American homeless people, surviving in the city

"An official car? For me?"

Lin Qi stretched out his hand, pointed to himself, and looked completely incredulous.

Why should an illegal employee like him, who doesn't even have an identity, be entitled to an official car?

His question slipped out, only to be met with a half-smile from Officer Kayla:

"That is, you can get a driver's license, and..."

"This wasn't actually my decision. Perhaps you should thank Officer Chen more; he used his influence to get a lot of benefits for you through me."

"So that's how it is..." Upon hearing this, Lin Qi's doubts dissipated considerably, replaced by a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion or reflection). "Next time we meet, I must thank him properly."

"Alright, now that we've said what we needed to say, let's stop with the nonsense."

Officer Kayla slung her uniform jacket over her shoulder and stood up:

"Come with me, I'll give you the cleaning supplies."

"By the way, I have a task for you now. I'll give you the relevant items you'll need. Set off immediately and test the waters first."

"A mission already?"

Although Lin Qi was surprised, he knew that a mission meant a reward, so he didn't resist and stood up.

As Kayla walked out of the store, she said without any hesitation:

"Of course, this was all arranged by me. If you hadn't been recommended by Officer Chen, I would have used this task as part of the interview process. After you completed it, I would have found some fault with you and refused to hire you. That way, I wouldn't have had to pay you, and the task funding would naturally go into my pocket..."

"Of course, since you have Chen Kelei's background, we will settle this order normally."

Is this what you should be telling me directly?

Lin Qi was utterly astonished, but before they knew it, the two had arrived outside the shop.

Kayla stood next to a dark blue police motorcycle, opened the lid of the storage box at the back of the motorcycle, and took out several packages of various sizes.

"This is a protective suit. You don't need to wear it this time, but if you encounter a site with residual biochemical contamination, I will remind you to wear it then."

"These are a mask and gloves; they're essential for your work. Trust me, you don't want to touch those things barehanded... There are five pairs of gloves here. If you need more, remember to come to the police station to get more."

"These are powerful cleaners specifically designed to remove stubborn substances. If you don't want to get poisoned, it's best not to mix them together. They can react in very complex ways, I can't even explain it..."

"Finally, here's the folding mop, folding bucket, scraper, and deodorizer. You should all know how to use them, right?"

"Finally, I guessed you didn't have a car, so I specially prepared a backpack for you—"

A series of diverse items, some familiar and some unfamiliar, were pulled out of the storage box by Kayla, leaving Lynch dazzled.

This information contains far more than all of Kayla's nonsense just now!

Lin Qi hurriedly took the props, quickly memorizing how to use them while trying to stuff them into his bag.

Finally, Kayla handed Lynch a card and a key:

"Listen carefully, these are the details of the scene you'll be dealing with next."

"You're still a beginner, so my first task for you won't be too difficult. Just do your job well."

"These are the key card and key to the apartment you're going to clean next. The deceased committed suicide in the apartment because he couldn't pay his debts, and the apartment was confiscated to pay off the debts and is about to be auctioned off. That's why we sent you there."

"Just clean it up. Don't cause me any trouble, and don't be like the person who was in charge of this position before, mocking the victim's child with 'You're dead, Feng!' That will get me a lot of complaints, understand?"

What kind of despicable person was my predecessor to say such things to a child he had never met before... Lin Qi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded repeatedly.

Then, he looked at Kayla: "So, the most crucial thing... how will you give me my commission?"

Kayla blinked and smiled:

"Oh dear, look at my brain, I almost forgot..."

She took a wallet from her breast pocket, pulled out a few bills, and then quietly slipped them into Lin Qi's hand while holding it close to his chest.

Then, he leaned close to Lin Qi's ear and whispered:

"I'm sure you don't want to give those bastards in the IRS a cut, right? I don't want to either."

"So, considering Chen Kelei's endorsement, I'll pay you in full in cash before each mission~"

Feeling the enticing touch of the banknotes in his hand and the warm, moist breath on his ear, Lin Qi was speechless.

Fortunately, Kayla quickly took a few steps back and got on her motorcycle.

"Alright, since I'm being so good to you, you'd better do your job well."

"Just leave once you've finished the work; someone will come to inspect it in a couple of days."

"Enjoy your first mission, bye-bye!"

Before she finished speaking, she twisted the throttle hard on the motorcycle and sped away amidst a violent roar of the engine.

Seeing Kayla quickly disappear into the distance, Lynch composed himself, opened his palm, and counted the banknotes she had just slipped into his hand.

The reward for this mission is $300.

He earned $500 in just one day, a level of earning efficiency that even surprised Lynch himself.

Then, he took out the hallway access card and examined it carefully.

It appears that the destination of this mission is a standalone apartment building called "Lakeside Residence" in downtown Seattle, and the key is for room 402 on the 4th floor.

A sticky note was also attached to the card, with some case-related information written in wild handwriting that Lynch could barely understand:

The deceased was a middle-aged white male named Mark Harrison who overdosed on drugs in his room, became mentally unstable, and committed suicide in front of his own door. The scene has been cleared by the police, and the body has been removed, but there are still a large amount of blood, illegal drugs, syringes, and bullet casings that need to be removed to ensure the house can be auctioned off smoothly.

Very good, all the information is now clear.

Lynch packed all his belongings into his bag, then, carrying the heavy, fully packed backpack, headed towards the nearest subway station.

Lakeside Residences is a mid-to-high-end apartment building located not far from Seattle's affluent neighborhood; those who can live there are at least middle-class or above.

How could someone living such a comfortable life commit suicide because of overwhelming debt...?

As Lin Qi marveled to himself, he followed the locals' example and leaped directly over the subway turnstiles.

Several tens of minutes later, when Lin Qi walked out of the subway station and arrived at the "Lakeside Residence" apartment building, the sky had already become slightly overcast.

The apartment building looked quite respectable, painted a clean light blue, and one wall was covered with ivy.

There is a small security booth at the entrance to the building.

Lin Qi stepped forward and showed the security guard his room card and key: "I was sent by the police to clean up the suicide scene."

The security guard glanced at it lazily, not even bothering to look closely: "You've finally arrived. The residents of this building have complained about the smell many times. Go in, room 402, but don't make too much noise and disturb the other residents."

"clear."

Lynch stepped into the apartment building and into the elevator.