Invasion of America

Chapter 44 Behind the Scenes
Caribbean cruise ship, infirmary.

More than ten hours have passed since last night's terrorist attack.

The glaring light poured down from above his head. Professor Aamir Khan slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurred and his head heavy.

He could hear the hurried footsteps and whispers of medical staff. His consciousness seemed to be crushed by a thick layer of stones, and his thoughts were intermittent and incoherent.

He tried to raise his hands, but he didn't even know where they were.

Several federal agents in black uniforms with 'FBI' on their chests stood beside the bed, staring at him sternly.

"Professor, can you hear me?" An agent leaned over, his voice low and serious.

Professor Aamir Khan opened his mouth, but his throat was so dry that he couldn't make a sound.

He vaguely remembered losing a lot of money in the cruise ship's casino last night and feeling depressed, and then... everything after that became a blur.

"He's not fully conscious yet," a medical staff member whispered. "He has a high level of flunitrazepam in his system, a drug that can severely affect his memory."

Flunitrazepam? The professor knew about it. It was a powerful hypnotic sedative, often used in illegal settings. It could make people fall asleep quickly and even erase their memories of before and after taking the drug.

Could it be that someone drugged me?
Time passed minute by minute, and the professor's consciousness gradually became clear. When he regained some strength, he slowly sat up from the bed and looked around.

The infirmary was small, crammed with groaning patients, the air thick with the mixed smell of disinfectant and vomit.

Several medical staff were busy, while the FBI agent stood by with a serious expression.

"Professor, you're finally awake." An agent stepped forward, a notebook in hand. "We need your cooperation in the investigation. Do you remember what happened last night?"

The professor shook his head blankly.

"You've been kidnapped," the agent reminded.

"Kidnapping?" The professor's eyes widened in disbelief. "I... I only remember losing money in the casino. I can't remember anything after that."

The agent sighed and continued, "Last night, you were drugged and taken away from the casino. We suspect you were kidnapped for about an hour.

Cruise ship security discovered through surveillance that you were taken to a first-class suite by a fake waitress.

But when security came to look for you, they found that you were missing and not in the suite.

Then, another extremely serious terrorist attack occurred on the cruise ship. Governor Weston was killed in a drone attack on the cruise ship.

Subsequently, a large-scale food poisoning incident broke out among the cruise ship passengers, hundreds of passengers developed diarrhea and abdominal pain, and we had to evacuate some people urgently.

And you, before the governor was killed, appeared like a ghost in the first-class suite, unconscious."

The professor was stunned. He could hardly digest the shocking news. He muttered to himself:

"I was seduced? Impossible. I have a devout religious belief and never approach women.

I drink? That's out of the question. I'm a teetotaler and abstain from any substance. And as for Governor Weston being murdered? This... this is horrible!"

The agent ignored his shock and continued to ask, "Professor, we noticed that the governor's assistant has contacted you several times. Do you have a meeting scheduled with Governor Weston?"

The moment Professor Aamir Khan learned that the governor had been attacked and killed, his head began to churn, as if he was at the center of a storm.

When the agent asked, the professor's heart tightened, but his face remained calm. He subconsciously shook his head and firmly denied it:

"I'm just on a cruise for vacation. I've never had any contact with Governor Weston. How could I possibly have an appointment with him?"

The agent was clearly unconvinced. He looked down at the records in his hand and continued, "We found your luggage. Can you confirm if anything is missing?"

As he spoke, the agent handed over a tablet computer with a photo of the professor's suitcase displayed on the screen.

The professor's eyes quickly swept across the screen, and he was even more confused - the encrypted hard drive he carried with him was missing.

That was his most important thing, containing the core secrets of "Apocalypse Biology" and the records of his private transactions with Governor Weston.

He has always been very careful, even carrying the hard drive in a waterproof bag when taking a shower.

Now that the hard drive is missing, it means his secret may have been exposed.

"Nothing valuable is missing." The professor pretended to be calm, but his voice was trembling. "Just some cash is missing, everything else is there."

"Are you sure?" The agent stared into his eyes, his tone full of doubt. "Professor, you are responsible for your words."

The professor gritted his teeth and insisted, "I'm sure. I'm just here on vacation and I don't have anything valuable with me."

He knew that if the FBI found the hard drive, the contents would cause him endless trouble. If exposed, he wouldn't even be eligible for prison and would commit suicide by shooting himself in the back of the head.

