You're a US police officer, what are you thinking about going back to the East for?

Chapter 222 Seeking Truth from Facts (3k)

The next morning.

Seattle, inside the Chinese Consulate General in the United States.

Inside a confidential office with no windows and walls specially soundproofed and protected against electronic eavesdropping.

Chen Jianjun was sitting behind a large mahogany desk.

He was in his early fifties, with a very short, slicked-back buzz cut, and a physique as sturdy and upright as a steel plate.

Even though he was only wearing a plain dark jacket today, the imposing aura of a soldier, honed through rigorous training and long-term grassroots experience, was still so strong that it was hard to look directly at him.

As a senior military attaché at the Chinese Embassy in the United States and the operations director for the Seattle area of ​​the military intelligence system, his desk was impeccably clean.

There were no extra decorations, only a few paper documents marked "Top Secret" and a red secure telephone line directly connected to the domestic headquarters.

Standing to the side of his desk was his trusted deputy, Liu Rui.

Liu Rui, in his early thirties, wore black-rimmed glasses and had the same buzz cut. He was holding a military-grade encrypted tablet computer, his fingers rapidly swiping across the screen as he quietly reported to Chen Jianjun the latest maritime and meteorological redundancy data and port berthing routes of the Panamanian-flagged ocean-going cargo ship.

The heavy, soundproof door to the office was pushed open.

Shen Weiguo, head of the embassy's intelligence group, strode in carrying his signature chipped enamel mug.

His pace was much faster than usual, and the tea sloshing in the teacup almost splashed onto the back of his hand.

Since Old Bill and Arthur, those two core military personnel, were successfully sent away in cold storage, the resources that the Eastern leadership has been allocating to the Lyon route are not simply limited to sending Zhao Ying and Ji Kai.

The operational efficiency of the entire underground intelligence network was forcibly increased by several levels.

The water-soluble note that Alex had slipped into the dead mailbox in the woods in the middle of the night would normally take at least one to two days to be safely retrieved, physically transferred, and deciphered, passing through each level of the system.

But now, only one night has passed.

The intelligence report had already been translated into a clean copy and was now in Shen Weiguo's hands.

Shen Weiguo walked straight to Chen Jianjun's desk, pulled out the leather guest chair, and sat down.

"Old Chen, let's forget about that ship for now."

Shen Weiguo placed the enamel mug on the table and casually slapped a thin sheet of photocopy paper in front of Chen Jianjun.

His tone was tinged with disbelief, and even a hint of absurd headache.

"Our young international student who collects corpses on the streets of the West End is giving us a heads-up that he'll be stuffing another big package into the mailbox last night."

Chen Jianjun raised his head, his brows slightly furrowed.

He reached out and picked up the translation, which still carried the warmth of the photocopier, his eyes quickly scanning the paper.

At first, he maintained the composure of a senior intelligence officer.

But when his eyes caught the words "former Pfizer R&D center researcher", "CRISPR gene editing binding vector" and "LNP-specific peptide ligand modification", his hand gripping the paper tightened suddenly.

Chen Jianjun's upright posture subconsciously leaned forward, his back, which had been leaning against the chair back, became completely straight.

"this----"

The usually composed military attaché suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Shen Weiguo.

"It's only been ten days since we crammed old Bill and Arthur, those two Boeing and Raytheon engineers, into the cargo ship's hold."

"That ship is still adrift in the Pacific Ocean, not yet docked!"

Chen Jianjun shook the paper in his hand. "How come another biotechnician has appeared on the streets of Seattle?"

"This guy named Leon, did he get his supplies from homeless camps in America?"

Upon hearing these sensitive words, Liu Rui, who was standing next to him, immediately stopped reporting, took a half step back while holding his tablet, and his eyes also showed some shock.

"I'm puzzled too."

Shen Weiguo blew on the tea leaves floating on the surface of the water in his enamel mug and took a big gulp of strong tea.

"But this guy's intelligence is unbelievably accurate."

"It's like he installed radar in Seattle's homeless population, specifically targeting highly skilled individuals who were written off and bankrupted by American capital. He's always right."

Shen Weiguo put down his teacup and pointed to the bottom half of the note with his finger.

"Keep reading. Look at the information about Pastor Thomas, and that outrageous application he made at the end."

Chen Jianjun frowned, his gaze continuing to move downwards.

When he saw that Thomas had been the chief of both cardiothoracic surgery and trauma surgery at Englewood Hospital, the muscles in the corner of his eye twitched involuntarily.

When his gaze finally fell on the last line of the application requesting an "English paperback edition of Mao Zedong's Selected Works," he was completely stunned.

Two full seconds passed.

Chen Jianjun slammed the paper on the table and rubbed his buzz cut.

"What does this kid want this book for?"

Chen Jianjun clearly found this rather surreal. "He intends to use this thing to instill new ideas into a veteran American capitalist elite?"

"I think he's serious."

Shen Weiguo leaned back in his chair, his expression becoming unusually serious.

