Invasion of America

Chapter 19 Missing
Everything was as expected, yet beyond Zhou Qingfeng's control.

After the FBI discovered that it could not take direct action against Zhou Qingfeng, it turned its attention to Congers.

They removed the White Beach Town Police Chief from the police force under the pretext of "suspension for investigation," completely cutting off his ability to intervene in the case.

As for the reasons, they are easy to come by - a sheriff like Congers who has served in a poorly-ordered area for a long time is like a sewer cleaner. After a long time, he is inevitably contaminated by filth and stench.

The FBI only needed to do a little digging to find enough excuses to make him disappear temporarily.

Zhou Qingfeng felt extremely troubled by this.

Like the FBI, Baker and others believed that Congers, as the first sheriff to arrive at the scene of the crime, was highly suspicious.

They were openly and secretly advising Zhou Qingfeng to completely cut ties with Kangges and not to get involved in this turmoil again.

However, Zhou Qingfeng couldn't convince himself to stay out of it.

The Congers had never treated him badly. Julia and her daughter had a close relationship with him. Although Congers himself was a bit fierce, he never caused him any trouble.

It would be unacceptable if this family were to be put in trouble because of me.

Although he didn't have a driver's license, Zhou Qingfeng borrowed a car from Jennifer and drove alone from the Miami metropolitan area back to White Beach Town.

His plan was simple: first pick up Julia and Selena, mother and daughter, and ensure their safety, and then arrange for a lawyer to post bail for Congers.

The crime of "violent law enforcement" is not serious, and it is impossible for the FBI to keep detaining people.

What's more, when the end of the world comes, all laws and order will collapse, and the current problems will naturally no longer be problems.

However, Zhou Qingfeng misjudged the situation.

When he arrived in Baitan Town, he found that things were far more complicated than he had imagined.

He tried to contact Selena and Julia, but found that the phone was always disconnected. When he rushed home, the house was empty, as if the mother and daughter had disappeared into thin air.

Zhou Qingfeng felt a little uneasy and immediately called the police for help.

The two police officers sent by the town police station were indifferent. They just glanced around the house briefly and said expressionlessly:
"No signs of violence or hostage-taking were found. If a person is missing, please report to the police station after 24 hours."

Zhou Qingfeng was furious and demanded, "Kangs is your colleague after all. He was just suspended, not a criminal. How can you treat his family like this?"

One of the police officers gave him a cold look and said sarcastically, "Don't you know that Congers is missing?"

"What?" Zhou Qingfeng was stunned, a sense of foreboding suddenly rising in his heart. "Wasn't he taken away by the FBI to assist in the investigation?"

The police officer shook his head impatiently. "No, it's not that simple. Congers was indeed taken away by the FBI this morning, but the vehicle escorting him did not arrive at the Miami branch on time.

At noon, someone called the police and found an overturned vehicle on Highway 9.

When patrol officers arrived at the scene, they found the bodies of two FBI agents in the car, but Congers was nowhere to be found.

The FBI initially determined that Congers resisted, causing the vehicle to overturn, killing the agent and fleeing. He is now a wanted criminal.

Zhou Qingfeng was stunned and retorted in disbelief: "This is impossible! How could Kangers kill someone and escape?

He was only accused of 'violent law enforcement', one of the many complaints of that nature, and the worst that could happen is he'd lose his job as a police officer."

The police officer scoffed. "Maybe it's more than just 'violent law enforcement'? I'm a temporary transfer from somewhere else, but I've heard of Baitan Town's reputation.

This is Miami's largest contraband distribution center and a transit point for human trafficking. Everyone knows this, but no one has exposed it in the past.

I wouldn't be surprised if the sheriff here was involved in a crime."

He paused and warned, “Based on our deduction, Congers should have taken his wife and daughter away immediately after escaping.

It's normal that he didn't contact you.

Because you are not from his family. If you have any clues, please inform the police immediately to avoid being implicated in the case yourself."
-
The police officer left, and Zhou Qingfeng was the only one left in the empty room, his head buzzing.

He tried to convince himself that everyone had their own secrets, and Congers might be no exception. Now was the best time for him to make a break with this family.

But then he shook his head and thought bitterly, "If Congers is really involved in serious crimes in private, he is hiding it very well."

His eyes swept across the living room, and the usual scenes emerged in his mind.
Julia must be busy in the kitchen at this moment, the air filled with the aroma of dinner; Selina is jumping around the room, her laughter ringing like a bell;
He was buried in his homework, while Congers was probably still out on patrol, dragging his exhausted body home late into the night.

