"It must be because the two of them are too outstanding, leading to being sidelined by their superiors," Susan thought to herself as she automatically found a suitable reason for them.
She was a magnanimous person, believing that under her command, these two would better utilize their talents.
Suppressing the random thoughts, Susan continued,
"The second round of assessment involves our permanent placement.
The content of the assessment will consist of homicide cases assigned to us by higher-ups, so I'm not sure what specific cases they will be.
Now, if there are any questions you'd like to ask, feel free."
Brian was the first to raise his hand, "Team Leader Susan, I wanted to know if our group six will just consist of a few of us from now on? Moreover, our office location can't possibly be at Ace Base, right? That place is too far."
Susan shook her head,
"We are merely a framework for now.
After becoming permanent,
we will recruit other members and the office locations will be arranged according to the assigned jurisdictions.
There, we will have an independent autopsy room, some relatively simple laboratories, and absolute independent case handling authority.
Just the five of us wouldn't be able to manage that."
Old Hardenn, who was sitting nearby, also raised his hand and asked, "The information I got was that the new department is called the Crime Experiment Group, why is it now known by the code NW?"
Susan hesitated for a moment before responding, "The Crime Experiment Group is just an external designation," her eyes flashed with hesitation before she spoke again, "The full name of NW is Night Watchman."
"Night Watcher?"
Upon hearing this, Brian and the others showed a variety of expressions.
This name didn't sound like any proper crime-solving department!
However, Susan was unwilling to provide further explanation, "You'll naturally understand the specific meaning after we complete the second round of assessments and you go to Ace Base for training and sign the confidentiality documents."
Glenn from the Teddy duo, sharp as ever, shrugged, "Let's get back to the main topic though. Since our second-round assessment deals with homicide, can we be equipped with handguns? Ivan and I have already returned ours."
"Of course," Susan nodded, "Firearms, Bullet-Proof Vests, police badges, temporary IDs... you'll get all these after the meeting."
After asking a few other questions,
the meeting finally ended.
Since the second round of assessment involves real murder cases,
these can come up at any moment, or it might take days without any incidents occurring.
There was nothing urgent today.
Following Susan's suggestion, after everyone gathered their things, they drove together, following Old Hardenn to a place he recommended for a meal together.
The dinner location was a food truck on a commercial street.
Yes, it was that simple.
However, it was evident that this fast-food truck was quite popular with customers; even after one o'clock in the afternoon, there were still many people queuing and all the seats provided were filled.
The food truck offered seat cushions and a takeout service.
Compared to that,
the business of other food trucks and stalls around was much more dismal.
Old Hardenn introduced to everyone as he pointed, "See that handsome young man busy on the food truck? His mentor is a five-star hotel chef, specializing in cuisine from Hua Country. This stuff is too expensive in restaurants, so people don't mind waiting a long time for it."
Hearing it was cuisine from Hua Country,
everyone became interested.
Brian, curious, moved closer after grabbing his seat cushion and glanced at what the handsome young man was cooking.
Then, he was bewildered.
"Yangzhou fried rice?"
Brian was speechless.
A bunch of foreigners, queuing up for a taste of Yangzhou fried rice?
Since it was group six's first dining out together,
he didn't feel it was right to criticize and simply decided to go back with his seat cushion.
Just as he turned around,
a man wearing a hood and keeping his head down burst from the side, startling Brian as he rushed past him.
"In a hurry to reincarnate, eh?"
Brian muttered under his breath, then suddenly his nose twitched and his expression changed.
This smell!
He was too familiar with it!
TATP, also known as triacetone triperoxide!
It was a chemical substance easily sourced and homemade into powerful explosives, and one of the bad guys' favorite and most commonly used means of acquiring explosives!
But surely no one would dare commit a terrorist attack in a busy downtown area?
Although he felt a bit sensitive.
Out of caution, Brian chased in the direction the man had gone, simultaneously activating Olfactory Enhancement to lock onto the man's scent.
He had just chased about five or six meters.
The next moment.
There was a loud "boom."
A huge ball of fire erupted violently from the direction of the food cart, carrying a shockwave, scattering and blowing away the queued crowd as if they were mere rags, slamming them in all directions...
...
"What's this!"
Buzzing~
Amid the intense ringing in his ears, the sore Brian listened to his burly coworker Ivan's voice, which seemed to come from afar, struggling to say, "Ivan, can you stop shaking your fingers? I can't tell what this is."
Hearing this, Ivan carefully put down Brian's head and said to Susan with a worried face, "It should be a mild concussion caused by the blast impact. Brian was already away from the food cart and did not receive a direct hit from the explosion, so there should be no internal bleeding. A few days of rest should do."
"That's good!" Susan looked at Old Hardenn, "First, take Brian to the hospital for a thorough examination. Ivan, Glenn, control the scene. We must protect the scene before the people from the precinct arrive."
Having said that.
Susan, who had already tied her hair, rushed toward the wailing crowd to provide basic medical treatment to the unlucky diners.
...
The next day.
Brian groggily opened his eyes.
Above him was a white ceiling.
A gentle breeze, carrying a faint scent of flowers, came from the left.
Brian turned his head to see a bunch of fresh flowers well placed, behind which was some electronic equipment and a blue curtain that covered the front of the neighboring bed but could not conceal the snoring from that side.
"Is this the hospital?"
Brian withdrew his gaze, rubbed his still somewhat stinging head, and checked his body, now only in underpants, before he breathed a sigh of relief.
He seemed unharmed.
He felt like he was hungover, struggling to recall last night's events.
"Let's get up first."
Brian took a deep breath, unplugged the electrodes from his body, threw off the covers, swung his legs over the bed rail, and tried to stand on the cold floor.
A wave of dizziness surged over him.
Brian felt like a confused goose that had lost control, tumbling uncontrollably and falling hard back onto the hospital bed.
The noise woke up the burly man in the neighboring bed.
Ivan rolled violently to the other side, drew his handgun, and cautiously scanned his surroundings.
Upon seeing Brian upside down, his belly pushed up by the rail, causing his rear to stick up high, he burst out laughing, "Buddy, nice pose! Are you trying to attract the attention of the nurses here?"
Brian:...
Damn, that's embarrassing!
...
After a moment,
Brian finally got dressed and looked darkly at Ivan, who kept rubbing his fingers as if savoring the feel, "So, we went out to eat yesterday, and there was an explosion, resulting in me having a mild concussion from the blast?"
Ivan noticed Brian's gaze, embarrassingly hid his hands under the bedrail, and nodded, "Yes, your temporary amnesia and loss of coordination are common post-concussion symptoms, but generally, they resolve on their own in a day or two."
"Everyone else is okay?"
"They're fine. Old Hardenn brought you here, but unfortunately, many people in line were not so lucky; many were injured or killed, it's all over the news."
Saying that,
Ivan got up, "Brian, you get some rest; I have to go help out. Those bastards handed this explosion case over to our team as a test. They're obviously setting us up to take the fall! It's going to be busy from now on."
Watching Ivan leave through the hospital room door,
Brian lay back down.
He was so unsteady on his feet now that he could only pray that these new teammates were reliable and strong.
Otherwise, if they failed the assessment,
It would mean real trouble.