Reborn: The Rookie Detective

The two didn't chat much on the open frequency. The other party simply hinted that Jessie's two friends had successfully contacted David Rossi and were currently safe.

"Roger that, buddy. There are a lot of ants around here. Remember to bring plenty of insecticide when you come to see me tomorrow. OVER."

Jack believed the other party understood his hint.

"No problem, buddy. We'll bring enough insecticide, and it'll be incredibly strong. By the way, the cell tower near you is just broken. It'll be fixed by tomorrow morning, around 8 or 9. Wait for our call then. OVER."

With that, the call ended. Jack was a little confused. What did the call mean? In this godforsaken place, even if the Americans had ten more years, they wouldn't build a cell tower. But it was certain that someone would try to contact him around 8 or 9 tomorrow.

As darkness fell, Jack looked around. He needed to find a place to spend the night. This dilapidated house was definitely out of the question. Safety was secondary; the stench of decay lingering in his nostrils was unbearable.

"Let's go. We saw a watchtower upstream when we were on the mountain. Let's spend the night on it."

Jack pulled out the Wrangler's keys. He had initially thought of letting the tires out, but then decided it wasn't necessary. The fact that the other driver had driven this far meant that the path behind led to the mountain dirt road and also to the mountain villa of that sinister family. They might need the car tomorrow.

The two continued upstream along the stream and soon found the watchtower standing in the woods. The wooden tower looked quite old, but it seemed very sturdy.

At the top of the tower was a small wooden cabin with glass windows, about 20 meters above the ground.

"I'll go up and take a look first. You keep watch down here."

Jack said, preparing to climb the ladder, when his arm was suddenly grabbed, making him startle.

"Are you afraid of heights?" Jack asked, assuming the girl was afraid the watchtower was too high to sleep on at night.

"I want to wash up by the water first. I'm so dirty."

Perhaps due to the stress of the day, Jessie had rarely spoken, mostly just doing what Jack said, her obedience almost heartbreaking.

Now, her suggestion made Jack feel a tickle all over; he had indeed sweated a lot during the afternoon's trek through mountains and rivers.

He glanced at the sky, sensing there was still some time before it was completely dark, and nodded, "Let's go together then. I'll be right down."

According to Sam Eugene, the men rarely operated at night; they needed sufficient rest to prepare for daytime mining and hunting.

Jessie nodded, handing Jack the bag of gold dust she had been holding.

"You take this. It's too heavy."

Actually, the bag of gold dust wasn't heavy, probably less than a kilogram, worth only about fifty or sixty thousand dollars, but Jessie used this method to subtly express her trust and gratitude.

Jack didn't say much, opening his backpack and gesturing for her to put it in herself. He didn't know when it had started, but his purpose was no longer simply for the gold.

[A/n: bullshit]

Looking up from below, the small cabin at the top of the watchtower seemed quite small, but once he climbed inside, it actually felt surprisingly spacious, about five or six square meters.

Taking his backpack off his shoulder, Jack checked a row of wooden shelves against the wall. There were several cans of food, a few bottles of drinking water, a rusty first-aid kit, and some other miscellaneous bottles and jars — all for the rangers.

Worried that Jessie might be in danger alone down there, he didn't linger. He took a box of compressed towels and a bottle of mosquito repellent from his backpack and climbed down the ladder.

The river wasn't far, and there were hardly any riverbanks. A few steps out of the woods, he reached the riverbank. Jack, gun in hand, kept watch for any movement while searching the riverside grass for dry branches and fresh leaves to start a fire and ward off mosquitoes.

"Jack."

A soft call came from behind. Jack turned around.

In the hazy twilight, a flawless, graceful figure stood in the river, so beautiful it was impossible to look away.

....

"Achoo!"

Jessie sneezed violently, snuggling her shivering body closer to Jack.

"Alright, your clothes are dry, put them on."

Jack rolled his eyes inwardly and cast a healing spell.

The altitude here was over a thousand meters, and as the sun set, the temperature gradually dropped to around ten degrees Celsius, especially chilly at night when the mountain wind picked up.

He thought Jessie's suggestion of washing up by the water was just a simple matter of personal hygiene. He hadn't expected this girl to have the courage to actually go into the water. If he hadn't had his skills, he'd probably be serving a pneumonia patient tomorrow.

When the two climbed into the cabin on the watchtower, it was completely dark. Because they were at such a height and worried about being discovered, Jack didn't turn on his flashlight. Using the dim moonlight, he opened his backpack, rummaged through some food, and barely managed to fill their stomachs with a few cans of food from the shelf.

Standing at the window, gazing at the distant, layered mountains under the moonlight, Jessie, wearing only a thin coat, was lost in thought.

"Get some rest, don't think too much. It'll all be over tomorrow," Jack comforted her from behind. Today's events had been too traumatic for the girl. It was the first time she'd seen someone die in front of her, the first time she'd faced such horrors, the first time she'd killed someone.

"I just feel like I was such a stupid idiot before today, actually crying over a man even more stupid than myself."

"If it weren't for me, Evan might still be alive, and Francine wouldn't have met with such misfortune. God, it's all because of me."

Tears streamed down her face, and the girl soon broke down in sobs.

"Hey girl," Jack turned her shoulder, meeting her tearful eyes, and felt a headache coming on. He wasn't a smooth talker; he couldn't touch a girl's emotional heart with just a few words.

"Don't burden yourself with unnecessary thoughts. You've done enough. Don't forget you took down two of them and a villain today. Without you, I couldn't have handled so many opponents."

Jessie chuckled, her tears turning to laughter. "Is this how you comfort people? Do you think I'm a child?"

"Go and rest. You're exhausted today and need to relax as much as possible."

Jack really wasn't good at it, and he rarely comforted girls, since he was usually not the one to initiate.

Jessie's eyes suddenly became unfocused, and she gently bit her lip. "Do you know what the best way to relax is?"