Not even started, and the trouble's already gone

Rock hesitated for a moment, then quickly made a decision, made a U-turn at an intersection, and drove back. Opportunities like this were rare!

His approach to doing things, besides being cautious, steady, and conservative, had another hidden trait.

That was his ability to adapt on the fly. He wasn't a rigid person.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been the longest-surviving cleaner in the organization in his past life.

Even the best plans couldn't account for sudden surprises and rapidly changing variables.

With Avadia's bodyguards not guarding downstairs, it meant Avadia was alone now.

Rock parked the car across from the apartment building, recalling the lighting situation of the building when he passed by earlier. After a while, he noticed changes in the lights of three rooms, with two turning on and one turning off.

His gaze finally settled on a brightly lit room on the seventh floor. The top floor would be a convenient escape route.

After confirming Avadia's room, Rock didn't act rashly. He waited for another half an hour to ensure there were no anomalies before driving the car to the bottom of the apartment building.

He put on latex gloves and a baseball cap, grabbed his tools, and entered the apartment building.

In such a chaotic area, there were naturally no security guards or cameras.

Rock didn't take the elevator but climbed the stairs to the seventh floor. Based on the position of the lights, he quickly found Avadia's room.

After eavesdropping at the door for a while, he could faintly hear music coming from the bathroom. Rock guessed Avadia was probably taking a shower, so he unlocked the door directly.

It could be said that 90% of locks in the world were virtually useless under an L2 lock-picking skill. In less than five seconds, he was inside the room.

The room wasn't too large, with a layout of two bedrooms and two living rooms, typical of Mexican decor. As expected, the music was indeed coming from the bathroom.

Rock first checked if there were any cameras in the room. Not finding any, he then checked if there were any other people in the two rooms. Usually, small-time bosses like Avadia, who were dispatched abroad, would be alone in Los Angeles, while their families remained in Mexico.

Rock also saw Avadia's family photos in the room—a very happy family, all smiling brightly.

Rock opened his toolbox and took out a syringe of special sedative he prepared. He walked calmly to the bathroom door, as if back in his previous life.

Being a cleaner wasn't just about dealing with dead bodies; sometimes it involved being an assassin and dealing with living targets.

Soon, Avadia, dressed in dark golden pajamas, came out of the bathroom, still humming a cheerful Mexican song. Before he could react, he felt a prick on the back of his neck. He tried to turn around, but his vision blurred, and he passed out.

When Avadia woke up, he found himself lying on the bathroom floor, feeling weak and sore all over. But through his fingertips, he sensed he was lying on a large piece of plastic film, and his face changed instantly.

"Avadia, there are some things I want to ask you, and I hope you'll answer truthfully..." A voice came from above, speaking in authentic Mexican Spanish.

Avadia's heart trembled. He wanted to lift his head to see who was speaking, but he couldn't. Despair washed over him instantly, and he cried out, "I confess! I leaked the last deal to the DEA. They forced me to. Please tell José I've become a DEA informant. I'm still useful to the gang. I'll make up for the losses. Please don't kill me or hurt my family..."

Rock, expressionless, looked at the man on the floor, who was crying and trembling. It seemed this guy knew what was coming next.

He furrowed his brow. Originally, he only intended to get some information about the Minotaurs organization from Avadia, but he hadn't expected this unexpected gain.

Avadia was actually a DEA informant and had just cooperated with them in revealing his organization's deal. No wonder he was so nervous!

Rock pondered for a moment and asked, "How did the DEA force you?"

Avadia remained silent for a moment before pleading, "I want to call José..."

Rock guessed that José was probably the leader of the Pascia organization. However, he didn't have the other party's phone number. What's the use of a call!

Ignoring Avadia's request, Rock took out another syringe and injected it into his neck. This was a drug similar to the CIA's truth serum, but with greater side effects.

After the injection, in order to lower Avadia's psychological defenses, Rock said coldly, "Avadia, your fate is clear to you. If you confess everything, I promise your family will be safe..."

He was telling the truth. Avadia betrayed the organization, and Pascia probably didn't know about it yet. When he died, this matter would go with him to hell, and his family would naturally be safe.

Rock asked again, "How did the DEA force you?"

Avadia's heart raced, and his mind was hazy. Hearing that his family would be safe, his guard dropped, and he blurted out, "The DEA found out I was falsifying accounts..."

Listening to Avadia's account, Rock was speechless. It turned out this guy had been embezzling nearly $2 million from the Pascia organization over the years by falsifying accounts. Recently, the IRS had targeted him for tax issues at the bar, but since the IRS already knew he was a drug dealer through internal information, they passed the discovery on to the DEA.

So the DEA used this to blackmail Avadia into becoming their informant.

Avadia, with a soft backbone and some coercion from the DEA, had yielded. The last time he betrayed his own organization's deal to the DEA was his way of proving himself.

This guy had embezzled nearly $2 million from the Pascia organization over a dozen years, but he didn't dare to show it or send it back to Mexico. He had hidden the money in a safe house.

Rock remembered the address of the safe house and asked, "What's the safe code in the bedroom?"

He had noticed a large safe in the bedroom while inspecting the room.

"9527..."

Avadia's consciousness was starting to fade, answering whatever Rock asked.

Rock continued, "What's in the safe?"

Avadia answered intermittently, "This month's revenue, ledgers, merchandise, guns, and my watch..."

Seeing that Avadia was barely conscious, Rock asked about the purpose of tonight's visit, "Tell me everything you know about the Minotaurs organization..."

Avadia was on the verge of passing out, and it took him a while to respond, "The Minotaurs no longer exist. They were wiped out by Santoni three days ago. The organization's core members were hung from the viaduct in Tijuana, and only a few small fries joined other gangs..."

Rock was stunned. He had wanted to figure out the situation of the Minotaurs organization before going on his next administrative leave and visiting Tijuana to eliminate this potential threat.

But he hadn't expected that before he could start, the threat had already disappeared.