What Luo An is doing now is building empathy with the other party.
The information about Frederick that Mona sent him shows that Frederick never attended high school, indicating he has a low level of education and is unlikely to have studied psychology.
Having no family made him lack affection, which is why he could commit murder and dismemberment without any psychological burden.
Frequently changing jobs suggests either he was clumsy and unable to do a good job and thus always got fired, or he was dissatisfied with his job, such as disliking the job for being too much trouble, not getting along with colleagues, or the boss always picking on him, etc.
But regardless of which, it's enough to say that Frederick does not like the act of "working" itself.
Therefore, complaining about work would definitely resonate with Frederick.
Sure enough, when Frederick heard Luo An say he was just checking the rooms to complete the task and that the FBI was just a job, Frederick's attitude softened quite a bit.
"Alright, wimp agent."
Perhaps to maintain his own dignity in front of Sabina, Frederick still didn't give up calling him a "wimp," but his tone became much more steady:
"Go check the room quickly, there's no 'surprise' here that your brain-dead boss is worried about. After you check the room, let's make the deal quickly, and you guys bring me my dog."
Luo An shrugged, pointed to the pink bed in the room, and asked:
"What about underneath this? I need to make sure there are no 'surprises' hidden here, you know, my bosses are idiots, and I don't want them to dock my pay over something trivial. Who knows where they would spend my salary playing games at some nightclub!"
Frederick, with his head hidden behind Sabina, rolled his eyes. Holding onto her neck with his left hand and pointing a gun at her temple with his right, he slowly moved her to the other side of the room and said:
"Then hurry up and check. Under the bed, there are only clothes and toys I prepared for Sabina, no 'surprises'."
"I believe you, Frederick."
Luo An shrugged, walked a few steps forward, knelt down on one knee, flipped the hanging blanket on the side of the bed, and while glancing underneath, he responded:
"But you know, Frederick, all the bosses and supervisors in the world are the same. They look for every reason to target you, as if letting you have a comfortable day would make them uncomfortable all day long!"
Hearing this comment, Sabina, as a company CEO, rolled her eyes, but Frederick nodded repeatedly, agreeing fervently:
"You're damn right, bosses are no good! That's why, when the owner of the dye factory said I was not proactive at work and wanted to dock half a month's pay, I chopped him into pieces that very night!
Damn it, I never show up late for work, why the hell would he say I'm not proactive!"
My goodness, a serendipitous confession?
Luo An's eyelid twitched, and from the corner of his eye, he noticed he was close enough to Frederick and could barely make out Frederick's head hidden behind Sabina. Without making any noticeable movement, he pulled a pen from his pocket and held it in his hand. Just as he was about to stand up, Frederick suddenly shouted:
"Don't move! Wimp agent!"
Luo An's face turned stern instantly, but then he heard Frederick yell again:
"What's that outside the villa? A new FBI weapon? You lied to me?!"
Where did that sniper rifle come from? SWAT couldn't possibly be that fast!
Luo An's expression relaxed slightly, but his brow furrowed. He concealed the pen on the back of his hand and stood up to look outside the bedroom through the glass, noticing a black camera mounted on the wall of the villa, broadcasting everything happening inside the bedroom live.
Before, Frederick had been hiding with Sabina in a blind spot of the bedroom. While it was impossible for those outside to see him, Frederick also couldn't see the outside of the bedroom.
But just now, Frederick had moved with Sabina and, through the landing window of the bedroom, immediately noticed the camera outside.
"Believe me, Frederick, that's not any new FBI weapon."
Luo An cursed the TV station for not being humane and resolved to demand some sort of mental compensation from them later. Then he hurriedly turned to comfort Frederick:
"Those are FBI enforcement recorders, OK? I told you, my boss is a total moron. They're afraid I'll do something against the rules during missions, so they use these recorders to monitor me! Believe me, will you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Luo An's face stiffened. He didn't believe his own words.
As expected, upon hearing Luo An's words, Frederick's face turned red with anger, and his whole body trembled with excitement. He stepped out from behind Sabina, and his head finally emerged from behind her,
The gun in his right hand was no longer aimed at Sabina's temple but was instead pointed towards Luo An:
"Do you take me for a fool? When has the FBI ever cared about legal procedures during missions? That's your new weapon!"
Frederick's words were logical and convincing.
The scenes inside the bedroom were transmitted through the camera into thousands of households. Seeing Frederick point the pistol at Luo An, who was within reach, Mona cried out in shock, Augustus's eyes bulged in anxiety, Vireness's muscles tensed, her thighs squeezed unusually tight.
Inside the reception, Broson subconsciously smirked, Matthews clenched his fists tightly, muttering for the killer to shoot quickly, several congressmen squinted their eyes, numerous female guests covered their mouths in shock and turned away, unwilling to witness the bloody scene that would ensue.
As for Reesi outside the villa, she swore loudly, not knowing whether she was cursing Luo An or the killer, and immediately raised her handgun and rushed into the villa.
The wine-red-haired reporter Linette's heart pounded fiercely, and her mind was in chaos. It was her first time seeing someone being shot at such close range.
"You cowardly agent, I didn't expect you to dare lie to me!"
Inside the bedroom, Frederick cursed, "Die!"
Before his words were finished, Frederick's finger bent to pull the trigger. Sabina, in front of him, immediately screamed in fear.
But Luo An was faster than him. As soon as Frederick shouted, Luo An raised his right hand, and the pen he had been preparing for a while flashed across the air like a silver-white blade.
Two distinct sounds resonated in the bedroom at the same time. The bullet whizzed past the right cheek of Luo An; the breeze it left behind was slightly warm, but Luo An was unscathed and his expression remained calm.
On the other side, Frederick's eyes widened as his body collapsed onto the floor, a pen piercing the center of his forehead. His eyes were wide open in death, facing the bedroom's French window.
Through the French window, the audience in front of the TV could see the pen deeply embedded, with just a little bit of the end sticking out.
The many viewers in front of the TV jumped at the sight of Frederick's wide-eyed face, but then there was an outburst of disbelief as they looked at Luo An comforting Sabina, their eyes as if they had seen a ghost.
At the Task Force No. 5 office, shock and disbelief were written all over the faces of Mona, Augustus, and other agents, Vireness's tightly tensed muscles relaxed after trembling for a while, her legs no longer intertwined, and her gaze at Luo An was extremely complex.
At the reception, the congressmen and some of the female guests who had not averted their gaze inhaled sharply. Broson and Matthews were struck dumb, followed by hearing other people's comments, which made their faces extremely ugly.
"Is that a pen? It is a pen, right?"
"Are FBI agents this strong now?"
"Does anyone know the agent on TV? What's his name?"
"Damn it, I can't believe it!"