Invasion of America

Chapter 51 Doing Business

On the dock at Naval Base San Diego, diesel engines emit an unpleasant low-pitched throb.

As ten M1070 heavy transport vehicles rolled over the steel gangplank, the dull clanging sound of metal fatigue echoed in the cabin.

Monica Ranch sat in an executive car at the dock, her eyes fixed on the heavy truck that slowly drove into the cabin of the Watson.

She pulled out an encrypted phone and dialed a number. A muffled voice responded from the other end: "This is Dias. What's going on?"

"The cargo has been successfully loaded onto the ship. The navy has taken over. The fleet is expected to set sail in two hours."

Monica reported succinctly, "The fleet will sail at high speed and is expected to arrive in Southeast Asia in twenty days."

"Very good, I'll arrange for someone to keep a close eye on it," Dias responded. "You must be careful. There are signs that the 'dogs' of the Efficiency Department are targeting us."

The Department of Government Efficiency, or 'DOGE' for short, with its logo being a dog, is an informal federal agency established by the sitting president through executive order.

Although it is "informal" in name, it is closest to the center of power. Now it is like the "East Factory", speaking on behalf of the emperor and investigating the whole world, and has caused chaos in the United States.

Unlike the "Tree of Justice" composed of senior bureaucrats, the Efficiency Department represents the emerging capital forces. Although both are dissatisfied with the current situation in the United States, they are incompatible with each other.

"Those 'dogs' don't have law enforcement powers, but their technological capabilities surpass even those of the Department of Homeland Security, and they've recruited a group of young people to work for them."

Diaz continued, "You're in charge of raising funds for the organization, making you their primary target of surveillance. They're likely trying to plant a mole inside and investigate our past."

"I understand. I'll be extra careful," Monica replied.

Diaz finally warned: "Remember, maintain a good relationship with Victor. I know you don't like that 'yellow monkey'.

I don't like that guy either. But now is not the time to get rid of him, we must maintain the surface harmony."

Monica responded repeatedly and then hung up. She waited until the entire aircraft carrier fleet had departed the port and confirmed that there would be no problems before leaving the dock.
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Just as Monica left the dock, in a private house outside the dock, agents from the Efficiency Department were staring intently at the digital map on the screen, tracking the movement of her vehicle.

As Dias said, although the Efficiency Department's performance in other aspects is mediocre, the technological means supported by the new capital elites behind it are among the best in the world.

From Lula escorting the heavy trucks to the military port, to Monica's on-site supervision, to the fleet setting sail, all details of the operation could not escape the close monitoring of the Efficiency Department.

However, despite having a wealth of information, the agents still haven't received any orders from their superiors to take action. The entire team is shrouded in a powerless silence, and everyone feels extremely disappointed.

"Captain, are we just going to do nothing?" A female agent couldn't help but ask Captain Thomas, who was in charge of this operation.

Captain Thomas, a tall, burly black man with a stern face, responded calmly, "Who says we didn't do anything? We've collected a lot of evidence."

But remember, we don't have enforcement powers. Our job is to make sure we don't make any mistakes, not to act rashly.

If we are exposed and fail to completely eliminate the enemy, we will inevitably face a fierce counterattack. Patience is the key to success."

The atmosphere in the house fell silent again. Every detective involved in the surveillance and investigation had a strong sense of patriotism, but at this moment, their hearts were extremely heavy.

After Lieutenant Lula surrendered, the Efficiency Department's investigation into Zhou Qingfeng went much more smoothly. They started at the source and pinpointed the smuggling operation.

Considering Zhou Qingfeng's identity and his pursuit of huge profits, the Efficiency Department quickly focused its attention on semiconductor products.

Zhou Qingfeng's intention to smuggle AI chips is obvious, and his opponents also see through this.

Nvidia's B200 chips all come from TSMC factories. By tracking the supply and logistics, the Efficiency Department soon discovered that someone had purchased one hundred NVL72 cabinets in the name of the Department of Homeland Security.

The flow of funds in this $300 million transaction is clear and difficult to conceal.

However, when the heavy trucks loaded with these cabinets arrived at the San Diego Naval Base, the Efficiency Department agents were helpless.

Captain Thomas answered a phone call and turned to reassure the team: "Our superiors believe that we do not yet have sufficient solid evidence, especially since the identity of the person behind the scenes is still unclear.

