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

“Hey!” Lynn called out, cautiously approaching. “Need any help?”

Upon hearing the sound, the hunter abruptly looked up and, upon seeing Lynn, his expression became extremely complex—a mixture of a desperate plea for help and obvious panic.

"No, I didn't do it!" the hunter shouted immediately, his voice trembling. "She was already like this when I found her!"

This reaction immediately deepened Lynn's suspicions. If he was truly innocent, why did his first reaction be to deny the crime instead of asking for help?
“Okay, I trust you,” Lynn said in as calm a tone as possible, slowly approaching. “The most important thing now is to help this lady. I have first aid knowledge; let me help.”

But as Lynn drew closer, the hunter grew increasingly nervous. His eyes began to dart about, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, which was unusual for a cool mountain morning.

"Who are you?" the hunter asked warily. "What are you doing here?"

“I’m a tourist on vacation, hiking,” Lynn continued slowly approaching. “I came over after hearing cries for help. Let me see her injuries now; perhaps she can be saved.”

Lynn was now only about ten meters away, allowing him a clearer view of the situation. The woman appeared to be around thirty years old, with blond hair and a pale face. The bloodstains on her clothes were mainly concentrated in the chest and abdomen area. Judging from her still chest, the situation was far from optimistic.

The hunter seemed to realize that Lynn was observing and assessing the situation, which made him even more nervous. He began to look around, as if searching for an escape route.

“Listen,” Lynn tried to calm things down, “whatever happened, the most important thing right now is to save this woman. We can work together and then contact the rescue team.”

But this sentence seemed to be the last straw that broke the camel's back. The hunter's panic reached its peak when he heard the word "rescue team."

"No! I can't, I have to!" The hunter suddenly stood up and roughly slammed the woman's body to the ground. "I'm sorry, I can't stay here!"

"Wait!" Lynn realized the other person was trying to escape and immediately quickened her pace. "Don't leave! She needs help!"

But the hunter had already turned and started to run. He was clearly familiar with the forest, quickly weaving through the bushes and fleeing deeper into the dense woods.

"Damn it!" Lynn faced a difficult choice: to hunt down the obviously suspicious hunter or to stay and help the wounded.

His professional ethics and basic humanity led him to choose the latter. He quickly ran to the woman's side, knelt down, and began to check on her condition.

The situation was worse than he had anticipated. The woman's pulse was extremely weak, almost imperceptible. Her breathing was also very shallow, and there was a clear external wound on her chest, which looked like a gunshot wound. Blood had soaked through her entire shirt, and judging from the color and consistency of the blood, she had been bleeding for some time.

Lynn immediately began first aid procedures. He checked the airway to make sure it wasn't blocked, and then began to examine the specific location of the wound. The main wound was on the left side of the chest, and it did indeed appear to be a gunshot wound; the bullet had likely hit a vital organ.

He took out a first-aid kit from his backpack and began treating the wound. But even with his professional experience, the injury was almost fatal without immediate medical attention. Worse still, judging from the degree of blood clotting, she had been injured for quite some time.

“Hang in there,” Lynn said to her as he worked, though she probably couldn’t hear him anymore. “The rescue is coming soon.”

He took out his emergency communication equipment and dialed the emergency rescue number.

"This is 911 emergency services. Please describe your emergency."

“This is FBI Agent Lynn Hall,” Lynn reported quickly. “I have located a gunshot wound victim in the Adirondack Mountains, on the northern slope of Mirror Lake, at an altitude of approximately 800 meters. The victim is an adult female with a gunshot wound to the chest. She is in critical condition and requires immediate medical attention.”

"Roger that, Agent Holt. We are dispatching a rescue helicopter immediately. Please keep communications open and do not move the victim."

“Understood,” Lynn replied, then continued trying to help.

But at that moment, he felt the woman's faint pulse stop completely. He immediately began CPR, but after ten minutes of effort, she showed no response.

