My absurd experiences in North America over the years

Looking at the girl's tear-streaked face, Li Fu did not hesitate any longer. He untied the nylon cable ties on her ankles and cut the restraints on her wrists.

The girl's wrist had a ring of bluish-purple bruises, and her skin was chafed.

He was trembling all over, like a leaf blown away by the wind.

"Can we go?" Li Fu asked in a low voice.

The girl nodded and sat up, supporting herself on the bed frame.

However, due to prolonged inactivity and her inner fear, her legs were too weak to stand steadily, and she collapsed as soon as she took a step.

Li Fu reached out and supported her arm; she leaned against him, as light as a bundle of dry straw.

"I'll carry you out," he said, bending down to lift the girl from the bed.

The girl's arms were wrapped around his neck, her fingers gripping the collar of his shirt tightly, as if she were grasping at the last straw.

The pale light bulb illuminated only a limited area, leaving the other end of the basement dimly lit.

Li Fu carried the girl through the narrow passage and back to the priest's room.

At the end of the corridor outside the room, the hymns continued, their sound faint, as if muffled by a thick pane of glass.

"...God, please send down instructions to guide your believers..."

He placed the girl on the priest's bed, took a black coat from the closet, and wrapped it around her.

Then, he simply restored the room to its original state and immediately picked up the girl and left the church.

Father Crawford thought his disguise was flawless and that everyone was deceived by his high moral standing, and he was secretly gloating.

Little did they know, they had already been exposed.

Thompson practically ran all the way from about a mile outside the town.

Li Fu had been waiting for a long time.

He parked the car on the side of the road and got out.

The rear windows were tinted, making it impossible to see inside from the outside.

"Have you found any evidence?" Thompson asked anxiously.

Li Fu nodded and opened the back door of the car.

The girl was curled up in the seat, wrapped in the black coat, her brown hair falling down her side, revealing a small section of her pale nose.

She was asleep or unconscious; her breathing was very light.

Thompson looked at that face and remained silent for a moment.

"It's a pity it's not Odovia," he said, his voice filled with anxiety and frustration.

"Don't rush things. At least we've found witnesses," Li Fu said, closing the car door and looking at Thompson. "I have plenty of physical evidence on my USB drive, enough to leave Crawford speechless."

Thompson's fingers clenched tightly on the car door, his knuckles turning white. "Then let's go call the police now and hand over the witnesses and evidence to the sheriff..."

"No," Li Fu immediately interrupted him.

Thompson paused, then asked, "Why?"

"Have you ever thought about it? So many girls have gone missing around this town over the years, why doesn't the sheriff have a single clue?" Li Fu asked Thompson.

Thompson paused for a moment.

"He's either incompetent or an accomplice; there are only two possibilities," Li Fu said in a low voice, but every word was exceptionally clear. "But no matter which one it is, handing the evidence over to him is the same as handing it over to Crawford."

Thompson opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but didn't know what to say.

The sheriff might have a problem.

But what else can we do? Should we go to the Nashville police station now?

How can we guarantee there won't be any corrupt police officers there?

He looked up at Li Fu, now he could only trust his young boss. There was no hesitation in his eyes, only a kind of determination after careful consideration.

"Then what do you suggest, Mr. Li? I'll do as you say."

"Come back to Nashville with me," Li Fu said, opening the car door. "Tell your parents now to pack their things and leave immediately. Once Crawford finds out the girl is missing, he'll definitely think today's prayer was a diversionary tactic. These people are ruthless and capable of anything."

They had to leave before the other party noticed.

Thompson was silent for a moment, then immediately turned around and strode towards his home.

About fifteen minutes later, Thompson, along with his parents, met up with Li Fu and they headed to Nashville together.

The two cars drove out of the town of St. Clair in the afternoon sun.

In the rearview mirror, the white spire of the church grew farther and farther away, smaller and smaller, until it finally disappeared at the end of the cornfield.

Crawford may not yet realize that the girl has been taken away and that no one is chasing them.

On the way, Li Fu learned from the little girl that her name was Lily and that she came from the neighboring town.

She was the one who was stuffed into a sack and brought into the church last night.