Furthermore, to protect Lieutenant Lula’s safety, we have decided not to take any action at this time.”

This explanation slightly eased the tension within the team. To boost morale, Captain Thomas revealed some good news:

"Don't worry. Even though we can't catch those termites this time, those cabinets won't reach their destination either. The $300 million will just end up in the ocean."

The detectives were immediately excited when they heard the news. Although they could not get the details, everyone was full of anticipation for the "$300 million loss."
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Zhou Qingfeng was still completely clueless about certain things. Before he could even secure a buyer, he'd already splashed out $300 million on a hundred cabinets.

The transaction process was not transparent. For such a huge transaction, he was not even qualified to inspect the goods - of course, he did not have the ability to inspect the goods.

However, there is good news on the other side of the story.

With sufficient financial support, the "Electric Flight" foundry completed the production and assembly of ten low-altitude aircraft verification aircraft within a week.

Five of them remained in the country for testing to further optimize the flight control system.

Another five were flown to Miami for site acclimatization and system certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Fifty Electric Flight employees also arrived along with the aircraft.

Most of these people are young and middle-aged people in their twenties and thirties. They may not have the highest academic qualifications, but they are all energetic and full of motivation.

As soon as this group of people arrived in Miami, Zhou Qingfeng issued an unexpected order: one-third of the personnel should go to the shooting range to practice shooting first.

It is euphemistically called "liberating yourself, relaxing, and adapting to American society."

A group of young men originally thought that they came to the United States to work overtime and stay up late to complete the project as soon as possible, but when they heard that they were going to play with guns first, they screamed with excitement.

Although the rest of the people were envious, they no longer felt resentful when they heard that they would also have to practice shooting in half a month - the president was so generous and gave them money for free, so they naturally had to work hard.

Zhou Qingfeng "rented" the farm of the Chris family - yes, the Chris family that he wiped out.

Due to the large number of victims, Florida's judicial system is also having a headache with this case.

They originally planned to use the Chris family's property as compensation, but they found that the family had almost no property except the farm - all the valuables were taken away by Zhou Qingfeng.

The judicial system then decided to auction the farm. After all, tens of thousands of acres of land were worth a fortune. However, the case had not yet been concluded, and no one knew whether any victims were still buried on the farm.

Therefore, the auction can only be held after the case is concluded. However, although the ownership cannot be auctioned, it can be rented out.

Zhou Qingfeng rented this farm covering tens of thousands of acres for $1 million a year. The farm's current crop output alone was worth more than $1 million.

The farm has complete facilities and even workers are readily available. As long as there is capital investment, it can continue to operate.

The farm is open and there are no tall buildings around it, but there are a large number of buildings and living facilities inside, enough to accommodate hundreds of people.

The location was perfect for test flights. After the Electric Flight team arrived, five aircraft were quickly put into test flights. The five test flight teams took turns taking to the skies, quickly attracting the attention of residents both inside and outside the farm.

Every time the aircraft took off, a low humming sound could be heard over the farm, and nearby residents came out of their homes and looked up at the sky, their eyes filled with curiosity and amazement.

"What is that? It looks like an airplane, but not quite." A farm worker from Mexico asked, pointing to the sky.

"It's a 'low-altitude aircraft,'" another worker replied, pointing specifically at the staff at the testing site. "It's a 'Dongda' company coming to Florida for testing."

"It's really amazing. It can fly in the sky and even stay still in the air. I thought only the United States had this thing." The Mexican worker exclaimed.

"Yeah, I heard it can fly two or three hundred kilometers, and in the future it could be used to transport people and goods." Another worker lowered his voice, "Look over there, someone's already interested in this thing."

In a corner of the farm, several dark-faced strangers were staring intently at the aircraft being tested.

Their eyes were full of curiosity and desire. They even approached the Chinese staff at the test site and asked about the performance and price of the aircraft in Spanish with a heavy accent.

However, none of the Chinese employees could understand and could not answer.

When the tall William Congers appeared on the scene, the strangers immediately looked a little frightened and subconsciously stepped back.

"Victor, someone's targeting your aircraft." Congers walked up to Zhou Qingfeng and whispered, pointing at the strangers, "You need to strengthen security measures."

Zhou Qingfeng has been coming to the farm every day to check on the progress of the project by helicopter. Compared to electric aircraft, helicopters are noisy and fuel-intensive, making them a real money-eater.

He frowned and asked, "Who are they?"

