Reality New York Suburb Lamb Farm

By the time Adam hurried back to Lamb Farm, the sun had sunset, and only a faint red glow was visible on the horizon.

The night wind was cool, the air was condensed with moisture, the wind was mixed with the smell of earth, around the railing, Adam stopped, and when he opened his phone again to check the message-

……

[Sent: Target dropped off at Lamb Farm 13 and missed.] 】

[Re: Rush back to Lamb Farm to standby]

[Sent: Request for approval of the operation, probe Lamb's Farm, the target is likely to take hostages]

[Re: Stand by now]

[Sent: The former Inspector's adoptive father lives at Lamb Farm and requests permission to explore Lamb Farm to keep the citizens safe.] 】

……

After that text message, I didn't see any more instructions from my superiors.

Sensing that something was wrong, he dialed the first number in his phone's address book, looked up at the road that stretched into the distance, and waited for the call to connect.

"Toot-toot-"

The phone didn't connect, and the area didn't know when it started to run out of signal.

Unable to reach his colleagues and receive new orders from his superiors, Arthur put his phone back in his pocket, thought for two seconds, and walked towards the cabin in the middle of Lamb Farm.

On his left lower back, there is a bulge under his coat, and the shape of a pistol is faintly visible.

Stepping on the dry weeds, the cabin got closer and closer, and you could see the dim light in the windows of the cabin, and several flying insects fluttering in front of the windows of the cabin, scattering and flying away as Adam approached. He stepped over the steps of the hut and stood in front of the door.

Taking a deep breath, Adam raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"Knock knock."

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

No one answered.

He narrowed his eyes in confusion and vigilantly reached his left hand to his lower back, ready to ......

"Who is it?" Just then, someone in the house answered. It was the voice of a hoarse older male.

Hearing this, Adam felt a little relieved; "Uncle Lamb, I'm Adam, Adam Smith, I came to see you with Inspector Osborne the year before, do you remember?"

"You're a colleague of Osborne?"

"Inspector Osborne is my former officer." Adam put down his left hand, which was about to pull out his pistol, and looked at the small wooden door, "I'm on duty nearby, to see how you're doing." ”

"That's so......," said the old man, opening the door.

The dim light of the cabin fell on Adam as the door opened, and he looked up and saw an old man in a gray sweater standing in front of him, standing with his back on the door frame, hunched over, his hair graying, he took off his reading glasses, and looked at the young man in front of him.

"Oh, I remember you, you did come with Osborne, and you were a hairy boy at the time."

Adam scratched his head: "I'm a hairy boy now, too." ”

Adam's gaze looked beyond Uncle Lamb and into the room.

"You still live alone?"

Uncle Lamb smiled kindly: "I have been living alone since my wife passed away ten years ago, and I am only an adopted son of Osborne, and since he became a detective, he has come back less often, and I have slowly gotten used to it." ”

Adam lowered his head slightly: "...... Inspector Osborne was a good cop, he was my teacher, he was my role model, and I believe he was wronged. ”

"Yes, I hope God will be merciful to him. Osborne's child is the kindest, he has aspired to be a police officer since he was a child, how can such a good boy ...... How could it be a murderer......" Uncle Lamb said sadly, wiping his moist eyes.

"Uncle Lamb, don't worry, I will definitely pursue it and find the truth." Adam patted his chest, and the young man's eyes were full of determination.

Uncle Lamb sighed and drew a cross on his chest: "May God bless his most devout believers." ”

“…… Uncle Lamb, have you seen any suspicious people nearby? Getting back to business, Adam looked at Old Lamb with a serious face.

"Suspicious characters?" Old Lamb looked at Adam suspiciously.

"Yes." Adam took a step forward and approached Old Lamb, "There's a felony on the run today, and he's wanted all of New York. ”

"Oh, I just saw the news, it's the carjacking incident that happened in the morning?"

