American Strategic Deception Bureau

　But now it seems that these preventive measures taken by Australian officials are, at best, better than nothing.

　According to a report sent to Prime Minister William McMahon by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO, Australia's equivalent of the FBI), South Vietnamese boat people, involved in illegal arms and nuclear smuggling, had been entering the country for over two years. They had established their criminal bases in abandoned fishing villages and oceanographic observatories, conducting hundreds of illegal arms sales. However, the authorities had turned a blind eye and remained complacent.

　It was not until the recent accidental exposure of the nuclear bomb deal between the South Vietnamese boat people and the Latin American "bandits" that the Sydney police and municipal authorities were frightened out of their wits, and then, as if they had been whipped on the buttocks, they began to run at super high speed.

　To atone for their mistake, Sydney police have quickly mobilized personnel to raid the South Vietnamese boat group's base. However, considering that the South Vietnamese boat group who stole into Australia may still have some remaining miniature atomic bombs, this operation could escalate into a small-scale nuclear war. Even if the South Vietnamese boat group has sold all their nuclear bombs, it's hard to say whether they still have biological and chemical weapons.

　To this end, the Sydney Police Department urgently requested help from Canberra, requesting the dispatch of special forces to lead the attack.

　Even though the bigwigs above were already numb to nuclear explosions, the lowly police officers down below who were really fighting for their lives didn't want to rush towards a nuclear bomb.

　However, the police are certainly defenseless against nuclear bombs. If they are replaced by special forces, can they withstand a nuclear explosion?

　Prime Minister McMahon secretly complained in his heart, but he still approved the request of the Sydney police and agreed to dispatch Australia's only special forces, the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), to participate in the raid and arrest of this group of South Vietnamese boat people.

　After all, the top priority right now is to wipe out these daring bandits as soon as possible and confiscate the weapons of mass destruction they have hidden.

　Otherwise, if some crazy lunatic really drove a suicide truck carrying an atomic bomb to the capital Canberra, we would be finished!

　As for the Australian Special Air Service Regiment that was ordered to take off, will they turn into radioactive dust after a "bright radiation"?

　Well, dying on the battlefield is a soldier's fate. Why would you become a special forces soldier if you are afraid of death?

　In short, after making the above instructions and urging the military and police to resolve the problem as soon as possible, Prime Minister McMahon stopped thinking about it and focused his energy on the jellyfish aliens who saved Sydney and Australia like a superhero in a comic book.

　——Compared with the sudden arrival of alien intelligent life, a mere atomic bomb seems nothing.

　"Aliens that look like jellyfish? Their species is called "Furu"? They feed on spiritual energy? Why do they sound a bit like demons that plunder souls?" He muttered while stroking his chin and looking at the color photos of six "small alien jellyfish."

　Looking at a photo of Tom Riddle, Prime Minister McMahon said with a smile, "Unfortunately, your luck probably ends here. The real world doesn't need any superheroes..."

　Although the Sydney police, who were often idle and idle, failed to notice the nuclear bomb deal under their noses, nor did they immediately detect the arrival of alien visitors, they were still able to easily deal with Tom, a young man with little experience.

　In just a few hours, the Sydney police had thoroughly investigated this guy's entire history from birth to the present.

　There was also the story of how Tom encountered the alien jellyfish named "Furu", how he took the alien jellyfish on a night tour of Sydney to absorb its mental energy, how he watched the alien jellyfish give birth, how he sneaked into the refugee ship and prevented the nuclear bomb deal... The police used a little bit of rhetoric to interrogate him about all of this.

　At present, according to the report received by Prime Minister McMahon, Tom Riddle is just a lucky guy who got lucky.

　Although Tom claimed that he had "summoned" the alien jellyfish "Furu", he did not know how to reconnect with the alien jellyfish, nor could he draw magic circles or cast spells. The police asked him to try to repeat his behavior that night and prayed several times, but there was no movement.

　From this we can see that Tom's ability to achieve "third kind of contact" with alien jellyfish must be completely accidental.

　Of course, matters concerning supernatural powers have always been very metaphysical and cannot be simply analyzed using scientific theories. To be on the safe side, perhaps Tom has some intermittently effective qualities that can "summon extraterrestrial intelligent life," so it is necessary to control him.

　The intelligence department suggested that Tom be relocated to the "Transcendental Human Research Base," a nudist camp in Cape York. Although his freedom would be limited, he would be able to spend every day rubbing shoulders with the naked women, engaging in sexual intercourse and having sex until his legs gave out.

　For young men with surging hormones, being able to live in such a pink paradise is definitely an excellent reward.

