Strengthening the Foundation and Cultivating Vitality

Simone and Gleason, who also looked ashen-faced, arrived at the mayor's office almost simultaneously.

There were quite a few people here, including the furious Mayor Matthew, the enraged Chief Morton Richard, and Deputy Chief Logan of the Los Angeles Police Department.

He was the only one who looked smug, constantly stirring up trouble for Chief Morton.

"Where are they?!" Chief Morton roared first, his spittle almost landing on Simone's face.

"My son is lying in the hospital waiting to die! Where are the people who can solve this problem?!"

Gleason shrank back in fright, and Simone could only brace himself and stammer an explanation:

The phone is unreachable, no one is home, they're on vacation, and the team members aren't cooperating...

"A trip?!" Director Morton trembled with rage, pointing at Simone's nose:

"My son... no, the lives of all Los Angeles residents are in grave danger, and you're telling me there's nothing we can do? Is this what LAPC has done?"

The mayor's face was ashen, and his eyes were filled with disappointment and anger as he looked at Simone and Gleason.

"Is this your answer to me? Is this your solution to the problem? Come on, tell me, how am I supposed to face the media, how am I supposed to face our taxpayers?"

The atmosphere in the office was extremely oppressive, filled with a sense of impending doom.

Just as Simone and Gleeson felt they were about to be crushed by this invisible pressure, Deputy Chief Logan, who had been silent all along, slowly spoke. His voice was not loud, but it was like a stone thrown into stagnant water:

"Mayor, Chief Morton, anger won't solve anything now."

Logan's gaze swept over the pale-faced Simone and Gleason, finally settling on the mayor:

"Since we can't get through to Qin, it means they don't want to be disturbed at all, and everyone knows the reason... So, even if we get through, he might not be willing to come back."

He paused, then proposed a solution that was almost absurd, yet it was the only one that everyone present could grasp:

"My suggestion is to have some people drive to Chicago, catch up with Detective Qin, and express their sincerity in person... Perhaps Qin will be willing to give up his vacation and come back to clean up this... mess."

Gleason's face completely lost its color!

To make him drive across several states to chase a detective he'd suspended? That's an absolute disgrace!

But he saw the unquestionable gazes of the mayor and Chief Morton, and the almost pleading despair in Simone's eyes...

He knew he had no choice; he, as the executor, had to swallow this bitter pill.

Simone was equally disheartened and had to admit that although Rogge's method was absurd, it was the only feasible one. Now, the blame had to be placed on Gleason, and he had to take it!

He suddenly looked at Gleason, his eyes filled with an almost frantic, compelling gaze:

"Gleason! You leave immediately! Take your assistant! Drive the fastest car you can! I don't care what method you use! Find Qin Jin! Tell him his suspension is over! Bring him back! Conditions... conditions are negotiable! Just save my son! Save the others!"

He emphasized "others" heavily, his gaze sweeping over the furious Chief Morton.

Gleason's lips trembled as he looked at the pressing gazes of the mayor, Chief Morton, and Simone. Finally, he lowered his head in dejection and resignation, his voice barely audible:

"...Yes. I...I'll go prepare right away."

A few minutes later, Gleeson, accompanied by an equally bewildered assistant, staggered out of the mayor's office like two prisoners heading to their execution, heading straight for the parking lot.

Gleeson and his aides drove out of City Hall like stray dogs, heading desperately onto the long highway leading to Chicago, leaving the mayor's office in a stifling, deathly silence.

The rage on Treasurer Morton's face seemed to have subsided somewhat with Gleason's departure, but the anxiety and fear in his eyes remained undiminished.

Like a wounded, trapped beast, he glared fiercely at the distraught Simone before turning and leaving the mayor's office.

Just as they were about to reach the elevator, Logan's voice came from behind, "Morton!"

Morton stopped and looked at Logan with bloodshot eyes.

In that instant, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning—

That young female detective from the Homicide and Major Crimes Unit 2 at the Canyon Precinct, who's supposedly in Chicago right now—isn't she Logan's daughter?!

A glimmer of hope suddenly arose in his despair, like a drowning man grasping at the last straw. Morton turned abruptly and almost lunged at Logan:

"Logan! Old man! For God's sake! You have to help me! Can you really bear to watch Jack... just like that..." He couldn't go on, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Logan's face remained expressionless. He patted Morton's tightly gripping hand with his other hand, his voice low:

"Calm down. Come with me."

