Invasion of America

Chapter 122 Aftermath
When General Alvin's body collapsed, the skin on his neck and face turned purplish-black, the bruises from strangulation, a horrifying sight under the bright lights.

The atmosphere was oppressive and tense around the luxurious teak table on the yacht.

The "guests" who were "invited" sat stiffly like statues, even their breathing was cautious, and their eyes darted nervously from side to side.

A four-star general is someone at the very top of the military pyramid; there are only seven or eight such individuals in the entire U.S. military.

The execution of a four-star general in such a private and violent manner without trial was as shocking as dropping an atomic bomb on Washington, D.C.

This could very well trigger severe turmoil within the military, even pushing it to the brink of spiraling out of control. If mishandled, its impact would far exceed that of the shocking fire and explosion on the USS Ford aircraft carrier.

When the guests received the invitation, they were secretly delighted, thinking it was a rare opportunity to get closer to Harden, the head of the "Efficiency Department".

At this moment, however, they felt their hearts pounding like drums, and they were filled with deep regret. Their gazes slowly focused on Zhou Qingfeng, who sat in the main seat, and they cried out in fear:
"Your methods were too extreme. You've made such a huge mess that even with the Vice President backing you up, you won't be able to escape unscathed!"

The guests were on tenterhooks, thinking that Harden's show of force must be an attempt to threaten them and make some unacceptable demands.

Zhou Qingfeng simply waved his hand casually and said in a nonchalant tone, "Everyone, you can go now."

What... leaving? You're just going to let me go like this?!
Among the 'guests,' a senator was the first to recover. His face was ashen, and he angrily shouted, 'Mr. Harden, just state your demands!'
You killed the Assistant Attorney General in front of us, and now you've taken down the Chief of Naval Operations. If these heinous crimes were made public, they would be enough to send you to the electric chair!

"Since you've invited us here, and you all have leverage over us, we're willing to listen to your demands and cooperate to the best of our ability. There's no need to play these unsettling psychological games."

An official from the U.S. State Department took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. He glanced cautiously at the lifeless General Alvin and sighed:
"General Alvin is not a good person."

This guy eliminated two groups of accountants sent by the audit office and secretly transferred hundreds of billions of dollars in military spending to the private accounts of hundreds of officers, building a deeply entrenched community of interests.

In a sense, Harden's ability to eliminate this parasite is also a service to the country.

He's dead, but the real trouble is the hundreds of officers and soldiers behind him, all tainted by their own interests. They will never let this go. How do you plan to deal with them?

Clearly, the high-ranking officials present did not believe that Zhou Qingfeng would let them leave so easily. After all, the unfortunate man who had tried to force his way out was already in a body bag, and the work of collecting and cleaning up the body was nearing its end.

The guests' implication was clear: "What's done is done, there's no going back, so let's figure out how to deal with it."

We're all tied to you in this mess, and now we just want to know how you, the instigator, plan to clean up this mess.

If your plan is thorough enough to minimize the impact, we may be able to cooperate in its execution.

Zhou Qingfeng smiled knowingly, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces: "Since you're all so enthusiastic, why don't you give me some ideas on how to properly cover up General Alvin's death?"

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a sense of relief at having survived a disaster.

They immediately realized that Zhou Qingfeng was asking them to offer their "pledge of allegiance"—the other party was the one who killed the person, but everyone had to take the blame.

But this might not be a bad thing; at least it means they still have some use and won't be killed on the spot for the time being. Furthermore, forming an alliance based on mutual interests might even turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Lieutenant Colonel Dick, having no other option, preemptively stated, "The Navy is frantically trying to find a scapegoat to take responsibility for the fire and explosion on the USS Ford."

General Alvin Benson could easily be portrayed as having committed suicide out of guilt.

An official from the Department of Energy shook his head and frowned, saying, "Even suicide out of fear of punishment requires supporting details."

General Alvin was clearly strangled; the ligature marks on his neck and the bruises on his face are impossible to conceal, and the forensic autopsy will certainly reveal the problem.

“Details are indeed crucial,” a Commerce Ministry official said slowly, “but we are the biggest detail.”

"With your connections and influence in your respective departments, can't you even arrange an autopsy report that's favorable to you?"

