North American Detective: I am Proficient in All Kinds of Gun Quick Draws-Chapter 611 - 342: The Bizarre Community_2

Dean waved, and the two made their way into the community, eventually stopping in front of a six-story building. Instead of storefronts, the base of the building featured a row of garages.

According to the information Daisy had found, Eden Consulting Company, which seemed to be a shell company, was registered at the location of a garage. Such small companies were numerous in the United States.

Following the garage numbers, Dean and Lawrence spent a couple of minutes and finally found Eden's "office."

To call it an office was an overstatement; it was merely a small garage, no wider than three meters and no taller than two. The roller door was down, its dented surface thick with clinging dust. Beside it hung a small, equally dusty sign, several letters obscured, making Eden's name barely legible. The place, just like its neglected surroundings, had clearly not been visited for a long time.

Lawrence stepped forward, wiped off the thick layer of dust on the roller door, shook his head, and turned to Dean with a frown. "Dean, it looks like they must have moved out when the others did. We need Daisy to check what happened here."

Dean nodded. He too was curious about what was going on here.

"Lawrence, call Daisy and ask her about this community's situation. As for Eden Consulting Company's new address, that should be easy. The legal representative is a student at the school. Just call the school directly; they should be able to provide useful information."

Lawrence nodded, took out his phone, and called Daisy, explaining the situation.

After hanging up, the two headed back the way they came. Once they left the community, people started to appear again, and the previous desolation had vanished.

After passing through several communities, the two finally arrived at one of the campus gates.

Perhaps because it was the weekend, many students were going in and out. Through the gaps in the vine-covered railing, numerous students could be seen picnicking on the campus lawn, laughing and chatting, the very picture of youthful vibrance and spirit.

Lawrence, wearing his credentials, approached the gatekeeper and explained the situation.

Dean, meanwhile, squatted by the roadside. When a girl walked past with her head down, he stopped her to inquire about the community they had just visited.

The girl wore glasses and had a book tucked under her arm. She looked up, and upon seeing who had stopped her, her eyes lit up. "Are you asking about that small community a few kilometers away?" she said enthusiastically. "I know why it was abandoned!"

"Abandoned?" Dean's tone grew more intense. "You're saying that community was abandoned?"

The bespectacled girl nodded. "Pretty much. Except for some people with nowhere else to go, everyone moved out. Even people from nearby communities left."

"What happened there?" Dean pressed, seeing she seemed to know something.

The bespectacled girl gave Dean a shy smile, then held out her pale palm. "The school issued a notice forbidding discussion about what happened there. I'm a good student, you see, and you..."

SMACK.

A few twenty-dollar bills landed on the bespectacled student's palm.

Seeing the money, the girl grinned. As she pocketed the bills, her little finger cheekily brushed Dean's palm before she continued, "There are all sorts of stories. Natural gas leaks, aging buildings... Some even say someone was doing dangerous experiments there, and an accident happened. Anyway, the area was sealed off for two days back then. Some curious students tried to check it out at night, but they all got caught and punished by the school. I know some inside info. But my best friend—my good friend, my good classmate—told me, and as a good student with principles and a bottom line, I promised her not to tell a third person..."

At this, the bespectacled girl stopped talking, looking at Dean expectantly.

Dean rolled his eyes. Through the bespectacled girl's lenses, he didn't see the unique clarity and naivety of a college student, only the blatant message: More money needed!

Damn it. It was the first time Dean had encountered a woman who, in his presence, was unmoved by his looks and solely focused on money.

He could only take out a few more banknotes and said with annoyance, "Is this enough for your principles and bottom line to become a bit more flexible?"

A blur of motion flashed. Dean felt a breeze brush his fingertips, and the cash in his hand was suddenly in the bespectacled girl's.

He couldn't help but be startled. What incredible hand speed! When it came to money, this bespectacled girl's hand speed was probably even faster than Daisy's typing when tempted by snacks.

The bespectacled girl deftly stuffed the money into her pocket and said, somewhat reluctantly, "It's a little less than I'd like, but since you're handsome, I'll consider it an eye-candy fee."

She glanced around. Seeing only a few female students watching from a distance with looks of envy and jealousy, she lowered her voice in relief. "I have a classmate who used to live in that community with her boyfriend. She secretly told me that many people in chemical protective suits went in, but she was clueless about what happened. All she knows is that quite a few people were taken away."

"Chemical protective suits?" Dean's eyes narrowed slightly. "When exactly was that?"

"About forty or fifty days ago."

Displaying true professional spirit now that she was paid, the bespectacled girl held nothing back, telling him everything she knew. "Those people stayed for two days before they all pulled out. After that, the stories about that community got more and more outrageous. Some journalists received tips and came over, but for some reason, the incident never made it to the papers or TV. The school also imposed a gag order, not allowing us to talk much about it, to avoid rumors causing panic. Many people in that community moved out because of the various rumors. The ones who didn't move were mostly students enticed by cheap rent, but they spent most of their time at school, so they were rarely seen around during the day and only returned at night. Afterward, many locals and students from the school went to that community looking for adventure, but nothing interesting turned up. After a week or two, no one paid any attention to it anymore."

Dean listened and thought for a moment, still wanting to ask more.

But Lawrence came jogging over with a slip of paper. "Dean, I got the new address for that company. Let's go."

Seeing this, Dean could only dig out a business card from his pocket and hand it to the bespectacled girl, saying, "I'm quite interested in what happened there. If you hear any new information about it, give me a call."

"For a fee?"

"Yes."

Dean nodded, got in the car, and they left.

Truth be told, hearing that students still lived in the community had already dampened his interest considerably. Still, it was only a small amount of money. He'd just consider it the price of satisfying his curiosity.

「Elsewhere.」

After receiving Lawrence's call, Daisy found the snacks in her hand suddenly tasteless.

Had she actually given Dean an outdated address? Wasn't this a silent mockery of her professional skills?

Without hesitation, Daisy unlocked her computer. After cracking her knuckles a few times, she began using her police department network access to gather all available information on that community.

The search indeed turned up a lot of inconspicuous information, such as discussions on student forums and various speculative comments. Mentions of personnel in protective suits entering the community at night were the most frequent.

Daisy realized. This might be a key piece of information.

She traced the IP addresses of those who mentioned "protective suits," hacking into them one by one. As she did, Daisy immediately noticed something odd: all of these people's computers had surveillance programs installed.

Alarmed, Daisy quickly aborted the intrusion and erased her tracks.

She realized. There was a big secret hidden here!

"Hmph! As if I'd let this stop me!"

Daisy vaguely guessed what might be going on, but she wasn't scared; on the contrary, her curiosity was intensely sparked. She began checking IP addresses one by one. If she encountered a computer with surveillance software, she immediately backed out. If not, she turned it inside out.

Finally, she found a useful piece of information: what appeared to be a diary document hidden on a community homeowner's computer.