Invasion of America

Chapter 40 Calm down
"Sorry, boss."

"I'm here to provide you with security services and help you with some harmless chores."

"If it's for a just cause, I can kill a few of those evil criminals for you, and it would be easy to finish them off. But..."

When Zhou Qingfeng ordered to kill Professor Aamir Khan, Luxor, who was at the scene, refused without hesitation.

Although his voice was calm, his attitude was firm, clearly reminding Zhou Qingfeng where his bottom line was.

Now, things get complicated.

No one expected that the professor would hook up with the governor, and that they would meet soon. Seeing that the carefully planned "honey trap" was about to be exposed, the situation instantly became tense.

Luxor knew that being paid to work and being paid to kill were two different things. If he was caught, as long as it wasn't a serious crime like murder or arson, he would have his CIA colleagues to help him get him back.

But if Zhou Qingfeng, the "foreigner", is caught, he will not be so lucky and can only hope for the best.

"Alright, no more 'buts,'" Zhou Qingfeng interrupted Luxor. "I understand. Let's activate the contingency plan."

It was to be expected that his subordinates would give up their lives at the critical moment. Zhou Qingfeng was glad that he had a backup plan.

The Caribbean has hundreds of first-class cabins, but there is only one presidential suite with an open-air balcony, and Zhou Qingfeng is staying there.

It seems reasonable for billionaires to carry more and bigger luggage when traveling, right?

He teamed up with another bodyguard, Jaeger, and dug out a huge box from a pile of carry-on luggage.

Inside the box is a T100 large quadcopter drone, which needs a space of more than "three and a half meters by three and a half meters" to take off when unfolded.

Fortunately, the sea view balcony of the "Presidential Suite" is spacious enough.

The maximum lifting capacity of T100 is kilograms, and it is no problem to lift kilograms instantly. It is easy to lift a living person.

Open the arm, unfold the blades, insert the battery, and install the sling. When Zhou Qingfeng started the remote control, the eight blades of the four-axis made a violent roar and slowly rose from the open-air balcony.

The distance between the 'Presidential Suite' and the first-class Suite A is only a few dozen meters.

Luxor leaned out from the balcony and soon felt the strong wind from the blades, and couldn't help but squint his eyes.

Professor Aamir Khan was in a coma at the moment and was quickly put on a sling and moved from Suite A in the first-class cabin to the "Presidential Suite".

Soon after, Luxor himself was moved over.

As for Morris, the guy went to dress up and still hasn't finished, and hasn't even reached Suite A.

When he was called back by the intercom, he saw the professor slumped on the floor and couldn't help but widen his eyes: "What's going on?"

Zhou Qingfeng shouted in a deep voice, "Stop talking nonsense. The person is here. Continue your work. Wake this guy up and inject him with the 'truth-teller'."
-
Just as the drone lifted Luxor and Professor Aamir Khan away, several cruise ship security guards opened the door of Suite A and searched the area.

In the suite's living room, a crystal chandelier cast a cool white light. The open balcony with a sea view continuously poured in the salty sea breeze, and the ivory gauze curtains were constantly fluttered by the wind.

There's no one in the room!
The security guard rushed to the balcony and looked down first - the cruise ship, which was more than ten stories high, was fifty or sixty meters above the sea. On one side was the brightly lit cabin, and on the other side was the dark sea.

Looking up, there is only endless darkness.

Cruise ship security could only report that although surveillance footage showed Professor Aamir Khan entering First Class Suite A, there was no one in the room.

After a while, Governor Weston came angrily with his secret service, and scanned the living room of the suite, trying to find something.

Four cruise ship security personnel stood stiffly like statues, and two office workers clung to the wall.

The assistant stood diagonally behind the governor, the blue light of the tablet in his hand illuminating his pale face.

Everyone tried to breathe as lightly as possible and didn't dare to speak easily, making the scene extremely quiet.

Governor Weston's assistant also felt nervous. When he spoke, his voice was intermittent as if torn apart by the sea breeze, "Surveillance shows that there are at least two suspects, and they are both disguised.

Including a waitress and a cleaner from room service.

The waitress lured Professor Aamir Khan to a first-class suite and then left; the cleaner came in and disappeared with the professor.

The cruise ship's security is trying to find their origins and whereabouts in the monitoring room.

We speculate that after the suspect kidnapped the professor, he most likely took him away with a rope, went to the lower cabin and escaped.

Bad news! The professor's encrypted hard drive is missing. Luckily, it has hardware encryption and will self-destruct after five consecutive incorrect password attempts.

"Lucky?" Governor Weston suddenly turned around, grabbed his assistant by the collar, and growled coldly, "Do you think this is just an ordinary kidnapping case?"

