15: Chapter 15 FBI Agent Kate, The Game Begins

The afternoon sun in Los Santos, carrying a touch of scorching heat, passed through the gaps in the cheap curtains, casting mottled shadows on the concrete floor of the abandoned factory.

Michael De Santa's wounds had been treated by the black market doctor; although he was still grimacing in pain, he was at least out of life-threatening danger.

He leaned against the iron bed frame covered with a tattered blanket, watching Lin Fan sitting in front of a makeshift computer, typing away, his brow furrowed into a knot.

Franklin was pacing back and forth at the factory entrance, fiddling with a handgun, his eyes full of vigilance.

Ever since the news of skyrocketing prices spread throughout the city, the streets of Los Santos had become increasingly chaotic, with robberies and brawls occurring one after another; people like them with "money in their pockets" naturally became targets for all sorts of unsavory characters.

"What are you still tinkering with, kid?" Michael De Santa couldn't help but speak up, his voice hoarse. "The black market doctor has been paid, and the remaining money is enough for us to find a safe house to hide for a while."

Lin Fan's fingers kept tapping on the keyboard without looking up: "I'm checking the recent news to see if there's any movement from the Snake Fang Gang. Also, I need to confirm if there are any loose ends left after that stock market bug was fixed."

As soon as he finished speaking, the factory's iron door was gently knocked.

"Knock, knock, knock—" Three crisp knocks sounded, appearing exceptionally abrupt in the silent factory.

Franklin's movements froze instantly; he abruptly raised his handgun, aimed it at the entrance, and lowered his voice to shout, "Who is it?!"

A crisp female voice came from outside the door, carrying a touch of professional gentleness: "Hello, I am Kate Walker, a reporter for the Los Santos Daily. I heard that an investment expert who recently made a fortune in the stock market lives here, so I came specifically for an exclusive interview."

A reporter?

Lin Fan, Michael De Santa, and Franklin exchanged glances, all seeing confusion and vigilance in each other's eyes.

They were hiding in this godforsaken abandoned factory; how could the news have leaked?

"There's no investment expert here; you've got the wrong place!" Franklin shouted sternly.

"Is that so?" The woman outside chuckled, her tone firm. "But I found out that yesterday there was an anonymous transfer of 20 million USD to the black market doctor's account, and the IP address of the transfer was in this vicinity."

Lin Fan's pupils contracted sharply.

Being able to trace the IP address and knowing about the transfer, this woman was definitely not just an ordinary reporter!

He signaled to Michael De Santa and Franklin, indicating they should not act rashly, then slowly stood up, walked to the door, and looked out through the gap in the iron door.

Standing outside the door was a blonde woman wearing a sharp white suit, holding a press pass and a voice recorder, with a polite smile on her face.

She was tall with delicate features, and her blue eyes were like icy lake water, sharp enough to seem to see through a person's heart.

"Who exactly are you?" Lin Fan's voice was cold. "Stop pretending; a reporter wouldn't have such great abilities."

The woman smiled slightly. She didn't answer Lin Fan's question, but instead shook the voice recorder in her hand, her tone relaxed: "Mr. Lin, I just want to chat with you for a few minutes about your 'divine operation' in the stock market. I heard you've made a lot of money recently; some say you are the reincarnation of Buffett. Is that true?"

Lin Fan's heart sank.

Reincarnation of Buffett? This was something he had casually said while bragging to the black market doctor yesterday; how could this woman know?

He knew that the woman in front of him was definitely up to no good.

"Open the door, Mr. Lin." The woman's voice remained gentle but carried an irresistible force. "I didn't bring any weapons, and I didn't call anyone else. We're just chatting; it won't cause you any trouble."

Lin Fan hesitated for a moment. He glanced at Michael De Santa and Franklin behind him, and seeing them both nod, he slowly pulled back the latch of the iron door.

The iron door creaked open, and the woman stepped in. Her gaze swept around the factory and finally landed on Lin Fan's face, a meaningful smile curling the corners of her mouth: "Mr. Lin, nice to meet you."

"What exactly do you want?" Lin Fan asked straightforwardly. He could feel that this woman had a very dangerous aura about her, even more unfathomable than a ghost.

The woman put away the voice recorder, walked to a worn-out chair, and sat down, crossing her legs with an elegant posture: "Don't be nervous, Mr. Lin. I really am here for an interview. I'm very curious, how did you turn 50,000 USD into 20 million USD in just a few hours? You know, the Gold Coast stock is notoriously a junk stock."

Lin Fan sneered in his heart; he knew this woman was testing him.

He decided to go along with her words, wearing a smug smile on his face: "What's difficult about that? I am the reincarnation of Buffett, so my judgment is naturally better than others. I saw long ago that this stock would skyrocket, so I went all-in."

