Invasion of America

Chapter 25 Wolong and Fengxiao

Zhou Qingfeng was too tired and slept until noon before waking up slowly.

The sunlight shines through the gaps in the curtains, mottled light and shadows dance on the floor, and the air is filled with a lazy and comfortable atmosphere.

It was too late yesterday to take a closer look at the room. Now, looking around, I noticed a few photos by the bed, a few stuffed animals at the foot of the bed, and cosmetics on the dresser.

This was clearly Helen's own bedroom, but she was using it as a guest room for Zhou Qingfeng. He was about to turn over, but he felt as if half of his body was being pressed down by a heavy burden, and he couldn't move.

When he moved his arm slightly, he felt extremely sore, numb, and swollen, and then he realized that he was being pressed down by a plump body.

Under the thin blanket, Helen's breathing was even and gentle, and her mind was still wandering in a dream.

Her head rested on Zhou Qingfeng's chest, her long black hair spread out in disarray, and her arms and legs clasped around him tightly like an octopus, as if she was afraid that the man would slip away in her dream.

The usually gentle face now looked particularly soft and beautiful, with long eyelashes casting a shadow on the cheek, and the corners of the mouth slightly raised, as if she was dreaming a sweet dream.

Zhou Qingfeng couldn't help but have some romantic thoughts, and the hot temper of young people began to emerge. But when he looked up at the electronic clock on the bedside, the hour hand pointed to half past ten.

Holy shit, it’s daybreak?!
Now is not the time to sleep.

But when he tried to get out of bed, Helen's arms tightened around him, and she muttered vaguely, "Don't move. You have to get more sleep on the weekend."

How could Zhou Qingfeng continue to sleep? He forcibly pulled his arm out of the embrace of the mountains. This movement naturally woke the sleeping beauty.

Helen slowly opened her eyes, her hazy gaze meeting Zhou Qingfeng's. Both of them were stunned, as if time had stood still.

After a moment, Helen's pupils gradually focused, as if she realized something. She suddenly sat up from the head of the bed, and the thin blanket slipped off, revealing her messy pajamas and bare skin.

She scanned the room, finally settling on Zhou Qingfeng, her tone filled with surprise and uncertainty:

"Victor, why are you in my room, lying on my bed? Did something happen between us last night?"

Her voice gradually became lower and more flustered. She looked down at her pajamas and then at the scattered clothes on the floor. Her brows furrowed slightly as she tried to piece together her memories of last night.

Then, she quickly came to a conclusion and said with certainty, "You must have sneaked in last night, right?"

Zhou Qingfeng didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and quickly waved his hands to explain, "Wait...it's not like that. Helen, don't confuse right and wrong. It was clearly you who came in openly. I didn't sneak around."

However, Helen was completely immersed in her own reasoning and didn't listen to him at all. She said to herself:

“I know it’s normal for a young man like you to be impulsive, curious, and have fantastic fantasies about mature women.

I admit that I do have some feelings for you, but it's impossible for us to be together. But, forget it, let's just treat it as a one-night stand, I won't hold you responsible."

After saying that, she lifted the quilt and prepared to get up to look for her clothes. But when she looked around, she found that her clothes were not in the room at all.

Her expression gradually changed from calm to confused, and finally she asked with some seriousness:

"Where did you take my clothes off? Didn't we start in the bedroom? The bathroom? The living room? Or... the kitchen?"

Zhou Qingfeng held his forehead helplessly and couldn't help but remind him: "Helen, are you still not awake? Nothing really happened between us last night."

Helen thought of something even more outrageous: "Did we meet in the bar last night and then get entangled with each other?
I must first state that I am actually a very conservative person and cannot accept gender relations that challenge the secular world.

Of course, if I get pregnant, it will only be a gift from God. I will raise the child on my own without your expense.”

Zhou Qingfeng's scalp tingled when he heard this, and he interrupted her again: "Helen, nothing really happened between us last night. We just... lay together. Don't let your imagination run wild."

"Impossible!" Helen lowered her head to check her clothes and body, then raised her head and said angrily:

"You little brat, as a man, you should have a sense of responsibility. I have the feeling, and I have the evidence. You did it, and you have to admit it.

Of course, it's understandable that you're a little panicked. I'll give you some time; we both need to calm down."

After saying that, the female teacher hurriedly left the room to find her clothes.

Zhou Qingfeng thought to himself, 'What's the connection? It would be fine if I really did it, but I was exhausted as a dead dog at night.'

Thinking of this, he realized something more important. He quickly put on his clothes, took his gun, walked out of the bedroom, and rushed to the first floor.

Helen was already standing in the living room on the first floor, frozen in place, as if the pause button had been pressed.

Because a white-haired old man appeared on the sofa in the living room - he was sitting leisurely, holding a cup of steaming coffee in his hand.

His eyes were fixed on the news reports on TV, with a cheerful smile on his face, as if this was his home.

