Chapter 3192: Chapter 2238: Gotham Music Festival (40)_1
"There's a body... a body!!!"
A man, drenched and disheveled, ran out of the restroom, slipping and falling to the ground, but still twisted his body around to point towards the men's restroom.
His voice was exceptionally loud, as the seawater had just receded, and most people were choking on seawater, retching on the ground. After shouting, he also kept vomiting before staggering up from the ground and running away quickly.
There were many people in the hall, but the vast majority didn't have the strength to check the situation. Oliver walked towards the staircase as Amanda said, "Don't go, it's definitely Flamingo who did it."
"Flamingo?"
"Serial Killer," Amanda's lips formed a straight line as she said, "The murderer who killed my family."
Oliver stopped in his tracks and turned to Amanda, saying, "The leader of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Crimes Unit is chasing a serial killer from the West Coast to the East Coast and hasn't caught up? When did the FBI become so incompetent?"
"Why do you think I disobeyed orders?" Amanda's face was very pale as she said, "Flamingo comes from a transnational drug trafficking organization. He..."
"Penitent Cartel," Oliver said the name before Amanda could.
Amanda looked at him with wide eyes, shocked.
"Why do you think I challenged you instead of the head of the FBI?"
Oliver sighed and said, "Penitent Cartel, a US-Mexico transnational drug trafficking organization headquartered in Guadalajara, Mexico. About two months ago, they wanted to ship a large batch of marijuana products by sea and land to the East Coast of the United States, precisely to Gotham, right?"
Amanda looked at him with a hint of surprise, and after pondering for a moment, she said, "That's right, according to my investigation, this drug trafficking organization's headquarters are indeed in Mexico and have always been smuggling drugs into the US."
Oliver calmly said, "Also, about two months ago, someone offered us a high price to buy drugs."
Amanda knew what 'us' he was referring to, and she knew what a big deal Oliver had made in Mexico.
"You're in the drug business?" Amanda asked with some confusion, but she wasn't surprised; after all, to maintain such a large operation, earning money was essential. In her view, drug trafficking wasn't an unforgivable sin, especially not trafficking into the US.
"That's the key, someone wants everyone to think that," Oliver said with a sigh. "They bribed the warehouse manager to fake transporting goods in the middle of the night, then let the locals find out, so they would think that although I'm leading them in agricultural reform on the surface, I'm still dealing in drugs behind the scenes."
"One of my companions, whom I thought was my comrade, unfortunately deceived me. He claimed it was my plan, explaining the substantial funds I had."
"In front of everyone, he demanded that I stop this vile and despicable act. Everyone thought he was righteous, but when I understood that it wasn't about that, someone giving me trouble meant they were up to something."
"I took some people and followed the trail of the warehouse manager to catch their tail, finding their base located on the border of Guazhou, the Penitent Cartel."
"Through interrogation, we learned that since the agricultural reform, most of the farmers in Guazhou had stopped growing poppies. We eradicated all channels of poppy cultivation, transportation, and processing. Unfortunately, some people still had stock they were unwilling to destroy, so they hid it away."
"The boss of the Penitent Cartel saw it as a business opportunity because of our severe crackdown on drug offenses, the farmers dared not and could not find a way to distribute their goods, so the cartel went to each of them, buying their stock at extremely low prices."
"It's more accurate to say they were robbing rather than buying, telling the farmers that if they didn't hand over the goods, they'd report them to us. With no other options, the farmers had to give up the goods they had hidden."
"Although each person didn't hide much, poppies used to be the pillar of the local industry, and almost everyone had some. In this way, they amassed a large quantity of drugs."
"They knew where to sell these drugs for the highest price. The US alone wasn't enough; they would be undercut at the border, so they planned to send them by sea directly to the affluent East Coast to maximize their profits."
"We control all the seaports in Guazhou, and we have strict inspections for these things. Without causing us trouble, they couldn't possibly get the goods out, so they staged the ruse of making high-priced offers to buy drugs from us."
"And that 'companion' who accused me of betrayal was one of your people."
Amanda was stunned for a moment, but she quickly grasped what Oliver meant, and anger blazed in her eyes as she looking at Oliver and said, "So they are all in this together?!"
"You're all in this together," Oliver stepped up a level, looking into Amanda's eyes as he said, "The FBI and the Penitent Cartel, the organization you work for hired the murderer who killed your entire family and values him far more than you."
Amanda froze completely.
"I voluntarily left Guadalajara because I knew that under such circumstances, constant denials would be the most foolish and time-wasting choice, potentially putting all of us in danger."
