Legendary FBI Detective

Sitting on the bar's couch, Chenier, Winslow, Michelle, and Reesi all looked at her with faces full of curiosity. Mona gave Luo An a faint smile and said:

"My gift is a bit special; I didn't bring it in. It's behind the bar counter."

Upon hearing this, everyone present was full of puzzlement, and Luo An asked with a smile:

"Is it very heavy?"

"For you, definitely not."

Mona chuckled, stood up from the couch, gestured for everyone to follow, and didn't wait for Luo An to speak before Reesi already took the lead to follow.

The two reached the bar counter first, and Reesi's eyes widened in shock as she stood frozen:

"Holy crap!"

"What is it?"

Chenier and Michelle followed along, their expressions slightly odd, while Winslow, just like Reesi, had his eyes wide open.

Seeing this, Luo An grew even more puzzled:

"What on earth is it?"

Reesi swallowed and replied:

"Something you will absolutely love."

Looking at Mona next to him, who stood with her arms crossed, quietly smiling without a word, Luo An asked:

"Can I go over there?"

"Of course!"

With Mona's permission, Luo An left the couch and walked leisurely over.

Upon rounding the bar to the back, he saw on the ground, to the left and right, transparent plastic boxes each about the height of a person's waist.

A total of sixteen boxes contained a variety of differently shaped robots, the Transformers known throughout the Federation.

The eight figures on the left were of the Decepticons like Megatron and Red Spider while the eight on the right were Autobots such as Optimus Prime and Bumblebee.

All sixteen figures were posed in battle stances, looking as though they were preparing for a big fight.

"W-T-F?!"

Seeing Optimus Prime's red and blue figure on the ground, Bumblebee completely in orange, and the fierce looking Megatron opposite them, Luo An raised his eyebrow, muttering a curse involuntarily.

Mona next to him broke into a smile:

"The latest set of key Transformers character figures, do you like them?"

"Damn, I love them."

Luo An didn't rush to play with the figures, instead, he first turned around and gave Mona a big hug:

"Thank you, Mona."

At that moment, it was April 2006, and the first Transformers movie hadn't been released yet.

At home, Luo An used to follow old-school animations like Transformers, and Mona had never teased him for being childish, though she wasn't interested in these animations, just quietly sitting beside him, fiddling with her computer.

Therefore, Luo An truly hadn't expected Mona's gift to be a set of Transformer figures.

Luo An tilted his head and gave Mona a light kiss on the cheek, whispering:

"This is the best gift I've ever received."

"As long as you like it."

Mona smiled, she actually couldn't distinguish the roles of those figures very well and didn't know much about Transformers, she only knew Luo An liked them, and so she bought them.

Chenier and Michelle exchanged glances and both could see the confusion in each other's eyes; they didn't understand Transformers very well either.

Reesi, however, looked at the imposing Optimus Prime on the ground and licked her lips, somewhat jealously saying:

"I wish I had a girlfriend who would give me Transformers."

Winslow looked at her surprisingly and asked:

"You like Transformers?"

"..."

Reesi, at a loss for words, rolled her eyes at Winslow and couldn't be bothered to speak to him, picking up a bottle and looking at Luo An and Mona, she shouted:

"You two, stop hugging. It's time to cut the cake!"

"OK! Let's cut the cake!"

The cake purchased by Reesi and the others this time was about 12 inches in size, covered with strawberries, blueberries, pineapples, and other fruits, with a large "Happy Birthday" written in the middle.

According to Western tradition, they first stuck in candles and lit them, then Luo An began to make a wish with his eyes closed.

With adults present, there were no sneaky actions like pushing faces into the cake. After Luo An made his wish and blew out the candles vigorously, they began to share the cake.

Everyone sat on the couch, holding their cakes and joyously tasting them while chatting. Reesi wiped her mouth and asked:

"Luo An, can you share what wish you just made?"

"I won't tell you, it won't come true if I say it out loud."