　If this Tom Riddle truly had some extraordinary qualities, he might even be able to ascend to the ranks of the extraordinary and become a "Tantric Master." Even if that didn't happen, letting him hang out with naked women all day would make it easier to observe other possible changes in his body.

　——Of course, even if Tom not only failed to become extraordinary, but instead exhausted himself to death, then he can only blame his own bad luck...

　In short, Prime Minister McMahon gave the above disposal/reward plan a noncommittal "read" and put it behind him.

　After all, compared to a poor boy who got lucky, real alien intelligent magical life is the one that deserves more attention.

　——Although the alien jellyfish that called itself "Partner of Justice" had left, its six fist-sized cubs were left behind.

　The Australian Academy of Sciences has urgently taken in the six Furu cubs and, based on Tom's testimony, has begun preliminary research on these precious specimens of "otherworldly magical creatures." They've reportedly made a number of exciting discoveries...

　However, due to the short time, the Academy of Sciences had not had time to compile a written report. They just called the Prime Minister's Office to give a brief report, saying that further good news would be delivered soon, which made Prime Minister McMahon feel a little excited.

　He had a vague premonition that his ruling career, which had been shaky and full of crises from the very beginning, might undergo some changes because of this?

　-

　The next day, as soon as Prime Minister McMahon walked into the office, he received two pieces of good news that made him so happy that he almost rubbed his hands like a fly.

　First of all, the operation to eliminate the South Vietnamese boat people's arms smuggling group achieved a relatively satisfactory result.

　——Faced with the horrific threat of a nuclear explosion in Sydney, in order to prevent themselves and their families from experiencing the "bright radiation" firsthand, Sydney police officers used 100% of their true abilities. The spies of the intelligence department also used all their tricks. Even Sydney gangsters, under the tremendous pressure of "possibly perishing together", tried their best to cooperate with the military and police to collect intelligence and block the news of the arrest targets.

　Therefore, the raid on the South Vietnamese boat people's stronghold went very smoothly. The Special Air Service Regiment, which was the main force in the attack, and the police who assisted in the operation had only two people killed and sixteen injured in total, but they successfully wiped out the South Vietnamese boat people's armed smuggling criminal gang, which consisted of more than one hundred people.

　During the subsequent urgent interrogation, police learned that this group of South Vietnamese boat people, or deserters, who had smuggled themselves into Australia, had brought back two miniature atomic bombs from the Vietnam battlefield, both of which had already been sold. One of the miniature atomic bombs, sold to Colombian rebel forces the day before yesterday, had just been seized by Australian authorities. The other atomic bomb had been sold for over six months, also to a South American warlord group, and its whereabouts are now impossible to trace.

　——It may have been used, it may have fallen into the hands of a certain government, or it may have been resold to a more distant place.

　Well, as long as it is not bought by illegal groups in Australia, it will be a super explosive news for Prime Minister McMahon.

　As for the rest of the world? There have been enough mushroom clouds rising around the globe in recent years; this "brilliant radiation" wouldn't be enough.

　In addition, this group of South Vietnamese boat people also used the

　The network of war refugees created an arms smuggling trade route, purchasing various old weapons at low prices from war-torn Southeast Asia, and then reselling them to local criminal groups in Australia, contributing to the collapse of Australia's security.

　Although Prime Minister McMahon considered himself well-informed and accustomed to seeing all kinds of bad news, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he saw in the report that this group of audacious South Vietnamese boat people had sold not only grenades, light machine guns, submachine guns, and RPGs, but also mines, flamethrowers, and even American-style military poison gas bombs to local Australian gangs and cult groups.

　Oh, forget it, it’s just gas bombs. Just keep a few gas masks and a full-body protective suit in the office.

　Prime Minister McMahon, who had been mentally tortured recently, sighed and decided not to scare himself anymore and let the matter of the South Vietnamese boat people go.

　Secondly, after 30 hours of sleepless research, biological and medical experts from the Australian Academy of Science finally gained a preliminary understanding of the extraterrestrial intelligent life form "Furu" and developed many of its practical applications.

　Whether it is the military, police or the medical community, they all praise the "Furu", this wonderful and extraordinary creature.

　Some people even put forward a bold idea: Can we breed "Furu" on a large scale in Australia and use it to replace kangaroos, which look good but are useless and whose meat and skin are not sellable, and make it Australia's flagship product and publicity sign in the new era?

　This is technology transferred from aliens! Right now, Australia is the only country in the world that has this! So why not have customers willing to pay for it?

