Invasion of America

Chapter 36: Poking Lou Zi

At 10:03 at night, on the outskirts of Baitan Town.

In the third-floor corridor of the Blue Star Motel, old neon tubes were crackling.

Morris in Room 4 opened the blinds, the low-quality plastic making a tiny rustling sound between his fingers.

Through the greasy window glass, you can see three eighteen-wheel trucks parked crookedly under the street lights in the parking lot.

A truck driver in overalls bargained with a prostitute, and a homeless man rummaged through a vending machine for coins.

Under the cover of darkness, the blue light of neon signs made all the figures look ghostly and slender.

The hotel room was very small, just one bedroom and one bathroom. There was a small LCD TV hanging on the wall, playing meaningless news reports.

As the digital clock on the bedside table ticked from 22:04 PM to 22:05 PM, Morris grew increasingly restless. He unzipped the canvas bag and inspected the goods for this transaction.

Seven lab logs bound with rubber bands, twelve cryovials labeled with biohazard labels, and three CDs with the 'Apocalypse Biology' logo.

These gadgets, which are red-labeled on the government's restricted list, are now glowing coldly under cheap energy-saving lamps.

Anyone who sells or obtains these things must be subject to supervision by the U.S. Department of Commerce, otherwise it is illegal.

Morris is a researcher at Apocalypse Biology. Three days ago, someone contacted him and offered one million dollars to buy the company secrets in his hands.

Morris, who was short of money, was immediately tempted. He appeared at the motel to complete the transaction.

But doing this is ultimately very dangerous. No one can say for sure whether it is an FBI sting operation targeting suspicious persons. Who knows who the person who will come to contact you will be?
Just when the atmosphere was tense, hysterical laughter suddenly broke out from the next room, and the thin wooden wall trembled.

Morris, fidgeting, jumped up as if he had been electrocuted, and the canvas bag fell to the ground, almost breaking the frozen tubes containing dangerous pathogens.

He stared at the shadow swaying under the crack in the door until he was sure that it was a drunk man stumbling past.

The bathroom exhaust fan was humming, the sound of tires rolling over gravel came from the parking lot, and a man and a woman next door were screaming.

A black Chevrolet without license plates slowly drove into the parking lot. The man in the driver's seat wore a baseball cap with the brim pulled low, glancing around.

The drunk man in the corridor on the third floor came back again, holding a bottle of wine, knocking on the doors of every room, as if he couldn't find his own residence.

There was a scantily clad prostitute smoking downstairs. Several pimps came to her, but she ignored them and chased them away.

Who. Who will be the trading partner tonight?
Two hundred meters from the parking lot, a Chevrolet SUV was parked at the intersection. It was neither new nor old, and it was unremarkable, just the kind of car you'd see everywhere on the street.

The spacious interior of the car is a different world. It is equipped with a complete set of remote monitoring equipment. Various data and images flash on the screen, exuding a cool and professional atmosphere.

Zhou Qingfeng leaned lazily on the car seat, crossed his legs, and casually grabbed a bottle of frozen yogurt from the small refrigerator. He inserted a straw into it and sipped it slowly.

Selina sat next to him, staring curiously at Lux who was operating the surveillance equipment - this middle-aged white man in his forties, a former CIA veteran, was now Zhou Qingfeng's "temporary employee."

In the driver's seat, Jaeger sat upright, his eyes as sharp as an eagle.

This black man in his early fifties was once an elite member of the White House Secret Service. Now he was dressed in casual clothes, scanning every passing car and every passing face on the road with a focused expression.

Selina looked at it for a long time, still confused. She couldn't help but ask Zhou Qingfeng in a low voice: "Victor, what are your two bodyguards doing?"

Zhou Qingfeng finished his last mouthful of yogurt, and his stomach was already bloated and uncomfortable. He shrugged and answered in a low voice:
"We're here to conduct an illegal transaction, and our target is in the motel across the street. But we're not sure if this is a trap, so we need to use some technical means to confirm it.

The most common technical means is to use drones to take aerial photos of the area around the hotel to see if there are any suspicious people or cars.

