Those who know, know—North America is a place where you don’t dare go out after dark.

Brian Carter sat properly, started up the little scooter, and shot out onto the road. The start was a bit too aggressive; he lurched forward and then braked hard. Julia Walker’s upper body slammed right into his back, which hurt quite a bit.

The long-legged girl rubbed her chest and complained, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Brian Carter hurriedly shook his head. “Definitely not. Actually, I don’t know how to ride this thing. I used to ride a bicycle to school. Besides, you don’t have one, so what would I do it on purpose for?”

Julia Walker glared at him a few times, then said with a hint of grievance, “Let me ride.”

After they switched places, it was Julia Walker’s turn to lurch forward and brake suddenly. After a few bumps and near-misses, with Brian Carter getting jostled a couple of times, the little scooter finally started moving steadily.

Chapter 9: One Meal Won Her Stomach

Near a bustling mall in Wan Chai, they bought an ice cream and a popsicle. He handed the popsicle to Julia Walker, and Brian Carter tore open the ice cream wrapper. “Your cheap uncle is at work, right?”

“We’ll wait for him to get off work, follow him to a suitable place, knock him out and interrogate him. If he’s the one who did the robbery, we’ll get to the bottom of it right away.”

Julia Walker was excited but a little embarrassed. “Isn’t that a bit much? Why not just hire a private detective? I heard private detectives in Hong Kong are really good.”

“I’ll pay. You help me pick a private detective, and also protect my personal safety. I heard that during the robbery, the robbers almost cut off Ethan Price’s wrist with a knife, because the cash box was handcuffed to Ethan Price’s hand.”

“Three armed robbers, really fierce. This is my first time doing something to show my dad—I don’t want to start off with something as extreme as torture, you know?”

“What do you think?”

Julia Walker blinked her big eyes at Brian Carter, making him a bit dejected. “Yeah, now that you put it that way, you make me sound like some juvenile delinquent.”

“It’s all because of those two blond punks before—they led me astray. I’m a good citizen!”

Julia Walker was rendered speechless by Brian Carter’s innocent look. She rolled her eyes at him before continuing, “So if we hire a private detective, we don’t need to wait for him to get off work, right?”

Brian Carter nodded. “Alright, I’m not too familiar with this stuff either. I’ll have to ask around…”

Just then, his big brother’s phone rang. He answered, and after a brief conversation, he smiled. “Mr. Harris, you guys are back from Manitoba? Just remembered to meet up? Alright.”

After hanging up, he patted Julia Walker on the shoulder. “Master Walker, let’s go. We’re heading to the Choi Kee noodle shop in Causeway Bay. I don’t know much about private detectives, but someone does.”

The helpers were back. By the way, this was their third insulin trade trip to Manitoba, but it clearly took longer than the previous two times.

The reason? You’ll find out soon enough.

When it comes to hiring private detectives, Mark Foster is the expert. In the original timeline, he hired a private detective to dig up dirt on Mingda Group’s eldest son, James Bennett, to find out how he borrowed money from private banks to acquire shares in a listed company.

The private detective even got hold of photos of James Bennett’s wife and the bank manager on a boat together—close-up shots, right in their faces!

How outrageous is that!!

Before Mark Foster turned to the dark side, he was outwardly a man of strict principles. After he turned, he was a master of dirty tricks—whether it was hiring private detectives to investigate people, or hiring thugs for arson, kidnapping, murder, you name it, he handled it all with ease. Like holding two jokers and four twos, four aces, four kings in a game of Dou Dizhu…

This isn’t some cheat code written into Mark Foster’s story.

It’s his background. Mark Foster’s father, Sam Foster, was a corrupt cop during the era of the four great detectives like Lui Lok, and after the ICAC era, he was dismissed from the force without further charges. He had a ton of shady cop friends—too many to count.

His real older brother, Kevin Foster, is currently a mid-level gangster in Hong Kong. For example, he’d hire professional lawyers for the triad boss in assault cases, get a few junior gangsters to mediate disputes, and has dealings with all sorts of loan shark companies.

In short, nothing too impressive, just a middle-aged gangster. But when it comes to connections, he’s got plenty—tons of shady friends.

Mark Foster also has a real uncle, Tom Foster, who, after the detective era ended, had to flee to the Philippines for refuge, and there became a big shot among the Chinese police, controlling the legitimate forces in the capital—a real power player.

Before turning dark, Mark Foster was like a supercharged version of Fan Shengmei from “Ode to Joy”—way more capable, just much less lucky. Once he turned, with the help of his family’s network, he could easily become the underground king of all Hong Kong.

Money, power, connections, guts—unless it’s his congenital asthma, what else could hold him back?

Looking for a top private detective? Go to Old Xu.

Julia Walker rolled her eyes at Brian Carter again, hopped on the little scooter, and said, “Lead the way!”

………………

Choi Kee Noodle Shop, Causeway Bay.

When Brian Carter and Julia Walker entered one after the other, his “background profile” arranged by the Multiverse Mall for this world kicked in. Aunt Laura Clark immediately came out from behind the counter, about to say something, but when she saw Julia Walker’s face, she was stunned.

She looked at Brian Carter, then at Julia Walker, gave Brian Carter an encouraging look, and seamlessly turned to head to the restroom, as if she’d come out from behind the counter just to go there.