23: Chapter 23 Only Liars Understand Liars

The rain on Wall Street always carries the stench of money.

The rain washed the asphalt streets, but it couldn't wash away the smell, which was a mix of blood and the rot of money.

By the time Chen Mo arrived at the scene, a crowd of reporters armed with cameras and microphones had already gathered outside the police tape.

The camera flashes lit up the gloomy afternoon like broad daylight, and the rapid clicking of shutters sounded like a small-scale gunfight.

"Get out of the way! NYPD business!"

Chen Mo roughly shoved aside a few reporters who were trying to shove microphones into his face and ducked under the police tape.

A corpse lay face down on the sidewalk in front of Trump Tower.

It was a corpse dressed in a custom, handmade Italian suit.

The expensive fabric was now soaked with rain and blood, clinging tightly to the victim's already deformed torso.

A six-figure Patek Philippe watch was still ticking precisely on the deceased's wrist, the sound of the ticking second hand drowned out by the rain.

"Is this the bastard who swindled half of New York's middle class out of their life savings?"

A patrol officer responsible for securing the scene spat on the ground, his eyes filled with disgust.

"Jonathan Rockefeller. I heard the Ponzi scheme he was running collapsed yesterday. And look at that, today he came down from the 30th floor to experience the acceleration of gravity."

Chen Mo didn't reply. He put on latex gloves and squatted down.

The rain beat against his trench coat, dripping from the brim of his hat.

At this moment, the surrounding noise seemed to vanish.

In his eyes, there was only this corpse—or rather, only the faintly glowing green light ball floating above it that no one else could see.

This glow was purer than any he had ever seen before, exuding an air of cunning and temptation.

Chen Mo reached out, pretending to check the victim's carotid artery, but in reality, he gently pressed his fingers against the cold skin.

"Extract."

He muttered in his heart.

[Extraction successful!]

[Obtained Skill: Advanced Deception (Green)]

[Obtained Asset Clue: Zurich Bank of Switzerland Anonymous Account Key (Memory Fragment)]

In an instant, a massive and obscure stream of information rushed into Chen Mo's brain.

It wasn't just a skill; it was a reshaping of his entire way of thinking.

At this moment, the world in Chen Mo's eyes changed.

He looked at the surrounding crowd, and they were no longer just people, but walking "vulnerabilities."

The fat cop's posture showed he wanted to slack off; the female reporter's eyes showed she was desperate for fame, easily manipulated if given some juicy scoop.

Even the security system of this bank building automatically conjured up several social engineering intrusion schemes in his mind.

This was [Advanced Deception].

It didn't teach how to lie, but how to exploit the weaknesses of human nature to weave a web that people would willingly jump into.

Immediately after, the memory fragment exploded in his mind.

A 16-digit account number, along with a complex dynamic password combination.

Five million dollars.

This was the last life-saving sum of money Jonathan Rockefeller had transferred before his death. It was clean and hidden; except for the deceased, no one knew of its existence.

Now, it belonged to Chen Mo.

"Phew..." Chen Mo slowly exhaled, suppressing the restlessness in his heart.

Five million.

This money was enough for him to complete the next phase of his plans.

But the problem was, this money was definitely being watched by the hounds of the FBI or the IRS. If he used it directly, it would be suicide.

Almost subconsciously, [Advanced Deception] began to operate.

In an instant, three money laundering schemes were constructed in Chen Mo's mind.

Scheme One: Using offshore companies for fake trade. Too slow.

Scheme Two: Through a Bitcoin mixer. Too much loss.

Scheme Three...

Chen Mo's gaze swept across the deceased's belongings, his eyes locking onto the Patek Philippe that was still ticking.

Utilizing legal loopholes in art auctions and Legacy inheritance.

Perfect.

Chen Mo stood up and took off his gloves.

"Sir, the FBI is here," the patrol officer suddenly leaned in and said in a lowered voice.