"Yes. I followed the suspicious figure to the neighborhood, but lost it, Uncle Lamb, did you see a man with a black cap and a black coat? He is about 1.8 cm tall and of medium size. ”

Old Lamb thought about it for a moment and shook his head blankly.

"I'm sorry kid, I've never seen anyone like that. I've been busy preparing cured meats all day today, and winter is coming, so I always have to prepare something for myself to drink for the winter. ”

"Then ......," Adam lowered his head, wrote down a string of phone numbers in the small notebook he carried with him, and handed it to Old Lamb, "if you see such a suspicious figure around you, you can call me, I'm nearby." ”

"Okay, you're a good boy, work as hard as Osborne, but also watch out for your own safety." Old Lamb took the piece of paper with the phone number written on it and muttered, "Those people have human lives on their backs, and if they get too close, they will be dragged to hell......"

"......" Adam nodded, his face heavy.

"Come in for a meal? I guess you haven't finished your meal yet, why don't you come in and have some mashed potato salad? I remember Osborne's favorite thing to eat was the mashed potato salad and pastrami I made. Old Lamb smiled kindly.

"Thank you, uncle, I'd like to check around, maybe the fugitive is nearby." Adam said, walking towards the meadow outside the cabin, "Uncle Lamb, you remember, feel free to contact me if anything is unusual. ”

Old Lamb nodded, watching Adam walk away.

It wasn't until the child's back disappeared into the night that he withdrew his gaze and gently closed the wooden door.

"Click."

When the wooden door closed, there was a temporary silence in the room.

Old Lamb coughed, raised his eyes, and looked in the direction of the living room, he deliberately lowered his voice, and his voice was a little hoarse.

"Thank you for not shooting, he'll be sad if he breaks Osborne's favorite wooden cow statue."

Old Lamb stood in the doorway, his gaze beyond the statue of the wooden cow on the table in the living room, to the strange man standing behind the statue.

The man ...... black cap and black coat, and was pointing a pistol at Old Lamb, and he was standing in the corner of the drawing-room, behind the curtains, and he was completely invisible from the outside.

"You should be Theo Howard in the news." Old Lamb smiled faintly and walked towards the restaurant, "I don't usually have visitors to this farm, so it's good to have someone to accompany me today." ”

"......" The man in the cap did not answer, he remained in the position of holding the gun, the muzzle of which moved with the movement of Old Lamb.

He stood in the middle of the living room, like a ghost, his face gloomy and his eyes full of coldness.

Old Lamb took out a plate of heated mashed potatoes from the microwave and looked up at the man in black: "Eat some mashed potatoes kid, I make mashed potatoes delicious, I hope God can prepare the kitchen in heaven too, so that I can continue to make my mashed potatoes." ”

“…… What did he write on the note he gave you. ”

Theo said, taking a few steps forward, but was stopped by Old Lamb raising his hand.

"Kid, just stand in that position." Old Lamb unfolded the note given by Adam in his hand in front of Theo, and in addition to a string of phone numbers, a sentence was written on it-

[Trick him into the window.] 】

Theo looked out the window vigilantly, and saw the grass in the night move, as if someone was lurking in it.

It turned out that Adam knew that there was a second person in the house besides Old Lamb, and he was clever enough to know that retreat was the way forward, and wanted Old Lamb to lure him to the window and subdue him within the range of the pistol.

"......" Theo took a few steps back with a cold face, hiding his body from the view of the window.

Old Lamb took the plate of mashed potatoes and walked slowly to the living room, where he sat down on the couch by himself.

He looked up at Theo, pouted, and motioned for him to sit down as well.

Theo glanced at the small handmade bench opposite Old Lamb, and after nearly ten seconds of silence, sat down with a cold face, but did not withdraw the gun in his hand.

"Aren't you afraid, I'm a felon, a fugitive, and I could kill you at any time."

