Invasion of the United States

The antiseptic swab gently wipes Zhou Qingfeng's fingertip, the cold touch making him frown slightly.

The blood collection needle swiftly pierces the skin, a drop of bright red blood oozes from the fingertip like a tiny ruby.

Xiao Jinlang carefully collects two or three milliliters of blood with a capillary tube and then meticulously injects the blood into a prepared anticoagulant tube.

After finishing, Old Xiao handed over a small cotton swab, indicating Zhou Qingfeng to press on the blood spot on his fingertip. However, Zhou Qingfeng casually rubbed his finger, wiping away the remaining blood.

"Wait..." Old Xiao couldn't help but take a second look.

In just two or three seconds, the small blood collection point stopped bleeding. Thirty seconds later, no matter how hard he pressed, there was no sign of any blood.

"Xiaozhou, your healing speed is kind of exaggerated."

Zhou Qingfeng didn't reply to that comment but instead asked indifferently, "You came to find me, it can't be just to get a few drops of my blood, right?"

Xiao Jinlang chuckled self-deprecatingly, shaking his head. He went through a lot of trouble over the course of a month to find Zhou Qingfeng, ultimately succeeding through Chen Rui's connections, leading him to Washington.

"Blood collection is indeed the primary task. Besides that, we wanted to understand some circumstances. As per the previously agreed arrangement, we won't interfere in whatever you're doing in the United States."

Lucy busied herself in the kitchen for a while, then promptly took Old Hammer out for a walk. The safe house now only had Zhou Qingfeng and Xiao Jinlang left.

Old Xiao took a small notebook from his pocket, hesitated, then decided to rely on his memory and put it back.

He spoke in a deep voice, "I'm here to ask some questions on behalf of headquarters. First, how did you find out about the 'X' project?"

"No comment."

"How did you dare to bet that the 'X' enhancement serum would be effective and harmless to you?"

"Still no comment."

"How much do you know about the 'X' project?"

"Right now, I don't know more than what you guys know."

Old Xiao wasn't surprised by these answers, he continued to ask business-like questions, "How do you plan to manage 'Electric Flight'?" Spоt аn еrrоr? Visit thе оriginаl pоst оn М&VLЕМРY&R.

"I've already handed over all affairs to Kelly. As for the US Congress, let Marco handle discussions with those congressmen. Let's see if we can spend some money to unfreeze the bank account, which has over one billion US dollars."

When hearing the words "Congress" and "congressmen," Old Xiao's mind seemed to crash momentarily. He interrupted, "Wait, did you contact the US congressmen?"

Zhou Qingfeng shrugged, "It was Old Hammer's idea to hire a lobbying firm. As long as you're willing to pay, pay enough money, a lot of what you thought were bottom lines don't exist."

For a moment, Old Xiao was speechless. Although he had worked domestically for many years and knew about the US situation, facing this reality was still quite unexpected.

Zhou Qingfeng then listed several names. When he mentioned "Congressman Harrison" from Oregon, Xiao Jinlang interrupted him again:

"Wait, brother, are you talking about Congressman Harrison from the Dongda Issues Special Committee?"

"Yes, that's him," Zhou Qingfeng said calmly.

"He's extremely anti-China."

"Anti-China is his job, taking money is his life."

Old Xiao pursed his lips and nodded heavily. Though he had seen many hypocrites domestically, he had never seen someone like Harrison, who held high office and openly emphasized the "Dongda threat" in the media, and still brazenly take money to get things done.

"Hiss..." Old Xiao shook his head, sighed helplessly, "Brother, continue. I'm afraid my brain might not be enough, I should write things down."

He said this while pulling out his notebook again, flipping to a blank page, with his pen poised over the paper, ready for Zhou Qingfeng's next name.

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

As Xiao Jinlang filled his notebook with his shorthand that only he could understand, the atmosphere in the room gradually became heavy.

The sky outside had turned dark, street lights lit up brightly, but the safe house remained dim.

"Xiaozhou, why didn't you return to the country earlier?" Xiao Jinlang put down his pen, his gaze locking onto Zhou Qingfeng with a mix of confusion and concern.

"I can't go back anymore."

Xiao Jinlang couldn't understand it, trying to read more information from Zhou Qingfeng's expression, but that stern face showed no sign of emotional fluctuation.

Zhou Qingfeng found it difficult to describe his current state.

He felt a sense of mission, or rather an urgent crisis—a deep-seated hope that he would be the only one in the world enhanced by the "X" virus.

Whether it was making connections with US congressmen or attempting to eliminate Dias from the Tree of Justice, subconsciously, he didn't want to be surpassed.

Even if it couldn't be avoided, he wanted to delay the emergence of other enhanced individuals and hoped to continue becoming stronger himself, refusing to live under anyone's shadow.

Xiao Jinlang asked quietly, "Do you know where the US Military is researching the 'X' project?"

This question was sensitive.

Zhou Qingfeng had already shared the "excess death" report from the Ministry of Efficiency with Old Xiao, revealing the dreadful impact of the "X" virus.

Old Xiao deliberately emphasized, "In case we need to act someday, the country hopes to know where to fire the missiles. It sounds like a joke, but necessary intelligence collection cannot be missed."

Zhou Qingfeng sneered, shaking his head, "I'm investigating too, trying to find out which bastard created this thing."

Xiao Jinlang sighed, his face growing darker, "Actually, we've noticed similar cases domestically. In sewage samples from over a hundred cities, RNA fragments of the 'X' virus were found, confirming that at least half a year ago, the 'X' virus had already spread widely.