　Author's words: PS: There has been news recently about a large amount of smuggled eggs in the United States because the price of eggs has increased fourfold.

　Supermarkets sell hemp and the black market sells eggs. This scene is really magical.

　It's comparable to Night City where stores sell drugs, the black market sells real meat, and the government doesn't ban drugs but cracks down on natural foods.

　Chapter 654: This Psychic Jellyfish is Much More Useful Than a Kangaroo

　As we all know, Australia has always been famous for its kangaroos, and ordinary people will think of kangaroos when they talk about Australia.

　However, since its founding, Australia has not been able to gain much benefit from kangaroos.

　First, kangaroo meat has indeed always been Australia's main wild meat export. However, the problem is that kangaroo meat has coarse fibers, a strong fishy smell, and a tough, sour taste after cooking. It is not as delicious as more common meats such as beef and chicken. Some even describe it as "chewing like wood."

　No matter how Australians claim that kangaroo meat is a healthy food with high protein and low fat, and a "sustainable game", it still tastes bad!

　Just like expensive and unpalatable artificial meat, which has never been a good seller in the Chinese market, kangaroo meat has always been criticized in the global market.

　To make kangaroo meat palatable, it's necessary to use plenty of onions to remove the fishy smell, or use complex cooking methods like slow-cooking and braising to even slightly improve the taste. Western mainstream cooking methods like frying and grilling are unlikely to mask the odor. Even in China, feedback from tasters has generally been poor.

　Kangaroo meat, which tastes so bad, costs twice as much as beef, so consumers are only willing to try it occasionally and lack the motivation to purchase it on a long-term basis.

　In fact, even in Australia, kangaroo meat consumption is pitifully low, accounting for only 0.3% of Australians' daily meat consumption. And how can you sell something that Australians themselves don't even like to eat to foreigners? And at a high price?!

　Fortunately, although kangaroo meat is not to human taste, many cats like it.

　After all, it is natural for cats to eat mice, and kangaroos also have the word "rat" in their name, so it seems normal to let cats eat kangaroos?

　So Australians resorted to canning kangaroo meat into cat food and selling it overseas. However, the price remained stubbornly low, and neither did sales. While there are many people willing to keep cats, there aren't many potential customers who would feed their cats top-notch imported cat food every day.

　What's even worse is that cats that like to eat kangaroo meat are mainly Russian cats. As a result, after the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia was subjected to a lot of sanctions, and Australia's way of selling kangaroo meat cat food to Russia was also cut off. The kangaroo meat industry, which was already on the verge of collapse, was made even worse and was only a step away from collapse.

　Not only is kangaroo meat a flop in the consumer market, with people eating less than they feed cats, but kangaroo skins have also struggled internationally. Kangaroos are difficult to farm on a large scale, and obtaining their skins essentially relies on hunting. Production and supply are highly unstable, and raw kangaroo hides are difficult to store and process, with the tanning process being extremely complex. This results in a very high cost for kangaroo skins, yet they still don't fetch high prices.

　Although the Australian government has tried to turn kangaroo leather into a luxury product, Australia, a newer immigrant country than the United States, lacks historical and cultural heritage and cannot compete with France and Italy in terms of storytelling, which has instead attracted opposition from environmental groups.

　To those wealthy fur buyers, snakeskin and crocodile leather are considered luxurious, but what does something as unconventional as kangaroo leather really mean? It doesn't feel particularly good, its color isn't particularly beautiful, and its craftsmanship isn't as sophisticated as that of cowhide and crocodile leather. Only a fool would pay a high price for it.

　With its invincible propaganda machine, the United States can distort the truth and redefine the concept of health, turning avocados, which are high in fat and greasy in taste, from "junk food" into a "fat-reducing magic weapon" and becoming a fitness meal.

　Standard. Although avocados contain a high calorie content of 332 kcal/200 g, they have successfully entered the health consumer market through marketing strategies such as "replacing staple foods" and "enhancing satiety."

　In the end, the unpalatable and high-fat avocado was transformed from an obscure "unpopular fruit" and a "junk food" with the same status as fried chicken and hamburgers, into a globally popular "healthy food", making it a symbol of the middle class's quality of life.

　——Just like many, many years ago, when tobacco was first introduced to Europe, the British tried their best to promote the idea that "smoking is good for health".

　But Australia cannot use this kind of soft power for free, and the Americans are not obligated to help Australia sell kangaroo skins and kangaroo meat.

　In this way, Australia's attempt to turn kangaroo leather into a high-end luxury product ultimately failed completely.