Old Lamb leaned back against the sofa and lit a cigarette: "Son, I have lived to my age, I have seen everything, I have tried everything, even if I am asked to report to God tonight, I will not be afraid." Death is never a terrible thing, but a peaceful long sleep, I look forward to that day, how can I be afraid of you with a gun. ”

“…… Then why are you helping me? ”

"Just wanted to make a swap." Old Lamb sighed, gently exhaled white smoke, he looked up at the ceiling of the cabin, his eyes flickered a little, "Although I am not afraid of death, it does not mean that I am willing to die like this, I still have a person in this world to care about, I can't close my eyes and leave until I rescue him." ”

Old Lamb said, glanced at the small round table next to the sofa, there was a white framed fixed photo on the small round table, Theo followed Old Lamb's line of sight, and saw that it was a photo of Old Lamb and another middle-aged man - the man was wearing a police uniform, tall figure, black hair, and bangs on his forehead, he leaned slightly sideways and hugged Old Lamb, you could see the pigtail tied at the back of his head, he crossed his waist, and there was an obvious scar on the back of his right hand. Inspector Lamb".

He was Inspector Osborne as Adam and Lamb Sr.

Theo withdrew his gaze and looked at Old Lamb.

"I watched the news this morning and know that you used to be a member of the [Bloody Eye] organization, and I heard about that organization, although it was all evil, but the police couldn't eliminate it all at once. Now that the whole world is looking for you, your photo has become the fastest picture on the Internet, and you have nowhere to go, you will definitely return to the [Bloody Eye] organization. ”

"So?"

"I need you to come back to the [Bloody Eye] organization and help me do something."

Theo was silent, the doubt in his eyes deepened a little, and old Lamb coughed, and explained the truth of the matter-

“…… In the past few years, I have been investigating the information of the biological company that controls the [Minghe system], Adam helped me find out that the [Minghe system] is actually developed and operated by the [Cole] company through the background data of the police system, I have entrusted an old friend to investigate the [Cole] company, and found that the company's capital accounts exist in two sets of ledgers, open accounts and dark accounts, and the funds provided by the government first flow on the bright side, and then the funds will be transferred to the dark account after the complex capital chain within the company. And this secret account is managed by a man named Victor, who has always been an important person on the police's red notice list and one of the leaders of the [Bloody Eye] organization. ”

When he heard the name "Victor", Theo's face couldn't help but sink.

But what surprised him even more was that the ordinary old man in front of him was so clear about the intertwined underworld.

This made him nervous.

"Who's your old friend?" Theo asked in a low voice.

Old Lamb shrugged, "I have no comment on this, I have an obligation to protect the privacy of others, don't I." ”

“…… Then he must have told you who I am. ”

"Yes." Old Lamb took another puff of his cigarette and said in a hoarse voice, "He said that you used to be one of the top leaders of [Bloody Eye], and you were arrested and imprisoned by Vic's special trap, so you will definitely return to [Bloody Eye] to take revenge on Victor and regain power...... I can tell you unequivocally that Adam's boy was brought out by Osborne, and he was very good, with the keen sense of a hound, and always able to track down his target in the spot. He's already found you hiding in the cabin, and he'll definitely find a way to contact the NYPD, and you'll be out of the woods. ”

"I can take you hostage." Theo shook his pistol, "Every cop knows that protecting hostages is the number one priority when it is not necessary. ”

When Old Lamb heard this, he nodded seriously: "Well, you're right. But the risk of doing so is not small, holding an old man in his seventies and eighties, who can't walk well, surrounded by a large group of policemen wearing bulletproof vests, even if it is you, what are the chances of escaping? I'm too old to count, but boy, I think you've already figured it out in your mind. ”

Theo looked at Old Lamb's wrinkled face and was silent for a long time.

Old Lamb was still able to negotiate with him calmly in the face of his threat with a gun, and even analyzed the pros and cons for him from his point of view, this calmness is not something that an ordinary old man can do.

This old Lamb is not simple.

Theo thought so and put away his pistol.

“…… What do you need me to do. ”

"Protect Osborne." Old Lamb replied crisply.

"Didn't you just say he killed someone, and he's still on the run?"