A more complicated method is to set up a fake wireless base station and see if you can connect to nearby mobile phones and steal call information.

Another approach is to monitor the frequency bands used by intercoms and use AI to filter out sensitive words. If there are encrypted intercom channels, they need to be monitored and cracked more closely.

At first glance, Zhou Qingfeng seemed like an expert. But Luxor, who was operating the equipment, couldn't help but turn his head to take a closer look. The real situation was clearly much more complicated.

"Oh..." Selina nodded, not quite understanding. Although she was still confused, she didn't ask any more questions. She just became more curious about everything in front of her.

Two days ago, the "friend" named Diego from the Department of Homeland Security contacted Zhou Qingfeng and said he wanted to give him a gift.

Two days later, the gifts arrived as expected - two cars, a Cadillac and a Chevrolet.

The Cadillac is the Secret Service's luxury bulletproof model, with a body made of high-strength steel, titanium alloy and ceramic materials, and windows made of multi-layer bulletproof glass.

The car is equipped with an independent oxygen supply system and advanced communication equipment. It originally had a ministerial-level confidential machine, but it has been removed.

This car is extremely luxurious and offers a top-notch ride, perfect for showcasing luxury. Its market price will be no less than one million US dollars.

Diego explained that the car was originally the vehicle of a former government minister.

When a new minister takes office, he often doesn't like to use his predecessor's things, so the Secret Service has to purchase new cars.

The Secret Service had a large inventory of old cars, all with low mileage and in excellent condition, and they were sold secretly or even given away.

As for the Chevrolet SUV, it is a field vehicle of the Department of Homeland Security. It has been modified to be bulletproof, has a sturdy body and spacious space, and is suitable for team travel.

Due to internal upgrades and write-offs, the car should have been sent for scrapping and recycling, but Diego used his connections to give it to Zhou Qingfeng.

These are all excellent cars that cannot be bought through ordinary means on the market. After all, they are all spent on American taxpayers' money, so no one will feel bad.

There were also two "job seekers" in the car - Lux and Jaeger.

The job of the U.S. Secret Service is to provide security for high-ranking officials, but not every agent can serve the president.

Like Yeager, who received the most rigorous training, but could only take care of the dog of the former president's family... and he did this for many years.

Lux was simply affected by the recent government audit storm and had to be laid off. Now he is being wasted and has become Zhou Qingfeng's "nanny".

After the two professionals arrived, they discovered that caring for Zhou Qingfeng was not an easy task. For example, now.
Zhou Qingfeng asked, "Is the transaction site safe? Can anyone help me get those illegal materials and samples out?"

Jaeger, who was driving, and Luxor, who was monitoring, looked at each other. Both were surprised at the difficulty of this problem - he had just started working and was ordered by this guy to do illegal things. Should he do it?

Is this a test? Or am I being sent to be cannon fodder? —
A few days ago, Zhou Qingfeng encountered a setback and his idea of ​​acquiring "Apocalypse Biology" fell through.

Within 24 hours, his 'friends' had sent him the information he wanted.

First, Dias from the Department of Homeland Security reported a bad news: it was Florida Governor Weston who prevented Zhou Qingfeng from acquiring "Apocalypse Biology".

It was he who listed 'Apocalypse Bio' on the 'Export and Investment Restriction List', directly erasing Zhou Qingfeng's investment qualifications.

It was also he who called Jeff Connolly. He might have realized Zhou Qingfeng's role in eliminating the Chris family and gave him a few small warnings.

But it was definitely not the governor who wanted to make things difficult for Zhou Qingfeng. Someone else had smoothed the way for the governor.

This kind of communication is likely to be conducted in the form of a private meeting, with no phone calls and no paper records, making it difficult to check.

Diaz is tracking Governor Weston's meeting records in recent days to see who he met and what forces are behind them.

There will be no results in a short time.

Gray Shark, on the other hand, was a bit more straightforward. He claimed someone had hired an underground broker to gather information about Zhou Qingfeng. As for who that person was, it would also take some time to investigate.

