What the hell is the "kill line" when you're in America?

Block 15, an abandoned cannery.

Several uniformed officers moved in and out of the yellow and black police tape.

Detective James Gordon stands alone outside the police line.

He stood outside watching.

He spent a sleepless night working on solving the case.

Gordon was very interested in these cases.

However, the cops who followed him were quite lax in their work.

"Sir, the forensic team has a preliminary report."

A slightly younger policeman yawned as he reported.

He handed a document to Gordon, still grumbling under his breath.

"It burned too thoroughly; much of it turned into charcoal."

"We could only piece together a few bodies; it appears to be a gang fight."

The young cop shrugged, as if he were telling a joke.

"The case is closed, sir. Go back and get some sleep."

"This kind of rotten thing happens several times every month."

Gordon didn't say anything, but quickly scanned the documents in his hand.

It's too clean.

It's one thing that more than a dozen people died, but the report is so clean.

Gang wars?

He's handled more similar cases than the number of donuts a young policeman has eaten.

A real firefight scene would be filled with countless shell casings and bloodstains.

There were still unexploded magazines, instead of what it is now.

What were the findings of the on-site investigation?

Gordon asked.

"What could we possibly discover?"

The young cop spread his hands and said, "Just a few broken guns."

"So, boss, these are actually two different groups of people."

"This has nothing to do with the leads we were monitoring before, so we can close the case."

Gordon's gaze passed over the police line and returned to the ruins.

"wrong."

He took off his trench coat and threw it to the cop, then bent down and crawled through the police cordon.

"Boss, what are you doing! It's dangerous in there!"

The young cop shouted from behind.

Gordon ignored him.

He walked step by step into the heart of the ruins.

Then he went to a charred corpse.

The body was completely carbonized, curled up in a painful position.

Gordon put on gloves and carefully removed a piece of charred material from the corpse's chest.

This body is well preserved, except that the surface is charred.

Gordon could see the wound clearly.

This is something only large-caliber weapons can do.

Typically used with high-powered sniper rifles, or for hunting large predators.

It should never have appeared in a so-called "gang fight".

This was a premeditated, one-sided massacre carried out by professionals.

This is Gordon's personal judgment; things are far more complicated than they seem.

He turned and walked out of the ruins.

He saw the branch chief's brand-new Cadillac parked not far away.

A portly man in an expensive suit leaned against the car.

He was gesturing and directing several of his men.

Upon seeing Gordon emerge, the branch chief immediately broke into a smile.

"Hey Gordon, my ace detective, anything found?"

Gordon's gaze shifted from the branch chief's hypocritical face.

He looked at the brand-new Cadillac.

The car paint shone almost blindingly bright in the early morning light.

This is completely out of place with the ruins' desolation.

"Boss, who is this?"

The young cop asked in a low voice.

He had clearly never met this branch chief, who rarely came to the front lines.

Gordon did not answer.

He knew why this bureau chief had condescended to come today.

It was definitely not because I was concerned about the progress of the case.

He came to pick peaches.

Or rather, it's to ensure that this "peach" rots on the ground as quickly as possible.

That way, we won't cause any trouble.

"Gordon, my buddy, don't be so serious."

The branch chief stepped forward and patted Gordon on the shoulder warmly.

"I know you didn't sleep all night because of the case, you've worked hard."

"But I've already seen the preliminary report."

"The conclusions of the forensic examination and the on-site investigation are very clear."

"It's just a gang war."

As the branch chief spoke, he took a cigar out of his pocket.

One of his henchmen immediately came over and lit it for him.

"This happens every month."

"We can't possibly waste all our police resources on these scumbags, right?"

"We should not waste taxpayers' money."

The branch director waved his hand.

"Therefore, my opinion is to close the case as soon as possible."

"Compile the report and announce it to the public as a gangland feud."

"Then, everyone can go home and get a good night's sleep."

He looked at Gordon with an undeniable smile on his face.

"What do you think, my ace detective?"

"trump card?"

Gordon chewed on the word, feeling a sense of irony.

He did not go to see the branch director.

"Director, I disagree."

The young cop looked at Gordon in horror.