Kangsi smiled meaningfully. "Do you think this thing would sell well in South America? A lot of South America is covered in rainforest, and transportation is extremely inconvenient."

Zhou Qingfeng understood immediately, "The South American customer must want to buy my aircraft to transport cash crops such as coffee and cocoa."

Congers scoffed. "Nonsense! Coffee and cocoa are just common goods that are sold in large quantities and at low prices. How much can they be worth?"

Zhou Qingfeng said seriously: "Our electric aircraft can ignore terrain obstacles and has low operating costs.

Although its transport tonnage is limited, it is at least a way to improve life for poor and backward areas.

In addition, the poorer the area, the greater the demand for public services. If there is cheap and convenient transportation, there will definitely be a market for it.”

After that, he asked the farm laborers to act as interpreters and invited the strangers to come over for a chat. If they were interested, they could even take the aircraft for a few spins.

After the two sides communicated, Zhou Qingfeng confirmed that Kangges's guess was correct.

These strangers came from other nearby farms and were labor foremen from South America: Mexicans, Colombians, and Ecuadorians.

This group showed great interest in aircraft that can take off and land vertically.

Especially after flying a circle in the air accompanied by the testers, they came down with excitement on their faces and were full of praise.

"Are you selling this aircraft?" an elderly, dark-skinned foreman asked eagerly. "It can carry half a ton of cargo for 300 kilometers. Is that true?"

Half a ton of cargo, 300 kilometers - these two data seemed to hit the vital points of potential customers, making them excited and unable to stop.

Zhou Qingfeng laughed heartily and replied, "Sell, of course. The data is real. We are currently testing it. You can come and see it every day."

If necessary, I can even allow you to join the testing phase, just like the internal test players, to experience it first and give feedback first...

You should know what a closed beta is, right? "

The dark-skinned foreman nodded repeatedly, indicating that he understood. He then asked, "Price, how much does this plane cost?"

"One million per plane..." Zhou Qingfeng reported a number.

"A million dollars?" The dark-skinned foreman's voice suddenly dropped, a look of disappointment on his face. "That's too expensive."

Zhou Qingfeng smiled and explained, “One million US dollars refers to the high-end model suitable for the US market.

We also have some simplified models for price-sensitive users.

After all, there are still many low-income customers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We cannot turn a blind eye to their needs.”

The foreman's eyes lit up with hope after hearing this. He rubbed his hands and asked eagerly, "How much is the basic model?"

Zhou Qingfeng was speechless for a moment. He had indeed not carefully calculated the cost of the simplified model. So, he turned around and pulled the on-site tester over and asked:

"If it only meets the most basic take-off, landing, navigation and flight functions, what is the cost price of this low-altitude aircraft?"

"Basic flight performance?" The tester scratched his head, his tone hesitant. "Boss, no matter how much we simplify it, we can't compete on price with an old, second-hand piston trainer."

Zhou Qingfeng frowned and said firmly, "Piston engines burn oil and are difficult to maintain. Our aircraft uses electricity, and the electric motors require almost no maintenance.

For underdeveloped areas, electricity can be accumulated slowly through solar panels, but fuel cannot. "Give me a price for the simplest system."

The tester looked embarrassed and said in a low voice, "If you only want the simplest system, the price can indeed be kept very low.

There are no air traffic control problems in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Navigation in remote areas can rely on satellites, and driving depends entirely on the pilot. It is fine as long as the flight control system can be used.

In this case... in this case..." He paused, as if calculating the cost, and then continued:

"With our country's ability to control costs, the price of an aircraft will not exceed that of a high-end family car.

However, such products are too simple, out of step with current trends, and a blow to the company’s image.”

"Company image? Why do we need that?" Zhou Qingfeng turned to look at the foreman with a smile on his face.

"I asked the engineers, if it's the lowest-end configuration, we can lower the price to 1.5 million RMB, or about $200,000 USD."

When the testers heard the number "one million and five hundred thousand", they were stunned on the spot - I mean the price of a slightly higher-end car, one million and five hundred thousand RMB can buy a luxury car.

The dark-skinned foreman's eyes lit up, he pursed his lips and rubbed his hands, "Really? Two hundred thousand dollars can buy one."

The price is still a bit expensive.

But an aircraft that can take off and land vertically, is electrically powered, and can carry half a ton of cargo within 300 kilometers. After careful calculation, this price seems acceptable."

(End of this chapter)