The two silently arrived at the underground parking lot, got into Morton's car, and he looked anxiously at Logan:

"Old buddy! Do you have a way? Can you get in touch with him...?"

Logan waved his hand, interrupting him, and took out his phone from his pocket, dialing a number:

"Qin's phone was definitely switched off on purpose, there's no doubt about that, and I can't get through to him either. But..."

He pointed to the number on the screen:

"This is Dolly's phone number... She said you can call if it's important, and she can get through to Qin!"

Dolly was Catherine's nickname, Morton knew that very well.

Morton's eyes lit up with ecstatic joy. He practically snatched Logan's phone, his fingers trembling as he dialed the number.

"etc!"

Logan grabbed his hand:

"Richard, listen to me! Alessa... that child is different. Your approach won't work on her, it'll only make things worse! Let me handle it."

Morton immediately shoved the phone back into Logan's hand like a hot potato, saying repeatedly:

"Okay! Okay! You go first! You tell us!"

Logan took a deep breath and dialed the number.

The phone rang a few times before being answered. A cold, flat, even slightly childish yet unusually distant voice came through:

"Who?"

Logan spoke immediately, his tone calm and direct:

"Hi, Alessa, I'm Logan, Catherine's father." He identified himself first, making it clear he wasn't a stranger. "I have urgent business with Qin."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone. Morton was so nervous that he could almost hear his own heart pounding.

Finally, a lazy, slightly mocking voice rang out from the side:

"Oh? Uncle Logan? What a rare guest! What brings you here, sir, to find our Aretha?"

It's Qin and Jin!

Morton was so excited he almost shouted, but Logan stopped him with a stern look.

"Qin," Logan's voice remained steady, but tinged with seriousness, "the situation is urgent, so I'll get to the point. Something's happened in Los Angeles..."

He gave a general account of the strange and bizarre case, emphasizing that the son of the finance director Morton was also a victim, and that Morton was now right beside him.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Morton couldn't hold back any longer, snatched the phone, and his voice carried the pleading tone of a father:

"Qin! Detective Qin, it's me, Morton! Logan and I... have been friends for decades... I beg you, for the sake of a father, help Jack, help me... Don't worry, I won't stand idly by while you suffer... and I never will..."

Morton spoke almost incoherently, his words filled with bitterness.

There was another silence on the other end of the phone, with only the faint sound of wind.

Finally, Qin Jin's voice rang out again, carrying a certain indifference:

"Chief Morton, I regret to inform you that I am currently suspended from duty. Los Angeles... is not relevant to me! Besides, I live quite far away, and I probably won't be able to return anytime soon."

He paused deliberately, pushing Morton's despair to its peak: "It'll take at least twenty or thirty days!"

"No! Qin! Jack can't wait that long!" Morton was on the verge of collapse.

"Yes, I know, so—" Qin Jin's tone suddenly changed at this moment:

"I can give you a prescription; if you follow it, it can save your son..."

Morton froze for a moment, but Logan quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket, poked him, and made him unlock and open the laptop—

Qin Jin's voice continued on the phone:

"Based on the description, your son likely encountered an Eastern fox spirit and had his life essence absorbed. Your task now is twofold: pull him out of the fox spirit's illusion and strengthen his constitution!"

"To strengthen the body's foundation and nourish its vital energy, you need to go to a Chinese medicine shop in Chinatown and get the prescription as follows: one ounce of top-quality ginseng, at least thirty years old; three mace of cistanche; five mace of wolfberry; three mace of prepared rehmannia root; five mace of astragalus root; and dried licorice root. Boil these ingredients in three bowls of water down to one bowl. Drink one bowl each morning, noon, and evening, and continue for a month!"

"Breaking the illusion is a bit more complicated. Go back to Chinatown and find the oldest Chinese temple or Taoist monastery. The key is to find an incense burner that's been around for a long time. Take a small bowl of the aged incense ash from inside, mix it with the best black sesame oil to form a paste, and apply it to the center of your son's forehead, his heart, and three inches below his navel. After applying it, don't move him; let him wake up on his own!"

"This...this can really work?" Morton listened with skepticism; the method sounded too mystical.

"It's better than you doing nothing at all, isn't it?"

Qin Jin's voice returned to its lazy tone:

"I'll have Alessa text Uncle Logan the recipe later. Remember, aged incense ash is key, and the sesame oil must be black sesame oil. Go get it. As for me... have a nice vacation, goodbye."

After saying that, the phone was hung up abruptly.