life copy game

Chapter 1608 The Collapse of the Future Building (Seeking monthly votes at the beginning of the month)

“If they hadn’t decisively cut off contact and sacrificed their own lives,” the man with the mustache said slowly, “our operation last night wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.”

“The gecko escapes by shedding its tail because its tail can grow back,” Reed said, putting his coffee to his lips. “This shows that they have something more important to protect, and it’s worth it even if it means losing these mercenaries and gang members.”

He took a sip of coffee. "Their choice to retreat suggests that this thing may no longer need external help or drive, which is not good news."

“That’s why we’re here,” Charn said in a low voice.

“Whatever they’re planning, we need to catch them before they succeed,” the man with the mustache whispered.

“We need a breakthrough.” Reed took a sip of coffee, then turned his gaze to Heo, who was browsing documents beside him.

All eyes were on He Ao.

“This street kid probably didn’t even finish high school,” the man with the mustache glanced at He Ao. “I’ve seen plenty of these thugs. Not only can they not offer any advice, but they’re also cunning, swindling, and cheating. They’ll do anything. He’s unreliable. At best, he can be used as bait. Who knows, he might even betray us.”

He leaned back in his chair. "To be honest, Reed, it's not really appropriate to have a street kid listen to our three-person meeting."

Charn, who was standing to the side, took a sip of coffee and said nothing.

“Loren is actually very capable, and he’s attending a private high school nearby.” Reed noticed that Heo didn’t speak, as if he hadn’t heard the conversation, so he looked away and said slowly.

“He’s dressed like a street urchin,” the man with the mustache put down his coffee. “He doesn’t look like someone who would study properly. You don’t know how many reports we get about these street urchins every day. They’re practically the source of crime in West Los Angeles.”

At this moment, He Ao finally put down his tablet, looked up, glanced at the people around him, and calmly said, "A clue: the collapse of the Willens Future Building nine years ago and the Loringer Street Welfare Orphanage."

“The disaster in Willens?” Charn, sitting across from Heo, asked slowly. “What does that have to do with that orphanage?”

Meanwhile, Reed, who was standing to the side, seemed to realize something and lowered his head in thought.

“This is what you need to investigate,” He Ao said, his gaze sweeping over the mustachioed man who was deep in thought, pointing to the tablet on the table.
"In the house I live in now, there is a little girl named Sisley. Her parents died in the Future Building collapse nine years ago."

"Then, six years ago, she was sent to the Loringer Street Welfare Orphanage, becoming the last 'new child' at the orphanage,"

He looked up and swept his gaze across the crowd. "That night, a fire broke out at the orphanage, and everyone was burned to death in the fire."

"So, you think there's a connection between the two?" Reed, sitting next to Heo, asked slowly, holding his coffee.

"The clues here don't seem to be very 'rigorous'?" Charn said slowly from the other side.

“There’s another reason,” Heo shrugged, leaning back in his chair, “My parents also died in the Future Tower collapse.”

He glanced at the slightly surprised expressions on the faces of Charn and the mustachioed man opposite him, and continued, "I was also sent to an orphanage,"

He paused, looked at everyone, and continued, "The same orphanage, only three months earlier than Siwei."

"That fire?" Charn asked, a mixture of surprise and doubt.

"I ran away. The day Siwei arrived at the orphanage, I climbed over the wall," He Ao shrugged, his gaze sweeping over the mustachioed man opposite him, and said casually.

"The sheriff is right. I did spend some time as a street kid, trying to survive on the streets. I was lucky and eventually survived."

The entire conference room fell into a brief silence.

“Okay,” the man with the mustache leaned back in his chair, somewhat reluctantly, “I admit that you are a little different from other street urchins.”

“No, it’s all the same, Sheriff,” He Ao said calmly, looking at the man with the mustache and shaking his head slightly. “I know you were just trying to provoke me, but I’m no different from other street kids. We’re all homeless, not knowing when we’ll have a full meal again.”

He glanced at the pop-up window displayed in his glasses and casually remarked, "When a person's very survival is a problem, morality and law are just abstract concepts."

He shrugged. "While there are bound to be bad people in this world, if the whole city is full of homeless people, does the root of the problem really lie with street kids who just want to survive? What do you think, Sheriff?"

A brief silence fell over the entire conference room once again.

He Ao turned his gaze to Reed, "How long will it take for that money to arrive?"

Reed raised his wristband and glanced at it. "The finance department at Willens should be open by now. The money should arrive in an hour at the earliest and two hours at the latest."

“Okay,” He Ao nodded. “The bounty hunter organization sent me a message saying the goods have arrived. I’ll go take a look.”

“Okay,” Reed nodded. “The clue you provided is very useful. We will investigate based on this clue.”

"it is good."

He Ao nodded, turned and left the office, closing the door behind him.

The office fell silent once again.

"This kid's got a pretty strong sense of revenge." The man with the mustache picked up his coffee and took a sip.

“Your provocation is too aggressive,” Chan said with a laugh, picking up his coffee. “Young people usually can’t handle this kind of attitude.”

He looked up in the direction He Ao had left. "But to be honest, I think what he said might not be entirely unreasonable."

A brief silence fell over the office once again.

"Did you notice the necklace around his neck?" the man with the mustache whispered.

“Some things, no matter how much you try to block them, you can’t prevent them,” Charn said softly, looking down at the unmelted ice at the bottom of the cup as he finished his coffee.

He then shook his head. "But this has nothing to do with the FBI for now."

He looked up at Reed. "So what do you think of that clue? To be honest, I think we can't rule out the influence of chance. After all, the collapse of the Future Tower is still a mystery."

“Let’s give it a try,” Reed said, downing his coffee in one gulp. “We have no other leads.”

“Alright,” Charn stood up. “Since we’re here, I’ll contact my colleagues at Willens and get the list of victims of the Future Tower collapse.”

“I’m going there. I’m going to investigate the fire at that orphanage.” The man with the mustache also stood up.

“Then I’ll arrange for someone to take over the rest of the search,” Reed said, placing his coffee cup on the table. “Let’s get started.”

The wind outside the window swept across the snow-covered earth, and snowplows pushed away the snow that blanketed the streets.

Second update