The woman raised an eyebrow, staring into Lin Fan's eyes as if judging whether what he said was true or false. After a while, she suddenly changed the topic, her tone becoming serious: "Mr. Lin, do you know? Because of your 'divine operation', the economic system of Los Santos has experienced serious disorder. Prices are skyrocketing, citizens are protesting, stock market data is fluctuating abnormally... all of these were caused by you."

Lin Fan's expression instantly darkened.

As expected, this woman's target was him!

He stared into the woman's eyes and asked back without backing down: "As a reporter, why would you care about this economic data? As far as I know, the finance section of the Los Santos Daily would never report this 'negative energy' news."

The woman's mouth curled up slightly. She didn't answer Lin Fan's question but instead stood up, walked in front of Lin Fan, and lowered her voice to say: "Mr. Lin, you are not from this world, are you?"

This sentence was like a thunderbolt, exploding in Lin Fan's mind.

His pupils contracted sharply, his muscles instantly tensed up, and he took a sudden step back, looking at the woman vigilantly: "What nonsense are you talking about?"

The woman chuckled, patted Lin Fan's shoulder, and said with a meaningful tone: "Mr. Lin, don't be nervous. I have no ill intentions. I just want to tell you that those who play with fire will get burned. You are using game bugs to make money and disrupting the rules of this world; sooner or later, you will pay the price."

After speaking, she turned and walked towards the factory entrance. As she was about to step out of the iron door, she stopped, looked back at Lin Fan, and a cold smile curled the corners of her mouth: "Mr. Lin, we will meet again."

With that, she left without looking back.

The factory fell into a deathly silence.

Michael De Santa and Franklin hurried over. Franklin asked anxiously: "Lin Fan, who exactly is this woman? What did she mean by what she said just now? What does it mean that you are not from this world?"

Lin Fan didn't answer their questions; his mind was in chaos.

Who exactly was this woman? How could she know he wasn't from this world?

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

He thought of something!

He rushed to the computer, his fingers tapping rapidly on the keyboard. He was going to hack into this woman's computer to see who she really was!

Relying on his primary hacking skills, Lin Fan quickly cracked the woman's computer firewall. He opened the woman's personal folder, and the contents made him gasp.

In the folder, there was a detailed investigation report. The cover of the report clearly read—FBI Agent Kate Walker, codename "Hunter."

So, this woman was an FBI Agent!

Lin Fan continued to read, his gaze falling on an investigation file about himself. The file detailed all his actions since transmigrating into this world, including robbing a convenience store, being under a five-star wanted level, stealing Victor's car, using the stock market bug to make money... and even, there were photos of him in the real world!

Lin Fan's heart was surging with shock. This Kate actually even had photos of him in the real world!

He continued to scroll down and saw a file about Kate's father. The file showed that Kate's father was a game tester named "Thomas Walker," who had participated in the development and testing of "GTA5" and had mysteriously disappeared ten years ago.

Lin Fan's eyes lit up. He finally understood!

Kate knew this world was a game world; her father might have also transmigrated into this world, or perhaps her father was silenced because he discovered the secret of this world!

Just then, a prompt box suddenly popped up on the system panel—[Warning! Warning! Detected that the host is illegally hacking an FBI Agent's computer!] [Warning! Warning! Detected that a third party is monitoring the host's location!]

Lin Fan's heart sank. A third party?

He quickly exited Kate's computer, then looked at Michael De Santa and Franklin, speaking urgently: "Bad! We have to leave here immediately! That woman is an FBI Agent, and she has already leaked our location!"

Michael De Santa and Franklin's faces turned pale instantly. They didn't dare to hesitate at all, hurriedly packed their things, and ran wildly towards the factory's back door.

Meanwhile, in a luxury villa in Los Santos, Victor was sitting in front of a surveillance screen, watching the figures of Lin Fan and the others fleeing in a panic, a cold smile curling the corners of his mouth.

Standing behind him was Ghost.

"Boss, this Kate really didn't disappoint us." Ghost's voice was cold. "She has successfully locked onto Lin Fan's location."

Victor chuckled, picked up the red wine on the table, took a sip, and said in a sinister tone: "Lin Fan, the game has only just begun. I'd like to see how much longer you, this outsider, can keep struggling."

After speaking, he finished the red wine in his glass in one gulp.

Outside the window, the sun was setting, dyeing the sky of Los Santos a blood-red color.

A new storm was quietly brewing, and Lin Fan was standing at the center of it.

He knew that from the moment he transmigrated into this world, he was destined to engage in a life-or-death struggle against the rules of this world and those enemies hidden in the darkness.