Lynn stopped moving and closed his eyes heavily. Although he had seen many deaths in his career, each one weighed heavily on him, especially those of innocent victims like this.

He began to examine the scene, looking for possible clues. Judging from the situation, this wasn't the primary crime scene. There wasn't enough blood on the ground to support such severe injuries, and the surrounding vegetation showed no signs of being trampled or damaged. This meant the woman had been injured elsewhere and then brought here.

Lynn carefully observed the woman's body and clothing, searching for clues to her identity. She was wearing high-quality mountaineering gear and an expensive watch on her wrist, making her seem unlikely to be a robbery victim. Her backpack was missing from the scene, which was suspicious.

Most worryingly, the case occurred in a relatively remote area, and the perpetrator was very familiar with the terrain, which will make the pursuit difficult.

Twenty minutes later, Lynn heard the sound of a helicopter. Soon, the rescue helicopter landed in an open area nearby, and medical personnel and two state troopers quickly arrived at the scene.

"How is she?" the medical team leader asked.

“She had faint signs of life when I arrived, but had stopped breathing and her heart had stopped beating five minutes earlier,” Lynn reported. “I performed CPR, but it was ineffective. The wound appeared to be a gunshot wound, and she had lost a lot of blood.”

Medical personnel began examining the body, while state police began questioning Lynn about the details of the scene.

"You said there's a hunter at the scene?" State Police Officer Thompson asked.

“Yes, when I arrived, he was holding the victim,” Lynn described the encounter in detail. “As I approached, he became extremely agitated and then dropped the victim and ran away.”

Can you describe this person's appearance?

"A white male, approximately 45-50 years old, of medium build, wearing camouflage hunting attire, with short brown hair and stubble. He was very familiar with the area and moved quickly when he fled."

Does he have a weapon?

“I didn’t see any obvious weapon, but considering the victim’s gunshot wound and his hunter identity, it’s very likely he was carrying one.”

Officer Thompson recorded this information and then contacted headquarters to begin organizing a manhunt.

“Agent Holt,” Officer Thompson said, “although this case occurred within the state, given your professional background and your status as a key witness, we would appreciate your assistance in the investigation.”

Lynn glanced at his watch; it was eleven in the morning. He thought of George and Gwen waiting for him by the lake, of their planned fishing trip and family time. But before him lay a clear murder, an innocent woman's life lost, and the killer still at large.

“Of course I will assist with the investigation,” Lynn answered without hesitation, “but I need to contact my family first and tell them the situation.”

“No problem,” Thompson nodded. “We need to secure the scene now and wait for the crime scene investigation team to arrive. Then we need your detailed description of your encounter with the suspect to help us create a sketch.”

Lynn took out her phone and called George. "Lynn? Are you alright?" George asked immediately after the call connected.

“I’m fine, Dad, but I’ve encountered an emergency,” Lynn tried to keep her voice calm. “I’ve discovered a crime on the mountain and need to assist the police investigation.”

“A crime? Here?” George’s voice was filled with worry. “Are you safe?”

“I’m safe; there are police on the scene. But this means our vacation might have to end early.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then George said, "I understand, son. Work always comes first, especially when someone needs help. We'll understand."

"Thank you for your understanding, Dad. Please let Gwen know how things are, and I'll be back as soon as possible to pack my bags."

"Don't worry about us, focus on your work. But please be careful."

After hanging up the phone, Lynn felt a familiar mix of responsibility and regret. Although he loved his job, he always felt guilty about having to interrupt his personal time, especially towards his family.

The crime scene investigation team arrived quickly and began a detailed examination of the scene. Lynn shared his observations and professional opinions with the investigators.

“Judging from the bloodstain pattern, this is definitely not the primary crime scene,” the crime scene technician confirmed Lynn’s assessment. “The victim was injured elsewhere and then moved here.”

“What could the motive be?” Thompson asked.

