Legendary FBI Detective

Luo An's guess was not wrong.

A few minutes later, staff from the FBI's Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate, the FBI's Hazardous Materials Response Unit, the Federal Disease Control Center Los Angeles Branch, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other departments arrived at the scene. After conducting tests, they determined that the mastermind behind the terrifying scene was a poisonous gas composed of botulinum toxin.

By this time, the California First Republican Bank's twenty-some-story building was completely evacuated; the plaza outside was also devoid of any human presence.

A dozen plus workers, dressed in yellow and white biohazard suits and equipped with professional gas masks, were carefully and diligently handling the bodies inside the bank building.

In the bank lobby, there were three victims who hadn't managed to escape: a male LAPD officer, a female bank clerk, and a male bank security guard.

Inside the circular vault used for storing cash, two female employees lost their lives.

In the security vaults, full of metal cabinets, two LAPD officers, two female bank clerks, and a male bank manager were found dead.

Luckily, because the California First Republican Bank had just opened for business when it was robbed, there were not many employees in the upper floors of the building.

The gas traveled through the central air system without immediately killing these employees. Only some of them fell into a coma and could be rescued.

Winslow and Chenier, as well as the mother and daughter, were promptly taken to the hospital. Thanks to the small amount of gas they inhaled, they were rescued and are now asleep in the intensive care ward.

Potante Byrne, the team supervisor, also arrived at the scene. This case had blown up significantly; the Mayor of Los Angeles, the head of the FBI Los Angeles Branch, and even the Governor of California had called him to inquire about the situation.

At a street corner about a dozen meters diagonal from the building, a few square columnar umbrellas formed a temporary command center.

"Fu-k!"

Behind the command center, after hanging up the phone with the Governor, Potante Byrne cursed under his breath looking severely displeased, then walked over to Luo An and asked in a deep voice:

"How's the situation handled on-site?"

"We've found the culprit behind this accident."

Luo An extended his hand and pointed. Following his direction, Potante Byrne saw a large, transparent glass box placed on a table not far away.

On the lid of the glass box was a red sign with three yellow semi-circles representing danger.

Inside the glass box, there lay a metal canister the thickness of an adult's arm, painted entirely blue.

"A canister filled with botulinum toxin gas."

Luo An shifted his gaze away from the distant hospital and replied:

"Protection personnel told me it's all botulinum toxin, which comes from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.

Diluted, it's the perfect product to help women smooth out wrinkles.

But at high concentrations, it is the deadliest, most terrifying poison in the world.

It only takes a few seconds to paralyze a person, and then cause death by asphyxiation."

"Son of a bitch!"

After hearing Luo An's explanation, Potante Byrne swore softly again and then continued to ask:

"Have we figured out who sent this poison gas into the bank?"

"We're investigating, but it's highly unlikely we'll find out."

Luo An pointed towards a nearby bank manager who was being zipped up in a body bag by workers in hazmat suits. Frowning, he responded:

"The gas canister was found in the security vault.

The business of that vault was to store secret items for some clients without asking or knowing the true identity of the client or the contents of what was stored in the metal cabinets.

When protection personnel entered the vault, the gas canister was just sitting on the ground, with no one knowing from which metal cabinet it had been taken.

There's a high chance that the bank robbers had found it earlier, deemed it useless and not valuable, and tossed it aside.

Then, the bank manager, along with a few clerks, were checking the lost items and accidentally triggered it."

A substance like this gas would go unrecognized by eighty percent of people upon first encounter.

Those with higher levels of curiosity might even draw closer and take a strong sniff.

And then...

There would be no 'then.'

In a matter of seconds, the gas would fill up the room, taking the lives of everyone inside before they could react.

Had Luo An's reaction not been swift enough, how many people ultimately would have survived inside the bank lobby today would likely remain a mystery.

Total annihilation is a possibility.

Potante Byrne closed his eyes and massaged his temples, remaining silent for a long while before taking a deep breath and saying:

"So, there are two cases here—a bank robbery and an illegal possession of poison gas, correct?"

In any country in the world, East or West, the private ownership of poison gas is not permitted.

Luo An nodded:

"If no department or laboratory comes forward to claim that the vial is theirs, then it is highly likely that we have two separate cases."

"Fu-k!"

Upon hearing this, Potante Byrne once again cursed angrily.

Today, Potante Byrne had used that word more times than the total he had said it since meeting Luo An.

After a moment of silence, Potante Byrne asked:

"Luo An, do you have any leads on this case?"

"Sir, I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"Should we investigate the poison gas case first, or the bank robbers?"

This question was very important. Including the team leader Luo An, the Special Investigation Team had only six members.

Currently, Winslow and Chenier were hospitalized after inhaling poison gas while trying to save others, leaving the team two members short and back to its original four-person state.

Under these circumstances, there must be a priority order for the investigations; it is simply not possible to handle both cases simultaneously.

"Investigate the poison gas case first!"

Potante Byrne pulled Luo An aside and said gravely:

"This poison gas case is serious, no, extremely serious."

He briefly stated the situation he had been informed about over the phone, and concluded with a stern face:

"Luo An, you must put in your full effort and find out the truth of this case as quickly as possible.

If any departments do not cooperate, call me immediately, and I will resolve it as fast as I can.

If I cannot resolve it, I will go to our FBI Los Angeles Branch Chief; if the Branch Chief can't handle it, I will go to the Mayor of Los Angeles or the Governor of California!"

Since the 9/11 incident, attacks in public places have become the nightmare of federal agents.

This case has become so big that it has already hit the front-page news of Los Angeles City, and in a few hours, the whole federation will be aware of it.

Potante Byrne was under tremendous pressure but he remained calm because he had Luo An, the ace of the Special Investigation Team.

Potante Byrne had faith in Luo An. As long as he himself could withstand the pressure from above and not let any messy issues disturb Luo An, Luo An would definitely handle this case well!

"Alright, sir."

Having gotten the answer, Luo An nodded and agreed.

After briefly discussing with Potante Byrne, Luo An did not start the investigation immediately, but instead handed the site over to the CDC and other departments for temporary handling, and then went to a nearby hospital with Mona, Reesi, and Michelle.

Not long after Luo An and his team left, Potante Byrne also departed from the scene.

But before leaving, Potante Byrne made a phone call to suppress the matter that Luo An had earlier pushed towards a female bank vice-manager, prohibiting the mainstream media in Los Angeles from reporting it; he did not want these issues affecting Luo An.

The mainstream media in Los Angeles were also happy to do a favor for the FBI, but some smaller media still reported the incident, which was soon suppressed by the coverage of larger media outlets.

Upon arriving at the hospital and seeing Winslow and Chenier lying unconscious in their beds, Reesi cursed under her breath, Mona and Michelle frowned deeply, and after a moment of silence, Luo An pulled over a nurse and asked:

"Will they have any long-term effects after this?"

"This..."

The nurse hesitated, not sure how to respond, when suddenly Reesi's phone rang. She pressed the answer button, listened for a few moments, and then handed the phone to Luo An:

"It's for you."

Luo An's brows furrowed slightly as he took the phone:

"Hello, Luo An Greenwood."

"We have found the car driven by the bank robbers."