Legendary FBI Detective

In Cockerland's description, the metal cabinets in the California First Republican Bank were used by a CIA operational group as a safe house to store passports, weapons, cash, and other items.

The stolen cash and weapons were not important; what mattered were those passports.

Cockerland stated that the numbers on those passports were real and documented, missing only the corresponding photos and personal information.

Once the photos and personal information were properly attached to the passports and verified through a certain website, these "fake passports" would have an 80% chance of passing through federal and most international customs as "real passports"!

Upon learning that the California First Republican Bank had been robbed, the superior officer of the CIA operational group was extremely angry and immediately dispatched Cockerland to identify the six robbers and retrieve those blank passports.

Cockerland took a deep breath at this point, sincerely apologized to Luo An, explaining that his previous action against Reesi was out of concern that she might hinder his operation, a necessary evil.

He admitted his wrongdoing and was willing to cover the hospitalized female agent's expenses and make some feasible compensations as an expression of his apology.

After Cockerland finished speaking, Luo An's face carried a friendly smile. He tilted his head and asked:

"With bank robberies occurring in various states every month, why does the CIA still choose to store those items in a bank? Isn't that just inviting robbery?"

"…"

Cockerland twitched the corner of his mouth and answered:

"If those items were stored in houses that have been unoccupied for a long time, the probability of them being stolen would be even higher."

Compared to the monthly bank robberies, burglaries in unoccupied houses nearly occur dozens of times daily.

Not only are these cases more frequent, but the success rate of tracking down thieves and retrieving stolen items is frustratingly low.

The CIA had no choice but to choose the lesser of two evils.

"…"

After hearing Cockerland's explanation, Luo An's lips curled into a smile, only to comment that it was typical of the liberal and harmonious spirit of the federation.

"So, can we go now?"

Cockerland's face formed an ugly smile and pointed to his waist, saying:

"Your kick was too strong; I think my bone might be broken."

"I want to leave too, but with your lies, it's difficult for me."

Luo An shook his head and sighed. Cockerland's expression slightly changed, not waiting for him to speak or explain, a flash of cold light passed, and Luo An directly cut the tendons in Cockerland's right hand with a dagger.

"Fu-k You!"

Feeling the pain in the wrist of his right hand, Cockerland's expression suddenly changed, he shouted angrily and questioned Luo An.

From the beginning, Luo An, who had kept his "emotional perception" active to judge the lies of others, was tired of wasting words, and punched Cockerland's head vigorously. The smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a cold expression, and he said harshly:

"Cockerland, you have two choices: one, answer my questions honestly. Two, continue lying and see if I can catch it.

You still have two legs and two more chances."

Cockerland shouted loudly:

"What I just said is the truth!"

"Very good!"

Luo An grinned, raised the dagger, and slashed towards the tendons of Cockerland's left foot.

Just as the dagger was about to reach Cockerland's left foot, Cockerland's expression changed dramatically and he shouted loudly:

"No! No! No! What I said before was a lie! I'll tell you the truth!"

Luo An's motion stopped just in time, and he looked emotionlessly at Cockerland.

This guy was not only full of lies but also fought in the most treacherous and venomous manner during the battle.

He had the Pollard brothers stand in the front to bear Luo An's fiercest attacks while he looked for opportunities to attack from behind with a dagger aimed at Luo An's throat, heart, abdomen, or other vital areas, or he used methods like eye-gouging, groin-kicking, or throat-locking to quickly kill the enemy.

Cockerland, like a cold venomous snake, aimed every move lethally at Luo An. If Luo An hadn't been so quick and strong, he would have been the one lying on the ground by now.

If Luo An had fallen, Winslow and the SWAT team members likely wouldn't stand a chance against the adept bushwhackers—the Pollard brothers and Cockerland, and today's operation could have ended in total annihilation.

Seeing Luo An staring at him emotionlessly, Cockerland took a few deep breaths, was silent for a long while, and finally spoke through gritted teeth:

"I am from the CIA; I'm not lying to you."

