Invasion of the United States

Zhou Qingfeng was slacking off, lazily sitting in the Assistant Minister's office, surfing the Internet with a ten-gigabit fiber optic connection, and using minister-level access to browse all sorts of 'entertaining and delightful' websites.

All of them were high-definition and full of vivid, enticing content, making people restless and unable to stop.

The only downside was that Europeans and Americans didn't care for hygiene, liking to go through the front door and then the back, and from the back, straight into the mouth—the filmmakers weren't nauseated, but the viewers were thoroughly disgusted.

Just as he was skiving off and having fun, his phone rang.

It was that custom-made one from 'Gray Shark'. When he answered, he heard an anxious voice, "Victor, how's your situation?"

"Me...? I'm fine."

Zhou Qingfeng used US government funds to tip hundreds of OnlyFans accounts, casually blowing a few thousand to several tens of thousands of US Dollars, contributing to reducing global wealth disparity.

This answer filled 'Gray Shark' on the phone with suspicion, prompting a verification query, "What's my favorite movie?"

"Back to the Future."

"Who's my favorite actress?"

"Lily Collins."

"How long is your **?"

"Damn, is that really a question?"

After a few verification questions, 'Gray Shark' breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "You haven't contacted me in 48 hours. I was worried something happened to you."

"Oh, I switched identities and had to ditch the shortwave radio. I've been a bit busy these past couple of days, so I didn't contact you." Note from the editor: Always check MV2LEMPYR for corrections.

Zhou Qingfeng indeed had been a bit busy the past few days but was too embarrassed to say he was currently 'stealing leisure amid busyness'.

"Switched identities?" 'Gray Shark' was in an abandoned nuclear missile silo in Montana, and the recent global pandemic developments had scared him.

Medical collapses, economic breakdowns, people were scared, city people were fleeing to the suburbs, and suburban folks were worrying about shortages.

Everyone wanted to find a safe haven.

'Gray Shark' stayed in the massive missile silo, surrounded by a fortune's worth of hoarded living supplies and dozens of collected personnel of various professions, forming a small survival system.

But he knew well that if it weren't for Zhou Qingfeng's early warnings, he and his elderly, disabled mother wouldn't have lasted long before perishing.

Zhou Qingfeng said Bitcoin wasn't reliable—once the network is blocked, all virtual currencies are unreliable.

Zhou Qingfeng said the US Dollar would fall—when disaster strikes, all the world's fiat currencies will be under immense pressure.

Zhou Qingfeng said to build shelters—a fortune spent deploying dozens of shelters across the US had become life-saving isolated zones in the apocalypse; being in a shelter was the happiest thing.

Everything Zhou Qingfeng predicted came true.

At this moment, not only 'Gray Shark', but even his mother, Madam Nasa, began to believe—that her son had a friend from the future who predicted this disaster's outbreak.

Of course, 'Gray Shark' was very careful to keep this secret, never leaking it.

Because of this, 'Gray Shark' paid particular attention to Zhou Qingfeng's whereabouts—having not heard from him for 48 hours, he risked exposing his position to call on a satellite phone.

"Victor, satellite signals show you're still in Washington D.C.?"

"Yes."

"Can't you escape?"

"Actually... it'd be easy to escape now. I just have no real desire to leave."

Zhou Qingfeng drank 'happy water', ate special provisions from the United States, and used 'supercomputing' to manage the information network, enjoying a high status and authority.

Compared to huddling in a shelter, he was living quite a carefree life at the moment.

Though his secretary Shanni wasn't very cooperative and refused to join him for 'sunset moments', he found joy in 'self-entertainment' as well.

'Gray Shark' understood boundaries and didn't ask Zhou Qingfeng what he was doing, only saying concernedly: "If you need anything, remember to contact me anytime. I'm online 24 hours."

"Okay, okay." Zhou Qingfeng agreed profusely.

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After the call ended, inside the missile silo, 'Gray Shark' had a grim face. His mother, Madam Nasa, worriedly asked, "Victor, how is he? Is he okay?"

"He's doing great," 'Gray Shark' grumbled, "Seems like he's watching a movie. I could hear women shouting 'Oh, my God' 'fuck me' 'Don't stop'!"

Madam Nasa chuckled, teasing, "Looks like Victor can find fun wherever he goes. We really don't need to worry about him."

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The office door silently opened, startling Zhou Qingfeng, who was originally relaxed and browsing. He hurriedly shut off the content on his computer screen, moving so quickly he nearly snapped the mouse cord.

Then, he quickly adjusted his posture, straightened his back, and tried to put on a serious working expression—but he forgot to turn off the speaker, which continued emitting sounds of 'ah-ah'.

Shanni walked into the office, high heels clacking. She came to deliver documents and was furious when she heard the noises from the speakers.

"You brat, people outside are breaking their backs dealing with that damned pandemic, and here you are watching porn sites?"

Realizing the visitor was Shanni, only then did Zhou Qingfeng's tense shoulders slightly relax. He shrugged and said lazily:

"I've already done what I should, but it's beyond my power to change the situation. Anyway, I'm about to be dismissed. Once the official transfer order comes through, I can comfortably find a nice, leisurely position."

"Victor, you can't leave!" Shanni stared seriously, "There are countless people waiting for you to save them! How can you give up so easily? You must fight to the end!"

"Are you kidding? I never intended to save anyone," Zhou Qingfeng laughed self-deprecatingly. He spread his hands, "Besides, what can I do now?"

Previously just a regular nurse at a hospital, Shanni's vision and experience were relatively limited, always accustomed to passively following orders and completing tasks.

She indeed lacked understanding of the true power and operations of those in high positions.