Invasion of the United States

"You have billions of US Dollars, why take such risks? We have legal means to deal with Ellison Parker, why choose the most violent option?"

Zhou Qingfeng raised his hand and gently patted Kelly's back, as if soothing a bristling ocelot, and said in a low voice, "I have my reasons."

Kelly lifted her head, her eyes dazed as she smiled, "I like what you do. Watching you hunt on the streets with your motorcycle, it excites me to the point of trembling.

You are the man I want, the wildest, most untamed, and strongest and decisive type. I want to have your children, I can't wait for you to make me pregnant."

Usually cold and aloof, it was rare for Kelly to be this passionate.

Zhou Qingfeng smiled and nodded, "But now you have to go to 'Dongda' and stabilize the production of 'Electric Flight'."

During the hunt for the Florida governor, his mind was in a state of uncalculated coldness. It was only after completing the hunt did it gradually return to considering the pros and cons.

He personally was wanted, and his open bank accounts were frozen by the official authorities, but he still had numerous private and indirect assets.

For instance, 'Electric Flight,' the design and manufacturing all based domestically at 'Dongda,' nobody could take that away.

The $400 million acquired from 'Aircraft Carrier Smuggling' was also under another account, not under 'JP Morgan.'

The most urgent task now was to settle Kelly and the other women, facing threats from the 'Tree of Justice' using them as leverage — thinking of Monica's crazed appearance, Zhou Qingfeng also felt troubled.

Kelly smiled, "My father said, as long as you complete the separation of 'Electric Flight,' he's still willing to invest, at the level of five to ten billion US Dollars."

"I can give you 'Electric Flight.'" Zhou Qingfeng said indifferently, "I actually didn't invest much money in that company, nor contributed much to its management." This version was sourced from M|V|L^EMPYR.

Kelly's face turned serious, rejecting, "I don't want it. I just want to earn money for the man I love, seeing him make other women itch with envy.

Just wait, I can make your assets grow so much that you won't finish spending them in a lifetime."

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

Hours later, the flight Kelly took pierced through the clouds, crossing the ocean, heading towards 'Dongda.'

Meanwhile, Thomas led his team back to Washington.

On the plane, his thoughts were tumultuous, repeatedly replaying the meeting with Zhou Qingfeng at the terminal in his mind.

He knew he had to write a detailed report on this meeting and submit it to his superiors in the Ministry of Efficiency.

Even if he didn't write it, his subordinates would. Concealing this matter would provide no benefit and could potentially become a future burden.

However, Thomas was uncertain how the superiors at the Ministry of Efficiency would handle this report. Most likely, it would be "read without response."

After all, matters involving Zhou Qingfeng and the 'Tree of Justice' were too politically risky; no one wanted to touch them.

But Thomas couldn't just ignore it like his superiors could. Because one sentence from Zhou Qingfeng hit him right where it hurt: "A regular investigative agency wouldn't follow the rules honestly."

That sentence was like a thorn, deeply embedded in Thomas's heart.

The essence of investigation is to uncover secrets and privacy. If you keep your hands bound, how can you achieve results?

Zhou Qingfeng had proven this point with his actions — his methods were not only effective but also utterly unrestrained.

In contrast, Thomas had a mountain of cases piling up, yet he was stuck due to a lack of "means."

"The Ministry of Efficiency was established to tackle the entrenched problems within the government. But without extraordinary methods, we will be defeated sooner or later."

Thinking of this, Thomas couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine. The current American political environment had deteriorated to a life-and-death struggle.

Not to mention retreating, even standing still meant the ground beneath your feet would turn into a cliff over time.

Four years — this was the maximum time the "Blondie" president could remain in the White House.

When the Ministry of Efficiency was first established, the "Factory Director" openly declared that it was just a temporary institution for one year.

Time was of the essence, and Thomas felt an unprecedented sense of urgency every day.

He opened his computer, the densely packed case files on the screen felt like mountains, pressing down on him.

Among these cases, some involved high-level corruption, some had traces of transnational crime, and some even pointed towards the 'Tree of Justice.'

Many crimes were completely open because the criminals had no fear.

However, without enforcement authority, the Ministry of Efficiency was like a toothless tiger, having intelligence and technical means but unable to take any substantive action.

"I have intelligence and technology, but without enforcement, all of this is meaningless." Thomas muttered to himself, his tone filled with helplessness and anxiety.

At that moment, his hand accidentally touched the encrypted USB drive in his pocket.

It was what Zhou Qingfeng had discreetly handed him during their meeting at the terminal, only the size of a fingernail but seemingly weighing a thousand pounds.

Thomas took it out and stared at it in his palm for a long time.

It might contain the key to changing everything, or it could be a trap leading to his utter ruin.

After much contemplation, Thomas couldn't resist the temptation. He took a deep breath, gazed at the USB drive, and thought to himself:

"Let's just 'fight evil with evil.' No matter who gets destroyed, it might be a good thing for this decaying world."

When Thomas joined the Ministry of Efficiency, he had already embarked on a path of no return. Since that was the case, he had no other choice.

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

The Ministry of Efficiency's official website updated daily, attracting a large number of netizens like a magnet, eager to see the latest filth exposed about the American Deep State.

These revelations were often shocking, from high-level corruption to transnational conspiracies, each piece of news stirring public opinion.

For 'Gray Shark,' the publicly available information on the website was just the tip of the iceberg. What interested him more were the secrets hidden in the web page code.

'Gray Shark' wrote a small program specifically to monitor changes on the Ministry of Efficiency's website.

When the program suddenly sent an alert, he stared at the screen with amusement, "Thomas took the initiative to send information. Let's see what he wants."

After a series of complex and untraceable operations, the true message Thomas wanted to convey was quite simple.

"This guy wants us to help him find someone?"

Zhou Qingfeng had been tracking the Department of Homeland Security's inside man 'Dias,' and the Ministry of Efficiency had also noticed this mysterious figure deep within the intelligence community.

However, information on 'Dias' was scarce.

Whether this person was male or female, old or young, an individual or a team, their specific role — all these key details were unknown.

Thomas could track Zhou Qingfeng, could track Monica, could track many peripheral members of the 'Tree of Justice,' but 'Dias,' a core member, remained a mystery.

Until a key clue showed up in the encrypted USB drive provided by Zhou Qingfeng — 'Dias' had a close relationship with the senile Hammer Lee.

Hammer Lee had worked for the CIA for many years and faded out of public view after retirement, making his information relatively accessible.

But the problem was, the old man now suffered from severe dementia, with memories that were hit or miss, often forgetting even who he was.

When 'Gray Shark' relayed Thomas's request to Zhou Qingfeng, the latter was dumbfounded, "You want me to find Hammer?

The guy who's supposed to be in a nursing home but gets all fired up to save America, who took thirty million dollars from me but can't remember anything?"

Despite Hammer Lee's poor mental state, he was likely the only one who knew 'Dias's' true identity and perhaps could unveil the mystery of the 'Tree of Justice.'

However, the issue was, since taking money from Zhou Qingfeng, Hammer had disappeared without a trace, sending no further contact.

"This is a real hassle. An old man who can't even remember who he is might hold the most crucial secret.

If I were Dias, I'd likely just kill that old man who knows too much but isn't useful."

In the intel Thomas provided, there was one piece of information inferred through big data that surprised Zhou Qingfeng — the old man once had a son, who died ten years ago.

But..."That old man actually lied to me; he has a granddaughter?!"