Especially since Governor Weston was dead, he had lost his most important supporter and had to be more cautious. No matter what, he couldn't let the FBI get hold of him.

The detective wanted to continue questioning.

The professor simply lay back on the bed, pretending to be weak, and groaned softly, "My head is still dizzy and my memory is confused... Can I rest for a while?"

The agent then delivered a devastating blow, "Aamir Khan, was it you who lured Governor Weston to the Caribbean cruise ship?"

The professor couldn't sleep anymore. His waist seemed to be spring-loaded, and he suddenly jumped up. He was shocked and angry and asked, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
-
Next to the medical room, Luxor, Jaeger, and Morris were each held in a small cell, each with a federal agent taking statements.

Luxor was languid, his face expressionless. Jaeger was silent, answering the agent's questions with only the simplest answers and a cold attitude.

Morris seemed nervous, his hands were shaking, his voice was trembling, and his eyes were wandering. He was obviously frightened by the situation.

The three people's answers were surprisingly consistent: they just followed their boss to the cruise vacation and knew nothing about what happened last night.

No matter how the detectives questioned them, they kept saying "I don't know anything" and were very evasive.

At the same time, Zhou Qingfeng was also locked in a small room on the cruise ship.

The room was small and dim, with only a table and a chair. It was obviously a temporarily converted "small dark room".

Last night's drone raid threw the entire cruise ship into chaos.

Florida Governor Weston was killed on the spot in the explosion. The scene was in ruins and filled with smoke. The survivors were stunned and at a loss.

Director Schmidt pushed the governor at the critical moment, and he himself suffered a bad fate. He was hit in the head by the sudden attacking robot dog.

Deputy Chief Carl Vinson, the highest-ranking official on the scene, emerged from the chaos, his face dusty and bewildered. He had imagined that one day he would handle a case of epic proportions, earning him national fame. But when the real deal finally happened, he felt the weight of the burden was too great, the pressure too great.

The FBI agents on the scene had been complaining about the late nights, but now they had no time to complain. The problem should be reported directly to Washington.

The case was quickly classified as a terrorist attack, no one at the scene was allowed to leave, and the cruise ship was completely blocked.

Zhou Qingfeng was also held in solitary confinement for more than ten hours at a time, with no one paying attention to him. After a long time, he only felt a little hungry, but not any discomfort.

When the cruise ship's whistle sounded, it was obvious that it had docked again. He walked to the small window in the room and looked out through the glass. There were many soldiers and police on the dock and the atmosphere was tense.

Passengers and crew were barred from disembarking, except for a small number of seriously ill patients.

The room was small, and Zhou Qingfeng was bored, so he just lay on the table and continued to sleep. As the sky gradually darkened, the door was suddenly pushed open with a loud "clang".

Carl Vinson walked in with a few pieces of dry bread and a bottle of water in his hands. His eyes were bloodshot, his face was gloomy, and he looked exhausted.

Seeing Zhou Qingfeng slumped over the table, he immediately flew into a rage and shouted, "How dare you still sleep? There's chaos outside!"

Zhou Qingfeng raised his head from the table and rubbed his sore neck. He glanced at the food in Karl's hand, reached out and took it without hesitation, and asked casually, "What's the specific situation?"

Karl sighed and said gloomily, “Just last night, multiple terrorist attacks broke out across the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security has taken over the case, and someone will be here to take your statement shortly. I am no longer in charge of the case and am only cooperating with the investigation.

A group called 'Tree of Justice' claimed responsibility for the attack online and vowed to continue attacks against corrupt officials, claiming to 'awaken the people.'"

He paused and continued, “Last night’s drone was fiber-optic-guided and completely immune to electromagnetic interference.

But it is certain that the attackers are on board the ship, there are quite a few of them, and there is an insider who helped locate the governor."

At this point, Karl said sarcastically, "I don't know whether I should congratulate you. After the governor died, no one cared about Professor Aamir Khan's kidnapping.

Some even suspected that the professor was involved in the terrorist attack.

Because there is evidence that Governor Weston's appearance on the cruise ship was a spur-of-the-moment decision, intended to avoid being seen by others, in order to meet with the professor privately."

The water in Zhou Qingfeng's mouth spurted out, and he was stunned. "How is this possible? That professor... the professor is..."