"If I left on my own initiative, everyone would come after me, since they know I'm the core. Sure enough, when I deliberately left from the borders of Guadalajara, the Penitent Cartel, hired by the FBI, immediately blew their cover."
"They sent dozens of drug dealers and hitmen after me, chasing me all the way to the West Coast of America. I suppose that was when you stumbled upon the Flamingo's trail."
At the mention of "Flamingo," Amanda clenched her fists tightly. Her muscles were trembling, her jaws gritted, and her hair stood on end.
"Yes, he's an American fugitive." Oliver nodded and said, "But I guess you couldn't find his name in the criminal records, or you would have solved the case long ago. In fact, it's because he was hired by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau often erases criminals' records and social identities as a condition for having these vicious offenders work for them."
"I found nothing," Amanda said with a trembling voice. "Nothing in ten years."
Then she looked up, trying hard to keep her tears from falling. Eventually, she looked at Oliver with red eyes and said, "So, Shiller won't tell me who he is, even though he has that damn list of serial killers."
"It's pointless." Oliver shook his head and said, "You can't fight him, you can't fight them, you can't fight them all."
"If the killer of your family did it as a lead-up to such an important incident, then your pursuit and desire for revenge will only end up getting you killed."
Oliver sighed again and said, "That's why I challenged you. While they were chasing me, I got some information on some of them from a friend."
"Shiller?"
"Yes, but I didn't get it right then. I had deciphered part of a code before. Although it changed over time, I managed to crack quite a bit of it. Coincidentally, Flamingo made a statement in the newspapers during that period."
"What did he say?"
"He said that the little girl left alive after his proudest crime had now become an important figure in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He only said this to show off, to raise his own value, but I managed to deduce from this that the so-called little girl was very likely you."
Amanda's face was numb with shock, and she murmured, "My efforts to capture him have been met with massive resistance, every step a struggle. I don't understand why. I can't wrap my head around why we can't bring a serial killer, who has taken so many lives, to court. I don't even want him dead, I just want him in front of a court."
"I felt so desperate. I knew if I stayed within the rules, I would probably never be able to catch him. So I called in my own people; when that wasn't enough, I went myself."
"I followed him to the East Coast, and when I found out he got on the Dakotazo, I was ecstatic because I knew that ship's legendary status was on record with the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
"Whether it's the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Guard, or the military, they are all interested in this elusive Ghost Ship, but they can't do anything. They can't catch it or control whatever happens on it."
"I was ecstatic at the time, thinking I finally had a good chance to kill him. But I crossed too many lines, even disrupted my supervisor's important plans. At the time, I didn't pay much attention to his talk of 'important plans,' but looking back, it might have been about you."
"And now I finally understand why he looked so surprised when I told him I received your challenge and was invited on the ship."
"In fact, his surprise went beyond that." Oliver moved up two steps and stood in front of Amanda, saying, "He should be more pleased at the thought of getting rid of both of us, two major nuisances, at once."
"Although I say this, you might think I'm inciting your hatred, but based on my investigation of that massacre, it wasn't entirely Flamingo's idea, and it went even beyond the Penitent Cartel."
Amanda stared at him blankly.
Oliver lowered his eyes and said, "I'm sorry for the tragedy that befell your family, but I think you understand that it can't possibly have been a whimsical idea that Flamingo had while walking down the street to kill your family. He's not that kind of psychopath."
"From what I've read in the newspapers, that guy was just a small fry among serial killers, who couldn't make it in Gotham and had to flee elsewhere. He has always been just a gun in someone else's hands. As for the truth, I'm afraid you'll have to investigate that yourself."
Amanda was unnerved by the many implications in Oliver's words. She had made the serial killer responsible for her family's death her life's revenge target, and she was prepared to give everything for it. But that also meant she could not accept an even darker truth.
Grinding her teeth, Amanda looked at Oliver and said, "So you must have your reasons for challenging me, for bringing me aboard this ship. Let's hear it."
"Before that, I must ask, are the agents who boarded the ship your people?"
"You know that's impossible. I haven't been the team leader long enough to have that many confidants, and my supervisor doesn't trust me. Most of them are his people."
Oliver rubbed his forehead and said, "Well, it seems the situation is worse than I imagined. But no matter, if the plan goes through, I'm going to hit the Federal Bureau of Investigation hard."
"What exactly are you planning to do?"
"I..."
Suddenly, a greater commotion erupted below the stairs, with cries and screams rising up. Everyone was shouting.
"A body! A body! There's a body in the storeroom!!!"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone