Invasion of the United States

Every year, only about one percent of students pass the college entrance examination to get admitted into the 985 universities, and less than ten thousand can get into Tsinghua and Peking University.

If the opponent can elevate the ordinary students to the level of 985 universities, and 985 students to Tsinghua and Peking University standards, they will gain a crushing advantage in scientific research.

I don't know if the X Project can enhance intelligence, I must obtain the actual virus specimens to know the answer.

But I do know that this virus is both beneficial and harmful to humans.

It can stimulate metabolism, which might be good for the young, but it would be disastrous for the elderly and the physically weak.

If we are unprepared, we will face a tremendously brutal massacre. The death toll won't be in the millions but in the billions."

Faced with the earnest appeals of the academicians, the higher-ups finally decided it was better to pick up the goods. When the leadership issues commands, the bureaucracy must then spring into action.

The intelligence agency first considered sending a large, high-speed transport ship to make contact, then use a helicopter lift.

Or simply bring the ship back to ensure safety during the transfer process.

But that wasn't foolproof, so they considered whether the navy should be deployed to ensure the operation was flawless. Even if some troublemaker attempted to interfere, it could serve as a deterrent.

The best deterrence? Undoubtedly, a carrier battle group.

Only a carrier battle group can maintain a speed of thirty knots, crossing thousands of kilometers of open ocean in just one day and night.

Coincidentally, the 'Scallion' is just about to perform exercises east of the Philippines, so it can hitch a ride and reach the vicinity of Guam within four days, having ample time to meet up with the target ship.

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At three in the morning, Xiao Jinlang had just dozed off for two hours, his eyelids heavy as lead, but he was pulled back to reality by a rapid knocking on the door.

Having worked tirelessly for days, his body was extremely fatigued. Rubbing his sore temples, he reluctantly got up from the makeshift bed in his office.

Outside the office door stood a young officer, expressionless, handing over a classified order: "Director Xiao, there's a top-secret mission requiring your participation. The car is downstairs, we need to leave immediately."

Used to such late-night missions, Xiao Jinlang quickly gathered his simple belongings upon hearing the rumbling of the military vehicle's engine and followed the officer out.

Three hours later, the military plane he was on landed at an air base in the south. As the day was breaking, the propellers whipped up waves of heat towards him.

Wrapped in a thin jacket, bearing a wrinkled forehead of exhaustion, Xiao Jinlang was transported by helicopter to the naval port and boarded the 'Scallion' aircraft carrier.

The deck was nearly empty; the salty sea breeze mixed with aviation kerosene pierced his nostrils as he avoided the rotors' gusts after disembarking the helicopter, glancing at the colossal structure below him.

Under the morning twilight, the tens of thousands of tons of the carrier had already set sail, cleaving through the waves, with a flock of seabirds startled by the ship's horn fleeing away.

A neat formation trailed behind the carrier: two Type 055 destroyers, like unsheathed sharp blades, their decks filled with vertical launch units;

A Type 052D destroyer closely followed, with radar antennas silently rotating; a Type 054A frigate patrolled the perimeter like a vigilant hound;

And a Type 901 supply ship brought up the rear, casting a long shadow on the sea with its massive shape. The entire formation moved forward at twenty knots. Chapter source: My Virtual Library Empire (M|V|L4EMPYR).

Below deck, inside the ship's hold, an advance squad of the biological and epidemic prevention unit had already arrived, dragging heavy equipment cases, briskly moving between the compartments.

At the same time, the elderly academician holding the X Project data, despite being over seventy years old, forcibly squeezed onto the arriving transport plane with his protégés.

On the plane, the old man grasped a tablet, a fiery glow in his eyes: "The Americans are truly bold.

Gene technology, AI technology, using artificial intelligence's super reasoning ability, forcibly decoding protein structures and functions, the most advanced concepts being quickly applied to high-efficiency killing methods.

If this thing gets done, it could either be humanity's future or its doomsday. I have to see it with my own eyes!"

-----------------

At this time, sunlight slanted in Miami, it was evening.

Zhou Qingfeng stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a cup of iced coffee, gazing at the golden coastline.

