American Strategic Deception Bureau

　In addition, as a former female guerrilla fighter and now an extraordinary "Tantric master", Alena's physical condition is excellent. Not long after she was lifted onto the delivery bed, a healthy and lively baby was born.

　Even so, after giving birth, Alena couldn't help but bite Ferry's wrist and complained bitterly: "Oh, it hurts so much! I would rather pick up a rifle and go into the woods for three days of fighting than have another child!"

　In response, Fili could only smile awkwardly and comfort her, while casting a spell to heal Alena's wounds, replenish her energy, and eliminate the stretch marks on her belly.

　The hostess, Marita, picked up the wet, wrinkled baby and looked at it curiously, a look of nostalgia in her eyes. "When Monica came out of my belly, she seemed to look like this, right? Oh, time flies, ten years have passed in a flash..."

　She sighed with emotion, and Fili was also staring at the pink little thing with wrinkled skin in a trance, with a lot of thoughts in his mind.

　This is his first child in this world!

　Although the little girl could only take Alena's last name and was destined not to call him dad, the throbbing of blood connection still made him feel overwhelmed, so excited that he couldn't express it in words, and even added a bit of reality to the world he lived in.

　In short, after playing with Alena's child for a while with great maternal grace, Marita handed the crying baby back to her mother, who had already dissipated the resentment caused by the pain of childbirth, and began to look at the child.

　Alena, with a happy face, watched her holding the baby in her arms and feeding her.

　Then, she pouted her pink lips, looked at Fili with resentment through her big, watery eyes, and said in a deliberately hushed voice, "Alaina has given birth to her child. Now it's our turn to have a child, right?"

　Then, Marita put her arms around Fili's neck, and with the help of the two female slaves, she lifted her legs, like vines entangled around a big tree, and clamped them tightly around Fili's waist. She hung her whole body on Fili, twisting her waist and squirming, exploring up and down to adjust her posture.

　A strange feeling of burning heat and suffocation, from which one could not escape, made Fili squint his eyes comfortably.

　He laughed and stroked Marita's long, silky hair, letting Marita hang on his body and moving to the bedroom next door.

　-

　Just when Fieri had just had a daughter and was preparing to have more offspring, his old friend Dr. Kissinger, after returning from another business trip abroad, was sitting in the White House lounge where he and Fieri had been many times in the past, frowning as he read a copy of the New York Times.

　——Although the crisis between the United States and the Soviet Union has ended, France, which was stabbed in the back by Washington, has also knelt down and surrendered.

　However, the huge amount of funds, markets, and resources harvested from Europe failed to quickly translate into economic prosperity and citizen satisfaction. Instead, it was like the huge amount of gold poured into the market by the Nanjing government during the War of Liberation. The influx of hard currency actually pushed prices up!

　There is no way. There is suddenly more money in the market, but the corresponding commodities - especially agricultural products that depend on the weather and seasons - cannot be produced for a while, and there is nowhere to import them. If there is more money and less goods, then prices will naturally skyrocket!

　At this moment, the United States does not have an external "world factory" to provide cheap consumer goods to support the livelihoods of the American people!

　Especially in New York, which experienced a devastating war last year and is still in ruins, with logistics and public security still to recover, prices are even more outrageous. Therefore, the New York Times in Dr. Kissinger's hand wrote in an exaggerated tone on the front page headline:

　Soaring prices tear New York apart: Falling unemployment rate cannot hide soaring prices, "living cost" becomes a nightmare, and citizens cry out "I can't afford to live!"

　Although the federal Department of Labor data shows that New York's unemployment rate has dropped to 4.2% in May, the $14.99 per gallon price tag at Long Island gas stations and $20 per dozen eggs on the shelves of Chinatown supermarkets suggest that the city's situation may not be as good as the data suggests.

　At six in the morning, in the Chinatown light, 69-year-old Chen Yushu trembled as he counted the coins in his hand. "Barbecued pork buns have gone from $2 to $10, and getting three doses of cold medicine at a Chinese medicine shop costs $100. My hands shake every time I pay, but no one dares to bet that it won't be even more expensive tomorrow."