The old man heard the noise and turned around. When he saw Helen, he nodded politely and greeted her, "Good morning, ma'am."

When his eyes passed Helen and fell on Zhou Qingfeng who was coming downstairs, his expression suddenly became excited. He put down his coffee cup, stood up and said:
"Victor! I finally found you! My name is Hammer, and I'm your 'hourly worker'."

Not to mention Helen, even Zhou Qingfeng was stunned.

Hammer? Part-time worker? Alzheimer's? Zhou Qingfeng stood at the stairs, unable to figure out how this old man appeared here.

Helen turned around and angrily questioned Zhou Qingfeng: "Victor, who is this old man? When did you call the hourly worker? What do you want him to do?"

Zhou Qingfeng quickly walked up to Hammer and tried to explain: "Mr. Hammer, I canceled the order last night. You don't have to come, why are you here again..."

The old man's hand holding the coffee stopped in mid-air, frowned and thought for a moment, then let out a long "Oh..."

"Yes, yes, I remember now, you did cancel the order." He shrugged, "but I forgot about it.

The agent called me later, urged me to come over quickly, and gave me your new address. So, I came anyway.

It doesn't matter. I'm already here, so it won't delay anything. I'll give you a 50% discount on the hourly rate this time."

Helen was stunned and couldn't help but interrupt and ask, "Mr. Hammer, how did you get in?"

"Go through the main door." The old man pointed to the door of the living room.

"I clearly locked the door!" Helen's voice rose an octave.

"Uh... I'm pretty good at picking locks." The old man smiled, quite proud of himself.

"I have an alarm at home!" Helen added unwillingly.

"That thing can only scare petty thieves." The old man waved his hand, disapprovingly, and sat back on the sofa leisurely, picking up his coffee and taking a sip.

What shocked Helen and Zhou Qingfeng even more was the old man’s next words: “At 8:30 in the morning, the police knocked on the door and said that a big case had occurred in the town and they wanted to investigate the situation at home.

I opened the door and told them I was staying at my daughter's house for a few days. Seeing my age, they didn't suspect anything. As for Ms. Mary..."

He paused, his gaze turning towards the kitchen. "I told her she was my full-time nurse because I was a little forgetful and needed someone to take care of me. The police officer didn't suspect anything and instead wished me good health."

"Mary? Who is Mary?" Helen's mind was in a mess and she had no idea what was going on.

Just then, a "ding" sound came from the kitchen, which was the prompt sound of the toaster completing the work.

Then, a woman in an apron came out of the kitchen, holding a plate of freshly baked bread, and said coldly, "Everyone, breakfast is ready."

Helen and Zhou Qingfeng turned to look at her at the same time - she was the wife of the "corpse collector" and also the nurse who took care of Inspector Carl.

Helen seemed to have just recovered her memory. She held her head and said painfully, "Damn it! What did I do last night? I seem to have gotten into big trouble."

Old man Hammer also warned, "I went to see Carl in the guest room. That FBI agent is in good condition. But based on my over thirty years of experience in the CIA, Victor, don't expect to resolve this problem through normal channels."

CIA?!
Zhou Qingfeng and Helen stared at the old man on the sofa again.

Only the corpse collector's wife remained calm. "Hammer Lee, this old man is notorious in the underworld. But getting him out wasn't easy."

By the way, Carl has woken up, you can go see him. Although he is still very weak, he also wants to talk to you. "

In the guest room on the first floor, Inspector Carl lay quietly on a mobile stretcher, his face pale and his breathing weak.

There was a retention needle in his arm, and glucose liquid flowed drop by drop into his veins, maintaining his life.

The ECG monitor made regular beeping sounds, and the waveform jumping on the screen showed that his vital signs were normal.

Every hour, the 'corpse collector's' wife would come in to help him turn over and stretch his muscles to prevent muscle soreness caused by lying in bed for a long time.

In addition, she would carefully clean Carl's body, handle his excrement, and ensure that his body remained clean and comfortable.

Zhou Qingfeng felt fortunate about this and lamented that the cost of "ten thousand dollars a day" was indeed worth it.

Without these meticulous medical care, even if the operation was successful, Inspector Carl's physical condition might have deteriorated rapidly, making all Zhou Qingfeng's efforts in vain.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Inspector Carl's eyes opened slightly, raised his finger, pointed at the phone beside him, and typed: "Please contact the Internal Security Office of the Ministry of Justice for me."

Zhou Qingfeng frowned slightly. He knew nothing about "internal security" and subconsciously looked at old man Hammer, hoping to get some advice from him.

Old man Hammer shrugged, shook his head, and said sarcastically, "It's useless, Carl, don't be so naive.

Even if this young man could contact senior officials at the Department of Justice in Washington, without sufficient connections and resources, they would only let the local officials in Miami investigate.

Believe it or not, as long as Victor makes a phone call, half an hour later, Deputy Director Schulte will personally take a helicopter and lead a team to you.

