Chicago, Upper City, a commercial district. At two in the afternoon, a cozy café playing soft music, located at street level, with round wooden tables and chairs outside. Dressed casually, Luo An held a newspaper and waited leisurely for his coffee. Passersby bustled nearby, both tourists and office workers, their chatter contributing to the distinctly federal commercial vibe. A young girl who looked barely of age, with long blonde hair and wearing the café’s waitress uniform, approached and placed a coffee in front of Luo An, flashing a smile: "Your cappuccino, sir. Sorry for the wait." Luo An put down his newspaper, looked up, and smiled his thanks to the waitress. The young girl’s eyes sparkled upon seeing Luo An’s handsome face, and she nodded then scampered back inside the café, whispering and gesturing excitedly with her colleagues. Taking a sip from his coffee, the minuscule communicator from NSA that was tucked in Luo An’s ear buzzed with Mona’s voice: "You really have a way with young girls, Luo An." Trying not to laugh at the jealousy emanating from the communicator, Luo An smiled, put down his coffee cup, picked up the newspaper again, and said: "Otherwise, how would I have managed to woo you?" "So, are you admitting that you seduced me that night?" "As I recall, you were the more proactive one that evening." "Shut up! It was you who deceived me!" Luo An chuckled, not continuing the tiff with Mona, and flipped to the second page of his newspaper, asking: "How’s it going on your end?" In a room on the fourth floor of an office building diagonal to the café, Mona sat cross-legged on the floor. Surrounded by several small mechanical devices, her fingers flew across her laptop keyboard as she spoke calmly: "Give me ten more minutes." While Luo An seemed to be absorbed in reading his newspaper, he was actually surveilling his surroundings. For this operation, NSA agent Iris was left in a hotel suite, tasked with finding a way to eavesdrop on the targeted customer service center, while Michelle stayed by her side, ostensibly to assist, but really to keep watch. Mona was brought out by Luo An, their mission was to investigate the identities of those answering and making calls at the customer service center. "And bring me a coffee, too, when you’re done. I’ll take a caramel macchiato and a banana nut cake." From the room in the office building, Mona typed swiftly, saying while still tapping away at the keyboard: "Also, any progress on your end?" "Not much, the situation was a bit unexpected." Luo An took another sip of his coffee, his peripheral vision scanning the multitude of passersby. Without drawing attention, he glanced at a nearby souvenir shop and said: Read full story at novel{f}ire.net "Our earlier judgment was correct. That center named ’Vanilla After-sales Service Center’ diagonally behind us is indeed an assassin organization’s customer service center. I had guessed there would be assassins disguised as tourists or shop workers to keep watch and monitor the situation. But, I hadn’t anticipated there being so many." Mona, puzzled, asked: "How many are there?" "At least five on this street alone." Luo An’s lips curled slightly: "And there are three other streets around." The goal of Luo An’s mission was to scout the vicinity of the customer service center to decide on the next plan of action. After blending in as a tourist in the area, it didn’t take long before he spotted several of his "peers." Mona raised an eyebrow: "So, is your trip today a waste?" "No, I did manage to gather some clues." Luo An lifted the newspaper higher and crossed his legs, chuckling: "For instance, the person who decided to set up the ’customer service center’ here is an absolute genius." This area is one of Chicago’s famous business districts; placing an assassin organization’s contact point here exceeds most people’s expectations. The shop owners and waitstaff nearby probably have no idea that the seemingly ordinary customer service center across from them is an assassin organization’s facade and that the people ordering meals and food from them are bona fide assassins. Just as Mona was about to speak, Luo An’s phone suddenly rang. In a casual and unhurried manner, Luo An fished out his phone and answered in an unhurried voice: "A bad piece of news, Luo An." The voice on the other end of the phone wasn’t Reesi, but Chenier, who spoke with a grave tone: "We’ve arrived in Las Vegas and found the customer service center of the assassin organization. But we were a step too late; it’s been destroyed." Luo An’s expression remained unchanged: "The house was burned, furniture smashed, computer equipment destroyed. Some of the customer service staff were injured and hospitalized, others died on the spot. This case has been taken over by the Las Vegas police for investigation, but so far there are no leads. From the state of the crime scene, Winslow, Reesi, and I all feel like it was an act of retaliation." Luo An appeared contemplative, and Chenier asked: "What should we do next?" "Continue the investigation." Luo An thought for a moment, then said: "While ensuring our own safety, find an opportunity to contact those hospitalized injured victims to understand the situation when the incident occurred. Remember, prioritize your own safety." Chenier on the other end of the phone nodded solemnly and hung up. "I’ve got a success here!" Just at that moment, Mona’s voice rang out from the small communicator by Luo An’s ear; she cheered excitedly and then asked: "How’s it going on Reesi’s end?" Luo An briefly conveyed the situation as described by Chenier, and Mona’s brows furrowed: "So, is it because the customer service center in Las Vegas was destroyed that the assassin watch in Chicago has been stepped up?" "What should we do then?" Mona was a bit worried: "Do we still go ahead with the original plan?" Luo An finished off his coffee in one gulp, laughing: "Don’t worry, this is good for us." Mona did not understand: "How can increased assassin watch be a good thing?" Luo An signaled a waiter over, ordered the coffee and cake that Mona wanted earlier, and waited for the waiter to leave before saying with a smile: "It’s good because it gives us a scapegoat." Mona was about to continue speaking when Luo An preempted her, asking: "You’ve already found out the identities of the employees at this customer service center, right?" "Yeah, the manager’s name is Tony, the assistant manager is called Jaden, and there are over a dozen women handling the calls." At eight-thirty in the evening, street lamps in Chicago light up one by one. But an undeniable darkness, accompanied by gunfire and shouting every fifteen minutes or so, looms heavily over the hearts of the citizens of Lower Downtown Chicago. The security situation at the edge of the Upper City was much better. A dark car slowly pulled over to the side of the road, and Jaden stepped out of the passenger seat, seeing the driver, Sevin, opening his door and getting out of the car, pulling out his gun to join him inside the residence, Jaden spread his hands in resignation: "Do we really have to do this, Sevin?" Sevin didn’t say a word, just shook his gun. Jaden sighed, took out his keys and walked up to the front door as usual, opened the door, pressed the light switch, and said: "See, I told you, no probl..." Before Jaden could finish, Sevin’s pupils suddenly constricted; he smacked Jaden to the ground, then swiftly lifted his handgun, ready to pull the trigger on the unexpected intruder who appeared on the living room sofa!