Invasion of the United States

After visiting the 'White House' twice, Zhou Qingfeng was completely disillusioned with this place; his initial curiosity and awe were thoroughly worn away.

This is not the center of power; it's clearly a bustling and noisy "luxury vegetable market."

The 'White House' was teeming with people, an unending stream, with all sorts of characters bustling around, their voices merging into a hum of background noise.

Every five minutes, you could see an employee from a certain department, closely following their superior, walking nervously into that oval office.

They seemed to be offering sacrifices to a high and mighty deity, hoping their issue could capture the president's attention in that brief few minutes.

How much real political business can be conveyed in five short minutes? At most, it's only enough to hear a carefully packaged presentation.

So, either the bureaucrats say whatever they please, turning the president into a puppet kept in the dark; or the president makes various decisions arbitrarily, with only a half-understanding or on a whim.

As for the hallway outside the office, various rumors, whose truth was hard to determine, floated around like invisible ghosts, sometimes whispered about, only to quickly vanish in the next hurried footstep.

While waiting to take office officially, Zhou Qingfeng heard some people from the United States Department of Commerce talking mockingly about the 'real estate' president,

exulting in how he loved participating in various groundbreaking ceremonies, savoring the vanity of posing for photos with a gold-plated shovel in hand.

Every time the president eagerly told a joke, everyone present would dutifully feign laughter in response—highlighting how Zhou Qingfeng's earlier words, 'there's no hope, just wait for death,' were so bold and provocative.

"The vice president said, it's probably because of that very remark that I appeared too distinctive, which in turn made him think he could try appointing me to break the deadlock."

Washington D.C., inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Zhou Qingfeng sat in the minister's office which had a "Ministry of Government Efficiency" nameplate on the wall, calmly narrating his extremely absurd appointment process to the few people present.

Present in this office, besides Shanni, Deborah, Ernst, those old subordinates he brought from the "Ministry of Health," there were no others.

Scanning over those dozen or so unfamiliar faces in front of the desk, Zhou Qingfeng candidly said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you make your final decision after understanding the true situation." The most up‑to‑date version is on M4VLEMP4YR.

Shanni and the others held in their hands a scandalous file from "Dias," a thick stack containing appalling crimes.

These paper documents were solemnly instructed to be "burned after reading, not to be disclosed to others."

As civil servants who had been struggling at the lower levels of the officialdom, they were not completely unaware of the decay and stench of the bureaucratic system.

These real and tangible cases were like bloody wounds being peeled open, or like stinking pus sores.

Reading every word of these cases seemed to sully their souls, causing an uncontrollable shiver or inflaming a furious rage in their chests.

"I brought you from the 'Ministry of Health,' but you can totally choose to refuse this appointment and leave here at any time,"

Zhou Qingfeng solemnly said, "I do not expect everyone to have the courage to face the darkness, because in this world, most people choose merely to eke out an existence.

The 'Ministry of Efficiency' is not a government department approved by the US Congress, but rather a staff agency established by the president through an executive order.

The title of minister sounds glamorous, but in fact, it doesn't hold much real power, and the number of agents under me is scant, only capable of investigations, with no law enforcement power.

Our fate entirely depends on the intimacy of my relationship with the president.

When the pandemic broke out, all the bureaucrats faced huge survival pressure and had to temporarily unite around our vice president to deal with the crisis.

Now, as the pandemic slightly subsides, those various levels of bureaucrats who hold real power begin to stir restlessly.

The vice president's position is precarious, and that's why in desperation, he sees me as a lifeline. It is foreseeable that the days ahead will not be easy for us."

Zhou Qingfeng pointed to the open door of his office, "I give you one hour to consider.

During this hour, you may change your mind at any time and leave here, I will not stop you. But if you don't leave after an hour, you must bet your life on this job."

An invisible pressure filled the air, and a dozen staff members looked at each other, quite unsettled.

They not only saw the many difficulties they would face joining the 'Ministry of Efficiency' but also felt the real danger.

The horrific case of the massacre of Thomas's family was starkly printed on the first page of their onboarding training.

The photos of the blood-stained, twisted bodies of the couple were unreservedly exposed before everyone.

Others coax personnel with warm words, while Zhou Qingfeng threw out cold warnings, speaking of the cruelty and darkness lurking in the corridors of power.

"Think carefully, the time to decide your fate has arrived."

In less than an hour, the number of people in the office dwindled to a third, leaving only five or six who were willing to continue working with Zhou Qingfeng.

The usually timid Lady Deborah stayed, tearfully saying, "Mr. Harden, if there's a day I die, please do not let my death be in vain."

Zhou Qingfeng nodded at this, seriously saying, "If you were assassinated, I would avenge you."