American comics: I am full of martial virtues and I love to be kind to others.

“Detective, the technical team has arrived,” Sarah said, pointing ahead. “They’ve found some traces near that red-brick warehouse.”

Lynn nodded and led the two towards the designated location. The ground beneath their feet was uneven, littered with rusty metal fragments and broken glass. Abandoned shipping containers were piled up haphazardly, some covered in graffiti, others rusted and weathered by time.

Technical expert Martin Jones was crouching near the side entrance of a three-story red brick warehouse, holding a signal detection device. Martin was a senior expert in the FBI's technical department, 48 years old, with 20 years of experience in crime scene investigation. His hair was gray, but his eyes remained sharp and focused.

"Martin, what did you find?" Lynn asked as he approached.

Martin looked up, his expression serious. “Detective, Emily Zhang’s last cell phone signal did indeed come from here. Based on signal strength analysis, she should have been inside or nearby this building at the time. But strangely, the signal disappeared very suddenly, unlike a normal cell phone shutdown.”

"What do you mean?" Tom asked curiously.

"It's more like the phone was damaged by external force, or interfered with by some kind of signal jamming device," Martin explained. "And I found some suspicious traces here."

Martin pointed to the ground, and Lynn examined it closely, noticing several faint footprints. These footprints left clear lines in the damp soil, clearly made in the last few days.

“There are at least three people,” Sarah crouched down to examine them closely, “two men and one woman. The woman’s footprints are noticeably smaller, and her steps seem somewhat hurried.”

Lynn stood up and looked around. The location was relatively secluded, difficult to spot from the main road. It was indeed an ideal location for anyone wanting to engage in any illegal activities.

"Has the interior of the building been inspected?" Lynn asked.

“Not yet, we’re waiting for you,” Martin replied, “but I’ve confirmed that the building is empty, at least it appears to be.”

Lynn nodded. "Then let's go in and take a look. Tom, contact headquarters and request an additional reconnaissance team. Sarah, you come in with me."

The side door of the warehouse was ajar, indicating that someone had been in and out recently. Lynn carefully pushed the door open, and a musty and dusty smell wafted out. The beam of his flashlight traced a bright path in the darkness, illuminating the interior.

The warehouse was larger than I had imagined, with high ceilings and piles of discarded wooden crates and rusty machinery. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, but near the entrance, recent footprints were clearly visible.

“Here,” Sarah pointed to a corner on the left, “there are signs of a fight.”

Lynn walked over and saw that the dust on the ground had been disturbed, and several wooden crates were lying on the ground, with bloodstains on the edge of one of the crates.

"Take photos as evidence," Lynn ordered, "then collect blood samples for DNA comparison."

Sarah immediately began working, documenting every detail of the scene with her camera. Lynn continued his exploration, discovering more suspicious signs deep within the warehouse.

“Detective, come and take a look at this,” Sarah’s voice came from the other side of the warehouse.

Lynn hurried over and saw Sarah squatting next to a pile of discarded cardboard boxes. She was holding a small object that glittered in the light of her flashlight.

“What is this?” Lynn asked.

“It looks like an earring,” Sarah said. “It’s silver, and the design is very delicate. And there seems to be blood on it.”

Lynn examined the earring closely. Its design was indeed very special. It was a small star-shaped pattern with a tiny blue gemstone set in the center.

“This style is quite rare,” Lynn said. “It’s probably custom-made. Sarah, contact Emily’s roommate and ask if she recognizes these earrings.”

Just then, Tom ran in from outside, looking nervous.

“Detective, we’re in trouble,” Tom said, panting. “A local resident just reported hearing screams coming from this area last night, but they thought it was just stray cats and didn’t pay attention. Also, a homeless man nearby said he saw a black van parked here for a long time three days ago.”

Lynn's expression grew even more serious. All these clues pointed to the same possibility: Emily Zhang had likely met with misfortune here.

"Does the homeless man remember any other features of the car?" Lynn asked.

“He said the license plate was deliberately obscured, but noticed a small dent on the side of the car,” Tom replied. “Also, three people got out of the car, one of whom was a woman, but she seemed reluctant.”

“It’s very likely Emily,” Sarah said. “The question now is, where was she taken?”

Lynn pondered for a moment, then said to Martin, "Martin, expand the search area and check all possible sources of signal nearby. If Emily truly possesses special abilities, the kidnappers may need specialized equipment to control or monitor her."

Martin nodded and immediately began adjusting his equipment. Lynn, on the other hand, walked to the center of the warehouse and carefully observed the layout of the entire scene. As an experienced FBI agent, he was able to glean a great deal of information from the seemingly chaotic scene.

“Sarah, did you notice?” Lynn pointed to the footprints on the ground. “The footprints are arranged in a very regular pattern. The two men’s footprints always flank Emily’s, as if they were escorting her, not dragging her.”

Sarah crouched down to examine the bloodstains more closely. "You're right, Inspector. And the distribution of the bloodstains is strange; they're mainly concentrated around the wooden crate, but there are no drag marks. If there had been a fierce fight, the bloodstains should have been distributed over a wider area."

Lynn nodded in agreement. "What does that mean?"

“This suggests that while physical contact did occur, it might not have been the violent kidnapping we initially imagined,” Sarah said thoughtfully. “More like control?”

“That’s right,” Lynn said. “And look at the direction these crates collapsed; they all fell outwards, as if they were pushed over from the inside by some force.”

Tom looked puzzled upon hearing this analysis. "Detective, do you mean Emily has some kind of ability to knock over these boxes?"

Lynn didn't answer directly, but instead walked towards the wooden crate with the most concentrated bloodstains. He put on gloves and carefully examined the surface of the crate. On one side of the crate, he found several strange marks that looked like they had been charred by some kind of high temperature. "Martin, come take a look at this," Lynn called over the technical expert.

