American homeless people, surviving in the city

Although they hadn't seen each other for several days, as one of the few kind people Lynch had encountered after his transmigration to America, he still had a good impression of Sylvia.

But at this moment, Sylvia's photo was placed in the cult's secret chamber!

Sylvia in the photo has a gentle smile on her face, but Lynch feels a chill run down his spine.

This isn't just a simple photograph; in the lower left corner, someone wrote a line of small text in black pen:

"Next goal."

Below, there is a string of numbers whose specific meaning is unclear: "01.06.06.23.51".

Based on Sylvia's previous experience of being followed by those strangely dressed cultists, Lin Qi immediately realized that those lunatics had probably been eyeing her for a long time!

He quickly flipped through the other photos, hoping to find more clues.

In this stack of photos, one can see almost all the common social roles in American society: a young and beautiful blonde girl, an Asian international student, a Middle Eastern man wearing a headscarf, a homeless man in slovenly clothes, and even a white man in a suit who looks like a company executive.

Below each photo was a string of numbers whose meaning was unclear, and some photos also included the person's name and address.

On their faces, some had "Expected time of next operation" written on them, while others had a big "√" drawn on them with a red pen.

Looking at these photos, Lynch's hands trembled slightly.

Therefore, it is clear that the people in these photos are not members of this cult, and the truth is obvious.

This is a cult's target list. Everyone in the photo may be a carefully selected prey!

......

Afterwards, Lin Qi spent some more time thoroughly checking the secret room.

The good news is that in this secret room, Lynch finally found nothing that would make him even more uneasy. The robes, Buddha statues, photos, and books he had seen before were all that was in the secret room.

The more information that could have been found may have been completely destroyed along with that burning desk.

The bad news is that, regardless of the circumstances, Lynch has been drawn into this cult conspiracy and has become an insider.

Regardless of whether the Seattle police knew the inside story of the case, Lynch was now certain that this home invasion murder was not a simple robbery or random killing, but most likely a premeditated internal purge.

Marcus may be a member of the cult, or there may be some inside information that Lynch is unaware of, but in any case, this case is inextricably linked to the disappearances on the streets of Seattle and to a cult!

After thinking all this through, Lin Qi immediately realized one thing:

We absolutely cannot stay here any longer!

Being in such a dangerous and secretive place, every minute you stay increases the chance of being drawn into an event that is far darker than you can imagine!

So he immediately took action.

First, they photographed everything they saw in the basement as evidence. Then, they scooped a bucket of water from the pool and poured it over the charred remains of the desk to prevent the embers from reigniting and to continue destroying the evidence.

Finally, he casually pulled an old manuscript from the bookshelf, tucked Sylvia's photo inside, and used it as evidence to show the police.

After doing all this, Lin Qi practically fled up the stairs, ran out of the secret room, pressed the button behind the painting, and watched the hidden door slowly reset itself.

With a buzzing sound of friction, the hidden door completely merged with the wall, and the hidden door and the secret room disappeared from Lin Qi's sight. Even knowing the location of the hidden door, Lin Qi could hardly see the boundary where the hidden door met the wall with his naked eye.

Then, Lin Qi ran back to the living room, quickly gathered up the trash and cleaning supplies, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and practically sprinted out of the villa.

At this moment, Seattle was completely shrouded in darkness. The buildings in the lakeside area were sparse, with only the streetlights providing a dim glow.

Lin Qi climbed into the wrecked car, his fingers trembling as he started the engine and turned on the headlights.

When the car lights came on, he finally felt a little more at ease, while the villa in front of him was hidden in the shadowy bushes, like a monster waiting to pounce.

...Finally, we're out of there.

Lynch took out his phone, intending to contact Officer Kayla first to report what he had seen, and then leave immediately.

As for the unfinished work... from his perspective, the Seattle police clearly hadn't discovered the secret room. Logically, having received his own tip, the police should have reopened the investigation.

Therefore, he should no longer be needed to continue working.

As he pondered this, Lynch dialed Officer Kayla's number.

However, after a few dial tones, all that came from the phone was a busy signal.

Why isn't anyone answering?

Lin Qi scratched his head in frustration. He glanced at the time and saw that it was indeed past 7 p.m., which was already time to get off work.

This guy, he doesn't answer his phone after work, huh?! He's not off drinking somewhere, is he?! You're a cop, for goodness' sake!

Although he was inwardly grumbling, he couldn't really ask Officer Kayla for anything, so he could only sigh helplessly and send a text message to Chen Kelei:

"While investigating a crime scene in the Lakeside area, I discovered some... issues, like clues the police missed, that could very well be related to this case. Officer Kayla, I can't reach you right now, may I speak with you?"

Lin Qi wasn't sure what role Chen Kelei was in the police station, nor was he sure if he had the ability or was willing to get involved in the case. Therefore, he didn't reveal all the clues he had found directly, but instead asked probing questions.

The message was sent out and disappeared without a trace; neither of them responded for a short period of time.

Lin Qi put down his phone and looked out the window. It was quiet outside the car, but a damp and cold atmosphere crept into the car through the crack in the door, making Lin Qi shiver.

Seattle's weather is awful...

A few seconds later, the phone rang with a reply notification. Lin Qi picked up his phone and was surprised to find that Chen Kelei had replied first.

However, he didn't inquire about Lin Qi's ordeal in the text message:

"Brother Lin, I knew you'd successfully become a crime scene cleaner, but I never imagined you'd be in charge of such important crime scenes. Thank you for your hard work. As for the clue you mentioned, I'm planning to go to a barbecue bar near Pioneer Square for a drink after get off work. Why don't you come over and tell me more? It'll be on me."

Even in this situation, Chen Kelei still had the leisure to drink? Is this the mental fortitude of a professional police officer?...

But since Chen Kelei had said so, Lin Qi, who had worked diligently all day, didn't mind getting a free barbecue meal, so he immediately replied and arranged to meet Chen Kelei at a barbecue bar.

He then immediately drove away from the lakeside area, feeling uneasy even just being near the villa.

With a twist of the accelerator, the beat-up car drove out of the lakeside area.

As Lin Qi passed the checkpoint where security personnel had been conducting checks on him on the way there, he deliberately rolled down the car window and took a look.

As expected, as the most important part of the security force in the lakeside area, there were still people on duty in front of the iron gate even after dark.

Upon seeing Lin Qi drive up, the security guard quickly opened the iron gate for him.

Have a safe journey!

That's great! No wonder they're the security guards at this top-tier community. Not only are they on night duty, but they also proactively say goodbye to residents. They're much better than the security guards in Chinese communities back in the day...

The security guard back then would spend all day playing on his phone in the guard booth, and the gate to the residential area was always open; it seemed like he wasn't doing anything to ensure security...

Lin Qi sighed inwardly, rolled down the car window, nodded to the security guard, and then stepped on the gas, speeding out of the iron gate of the lakeside area.

What he didn't know was that after watching him drive away in that beat-up car, the security guard leisurely strolled back to the guard booth and wrote down his license plate number in his notebook.

Then, a note was written after the license plate number:

"The license plate belongs to the Seattle Police Department, and the suspect is a contract worker. This vehicle has a close connection to the Winchester mansion case, and its movements should be monitored in the long term."

"If any sensitive behavior is found, it should be removed if necessary."