“Oh dear, everyone, I think you’re all overthinking things,” an official who had been silent all along suddenly spoke up, a fawning smile on his face.

"Alvin was just a human being, only with a higher official rank. Ordinary people couldn't handle his death, but we have the Vice President backing us, so there's a lot of room for maneuver."

I'm sure Mr. Harden already has a comprehensive plan. However, I do have an idea... staging an accident, like a car crash, self-immolation, or some kind of post-pandemic complication, wouldn't be out of the question.

In the time that followed, the previously silent "guests" suddenly became very talkative, each contributing their years of accumulated "criminal experience."

Sometimes, when they got really into it, they would go so far as to offer Zhou Qingfeng their personal connections, trying to drag more people down with them in order to ensure their own safety.

Zhou Qingfeng listened quietly with a smile on his face, like a patient listener.

Ernst and Deborah, standing behind him, were dumbfounded and their eyes were opened wide. They truly understood what "officials protecting each other" and "full of inside stories" meant. The darkness of this world was far beyond their imagination.
-
After leaving that suffocating yacht, Senator Douglas seemed to have escaped a nightmare, feeling a great sense of relief.

He sat in his car, which was parked on the riverbank, feeling dizzy. He felt his clothes were soaked with cold sweat and clung stickily to his skin. He felt a chill running down his chest and back, and he felt indescribably uncomfortable.

The driver, who was also a Secret Service agent, glanced at the senator in the rearview mirror and asked cautiously, "Senator, you don't look well."

“It’s nothing.” Senator Douglas shook his head wearily, managing to squeeze out half a sentence from his dry throat.

The driver wisely refrained from interfering, routinely inquired about the destination, and then started the vehicle and drove off.

Not long after, the senator's phone rang abruptly. He glanced at the number on the screen, pressed the button to raise the partition between the front and rear seats, and only answered the call after confirming the good sound insulation.

The call came from a Ministry of Commerce official who had just been on the yacht. His voice was clearly panicked as he asked, "Douglas, what...what just happened? What should we do?"

Senator Douglas leaned back in his comfortable chair and asked, "What do you intend to do?"

“Call the police…or, contact some people we know…” The Ministry of Commerce bureaucrat seemed hesitant and had no clear idea.

"We can't just do nothing, can we? A four-star general died. What if... what if things are exposed one day? We'll all be implicated and become accomplices!"

The senator scoffed, bluntly retorting, "Are you going to call the police?" The person on the other end immediately stammered, "Mr. Douglas, you're a federal senator, you should do something to take control of the situation..."

"Oh, really? Risking getting your head blown off by a bullet from who-knows-where, what are you doing?" The senator's tone was full of sarcasm.

"Come on, we're all not exactly innocent. You're an exhibitionist, I'm a pervert. Harden knows all about our shady dealings, so let's not pretend to be morally superior saints."

You want me to step in? Let me tell you straight, I'm not confident I can do it. God knows how many other cards Harden is holding that we don't know about!

I want to remind you that Harden hasn't made a public appearance yet, and the media still thinks he died somewhere in that plane crash.

The Ministry of Commerce official fell completely silent, with only suppressed breathing coming from the other end of the line. After a moment, he hung up the phone in frustration.

Senator Douglas, on the other hand, found himself gripped by fear and anxiety after hanging up the phone.

He pondered anxiously for a long time before finally dialing the vice president's private number, trying to find out just how powerful the forces behind 'Harden' really were.

But when the call connected, the 'country bumpkin' who was usually so dedicated to public service spoke in a bureaucratic tone, saying, "I am not aware of the situation you are referring to."

If Harden has indeed engaged in any illegal or disorderly conduct, you are free to report him to the judicial authorities. I will never tolerate any criminal behavior.

With just two simple sentences, Senator Douglas broke out in a cold sweat, becoming even more convinced that Harden and the Vice President were now bound together.

Whoever steps forward now will be doomed!
The day after the yacht party, everything was calm and peaceful.

Harden has still not appeared, and the media continues to report extensively on the Ford disaster.

The U.S. Department of Energy sent personnel to Norfolk Naval Base and detected excessive nuclear radiation, confirming that both nuclear reactors were completely destroyed.

The Department of Defense bureaucrats were still in a meeting when they suddenly realized they couldn't reach Admiral Alvin from the Navy Department. But no one objected, because similar things happened frequently.

