Mahong's investigation was not going smoothly. The fugitive Brown had a history of two or three decades of gang experience, and his ability to hide himself in the city and evade the police had virtually become instinct.

After confirming Brown's direction of travel from ATM and nearby surveillance, he had completely vanished from all monitoring after just two intersections.

When Mahong and Philicia arrived, the Newburgh police were already at the scene, and they had deployed officers at every intersection, working to identify the passersby.

On the morning of the jailbreak, police officers had been notified about the escape, and each one had received a photo of the escapee. Although they were not the main force of the investigation, since patrol officers spent most of their time on street patrols, there was a chance, however slim, that they might encounter the fugitive.

Under Mahong's deployment, the police began to investigate the nearby blocks, while someone specialized at the dispatch center was tasked to check the surveillance footage to approximate Brown's location.

Strangely, after searching several blocks around the area where Brown had disappeared, they found no trace of him. Aside from a few people who claimed they recognized him and had seen him, no one else had.

Mahong had also considered various escape methods. He had not overlooked any, including questioning the street dwellers and tips about underground bars from the police, but had found nothing.

Brown was not a native of Newburgh, nor was his gang based there. Theoretically, he shouldn't have been able to find help to escape in this city. On his own, it's not easy to stay completely hidden in a city; it's too easy to stumble into someone else's turf.

The information on Brown's gang had already been checked. His former gang had shrunk from a large to a small one after failing in turf wars and being considerably overtaken. Some remaining members had been questioned, but no news had emerged yet.

Newburgh was not a safe city, with a murder rate of 0.17 (per thousand), a significantly high proportion. Over a thousand violent crimes were committed each year, figures that highlight just how wild the gangs and scum of the city were.

In such an urban environment, it was not easy for the fugitive Brown to escape with the police closing in. He could easily be killed while walking along a dark alley at night. Being of gang origin himself, he was well aware of these dangers. So, instead of running blindly, Brown had entered the underground through a storm drain in a little alleyway.

Instead of leaving Newburgh immediately via the underground pipes, Brown took a day to rest in a relatively clean section of the sewer network, only emerging from another manhole at night.

Walking on the main street and reeking of the sewers, Brown had initially planned to buy a mobile phone, but seeing how people were avoiding him, he realized he was too conspicuous and didn't dare continue walking on the street. He turned a corner into another alley and squatted near a trash bin in the shadows.

Brown may not have known the idiom "waiting by the tree stump" but he was very skilled at lying in wait for an unwitting victim. Late at night, someone entered the alley and as they passed where Brown was hiding, he emerged from the shadows, knocking them down with a brick; robbery was still faster.

After taking the unlucky individual's wallet and phone, Brown left the alley, returning underground through another manhole. After relocating, he made a phone call before retreating back to the quiet of the sewers to wait.

As Brown waited in the sewers, Mahong and his team, apart from stationing a few at key intersections, had sent the rest home to rest. They had mobilized dozens of officers to search the vicinity, the largest force the Newburgh police could muster, without dedicating the entire force to this one case.

After a grueling half-day search that was quite disruptive, it was luckily a murderer on the loose that justified bothering the public to this extent. For their own safety, many civilians were willing to cooperate with the investigation, even consenting to a simple check of their rooms for intruders.

The next morning, Mahong's team returned to that street block. The number of police had clearly decreased, with only a dozen patrol officers left to assist them.

Today, they only investigated around the outskirts of the block before letting the patrol officers go back to their routine, leaving just the two of them. Soon after, Jimmy arrived in his car at their location. As a complete stranger to the city, Jimmy had inevitably relied heavily on maps and still somehow managed to take a few wrong turns.

Jimmy got out of the car and raised his hand in greeting, "How's it going? Any leads?"

Seeing the grim expression on Mahong's face, Philicia took the initiative to reply to Jimmy, "Nothing. We haven't found any further trace of Brown since getting here yesterday."

Jimmy pulled out a pack of cigarettes, "Have one, Mahong. Relax a bit. We've at least completed half of the task."

Mahong turned to glance at Jimmy, reached for a cigarette, and Jimmy lit it for him, signaling to Philicia. Philicia shook her head; she didn't indulge in such things. Jimmy lit one for himself and they stood together by the roadside.

Jimmy: "Mahong, do you have any plans?"

Mahong was clearly not a first-time smoker, it was just that he had not been seen smoking before. After taking a puff and exhaling, Mahong finally spoke up, "No immediate plans. Brown withdrew 500 US dollars with Aaron Burns's credit card, which is the card's ATM withdrawal limit. This means he has at least 500 dollars in cash at his disposal, enough to find his way out of Newburgh."

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