　The elderly Chinese woman said this. Behind her, the grocery store window, with seven iron locks hanging on it, reflected the flashing blue lights of a patrol car. In the past week, 24 daytime robberies targeting elderly Asians have occurred in this community.

　布朗克斯的一家麦当劳快餐店，塔尼娅正在后厨将冷冻薯条倒入华氏340度的油锅。这位单亲母亲向记者展示她一天的行程：凌晨4点仓储分拣、上午9点汽车旅馆保洁、下午5点快餐店炸薯条。“时薪从9美元涨到11美元？可我的公寓房租从500美元变成1100美元了！”她掀起围裙，露出别在后腰的手枪套，「上周我们店的服务生领班在店门口被歹徒拖走，这把罗姆左轮比医疗保险更能让我安心」。

　At a community center on Staten Island, 48-year-old Lisa showed reporters her "new recipe": patties made from canned cat food mixed with expired oatmeal. "The price increase for pet food is relatively small, but at least the protein is guaranteed," said the center's director.

　Although the unemployment rate has dropped over the past three months, prices in New York have continued to skyrocket. The prices of necessities such as gasoline, food, and medicine have skyrocketed by 2 to 6 times. This city, once known as the "world's economic center," is becoming a living hell of "expensive survival."

　Last Friday, the New York State Department of Labor issued an emergency report: Over the past 30 days, citywide food prices have increased by an average of 80%, gasoline prices have increased by 240%, and basic medicines have been out of stock at a rate of 47%. A Chinatown convenience store owner suddenly changed the price of eggs from $12 per dozen to $20 during business hours, sparking a physical altercation between two customers and a store employee. Shelves were overturned, and one employee was injured.

　"This isn't just inflation; it's a complete collapse of the supply chain," said David Crawford, an economics professor at Columbia University. Although the civil war ended nearly a year ago, New York's infrastructure, damaged by the conflict, remains in ruins, with shattered debris everywhere. Eighty percent of the city's logistics warehouses remain idle, and the number of truck drivers working in the five boroughs has decreased by 60% compared to the same period last year.

　At a gas station in Queens, the price sign for 92 octane fuel prominently read "$14.99 per gallon." Taxi driver Joel Martinez turned off the engine and hung a "Out of Service" sign in the window. "It would take me a week's salary to fill up the tank. I might as well sell my car and buy a bike."

　Even more serious is the paralysis of public transportation - the New York subway has only resumed

　With less than 20% of its routes now occupied, the bus company declared a collective strike after drivers were repeatedly threatened with robbery and denied pay raises and free insurance. Emily, a nurse in Brooklyn, has to walk four hours to and from the hospital every day: "My sneakers wore out last week, and now a new pair costs $200... Maybe I should do what the homeless do and tape my feet."

　Last Monday, following strong calls from all sectors of society, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the launch of a "price stabilization plan," which would draw on a $1200 million emergency fund to stabilize prices. However, no further concrete measures were taken, and protesters in front of City Hall held signs reading "Stop the Bad Check."

　The New York disaster is just a microcosm. Data from the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 18.7% year-on-year in May, the highest level since 1947. The average price of gasoline nationwide has exceeded $9 per gallon. The US dollar exchange rate continues to fluctuate wildly, and single-day price increases for imported goods have become the norm.

　Looking at the various situations described in the newspaper, Dr. Kissinger, who had just returned from a triumphant trip to Europe, couldn't help but feel depressed. He closed the newspaper, rubbed his eyes, and complained, "Damn it! We've tried so hard, why is the country still in such a mess?"

　Author's words: PS: Regarding Disney's drastic changes to fairy tale movies and forcing actors of color into them, someone put forward a strange view: because most fairy tales are foreign stories to Americans, it's okay to ruin them.

　But when it comes to true American stories, like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Wizard of Oz, have you ever seen any company make any changes to them?

　Chapter 616: The US dollar is about to fall into the Japanese yen!

