Reborn: The Rookie Detective

"They said you took down more than a dozen of these monsters yesterday with just a pistol?"

While awaiting new orders, the team took turns on guard duty and resting. The young member who had narrowly escaped an arrow wound to the arm seemed a bit more outgoing and struck up a conversation with Jack.

"Pretty much. These men aren't very quick-witted. Jessie took down two with a crossbow, but they're incredibly strong and fearless. We almost didn't escape the first time we encountered them."

Jessie, standing nearby, seemed to recall how Jack had carried her at the last moment during their escape through the woods yesterday, and her gaze towards him was somewhat wistful.

"Good marksmanship. If you're willing to join the military, perhaps we'll meet again."

The team leader returned after exchanging a few words with the helicopter pilot, patting Jack on the shoulder. Jack had just performed well in front of him, and the veteran now felt a surge of admiration.

"Let me reintroduce myself. I'm Jason, the captain of Team B. This kid is Clay."

Jason pointed to the young operator opposite him.

"This is Ray, the vice-captain, my old partner." The long-faced, bearded team member nodded.

"This is Sonny, and those two over there are Trent and Adam."

Jason pointed to two operators who had just disembarked from the helicopter; one was a sniper, and the other was the machine gunner operating the weapon on the hatch.

The team members all seemed friendly; soldiers clearly preferred dealing with people of high combat ability, and Jack, who dared to take on these men in the mountains with just a pistol, was quite to their liking.

"Could you tell us what happened here? We were in Colorado two hours ago, and then the FBI called us here."

The team leader was also curious; dealing with the FBI back home was clearly a novel experience for them.

Sonny, probably a conspiracy theorist, excitedly let his imagination run wild.

Jack waved his hand, half-laughing and half-crying. "The story here begins at the beginning of the last century."

Time passed gradually as he narrated, the flames in the cabin slowly diminished and finally went out, leaving only a few charred wooden beams, still wisps of smoke rising.

"Oh my god, this is disgusting, I can't stand it."

After hearing the origins of these people, several team members showed expressions of disgust, and Sonny even exaggeratedly shook his body, as if trying to shake off the goosebumps all over his body.

"Alright, the story's over, everyone disperse."

Jason waved everyone away, then pulled Jack aside to ask privately, "Rossi told me this operation wouldn't be recorded, and hinted that if there were any unexpected gains, you'd get a share. You know what that means, right?"

Jack instantly understood; Rossi had given him a heads-up beforehand, and nodded.

"The men occupy a small gold mine. According to my previous intelligence, there might be some gold stored in the Eugene family's mountain villa, but not much. I think Rossi means you don't need to report these finds; consider them your reward for helping out."

Jason's face lit up with surprise. "You FBI guys are much more generous than others. Thanks, buddy, thank you for my brothers."

According to Sam Eugene's account, although the men had been working in that mine for half a century, due to labor shortages, outdated mining methods, and other reasons, the output was extremely low, yielding only a few kilograms of pure gold each year, and the output had been decreasing in recent years.

After being squandered by the Eugene family for so many years, the remaining gold was not much, and it was divided into three parts: one part was hidden in the vineyard, one part was in the basement of the mountain villa, and some remained in Budem's hands.

Budem was the dirty old man shot dead at the gas station. The gold found there, excluding the gold nugget, weighed no more than 5 kilograms, worth around two to three hundred thousand dollars.

Therefore, Jack estimated the mountain villa wouldn't hold much gold. With a gold mine in hand, the FBI naturally wouldn't be interested in the small amount of gold left by the Eugene family.

A gold mine that could be mined using only primitive methods for half a century might be considered a small mine by the Eugene family, but for a mining company with modern technology, even their discarded ore might be a rare goldmine.

After all, in modern mining, extracting 10 grams of gold from one ton of ore is already quite valuable.

At this moment, Ray, holding a tactical radio, approached the two. "Jason, a call from the FBI."

Jason took the radio and transferred the communication to his and Jack's earpieces.

On the other end was Rossi. During the time everyone had regrouped and ambushed a small group of men, he had quickly communicated with all parties and revised the plan.

The FBI, in collaboration with forestry agents, has sealed off traffic in the area, forcibly turning away hunters and tourists in the mountains, and preparing to launch a raid on the Eugene family's vineyard.

Jack and the team's mission is to rescue the hostages, eliminate all threatening targets near the mine and inside the Eugene family's mountain villa, and then conduct preliminary cleanup. A follow-up team from the FBI will arrive later for further cleanup.

In other words, rescue the hostages, eliminate all survivors, and destroy all evidence. When all evil is gone, only the beautiful gold mine remains in the world.

Of course, the innocent students attacked by wild animals will receive some compensation after signing a confidentiality agreement.

Rossi emphasized the recent weather and relayed the forestry agents' warning: do not start wildfires; he practically warned them to be careful when setting fires.

"Gather, everyone, let's discuss the specific tactics. We're in trouble."

Jason was a bit troubled; the drones ahead had already sent over reconnaissance images.

The mine and the mountain villa were less than two miles apart. Infrared images indicated four simple wooden huts near the mine and at least 30 other targets. There were nine people in the mountain villa, one of whom was likely the hostage.

Clearly, the FBI's money wasn't so easy to obtain. A six-man team had to simultaneously attack two locations, rescuing the hostage while ensuring no one escaped.

"Don't expect close air support. Our only air power is the helicopter."

Jason wasn't worried about the success of the attack, but rather the FBI's demand for a complete wipeout. Even a herd of wild boars couldn't be wiped out without a helicopter in the mountains, let alone a group of people raised in the forest.