Cherreads

Chapter 138 - Hidden Mechanisms

Dismantling and inspecting as he went, Hunter quickly transferred all the munitions Stansfield had hidden in the villa's attic into his Personal Inventory.

By the time he stored the last crate...

Hunter had harvested over thirty different police-issue weapons ordered by the DEA.

In addition, he also obtained two crates of stun grenades, one crate of flashbangs, four crates of frag grenades, and eight sets of police body armor stamped with "DEA."

Just these items alone... not to mention that many were high-grade goods unavailable on the market without special channels...

Conservatively, Hunter estimated their value to be at least three or four million dollars.

Just with this haul, his break-in into Stansfield's home had already turned a tidy profit.

"Worth it!"

However, Hunter didn't believe that Stansfield—a corrupt cop masquerading under the DEA's banner who dared to traffic drugs openly—had only embezzled this little bit of wealth over the years.

After emptying the weapons and equipment, Hunter quickly and meticulously checked the entire attic space several times.

He shook his head helplessly, confirming there were no hidden compartments or the like to hide things here.

So, Hunter quickly evacuated the attic.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to take the towel he used to cover the camera.

Even the slightest possible clue... Hunter didn't want it discovered by investigators later, especially the FBI.

After retreating quickly from the attic, he had thoroughly inspected the entire second floor of the villa.

Hunter then continued his inspection down to the first floor.

Walking down the stairs to the first floor...

Hunter shone his mirror around, and his face twitched immediately.

Stansfield's first floor—from the living room to the stairs and hallways—was completely covered by surveillance cameras.

"It seems the first floor likely hides something."

"Maybe the black money Stansfield earned from drug trafficking is hidden on the first floor."

Hunter didn't believe Stansfield had only embezzled some weapons and equipment from the DEA after all these years.

He used the mirror to check for a while but found no blind spots.

He would definitely be captured by the cameras, leaving an image.

Hunter wasn't sure if destroying these cameras would trigger any alarms.

Thinking that he was already disguised with makeup... he took out the bandit ski mask he had used when exploring Steve's villa from his Inventory.

After putting it on, Hunter walked downstairs.

Walking quickly through the living room, he didn't even check it.

Hunter didn't think Stansfield would hide black money in the living room on the first floor.

Then, room by room, he searched the first floor.

Unlike the second floor, almost all rooms on Stansfield's first floor were locked.

Along the way, Hunter encountered only three unlocked small rooms.

One was a toilet, one a bathroom, and one a kitchen.

All other rooms besides these were locked.

Hunter unlocked them one by one. The study hid a few guns, and a drawer contained some cash but not much, only a few thousand dollars.

The bedroom also hid a few guns and a gold watch encrusted with diamonds. Thinking it looked valuable, he took that too.

The home bar also hid guns. It was clear Stansfield was extremely cautious.

Searching room after room, Hunter soon checked all the rooms on the first floor of Stansfield's villa.

However, although he knocked on every wall and floorboard...

He found no hidden compartments, basements, or safes where money could be hidden.

"Strange!"

Hunter didn't believe a scumbag like Stansfield—who knowingly broke the law while working for the LA DEA, using his position to traffic drugs secretly—wouldn't have earned enough black money over the years.

Although the DEA weapons and equipment found in the attic earlier had already made the trip worthwhile...

It was precisely because of the harvest in the attic that he was now even more convinced he could find more of what he wanted here.

"Where is it hidden?"

Passing a camera again, Hunter looked up and locked eyes with it.

He didn't know how much time he had left. Perhaps Stansfield never thought anyone would dare break into his home.

Therefore, although he installed many cameras, he didn't arrange for guards.

After all, on the surface, Stansfield was just a senior DEA agent.

An official salary of just over a hundred thousand dollars a year wasn't enough to support a lavish lifestyle with guards.

"But where would Stansfield hide the money?"

Passing the home bar, Hunter stopped and took a few more looks.

In Stansfield's villa, a room had been specially designated as a home bar.

There were several wine cabinets displaying quite a few bottles of red wine, whiskey, brandy, and the like.

Hunter wasn't a heavy drinker. Plus, he hadn't drunk much foreign liquor in his previous life, and trying it a few times after transmigration didn't sit well with him.

So earlier, he had only checked briefly to confirm there were no secret doors or mechanisms before leaving.

Now looking at the wine cabinet again, he quickly determined something.

"Something's fishy!"

In Stansfield's home bar, there was a half-empty bottle sitting out.

Looking at the label, the text was French. Thanks to the proficiency system, Hunter had taught himself some French.

If he wasn't mistaken, that should be French Hine Antique XO Cognac.

Just looking at the gorgeous bottle, this wine wouldn't be cheap.

But looking at the wine cabinet, Hunter saw only cheap liquors available in supermarkets for ten or twenty dollars.

He observed carefully for a while, suspicion rising in his heart. So he picked up a few bottles to check.

Sure enough, Hunter soon discovered that the production dates on many bottles in the cabinet were over three to five years old.

Clearly, these cheap liquors were bought just for display.

"There's a problem. Definitely a problem!"

"Stansfield should have a special place to store expensive wines, unless he drinks every bottle of fine wine immediately after buying it."

Hunter thought of the firearms and equipment found in the attic not long ago.

He became even more certain that Stansfield's home must have a hidden place for storing liquor and valuable items.

So, centering on the home bar, he checked the first floor again.

But still, he found nothing.

"It shouldn't be. Stansfield's home definitely has a hidden chamber."

"Possibly a wine cellar or a basement."

"Could the entrance be in the carport?"

There was a garage on one side of Stansfield's villa.

But calling it a carport was more appropriate.

Because it didn't even have a door. Hunter had glanced at it before entering the villa.

However, he hadn't noticed anything unusual at the time.

Just as he hesitated whether to leave the villa and check the carport...

Hunter had unconsciously walked back to the living room on the first floor.

He stopped subconsciously, then looked up at the surveillance cameras.

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Hunter's mind.

"Clever Stansfield. What a cunning guy."

"I was wondering just now why three of the six cameras on the first floor are concentrated in the living room."

"Don't tell me Stansfield hid the entrance to the basement right here in the main hall on the first floor?"

With this thought, he immediately started tapping every inch of the floor and walls in the main hall.

Searching all the way to the space beneath the stairs leading to the second floor, Hunter looked at the stone wall that seemed to be bricked up.

He reached out and knocked hard on the stone wall under the stairs.

Thump! Thump!

The sound echoed hollowly.

Clearly, the stone wall under the stairs, which looked like solid masonry, hid a secret mechanism inside.

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