Invasion of America

Chapter 126 Insider
In the face of life and death, the woman pretending to be his lover called out the name 'Harden'—a chill ran through Zhou Qingfeng's mind, and he immediately realized that his identity had been exposed and he had fallen into an ambush.

Both sides revealed their cards, and their gazes suddenly sharpened. Then...
The woman was less than a meter away from Zhou Qingfeng. Her seemingly slender figure suddenly lunged forward, using her chest to block the muzzle of Zhou Qingfeng's gun. At the same time, she grabbed with both hands, like iron clamps, the arm holding the gun.

"Wayne, kill this guy!" The woman's beautiful face turned ferocious at this moment, and she shouted to her companion as she made her move, "Wayne, kill this guy."

This series of actions was so fast that it caught Zhou Qingfeng off guard.

The woman's strength was extraordinary, far exceeding that of an ordinary adult male. Zhou Qingfeng felt as if his arm was welded into iron clamps, with a pain that seemed to be embedded in his flesh.

She was clearly very confident in her skills; her action of seizing the gun, though seemingly risky, was not only bold but also very skillful.

Pulling the trigger is not just a finger action, but also requires the coordinated effort of the forearm muscles.

Once the arm holding the gun is firmly gripped, intense pain and muscle stiffness will force the hand to release the weapon, let alone fire the shot.

Even if Zhou Qingfeng forcibly pulled the trigger, the woman would not be afraid at all.

The moment the gun was pressed against her chest, Zhou Qingfeng clearly felt a hard yet resilient barrier—a soft bulletproof vest that could withstand ordinary handgun bullets.

Meanwhile, the man who had been shot three times earlier was not seriously injured. He sat up, gripped his gun firmly again, and locked the muzzle on Zhou Qingfeng once more.

Zhou Qingfeng finally realized that he had been too careless. Relying on the powerful strength brought by his physical enhancement, he was invincible in one-on-one combat and had never taken the single-digit number of enemies and his own combatants seriously.

Previously at the Air and Space Museum, Monica brought along a similarly enhanced black follower. Although he possessed a powerful physique, his mind was like mush, and he was easily defeated in a single encounter.

As a result, Zhou Qingfeng became increasingly audacious, acting recklessly and impersonating Harden, mingling in official circles, and frequenting the White House. He even dared to sneak under the enemy's nose to direct operations.

Today, he finally ran into a brick wall!
The fake couple in front of me are far beyond ordinary people in terms of strength and reaction. They are obviously also the modifiers of the "X" drug and should be members of the "Undead".

Wynne Herbert's weakened version of the 'X' serum was indeed successfully developed.

In an instant, the intense sense of crisis transformed into a torrent of killing intent. His adrenaline surged like a volcano, and Zhou Qingfeng's muscles tensed, as if he had entered a life-or-death state like a wild beast.

It's either life or death; there's no turning back.

The woman used brute force, and he responded with a roar, doubling his strength.

Zhou Qingfeng decisively released the gun in his hand, swiftly shifted his body to the side, and used the woman's body as a shield to avoid the angle from which the man on the ground would fire again.

At the same time, he pulled his right hand back, gathered his strength slightly, and slashed hard at the woman's chin with the edge of his palm—the movements were small and the force was not great, but they were done in one go, all for the sake of speed.

The woman suffered a severe blow to her jaw, damaging her submandibular nerve. Her brain went blank for a moment, her vision went black, and she staggered backward.

She tried to open her mouth to shout, but found that her jaw was dislocated and she couldn't exert any force; her jaw joint had been violently dislocated.

But her mind remained clear. She was surprised that the target's explosive power far exceeded her expectations, and that its reaction speed was even faster than her own!
Something's not right! This is definitely not the physical condition and responsiveness a middle-aged bureaucrat should have; this is clearly someone who has undergone rigorous training and enhancement!

Both sides realized at that moment that they had both kicked a hornet's nest!
Seeing that his female partner was blocking his gun, the man who had fallen to the ground suddenly pushed himself up, his body springing up like a spring. He shouted "Get out of the way!" attempting to switch positions with his partner and regain the shooting advantage.

Just as he moved to the side, the woman, who was temporarily unable to speak, understood and deliberately staggered to the other side to make way for her male partner, giving him precious shooting space.

How could Zhou Qingfeng give them a chance?
After striking the woman's jaw, he pressed close, grabbed her shoulders, and, like a wrestler, used her massive body as a weapon, shoving her violently towards the man who had just regained his footing.

The enhanced woman was indeed quite strong, but she was still at a significant disadvantage in terms of strength and weight compared to Zhou Qingfeng.

She was already seeing black eyes due to her jaw injury, and when she was suddenly pushed violently, she lost her balance and fell uncontrollably toward her companion like a weight.

The man behind him also realized how troublesome "Harden" was. He had just stood up when he saw his female partner bumping into him. Without hesitation, he reached out and shoved her away roughly, while simultaneously raising his hand and firing a shot.