　By 2023, the purchase price of kangaroo hides in Australia had fallen to A$0.8 per kilogram, causing companies and individuals in related industries to go bankrupt. Many kangaroo hides were discarded at will, left unattended and allowed to rot, just like American dairy farmers pouring milk into the river during the Great Depression.

　Besides meat and skin, selling whole live kangaroos to circuses and zoos around the world is another profitable way to make money. However, how many zoos and circuses are there in the world? How many kangaroos can be sold each year? And after buying kangaroos, people will breed them themselves!

　What's even worse is that the excessive proliferation of kangaroos will deal a heavy blow to the livestock industry - kangaroos can jump over high fences and compete with cattle and sheep for forage, causing the already scarce forage resources in the summer in the generally arid Australian countryside to become even more stretched.

　The Australian government has even been forced to pay to encourage kangaroo culling. However, public enthusiasm for culling has been low, as kangaroo skins and meat are unsellable, and disposing of carcasses is a hassle. Coupled with Australia's small population, various culling measures have been largely ineffective. Australians can often see kangaroos roaming the streets of small towns, and even just walking out of the supermarket, you can see a kangaroo crossing the road with you.

　In short, Australia's struggles with the kangaroo industry continued into the 21st century. Even in its best year, the total revenue from the sale of kangaroo meat, kangaroo skins, and live kangaroos was only a little over $200 million. This may sound like a lot, but for a country as large as Australia, a kangaroo trade of over $200 million is pitiful, barely enough to support many people and not enough to be seen internationally.

　Although Australia has iron ore and wool for export besides kangaroos, these products are also available elsewhere and cannot be made into Australia's business card.

　What is even more desperate is that Australians simply cannot see any hope of making the kangaroo industry, a "national treasure", bigger and stronger in the future.

　How can we make people all over the world like to eat kangaroo meat and use kangaroo skin? It's simply impossible, right?

　In contrast, the sudden appearance of the alien jellyfish "Furu" in Sydney has allowed Australians to see another unimaginable possibility.

　Why not use this useful alien jellyfish "Furu" to replace the useless kangaroos and become Australia's new "native product" in the future?

　According to scientists' preliminary research, Furu feeds on spiritual energy, particularly evil thoughts. If it is allowed to absorb more energy, it can make people calm and peaceful, free from desires and demands, and greatly reduce the violent tendencies and criminal impulses of the person being inhaled.

　Coincidentally, just as the number of retired Vietnam veterans in the United States, suffering from drug addiction, PTSD, and poor mental health, has become a serious social problem, Australia also has a large number of retired Vietnam veterans with drug addiction, severe PTSD, and difficulty reintegrating into a peaceful society. As in the United States, the Australian government simply organized a troop withdrawal and brought these Vietnam veterans home. However, no one has taught Australian society how to accept a group of "strangers" with physical and mental trauma.

　It just so happens that we are currently in the midst of a great economic depression, and jobs are already hard to find in the market, and it is even more difficult for retired veterans to find jobs.

　Most employers shake their heads at the mention of "Vietnam veterans," fearing they might cause accidents due to hallucinations or impulsive behavior. Some veterans, having lost several fingers on the battlefield, have been rejected by numerous factories and can't even submit their resumes.

　These men, once called "heroes," are fighting alone against drug addiction, trauma, and poverty in the shadows of the city.

　But we can't entirely blame employers and companies for "discriminating against veterans." These veterans do have numerous problems. According to a recent report from the National Institute of Mental Health, 65% of Vietnam War veterans suffer from severe sleep disorders. Some even dragged their children into their backyards to dig trenches in the middle of the night. Someone even shot at canned fruit on a supermarket shelf, shouting "Clear explosives!" because they were hallucinating.

　An emotionally unstable person like this is a ticking time bomb at work! Who would dare to hire a time bomb into their company?

　Moreover, they are a group of emotionally unstable killing masters who have killed countless enemy soldiers and civilians in the past and do not take human lives seriously at all.

　If you ask them to drive, you have to worry about them driving a car full of people into the river; if you ask them to help in the kitchen, you have to worry about them burning down the restaurant in anger.

　The current job market is so bad, and there are so many job seekers.

　Is it necessary to recruit such a group of violent elements who may cause problems at any time?

　Not to mention employers, even their families can't stand the weirdness of these retired soldiers. The divorce rate among veterans retired from the front line is as high as 50%.

　As a result, many retired veterans, after losing their jobs and divorced, quickly turned to crime out of despair, becoming a potential threat to urban security.

