Chapter 365: A Lead That Goes Nowhere, First Sighting of K in the United States

New York Police Department.

Inside a conference room specially prepared by Walker.

The team had just arrived from Dragon Country, but there was no time to rest or adjust to the time difference. They immediately launched into full-scale investigative work.

After all, the seven-day deadline agreed upon with Morgan Financial Group was undeniably pressing, especially in the unfamiliar environment of the United States.

Compared to helping Old Morgan find the killer, the more important objective was to bring K—who had fled to the United States—back to Dragon Country and complete this overseas capture mission.

This wasn’t just about resolving the Kill Organization case series. It was also meant to send a warning to all criminals who had fled to the United States, to show them the true meaning of the phrase: no matter how far, justice will reach you.

It was no exaggeration.

If they could successfully capture K and bring him back across borders, the number of criminals attempting to flee abroad with large sums of stolen money would plummet drastically in the near future.

That was the true long-term impact and value of this operation.

…

At the moment.

While Su Ming was going through Little Morgan’s detailed profile, hoping to find a breakthrough, Bai Yu, sitting beside him, suddenly pulled off his headset and gestured toward Su Ming.

“Brother Ming, I found something.”

“Using internal information from the United States police, I’ve confirmed the identity of the deceased.”

Hearing this, Su Ming immediately set down the file in his hands and quickly walked over to Bai Yu.

“What’s the situation?”

“Any leads?”

Bai Yu pulled up the deceased’s personal profile on the screen and began explaining.

“His name was John. He wasn’t a white American, but a Latin American who entered the country illegally.”

“He didn’t have U.S. citizenship, only a long-term green card.”

“He’d been working on the street where the Manhattan Knight Bar is located for nearly three years, and he’d been doing cleaning work for seven years.”

“He came to the United States as a stowaway when he was nine, so he has no relatives here. He lived and worked alone.”

“That’s why the NYPD never received any missing persons report from family.”

“But if they had received a report in time, maybe the NYPD would have made some connections and at least identified the body.”

Su Ming shook his head, tapping his index finger lightly on the desk as he disagreed.

“No, Xiao Bai.”

“You might be overestimating the NYPD, or rather… overestimating their sense of duty.”

“Even if they had received a missing persons report, I doubt they would’ve cared. I’m guessing the entire department has been focused on finding Little Morgan’s killer, putting all other cases on hold.”

“At the very least, if it weren’t for the full cooperation of the department, I don’t believe the NYPD could have cleared out a meeting room like this so quickly, or even added Chinese language patches to their systems.”

“Also, six years ago in the United States, applying for a green card as an undocumented immigrant didn’t require DNA testing or storage. A photo was enough.”

“It wasn’t until the ‘Strongman’ came into office and saw the rising number of illegal immigrants and refugees that the green card application process was tightened and DNA recording added.”

“But this victim had already been working in cleaning for seven years, meaning he got his status before that. So naturally, his DNA isn’t in the system.”

“So even if they had received a missing persons report, with no DNA match, the U.S. police would likely have dismissed it.”

“Because what they need is a conclusion, something to show they’ve found the killer. Even if that so-called killer is already a corpse, it doesn’t matter.”

“Back to the point. Based on the information you’ve found, is there any indication that the victim had ties to J? Or that… he was a scapegoat J had planted in advance, just in case?”

This cleaner named John had a height and build similar to J’s.

That detail made Su Ming suspicious. Was this someone J had selected long ago as a decoy in case of an emergency escape?

Or was it just a coincidence that made him the perfect scapegoat?

The question made Bai Yu pause for a moment, then he shook his head seriously.

“No.”

“There’s nothing in the victim’s background that suggests any connection to J.”

“But there’s one thing I think is worth pointing out. Based on the regular trash pickup schedule, the victim shouldn’t have arrived at the Knight Bar until two hours later—not at the time shown in the footage.”

“He’s been working this area of Manhattan for three years, so he’s definitely familiar with the routine. Even if there’s some variation, it shouldn’t be off by two hours.”

“So I think someone deliberately lured him to come early to take out the trash.”

This information made Su Ming raise an eyebrow, then shake his head with a sigh.

“No need to keep digging.”

“This lead probably ends here. There’s no way to take it further.”

“Even if the victim’s height and build didn’t match J’s exactly, I’d bet someone else with a similar physique and no traceable DNA was lured to the Knight Bar to serve as J’s decoy.”

“It’s a flawed setup, easy to see through, but for the U.S. police under pressure from Old Morgan, it’s more than enough.”

“They know Chief Walker needs a result to report, so they crafted something that’s just plausible enough to pass.”

“If they manage to bluff their way through and Old Morgan decides to stop digging, that would be the best outcome.”

“If not, well, for K and J, finding a scapegoat like this doesn’t cost them much effort.”

“Clearly, they’ve pinpointed the weaknesses in how the U.S. police operate and their eagerness to please Morgan Financial Group.”

Hearing this, Bai Yu couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. This lead really wasn’t worth pursuing any further.

If it was just a random scapegoat, then there would be no result to find.

Just then, sitting across from them, An Quan suddenly looked up, adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, and turned to Su Ming.

“Xiao Ming, I found something.”

“I spotted K on surveillance footage near Queen’s Casino.”

“His appearance matches exactly with how he looked when he boarded the plane. He’s still using his real face, no human-skin mask.”

“And he’s not alone. J and Q are with him…”