He wanted to ask for more details, but the girl was still in shock, so he had to give up for the time being.

By the time the group arrived in Nashville, it was already completely dark.

Li Fu arranged for the Thompson family to stay at a hotel in the suburbs. He booked three rooms in his own name and prepaid for a week's room rate.

Two rooms are for living, and one is kept as a spare.

Then he pulled Thompson into an empty hallway and explained things to him.

"I'll take that girl with me first. You all stay here and don't go out. Wait for my news. Don't trust anyone easily."

Thompson nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Li."

He knew that solving the case was his only hope of finding his sister.

Li Fu patted him on the shoulder and then left.

He returned to his residence, settled the girl in the guest room, and then poured a glass of warm water and placed it on the bedside table.

"This is Nashville, it's very safe. Get some sleep first, and we can talk about it tomorrow."

The girl's fingers gripped the blanket, still showing signs of nervousness. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but then she stopped herself.

"Go to sleep!"

Li Fu patted her head reassuringly, walked out of the guest room, gently closed the door, then sat down on the sofa in the living room and dialed Lucy's number.

"You're back? Is everything alright over there?" Lucy's voice was as gentle as ever.

"I just got back. Do you have time to come over now? I have something important to discuss," Li Fu said bluntly.

Lucy glanced at her watch; it was nine o'clock at night. "Are you in a hurry? How about tomorrow morning?"

Her father, Thomas, was at home.

"I'm in a bit of a hurry. If it's convenient, it would be best if you could come over." Little did Li Fu know that Thomas Forrest had been keeping an eye on him.

"Okay! I'm coming over now," Lucy knew Li Fu well; if he insisted, it must be something important.

Lucy arrived in her car within half an hour.

She was wearing a dark trench coat, her hair was casually draped over her shoulders, and she hadn't even had time to put on makeup.

Li Fu had been waiting at the door, and upon seeing her, he immediately welcomed her inside.

"What happened?"

Lucy walked into the living room and took off her trench coat, draping it over the sofa.

Li Fu did not answer. He took the USB drive out of his pocket and plugged it into the prepared laptop.

"My assistant Thompson has had a family crisis; his sister has gone missing," he said calmly, as if stating a fact. "I went to his hometown, St. Clair, and that's where I found out about these things."

He turned the computer screen toward Lucy, and the light from the screen cast long shadows on her eyelashes.

"The suspect is a priest named Crawford, and these were copied from a computer in his room," he said, trying to remain calm.

"That old fellow was almost sixty years old, with gray hair, and a kind smile. He had lived in that small town for thirty years and was the baptist for several generations, but behind the scenes he was a heinous lecher..."

Baptism is a sacramental ceremony in which Christians formally join the church, and the baptist is usually a person of high moral standing.

Lucy looked down at the thumbnails on the computer screen, arranged one by one. When she opened them, most of them showed the bodies of young girls...

They were all so young... so young it was heartbreaking.

There are also a very small number of boys.

Lucy randomly clicked on a photo; a blonde girl was lying on a bed, her body covered in bruises, her eyes filled with despair.

Lucy's breathing began to quicken.

She clicked on another video. The video was dark, and a man in a black robe had his back to the camera. He was reciting some kind of incantation in a low voice, which sounded like a prayer or a curse.

Several girls were kneeling in front of him, completely naked.

Lucy reached out and snapped the screen shut.

She couldn't stand it anymore.

Li Fu turned off the computer, leaned back on the sofa, and said, "I also found a girl in the priest's basement and brought her back."

"Where is that girl?" Lucy asked immediately.

"He's in the guest room, probably asleep now," Li Fu sighed.

Lucy took a deep breath, stood up, and walked to the window, her back to Li Fu.

The oak branches swayed in the night breeze, and the moonlight cast the tree's shadow on the lawn like a spilled pool of ink.

"Do you know how I felt after seeing this?"

Her voice was unusually low, as if she was suppressing anger.

"How do you feel?" Li Fu asked, looking at the young lady of the Forrest family.

He was curious to know if someone born into a princess-like family could understand the hardships of ordinary people.