"Of course I can't be sure." The assistant's forehead was covered with sweat. "But the crime scene is a cruise ship. The suspect and the professor must still be on the ship, and the lost hard drive must also be there.

Unless the suspect has a speedboat ready to pick us up, or has other means, that would be even more troublesome.”

Governor Weston was emotional. “I spent three years and did a lot of work, secretly carrying out the expansion and development of Project X without telling the military.

Now the project is just one step away from success, and I will soon possess the most impressive power and the greatest wealth in the world.

Suddenly someone intervened and not only kidnapped my biochemical project leader, but also stole the hard drive containing all the secrets of Project X.

These are definitely not ordinary kidnappers, we must fight them with all our might."

The assistant forced himself to remain calm and quickly suggested, "Someone has been assigned to monitor the cruise ship's lifeboats and helicopters.

As long as you give the order, the Coast Guard, National Guard, Miami Police Department and FBI branch will be here soon.

There are only a few thousand people on board, so it won't be difficult to check them out."

Governor Weston snorted heavily. "Do you want everyone to know that I'm the current controller of 'Apocalypse Biology'? Do you want my scandal to be on the headlines of tomorrow's newspapers?"

The assistant was suddenly speechless and froze in place, his shirt soaked with cold sweat. He didn't know what to do for a moment.

"Just treat it as a normal kidnapping case and let the FBI get involved.

This cruise ship has just departed and will be at sea for three days and two nights. Solve this case for me within seventy-two hours.

No matter what, you must bring him back to me."
-
Within an hour, more than a dozen helicopters flew in from the coast. The roar of the propellers broke the tranquility above the cruise ship, and the bright searchlights illuminated a bright spot on the dark sea.

The FBI logo is particularly eye-catching on the fuselage.

As the helicopter slowly descended, twenty or thirty federal agents quickly jumped out of the cabin, including several well-trained police dogs and forensic personnel carrying heavy equipment boxes.

Since the governor himself was on the cruise ship and gave the order personally, the Miami branch had to send out its most elite forces.

Director Schmidt personally led the team. After boarding the ship, he immediately went to the first-class suite to comfort the "frightened" governor, leaving the newly appointed Deputy Director Carl Vinson to handle the specific matters.

Carl Vinson had just stood firm when he ordered the first mate of the cruise ship who came to meet him: "Give me the crew list of the entire ship, including cruise staff and tourists." Soon, the electronic version of the list appeared on the tablet computer in Carl's hand, and the first page was the first-class passengers.

Presidential Suite——Zhou Qing Feng

Seeing this unique Chinese surname and the note "Victor" behind it, Carl frowned slightly.

He decisively clicked on the name, and the ID photo of Zhou Qingfeng, which he had used to board the ship, immediately popped up on the screen. This familiar face made his pupils shrink suddenly.

"Why is this guy everywhere?" Carl cursed. His intuition from more than ten years in the industry reminded him that the suspect had been found.

"Go take over the cruise ship's surveillance room and find the people the professor has come into contact with since boarding the ship." Carl ordered the detectives around him, and then said to the first mate, "Lead the way. I need to go to the crime scene."
-
Zhou Qingfeng was currently sitting in front of a slot machine in the cruise ship casino, casually inserting coins and pulling the lever, his eyes lazily following the rotating puzzle pattern on the screen.

The casino is brightly lit and bustling with people. The music from the slot machines keeps coming, urging people to continue placing bets.

Although he couldn't leave the cruise ship for the time being, he was not worried, at least not at the moment.

The "honey trap" plan carefully designed for Professor Aamir Khan has already laid out multiple insurances.

The first-class suite, which serves as a 'trap', is booked anonymously. After boarding the ship, no door card is required and the door can be opened with the booking verification code.

Luxor was carefully disguised when carrying out his missions - his face, body shape, and even shoes were completely different from his usual appearance.

Zhou Qingfeng himself never showed up during the operation and left no fingerprints at the scene.

After the emergency evacuation, all camouflage items were quickly destroyed, tied with counterweights using drones, and thrown into the sea.

Even the fake waitress was a colleague Luxor temporarily hired to play the role. Even Zhou Qingfeng knew nothing about her true identity.

As for the hard drive - Morris was dealing with Professor Aamir Khan in the 'Presidential Suite', so he had to wake him up first.

Zhou Qingfeng personally came out and wandered around, looking at the situation, especially observing the movements of the cruise ship security.

Although the entire "scam" plan did not have any earth-shattering creativity, the process was safe and even dull.

But every detail and back-up plan of the action has been carefully considered, and there will never be any low-level mistakes.

The only problem is that the two bodyguards are not so 'obedient'.

