North American Detective: I am Proficient in All Kinds of Gun Quick Draws-Chapter 628 - 350 - The Truth and Temptation_1

On a suburban road devoid of traffic, Dean, with his pipe in his mouth, leaned against the car behind him, staring blankly at the vast expanse of pale yellow-green fields in the distance.

The unknown assailant, the potential nuclear weapons on the college campus... All of this seems to be connected somehow. However, this conjecture still lacks some information for corroboration.

In fact, given Dean's temperament, he should have swiftly driven off by now, letting Little Mike use his network techniques to expose the potential threat of the university town and pass the buck to the higher-ups, instead of getting involved in such dangerous affairs himself.

After all, he was very strong. He could use the peculiarity of space to fend off sparse bullets and rely on danger warnings to prevent sneak attacks, making him nearly invincible in small-scale conflicts.

But I'm not Superman.

Even if the nuke at the school was a miniature, nerfed version, its power was absolutely incomparable to an ordinary missile. Not to mention that this potential nuclear bomb was created privately—or rather, by a clandestine workshop. Due to limitations in the production environment, materials, processes, and so on, this potential nuclear bomb probably didn't have independent detonation components.

In other words, this thing is unstable and can easily detonate.

Under a nuclear bomb, all beings are equal.

Escape!

Whoever wants this case can have it.

I've got to run!

Dean wasn't willing to risk complete incineration dealing with that nuclear bomb for the sake of a case and the lives of a bunch of strangers.

Having made up his mind, Dean found an open space to sit cross-legged and wait for Little Mike's investigative feedback.

Although he had decided to run, he still had to put on an act. This act was mainly for Little Mike. Because if the nuclear attack he suspected were to occur, a series of chain reactions would follow.

First, the higher-ups in Los Angeles, the FBI people... none of them will be able to escape accountability. Every single one will be thrown out to appease public outrage.

This also means Deputy Director Hawk, whom I just started to cozy up to, will be toast.

Even Amon, the rising star in National Security, won't fare well; he'll very likely be dragged out to take the blame.

If all this happens, I'll lose my largest contact within the Federation, and my plan to quickly gain significant influence in Los Angeles will be stalled.

Without sufficient social status, cooperation on the pharmaceutical company, relying solely on my little girlfriend Nell and that naive friend Ross, is basically a non-starter.

Cooperation is a mode of interaction that only exists on the premise of a certain level of equality.

Without a certain status, even if the pharmaceutical company gets off the ground, the outcome is bound to be tragic.

The capitalist titans wouldn't even need to make a move. Ross's family would devour us first.

This is the truth of this world.

Besides that, I'll face another problem: Little Mike's situation.

Without status, it'll be difficult to rely on the pharmaceutical company or become one of the capitalists. Consequently, I'll struggle to acquire sufficient funds and resources to help Little Mike with his current problems.

In other words, I'll be back to square one overnight, and the promises I made to Little Mike will become a joke. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Little Mike may lack emotions, but he's no fool.

For now, I can only play dumb and take things one step at a time.

As a scumbag who "zips up and denies acquaintance," he had always been selfish. He wouldn't risk his life over a mere promise to solve a nuclear bomb crisis.

As for Little Mike's problem... I can only apologize. My spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak. I'm a scumbag, after all; isn't it normal for someone like me to be untrustworthy?

Internally, Dean rationalized, suppressing the uncontrollable surge of guilt.

Right. That online journal Little Mike found contains names of relevant personnel; results should be available soon. I'll need to be careful then, not to let Little Mike discover I'm already prepared to abandon him...

Scumbag Dean forced himself to calm his inner turmoil.

For some reason, though, his mind, working faster than any ordinary person's, couldn't stop churning up memories from his time in this world...

...

「In a manor somewhere in Los Angeles.」

Little Mike emotionlessly inserted a syringe into a vein in his arm and slowly pushed the liquid in.

His arm was very slender, making the injection somewhat difficult. Throughout the process, Little Mike uncharacteristically displayed a hint of clumsiness. For a prodigy like him, who learned everything with ease, this only indicated he had never done such a thing before.

The reason was simple: the liquid he was injecting was a synthetic drug, similar to a stimulant.

Injecting this drug was undoubtedly shortening the lifespan he was already counting down.

Little Mike's physical condition was already terrible. Although he had managed to nurse himself back slightly with various methods, the recent spree of frenzied experiments meant his body was now even worse off than before he met Dean. If it weren't for helping Dean, he would have needed to rest long ago.

In fact, the ceaseless surge of fatigue and weakness made Little Mike feel drowsy, struggling to maintain a good state. Now, he could only rely on drugs to stay alert.

As the drug took effect, the exhausted Little Mike's eyes regained their light.

He rapidly typed on the keyboard before him. Accompanied by a string of green characters, the display screen in front of him continually refreshed at a speed too fast for an ordinary person to clearly see. Little Mike, now in a state of heightened excitement, sifted through these pages for the information he needed, committing it all to memory.