The anti-American vanguard starts in Mexico!

A faint light shone through the window, and Qi Yun could see the woman's face clearly.

Her facial features were very defined, and although she wore heavy makeup, her original delicate features could still be vaguely seen, making her quite attractive.

"What's your name?" Qi Yun stared at her.

"Mary...Mary".

The woman answered tremblingly, her face filled with desperate pleading.

Despite her eyes being filled with tears, she still used her gaze to comfort the little head peeking out from behind the curtain.

Very good, no lies.

Qi Yun nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the bare room once more.

There wasn't a single trace of a man living there; it must have been only inhabited by the mother and child.

This is not uncommon in Mexico. The drug war has brought immense suffering to countless families. Every day, the bodies lying in pools of blood are other people's children, husbands, and fathers...

The sun and flowers drawn with crayons on the peeling paint on the walls are the only colors in this dark space.

The skinny little boy's shirt was too small, and his belly was showing.

The hardened cornbread on the table and the milk that had clearly been diluted with water both spoke volumes about the mother and son's predicament.

Many people have heard the famous quote by the dictator Porfirio Diaz: "Poor Mexico, so far from God, so close to the United States."

This statement reveals the root of Mexico's tragedy.

To its south lies Colombia, the world's largest flour production base.

To the north lies the United States, the world's largest flour consumer market.

Sixty percent of the world's flour passes through Mexico and flows north to drug addicts waving US dollars.

This dooms the country to never be at peace.

However, flour was just the final straw that broke the camel's back for Mexico.

The real reason it fell into hell was caused by that dictator.

As early as the last century, Porfirio Díaz sold Mexico's core resources, such as oil and minerals, to the United States at extremely low prices.

On the surface, the country has ushered in development, with railways and modern industries rapidly emerging, presenting a prosperous scene.

But this prosperity is an illusion, built on the plunder of national resources and the exploitation of the lower classes.

Wealth flowed to the upper class and American capitalists, while the vast majority of the poor were plunged into deeper poverty.

Mexico has long been drained of its lifeblood by the Americans.

This indirectly led to the current situation.

The aftereffects of the global financial crisis have not yet subsided, and 90% of Mexicans are unemployed.

To survive, they had only two choices: join a drug cartel or smuggle themselves north to wash dishes.

Mary chose the third path—the oldest one.

To support herself and her child, she had no choice but to sell her body.

Qi Yun looked at the woman in front of him, who had been forced into a corner by life, and then at the pair of frightened yet curious eyes behind the curtain. He sighed inwardly.

He couldn't even bring himself to make a threat.

He silently took out a wad of US dollars from his pocket, about six hundred dollars, and placed it on the rickety wooden table.

This amount of money is roughly equivalent to two or three months' income for a low-income family.

Maria stared at the stack of money, stunned, her fear slowly replaced by bewilderment.

She looked at the money, then at Qi Yun, her lips trembling. "What...what does this mean? What...what do you want us to do? I swear, I really didn't see anything, I won't say anything!"

"Remember your promise," Qi Yun said, and under the woman's surprised and suspicious gaze, he opened the door and walked out.

He wasn't a good person, but he was still somewhat moved when he truly experienced the living conditions of these people at the bottom of society.

Consider the six hundred dollars as hush money.

Ok?

Just as Qi Yun's boots were about to land, a card on the ground caught his attention.

People who have been on the battlefield are always very careful; they are always alert to their footing when they move.

That was a nightclub's business card, with the words "Nightfire" printed on it. It must have fallen out when Maria took the keys out of her bag.

Qi Yun squatted down, picked up the business card, and his eyes sharpened.

If I remember correctly, this nightclub is in the territory of the Cripples, right?

Those who chased him earlier could be from the Crippled Gang, or they could be from another gang; it's hard to say.

But in any case, the warehouse incident will be exposed sooner or later, and the drug cartel will come after him.

Qi Yun held the business card in his hand, paused for a moment, and then pushed open the door to Maria's house.

Inside, Maria had been pressed against the door, listening to the sounds outside. Qi Yun's push caught her off guard, and she gasped and stumbled back two steps, almost falling.

