Invasion of the United States

At this moment, Deputy Director Carl Vincent stood before the dozens of screens in the cruise ship's surveillance room. He wasn't watching anyone else, he was just watching Zhou Qingfeng.

Especially after discovering that Maurice, the researcher from 'Apocalypse Creatures,' was also on the ship, and considering Professor Amir Khan's background, Carl became even more convinced that Zhou Qingfeng was highly suspicious.

The surveillance footage tracked Zhou Qingfeng from the moment he boarded the ship until Professor Amir Khan was kidnapped — although nothing unusual was found with Zhou Qingfeng himself, it was noted that a bodyguard who boarded with him left alone.

"You little brat, this time I've got you, and I won't let go." Carl turned his attention to the bodyguard named Lux and quickly discovered that Lux disappeared after blending into the yacht's recreational areas.

The 'Caribbean' had more than five thousand tourists on board and over two thousand service staff members. There were two casinos, over a dozen performance halls, more than twenty restaurants, a surfing pool, and numerous other facilities.

After nightfall, seven to eight thousand people were milling around the cruise ship. Despite extensive surveillance, it was exceedingly difficult to track a single individual amid the throngs of people.

"That guy used the crowd to change his disguise." Carl sighed internally after confirming he had lost track.

Lux, a former CIA agent, hadn't chosen a seemingly hidden yet actually easily monitored location like a bathroom to change his disguise.

Carl directed his subordinates to carefully examine the surveillance footage, "Keep your eyes wide open, compare the footage before and after this moment in detail. He must have disguised himself as a cleaner; now switch to looking for the cleaner."

It had been less than an hour since Carl boarded the ship, and the accompanying FBI agents were all extremely energized, feeling as though their deputy director had some divine aid in solving the case, finding key clues so quickly.

Only Carl knew that if it weren't for seeing Zhou Qingfeng on the cruise, he would never have listed him as the number one suspect.

But what did it matter if he was the prime suspect? They needed solid evidence. Carl thought for a moment and decided to go directly to Zhou Qingfeng.

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Helen was staying in a second-class cabin. Compared to the presidential first-class suite Zhou Qingfeng was staying in, it was quite shabby.

The cabin was a single room with a bathroom. The room had a double bed, basic furniture, no balcony, but did have a sea view window.

After returning to her room, Helen opened the window, leaned out, glanced around to the sides, and then looked towards the upper deck, confirming the direction of the first-class cabins.

She retracted her head and waited in the room. At exactly eleven o'clock at night, she looked towards her room door, her heartbeat gradually accelerating involuntarily.

After waiting a few seconds, there was a rhythmic knocking sound from outside the door, three sharp knocks followed by two soft ones, then it fell silent.

After the knocks ended, Helen opened the door. There was no one in the hallway, only a small package on the ground. She picked up the package and closed the door.

Inside the package were a cellphone and a small quadcopter drone.

First, she turned on the cellphone; the screen lit up requiring a password to activate. As for the drone, she installed the battery, conducted a system check, and a flight test. Rеаdеr suppоrt аt М*VLЕМ*РYR mаdе this trаnslаtiоn pоssiblе.

With everything ready, she typed a text message to a pre-stored number on the cellphone, "The drone is ready, who is the target?"

She hesitated for a few seconds before sending the message.

Helen Grant used to be an ordinary high school history teacher, living an extremely monotonous life with no family, no friends, and no achievements. Her only hobby was reading classical novels.

She was the least noticeable teacher in the whole school. She longed to teach students about their country's history, but barely any students were interested.

Ironically, after meeting Zhou Qingfeng, she found that the youth considered a major enemy of the United States had a far richer understanding of history than most Americans.

Zhou Qingfeng not only knew much about his own country's history but also had extensive knowledge of Western history — after the apocalypse, with no functional cell phones and a collapsed internet, reading books was the most convenient form of entertainment.

In comparison, public schools in the United States seemed like cesspools, and so was the country itself.

Congress was full of 'stock gods,' and the president was a blonde real estate mogul who cared nothing for public opinion, disregarded political ethics, and blatantly issued currency to cash in.

Those in power didn't care about the people's lives, only wanting to incite populism to convert their power into wealth.

In fact, while in the casino earlier, Helen had considered cashing in all her savings into chips for a big gamble.

For over a month, she hadn't avoided Zhou Qingfeng's calls out of unwillingness but because she was undergoing training and was prohibited from taking any calls.

The people who recruited her said they needed someone with a clean family background, no criminal record, and no training traces to carry out the mission.

If she hadn't met Zhou Qingfeng, she should have lost everything by now, with no way out. After meeting Zhou Qingfeng, she found it all more ironic.

"Look at the young people across the ocean, not only are they good learners, but they also have the courage to fight dark forces and are willing to risk everything to save innocent people.

And what about those idiots I teach? Doing drugs, promiscuity, partying—each more stupid and incapable than the last.

Truly, the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. I'm sure my choice is not wrong."

Helen pressed a button, sending the inquiry message. A dozen seconds later, the phone chimed softly, displaying the target's photo, identity, and current location.

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

On the outer deck of the cruise ship's casino, Zhou Qingfeng had just parted ways with Helen. As he pondered the hesitant look in the teacher's eyes as they parted, he heard the crisp sound of leather shoes against the teak deck.

"Victor." Deputy Director Carl shouted, habitually lifting the hem of his tailored suit, placing his hands on his hips, revealing the gun holstered under his ribs.