The smile on the branch director's face also froze.

"What did you say?"

He suspected that he had heard wrongly.

"I'm saying, this isn't a gang war."

Gordon turned his head and looked directly into the branch chief's eyes.

"This was a premeditated, one-sided massacre."

"The scene was so clean, there were no signs of any firefight."

"Furthermore, I discovered a body with a chest wound caused by a large-caliber weapon."

"Typically used for hunting wild animals, or... military sniping."

Gordon's words were clearly a slap in the face to him, the branch office chief!

The branch chief's face turned from red to white and then from white to green.

He hadn't expected Gordon to directly contradict him in front of so many of his men.

"Detective Gordon!"

His voice turned cold. "Are you questioning the professional judgment of the entire survey team?"

"I only believe the evidence I see."

Gordon did not back down.

"evidence?"

The branch chief sneered, "Did you find that large-caliber weapon?"

"Have you found the killer?"

"No! You have nothing!"

"You only have some ridiculous, baseless guesses!"

"I order you to close this case immediately!"

"That's an order!"

Gordon fell silent.

He simply watched the furious man before him.

He saw a barely perceptible fear hidden deep within the man's cloudy eyes.

What is he afraid of?

"What if I don't?"

Gordon spoke slowly.

"you!"

The branch chief was trembling with rage. "Then get out of the Major Crimes Unit!"

"Go to the traffic control team and direct this damn traffic!"

"Or go work in the archives, spending your life with those old case files!"

"Director."

Gordon suddenly interrupted him.

"This case is now under my jurisdiction."

As he spoke, he pulled a document out of the inside pocket of his trench coat.

He unfolded the document in front of the branch director.

That was from the city police headquarters; it was a direct transfer order.

It bears the signature of the Commissioner General of Police.

"Headquarters Major Crimes Unit, take over this case."

Gordon's tone was calm and even.

"From now on, I am fully in charge of this place."

"No one may interfere."

The branch chief's pupils suddenly contracted.

The anger on his face was instantly replaced by shock and disbelief.

"This...this is impossible..."

He muttered to himself.

How could a case of this magnitude possibly alarm headquarters?

They even assigned Gordon, that scoundrel, to be in charge?

What are the higher-ups really thinking?

Or is there something behind this case that he really can't afford to offend?

"Seal off the area; no one is allowed to approach!"

"Conduct a thorough re-inspection, leaving no detail overlooked!"

"Return all the bodies to the headquarters forensic center for a second autopsy!"

He clearly conveyed his orders to the shocked cops.

The branch chief stood there, his face alternating between pale and flushed.

He was like a clown who had been stripped naked in public.

He watched Gordon's lonely and resolute back, his lips trembling.

In the end, he managed to squeeze out only one sentence through gritted teeth.

"Gordon...you'll regret this..."

......

Ninth Street, a bar.

Li Ang and Victor said in unison.

"scapegoat?!"

Victor revealed his suspicion: "Someone wants him dead, so they've pushed him into this case and made him investigate."

"No matter what he finds out, he will offend a powerful force."

"If Charlie finds out about us, he won't let him get away with it."

"We've found Charlie, and his boss won't let him get away with it."

"Oh my God..."

"Do you think this was sent by the KMT?"

Victor dared not say any more.

He knew that no matter which possibility came first, Gordon's fate would be the same.

That is death.

Li Ang fell silent for a moment.

[A convergence of cause and effect detected, triggering a hidden quest]

[Task Name: The Demon Lord's Gaze]

[Mission Description: In this filthy mire, how dare you attempt to scoop up the moon's reflection from the water? As one of the weavers of this net, wouldn't you like to witness firsthand this drama of the collapse of justice?]

[Mission Objective: Ensure James Gordon does not die from an "accident" or "suicide." Keep him alive, let him investigate, let him cause trouble, let him stir up this stagnant pool even more.]

[Mission Rewards: Based on the level of chaos caused by Gordon, you will be rewarded with free attribute points and mana points.]

How can we ensure he doesn't die in an "accident"?

Should we let him live to stir up trouble?

"Victor," Li Ang said.

"I suddenly felt that we should help this 'good policeman'."