A thick, black cannon was pointed straight at the door.
Facing the dark muzzle, Dean felt his head spin slightly. This was a cannon with a caliber almost as thick as his head!
The base of the cannon was locked to a heavy truck, taking up most of the garage. In the dim light, it resembled a steel monster lying in wait, ready for prey to unwittingly wander in.
On one side of the heavy truck, a thick tarpaulin had been lifted to reveal neatly stacked wooden crates that looked like boxes of ammunition...
Who exactly is Santoni... As Dean came to his senses, he felt uneasy. He was now hesitant to enter the garage.
This caliber of artillery, even in wartime, would definitely be a devastating weapon, yet here it was, treated like a toy and hidden in Las Vegas, a city teeming with tourists. Dean understood that Santoni's identity was definitely more troublesome than he had imagined. At least, the large organization I belonged to in my past life wouldn't have been able to easily procure such a weapon of war, let alone quietly bring it into a major country's tourist city. It wasn't that it couldn't be done; the implications were too significant.
For a moment, Dean was caught in a dilemma. He turned his head and glanced at the door switch he had damaged, a bitter feeling welling up inside him. To open the door, I had to damage the circuit. I never intended to hide my tracks. But who would have thought such important items would be so poorly guarded, blatantly left in a garage like this? Was there no sense of secrecy at all! This was a trap!
Dean was well aware that once he got involved with such forces, he would be faced with endless trouble and pursuit, and he wouldn't have the slightest chance to resist.
Calm down, calm down! Dean took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. I've already left traces of my presence! Given the circumstances, I have to minimize my presence!
He gritted his teeth, bent over, and walked into the garage to conduct a thorough inspection. The garage was somewhat dilapidated. Some wires were exposed with no sign of recent repairs, indicating it was quite old. He also didn't find any buried wires or hidden circuitry.
Dean breathed a sigh of relief. At least this means there's no surveillance. Otherwise, even if I disguised my appearance, I couldn't hide my build. Combined with Mas's and Santoni's deaths, the likelihood of my own exposure would increase significantly.
He carefully moved past the heavy truck carrying the heavy cannon, approaching the large crates. The crates weren't locked. Dean opened one to check.
A strange odor wafted from the crate, causing Dean, who was wearing a mask, to instinctively hold his breath. The smell was pungent, as if to mask other odors. Holding his breath, he examined the inside of the crate and was shocked to find that it contained not shells, but chemical laboratory equipment.
These things... Looking at the cleaned equipment, Dean closed the crate and examined the traces left on the lid. Coupling these with the sewage drain and the hanging air purifiers, a guess formed in his mind. This is equipment for making drugs!
This deepened Dean's confusion. A drug lab and wartime artillery, both hidden in the garage of a residential building... Santoni, who exactly are you?!
Suddenly, Dean remembered the two men who had left Santoni's place earlier. The two men had ransacked Santoni's house but left without taking any obviously valuable items. They were clearly not thieves, but rather people intimately familiar with Santoni's affairs. So, they knew of Santoni's death and took the opportunity to search for what they needed. But they hadn't checked this garage. These two men were more likely Santoni's partners. They had some understanding of him but didn't know everything and, pressed for time, were eager to leave. Perhaps they were partners in drug trafficking. Santoni was responsible for making the drugs, and those two handled sales. With Santoni dead, these two rushed over to find any drugs he might have hidden...
Dean patted his own head. Who cares what relationship those two have with Santoni! With these two scapegoats, why should I get myself into more trouble?
His mind quickly flashed through ways to extricate himself. Then he returned to Santoni's place, carefully inspected it for traces, and left, feeling relieved.
「About an hour later.」
Several police cars surrounded Santoni's residence...
「Meanwhile.」
Several major press agencies stationed in Las Vegas received anonymous calls. Sensing something amiss with the police's actions, like sharks smelling blood, they swarmed in...
A shocking piece of news spread like wildfire throughout Las Vegas before the higher-ups could even react, rapidly disseminating through the internet. Spreading along with the news were Santoni's details and a photo of the heavy cannon...
All of Nevada was thrown into chaos.
「...」
"Mom, your bacon is still so delicious." Dean patted his belly contentedly and gave a thumbs up to the white woman across the table.
"Haha, baby, are your words coated in honey today?" The white woman, Dean's mother Sheila, was very pleased with Dean's reaction and dumped the remaining bacon from her plate into Dean's, prompting the frail young man sitting next to her to roll his eyes.
He was Dean's younger brother Thompson, with black hair and brown eyes, a slender build, and gold-rimmed glasses, exuding an air of bookish grace that seemed out of place here.
Next to Thompson sat a brown-haired little girl. With a cute, pouty expression, she grumbled to Sheila, "Sheila, Dean is not good at all! He broke his promise."
"Hey, my dear little sister, didn't you just say you missed me a lot?"
"NO!" The little girl shook her finger. "Dean, no gift, no sister for you!"
"Haha!" Sheila laughed at her daughter's words and winked at Dean. "Dean, I reminded you not to forget the gifts."
Dean, looking somewhat embarrassed, put down his fork. "Sinclair, I just saw a good friend off, so I wasn't in the best mood and it slipped my mind. I'm really sorry."
After diverting all that trouble, I rushed straight back home; how could I remember such trivial things?
Dean's words, however, made Sheila realize. She came forward to give Dean a hug. "Baby, it's not your fault. You've driven all the way from Las Vegas and must be very tired by now. Finish your meal and go get some rest."
Dean nodded.
Thompson, who was sitting beside them, lit up at the mention of Las Vegas. He said excitedly to Dean, "Dean, I saw the news today. It said that in Las Vegas, a thief, during a burglary, discovered a 210 mm caliber heavy cannon in the garage of a residential area. Is this true?"
Dean shook his head. "I'm not sure. I didn't hear about it before I left. It wouldn't be some tabloid just making things up, would it?"
"Impossible! This is fresh news released by several major newspapers; there are even pictures online!" Thompson adjusted his glasses. "I heard the owner of that garage used to be a forensic scientist in the Forensics Department of our Los Angeles Police Department! I'm sure there's a huge secret behind all this!"
"Maybe." Dean shrugged and went back to eating.
After the meal, Dean lay in bed, his tense nerves finally relaxing.
The Santoni affair is over. The only remaining risk is the connection between Mas and Santoni. I blew things up so much, exposing everything, hoping Santoni's backers would fall into disarray, muddying the waters to cover Mas's tracks. The public phone booth I used to call the police had no surveillance, and I used a method to change my voice. My predecessor and his family were safe for eight years after his father's death. Everything will be fine...
Dean reassured himself. As he contemplated these things, Dean's eyes gradually closed, and he fell into a deep sleep.
「Elsewhere.」
Eve walked out of the Chief's office with a smile on her face. Thanks to the major news breaking out of Las Vegas, the Los Angeles Police Department and the judicial system had expedited the trial process for the bank armored car robbery case. They planned to create a stark contrast with the situation in Las Vegas. In other words, the bank armored car robbery case could now be declared closed.
Eve returned to her office, finally unable to suppress her joy, and clenched her fists tightly. She then sent this information to Dean.
Almost at the same moment, as Dean slept, a line of information flowed through his mind: [Bank armored car robbery case solved, Experience Points +350, L0→L3, +3 Attribute Points, +3 Skill Points]
PS: The tool panel is not intelligent. It only provides rewards after cases are solved and doesn't drive the plot or issue tasks. It's just a lifeless tool.