At noon, Charlie found himself dining alone in a Sichuan restaurant located in Chinatown when suddenly, two Immigration Bureau police cars arrived, their lights shing silently as they parked abruptly in front of the hotel entrance.


    Charlie observed the scene unfold but feigned indifference, keeping his head down and continuing to eat.


    Momentster, several officers burst into the restaurant,paring photographs with the guests. They quickly zeroed in on Charlie, demanding in a loud voice, “Are you Charlie, the one who smuggled himself into the United States from Mysia?”


    Looking up, Charlie shook his head with an innocent expression, replying, “No…”


    After checking the photo once more, one of the officers smirked and shouted to his colleagues, “That’s him! Take him away!”<h3 style="background-color:DodgerBlue">


    Before Charlie could react, several officers lunged at him, twisting his arms behind his back and cuffing him tightly.


    Although he pretended to struggle for a moment, when one officer reached for his gun, Charlie quickly calmed down, ceasing his resistance.


    Handcuffed, he was escorted out of the hotel and shoved into the back of one of the police cars.


    The police vehicle sped off, heading straight to the immigration office.


    At this point, the officers were unaware of Charlie’s background; all they knew was that their superiors had directed them to apprehend a Mysian illegal immigrant suspected of multiple thefts who had been spotted in a Chinatown restaurant.


    Upon arriving at the immigration office, Charlie’s Mysian passport, an old and worthless mobile phone, and over two hundred dors in cash were confiscated.


    After verifying the details in his passport, the Immigration Bureau confirmed Charlie’s status as an illegal immigrant from Mysia.


    Subsequently, Charlie was ced in the detention room of the Immigration Bureau, awaiting the next steps.


    When he entered the cramped detention room, he found at least twenty other individuals inside, each disying various skin tones, all looking despondent and frightened.<fn1667> ?????? ???? findnovel</fn1667>


    As Charlie stepped in, everyone turned to nce at him. An Asian man with a scruffy beard approached and asked in heavily ented English, “Are you Japanese?” Charlie shook his head and replied, “I’m Mysian, but my parents are Chinese.”


    Upon hearing this, another Asian man with short hair perked up and eximed, “Brother, I’m Chinese too! We’re sort ofpatriots!”


    Charlie nodded and inquired, “How did you end up here?”


    The short-haired man chuckled, self-deprecatingly, “How do you think? I got caught walking the wire. I have no identity, no ie. The money I brought was stolen along the way. I came to the U.S. with nothing. I set up a tent in the park, but it got stolen by some guy. I tried to steal a bicycle to deliver food, but the police nabbed me and brought me here.”


    Charlie frowned, “You came in through a different route. Logically, you should have gone to Los Angeles; it’s closer to Mexico. Why New York?”


    The man pped his thigh in realization, “Brother, you know your stuff! Did you alsoe in via wire?”


    Charlie shook his head, “I came by boat.”


    The short-haired man appeared slightly disappointed and sighed, “It’s better to take the boat. From my hometown, we spent a month wandering around at sea to arrive. It’s not like us who walked the route. This journey was incredibly tough; it’s no exaggeration to say I felt like I’d be skinned alive before I’d die.” Just then, someone in the crowd mumbled,


    “It’s a waste to take a boat. At least when walking, you’re on solid ground. You may have to swim thest kilometer from the boat. There were over sixty people on my boat, and only half made it ashore; the rest are lost to the waves.”<h3 ss="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center" id="chapter-list"><strong></strong>