Luo An glanced at Mona, smiled without answering Reesi's question and, not waiting for her to ask again, took the initiative to raise his bottle towards Winslow and loudly declared:

"Winslow, I promised you just now, you're definitely getting it tonight, it's time!"

"Can we switch to drinking instead?"

"That's fine too! Cheers! We don't stop until we're drunk!"

Luo An and Winslow's bottles clinked, followed closely by Reesi, Chenier, and others, all loudly proclaiming:

"We don't stop until we're drunk!"

After several hours of cheerful drinking and laughter, Luo An and Mona finally had someone drive them back to the hotel.

Back in the room, after locking the door and briefly kissing, Luo An looked at the sixteen figurines on the table nearby and chuckled softly:

"So, is this the surprise you mentioned when Winslow tricked me out of the room?"

"Of course."

Mona leaned against Luo An, her cheeks flushed slightly from alcohol, and smilingly asked:

"Do you like it?"

Luo An grinned and suddenly, amidst Mona's surprised cries, scooped her into his arms and strode towards the nearby large bed:

"The surprise is very nice; I like it a lot.

As repayment, I'm giving you half of the surprise right now!"

"Half of the surprise?"

Mona paused, puzzled, until she was tossed onto the bed by Luo An and realized what he meant by his words, but before she could speak, Luo An had already begun his moves:

"Let's have breakfast tomorrow afternoon!"

————

In Las Vegas, Luo An and Mona spent a few happy and relaxed days.

A week later, Winslow, Mona, Chenier, Reesi, and Michelle, the five of them, returned to the FBI Washington Headquarters together. Luo An took temporary leave and headed for New York halfway.

"Wall Street, a place where one foot is in gold and the other in the abyss."

At the famous bronze bull at the Wall Street intersection, Luo An touched it briefly, his lips curling slightly after a few seconds of musing, and then walked into a building not far away.

"Hello, Mr. Greenwood."

On the tenth floor of the building, inside some office, a white man dressed in casual short sleeves and long pants, whose whole appearance was completely out of step with the suits of Wall Street, stood in front of his desk, shaking hands with Luo An and puzzledly said:

"I don't think I've done anything against federal law; what does the FBI want with me?"

"Hello, Mr. Brey."

Luo An took a seat across the man, saying with a smile:

"Don't get me wrong; I'm not here as a representative of the FBI, but in my personal capacity."

"I see, you gave me quite the scare."

Michael Brey, sitting behind the office desk, relievedly poured a cup of coffee for Luo An and smilingly asked:

"So, Mr. Greenwood, have you come to consult with me about some stock matters?"

Luo An sipped his coffee lightly and said with a smile:

"Not a consultation, but an investment."

"So, Mr. Greenwood, which stock would you like my company to handle for you?"

"Not stocks, it's your Credit Default Swap product, CDS."

CDS, a special financial product created by banks.

The logic behind it is simple: it's like purchasing insurance for someone else's mortgage bonds.

If the mortgage does not default and the bonds remain stable, Luo An, as the buyer, would need to pay the investment bank an insurance premium every month.

However, if mortgage defaults increase and bonds devalue, then the investment bank would have to pay someone like Luo An a substantial compensation.

Simply put, it's a legal gamble between the buyer and the investment bank on whether the federal housing market will fall or not.

This financial product concept appeared last century, but the CDS wagering on the rise and fall of the federal housing market is making its debut, and its creator is the man before Luo An, Michael Brey.

Upon hearing Luo An's words, Michael Brey's expression shifted instantaneously and he shook his head in refusal without a second thought:

"Sorry, Mr. Greenwood, this financial product is available on the market for purchase, you can buy it yourself out there, I'm not dealing with it here..."

"Don't be so quick to refuse, Mr. Brey."

Luo An put down his coffee cup, smiling, and asked:

"Your company has been getting hounded for debts, hasn't it?"

At this, Michael Brey's eyebrows furrowed, and he fell into a deep silence.