Kelei fell silent again, but he never said what should follow "so".

Lin Qi could roughly guess what he was thinking, but he couldn't say it out loud. He only felt that the hand holding the phone was covered in cold sweat.

After a long silence, Chen Kelei was the first to break it.

He sighed and gave the instructions:

"Anyway, that's enough for now. Bring out everything you can find, and that's it for today."

"I need to take some time to figure out what to do next, and then we'll make arrangements later."

"Please be careful during this time."

Lin Qi listened silently, then whispered "I understand" and hung up the phone.