Reborn: The Rookie Detective

Hannah is usually very careful with her appearance; antiperspirant and beeswax are the two most frequently used items in her daily cosmetics, and now she might add floral water as well.

But now that the two have made their relationship clear, Jack naturally can't favor one over the other. Zoe and Maureen have both enjoyed the healing spell, so it's Hannah's turn.

He told her to go take a shower first, and then Jack went upstairs to get several bottles of floral essential oils. These are specialties from a region in Japan; a small bottle can sell for $60 on Amazon.

Jack had only bought three bottles before, intending to give the rose one to the mature and beautiful Zoe, the jasmine one to the intellectual bespectacled girl, and the last bottle of wild orange and peppermint essential oil to the sunny and sweet Hannah.

Whether it was someone's increasingly refined massage skills or the atmosphere being too ambiguous, in any case, after Jack finished the healing spell, Hannah's cheeks, red enough to drip blood, and her resentful eyes were so intense that it was impossible to look directly at her, forcing him to flee in panic.

After a quick cold shower, Jack lay in bed, silently repeating "Learning makes me happy" several times before settling down to read the practical encyclopedia. He needed to quickly learn the skills related to home renovation.

Although real estate transactions in the US were cumbersome, the system was mature, and the entire transaction was completed quite quickly, expected to be finished within two weeks.

Jack had limited cash on hand and was now burdened with a large loan, so hiring a renovation company was out of the question. He planned to move in and gradually renovate, buying materials little by little and doing the work himself — a common practice for most Americans.

Thinking about the funding issue, Jack picked up an old laptop from the table, opened it, and logged into a cryptocurrency website. Inside was his largest investment from three years ago when he first transmigrated: 30 Bitcoins at $200 each.

Since 2017, the price of Bitcoin had been gradually rising, and Jack planned to sell all of them in two to three years, around 2021, before the US imposed taxes on Bitcoin.

Given that the world setting of the American TV series world is not much different from his previous life, it is estimated that the price of one Bitcoin will reach around $60,000, meaning he could potentially profit up to about $1.8 million.

At that time, the system had not yet been activated, and Jack used his transmigrator's foresight to prepare this backup plan for himself. It wasn't that he didn't want to earn more, but he was worried that if he earned any more, he wouldn't be able to handle it.

Having lived for over forty years in his previous life, Jack knew very well that some dreams are destined to remain just dreams. No matter what country the dream is from, if the wealth he possesses cannot match his abilities and status, it will only become a source of trouble.

Closing his laptop, Jack began to truly immerse himself in the joy of learning. Although mental strength cannot directly bring about an increase in intelligence, the ability to enter a state of high concentration at any time is already a cheat code that many students dream of.

With the attribute bonuses of the system, Jack now only needs to spend one hour a day to cope with the community college courses. At the same time, because of his reduced sleep time, he has a full 5 hours more time each day than the average person.

On the third and last day of his vacation, Jack took some rose essential oil and drove to Zoe's house.

After a tender moment, a radiant Zoe nestled in Jack's arms, staring blankly at the ceiling, her soul seemingly lingering in paradise.

"When are you and Maureen planning to announce your relationship? Should I prepare a wedding gift for you two in advance?"

Jack's smile was rather strange. Ever since Maureen revealed their plans, he'd had this strange feeling of being a supporting character in a certain type of story.

Snapping out of her daze, Zoe gave this guy, who was acting all innocent after getting the better deal, a hard bite, making him wince in pain.

"Hannah told you everything about her, right? What are your thoughts?"

Jack roughly repeated his conversation with Hannah, adding, "We'll talk about everything after she gets back from Quantico. Also, I don't recommend Hannah investigate this case through the FBI's internal system."

He remembered that in the plot of *Reacher*, a corrupt FBI agent was involved. If Hannah's private investigation were discovered, not only would it alert the criminals, but her safety would also be threatened. He knew very well how ruthless that criminal group was from certain scenes in the show.

Of course, he had to come up with a suitable reason: "Since this criminal group has a congressman backing them, their tentacles might have even reached into the FBI. Otherwise, the FBI wouldn't have remained silent about the murders of Hannah's parents and that EPA investigator."

Seemingly finding Jack's speculation reasonable, Zoe frowned with some annoyance.

"My dad tried to find out through some connections back then, but it was all blocked by the higher-ups. Over the years, I've also used my resources in the police station to conduct some investigations, but all to no avail."

Jack extended a finger and gently smoothed away her furrowed brows, comforting her.

"I just helped you get rid of those fine lines on your forehead, so don't keep frowning. Leave this to me."

Zoe looked at her man with some doubt. It wasn't that she didn't believe in Jack, but even her family and she, as a mid-level officer, couldn't do it. Where did Jack, who had just become an ordinary patrol officer, get the confidence?

"Find a hacker, of course. Haven't you ever thought of that?" Jack answered matter-of-factly, which immediately stumped Zoe.

"You guys are all thinking about tit-for-tat. Why are you limiting your thinking to using legal means? Just pay hackers to find out who's actually in control of this Kleiner Industries thing, and everything will be much easier."

This wasn't just Jack's wishful thinking. Hackers in American TV shows are practically omnipotent. Detective dramas like *CSI*, *NCIS*, and *Bones* all have incredibly skilled computer experts as backup for the protagonists.

This world is a jumbled mess of timelines due to the mix of various American TV shows. Except for some older shows with special backgrounds and very long histories, like *Hunter*, most of the timelines are either not yet started or have just begun.

For example, the NCIS — the Naval Criminal Investigative Service — is listed online as having only been established five years ago, and its current head is a middle-aged woman. The Jeffersonian Institute from *Bones* does exist, but its forensic laboratory remains just a rumor.

Jack even Googled a certain brilliant software engineer — Harold Finch. His partner, Nathan Ingram, was a well-known American tycoon, and information about him was easily found online. It was rumored that his company was currently collaborating with the FBI on a project specifically designed to counter terrorist attacks. Naturally, it could be inferred that the other partner, who liked to put on a cool, stern face, was probably still working for the CIA.