Previously, when the Minister of Defense was hospitalized and admitted to the ICU, no one was notified, and it was kept secret for three whole days as if it were top secret.

Three days passed before the Pentagon realized something was wrong. After speaking with the general's adjutant, Lieutenant Colonel Dick, they learned that General Alvin had abandoned everyone and returned to his hometown in Mississippi.

When the Pentagon sent people to search for him, they found his body on the general's family farm—he was dressed in a suit, wearing all his medals, and had blown most of his head off with a large-caliber bullet.

Beside the body was the admiral's suicide note, in which he took full responsibility for the disaster on the USS Ford, stating that he ordered renovations to be carried out on the aircraft carrier's interior without sufficient safety clearance, which led to the fire.

To be honest, there are many loopholes in the suicide note and the suicide itself. But it's good that someone with a high enough rank is taking the blame.

While announcing that the Office of Naval Intelligence was investigating the admiral's death, the Pentagon also released a preliminary investigation report on the fire on the USS Ford.

In short, once anything enters the bureaucratic process, it takes months to get it done. And who knows what will happen after those months?
In the past few days, Xiao Jinlang's injuries have recovered remarkably well. He is now able to get out of bed easily and move freely in the ward.

However, he still carefully wore a neck brace to support his fragile cervical spine and strive for better recovery conditions.

The physical pain gradually subsided, but Old Xiao's mood remained as gloomy as the weather, unable to lift. "You brat, you actually killed a four-star admiral in the US Navy?"

Ever since the news reported General Alvin's "suicide," based on his understanding of Zhou Qingfeng, Lao Xiao knew that this matter was definitely related to him.

Sure enough, after some questioning, I received an affirmative answer.

Zhou Qingfeng, on the other hand, seemed relaxed and said dismissively, "Now that 'Tree of Justice' is leaderless and its funding chain has been cut off by 'Dias's' death, it can no longer cause any big waves."

Old man Hammer gave me an idea: to unite the people of the 'Tree of Justice.' It would be foolish not to take advantage of such a readily available force.

"Among them were informants from the U.S. Naval Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon, who all confirmed that it was that old guy Alvin Benson who tampered with my helicopter."

Now that I know who's behind this, how can I possibly swallow this insult and not retaliate?

After listening to Zhou Qingfeng's nonchalant account, Lao Xiao felt a throbbing pain in his temples and a bulging vein on his forehead.

He was at a loss for what to do—if he didn't report it, it would clearly violate work discipline; but if he did report it, the matter was too earth-shattering, and he didn't know how to bring it up.
"You...you brat, don't you dare cause a Sino-American war!" Old Xiao sighed helplessly, but ultimately decided to report it.

Zhou Qingfeng laughed and said, "Impossible. Don't overestimate your opponent. The US military is now more inclined to maintain a strategic standoff."

Do you remember the Sino-Soviet standoff in the 1960s and 70s?
We feared the Soviet steel torrent pressing in from the north, and the Soviets feared we would cut off their railway lines to Siberia.

The situation is similar now; I have real-world simulations and secret reports from within the U.S. Navy.

The Americans are no longer worried about us breaking through the first island chain; they're worried they won't even be able to hold their second island chain.

Old Xiao's expression was filled with shock. He asked urgently, "Where...where did you get these strategic-level secrets?"

"Didn't I just tell you? I paid to support 'Tree of Justice,' so naturally I have people working for the U.S. Department of Defense."

I also bribed that old man Alvin's adjutant with money.

Over the past decade or so, I've casually browsed through the global preparedness, strategic decision-making, and various military simulation reports submitted to the "White House" by senior U.S. Navy officers.

For example, General Alvin repeatedly told the White House and Congress that the strategic window of opportunity to completely destroy Tokyo University through war had been completely closed five years ago.

The US military is now in a precarious situation where it either wins or loses, especially as the recent pandemic has completely disrupted their military deployments, rendering them incapable of waging a large-scale war against an adversary of similar strength in the short term.

Upon hearing this, Old Xiao abruptly stood up, his neck throbbing with pain, and said urgently, "Wait! Quickly show me what you saw! I need to personally confirm this kind of thing that directly reveals the other party's trump card!"

(End of this chapter)