CHAPTER 494: CHAPTER 294 HAPPY_1

"Third floor, Room 207."

Dean recalled the address sent from the Smith Detective Agency headquarters. He wondered if they had mistakenly given him the wrong one.

This decrepit apartment... calling it cheap housing for undocumented workers wouldn’t be an exaggeration. And they use this to meet clients? Isn’t it a bit too low-end?

Oh well, since I’m already here... Dean muttered and was just about to go upstairs.

Just then, a woman suddenly roared from above, "FK, go to hell, you bastard!"

The next moment, a figure fell from the sky, landing right on the car in front of Dean.

Dean looked up to see an Asian middle-aged woman on the second floor, still at the window, cursing at the Caucasian man who had fallen, "Fuck your mother to hell, you son of a bitch! I asked you to find evidence of my husband’s cheating, and you fucking went and manufactured the evidence yourself!"

Being too agitated, the woman had burst into the dialect of her hometown.

Dean’s eyes widened slightly. Wow. Turns out she’s a Sichuan lass from back home. And hey, that authentic cursing cadence is quite endearing. But what did she mean by that? Why can’t I understand it?

"COUGH, COUGH." The Caucasian man who had fallen from the second floor clutched his stomach. With a wronged expression on his grimy face, he said in awkward Mandarin, "Just tell me, did you get the evidence or not?"

"PTUI!" The Caucasian man’s words only infuriated the woman on the second floor even more.

Dean suspected that if her skirt hadn’t hindered her from climbing the corridor railing, the woman upstairs would have definitely jumped down after spitting and crushed the Caucasian man lying on the car roof. She was already trying to lift her foot onto the railing.

The Caucasian man was scared out of his wits. Ignoring the soreness on his back, he slid off the car roof clutching his stomach, took out his keys from his pocket, and quickly got into the car.

By the time the woman from the second floor rushed down, the Caucasian man had already started the car and sped away.

「...」

"That son of a bitch sure can run!" The middle-aged woman cursed a few times in the direction the car had gone before noticing a tall, handsome man standing beside her, watching the commotion.

Her eyes lit up. She smoothed her disheveled hair and, adopting a coquettish tone, said, "Handsome, are you here to recruit? My name is Li Juan. I have many affordable and capable workers. I can make some introductions for you."

As she spoke, she even pulled out a business card from her pocket and handed it over.

Dean accepted the business card and saw it read: "Li Juan Labor Services."

Got it. This woman works in labor services.

If I’m not mistaken, the workers Li Juan mentioned are most likely also undocumented workers from China.

Actually, at this time, apart from legal immigrants, there weren’t that many undocumented Chinese workers in the United States. Most of them came through referrals from relatives or friends to intermediaries, who then helped arrange their passage. This segment of people was mostly concentrated in fixed areas where, before they got their work cards, they all worked for some Chinese bosses. Only after becoming familiar with the local ways would this group try to venture out and distance themselves from their fellow countrymen acting as intermediaries.

Let’s not delve into the twists and turns for now.

Dean wanted to get some information about the place from Li Juan, so he shook his head. "I’m here to find someone. By the way, isn’t this an apartment building? Can you recruit people here?"

Perhaps it was because he was handsome. After hearing Dean’s words, Li Juan looked puzzled but still patiently explained, "This community is basically full of undocumented workers from China. The apartment building in front of you is also rented out by various intermediaries. So, people who come here are either looking for work or looking to hire cheap labor."

"But I heard there’s a detective agency here..."

Li Juan rolled her eyes. "Right. The one who just moved in, that bastard who just ran off, he opened it. Claims to be an affiliate of some big Commonwealth detective agency. PTUI!"

After spitting reflexively, Li Juan realized she had let her true colors show. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, she quickly wiped her mouth, hurried to another car downstairs, got in, and drove away.

Dean watched the taillights of the departing car and stroked his chin. This seems even less reliable now!

「...」

The apartment building was only five stories tall. Upon reaching the second floor, Dean noticed that below each room number, white pieces of paper were indeed posted, with the names and phone numbers of various labor intermediaries written in Pinyin.

These are probably all unlicensed agencies, the kind without proper credentials. This type of agency generally did business with acquaintances or through client referrals. Unless someone reported them, foreigners usually couldn’t read the Pinyin and wouldn’t deliberately cause trouble for these places.

Rooms 201-206 all had the names of intermediaries on white paper, including Li Juan Labor Services.

Two room doors were open. Through the wide-open doorways, he could see simple office desks inside, with small beds beside them, along with pots, pans, and other cooking utensils. Cheap mattresses covered the floor, upon which several listless, middle-aged Asian men and women lay. They’re probably all Chinese...

When the people inside saw Dean walking past in the corridor, their faces showed no panic. It seemed they were all veterans, not newcomers to the area.

After passing these rooms, Dean arrived at Room 207 at the end of the hallway.

The room door was wide open. On the wooden door, a clear footprint was visible. The heel part had punched a hole through it; it looked like it had been kicked by a high heel. The splintered wood was fresh. If I’m not mistaken, Li Juan must have done this just now...