Chen Mo turned his head and saw a black SUV parked by the roadside.

Although he didn't see Jessica, the agents who got out were all familiar faces.

"Let them investigate," Chen Mo said coldly.

"The man is dead anyway, and the money has evaporated. They can't take anything away except this pile of rotten meat."

Just as he was about to turn and leave the corpse, a strange sensation made him stop in his tracks.

It was his [Primary Investigative Intuition] raising an alarm.

It wasn't danger, but a feeling of being watched.

Chen Mo abruptly turned his head, his gaze cutting through the layers of rain and crowd, locking precisely onto a black sedan across the street.

A woman was standing there.

She wore a black trench coat and held a black umbrella.

The rain had dampened her golden hair, a few strands clinging to her pale cheeks.

She was beautiful, with a sharp, piercing kind of beauty.

But what caught Chen Mo's attention the most were her eyes.

There was no sadness in those eyes, no fear, only a heart-stopping calmness.

It was as if she were watching a play whose ending she already knew.

She stood there, quietly looking at the corpse on the ground, or perhaps, at Chen Mo, who was examining the corpse.

Chen Mo narrowed his eyes.

Jonathan Rockefeller had a daughter. According to the files, she was a typical Manhattan socialite, busy with shopping and parties all day long.

But this woman's eyes didn't look like those of a naive girl who had just lost her father.

Chen Mo crossed the police tape and walked straight toward the woman.

Seeing Chen Mo approach, the woman did not dodge.

She slightly raised her chin, revealing her slender neck, looking like a proud swan.

"Ava Rockefeller?" Chen Mo stopped two paces away from her. His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear amidst the sound of the rain.

"If you're here to offer condolences, Officer, don't bother."

The woman's voice was slightly raspy but carried a magnetic quality. "If you're here to ask where the money is, then you're no different from those vultures."

She gestured with her chin toward the creditors and reporters not far away.

Chen Mo looked at her and suddenly smiled.

"I'm not here for the money." Chen Mo took a step closer and lowered his voice.

"I'm here to remind you that the mess your father left behind might just cost you your life."

Ava's pupils contracted slightly.

"Are you threatening me?"

"No, I'm stating a fact." Chen Mo pointed to his own eyes.

"I've seen a lot of corpses, Miss Ava. Some die of greed, some die of stupidity. But I don't want you lying in that freezer either."

Ava stared intently at Chen Mo, as if trying to see through the young detective's disguise.

A few seconds later, she suddenly moved.

She took a step forward, closing the distance between them.

From a distance, it looked like a grieving family member seeking comfort from an officer.

Their bodies were almost pressed together, and Chen Mo could even smell the faint scent of her perfume.

"I know you know the password."

Ava's voice was as light as a breeze, slipping into Chen Mo's ear.

Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat, but not a single facial muscle twitched.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Chen Mo took half a step back, widening the distance, his face still wearing that business-like expression.

Ava looked at him, the corner of her mouth suddenly curving into an extremely subtle arc. It wasn't a smile, but more like the excitement before a hunt.

She reached out and slipped a wet slip of paper into Chen Mo's trench coat pocket.

"Tonight at ten, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Room 2306. If you don't come, neither of us will get this money."

With that, she turned and slipped into the black sedan.

The car window rolled up, cutting off Chen Mo's view.

Chen Mo stood in the rain, his hand in his pocket, his fingertips touching the cold slip of paper.

[Advanced Deception] spun wildly in his mind, analyzing every word and action from just now.

She was lying.

She didn't know the password; she was bluffing me.

This woman...

Chen Mo watched the receding taillights, his gaze gradually growing deep.

How was she some down-and-out socialite? She was clearly a little venomous snake that hadn't fully grown yet.

"Interesting."

Chen Mo turned, looked at the corpse still drenched in the rain, and muttered to himself.

"It seems the Legacy you left behind is even more of a hot potato than I imagined."