This home was once full of warmth and vitality, but now there is only cold silence.

Zhou Qingfeng walked to the dining table and gently stroked the smooth table surface with his fingers.

There were a few unclosed magazines and an unfinished glass of water on the table, as if the owner had only left temporarily and would be back at any time.

However, all this is just an illusion.

The bright restaurant was empty. All the arrangements were as usual, but it was no longer popular, as if it were an abandoned island.

The officer's words kept echoing in his mind: ".You are not Congers' family."

He began to wonder if Julia and her daughter really knew nothing about what Congers had done. Were they innocent victims, or had they already been drawn into this vortex?
"The mother and daughter are probably unaware of this, right?" Zhou Qingfeng muttered to himself, trying to comfort himself with these words.

"If Congers really did kill someone and escape, there's really no need for him and his family to notify me. Not implicating me is the best option."

Zhou Qingfeng stood in the living room, muttering to himself. His voice was particularly clear in the empty room, as he tried to convince himself to accept this seemingly reasonable explanation.

However, deep down in his heart he felt an indescribable sense of loss.

After turning off the lights in the dining room and closing the living room door, he slowly walked out onto the Congers' front lawn, his steps as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

As the night deepened, the street lights cast a dim glow, stretching his shadow very long.

Zhou Qingfeng walked towards the car parked on the side of the road, his fingers unconsciously stroking the car keys, but his mind kept replaying the moments he spent with the Congers family.

Julia's gentleness, Selina's liveliness, Congers' seriousness - these images intertwined together, leaving him with mixed feelings.

Just as he was about to start the car, he suddenly seemed to remember something and turned around to look at the doormat at the door.

It was an ordinary floor mat, dusty and a little frayed at the edges, but now it seemed to have become some kind of key clue.

Zhou Qingfeng's mind flashed back to what Selina once said: "If there is something that is inconvenient for you to contact me directly, you can write a note and hide it under the mat."

He just smiled at the time, thinking it was just a little romance between lovers, and never thought that this agreement would really come in handy.

At this moment, he stopped, walked back to the mat as if possessed, bent down, and casually lifted it up.
-
A hastily written note was indeed lying quietly under the doormat.

The note was scrawled with lipstick: "Victor, my father is not a bad man, but don't come to us."

Zhou Qingfeng burst out laughing.

There is no doubt that this is Selena's work.

The girl was usually lively and cheerful, but at this moment of panic, she could actually think of using this method to convey information to him.

This sentence was as good as nothing, but it was the little girl's effort to prove her innocence. He picked up the note, turned it over, and found another line of words.

The handwriting was a little neater this time, clearly Julia's. "The combination to the master bedroom safe is *********. There's some money in it."

Zhou Qingfeng's heart trembled. Julia hadn't forgotten to leave him a way out when she hurriedly fled with her daughter.

Julia knew that her sudden departure would cause Zhou Qingfeng a lot of trouble, so she used this way to express her apology and compensation.

This delicacy and thoughtfulness made Zhou Qingfeng feel a pang of sadness. He hadn't spent much time with this family of three, but they were genuinely kind to him.

"I would be a terrible person if I didn't take care of this matter," he whispered, with a hint of determination in his voice.

He had been in despair countless times in the apocalypse, hoping someone would come to help him, but friends and companions were hard to come by.

At this moment, he knew that he could no longer stay out of it.

Regardless of whether Congers really killed someone or not, and whether Julia and her daughter knew about it or not, he could not let this family struggle alone in danger.

Zhou Qingfeng folded the note carefully, put it in his pocket, then quickly walked to the master bedroom, found the safe, and entered the password.

There was indeed a stack of cash inside, about four or five thousand dollars, which was almost half a month's income for Congers.

It was really not easy to leave such a sum of money for Zhou Qingfeng when fleeing.

Next to the cash, there lay a pistol, model M9.

This gun is a bit old and has some signs of wear on the body, but it has been well maintained.

It is larger than an average pistol and feels heavy in the hand, giving people a sense of security.

The prototype of M9 is the Italian Beretta 92F, which is most likely Congers' backup pistol. After all, as a sheriff, he always has to keep some backup plan for himself.

The gun also comes with two magazines, a portable under-rib concealed holster, and two boxes of 100 rounds of 9mm bulk ammunition.