The man realized that the target must be wearing a bulletproof vest. He tried to aim at Zhou Qingfeng's head, but Zhou Qingfeng had already closed in.

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out, and the bullet struck Zhou Qingfeng in the chest again.

Relying on his sturdy bulletproof vest and superhuman physique, Zhou Qingfeng withstood the impact of hundreds of joules of kinetic energy, grinned as he approached his opponent, and forcibly grabbed the man's arm holding the gun.

The same move can have vastly different effects depending on who uses it.

The woman had tried to grab Zhou Qingfeng's arm earlier, but he easily broke free.

At that moment, as Zhou Qingfeng firmly restrained the man's arm, he immediately felt a tearing pain coming from the crook of his arm. Not only could he not grip the gun, but his elbow was also forcibly bent, almost dislocated.

Amidst screams, the man, like a trapped beast, slammed his head hard into Zhou Qingfeng's forehead, attempting to break free from the noose that bound him like a death knell.

A dull thud echoed from the heads of the two men.

The man's head felt as if it had struck a piece of cold, raw iron. The violent impact made him see stars, and a strong concussion instantly overwhelmed his consciousness.

Zhou Qingfeng also felt a sharp pain in his forehead, but like a raging beast, he became even more ferocious after being hit, gripping the other's arm tightly and refusing to let go.

He suddenly tilted his head back, his neck like a fully drawn bowstring, and then, like a battering ram, slammed it into the man's forehead three times in succession!

The man felt as if his head had turned into a block of iron on a blacksmith's anvil.

The first impact made him dizzy; the second made him feel like his soul was about to be shattered; and by the third, he lost consciousness and his body went limp as he collapsed.

On the other side, the woman struggled to regain her balance and, enduring excruciating pain, put her dislocated jaw back into place. She then saw her partner's head, which looked like a smashed watermelon, covered in blood.

Zhou Qingfeng's head was like a hammer used to smash a tomato, bright red, covered in blood, and exuding a chilling aura.

Without pausing, he stepped forward and, wearing oversized leather shoes with thick steel plates, kicked the woman hard in the chest like a cannonball.

"Bang!" A dull thud rang out, and the immense force instantly sent the woman flying, her body sliding several meters across the rough ground.

Zhou Qingfeng bent down to pick up his pistol that had fallen to the ground, and without hesitation pulled the trigger at the head of the unconscious man. "Bang!" Another shot rang out, ending his life.

Then, like the Grim Reaper, he slowly walked to the side of the heavily injured woman lying on the ground, and asked in a low and cold voice, "Who told you I was coming here?"

The woman who fell to the ground had several broken ribs and struggled painfully, gagging violently.

When Zhou Qingfeng stared at her with icy eyes, the woman's breathing became heavy, her face turned pale, and she trembled involuntarily. She gritted her teeth and shouted, "You're not Harden, you're definitely not... Who are you?"
-
Ernst gripped the steering wheel tightly, his palms terribly damp, and he would wipe them on his trousers every now and then, trying to ease the sticky unease.

He was only a few hundred meters away from Zhou Qingfeng, which would be nothing more than a blink of an eye for a speeding car, but he felt that the journey was long and distant, and he wished it would never end.

Three days ago, the president's chief of staff personally called and politely invited him to meet at the "White House." For Ernst, the past month or so had felt like a bizarre and fantastical dream.

He was originally just an unknown guard in the 'Ministry of Health', but he was valued by "Harden" and promoted all the way up simply because of his loyalty to his duties.

This is already incredibly lucky. To be personally summoned by the higher-ups of the "White House" is like having one's ancestors' graves emitting auspicious smoke.

The result was, of course, predictable.

After confirming the chief of staff's identity, the other party proposed a secret mission—to closely monitor Oliver Harden and report on all his movements.

Isn't this just making him a complete mole?
Ernst recalled the moment his chief of staff patted him on the shoulder during the meeting, and felt a chill run down his spine.

The other party said in a seemingly "reassuring" tone, "Don't worry, you're not the only one monitoring 'Harden'."

Upon completion of the task, you will receive a generous bonus, and may even be eligible for a good government position.

The subtext of these words is all too clear—"If you don't do it, plenty of others will be eager to do it," and "If you don't put your heart into it, others will naturally be watching you."

The chief of staff didn't stop there, and bluntly threatened, "Of course, you can choose to refuse this mission; that's your prerogative."

But... Harden even dared to kill Admiral Alvin, do you think he'll let you, who knows the truth, go?

Oh... by the way, you strangled Admiral Alvin yourself.

That's troublesome. If someone reports you, you'll at least face life imprisonment, and if you're unlucky, you might even end up in the electric chair.

Ernst trembled as he listened, feeling as if he had fallen into an ice cave. The pleasure he felt when he strangled General Alvin was now matched by his terror.

He even had a fleeting impulse to confess everything to Harden, but was immediately overwhelmed by a deeper fear—if the other party thought he had lost his usefulness and discarded him like a used pawn, he would be doomed.

