"Joseph?"
Seeing this name, Lou Cheng immediately recalled his experience of communicating with the gemstone spiritual object in the morning. He remembered the sticky, smelly, evil, and cruel "blood."
That was a gemstone polished by Martial Artist Johnny Joseph with his own spirit. The tainted deep spirituality seemed to have originated from the negative factors at the bottom of his heart or his prolonged emotional loss.
Thinking of this, Lou Cheng perked up. He began to research why Joseph was listed as a suspect.
"The blood of a missing girl, Taylor, was found in the woods near his villa … His ex-wife spread the word that he believed in the devil and that he had cult books like The Pure Girl's Spirit at home … Another victim, Sunny's boyfriend, accused him of seeing figures similar to Joseph around the scene of the possible disappearance. However, the broken camera couldn't provide any evidence …"
Reading line by line, Lou Cheng realized that these clues couldn't clearly prove that Joseph was the culprit. They couldn't even make him undergo a strict investigation. However, combined with the abnormality of the sapphire, he was somewhat confident.
…
In an ordinary sedan on the street, a young man in a baseball cap was typing rapidly on the keyboard.
"Boss, he's looking at famous criminals and cases in Connecticut."
Smith was stunned. He took the laptop from his subordinate and slid his index finger across the touchscreen, reading the content that Lou Cheng had read.
This was feedback from the internet service provider!
"What is he planning to do? Does he want to play the role of a superhero? "asked the young man in the baseball cap, seeking to communicate.
After a moment of silence, Smith slowly opened his mouth.
"This is probably the hobby of Chinese martial artists. In Chinese, it's called 'Qie' or 'Learn from each other.'"
He uttered the words he had learned during his research over the past few days in a strange accent. He then added, "Don't our Mixed Martial Arts Masters like challenges as well?"
"I think I get it. He's looking for a challenge that won't get him kicked out of the game." The young man in the baseball cap was enlightened. "Boss, you have to think of a way to warn him. Don't make this a big deal."
Smith nodded slightly and didn't say anything else. He returned the laptop to his subordinate and pointed outside.
"I'll go get a cup of hot coffee. Do you want one?"
"No need. Can I have some Coke?" The young man in the baseball cap smiled brightly.
After getting out of the car, Smith went to another shop and bought a cup of steaming black coffee. Then, he took the elevator to the top floor and entered the rooftop. Leaning against the edge, he silently looked down at the building opposite.
The short building was called "Msasi Martial Arts Arena"!
A few minutes later, the door of the rooftop was opened. The gray-haired middle-aged man, Cole, appeared with a bag of things in his hand. He looked exhausted, but his eyes were cold.
"Smith …" Cole was stunned for a second before he let out a sigh. "You're here again …"
Smith picked up the cup, downed the remaining coffee that had cooled down, and smiled bitterly.
"Uncle Cole, how have you been?"
"I still haven't awakened my own spirit, and I still haven't become Joseph's combat apprentice." Cole took out a can of beer, opened it with a bang, and took a deep gulp. The pale yellow beads of water flowed down his chin, which he had forgotten to shave, past his grayish-white and messy beard stubble, and fell to the ground, breaking into eight pieces.
Smith opened his mouth, as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't say a word. He crushed the cup into a ball, turned around, and left the rooftop.
He found a supermarket and bought a can of coke for his subordinate. He instructed him to go home and rest, to ensure that he had enough energy to wait for his next shift. As for the other members of the team, they were sent off to do other things.
…
After studying for a long time, Lou Cheng suddenly broke into laughter. He was mocking himself for being too engrossed in his role.
Even if he was fairly certain that Martial Artist Jonny Joseph was the criminal "Butcher" who had been active for more than a decade, he could still pay him a visit with peace of mind. However, if he couldn't find any concrete evidence, it would be very troublesome to clean up the mess. This was a veteran Mighty One with a relatively high status.
In this way, if he was not careful, he would become a "criminal". In a place where he was unfamiliar with the people and there were not many resources to borrow, not to mention the serious consequences, the lightest punishment would be deportation, and his visa would be denied. This would contradict his most important request.
Should he seek help from the military? They definitely have an intelligence network in America …
But how should he ask?
As the thought flashed through his mind, Lou Cheng had already simulated the most likely conversation.
"I'm going to deal with Jonny Joseph. I need intelligence support."
"Why?"
"He's a perverted criminal. He might endanger my wife."
"Oh … Does he know your wife?"
"No."
"Does his target group include your wife?"
"No."
"… Then why do you want to deal with him?"
"Do you understand? There's a certain possibility. Erm, a small possibility. I want to take precautions."
"… Please forgive me for not understanding your train of thought."
Lou Cheng shook his head and mocked himself when he thought of a similar scenario. He temporarily put aside the idea of visiting the "Butcher".
Joseph's target should only be young girls. He wouldn't be able to find college students, not to mention Ke, who was just one of the many female college students …
Even though perverted criminals like him are detestable and everyone has the right to kill them, and I also have a sense of justice, I still have to consider the actual situation.
Lou Cheng picked up his iced latte and drank the last mouthful. Seeing that it was still early, he decided to head to the Msasi Martial Arts Gym for another hour of free practice.
I can't relax my expectations of myself just because I'm already an Inhuman and my strength is internalized. Even if I don't train, my realm won't regress.
