You're a US police officer, what are you thinking about going back to the East for?

Chapter 92 The Long-Awaited Sunshine

Good morning, sir.

Just call me Leon.

Lyon went to the kitchen, poured himself and old Bill a glass of water, and looked him up and down as he did so: "William McIntyre, right? Old Bill. You look much better dressed like this."

"

"Thank you for the clothes and the place I stayed last night."

Old Bill nodded sincerely.

"How did you sleep last night?"

"Very good. Excellent."

"This is the most restful sleep I've had in six months. There was no rain, no rats, and no one came to kick my head or steal my shoes in the middle of the night."

"That's good."

Lyon carried his water glass back to the living room, sat down opposite Old Bill, pushed the glass towards him, and got straight to the point without beating around the bush.

"Now that we've rested, there are some things we need to talk about."

"You should already know what Alex and I talked about last night."

"This isn't just moving across state lines; it's crossing half the globe, and there's a high chance we'll never be back."

Lyon stared into his eyes, his tone serious: "There's no turning back. I'm checking one last time, are you sure you're okay going over there?"

Old Bill was silent for a few seconds.

In fact, after seeing the Asian man last night and overhearing some of Lyon's fragmented conversation with him, he, as a former highly educated intellectual, had already guessed Lyon's plans.

This development was actually quite dramatic and surreal; he never expected it to turn out this way.

At 7 p.m. last night, he was still fighting with the deliveryman over a fried chicken leg covered in dust, and could freeze to death on the street at any moment.

This morning, however, he was sitting here discussing a top-secret plan to travel to the other side of the Pacific with an American police officer.

Logically, he should be feeling extremely shocked, struggling, or ecstatic about the upcoming new life.

But old Bill found that his heart was surprisingly calm, without even the slightest ripple.

The past few months of homelessness have probably completely drained his emotions.

"You seem very calm?"

Lyon was somewhat surprised to see him like this.

"Mr. Vance, do you know what that feeling is like?"

"I worked day and night in Raytheon's labs for fifteen years, paying taxes for fifteen years. I used to think I was an indispensable part of this country."

"But it turns out that's not the case."

"When my daughter was lying in a hospital bed needing money to save her life, the insurance company refused to pay. When I was laid off and lost my income, the bank foreclosed on my house."

"I dedicated half my life to this country, and in the end, it kicked me out onto the street like trash."

It abandoned me, and I owe it nothing.

"The one standing here now is just a ghost who wants to live, who wants to find a place to prove that what's in his head still has value."

"Whether it's the East or the North Pole, as long as I can have a clean bed and a lab where I can continue my research instead of having to rummage through trash cans, I'm willing to go."

"Thank you for making these arrangements."

William took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Lyon.

Lyon listened quietly and put down his water glass.

th.

Now that this guy has realized this much, the rest will be much easier.

"Very well, since you've made up your mind, you'll stay here for the next few days."

Lyon pulled a roll of US dollars from his pocket, probably two or three thousand dollars, and threw it directly on the coffee table.

Then, he pulled out a spare smartphone that he hadn't used in a long time from the drawer and pushed it over.

Lyon pointed to the things on the table: "Take the money. It's enough for you to buy some decent food or a few packs of cigarettes these next few days."

"As for this phone, you can go online to look up information and read the news, but remember, you absolutely cannot log in to any of your previous social media accounts, post on Twitter, or call anyone."

"On the internet, you must maintain your previous state now."

"I understand, I know the rules."

Old Bill nodded repeatedly, carefully putting away the money and phone. "So I'm just going to wait here for the next few days?"

"Of course not."

Leon stood up, grabbed his coat from the cabinet next to him, and said as he put it on, "Your skills are the key. The people over there need to assess your value."

"While you have nothing to do these few days, write down everything you've done in the past, the core algorithms you've mastered, the internal code names that prove your identity, or any data that you think is valuable and that you're afraid you'll forget over time."

"Wait for news from me or Alex. When the time is right, we'll send you on your way."

Lyon glanced at the time one last time, straightened his collar, and pushed open the apartment door.

I need to go out for a bit.

"You stay inside. If anyone knocks, don't open the door except for me and Alex."

"—Even if God came knocking on the door, it wouldn't work."

With a soft "click," Lyon closed the apartment's security door tightly.

Just as he turned to walk towards the stairwell, the system's familiar light blue screen popped up on his retina as expected.

[Urgent Side Quest: A Decent Halloween - Completed]

[Settlement: You used physical means to awaken the conscience of a pastor and successfully organized a community relief campaign.]

Although the process didn't quite follow standard charity procedures, the outcome was positive; the people in the building felt a touch of warmth on that cold, rainy night.

Participation rate: 80%

[Actual amount distributed: 80 Justice Points]

"80%?"

Lyon glanced at the settlement panel and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as he walked downstairs.

Logically speaking, he forced Anderson to hand over the supplies at gunpoint, and he also directed the distribution of them. By any measure, he should have been 100% involved.

"Looks like those dozens of McDonald's meals that Alex sent out stole 20% of my market share."

After a quick mental review, Lyon figured out the key points.

The system's judgment is really rigorous; it calculates a share for whoever contributed.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter."

Leon put his hands in his jacket pockets, too lazy to care, and his mood wasn't affected by losing those 20 points.

Anyway, the points were basically free, and besides, the biggest winner from last night was sitting in his house, so I've already made a killing.

When he reached the corner of the stairwell on the second floor, Leon suddenly stopped.

A ray of somewhat dazzling light shone through the dusty glass window and landed directly on the stair railing.

Seattle, which had been experiencing freezing rain for several days, was surprisingly sunny today.

Lyon leaned closer to the window and pushed it open a crack.

The cold air was still biting, but the oppressive, leaden-gray clouds overhead, which looked like they were about to collapse at any moment, were finally blown away by the wind.

The long-awaited sunshine shone brightly on the streets of Fourth Avenue.

The potholed asphalt road was covered with puddles left over from last night, and the surface of the water was now reflecting a golden light.

The overall atmosphere was significantly better than yesterday's rainy night, which felt like an apocalyptic survival battle.

Even the occasional pedestrians walking on the street seemed to be walking with a lighter pace.

Lyon squinted to feel the warmth of the sunlight, then looked away and quickened his pace downstairs.