He would thank Victor with a smile for everything he had done for American justice, and "protect" him, isolating him from all contact with the outside world.

As for you, Carl..." Old man Hammer glanced at the inspector lying on the stretcher, "You will be sent to the hospital and 'die of your injuries'.

Victor's lottery ticket will be paid out immediately, but he will no longer have access to his account.

At that time, Victor's lawyer, Baker Hughes, would be very professional if he could remain neutral.

Believe me, while you are still trying to solve the problem within the legal framework, the enemy is already standing outside the law, watching coldly."

Carl tilted his head on the stretcher, his eyes fixed on Hammer, a complex expression in his eyes. After weighing the pros and cons for a long time, he typed a line of words on his phone:

“Although I don’t want to admit it, there is some truth to what this old man said.

It's true that I had a bad relationship with my partner and had deep conflicts with my boss, but I never thought that they would want to kill me.

But my partner and boss acted decisively. Now, I really don't have anyone I can trust."

Zhou Qingfeng looked at the old man Hammer again and asked, "So I'm going to kill that troublemaking FBI deputy director?"

“Unless you’re crazy, I don’t recommend doing this.” The other party gave a super simple solution, “Just make sure your prize redemption process is not interrupted.

Before you get the money, if you are not arrested by the FBI for any reason or your redemption is suspended, as long as the lottery commission completes the process, you will have more than a billion dollars in assets in your account.

As long as you have money, Baker Hughes will be the first to jump out, and your Kelly will start to get busy. Don't underestimate that lawyer, he really will work hard for money.

As long as you have money, the law will protect your interests."

This sounds easy, as long as Zhou Qingfeng is safe and sound.

But he frowned, and after a while he decided to tell his biggest trouble, "The person who blackmailed me really has evidence in his hands."

Blackmail is not a big deal.

But when Zhou Qingfeng explained the cause and effect of the "extortion", Inspector Carl, who was lying down, became extremely excited and almost jumped up from the stretcher.

Even if he couldn't jump, the inspector would still use his phone to express his anger, "Fuck you, Victor. It turns out you are the real murderer."

The old man Hammer was not surprised. He glanced at Carl and said calmly, "Don't get excited. This guy risked a lot to save you. You should be grateful.

Furthermore, although I don't know why the deputy director wants to kill you, your survival also depends on whether this guy can get the money safely.

Otherwise, you will die faster than he did."

Inspector Carl's anger was instantly extinguished by these words. His finger paused on the screen, then he slowly put down the phone and fell silent.

The old man looked at Zhou Qingfeng again. "So, the key to this matter is to find the hidden blackmailer? I do have some inferences and suggestions.

First, the blackmailer had considerable anti-reconnaissance awareness, but it was unlikely to be Congers.

If you don't believe me, you can ask Carl. Whether from the perspective of an FBI investigator or from my perspective as a CIA hacker for many years, using your original voice to change your voice for blackmail is stupid.

Voice changing is nothing more than distorting the voice using algorithms, but this is too easy to restore using algorithms.

Furthermore, using synthesized electronic sounds is simpler and more convenient, and leaves no traces of harm, unless the blackmailer is deliberately misleading.

Secondly, the blackmailer must have received accurate information, but he cannot be too high-class, otherwise he would not call you before you get the money because he is worried that you will take the money and run away.

The opposite is the deputy director of the FBI. He can restrict you from leaving the country, monitor your accounts, is not afraid of you running away at all, and can even frame you.

Finally, the blackmailer is likely familiar with Congers. AI technology is so advanced these days that it's easy to simulate anyone's accent, given a recording of their daily speech.

The blackmailer will undoubtedly contact you again to reach some kind of deterrence agreement. We must find and eliminate him before he causes more trouble."

These words are clear, logical and convincing.

Carl had been investigating the 'bar lottery' case for a long time and was familiar with the candidates who met the requirements. He immediately gave a name on his phone: 'Elvin White'.

"Who is this person?" Zhou Qingfeng asked back.

"Congers' partner, and the other police officer who arrived at the scene on the night of the 'Bar Lottery' case," Carl replied.

"If there was anyone most likely to be watching the Scorpion after hearing about the lottery, it was Congers."

Zhou Qingfeng was overjoyed, thinking that he had obtained the "Crouching Dragon" and "Phoenix Young" from both the FBI and the CIA at the same time, and that dealing with a hidden blackmailer would be a piece of cake.

But it was too early for him to be happy.

'Wolong' lay on a stretcher, unable to speak a word. After half an hour, he was exhausted and fell into a coma, unable to provide much substantial help.

'Fengchu' is even worse off.

The old man went to the bathroom and squatted for half an hour. When he came out, he looked confused, as if his memory had been wiped out and he didn't know where he was.
When he saw Zhou Qingfeng, he compared the photos stored in his phone with the 'order' and shouted happily:

"Victor! I finally found you! My name is Hammer, and I'm your 'hourly worker'."

The old man has lost his memory again.

(End of this chapter)