Invasion of the United States

Not long after nightfall, Director Matthew was sitting alone in the office of the town's police station.

The desk lamp cast his solitary shadow on the wall, his fingers tapping on the table unconsciously, the rhythm erratic like his current state of mind.

Usually, he didn't find anything special about the rough-tempered Kongges, instead believing him to be unpopular, simple-minded, and easy to control.

But just three days without Kongges felt like the house had lost its main beam, and the town's law and order had turned into chaos.

Even within the dozen-strong police station, there were signs of instability—with half of his colleagues hating Kongges's domineering and reckless behavior, and the other half remaining silent.

When Matthew decided to discard Kongges and tried to eliminate him—those who disliked Kongges were pleased for only a short while, but the silent ones were now demoralized, and their resentment towards Matthew had soared.

Disturbing issues arose one after another, and initially, Director Matthew felt a surge of anger in his chest, like a volcano about to erupt.

But soon, he was surprised to find that he was not the volcano, but rather sitting at the volcano's mouth. The magma was counting down to eruption, and he was powerless to stop it.

In his frustration, various ideas floated through his mind, but nothing perfectly solved his current dilemma. Just when he was uncertain of what to do, the phone on his desk buzzed with vibration.

It was a video call from Elvin.

The director immediately answered, and on the screen appeared Kongges, who had been missing for three days, glaring with a face full of fury.

As for Elvin, he was tied to a chair, with a torn wound on his forehead oozing dark red blood, trickling on his pallid cheeks, forming a winding stream, his head drooping, and his spirit weak.

The background was a mottled concrete wall, with faint mold outlines portraying the damp contours unique to a basement.

"Kongges, you caught your partner?" Director Matthew's heart was already heavy, and now his scalp was throbbing in pain.

But he wouldn't show weakness, so he calmly asked, "Great, I've been thinking about you these past three days. We can have a good talk now."

"Release my wife and daughter, and give me a million US Dollars." Kongges's voice came through the phone, "Otherwise, I'll hand Elvin over to the FBI.

To save his life, he will definitely turn into a state's witness and spill all the dirty deeds you've done.

Even if he doesn't talk, I will. I have all the inside information about your years of collaboration with 'Apocalypse Creatures.'

From the shipping records of 'special cargo' for Apocalypse Creatures, to the dozen concrete-encased corpses at the bottom of San Juan Bay. This tеxt wаs асquirеd frоm М|V|L0ЕМРYR.

You are the biggest smuggler in Miami, luring illegal immigrants from South America and using them as expendable resources.

You owe money to several drug lords and have tossed those who came to collect into the sea to feed the fish. Additionally, you've committed large-scale tax evasion, and the Internal Revenue Service would love to have a chat with you."

Director Matthew fell silent at Kongges's threat. He wasn't too afraid of the first two threats, but if the IRS conducted an audit, it would indeed be troublesome.

"Release your wife and daughter, plus one million US Dollars? No problem." The director agreed very readily.

"Where do you want me to send your wife and daughter? How do you plan to get the money? And how do I know you'll keep your promise?"

"I don't have time to waste with you, and I don't care what you think, I'm waiting at Elvin's house.

If I don't see my wife and daughter and the money within an hour, you can explain trust issues to the FBI and the IRS."

The call ended, and soon after, Kongges sent a message, "I'll be watching you, don't force me into a death pact with you."

The director saw the message and was so furious that he slammed the table hard. When he called back, Kongges's phone was already completely shut off.

But soon, he revealed a grim smile and muttered to himself, "Idiot Kongges, how could he be so naive?

He must be exhausted and without any place to escape. But I will never compromise with him, not even a step back."

No time to lose, Director Matthew immediately summoned his last trusted subordinates in the station and led a team straight to the location where Kongges was hiding.

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

Just a minute later, two police cars roared away from the police station, heading towards Elvin's cottage outside the town.

Director Matthew stood by his office window, watching his men set off to capture the traitor blackmailing him, snorting through his nose.

In the United States, there indeed is a lot of freedom and human rights, provided you don't provoke someone with public authority.

Otherwise, the common folk would see what 'manipulating public opinion and reversing right and wrong' looks like.

Director Matthew wasn't a man without someone to back him up, he wasn't afraid of Kongges's revelations at all, he just wanted to catch him quickly and kill him.

As the director dispatched his men, a pickup truck was hiding in the dark just a hundred meters from the police station, like a lurking beast.

In the driver's seat, Zhou Qingfeng watched the police cars move away and said in surprise, "Director Matthew doesn't seem very smart.

Just a simple phone call, and he fell for it so easily? There wasn't even a chance to use the follow-up tricks we designed."

He grabbed an encrypted walkie-talkie and called out, "The police station people have left, they'll arrive in about three minutes."

Kongges's response came through the radio, "The trap on my end is ready too, I'll meet up with you soon."

Old Hammer sat beside Zhou Qingfeng, mocking with a chuckle, "You think that director had a choice?

Or that he would really pay a million US Dollars? Kongges is driven to the brink, and so is he."

Zhou Qingfeng responded with a couple of grunts, then grabbed a pair of stockings and pulled them over his head, covering his face in just a few quick moves.