　Kissinger closed his eyes, adjusted his mood, opened the newspaper again, and continued reading, only to find that the content was still enough to make his blood pressure soar.

　"Doomsday Tycoon in the Iron Fortress: Bunker Storming and Defense in the Shadow of the Great Depression"

　At the foot of the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia, a grotesque standoff has raged for 72 hours. After declaring bankruptcy and facing charges of $3500 million in tax evasion, Calvin Blackwood, a former electronics CEO and real estate speculator, has taken refuge with his wife, two mistresses, and five children in a secret "underground ark" he built: a doomsday shelter buried deep beneath the solid rock and encased in armored steel.

　Federal agents attempted to raid the shelter three times, but were thwarted each time. Among the more than 1000 onlookers gathered, some chanted, "Blow up this capitalist rat hole!" Others held up hand-painted signs that read, "Use the bunker to fight the system." The air was thick with the stench of burnt tobacco leaves.

　According to the West Virginia police, Blackwood's bunker was converted from an abandoned mine, and the internal passages are made of reinforced concrete and armored steel plates. Federal agents need to pass through three mechanical revolving gates weighing a total of 15 tons, as well as numerous traps along the way, before they can break into the bunker.

　FBI demolition experts attempted to breach the door using heat-cutting equipment and explosives, but were thwarted by high-pressure firefighting foam gushing from the interlayer of the gate. To complicate matters, the bunker's ventilation system was suspected to be equipped with World War II-era military smoke grenade launchers, forcing the Secret Service agents to wear gas masks.

　"This madman poured taxpayer money into his own iron coffin!" IRS spokesman Crawford roared at an impromptu press conference. It is reported that Blackwood applied for federal subsidies in 1969 under the name of "civil defense projects" and used the money to reinforce his bunker.

　Time magazine revealed that the bunker was the centerpiece of Blackwood's "Doomsday Social Club," which charged members $2.5 a year and promised to provide "a shelter with a cigar room and a jazz band" in the event of nuclear war.

　In the 1960s, Blackwood even held a "fallout party" with his friends there, claiming that "when the White House burned, I still had an ice-cold Coke in my bunker."

　A former employee of the "Doomsday Social Club" revealed to the news media that this ultra-luxurious and sturdy bunker stored enough canned food to last for three years, 6000 gallons of diesel generator fuel, and a "Doomsday Gambling Hall" with poker tables and slot machines.

　The standoff has become an amphitheater for various groups. Hippies with long hair and tie-dyed T-shirts bang conga drums and sing a cover of "California Dreamin'" (with the lyrics changed to "Blackwood Bunker"). Left-wing student groups throw fake US dollars, a symbol of capitalism, at the agents. Even members of a doomsday cult arrive carrying a black flag with a skull and crossbones, proclaiming that "Blackwood is the incarnation of the Horseman of the Apocalypse."

　An unnamed FBI agent complained to the news media: "We've dealt with Mafia villas and cult strongholds. But we've never stormed a nuclear-proof bunker with mines, smoke generators, and machine gun turrets. That's the job of the regular army!"

　At press time, the old aviation warning lights on the bunker's roof continued to spin, and the blues record "Stormy Monday" occasionally drifted from the rusted vents. A final handwritten note, scribbled by Blackwood through the crack in the door, read: "Tell the IRS—my Swiss account password is valid after World War III." Meanwhile, the West Virginia National Guard had arrived at the scene of the standoff and began dispersing onlookers. There were reports that authorities were preparing to pump nerve gas into the bunker, suffocating everyone inside.

　So far, similar incidents of criminals and suspects hiding in doomsday bunkers and resisting arrest by police and IRS agents have only occurred in the first three months of this year.

　By the beginning of this month, more than 100 incidents had occurred nationwide, with more than 30 of them ending with the voluntary withdrawal of federal agents and police officers.