He didn't know how to describe the confusion in his heart - being a professor was his target, so was the governor also the professor's target?

Carl continued, "You and your men were at the explosion site, which proves that you weren't the ones operating the drone. You're incredibly lucky."
-
Next, people from the Department of Homeland Security walked into Zhou Qingfeng’s small room.

The lead agent, expressionless, handed him a cell phone. The screen lit up, indicating the call was connected.

Zhou Qingfeng took the phone suspiciously, put it to his ear, and called out "Hello."
A hoarse voice came from the receiver: "Victor, don't panic, I'm Dias. Everyone on the ship is ours now."

Hearing this name, Zhou Qingfeng almost jumped up from his chair.

He also donated $30 million to the Patriot Foundation, the organization behind Dias.

Zhou Qingfeng's mind still flashed with the smiling face of old man Hammer. He immediately connected it with the terrorist attack last night.

That old guy had done a lot of harm. He thought it was just Alzheimer's, but he was actually good at setting traps. It would have been fine if he just asked for money, but he actually dragged him into this shady quagmire.

Zhou Qingfeng had been able to remain calm and composed for the past ten hours, but now he couldn't. He wanted to shout into his phone:
"I'm not an American patriot. Can you return the $30 million to me? I don't want to get involved in your business anymore!"

Diaz continued: "As you may have guessed, the 'Patriot Foundation' is the 'Tree of Justice'.

Thank you for your $30 million. This money will be of great help to us. Don't worry, we will not sit idly by and ignore your difficulties.

I also want to apologize. Our intelligence was flawed, and you were implicated in last night's operation. Fortunately, you're not seriously injured.

Of course, the premise is that you have to keep your mouth shut. Otherwise, the two bodyguards assigned to you - they can help you do the work, but they can also kill you."

Zhou Qingfeng was very familiar with this tactic—a terrifying balance of power and mutual threat. This was exactly what he had used against the Gray Shark.

Unexpectedly, I have become the target of threats now.

He originally felt that Luxor and Jaeger were not very obedient, and planned to find an opportunity to replace the two bodyguards.

Now it seems that not only can he not be kicked, but he also needs to be reused.

After all, they are the "bodyguards" and "supervisors" sent by Diaz, and they may become "killers" at any time.

This also explains why Governor Weston was attacked. Ordinary terrorists cannot control the whereabouts of the US governor. Those who have this ability are definitely not good people.

“Victor, from now on, you will be subject to an exit ban, but you will also have our protection and more privileges.

Patriots will uphold justice and save America from the shackles of bloodthirsty capital and corrupt bureaucrats. We hope you will join us."

Zhou Qingfeng held the phone in his hand, remained silent for a few seconds, and finally took a deep breath and whispered back, "I understand. May justice prevail."
-
Coming out of Guan Zhou Qingfeng's small dark room, Carl thought that the people from the Department of Homeland Security would definitely investigate that guy thoroughly and make him suffer.

Unexpectedly, the guy came out refreshed half an hour later, packed his luggage and prepared to leave - he didn't even need to take a car, a helicopter came to pick him up.

"You little bastard, how could you..." Deputy Director Carl found it outrageous. When did people from the Department of Homeland Security become so easy to talk to?
Luxor and Jaeger followed Zhou Qingfeng, like two generals. There was also a woman they hadn't seen before in their group. As for Morris, he was no longer trembling and was actually a little excited.

Zhou Qingfeng shrugged at Karl, went to the cruise ship's helicopter platform, boarded the plane and left, returning to his duplex apartment in Genting Highlands.

On the helicopter, Zhou Qingfeng asked the strange woman, "Who are you?"

"Monica." The woman made up a name perfunctorily. Her expression was sometimes cold, sometimes coquettish, and in short, she looked very indecent.

"Were you the one who hooked up with Professor Aamir Khan last night?" Zhou Qingfeng asked.

"Yes." The woman nodded. "I want an annual salary of 300,000."

"What do you mean?" Zhou Qingfeng felt something was wrong.

"It means there are three bodyguards watching you." The woman sneered without hiding anything, "Do you really think you can control more than a billion dollars?

We were already targeting you when you took out the Chris family. You just didn't realize it.

Have you ever thought about why you have so much money? Just be a puppet and you will live longer, be happier and suffer less.

(End of this chapter)