“Back so soon, Luo An.”

In the office of the leader of Investigation Team No. 5, Augustus sat on the chair, sipping coffee with his large belly sticking out, and after signaling Luo An to sit down, he smiled broadly and asked:

“How was it, were you frightened by Virene’s interrogation?”

“No.”

Luo An poured himself a cup of coffee and took a sip before answering:

“It was just a simple inquiry about my family background. My life history from childhood is clear and traceable, nothing to be afraid of.”

“Hmm?”

Augustus was stunned. Just asking about family background without conducting a strict psychological test and lie detection?

For a moment, Augustus fell silent, not understanding why Luo An received special treatment from Virene.

Well, it doesn’t matter.

Augustus tossed the thoughts in his mind aside, put down his coffee cup, and smilingly said to Luo An:

“The Darren couple went to the hospital for a check-up today. Someone came and told me at noon that they would come here tomorrow to pay gratitude money, and I hope you won’t be absent.”

“No problem.”

Luo An’s eyes lit up as he decisively agreed, never late when it involves money.

“Very good.”

Augustus smiled and nodded, then picked up a blue folder from the desk and handed it to Luo An.

Why does this scene seem familiar?

Luo An raised an eyebrow, opened the folder, and found inside a document certifying a doubling of the reward.

“Chief?”

“It’s like this, Luo An. Your performance last night impressed many, and everyone is very satisfied with you.”

Taking a small sip of coffee from the table, Augustus explained with a smile:

“I wanted to promote you to a Senior Agent, but you’ve only been an official agent for less than three days, and submitting the paperwork now wouldn’t be approved. However, you will still get your reward; your bonus this month is doubled.”

“Thank you, Chief!”

Signing his name as Luo An Greenwood on the document in his usual handwriting, Luo An lowered his head to calculate, then smilingly asked Augustus:

“By the way, Chief, it wouldn’t be right for me alone to take the entire one hundred thousand dollars for killing Frederick. Every agent in Investigation Team No. 5 played an indispensable role. How about this: I’ll take fifty thousand dollars, and we divide the remaining fifty thousand among everyone else?”

Selfishness has no benefits, a piece of experience taught to Luo An by an old assassin in his previous life.

In his youth, the old assassin had seen too many skilled men on the streets who, after completing a job, would wipe out their teammates’ necks, running off with all the money to live it up.

But few of these people ever survived to the end; most would be stabbed in the back at critical moments and die without a whole corpse.

Luo An strongly agreed with the old assassin’s view. Since ancient times, countless people have warned later generations with their lives: selfishness doesn’t get you far; collaboration for mutual victory is the true path.

If you get to eat meat, you must let your teammates drink the soup, or else you end up with everyone turning against you.

During the arrest of the serial killer and dismemberer Frederick, every agent in Investigation Team No. 5 provided support to Luo An, so he must take out the hundred thousand dollars, otherwise… one cannot predict human nature.

Investigation Team No. 5 is Luo An’s base, and he doesn’t want to be stabbed in the back over such an amount in the future.

Hearing Luo An’s words, Augustus squinted slightly and asked:

“Are you sure? Luo An? One hundred thousand dollars is not a small sum; are you sure you want to give up half?”

“Of course!”

Luo An smiled and nodded his head.

Right now, this amount doesn’t matter. What’s important is having teammates who won’t drag you down and can support you at critical moments. Only with such teammates can he earn more money in the future.

“Fine, it’s your money after all, you call the shots.”

Augustus nonchalantly nodded, picked up a folder, waved it as a sign that he was done talking, and signaled that Luo An could get lost.

“Oh, right.”

Just as Luo An got up from his chair and walked to the door of the team leader’s office, Augustus suddenly slapped his forehead and called out to him:

“You go and tell everyone this news yourself.”

“…”

Turning his head, Luo An took a careful look at Augustus, a glint flashed in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth lifted:

“Alright, chief.”

With that said, he opened the office door wide and strode out.

Clap clap clap–

Through the office door, Augustus could see the agents in the office area cheering and applauding when they heard Luo An announce that everyone would get some money this month. A smile full of amusement spread across Augustus’s dark complexion as he pulled out his phone and pressed the dial button.

“Boss, just as I had guessed, Luo An is as clever as me and didn’t choose to keep the bonus to himself.”

Augustus chuckled, and the person on the other end of the phone didn’t say much, just hummed and then hung up.

Hearing the busy signal on the phone, Augustus’s smile grew even wider.

—

In the office area, the cheering and clapping gradually quieted. After thanking Luo An, the agents followed his words and returned to their desks, beginning their daily… slacking off.

“Hey, Luo An.”

Back at his desk, Mona gave Luo An a big hug, her face beaming as she said:

“Thank you so much! This month I not only have money for my apartment mortgage, but I can also afford to loan a nice car with the remaining money!”

“Uh… you’re welcome.”

Luo An opened his mouth, thought about it, but decided not to say much.

People in America don’t seem to be used to saving money; spend it if they have it, borrow tomorrow’s money if they don’t–this is their normal way of life.

“Luo An!”

Next to him, Reesi started her usual routine of sleeping on the desk. Laughing, Reed squeezed past her from behind and slapped Luo An on the shoulder:

“Got any plans after work today? How about coming to my gun shop to hang out? You can teach me your pen-flipping skills too!”

“Gun shop?”

Luo An pulled over an unoccupied chair from nearby for Reed to sit down, since it hurt his neck to look up and talk due to Reed’s height, then he asked with a hint of confusion:

“Owned by your parents?”

“No, my wife owns it, it’s in Queens.”

Reed shook his head, indicating that he had been married for five years. His wife was a former New York Police officer who resigned from the force and married him after an injury, and they have a son who attends preschool.

Luo An: “…”

Considering that Reed was already thirty-eight years old, having a wife and a son seemed pretty normal.

Looking at Reed’s muscular physique, SWAT background, and his wife being a former police officer, owning a gun shop was indeed fitting for the couple.

Seeing the hopeful look in Reed’s eyes, Luo An nodded, ready to agree. After all, he had no other plans after work, and spending time shooting with colleagues to bond was not a bad idea, and it would also help him improve his own handgun skills.

Just then, Luo An’s phone suddenly rang.

He picked it up, saw that it was an unknown number, frowned slightly, and pressed the answer button. A lazy female voice came through:

“Luo An, can you come over after work? I need your help with something.”

Luo An raised an eyebrow, ‘Flame Queen’ bar’s female manager, Lydia?