"Our assessment of Lyon was correct. Although his actions were extremely violent, even bordering on gangster-like, his political convictions were ridiculously high."

"Moreover, he was definitely not just fooling around."

Shen Weiguo tapped the table with his fingers.

"It seems he is absolutely confident that he can use our dragon-slaying techniques to completely transform this disillusioned American elite into a long-term logistical force that he can rely on in Seattle."

Chen Jianjun stared at the intelligence report for a good ten seconds, then the astonishment in his eyes quickly disappeared, replaced by the absolute rationality and ruthlessness of a senior military intelligence officer.

"Old Shen, you still need to be more meticulous with your work."

Chen Jianjun picked up the pen on the table and twirled it between his fingers.

"This intelligence is too important; we cannot act blindly based solely on his word."

"You should immediately arrange for field agents to indirectly verify the backgrounds of these two individuals."

Chen Jianjun tapped the table with the tip of his pen, highlighting the key points: "That Pfizer researcher named Christopher is currently with Lyon and is seriously injured. Our people should not approach him as usual to avoid misjudgment or leaks."

"But since Thomas is a pastor, he should be active in the church, which makes him a big target."

"Have your subordinates disguise themselves as relief volunteers or social investigators to make a brief contact with him, find out his background and current mental state."

Shen Weiguo picked up his enamel mug, took a sip, and nodded in agreement.

Chen Jianjun then turned his gaze to his deputy Liu Rui, who had been standing to the side and behind him, and his tone became cold and hard: "Liu Rui, you set up a file on your end immediately."

"Assuming the intelligence is correct, experts who possess the core technology of gene editing absolutely cannot be left on the streets of Seattle or in some dilapidated church for an extended period of time."

"Bill's previous incident had already attracted the attention of agents from Raytheon's security department. If it attracts the attention of Pfizer's agents now, they will be even more troublesome than Raytheon."

"The evacuation plan must be assessed in advance, and once confirmed, it should be moved as soon as possible."

Liu Rui pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and quickly swiped his fingers across the military-grade encrypted tablet, bringing up a complex port throughput data chart.

He looked troubled and looked up at Chen Jianjun.

"Director Chen, the objective conditions do not allow it."

Liu Rui turned the tablet screen towards Chen Jianjun, pointing to the large area marked in red.

"The Panamanian-flagged cargo ship that transported old Bill and Arthur was simply lucky to catch the unloading window."

"But according to the latest port scheduling data, in the next two weeks, neither the Port of Seattle nor the Port of Tacoma to the south will have any ocean-going freighters under our absolute control docking."

Liu Rui sighed helplessly and added, "That blond guy has been clamoring at various rallies to impose a 60% tariff, causing severe fluctuations in cross-border shipping business. Major shipping companies are adjusting their North American routes."

"If we were to forcibly requisition those ordinary merchant ships with complicated backgrounds now, the risks exposed at this critical juncture would increase exponentially."

"Moreover, the target is currently seriously injured and may not be able to withstand the high-intensity, irregular smuggling process."

After listening to the report, Chen Jianjun's thick, dark eyebrows immediately knotted together.

He bent his fingers, and his knuckles made a dull tapping sound on the mahogany table.

As the commander of the East, he believed in the guiding principle of seeking truth from facts.

The objective facts are before us; we cannot act impulsively.

If the ship is intercepted by the FBI or U.S. Customs during transport due to its uncontrollable nature, not only will Christopher be lost, but the newly established gold route between Alex and Lyon will also be completely destroyed.

"Old Chen, the evacuation really can't be rushed."

Shen Weiguo put down his teacup, reached out and took the intelligence report back, folded it neatly, and stuffed it into his inner pocket.

"Since the conditions for evacuation by sea are not yet ripe, we can only have Lyon keep the people tightly locked up in the Seattle base for the time being."

"This intelligence is incredibly valuable. I need to go to the confidential room myself and encrypt the data before sending it back to headquarters in China."

Shen Weiguo stood up and patted the wrinkles on his clothes: "Have the top biology experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences come out as soon as possible to evaluate this CRISPR first."

The technology combines the actual components of the LNP carrier.

"Once the domestic authorities confirm that this item is worth its price, headquarters will find a way to retrieve the people, even if it means sending a nuclear submarine."

.

Chen Jianjun nodded in agreement to this prudent plan.

"Safety first, conduct intelligence gathering first."

As Chen Jianjun watched Shen Weiguo prepare to leave, he gave him a few final words of advice.

"Until the intelligence is confirmed, the highest instructions from headquarters are issued, and a suitable ship docks or another safe transport route is confirmed, inform Alex to notify Lyon to enter a period of silence and dormancy."

"During this period, Christopher must absolutely not be exposed to the light of day."

After finishing his explanation, Chen Jianjun lowered his head again, pulled over the complex North Pacific shipping route map on the table, picked up a red and blue pencil, and began to search for any possible opportunities or loopholes in it.

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