"I'm thinking about that kidnapping in Los Angeles," Lucy turned around, her eyes red-rimmed. "If I hadn't been born into the Forrest family, if you hadn't risked your life to save me from those Mexican gangsters, would I have ended up like them?"

Li Fu stood up, walked to her, and took her hand. He could feel that her fingers were cold and her fingertips were trembling slightly.

"I will never let that happen to you," he said, gently stroking her cheek.

Lucy shook her head. "I hope this never happens to anyone again. Those scumbags deserve to die."

"That's what I think too, but I don't know if the state police department is trustworthy," Li Fu said in a heavy tone.

He clearly has all the witnesses and physical evidence in his possession.

However, they were still hesitant to act rashly, always mindful of the consequences.

In some ways, he may know more about the American government than Lucy does.

Throughout history, and in the two decades that followed, none of America's whistleblowers have had a good ending.

All of them have evidence, and most of them have also declared through social media accounts that they would never commit suicide.

However, they still "committed suicide".

The government, oligarchs, the FBI, and the police... it's a very complex situation.

In fact, Lucy doesn't have many options right now.

She doesn't hold a public office, and if it's just a minor matter, it's enough for her to simply state her name in Tennessee.

No one in this area ever dares to cause her trouble.

However, for such a big matter, she can only resolve it through her father and brothers at present.

Never before in her life had this young lady felt that she was growing up... far too slowly.

"Let's take these to Cole..." Lucy prepared to go find her brother immediately.

Cole, her older brother, has always doted on her.

"What do you think Cole will do?" Li Fu wasn't so optimistic.

This matter may be a bit complicated.

"I don't know," Lucy shook her head, "but he needs to know, and we can try to persuade him."

It was 11:40 p.m.

A black Audi silently glided to the door without even flashing its headlights.

Cole got out of the car, wearing a dark blue suit without a tie and his shirt collar open. He looked like he had just come from the office, yet also like he had never left the office at all.

Lucy opened the door, and Li Fu was behind her.

Cole walked into the living room, stood by the coffee table, glanced at the laptop on the sofa, and then at Li Fu.

"Has something serious happened?"

He knew that these two people contacting him late at night couldn't be anything good.

Li Fu turned on his computer and showed Ke Er the photos and videos on the USB drive.

Cole frowned slightly, picked up the mouse, and glanced at the vast amount of content inside.

His demeanor was much calmer and more composed than Lucy's. After watching, he leaned back on the sofa armrest, crossed his arms in front of him, and looked at Li Fu.

"Where did you find these?"

It's hard to tell his attitude from his tone.

"I discovered a cult in a small town. A priest named Crawford is kidnapping young girls as sacrifices...raping and abducting them...and is suspected of organizing human trafficking..."

Li Fu gave a brief explanation of the situation.

Cole remained silent throughout, as still as a stone statue.

"Lucy, it's getting late, you should go home first," he suddenly said, his gaze fixed on Lucy.

"But..." Lucy wanted to argue something.

"My father was still awake when I left," Cole emphasized.

Lucy glanced at Li Fu and could only leave helplessly.

This statement, though not a threat, is more threatening than anything else.

The room fell silent immediately.

After his sister left, Cole could finally speak more freely.

"I know you're bursting with a sense of justice, and I know exactly what you want me to do," the young upstart said to Li Fu, without showing anger or disdain, but speaking in a sincere tone.

"You want to ask me if I've heard about this kind of thing? Of course I know. Not only do I know, but the FBI and CIA should also have related investigations in their secret files. I guess they probably know exactly how many such organizations there are in the whole United States..."

Cole looked only seven or eight years older than Li Fu, but he had seen it all.

As the heir groomed by his family, he has dabbled in both the business and political worlds and has witnessed all sorts of dirty dealings over the years.

Those priests, pastors, and missionaries use God's name to swindle money and sexually exploit people. Some of them have a large number of followers and can even influence local elections.

How could he not know these things?

It was precisely because he knew everything that he remained so calm.

He stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to Li Fu.

"The government receives a large number of whistleblower reports every year, but most of them come to nothing. It's not that the FBI or the police are incompetent; it's that these organizations usually have powerful backers. As the saying goes, pulling up one radish brings out a whole string of mud; touching one will implicate a whole string of others..."