When Kelly informed him on the phone that the homeland had decided to send a ship to pick up the goods, a heavy stone in his heart finally fell, and he casually asked, "What kind of ship is coming?"

"I don't know, Director Xiao didn't specify." Kelly didn't much care about these details, "But from what he implied, it's definitely a big ship with a flat deck, capable of landing helicopters, arriving near Guam in five or six days."

She then changed the subject, "Victor, have you figured out how to share the bio-research spoils with the homeland?

If the X Project develops a valuable drug, will your chosen domestic partner be generous enough to share the profit?"

Zhou Qingfeng paused, the cup suspended in mid-air. He truly hadn't thought that far ahead.

The X Project, for him, had long ceased to be a dream of enhancement and had become an increasingly burdensome load.

The biological technology had an absurdly high entry barrier; he couldn't remember how he was 'enhanced' before—as if getting a vaccine, you know the needle went in, but can't tell what it was with the naked eye.

He handed over the data and virus samples to the homeland driven by a final shred of obsession: in case something really happened one day, these things might save lives, making his rebirth not in vain.

"Share profits?" he laughed self-deprecatingly, "If there are truly profits, the global market for this in a year would be at least trillions of US dollars. I'm not greedy, just one-tenth would be enough.

As for whether the homeland would share, honestly, I'm unsure. But I should at least receive political recognition."

Kelly remained silent for two seconds, seemingly weighing this 'one-tenth'. It sounded trivial at first, but considering the base amount, it wasn't negligible.

After all, Zhou Qingfeng hadn't contributed a single cent to the R&D costs, even the risks were borne by others.

She hummed, half-joking and half-seriously said, "Your country has a large population, and the demand for healthcare isn't small.

If you really can earn one-tenth of a trillion annually, you could become a world-class billionaire.

But whether this cake could be baked or not depends on if your people can bite through the hard bone of the X Virus."

Zhou Qingfeng didn't respond, his gaze drifting to the distant sunset beyond the glass. The hot southern wind blew in, making his chest feel uneasy.

One-tenth or nothing at all, he just wanted the batch of goods to land quickly without any more complications.

As for the future, he'd take it one step at a time.

-----------------

Soon, Xiao Jinlang's satellite phone call came in, with wind noise and a hint of urgency, as if he had just run from the deck into the cabin.

He got straight to the point: "President Zhou, where is the cargo ship now? What type of ship is it? How do we contact the people on board?"

Faint helicopter noises could be heard from the other end, making his tone even more pressing.

Leaning on the couch in his Miami apartment, Zhou Qingfeng, having kept some cards close to his chest, didn't reveal everything.

He posed two conditions to Xiao Jinlang.

First, his safety must be guaranteed by the homeland, and no voluntary traps should be set for him. Even a verbal assurance would suffice;

Second, if the research bears fruit, he should get one-tenth of the profits, a verbal promise would do as well.

However, this promise couldn't come from Xiao Jinlang but would need to be made formally by top leaders.

Xiao Jinlang was silent for two seconds, then said, "I can relay your message to the higher-ups. But you need to give me a rough location first, time is tight."

Zhou Qingfeng slowly uttered, "The cargo ship just left Hawaii, aiming to meet you near Guam in five or six days."

Choosing the word 'Hawaii' was deliberate—covering about seven thousand kilometers to Guam, roughly a week's journey, what ship has such capability?

When Xiao Jinlang relayed the message to his superiors, he focused on 'Hawaii'.

Seven thousand kilometers, arriving in five to six days, isn't this a task for a carrier? And only a nuclear-powered carrier could sustain such speed without issues, even conventional carriers would struggle with fuel consumption.

A quick internet search would reveal that the 'Reagan' carrier group had just left Hawaii and was headed towards Guam.

Moreover, a group of Ministry of the Navy constables were waiting for the carrier group in Tokyo—there was already a semi-public incident about someone using military vessels to transport 'contraband'.

The homeland, though neither deaf nor blind, was quite aware of this.

Considering Kelly inadvertently revealed that the 'cargo would be thrown into the sea if not taken,' the identity of the cargo ship was unmistakable.....

"Damn, that troublemaker…" Xiao Jinlang couldn't help but curse, "He really dares, using a nuclear-powered carrier battle group for overseas smuggling?"