　To breach the sturdy doors of some luxurious underground shelters, which were claimed to be able to withstand nuclear shock waves, the government deployed a variety of heavy equipment, from field artillery to bunker-buster bombs, but the military and police still suffered heavy losses. An officer who served in the Vietnam War said in an interview, "It feels like the Vietnam War is still going on, only the battlefield has moved back home. And the doomsday bunkers back home are much more difficult to deal with than the tunnels of the Vietnamese monkeys!"

　……

　"What the hell? These underground shelters designed to withstand nuclear war have become bastions for criminals to fight the government?"

　Looking at the newspaper photos of the National Guard positioning their artillery at the shelter's gate, poised for an assault, Dr. Kissinger couldn't help but feel a vein throbbing in his forehead. He recalled his homeland in Germany during the Middle Ages, a devastated place dotted with castles and vassal states.

　From the Revolutionary War to the era of the Western cowboy, the American people have always been renowned for their strong martial spirit. Local armed forces, including militias, mercenaries, and private armies of financial corporations, have not yet been fully centralized and were once quite large. For example, the Pinkerton Detective Agency, once renowned in the late 19th century, boasted more agents at its peak than the total strength of the US Army at the time!

　But why did the United States not fall apart like the Holy Roman Empire despite the outbreak of the Civil War?

　On the one hand, the United States has been a feudal system since its founding, and each state has great independence and autonomy.

　Since it is difficult for Washington to rashly interfere in the internal affairs of the states, the states will naturally not be too active in seceding from the Union.

　The strength of local power has become an outlet for releasing tension, preventing the conflicts between states and Washington from becoming too intense.

　On the other hand, the United States' vast, unified market fosters close economic exchange and interaction between states. Unless absolutely necessary, no state is willing to pay the heavy price of disconnecting from the federal market and causing economic dislocation. The existence of two national political parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, and the predominant distribution of Democratic supporters on the East and West Coasts, also serve as a strategic guide to "soft unification" that binds the states together.

　Therefore, although the states often clamor for independence, it is actually just verbal talk and performance art, and few of them actually take action.

　Although there were occasional local ambitions, the towns and villages of the United States lacked fortifications and were in an undefended state.

　In this way, even if there are some strong men gathering in the countryside and occupying one side, they will not be able to resist the attack of the government army. At most, they can only wander around to avoid being hunted down - but in this way, they will become horse thieves and bandits, unable to establish a stable rule over a region.

　A criminal group without a base can obviously only disrupt public order and cannot shake the unity of the federation.

　But during the Cold War era, the situation of the entire United States being undefended quietly changed. As the Soviet Union developed intercontinental missiles capable of hitting the United States, in order to cope with the possible nuclear war crisis, the Federal Civil Defense Act enacted in the 1950s began to authorize the government to guide the public in building nuclear shelters. By 1961, the Kennedy administration had built 160,000 public shelters across the country, claiming that they could accommodate 120 million people.

　The American middle class has even started a craze for building private shelters called "backyard fortresses." More than one million families have built small concrete bunkers three meters underground, equipped with ventilators, radiation detectors, canned food, and medicine boxes, which can sustain themselves for at least several months.

　As for the wealthy and powerful families among the political and business elite, they have luxurious underground cities that can accommodate hundreds of people and even have swimming pools for them to take refuge.

　In 1962, Arizona launched the Green Valley Project to create a fully enclosed nuclear protection community.

　More than 50% of churches in the United States have undergone nuclear protection and have converted their basements into militarized bunkers to store communion bread and drinking water.

　So many underground shelters have sprung up like mushrooms after a rainstorm, virtually transforming the previously undefended American mainland into a vast network of fortresses and strongholds that are easily defended and difficult to attack. While the economy is booming and society is stable, this might not be a major problem, but after public security collapses...

　Well, imagine every arrest by the police and FBI, and every IRS raid, becoming a massive battle?

　Not to mention how the police's small pistol could possibly open such a sturdy shelter door, the cost of law enforcement would also soar to the sky!

　Where does the United States have so many surplus police forces that they can be dragged outside the doors of shelters for a long time and engage in prolonged standoffs?

