North American Detective: I am Proficient in All Kinds of Gun Quick Draws-Chapter 624 - 348: Beast Alert, How Many Floors Can a Bag of Rice Hold Up?_3

As Dean processed this information, his sharp mind worked extremely fast:

Although Los Angeles is prone to earthquakes due to its geographic location, such clear regional warnings shouldn't be about earthquakes or tsunamis. Major earthquakes wouldn't affect such a small area. Minor earthquakes don't need to be worried about. Aside from an out-of-control nuclear bomb, I really can't think of any other threat that could impact such a wide area... It shouldn't... probably... be that crazy, right?

...

DING-A-LING.

The phone vibrated.

Dean took a deep breath, pulled out his phone to see the caller ID, but found it wasn't Little Mike calling back; it was Lawrence's call.

"Thank God, you finally answered your phone, this damn signal!"

As soon as the call connected, Lawrence's unpleasantly loud voice came through, "Dean, I've been calling you for minutes! I thought something had happened to you, buddy. What's going on?"

"Have you left yet?" Dean didn't explain; he wanted to confirm this first.

"Yes. You previously asked me to hand over the missing persons' files to that FBI agent, Leia. I was on my way, and you called me right when I got downtown. I'm actually in the city center now. I'm just calling to confirm you're safe; after all, your hurried tone from earlier is rare."

Concern was evident in Lawrence's voice. He rarely heard Dean speak to them with such a tone.

Relieved to hear Lawrence had returned to the city center, Dean changed the subject, "I'm fine, nothing's wrong here. Tell Leia to investigate the detailed information of those five missing persons with the utmost Speed; that might be the key to pinpointing the killer."

Lawrence sensed Dean didn't want to elaborate further and hung up after ensuring he was safe.

He put away his phone. With some dismay, he pulled out a few crumpled twenty-dollar US dollar bills from his pocket and handed them to the driver, "Buddy, please Speed it up, I'm in a hurry."

The driver glanced at the two slabs of muscle on Lawrence's face, whistled, and floored the accelerator.

...

After ending the call with Lawrence, Dean frowned at the signal display on his phone.

In this damn place, the signal was always unstable once you got away from downtown or populated areas.

However, his phone, provided by Little Mike, was a special model. It was a bit bulky, but it supported satellite communication when the signal was poor.

The problem was, five minutes had passed.

Why hadn't Little Mike, who was always punctual, contacted him yet?

With a hint of anxiety, Dean opened a hidden page on his phone, selected the satellite communication feature, and initiated a call. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

..

「Elsewhere.」

An underground parking lot on campus.

A tall man in a blue work uniform, wearing a mask, slowly jumped down from the truck door. Head down and carrying a folder, he walked forward.

This underground parking lot looked deserted and dim, lit only by the ceiling lights.

In front of the truck was a dark opening.

Clearly, there was an even more concealed structure beneath this first basement level.

And in front of the opening stood several uniformed, fully armed guards.

They seemed somewhat slack; on the tables and chairs behind them, cards and snacks lay untouched. Evidently, guard duty here was usually laid-back, and their superiors weren't strict.

Seeing the truck driver get out, a few guards nonchalantly walked up.

The leader glanced at the badge on the driver's chest before speaking, "Buddy, even though these are research materials, we need to do a quick check before letting them into the research base. Oh, and please take off your mask."

Behind him, a female guard with a bulky, odd-looking tablet stepped forward, preparing to photograph the driver's face for identity verification.

This gadget wasn't widespread yet, but various top universities had begun using these convenient devices for office work.

Only when he was about a meter away from the guards did the tall, head-bowed truck driver slowly raise his head and speak softly through the mask, "Have you ever felt pain?"

"WHAT?"

What the hell? The head guard thought he'd misheard. He looked at his subordinates, only to find them equally baffled.

The next moment, the tall driver flipped the hand holding the folder.

Not good! This unusual move finally made the long-complacent guards sense something was amiss.

The head guard instinctively rushed forward to tackle the man.

POP POP POP. After a few soft, puffing sounds, flashes of gunfire erupted. The shots struck the dumbfounded guards precisely in their throats, shattering their larynxes. This also suppressed their startled cries and screams, forcing them back into throats inundated with blood and bubbles...