The chief of staff coldly extinguished his last hope: "'Harden' can't protect you forever, and don't have too high expectations of his integrity. The only way you can get a pardon is to pledge complete loyalty to the federal government."

Ernst had no choice. He could only obey his chief of staff's orders and report every single command Zhou Qingfeng gave him, as well as every minute detail of his daily activities, without reservation.

Just a few hours earlier, he had followed Zhou Qingfeng and led a group of 'volunteers' from Washington, D.C., only to find out upon arrival that their destination was a small town called 'Macon'.

When Zhou Qingfeng swaggered out alone to 'scout ahead,' Ernst relayed the news. When he mentioned the place name 'Macon,' the chief of staff was clearly very surprised.

No one knows how Harden confirmed the location, but the chief of staff, who was on the helicopter at the time, decisively ordered that Harden be arrested immediately.

As for the people who made the arrests, they were 'volunteers' recruited by Ernst; in reality, they were all people who had been arranged to come.

In the words of the chief of staff, "It's time to end this farce."
-
After Zhou Qingfeng took down two "undead" members who were posing as a "couple," he was waiting for Ernst to drive over so he could take the woman away as a prisoner and interrogate her about the inside story.

Just then, the phone rang. It was Deborah calling, her voice urgent: "Mr. Harden, get out of Macon immediately. Ernst betrayed you; the 'volunteers' he recruited are from the Department of Homeland Security."

Deborah was the field operative for this operation, responsible for communications support. She was stationed outside town, serving a similar role to 'Grey Shark,' but she wasn't with 'Grey Shark.'

"How are you so sure?" Zhou Qingfeng asked instinctively.

“I’ve been listening to Ernst’s phone,” Deborah said. “Get out of here, he’s leading his men toward you. Remember to throw away your phone and use your backup.”

Without hesitation, Zhou Qingfeng tossed aside his phone, glanced at the 'undead' woman lying on the ground, quickly searched her body, discarded various items, forcibly pulled her up, and dragged her away.

After walking about a hundred meters, he thought for a moment and threw away his spare phone, keeping only the one that could contact 'Grey Shark'.

As for the female prisoners, he could run very fast after knocking them unconscious and carrying them on his back.

A short while later, 'Grey Shark,' who was controlling the drone, called and asked, "Victor, I saw that you deviated from the retreat route. Your man Ernst drove around looking for you, but couldn't find you."

“I have a mole among my men.” Zhou Qingfeng looked up at the sky. “Set up the phased array radar and make sure that only our drones are in the sky.”

Inside the compartment where 'Grey Shark' was located, upon receiving the order, Kangus immediately moved a small civilian phased array radar from the corner, mounted the antenna on the roof of the vehicle, and activated the monitoring screen inside the vehicle.

'Grey Shark' asked in confusion, 'You doubt Ernst?'

Zhou Qingfeng said, "Deborah just called to report Ernst, but I'm not sure if it's him. Nobody knew I'd come to 'Macon' except you guys."

The person who leaked the information must have arrived with me before sending it out, but it doesn't matter. I've captured a prisoner; I'll find a place to interrogate him quickly, and we should have results by then.”

Upon hearing this, 'Grey Shark' immediately looked at the monitor displaying the aerial map in front of him, clicked the mouse a few times, and said:

“I’ll find you a suitable hiding spot. There’s a church about 200 meters to your left and in front of you. That place might be suitable for hiding for a short time.”

Zhou Qingfeng immediately scaled the wall and moved quickly according to the instructions.

Kangus had just finished setting up the radar antenna when he sat down, glanced at the monitor, and exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, Porter, why are there so many dots on this screen?"

"Damn it, why are there so many drones in the sky?" 'Grey Shark' came over, took a look, and cursed.

He snatched the mouse from Kangus, randomly selected a bright spot on the screen, and then chose the radar's 'High Energy Impact' mode.

Congus, not understanding, asked, "What's this for?"

“I’m going to shoot these drones down,” 'Grey Shark' replied, adding, “Phase-array radar is the best radio transmitter, and the radar I’ve modified is the best anti-drone equipment.”

Kangers still didn't understand, but after a few maneuvers with 'Grey Shark,' several bright spots on the radar display immediately disappeared. He asked in surprise, "It's that simple? What if others shoot down our drones too?"

'Grey Shark' scoffed, 'Unless someone else carries a radar with them when they go out, just like me.'
-
In another service vehicle, about a kilometer away, in the same town of Macon.

Several FBI drone operators watched helplessly as their equipment plummeted downwards. After cursing a few times, they turned to the on-site commander for help:

"Chief, this is bad! We've encountered electromagnetic interference. All three drones have lost contact and are unable to continue tracking the target."

Zhou Qingfeng's 'old friend,' Carl Vinson, who could only speak with an electronic throat due to a tongue injury, stared at the stagnant surveillance footage with a strange expression.

"Why does that back view look so familiar?"

(End of this chapter)