Martin put down his equipment and walked over to Lynn. His eyes lit up when he saw the charred marks.

“This is very interesting,” Martin said. “The shapes of these marks are very regular, unlike what you'd see from a normal flame. The temperature must have been very high, but the duration was very short.”

Lynn stood up, piecing together the events in his mind. "I'm starting to understand what happened. Emily was brought here, but not by violence. Her kidnappers were likely mutants, and they had some way of controlling or suppressing her abilities. But at some point, Emily tried to resist, and her abilities went out of control, causing these burn marks and the collapse of the wooden crates."

“What about the bloodstains?” Sarah asked.

“It’s very likely she was injured while trying to escape,” Lynn analyzed, “but judging from the amount of blood, the injury wouldn’t be too serious. More importantly, she was subsequently brought back under control and then moved elsewhere.”

Just then, Martin's device emitted a beeping sound. He quickly walked back to the device and carefully examined the data on the display screen.

“Detective, I’ve detected some unusual residual electromagnetic signals,” Martin said excitedly. “These signals have a very unusual frequency, unlike anything produced by ordinary electronic devices. Furthermore, the signal intensity distribution indicates that their source is inside this building.”

Lynn walked over to examine the data displayed on the device. "Could these signals be related to mutant abilities?"

“Very likely,” Martin nodded. “We’ve found similar signals in some mutant-related cases before. Different mutant abilities produce electromagnetic fluctuations of different frequencies, which has been confirmed by some research institutions.”

Sarah suddenly realized something. "Detective, if the kidnappers are indeed mutants and have the ability to control Emily, then what is their purpose? Why would they kidnap a student?"

This was a crucial question. Lynn recalled the information Sarah had mentioned earlier: Emily had been researching mutant genetic projects.

“Sarah, you said before that Emily was researching mutant genes. Can you tell me more details?” Lynn asked.

Sarah opened the folder in her hand. "According to her roommate, Emily has been working on a secret project for the past few months, which seems to be related to the evolution of mutant genes. She often works late into the night in the lab and rarely discusses her research with anyone else."

“A secret project?” Lynn frowned. “Does her advisor know about this project?”

“We’ll need to investigate this at the university,” Sarah replied, “but according to her roommate, Emily is very secretive about this project and wouldn’t even tell her closest friends.”

Lynn began to realize that this case was far more complex than a typical kidnapping. If Emily was indeed conducting some important mutant genetic research, then her kidnapping was likely related to that research.

“Tom, contact Columbia University’s security department immediately,” Lynn ordered. “I need Emily Zhang’s complete academic record, including her research projects, lab usage records, and all her interactions with her advisors and classmates.”

“Understood, Inspector,” Tom immediately took out his phone and started making contact.

Then, Martin made a new discovery. He was holding a small device and scanning different corners of the warehouse.

“Detective, I found a stronger residual signal at the back of the warehouse,” Martin said. “Moreover, the signal pattern there is different from the one at the front; it’s more complex.”

Lynn and Sarah followed Martin to the back of the warehouse. It was darker there, and filled with even more discarded equipment. Martin's scanner emitted a strong signal near a pile of rusty metal pipes.

“This is it,” Martin said, pointing to the ground. “The place with the strongest residual signal.”

Lynn shone his flashlight carefully on the ground and discovered some unusual traces. There was an area about one meter square on the ground where the dust had obviously been cleaned up, and the arrangement of the metal pipes was also somewhat abnormal.

“These pipes weren’t originally placed this way,” Sarah observed. “Someone deliberately rearranged them, perhaps to hide something.”

Lynn and Sarah began carefully moving the pipes. As they moved the top few pipes aside, they discovered a hidden entrance to a small room. The entrance was narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time, and was cleverly disguised as part of the pipes.

“There’s a man-made secret room here,” Lynn said. “Martin, does your equipment indicate anything unusual inside?”

Martin pointed the device at the entrance to the sealed room and scanned for a few minutes before saying, "The electromagnetic signals inside are very complex, and there are multiple different signal sources. Detective, I suggest we enter cautiously; there may be other operational equipment inside."

Lynn nodded, then said to Sarah, "You stay outside and wait. If we don't hear from you within ten minutes, contact reinforcements immediately."

“Detective, let me go in with you,” Sarah insisted.

“No, this space is too small. If we encounter danger, two people would actually hinder our retreat,” Lynn explained. “Martin and I will go in to check, and you will be responsible for external security.”

Although reluctant, Sarah agreed to Lynn's arrangement. Lynn and Martin carefully slipped into the entrance to the secret room.

The interior of the secret room was larger than expected, about thirty square meters, with a low ceiling, but large enough for an adult to stand in. Surprisingly, unlike the dilapidated warehouse outside, it had been transformed into a fully functional workspace.

Multiple monitors were mounted on the walls, displaying various data and charts. In the center of the room stood a metal table with some sophisticated instruments Lynn had never seen before. Most striking was a peculiar device in one corner of the room, resembling some kind of restraint chair, surrounded by complex electronic equipment.

“My God,” Martin whispered, “this place is like a professional laboratory.”

Lynn examined the restraint chair closely and noticed obvious wear marks on the armrests and footrests, indicating it had been used recently. More importantly, he found several strands of golden hair on one side of the chair, which glittered under the flashlight.

“Martin, take photos and record everything with the equipment,” Lynn ordered, “then collect these hair samples.”

Martin immediately began working, while Lynn continued examining the other equipment. He noticed traces of recent activity on the instruments on the table, indicating that someone had indeed been working there recently. (End of Chapter)