Her face turned deathly pale instantly. She thought Qi Yun had changed his mind and was coming back to kill them to silence them. She immediately turned around to protect her son, who had just come out from behind the curtain.

"No...please don't hurt us!" Maria's voice trembled uncontrollably as she stood in front of her son, looking at Qi Yun with despair.

Qi Yun sighed helplessly, then stood at the door, keeping a certain distance, and held up the business card, asking, "Is this yours? Do you work at the Nightfire Club?"

Seeing that he had no intention of harming her and did not approach her, Maria's tense nerves relaxed slightly: "Yes...yes, I work there at night."

After receiving an affirmative answer, Qi Yun asked again, "Have you seen any members of the Crippled Gang there?"

Upon hearing the words "crippled gang," a flicker of fear flashed instinctively in Maria's eyes. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded: "I've seen them. Their people often go there to drink and pick up girls..."

On that street, neither the law nor the police mattered; the real order was held by the cripples, who were the rulers, and everyone was afraid of them.

"Then you must know their boss, Antonio, right?" Qi Yun stared intently at her. "Does Antonio go there to have fun too?"

This time, Maria did not answer.

Although she didn't know why Qi Yun was inquiring about the Crippled Gang, it seemed like he was plotting something, which frightened her. She didn't want to have anything to do with those drug dealers and gangs.

Seeing this, Qi Yun gradually felt a surge of irritation.

This woman is far too cautious; she's like a frightened rabbit.

He's never been very patient; he even fast-forwards through movies. Dealing with this woman was just too exhausting.

However, when his gaze swept over the clear eyes behind the woman, he took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed those negative emotions.

In such an uncertain environment, perhaps it is this caution and sensitivity that has allowed her to survive with her child until now.

"I have a job for you." Qi Yun pulled a police badge from his pocket and waved it at Maria. "Be my informant, a thousand dollars a month, interested?"

For a woman like Maria, survival and the future of her children are the most important things.

They grasp at every sliver of hope as a lifeline.

Sure enough, Maria was stunned when she heard the number Qi Yun announced.

$1,000 a month?

Keep in mind that her class only costs 300 pesos, which is about 24 US dollars.

She couldn't keep all 300 pesos; the nightclub would take 50% as a table fee. That meant that after working hard all day, she would only earn about $10 after deducting the cost of the condoms.

And there's not even business every day.

So she and her child could barely make ends meet.

If she could earn a thousand dollars a month, she could move to the nearby La Mesa neighborhood, where Brian lives.

Although it was only one street away, it was safer than the current slums, at least the children could go to school.

Qi Yun could also see a hint of attraction in her eyes, and thought to himself that money really does work.

He then added, "Don't worry, I'll give you this thousand dollars personally. I can pay you a month's salary in advance."

"And I won't let you do anything dangerous. You just need to provide me with some information about the Crippled Gang at the appropriate time, and no third person will know about it."

Maria swallowed hard; to be honest, it was hard to refuse.

She glanced at her son Daniel's thin face, then at Qi Yun's earnest expression, pursed her lips for a long time, and finally managed to squeeze out a question: "Really a thousand US dollars a month? Just... just providing information? Nothing else?"

"certainly."

Qi Yun nodded firmly, "You continue working there as usual. Just pay more attention to what people say when they chat. Write down anything that seems unusual, and then find an opportunity to tell me."

"If you see their boss, Antonio, show up, call me immediately, understand?"

He explained the conditions very clearly, completely dispelling Maria's concerns.

"Okay! I'll do it!" Maria finally stopped hesitating.

[Do you want to recruit Maria to your team? Current team size is 1/5.]

A system notification.

Qi Yun thought about it and decided against it.

Maria's role is to provide intelligence; having her do anything else would likely cause trouble, at least for now.

Since I can't earn points for myself, I might as well just be an informant.

Those four spots must be reserved for true warriors.

He took out his phone and asked Maria, "What's your phone number?"

"55-12***," Maria announced the number.

After saving the number, Qi Yun dialed it: "You can call me Qi Yun. Remember my number and call me immediately if anything happens. If you can't reach me by phone, you can also come to the police station on First Avenue in the La Mesa district to find me."