Upon learning that Zhou Qingfeng's acquisition of Apocalypse Biotech had been thwarted, Gray Shark proactively inquired whether he should cause trouble for the company, perhaps by bribing its employees.

So this is the scene in the motel before us.
-
The bribed Morris finally arrived, nervously waiting in his hotel room for the trader to arrive. Zhou Qingfeng and two new recruits waited outside the hotel, worried that the deal might be a trap.

Luxor, who came from the CIA, glanced at Jaeger from the Secret Service and whispered, "It's a trap. From the drone footage, there are at least five groups of people monitoring the hotel.

There was a station wagon at the hotel entrance, which looked like it was used for business trips, similar to our Chevrolet SUV.

There were people walking back and forth in the hotel parking lot and the corridor on the third floor. Although their faces looked different, their walking posture was different from that of ordinary people.

The most conspicuous thing is that there is a monitoring group on the roof of the hotel, which can be clearly seen by the drone's infrared camera.

As soon as we show up, we'll be targeted. If we walk into the target's room and touch the so-called 'sensitive documents and samples', the FBI will definitely jump out in ambush."

After listening to Luxor's explanation, Zhou Qingfeng smiled and looked at Jaeger. Facing this Chinese boy, the latter was speechless.

After all, I came from the Secret Service and was laid off and then re-employed as a bodyguard. How come I seem to be involved in a criminal group?
When I arrived, the introducer said that the employer was a newly wealthy man and the annual salary would not be less than $200,000. After arriving, I found that this Chinese guy had directly increased the annual salary to $300,000.

A high annual salary is a good thing, but the work is not easy!
Jaeger glanced at Luxor and thought to himself, "What does this former CIA agent mean? Are you here undercover? Or are you just here to get by? You can't be in cahoots with them, can you?"

After much deliberation, Jaeger decided to be conservative and said in a deep voice, "I work in security, monitoring."

Halfway through his words, Jaeger saw the smile on Zhou Qingfeng's face. Several thoughts flashed through his mind, and he thought to himself, "This isn't a good answer. Will I lose my job? It's hard to find a job with an annual salary of 300,000."

"I'm quite knowledgeable about surveillance and infiltration." Jaeger's words took a 180-degree turn.

"I agree with Luxor's assessment. The hotel is a well-placed trap. The target named Morris may have already chosen to cooperate with the FBI and is just waiting for us to show up.

Boss, if you have any special needs, please let us know. We may not be able to handle it, but as long as you pay enough, someone can definitely do it. "

Zhou Qingfeng laughed out loud, "Alright, since you all say it's a trap, tonight's deal is canceled."

There were four people in the car, and Selina couldn't understand it from beginning to end. She asked curiously: "Victor, we are here for a while, and we will leave without doing anything?"

"Of course not, we can still have a midnight snack." Before Zhou Qingfeng finished speaking, there was a knocking sound outside the Chevrolet.

A figure in a restaurant uniform was leaning out of the car window looking in, holding three large pizza boxes in his hands - it was a delivery guy.

When Zhou Qingfeng opened the car door, he heard the other party complain: "Hey, when you order food in the future, can you park the car in a conspicuous place?
For example, in the motel parking lot, I had to circle around twice before finding this crappy car, which wasted a lot of time. I had other meals to deliver.”

Zhou Qingfeng took the pizza box and the accompanying drink and handed over a hundred-dollar tip.

The delivery guy was surprised for two seconds when he took the money, then lowered his voice and smiled. "Thank you, you are so generous. You are such a kind person. I wish you a happy meal."

Seeing the huge pizza box, Selina muttered, "Victor, you ordered too much. There are only four of us. We can't eat three huge 12-inch pizzas."

"We will only eat one box, and the other two boxes are ordered for others." Zhou Qingfeng smiled, took two boxes of pizza and drinks, and got out of the car to act as a delivery man.

He crossed the busy highway, circled the motel halfway, and finally stopped outside a station wagon under the shade of a roadside tree and knocked on the window.

Inside the Chevrolet, Luxor and Jaeger were staring at the surveillance footage sent back by the drone, completely confused as to what Zhou Qingfeng was going to do.

