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

The Miller family lived in a four-story brownstone building, a classic New York style, elegant on the outside and spacious inside. Lynn and Emily arrived at the front door and rang the doorbell.

"Who is it?" A woman's voice came from inside the door; it must be Susan Miller.

“Ms. Miller, this is FBI Agent Lynn Hall,” Lynn showed his badge, “We'd like to speak with you about an item your son Tommy recently found at the library.”

There was a moment of silence inside the door, then footsteps sounded. The door opened, and Susan Miller appeared in the doorway. She did indeed look like the woman from the security camera footage, but her face was filled with worry.

“FBI?” Susan’s voice trembled slightly. “Did Tommy do something wrong?”

“No, no, no, Ms. Miller, your son hasn’t done anything wrong,” Lynn quickly reassured her. “We just want to retrieve some academic material that is very important to this young lady.”

Lynn gestured to Emily beside her. Emily smiled kindly. "Ms. Miller, I'm a student at Columbia University. I accidentally lost a USB drive in the library a few days ago; it contained my graduation thesis. We saw on the security camera footage that your son may have found it by chance."

Susan's expression relaxed somewhat. "I see. Please come in, I'll call Tommy over."

The two were invited into the living room. The room was decorated warmly, with family photos on the walls and various books and children's toys on the bookshelves.

"Tommy! Come here for a second!" Susan called upstairs.

Soon, a little boy ran down from upstairs. He was the same child from the surveillance footage, dressed in clean clothes, with clear and curious eyes.

“Tommy, this is the police officer, and this is the lady,” Susan introduced her son. “They want to ask you some questions.”

Tommy looked at Lynn and Emily with some nervousness.

Lynn crouched down to Tommy's eye level. "Tommy, don't be afraid. We want to ask you, when you were at the library a couple of days ago, did you find a small thing behind the bookshelf?"

Tommy nodded. "Yes, I found a small box with something shiny inside."

"Do you remember where that shiny thing was?" Emily asked gently.

Tommy thought for a moment, "I put it in my toy box in my room."

Susan looked at her son, "Tommy, you should have turned what you found into the library staff."

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Tommy said, lowering his head, “I thought it was pretty, so I wanted to keep it to play with.”

“It’s okay, Tommy,” Lynn comforted him. “Kids are curious, that’s normal. Now, can you give that thing back to your sister? It’s very important to her.”

Tommy nodded. "I'll go get it."

The little boy ran upstairs and quickly came down with a USB drive. It was the one Emily had hidden in the library.

“Thank you, Tommy,” Emily said, taking the USB drive with a huge weight lifted from her shoulders.

“But sister,” Tommy asked curiously, “what’s this for? I tried plugging it into the computer, but it requires a password.”

Emily and Lynn exchanged a glance. Fortunately, the USB drive was encrypted, and Tommy couldn't see its contents even if he plugged it into the computer.

“These are my sister’s homework assignments,” Emily explained, “so I set a password.”

Tommy seemed to understand and nodded.

“Tommy is such an honest and good boy,” Lynn praised, then took some money out of his purse. “This is a reward for you, to thank you for returning this important item.”

Susan wanted to refuse, but Lynn insisted on giving Tommy some money as a reward for honestly returning the items.

After leaving the Miller's house, Lynn and Emily both breathed a sigh of relief.

“We’ve finally found it,” Emily said, looking at the USB drive in her hand. “Now we can see what’s inside.”

“But not here,” Lynn said. “We need to go back to FBI headquarters and examine the contents using secure equipment. Also, based on your previous description, this data may involve very dangerous experiments, and we need professionals to analyze it.”

Lynn started the car and drove towards FBI headquarters. Although the little incident gave them a scare, the outcome was good.

“Emily,” Lynn said, “after we finish analyzing the data, I’ll arrange for you to enter witness protection proceedings. Although you’re not a mutant, the information you possess is still dangerous to criminal organizations.”

Emily nodded. "I understand. I just hope this data can help you completely destroy that terrible organization, so they can never harm any more innocent people."

At 2 PM, Lynn and Emily arrived at the FBI headquarters building in Manhattan. The building's exterior was imposing and solemn, its 22 stories standing out prominently among the surrounding buildings. Security at the entrance was tighter than usual, clearly indicating that recent mutant-related cases had raised the entire department's alert level.

After passing through security, Lynn led Emily directly to the Technical Analysis Department. This was one of the FBI's most central areas, equipped with state-of-the-art data analysis equipment and top-notch technical experts. The corridor was lined with glass-walled laboratories, where staff were intently operating various complex instruments.

“Detective Lynn, welcome back,” James Parker, head of the technical department, stepped forward to greet him. Parker was a 45-year-old technical expert with double degrees in computer science and cryptography, and had worked for the FBI for eighteen years. He was sharp-eyed, spoke concisely and clearly, and was a colleague Lynn trusted greatly.

“James, I need you to help me analyze the data on this USB drive,” Lynn handed the drive to Parker, “but be very careful, this data may involve dangerous biological experiments.”

Parker took the USB drive and examined it carefully. "This USB drive looks military-grade; it has hardware encryption. Cracking it might take some time."

"How long do you estimate it will take?" Lynn asked.

“If it’s just software encryption, ten minutes should be enough. But if it’s hardware encryption, it could take several hours, or even longer,” Parker replied. “I’ll give it a try.”

Parker, carrying the USB drive, walked toward a supercomputer specifically designed for data recovery and cracking. This machine, worth millions of dollars, was equipped with state-of-the-art processors and cracking software, capable of handling a wide range of complex encryption systems.

