"...Bro, what the hell happened to you!?"
Upon meeting, Bella was startled. Comrade 006 was sitting on the floor, blood bubbling out of two holes in his abdomen. His face was pale as a sheet; he looked like he might keel over at any moment.
Why is it that every time I see you, you look like you've been through a meat grinder?
There was medicine in 006's safe house. Bella hurriedly applied it to the unlucky agent and bandaged his wounds.
Two hours later, Comrade 006 slowly woke up. Although weak, he was angry enough to curse loudly.
"That guy was a total psycho! Didn't say a word, just walked up and stabbed me twice in the gut! Damn it! FUCK!" He cursed endlessly, mixing in a few Cossack profanities.
Bella frowned, slowly piecing it together.
The incident was incredibly simple. Comrade 006 had taken a taxi. When he got out, a passerby walking behind him simply stabbed him twice...
His injuries from Silent Hill hadn't healed yet, and now he had suffered heavy trauma again. However, being quite fierce, he managed to fight back despite the heavy injury, stabbing the attacker in the neck. The attacker fled immediately. Since 006 was also someone who couldn't see the light of day, he hid in this safe house.
"I'm so pissed off! I didn't know that guy at all! He didn't look like one of my peers either. It's unbelievable! He was just a madman!"
Comrade 006 was furious. No grudges, no grievances, total strangers—why would someone ambush him?
Bella felt she had guessed the answer. Comrade 006 had most likely, probably, perhaps... encountered the Zodiac Killer wandering the streets looking for a target?
The Zodiac Killer saw Comrade 006 limping, gasping for breath after two steps, looking physically weak. Without thinking, he went up and stabbed him twice...
He just didn't expect that the target he picked this time had the ability to fight back.
Bella wanted to laugh but covered her mouth, forcibly holding it in. California producing such a psycho was embarrassing for her too. Now this psycho had almost stabbed to death her ally—a former British agent turned Cossack friend. This whole thing was truly nonsense.
Los Angeles was already on edge. The scene had been relatively hidden and dimly lit, in the suburbs, but it wasn't devoid of witnesses; at least the taxi driver saw most of it.
The Zodiac Killer had the advantage of the first move and a sneak attack, stabbing 006 twice. But the physical conditioning of an elite agent still far exceeded that of a deranged civilian. 006's counterattack had also heavily injured the Zodiac Killer. The result was that both of them fled the scene simultaneously.
"That's the data I investigated. There will be more later; you can look at this first." 006 pointed weakly at a thick folder on the table.
"Thank you." Bella thanked him sincerely.
"Cybil died... it's a real shame."
006 told her the news of the policewoman's death. Bella was slightly surprised. The policewoman's condition had seemed okay back then; how did she survive Silent Hill only to die in a hospital?
However, she didn't feel overly sad. They were strangers who had met by chance. She had done her best to rescue her, and 006 had paid the medical bills afterward. She had done her absolute best. They had done their duty—she couldn't be expected to mourn by the bedside like a grieving daughter.
"Perhaps this is also a release. That degree of burns is hard to cure completely."
"It's a pity. She was a good person."
Originally, Bella wanted to ask about the specific investigation of Prosperity, Arizona, as reading files wasn't as clear as a verbal account. But seeing 006 looking like he was on his last legs, she decided she'd better leave quickly!
The two parted ways quickly. 006 had to run before the LAPD cast their net.
Arizona, West Virginia, California—his impression of these American states was getting worse one by one. He planned to send Sharon and Rose (Alessa) to Europe, and incidentally go there to rest for a while himself. He had too many wounds, and the injuries were too heavy. If he stayed in the United States any longer, he felt he would die!
Bella also left quickly. She was also worried about the police tracking. If they traced it back to her, it would look incredibly suspicious—innocent or not, the mud would stick, and she'd never be able to explain it away.
For the next few days, she flipped through 006's investigation results. Several photocopied documents showed that Israel wanted to test a type of bioweapon. The target they chose was Prosperity, Arizona. As for which channel this weapon was purchased from, further investigation was needed.
...
The holiday ended, and Bella returned to school to continue her studies.
She wasn't used to this teaching mode where a semester lasted only two months (Quarter System). Last semester, finals arrived just as she was getting into the study groove! But she had to adapt whether she was used to it or not.
Bella had an additional task this semester: Writing (Plagiarizing) a Book!
The title of a best-selling author would be very popular here. After a comprehensive investigation revealed that several best-selling authors in her memory didn't exist at all, Bella's plagiarism plan officially began.
Harry Potter was good, but without a movie company to hype it, it would be hard for the book to catch fire on its own. Plus, magic was something that could easily attract the attention of interested parties. Combined with the events happening around her, her biggest trump card might be exposed.
Harry Potter was vetoed.
The second thing she thought of was Game of Thrones. However, this book also had a certain magical style and could easily cause unnecessary associations. Plus, the book was a slow burn, the character relationships were complex, and the length was too long. It was also vetoed.
Finally, she chose a novel of medium length, with depth, discussion value, high style, and great relevance to her major: The Da Vinci Code.
In Bella's memory, Leonardo da Vinci should be dead. There was no risk of some white-bearded old man jumping out from a corner and accusing her of talking nonsense.
"I am Da Vinci! I never said these words! These words are not mine!" Such a scene shouldn't happen...
Bella's own study direction was Semiotics and Linguistics. She had read a large number of theological books, perfectly matching the premise of this book.
She just needed to change the protagonist from a Harvard University professor to a Stanford University professor, and it would be OK!
The Da Vinci Code was less than four hundred thousand words. She planned to use a year to finish writing this book.
Bella shut out the world, dedicating her heart and soul to "writing" her bestseller.
While she concentrated on her own affairs at Stanford, the outside world was in chaos.
Random homicides were a nightmare for the police. The police force of Los Angeles and even the entire state of California was spread out, but multiple investigations turned up absolutely nothing.
Counting the Christmas holiday, the people of California spent a full three months in a state of fear.
The Zodiac Killer, whom the police expected to jump out and clamor, uncharacteristically made no moves. It was as if he had vanished from the face of the earth.