　Dr. Kissinger sighed and thought back to his former military advisor, Alexander Haig.

　Before that, he personally went to Los Angeles and brought back Colonel Alexander Haig, who had made meritorious contributions to his country, to Washington. He then awarded him a medal and promoted him to Major General of the Army. He also promoted Major General Haig to become President Nixon's military aide-de-camp. It was thought that Major General Haig's future career would be smooth sailing.

　Unexpectedly, because of his excessive "royal favor", Major General Haig was envied by his colleagues, which led to Major General Haig being assigned a difficult task - to form and train a heavy-armored special forces unit, which would be responsible for attacking solid bunker targets such as underground shelters during domestic security operations!

　Major General Haig was overwhelmed by this new mission and often complained to Dr. Kissinger

　Bitter: None of those doomsday bunkers, thick and heavy as cans, are easy to defeat. If they had proper defenses, even poison gas wouldn't have been effective! A long-term siege wouldn't necessarily be effective either. Most shelters have at least a few months' worth of water and food stored inside, and some even have deep, independent wells...

　Do we need to station hundreds of police officers or National Guardsmen outside every shelter that cannot be opened to keep watch?

　But in this way, the only security forces will be tied up. How can other bandit gangs and workers' and peasants' movements be suppressed?

　If you want to break through these sturdy bunkers in a short period of time without causing excessive damage to the surrounding environment, there are only a few ways:

　One option is to use sonic weapons, still relatively immature, to drive the occupants out with the noise. However, sonic weapons are still in their infancy, and their effectiveness is often minimal. Their effectiveness against a fortified target like a bunker is even more uncertain.

　The second option is to inject tear gas or nerve gas into the bunker through the ventilation system to weaken the resistance of the occupants, or simply block all the vents to suffocate the occupants. However, the problem is that government police and agents may not be able to quickly find all the vents, and many bunkers are equipped with gas masks and even air filtration equipment. Even if poison gas is released, it is not easy to fall victim.

　The third is biological contamination, which involves releasing drug-resistant bacteria or viruses into the bunker's water supply. While this approach is certainly ruthless, it can easily lead to the spread of pathogens and viruses, causing an uncontrolled epidemic and potentially plunging a large area into a plague-ridden state. This is a costly endeavor.

　The last option was to use conventional bombs to break down the door, organizing a fully armed suicide squad to charge in - but this almost meant that there would be casualties in every operation, and the noise from the blast was too loud, and if not handled properly, it might even collapse nearby buildings and bridges...

　In short, Major General Haig, forced to take on this mission, has been plagued by anxiety and confusion lately, and has lost a considerable amount of weight. Finally, he devised a disgusting tactic: flooding the shelter with water and smearing it with a stinking agent—in short, filling the fort with urine, the stinkiest kind. It will probably be put to the test in the next couple of days, but who knows how it will work.

　But no matter what, after achieving this little result, Major General Haig will be able to find a way to pass this troublesome task to other people with lofty ideals.

　He could concentrate on being President Nixon's aide-de-camp, becoming a familiar face in the cabinet, and then seek an overseas assignment, perhaps serving as Commander of US Forces in Germany or Japan for a few months to a year, gilding his resume. Then he could return to Washington to become Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army...

　Oh, forget it. Let’s not think about Major General Haig’s future career for now. Let’s think about what to say when I see the president next time.

　Looking at the White House intern who came to lead him to the Oval Office, Dr. Kissinger sighed, put down the newspaper in his hand, wiped his glasses with a handkerchief, then bent down to pick up his briefcase, stood up and followed...

　-

　In the Oval Office, President Nixon sat behind his desk as usual, reviewing a pile of documents.

　But when Dr. Kissinger came in, the president put down his pen and asked Kissinger about his trip to Europe.

　Well, generally speaking, the situation in Europe was relatively okay. Although the United States' brazen backstabbing and wholesale destruction had left countries like Britain, France, Germany, and Italy in a state of utter disarray, their perspectives shattered, their minds in disarray, and bordering on madness, leaders of various countries, facing Kissinger as the president's special envoy, were full of scorn: "enemy of freedom," "destroying shared values," "implosion of the civilized world," and "the president of the United States is a Soviet spy."