“It’s still uncertain,” Lynn analyzed. “Her valuables are still there, so it doesn’t seem like a robbery. It could be a crime committed by someone she knows, or a random killing. The key is to find the crime scene and confirm the victim’s identity.”

“We have begun verifying the missing persons report,” another officer reported, “and are also checking her personal belongings for identification.”

The investigation lasted several hours. Lynn assisted in creating a detailed sketch of the suspect, provided a complete report on the scene, and shared his initial analysis of the case.

At 3 p.m., Lynn was finally allowed to leave the scene and return to the cabin. When he entered the cabin, he saw that George and Gwen had already begun packing their luggage.

"What's the situation with the case?" Gwen asked immediately.

“A murder,” Lynn said wearily, sitting on the sofa. “A young woman was shot, and the killer escaped.”

“It’s horrible,” Gwen said in shock. “That something like this could happen in such a beautiful and peaceful place.”

“Evil can happen anywhere,” George said wisely. “What’s important is that there are people like Lynn to uphold justice.”

“I’m so sorry to have ruined our family vacation,” Lynn said sincerely.

“Don’t apologize,” Gwen came over and hugged him. “You saved so many lives; that’s much more important than a vacation.”

“And we’ve had a wonderful day and a half,” George added, “that’s enough to create wonderful memories.”

That evening, they drove back to New York. On the way back, Lynn kept receiving calls from state police and FBI colleagues, inquiring about the latest developments in the case.

"Has the victim's identity been confirmed?" Lynn asked Officer Thompson.

"Yes, her name is Sarah Johnson, 28 years old, a photographer from Albany. She came here alone for nature photography and checked into a local hotel three days ago."

"Have you found the primary crime scene?"

"Not yet, but we are expanding our search area. At the same time, we are also checking all local hunting license holders, especially those matching your description."

“I will rush back tomorrow to assist with the investigation,” Lynn promised.

"Thank you very much for your cooperation, Agent Holt. Your professional advice has been invaluable to us."

After hanging up the phone, Lynn gazed at the night view outside the car window. Just a few days ago, he was dealing with complex diplomatic issues involving an alien civilization, and now he had to confront the oldest evil in humankind—murder.

"What are you thinking about?" Gwen asked from the passenger seat.

“I’m thinking about the complexities of the job,” Lynn replied. “Sometimes we face alien threats, sometimes we face human evil. But no matter the situation, the goal is the same—to protect the innocent.”

“That’s why your job is so important,” George said, looking at Lynn in the rearview mirror. “No matter what the threat, someone needs to stand up for justice.”

By six o'clock the following morning, Lynn had returned to the Adirondack Mountains. This time, he wasn't there for vacation, but as an FBI agent assisting local police in the manhunt for Sarah Johnson's murder. On his way back to New York the previous night, he had been pondering the various possibilities of the case; now it was time to put his theories into practice.

"Any new leads?" Lynn asked Officer Thompson at the temporary command post.

“We’ve found some valuable information,” Thompson said, handing over a document. “Based on the description of the suspect you provided, we’ve narrowed down our search. There are three local individuals who match your description, and all are local residents holding hunting licenses.”

Where are they now?

“We have contacted two of them, and they both have reliable alibis. But the third person, Jack McKesson, 42, who lives alone, has no one who can vouch for his whereabouts yesterday morning.”

Lynn studied Jack McKesson's file. The photograph showed that he did indeed match the suspect Lynn had described: medium build, brown hair, and appeared to be in his forties. More importantly, his address was only a few miles from the crime scene.

"Does he have a criminal record?" Lynn asked.

“I was fined a few years ago for illegal hunting, but I have no record of violent crimes,” Thompson replied. “However, the neighbors say he’s a loner and rarely interacts with others.”

Do we know where he is now?

"Based on our tracking, he might still be in the mountains. We found some clues at his hut indicating he returned home last night, but went back into the mountains this morning." (End of Chapter)