"No, Osborne was wronged, this kid's goal from childhood to adulthood was to become a police officer, hoping to uphold justice, how could such a person have such a firm belief, how could he defy the law and commit murder?" Old Lamb narrowed his eyes slightly, and took another deep puff of his cigarette, "He has been following up on the case of a serial murderer for the past few years, but unfortunately he has never caught the murderer, and then he turned to investigate the case of a blind bomber...... There were too many criminals he interrogated, too many people were sent to prison by him, and he was hated and retaliated against. I know him, that's the child I watched grow up, even if I cut off his arm, it won't hurt any innocent citizen, my God, how can such a kind person encounter such a terrible thing......"

“…… You mean, he was arrested. ”

Old Lamb nodded.

He sighed deeply, his voice full of pain: "I will always remember that it was a rainy night, and when I received the call, Osborne was already under the control of the police, who said that he had killed a woman, hung her in a dilapidated warehouse, scalped her, slit her carotid artery, died in a tragic state, and the police also found his DNA on the murder weapon, all of which seemed to be ironclad...... Adam had no choice but to arrest Osborne. ”

"Later, Osborne was brought to trial......," Theo looked at Old Lamb and speculated word for word, "if I guessed correctly, he was sent to the [Minghe System]." ”

Old Lamb didn't answer, just took another puff on his cigarette.

The cigarette in his hand was much shorter, and the smoke around him was full of sorrow.

"So, you want me to return to the [Bloody Eye] organization and protect Osborne from dying in the game?" Theo understood Old Lamb's intentions.

Old Lamb looked at Theo, snuffed out the eye in his hand, he leaned forward, elbowed his legs, and looked at Theo sincerely: "This is my only wish, as long as you can help me keep Osborne, I can let you leave through the back door, along the path through the back door, you can find my car, just park next to the wheat field, you can drive through the rice field, you can get back to the road, and I will help you drag Adam, drag the police officers of the New York Police Department who may arrive at any time." ”

Theo was silent for a long time, and then said coldly: "The [Minghe System] is an independent system, once the game starts running, it will not be controlled by any external factors and stopped. If your son has already entered the [Minghe System], then he should already be in a fighting game by now, and no one can interfere. ”

"No, it's just official rhetoric." Old Lamb got up and walked to the window, "The official can say anything in order to cover up." Externally, it is natural to say that the [Minghe System] will not be operated by anyone, and it is a completely just and fair punishment system, because only in this way can people fully believe that it is reasonable to use the [Minghe System] to punish repeat offenders. ”

Old Lamb paused, then turned to look at Theo: "But I know that if the white road doesn't work, I should try the black road." Just like the wheat field outside the window, the road that has been formed sometimes goes around and around but does not reach the destination, and it may be possible to drive over it directly...... I believe that [Cole Core] must be secretly manipulating the [Minghe System] to make the [Minghe System] serve the [Bloody Eye] organization, so I must find someone who has a voice in the [Bloody Eye] organization, so that I can save Osborne's life through [Cole Company]. ”

"......" Theo was silent for a long time, and then he put away his pistol.

Old Lamb nodded, and smiled kindly again.

He knew he had agreed to the deal.

"Thank you."

"Don't rush to thank me, sir, the probability of your wish coming true is only forty percent, and all this needs to be based on the premise that 'I can return to [Bloody Eye] alive, take back what belongs to me, and kill Victor."

"Forty percent...... Enough is enough. Old Lamb nodded, "Adam will continue to pursue Osborne's case, and as long as Osborne is alive, there is hope that he will clear his name." ”

Theo stood up and lowered his black cap: "If Osborne has entered the [Minghe System], then, he has only one way to leave the system - the survivor quota. I may be able to save him from extinction at some point, but it is up to him to fight for a place in the survivorship, whether he lives or dies, whether he goes or stays, it depends on his creation. ”

Old Lamb sighed, the cool breeze blew into the cabin from the window, he looked out the window silently, only to feel that the night was a little deeper.