After the door of the station wagon opened, Carl Vinson, the FBI agent who had not been seen for a long time and the newly appointed deputy director of the Miami branch, walked out with a gloomy face.

"Victor, what are you doing?" The deputy director stayed in the hospital for more than a month and underwent several operations.

He had two permanent scars on his face, and his severed tongue had barely been repaired. He could only speak through an electronic voice box in his throat, producing a strange, rigid tone.

Zhou Qingfeng glanced inside the station wagon and saw several FBI agents sitting among a pile of surveillance equipment, looking at him outside the car in surprise.

"Don't be nervous. I saw you guys were still working late at night, so I ordered takeout for you. Eat it, it's still hot."

Zhou Qingfeng picked up the two pizza boxes with a smile.

Karl's face was tense. He took the pizza and the drink, threw them to his colleague in the car, and closed the door. The two of them were alone together, and he asked angrily, "Did you set up the trap tonight?"

"I've just recruited two new men. I don't know how capable they are or whether they're reliable, so I'm bringing them out to give them some experience."

Zhou Qingfeng pointed in the direction of his Chevrolet and said, "Our car was less than a hundred meters away from you. We found you after flying a few circles in the sky with a drone."

My new guy said it would be easy to find the FBI car.

The distance cannot be too far, within 100 meters, to facilitate movement; the vehicle must be large enough to accommodate people and equipment; it cannot be too conspicuous, so the model must be old; and the vehicle must also be equipped with a concealed antenna."

"That's enough!" Carl said expressionlessly, "You can accommodate people from the CIA and the Secret Service. I really can't underestimate you."

"You actually knew that?" Zhou Qingfeng asked in surprise.

"Asshole, who are you trying to humiliate? I'm from the FBI. If I don't know who's around the person I'm monitoring, I'm seriously derelict in my duty."

"Wow, you admit you're monitoring me? I came here to ask, who ordered you to do this? What's your purpose?"

Carl got angry and said angrily: "Boy, you have more than a billion dollars to squander. Don't get involved in the muddy waters of 'Apocalypse Biology', okay?"

Zhou Qingfeng refused to budge, pressing in, "How could a company that's clearly going through bankruptcy and restructuring suddenly become so popular? There has to be a reason, right?"

Karl groaned, lifted the corner of his clothes, put his hands on his hips and said, "Victor, I don't owe you anything. Don't seek death yourself. Get out of here now, and you will save yourself a lot of trouble."

Zhou Qingfeng shook his head, “Karl, you are so seriously injured that you can retire with honors.

But you didn't do that. You only stayed in the hospital for more than a month, and you were appointed as deputy director even though you were wearing a laryngeal voice box.

I also have friends in the FBI.

They all say that you come from a good family, your father is a soldier, your mother is a nurse, you have a happy family and a successful career, and your only flaw is your strong desire for power.

If nothing unexpected happens, deputy director will be the pinnacle of your career.

Why don't you let me owe you something and give you a hint? You won't be at a disadvantage if you have a billionaire as a friend."

Zhou Qingfeng pointed in the direction of the hotel and said, "I was the one who led that idiot out on the third floor, and I was also the one who reported him to the FBI.

You want to solve a case and catch a thief? I can create a case for you, create achievements, and gain credit. We can complement each other.

'Apocalypse Biology' is indeed a muddy topic, so I want to know what's in it. "

Karl stared at Zhou Qingfeng for a while, raised his head and sighed, looked around, and whispered: "'Apocalypse Biology' has a secret project outsourced by the military.

These are projects that are difficult to obtain congressional review, are highly risky, unethical, and require a large number of cheap experiments.

You took out Schulte, you took out Matthew, you uncovered the illegal human trafficking in White Beach, and you got rid of the Chris family.

This is all good.

But you've also made a huge mistake, a secret that absolutely cannot be made public. It's not something you can touch.

Get out of here, Victor, and stop being such a smartass."

Zhou Qingfeng suddenly realized that many of his memories were churning in his mind, like fragmented puzzle pieces being completed, connected, and reappeared.
"One last question, what is the name of the project?"

"X."

(End of this chapter)