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

Jack pointed the wooden stick at the thug who was lying on the ground like a lump of mud.

"waste."

He uttered two words, his voice devoid of any warmth.

"Drag him out."

Two thugs standing nearby, also swaying precariously, immediately stepped forward, grabbed their unconscious companion, and dragged him away.

"Jack, he's just..." Derek couldn't help but speak as he followed behind Leon.

"Shut up," Jack retorted.

"Boss," Jack walked up to Leon and bowed slightly, "they're even worse than I thought."

"As long as it works, that's fine," Li Ang said.

His gaze swept over the thugs who were still struggling to stay afloat in the warehouse.

"Divide them into two groups," Li Ang said.

"The ones with the best physical fitness and the most accurate marksmanship will be grouped into Group A, which you will lead directly."

"The remaining group is Group B."

"Team A is responsible for carrying out the mission, and Team B is responsible for guarding the territory and cleaning up the trash."

Li Ang looked at Jack.

"Group A members will receive a bonus for each completed task."

"The people in Group B have nothing."

"If someone from Group B wants to join Group A, there's only one way."

"Challenge the member of Group A, and if you win, you will replace him."

"We lost..." Li Ang paused, "just like that piece of trash who was dragged out, becoming garbage."

Jack's eyes lit up.

He instantly understood Li Ang's intention.

This is the most effective, but also the most brutal, competitive mechanism.

He uses the most direct desires and fears to coerce these people into becoming the "tools" he desires.

"Understood." Jack's voice carried a hint of excitement.

Li Ang didn't look at those thugs again; he turned and walked out of the warehouse.

Derek and Scorpion followed behind him, neither daring to breathe.

Are these decisions necessary for thugs like them?

Back to the bar.

Li Ang sat down at the bar.

"Where's Victor?" he asked again.

"Upstairs... upstairs," Derek stammered.

"Tell him to come down."

A few minutes later.

Victor came downstairs with bloodshot eyes.

He looked like he hadn't slept for days and nights, and he had lost a lot of weight.

When he saw Li Ang, his body trembled involuntarily.

"Boss..."

"How's the investigation going?" Li Ang asked.

"No...no progress." Victor's voice was weak. "The person behind Charlie is hiding too well."

"I used all my connections and spent a lot of money, but I could only find some unsubstantiated rumors."

"Some say he has connections to several South American drug cartels."

"Some people say that he is actually a front man for a powerful family."

"Some people say that the so-called 'Eagle Snake Organization' doesn't exist at all, and is just a code name used to scare people."

The more Victor spoke, the softer his voice became.

He knew that these ambiguous answers would not satisfy Li Ang at all.

"So, you didn't find anything," Li Ang concluded.

"I...I..."

"Let's try a different direction," Li Ang interrupted him.

"What?" Victor was taken aback.

"Don't bother investigating that boss," Li Ang said. "Investigate the Sacred Heart Charity Shelter instead. Remember, I told you to investigate, not to mess with them."

"Get to work."

Li Ang waved his hand.

Feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, the group immediately turned and left.

Li Ang was the only one left in the entire bar.

He picked up the glass of cold water and drank it all in one gulp.

……

City Police Department, Major Crimes Unit.

Detective Gordon has locked himself in his office for two whole days.

At the center of the spider web is the Sacred Heart Charity Asylum.

From this central point, countless lines extend, connecting the names of each missing person.

But all the threads come to an abrupt end before the tightly closed door of the Sacred Heart.

He went once, but Father Brown politely asked him to leave with a perfectly crafted speech.

He applied for a search warrant, but his superior rejected it directly on the grounds that "there is insufficient evidence and it would affect police-community relations."

He knew that he was being blocked outside the wall by an invisible force.

This made him even more convinced that there must be a huge secret hidden in the church.

"Knock knock".

There was a knock on the office door.

His partner, the young police officer, poked his head in.

"Boss, there's a package for you, but there's no sender information."

Gordon frowned.

Another package.

Ever since he found that envelope in his car, he has been wary of anything anonymous.

"Bring it here."

The package was a very ordinary yellow document bag, very thin.

Gordon put on gloves and carefully tore open the seal.

There were no letters or any writing inside.

There is only one memory card.

Gordon inserted the memory card into the computer.

A video file popped up on the screen.

He clicked on the video.

The footage is shaky and dark, suggesting it was taken secretly.

The filming location resembled an underground parking lot.

Two people appeared in the video.

Gordon recognized one of them immediately.

He is Father Brown, the head of the Sacred Heart Charitable Asylum.

The other person, however, made Gordon's pupils shrink sharply.

City Councilor, Mr. Hall.

A conservative politician who constantly talks about "family" and "faith" on television.

In the video, Father Brown hands a briefcase to Congressman Hall.

Representative Hall opened the box, which was filled with bundles of cash.

He nodded in satisfaction, then took a document from his briefcase and handed it to Father Brown.

That concludes the video.

There was no sound, and the picture quality was also very poor.

But the sheer volume of information was so overwhelming that Gordon felt suffocated.

Power-money transactions.

Church, and politicians.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

He noticed a detail.

The document that Representative Hall handed to Father Brown had a logo printed on its cover that he recognized very well.

The logo of the Seattle City Planning Authority.

Gordon immediately opened the municipal website and began searching for recent urban planning projects.

A few minutes later, his gaze settled on a project.

Eastern District, slum redevelopment plan.

The plan involves the municipal government funding, in conjunction with several large enterprises, to demolish and rebuild several slums in the eastern district.

It will be transformed into a new commercial district and upscale residential area.

The largest demolition area is right next to the Sacred Heart Charity Home.

If this plan is approved, the value of that land will increase dozens or even hundreds of times overnight.

As one of the largest "landlords" in that area, Sacred Heart Asylum will undoubtedly be the biggest beneficiary.

Everything connected.

Gordon finally understood why Father Brown had bribed Senator Hall.

I also understood why I kept running into obstacles.

Behind this lies a huge chain of interests.

Everything seems to be heading in a bad direction...