Luo An's expression unchanged, shook the dagger in his hand:

"Continue, your real name, your real purpose."

"...My name is Chad Evans."

Cockerland, gritting his teeth, said he had left the CIA on his own due to some issues.

The part he told earlier was true, he had not deceived Luo An.

The reason he got involved in this bank heist was indeed to find out the names of the other five bank robbers, find those people, and obtain the blank passports.

The blank passports truly exist, but they were not established by any CIA group, rather Cockerland had set up this hidden operation behind the CIA's back.

Because being discovered going rogue, all other safe houses set up by Cockerland were under CIA surveillance.

To leave the federation, Cockerland had no other options but one path:

Devise a way to uncover the identities of the bank robbers and retrieve the stolen blank passports.

After judging through the "emotional perception" in his mind, Luo An confirmed that the other party was telling the truth this time.

"So, you are an agent who defected from the CIA."

Luo An put away the dagger and coldly chuckled:

"The kind with mediocre skills."

Hearing this, Cockerland grunted and almost spit blood in anger.

He had spent over a decade in the CIA where by any measure he was highly skilled; it was only to prioritize staying alive that he had let the Pollard brothers take the lead while he stayed back and launched sneak attacks.

Unexpectedly, he met Luo An, a freak who seemed to come out of nowhere, overpowering the three of them alone, and by the time he realized something was wrong, it was too late, which led to his defeat by Luo An.

However, now was not the time to talk about that; Cockerland took a deep breath and quietly said:

"I have an overseas account with 700,000 US Dollars.

Mr. FBI, if you let me go, the money is yours."

Luo An's eyes lit up at this, and he grinned:

"Are you sure?"

"Of course!"

Seeing the smile on Luo An's face, Cockerland finally breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed out a small smile despite the pain:

"Don't worry, Mr. FBI, the money is definitely—"

Tch—

Bang—

Cockerland was cut off mid-sentence as a familiar white flash passed before his eyes, followed by a fresh wave of familiar pain emanating instantly from his ankles.

His Achilles tendons were cut, and Cockerland's eyes widened in terror, but before he could scream, Luo An quickly stood up and kicked Cockerland in the head, knocking him unconscious.

"Get some people!"

Glancing at Cockerland lying on the ground, Luo An called out emotionlessly:

"Take this guy out!"

"Understood!"

At Luo An's shout, a few SWAT officers immediately carried the unconscious Cockerland out of the mine, and Winslow fetched a simple bandage to treat Luo An's wounds.

"Thank you."

As they left the mine, Luo An patted Winslow on the shoulder, thanked him, and dialed Mona's number.

The second robber, the alcoholic Modlin, and the gambler Ke Green, had been killed by three wanted criminals.

Out of the six bank robbers, four remained: Joseph, Carter, Ferdinand, and Brooke.

Luo An shared the information he had gathered from the interrogation with Mona and asked her to investigate these four men.

"No problem!"

From a hospital far away, Mona nodded vigorously and after quickly typing on the keyboard, she found the information of those four men and their current locations based on the details Luo An had provided.

Just as Luo An was about to instruct Mona on the next steps, suddenly three white men in black suits walked up to him through the Henderson County police and SWAT team.

"Hello, Special Investigation Team Chief, Luo An Greenwood."

Luo An shook hands with the man, feeling puzzled:

"And who might you be?"

The leading middle-aged white man chuckled:

"We are from the IRS, specifically here to take over the bank robbery case you are currently handling."

"What?!"

Hearing this, Winslow immediately stepped out from behind Luo An with a look of displeasure, his eyes bulging.

Waving his hand to calm Winslow down, Luo An unflinchingly asked:

"May I ask why?"

"Of course."

The middle-aged white man smiled kindly:

"Our investigations show that this group of bank robbers has stolen at least 5 million US Dollars, yet they have not paid a cent in taxes, which is a serious violation of federal law."

"..." x2