"However, unless it's an emergency, you'd better not do that."

When Maria's phone rang, Qi Yun put the phone away. "Alright, from now on, you'll start working for me. I'll send you this month's salary later."

After saying that, he walked towards the door.

"Wait!" Maria's voice called from behind.

Qi Yun stopped and turned to look at her.

Maria bit her lip, seemingly trying to muster the courage to ask something, but in the end she couldn't. She just whispered quickly, "Thank you... thank you, sir."

Then, she lowered her head, no longer looking at Qi Yun, and hugged the child tightly with both hands.

Qi Yun said nothing more and left silently.

Back in the alleyway where Brian's house was, Qi Yun hid in the shadows, quietly observing his surroundings.

More than ten minutes later, he finally withdrew his hand from his lower back and walked over to Brian's car.

Fortunately, the car windows and doors were intact, meaning his Mane was safe.

He quietly went upstairs, pushed open the door, and found that the body on the floor was gone, the bloodstains had been cleaned up, and there was nothing unusual about the scene.

I didn't expect that he would be so professional in his part-time job as a butcher.

Even if the police come to the house, they won't find anything. After a while, they can just report him missing and that's it.

In Mexico, the disappearance of a policeman is like a drop of water merging into the ocean, not even causing a ripple.

After leaving the room, Qi Yun carried the box of money and disappeared into the alley.

Half an hour later, he arrived at a relatively upscale hotel to check in.

I don't plan to go back to my previous place for now. I'm not sure if the drug dealers have verified my identity yet. They might be lying in ambush nearby, waiting for me to walk right into their trap.

The hotel is safer than the police station, so staying here for a few days to recover from my injuries is a good option.

"Clatter!"

Qi Yun opened the safe in the corner, took out a wad of cash from the briefcase, and locked the rest back into the safe.

Due to anti-money laundering laws, he was unable to deposit the cash into a bank.

If a single transaction exceeds $1.5, a source report must be filed. Repeating this two or three times may attract the attention of regulatory authorities. Whether they are upholding the law or driven by greed, they will definitely keep an eye on you.

Therefore, to turn these money into account balance, it is necessary to find a reliable channel to launder the money in batches.

I remember reading a report that said Pablo Escobar, the biggest drug lord in Colombian history, was so rich that he couldn't possibly spend all his money.

This guy is digging holes everywhere to bury money, hiding hundreds of billions of dollars.

As a result, the annual loss due to rat damage exceeds 20 billion US dollars!

This is the true picture of drug dealers; their wealth cannot be brought into the light and can only be hidden in the shadows.

"No wonder those drug dealers in movies always carry bundles of cash with them..."

Qi Yun experienced this feeling today too...

I changed into the jacket I had just asked the salesperson to buy, still wearing the bulletproof vest underneath.

Qi Yun was about to deliver the money to the butcher and Maria when his phone rang first.

The contact name is "José Carlos," which is the name of their branch office chief.

Qi Yun has been with the police station for almost two years and six months. Although he is a formally employed police officer, he rarely interacts with the chief. Usually, the chief will contact him when there is something to discuss.

So there's only one possibility for this phone call at this moment.

Qi Yun stared at the name flashing on the screen, hesitated for two seconds, and then pressed the answer button.

"Qi?" A deep, middle-aged male voice came through the receiver, sounding somewhat urgent. "Where are you now?"

Qi Yun keenly sensed something unusual in the other person's tone.

The first question I asked myself was, "Where am I?"

Alarm bells rang in his mind, and he squinted, instantly realizing a certain possibility!

"Chief, I just finished my patrol and am on my way home."

These junior officers rarely sit in the office; unless there's a special operation, they usually patrol specific areas.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.

"Why can't we contact Leon and the others?"

Leon, the sheriff in charge of Qi Yun's group.

So much time has passed, the body has probably been burned by the drug dealers, so of course they can't make contact.

"I'm sorry, Chief, I separated from them not long ago, so I'm not sure... what happened?" Qi Yun's voice was steady, even carrying a just-right hint of confusion, which matched his answer.