My target has never been an Inhuman!
Erm, the past doesn't count …
Picking up his phone, Lou Cheng walked out of the cafe. Just as he was about to identify the road, a car suddenly appeared in front of him and slowly stopped by the roadside.
"Hello, Lou," greeted the driver with a smile.
Who's that? Lou Cheng looked over in confusion. He felt that the young and sunny face was a little familiar.
But, in his eyes, most foreigners look the same …
"You asked me for directions yesterday," Smith reminded him.
"Oh, it's you." Lou Cheng suddenly remembered. Then, a thought came to him and he blurted out, "How do you know my surname is Lou?"
At that moment, his hair stood on end. He was like a monster that was about to pounce. His natural aura made Smith shiver. He almost lost control of his body and abandoned the car to escape.
Taking a deep breath, Smith maintained his smile. He took out his identification and introduced himself.
"I'm Smith from the Department of Homeland Security. I'm in charge of monitoring your activities in Connecticut."
His actions didn't violate the regulations. Such monitoring could be communicated with the target. Reminders and warnings were given first to let Chinese martial artists know that they were under the strict supervision of the state apparatus. This could effectively reduce the occurrence of violent incidents and nip the problem in the bud.
However, follow-up monitoring wouldn't be reduced because of this. They would detect and prevent unforeseen events at the first instance.
This was actually the most common method used by many experienced agents when they received similar missions. However, Smith was a greenhorn and had a bit of "aggressiveness". Hence, he chose to monitor in secret.
Lou Cheng was stunned for a second. From the corner of his eye, he saw his image playing on the screen of the computer in the passenger seat. He was convinced.
"Can I verify your identification number?"
Just as he finished speaking, he saw the corner of Smith's mouth twitch. It was as if he heard the other party shouting about the trust between people.
"Sure," Smith maintained his expression and answered in a deep voice.
Lou Cheng searched for a way to verify. After confirming, he nodded and asked,
"Mr. Smith, why are you looking for me?"
He had long heard and could reasonably deduce that martial artists of his level would be monitored when they entered the United States. That was why he was so cautious about his words and actions. He didn't randomly challenge others to learn from. Now that he had met the head of the secret service in charge of monitoring him, he finally felt relieved.
"Lou, let's talk in the car." Smith picked up the computer and pointed at the passenger seat.
Lou Cheng was bold and had a clear conscience. He immediately pulled open the car door, sat in, and fastened his seatbelt.
Smith was dumbfounded by this small action. It was like a magical fantasy.
Why would a monster like this need a seatbelt?
He calmed himself down, started the car, and drove to another street.
After a moment of thought, he said, "Lou, you're investigating famous criminals in Connecticut. You want to spar with them?"
So that's why he's here to warn me? Lou Cheng seemed to come to a realization. He chuckled.
"It's just a casual investigation. I've always been law-abiding."
As though he didn't hear his explanation, Smith continued.
"Actually, we still have some evidence on Joseph, more than what has been revealed. However, we can't form a complete chain of evidence. He's also a veteran martial artist with status and connections. He's on good terms with many senators and lawyers. We can't apply for a search warrant …"
"Sunny is a very intelligent girl. According to the Geruga Sect, her father once 'heard' the remnants of her cries and screams around Joseph's villa. He believed that there must be a criminal case and evidence buried there. As long as we could enter and search, we would definitely be able to find clues and arrest Joseph!"
"But no one listens to us. It's been five years since a superhero tried to infiltrate Joseph's villa, but he was discovered and sent to prison … In recent years, whenever Joseph goes out, he'll get his students to guard the villa. He's also installed a high-tech surveillance and alarm system. Superheroes and detectives rarely interfere."
Lou Cheng fell into deep thought. He nodded slowly.
"You want me to 'visit' Joseph, challenge him, defeat him, and give you a chance to search for evidence?"
"You can say that," Smith replied in a deep voice.
"But what if you fall out with him? What if you don't admit to it? And what does this have to do with Homeland Security? "Lou Cheng wouldn't trust a stranger's words so easily.
Everything would be fine if they could find evidence. But what if they couldn't?
The other party could simply be using him and wouldn't help to eliminate any future problems.
Smith tilted his head and looked at Lou Cheng. His deep-set eyes were filled with sorrow and pain.
"I'll take care of the alarm system here. If we can't find any evidence, as long as you disguise yourself well and don't let Joseph get hurt too badly, this will just be an 'ordinary' attack case involving a 'superhero' that we can't find any suspects. I can cover it up."
At this point, he took a deep breath and said,
"When you were searching for information, you should have seen the photo of the victim, Sunny, and her boyfriend. You should have seen him being interviewed."
Lou Cheng's memories lit up. The photo of the blonde girl's boyfriend flashed across his mind. Gradually, they overlapped with the head of the secret service before him.
Judging from the time, Smith must have joined the national apparatus because of this matter …
Lou Cheng's wariness was mostly gone. He began to believe Smith's words.
Retracting his gaze, Smith looked ahead.
"I know this is a difficult choice for you. Joseph is also a dangerous monster. You might not be able to win against him. Besides, you can only defeat him and not kill him …"
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Lou Cheng light up his phone from the corner of his eye. He calmly buried his head and focused on watching a video.
It was a compilation of Joseph's battles from the past year.
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