“You can wait in the conference room,” Parker suggested. “I will update you on the progress regularly.”

Lynn and Emily arrived at a nearby conference room. The room wasn't large, but it was comfortable, with plush sofas and a coffee machine. Emily seemed a little nervous, constantly glancing towards the door, as if worried about potential danger. "Don't worry," Lynn reassured her, "This is FBI headquarters; security is top-notch. Besides, those criminals probably don't know we've got the USB drive yet."

Emily nodded, but still seemed uneasy. "Agent Lynn, I keep thinking, if those experimental data are really dangerous, could more people be harmed?"

“That’s exactly what we need to stop,” Lynn said. “Once we’ve analyzed the data, we’ll be able to take appropriate action.”

An hour later, Parker walked into the conference room with a triumphant smile on his face.

“Good news,” Parker said. “The USB drive’s encryption was simpler than I expected. Although it used military-grade hardware, the password was relatively weak. I have successfully extracted all the data.”

"Great!" Lynn immediately stood up. "Can you tell me what's inside?"

Parker's expression turned serious. "Lynn, this data is indeed as dangerous as you say. It contains a vast amount of biological experiment records, gene sequence analysis, and a detailed plan known as 'Project Prometheus.'"

“Project Prometheus,” Lynn repeated, “Emily mentioned this name before.”

“Yes,” Parker continued, “based on the data, the goal of this project is to artificially create mutants through genetic modification. They have conducted numerous experiments, using at least twenty different test subjects.”

Emily's face turned pale. "How are the test subjects now?"

Parker shook his head. "According to the experimental records, most of the subjects did not survive. The few who did survive suffered severe genetic mutations, but did not gain any useful abilities."

Lynn was furious and shocked. "These crazy scientists! They treat people like laboratory animals!"

“What’s even more alarming,” Parker continued, “is that they plan to scale up their experiments. According to the project plan, they intend to conduct at least one hundred genetic modification experiments within the next six months.”

“A hundred times?” Emily exclaimed. “That means at least a hundred innocent people would die!”

Lynn's expression turned extremely serious. He realized that the gravity of the case far exceeded his expectations. This was not just a kidnapping case, but a horrific conspiracy involving the mass killing of innocent people.

“James, could you compile this data into a report?” Lynn asked. “I need to report this to my superiors immediately.”

“Of course,” Parker replied, “but Lynn, I suggest you find a biology expert to analyze these experimental data. I’m a computer expert, and my understanding of biology is limited. You need a professional to assess the feasibility and level of risk of these experiments.”

Lynn thought for a moment, and a name came to mind. "I know who to ask."

Lynn took out her phone and dialed a number. After a few rings, a gentle male voice came through.

"Hello, this is Dr. Richard Wayne."

“Richard, this is Lynn Hall,” Lynn said. “I need your help.”

Dr. Richard Wayne was Lynn's classmate in college and is now a professor of biology at Columbia University's College of Medicine, specializing in genetic engineering and molecular biology. He is not only highly accomplished academically but also of noble character and a very trusted friend of Lynn's.

“Lynn? Long time no see!” Richard’s voice sounded cheerful. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Richard, I’ve encountered a very urgent situation,” Lynn said. “I have some biological experiment data that needs to be analyzed by professionals, and this involves the lives of many people. Do you have time now?”

“Of course I have time,” Richard replied immediately. “It sounds serious. Where are you? I’ll be right there.”

“I’m at FBI headquarters,” Lynn said, “but for security reasons, I think it would be best if we came to you.”

“No problem, I’m in the university lab,” Richard said. “You know the address.”

After hanging up the phone, Lynn turned to Parker, "Please copy all the data to a secure mobile device. I need to take Emily to see Dr. Wayne."

“Understood,” Parker nodded. “I’ll prepare an encrypted external hard drive.”

Half an hour later, Lynn and Emily left FBI headquarters and headed to Columbia University Medical Center. Emily still looked nervous, glancing out the car window every now and then to see if anyone suspicious was following them.

“You don’t need to be so nervous,” Lynn said. “We’ve taken plenty of precautions.”

“I know, but I always feel like someone is watching us,” Emily said. “Those criminals are more capable than I imagined, and I’m worried they’ve already discovered we got the USB drive.”

Lynn understood her concerns. Anyone would be traumatized by such a horrific experience of kidnapping and experimentation.

“Emily, I promise you, I will protect you,” Lynn said firmly. “No matter what happens, I will not let those people hurt you again.”

Emily looked at Lynn, her eyes shining with gratitude. "Agent Lynn, I...I have a request."

"What request?" Lynn asked.

Emily hesitated for a moment, then said, "I know the FBI has witness protection procedures and will assign someone to protect me. But... but I want you to protect me personally."

Lynn was somewhat surprised. "Why?"

“Because you saved me, I trust you,” Emily said sincerely. “Besides, you understand the whole story and are better able to assess dangerous situations. Other protection personnel might not care about my safety as much as you do.”

Lynn was silent for a moment. He understood Emily's thoughts, but as an FBI agent, he had other duties to fulfill.

“Emily, I understand your concerns,” Lynn said, “but I need to continue investigating this case and apprehend the criminals. If I focus solely on protecting you, I might not be able to balance my investigation with my work.”

“Then let me go with you on this investigation,” Emily said eagerly. “I can help you; after all, I experienced their experiments firsthand and know a thing or two about them.”

Lynn shook his head. "That's too dangerous. The investigation could encounter all sorts of perilous situations; I can't let you take that risk." (End of Chapter)