After the emergency transfer, Zhou Qingfeng not only did not blame Luxor, but instead expressed his approval to Luxor, admitting that the order he gave in the heat of the moment was wrong, and that not killing the professor was the best solution.

Not only should he not get angry, he should also give the other party a raise, encourage the other party to give more suggestions, and win them over. He must not cause unpleasantness or lead to a fallout.

Luxor and Jaeger were very surprised. For a moment they really couldn't figure out Zhou Qingfeng's true thoughts. After all, this kid was too young and shouldn't have the characteristics of being so shrewd.

In the casino, the noisy sounds and the fast-paced music played by the slot machines are intertwined to create an exciting atmosphere.

Zhou Qingfeng usually has bad luck in gambling and always loses, but today he is uncharacteristically lucky and has surprisingly good luck.

He casually pulled the lever a few times, and the jingling sound of winning numbers continued, with coins falling like raindrops, attracting the attention of many people around him.

In a casino, lucky people are always the center of attention. From time to time, someone would hear the noise and come over to take a look.

Most people just smiled and praised his good luck; some people walked over slowly, took a glance, and turned away suddenly.

The turn was so large that it was hard for Zhou Qingfeng not to notice. He turned his head subconsciously, and his eyes happened to meet the man's, and he recognized him instantly.

"Teacher Helen."

The woman in front of me, wearing a low-cut, backless dress, was Helen Grant, the history teacher at White Beach High School, whom I hadn't seen for a long time.

After the Chris family case was over, Zhou Qingfeng stopped going to school and left Baitan Town after saying goodbye to Helen.

The two had no contact for over a month - but unexpectedly they bumped into each other in the cruise ship's casino.
-
Hearing Zhou Qingfeng calling out her name, Helen, who had wanted to avoid him, had to turn back again and waved awkwardly, "Hi Victor, I didn't expect to see you here."

Zhou Qingfeng was also extremely surprised. He carefully looked at Helen's rather revealing outfit and said in surprise, "Teacher, you hid when you saw me just now."

"No." Helen immediately denied, "I was just passing by and wanted to play cards."

Zhou Qingfeng was also tired of the slot machines. He didn't even want the coins he won. He stood up and walked to Helen, "Okay, I'll go play some cards too."

Helen became even more nervous. "No, wait. I suddenly felt like I didn't want to play cards. I just came to the casino to hang out. I didn't even exchange my chips."

Zhou Qingfeng just smiled and asked, "Teacher, I called you, but you didn't answer once, and you didn't reply to my text messages."

Helen stared at Zhou Qingfeng's face, and suddenly her shoulders relaxed as if she was disappointed. She whispered, "Let's change places. It's too noisy here."

After saying that, she took Zhou Qingfeng's arm and strolled out of the casino to the open deck outside.

The night was deep and the sea was calm. Leaning against the railing, I could hear the propeller stirring the water and the sound of the boat pushing away the waves.

Helen relaxed her mind, leaned close to Zhou Qingfeng's ear, and chuckled, "I didn't answer your call because I felt we would never meet again."

"Why?" Zhou Qingfeng asked.

"You're rich now, aren't you? Mr. Hammer Lee told me. I don't know how to communicate with a billionaire."

Whether I was cold or enthusiastic, it all seemed too deliberate. Simply put, I have poor social skills and cannot balance my mentality."

Zhou Qingfeng was both amused and annoyed, but it was understandable. As a poor man, he would also feel uncomfortable facing the super-rich.

"Remember the night you brought that FBI agent to my house? I felt so comfortable and satisfied when I hugged you.

But I knew it was impossible for us, so after you left, I didn't answer your calls or reply to your text messages.

But I didn’t expect to see you on a cruise ship. I couldn’t help but want to hold you and smell your scent.”

The deck where the two of them were staying was relatively remote and dimly lit, so only couples would gather there.

Zhou Qingfeng doesn't have any body odor. Selena once offered to give him men's perfume, but he flatly refused—"What's the point of wearing perfume, man?"

Helen hugged Zhou Qingfeng, buried her head in his neck, and took deep breaths continuously, as if there was really some pleasant smell on Zhou Qingfeng's body, and the more she smelled, the more intoxicated she became.

Unfortunately, after smelling it for a while, Helen suddenly cried out "Ah", as if she remembered something important.

She quickly let go of Zhou Qingfeng, turned around and walked a distance away, saying, "Victor, I need to leave for a while. I have to leave for a while."

This sudden shock is quite scary.

Zhou Qingfeng caught up a few steps and asked, "Do you need my help?"

"No, there's no need. Don't follow me." Helen left in a rather awkward manner, but she didn't forget to shout back, "I'll call you, I promise."

(End of this chapter)