Zhou Qingfeng didn't hesitate. He reached out and grabbed the pistol. He pulled the slide skillfully, and after confirming that there was no bullet in the chamber, he pulled the trigger to test the strength and feel.

The trigger has a moderate travel and even force, and it is obvious that this gun is in good condition.

He quickly loaded the magazine, turned off the safety, and inserted the pistol into the holster. His movements were done in one go, as if he had practiced them countless times.

With a gun and money, Zhou Qingfeng began to think about how to help the Congers family.

At this moment, his cell phone suddenly rang. The screen showed an incoming call with no number.

After the call was connected, Gray Shark's signature synthesized electronic voice came from the phone. It was cold, but with a hint of pride: "Victor, I found some interesting information."

Zhou Qingfeng did not interrupt him and listened quietly.

"First," Gray Shark continued, "the person threatening you is using a prepaid phone, which is equivalent to a disposable number, so simply tracking the number is meaningless.

However, I asked a friend to check the telecommunications operator's system logs and found that the caller's access base station was in Baitan Town.

This was expected. The person threatening Zhou Qingfeng should be someone from Baitan Town.

"Secondly," Gray Shark continued, "the person threatening you has certain anti-tracking capabilities and used a voice changer during the call.

But the software he used was a free version downloaded from the Internet, which was too low-level.

I'm currently reverse-engineering his voice, and it will probably take a few hours to get the match right. Then you'll be able to hear his original voice."

Being able to hear the original voice of the threat maker allows you to determine whether the other person is male or female, old or young, greatly narrowing the scope of suspicion. This is definitely good news.

The technical capabilities of the 'Gray Shark' are indeed good.

"Third, the video you were captured on was incredibly clear. There's only one brand of drone on the US market that has this capability.

I'm checking the sales records of related products. I hope there aren't too many people using drones in Baitan Town, so I can find some clues."

"Fourth, I have found the account of the user who uploaded the video link you sent, and it was the prepaid mobile phone number.

That guy was very careful to hide himself, but he wasn't careful enough. I'm looking into where that phone was sold from. Maybe I can get his identity directly."

Each of the four clues could potentially expose the threat actor's identity. Zhou Qingfeng couldn't solve this on his own, but if he paid a little, someone would help him catch his opponent.

"Gray Shark, you're truly amazing. It's been less than three hours, and you've already gained so much information. How did you do it? Act as a hacker and decrypt the network information?"

Zhou Qingfeng didn't mind praising his 'helper'.

Gray Shark said disdainfully, "Does this need to be cracked? It doesn't need to be. Just get to know a few more people, spend a few hundred or a thousand dollars, and find the staff at the internet service provider and you can easily find it."

"But you, bastard, how did you know my identity and address? I can't figure it out. How did I get exposed?"

Zhou Qingfeng wanted to laugh when he heard it.

Gray Shark is an extremely sensitive and conceited person, who always feels like a "king of the night" hiding behind the scenes.

But Zhou Qingfeng exposed him right away, nearly giving him a heart attack. He definitely wouldn't be able to sleep well for the next few days.

Now it was Gray Shark who begged Zhou Qingfeng not to get into trouble. "It won't be long before we catch the guy who blackmailed you. Be patient, and it's best to hide. I don't want you to be caught by the FBI right now."

Zhou Qingfeng could hear the worry in Gray Shark's voice. He knew he was truly worried about him.

After all, the two of them hold each other's secrets, and no matter who suffers, the other will suffer. This delicate balance is both the cornerstone of cooperation and a shackle for each other.

But
"Gray Shark, I have a new problem now and need your help." Zhou Qingfeng said.

Gray Shark on the other end of the phone was very impatient: "Don't tell me about the family you stayed with."

Zhou Qingfeng was surprised and asked, "You already know?"

"Nonsense," Gray Shark said sarcastically, "the law stipulates that ordinary police communications must be made public in real time.

Even if I were deaf, I could hear on the radio that the police were deploying forces everywhere to bring back Sheriff Congers."

Zhou Qingfeng asked in a deep voice: "I want to help them, do you have any suggestions?"

There was silence for three seconds, and then Gray Shark replied coldly, "Don't interfere. For some extra money, I'll find you a part-time worker."

Zhou Qingfeng almost laughed out loud. It was a good thing to be able to talk about money.

He was about to agree when he heard a slight "click" sound outside the house, as if the door of the hall was gently pushed open, followed by almost inaudible footsteps.

Someone was sneaking in.

　Happy New Year to everyone!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)