Chapter 695 - 1: Shen Xin’s Farmhouse

Although China and the United States don't have an extradition treaty, many people are unaware that the FBI has an office in China, located right in Anjing.

It was established in 2002, and its official public-facing name is the Office of the Legal Attaché.

The office is located in the embassy. It's a small operation, starting with just two people and currently staffed by only four.

However, they are all official FBI special agents attached to the FBI's international network of Legal Attaché offices, all with extensive overseas experience.

The agency's primary mission is to cooperate with local law enforcement.

On September 16th, at Anjing International Airport, Assistant Legal Attaché Jon from the Anjing office stood waiting at the arrivals gate, holding a sign.

He squinted, scanning the stream of people for his target.

This was Anjing, so there were plenty of foreigners. All Jon knew was that the person he was meeting was a man named Brigitte York—a fact he'd deduced from the name.

But he had no idea what the man actually looked like.

The FBI has a two-tiered career path. The first is the Special Agent track. They have law enforcement authority—the kind you see in movies, who show up at a crime scene shouting, "FBI! Everyone out!" while flashing their badges.

Under this system, reaching the rank of SSA, or Senior Special Agent, was already a big deal.

A step above that was the Supervisory Special Agent—also abbreviated as SSA—which was considered a management position.

For instance, the head of his own Legal Attaché office was a Supervisory Special Agent.

And the man arriving today was also a Supervisory Special Agent.

In short, he was a heavy hitter. Jon would have to be on his best behavior.

'Of course, Washington is a long way off. If this guy is too arrogant and brings that headquarters attitude with him, I'm not about to just roll over.'

As his mind wandered, a white man walked up to him, took off his sunglasses, and gave a gruff, "Hey."

"You are...?"

Jon eyed the man suspiciously. 'What the...' he thought.

He had been scanning the crowd for a well-dressed, professional-looking foreigner.

But this guy...

He had thinning, long blond hair, a long face, and a scruffy beard. In fact, he looked a lot like the crooked lawyer from that show, *Better Call Saul*.

The man was wearing jeans, a loud-patterned shirt, and cowboy boots. He stood there with a nonchalant slouch, giving off the distinct vibe of an old-school cowboy.

"Me."

The man pointed at the sign Jon was holding.

Jon snapped out of it, pushing down his confusion and quickly forcing a smile as he greeted the man.

Brigitte York, without any ceremony, tossed his carry-on bag to Jon and asked where the car was.

'Honestly, not a great first impression.'

And as they spent more time together, Jon became increasingly convinced that the guy was completely unreliable.

He was supposedly here on official business, but the first thing he did was bluntly demand that Jon show him a good time in Anjing and arrange for good food and drinks.

When they went clubbing that night, the man partied like there was no tomorrow.

He ended up partying in Anjing for three straight days before they finally set off for Nanjiang.

Jon accompanied him.

At the same time, a representative from the Ministry also joined them.

It was Deng Zhiliang, the man from the National Central Bureau of Interpol who had been involved when Shen Xin's team visited the United States.

As soon as he got in the car, this character, York, asked what fun things there were to do in Nanjiang.

Jon couldn't help but lean in and remind him in a low voice, "We need to focus on the case."

"Brigitte, you need to understand something. They haven't actually agreed to our request yet. It all depends on what Shen Xin himself decides. Shouldn't you be thinking about how you're going to persuade him?"

Jon had a general idea of why York was here.

It was for a case. They wanted to invite Shen Xin, a criminal investigation expert with unique talents, to the United States to assist with an investigation in a consulting capacity.

Of course, a man like that wasn't someone you could just invite on a whim.

Jon didn't know the specific terms of the deal, but he knew there had to be some.

And even with whatever the FBI had offered, the Chinese side hadn't fully agreed. They only said that the final decision was up to Shen Xin himself.

If Shen Xin wanted to go, he could go. If he didn't, they wouldn't force him.

York's behavior made it seem like he didn't particularly care about the case.

He had privately asked the Legal Attaché—his boss—about it and was told it was no small matter.

York's tone was flippant, his words full of that same unreliability. "I've studied him," he said. "He's an excellent detective. We're cut from the same cloth. He'll be interested."

Jon sighed to himself. 'Where does this guy get his confidence?'

「A few hours later, the high-speed train arrived in Nanjiang.」

The Nanjiang Municipal Bureau was taking this seriously, sending Du Yong, the Deputy Captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, to meet them.

After all, it was a matter of prestige. The world-famous FBI had come all the way to them for help.

Du Yong brought along Yang Zeran, a highly educated member of the team, to act as a translator.

Du Yong's own English was terrible; he knew little more than "hello" and "thank you."

After the "November 2nd" case series was closed, Shen Xin had gone on a long vacation, so the work of the Cold Case Office had been temporarily handed over to Yang Zeran.

But progress was slow. After solving a major case like the November 2nd one, Yang Zeran found it hard to get excited about petty thefts and robberies.

So, he usually just helped out with the detachment's general work.

He greeted York and Jon in perfectly accented English and then introduced Captain Du.

Unexpectedly, as York shook Du Yong's hand, he opened his mouth and spoke in crystal-clear Mandarin. "Captain Du," he asked, "when can I meet your miracle detective?"

Jon's eyes widened. 'This guy speaks Chinese?'

'Then what was the point of me translating for him for three days in Anjing?'

"Brigitte, you speak Chinese?"

"Yeah."

York nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I don't just speak Chinese," he said. "I also speak French, German, Korean, and Japanese."