　But overall, old Europe, having fought two world wars, still feared war. They didn't dare fight, let alone a war where the odds of victory were slim, the entire nation would be mobilized, and the fate of the nation would be at stake. The old Europeans who had experienced both world wars weren't all dead yet! Their aversion to war had reached a fever pitch.

　Otherwise, why did European countries have to retreat step by step and dare not risk their lives to counterattack when faced with the wave of colonial liberation around the world in the past?

　On the one hand, it was because the income from colonization gradually failed to cover the expenses and became a loss-making business. On the other hand, it was because the people in the country were extremely tired of war!

　After the baptism of blood and fire in the two world wars, those Europeans who had been brainwashed by patriotism and nationalism had long since woken up and realized that a total war would only cause the poor to starve and die without gaining any benefit, while the rich would continue to stay in a safe place and enjoy wealth and power.

　If that is the case, why would these poor people listen to some empty slogans and go to the battlefield to fight each other for no apparent reason?

　As a result, after World War II, a widespread consensus emerged in European society: "Never again, war." Almost every school curriculum emphasized the ravages of war and promoted pacifism. The status of the military plummeted, a stark contrast to the pre-World War I era, when military virtues flourished.

　In this situation where everyone is silent, it is really too much to expect old Europe to unite and resist Soviet revisionism in the east and American imperialism in the west.

　Whether it is the Nazi remnants in Germany or the extreme right-wing radicals in France, they can only carry out terrorist attacks.

　If they really wanted to mobilize the people to abandon their peaceful and comfortable lives and go to the battlefield with uncertain prospects, they would definitely not be able to do it.

　Therefore, in front of Kissinger, who represented the US President, the leaders of European countries were certainly angry for a moment, but they were only angry for a moment.

　It's roughly like a tsundere little kitten, waving its padded little paws at its owner and at most breathing out a breath.

　On the contrary, compared with the invincible American army, the extreme right-wing elements in the country who want to stir up unrest and seize power are the biggest concern of the establishment leaders in European countries. In order to suppress the rise of extreme right-wing forces in the country, Britain, France, Germany and Italy have to turn to the United States for help.

　Therefore, after Kissinger used his eloquence to conduct shuttle diplomacy and made a bunch of empty promises through coercion and inducement, the former European powers, which seemed arrogant but were actually very cowardly, finally gave in. After the United States guaranteed that this was the "last time", they all moved on.

　There is no way to turn the page. Old Europe west of the Iron Curtain still has to rely on the protection of the nuclear umbrella of the American father! No matter how leaky this umbrella is!

　We know that the American boss is very poor and starving recently. If the American boss wants to take some economic benefits, he can just take them, right?

　Anyway, old Europe still has a very solid foundation accumulated over hundreds of years since the Age of Discovery, and it cannot be squandered in one or two generations!

　In this way, despite some twists and turns and conflicts, the US-European relationship was initially repaired under the mediation of Dr. Kissinger.

　While European allies' trust in the United States is certainly not what it once was, they will at most engage in subtle moves in secret and will never openly switch sides. These "suspicious allies" have been engaging in various sneaky moves in the past anyway, so the implications are negligible.

　In short, I heard that although Kissinger endured humiliation during his European trip, he ultimately achieved a relatively satisfactory diplomatic outcome—European countries, severely stabbed by the United States, reluctantly tolerated the offense; and the NATO system was also barely maintained and continued.

　At the same time, the Soviet Union was satisfied with the successful forced landing in Sweden and had no intention of going any further...

　President Nixon nodded with satisfaction, approving Dr. Kissinger's diplomatic action.

　However, as the irreplaceable leader of the free world, although the United States’ current diplomatic situation is okay, its domestic affairs are still a mess.

　So, after listening to Dr. Kissinger's report, President Nixon complained about the chaos in the country.