　Moreover, due to the veterans' rich combat experience, the attack power and violence level of Australian criminal groups have increased significantly, which in turn has further damaged the social image of veterans, making the public's attitude towards veterans worse and making the veterans' problem more serious.

　When an old soldier was caught stealing, he said with a wry smile, "In the jungle, at least we knew where the enemy was; now, the enemy is ourselves."

　In recent years, the Australian Veterans Association has tried to provide psychological counseling to poor veterans to help them overcome PTSD. However, due to funding constraints, the association's 30 psychologists are unable to cope with the nearly 12 registered cases nationwide.

　In the end, all they could do was hold lectures and hand out flyers, offering a general message to these veterans: stop drinking and taking drugs, integrate as much as possible into everyday life, integrate with the public, and return to their families. They should spend as much time as possible with normal people, visit children, and appreciate flowers, birds, insects, and fish, to soothe the restless, bloodthirsty beast within them...

　How should I put it? The principles are correct, but the actual effect can only be said to be better than nothing.

　If retired veterans can successfully adjust their mindsets and endure the discrimination against them from the whole society, do they still need to see a psychologist?

　But now, with the appearance of the alien jellyfish "Furu," the Australian military, already plagued by veteran problems, has seen some new hope. According to scientists' practical tests, the "Furu"'s feeding and mental siphoning, while not enough to make these veterans suffering from severe PTSD positive and optimistic, can at least calm and numb them, like a monk with a withered heart.

　——If all the emotions, thoughts and mental activities are sucked away, won’t this person become confused and only know how to eat and sleep?

　For the authorities, even if these retired veterans who are proficient in killing techniques become zombies with no desires and only know how to lie down and eat welfare or do odd jobs to get by, it is still a hundred times better than letting them turn to violent crimes full of resentment and endanger society!

　What the mature ruling class and bureaucracy want most is always social stability, not positivity and pioneering spirit!

　Even if the whole society is stagnant, it is better than riots - after all, with Australia's vast land, sparse population and natural endowments, and a population of only 1200 million, under normal circumstances it will definitely not force people to starve to death, so it is not bad to let people be a little "depressed".

　——Especially the group with the best organization, combat effectiveness and military experience: from the government's perspective, they really hope that they will become decadent.

　Drinking cheap instant coffee every day, eating discounted expiring sandwiches from the supermarket or relief bread from the church, sitting in the park basking in the sun and living leisurely like a plant... If retired veterans can be content with such a life, the bureaucrats in Canberra will probably all be celebrating.

　Don’t be fooled by the daily condemnation of those Sanhe great men who lie low. If they were to actively participate in the workers’ movement, their superiors would probably be eager for them to lie low.

　In addition to retired Vietnam War veterans, prisons across Australia are also interested in the psychic power absorption abilities of the Furu, a psychic creature known as the "Furu." This is because excessive amounts of this power can cause prisoners to become serene and numb, effectively erasing even the most rebellious and vicious criminals.

　While this doesn't necessarily make them obedient—it's likely just to make them lie flat and do nothing. Even if the guards wield batons and scold them, they won't move. But at least it keeps the prisoners lazy all day, keeping them from thinking about fighting, escaping, causing trouble, committing suicide, or harming themselves.

　For prisons in capitalist countries, although such lazy prisoners might be unwilling to work properly, as long as they can lie down in their cells peacefully, it will save the prison guards a lot of trouble. After all, with today's social productivity, if the prisoners are just fed and do not starve to death in their cells, and the rest is left alone, it really doesn't cost much. The government funding is more than enough.

　The number of prisoners captured after the war has accumulated to over 100,000. Even if we deduct those who died from torture and those who have been released, there are still 60,000 prisoners still held in Australian prisoner-of-war camps.

　In order to prevent harassment of civilians, these prisoner-of-war camps are generally located on remote islands close to the battlefield, such as Christmas Island, Cartier Island and Sumba Island. The living conditions in most prisoner-of-war camps are very poor, and the food and medical conditions are extremely terrible.

　The worst POW camps were simply fenced fields with barbed wire, where prisoners were dumped inside and left to endure the elements, comparable to the "Rheincamp," where the Allies held Nazi prisoners at the end of World War II. Slightly better camps offered a few shabby tents, mostly discarded military items, that provided shelter. Sanitation and recreation were practically nonexistent.

　Moreover, with the descendants of the British Empire's consistent inhumane attitude and extreme discrimination against people of color, the Australians treated prisoners of war extremely abusively, basically the same as the concentration camps in Nazi Germany, completely ignoring the Geneva Convention. The interior of the camps can be described as a hell on earth.