Invasion of the United States

The two thugs felt like they had been granted a reprieve, scrambling away in a panic. Zhou Qingfeng watched their retreating backs, shook his head, picked up the scattered bags on the ground, and turned to walk back.

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When Zhou Qingfeng returned with the stolen items in just a couple of minutes, both Lucy and the old man expressed their surprise.

But...

"This is the first time in my life I've seen someone handle a case so efficiently." The old man was a bit skeptical and whispered to Lucy, "Are you sure this kid is FBI?"

"He should be... I'm not sure either," Lucy hesitated to give a definite answer. "I've never seen such a good federal agent."

"How did you meet him?" the old man continued to ask.

"He suddenly came to me, said he wanted to investigate some matters. I told him I knew nothing, and then he left. But..." Lucy approximately described how Zhou Qingfeng had appeared.

The old man immediately made a judgment, "This kid is definitely not FBI. Real FBI agents aren't so good-tempered. If they really wanted to investigate you, they'd take you away directly."

Lucy lightly nodded, "I think so too."

When Zhou Qingfeng came back carrying the bags, the old man immediately put on a smile, thanked him continuously, and retrieved his wallet. "Young man, thank you so much, you've really helped a lot!"

Lucy also patted Zhou Qingfeng's shoulder with an excited expression: "Well done! I knew you could handle it!"

There was more than one recovered bag, and some had phones or business cards in them. The old man recognized some of the owners.

Lucy made some calls. Before long, several people arrived one after another in the parking lot, each with a look of surprise and gratitude.

However, all the owners were highly suspicious of Zhou Qingfeng afterward — could there really be such an 'FBI dedicated to serving the people'? They've never seen it!

But the benefit of this 'help' was that Lucy allowed Zhou Qingfeng to temporarily stay with her, even letting him live in her apartment, so he could be notified immediately if there was any news about her grandfather, Hammer Lee.

Zhou Qingfeng suddenly found Hammer's granddaughter a bit interesting. At first glance, she seemed naive, but she was actually just like her grandfather: silently digging pits for someone to fall into.

Could this be a family trait?!

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Lucy's financial condition was quite difficult; she lived in a dilapidated apartment where the paint on the walls was peeling, and the floorboards creaked.

She worked two jobs day and night to barely make enough money to support herself. The burdens of life weighed heavily on her, but she never complained, remaining quite optimistic.

At six-thirty the next morning, while it was still dim outside, Lucy struggled to get up from bed, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and prepared to go out for her first job.

Zhou Qingfeng was sleeping on the couch in the living room. Unwilling to follow Lucy around like a tagalong, he simply took out two thousand US Dollars in cash and bought her next week's work time.

Lucy was stunned for a moment, then took the money and asked playfully, "What's this? A special FBI grant?"

"Just consider it a special witness protection fee. I think you're currently in danger, and I don't want you running around. Also, think carefully about where your grandfather might be."

When it came to spending money, Zhou Qingfeng was not stingy at all.

But that wasn't all, was it?

At eight-thirty in the morning, Mr. Ande came to the door again, bringing along an anxious middle-aged man.

The man's face was full of fatigue, his eyes sunken, clearly not having slept well for several days. As soon as he came in, he said anxiously:

"Inspector, my daughter ran away from home a week ago. I reported it to the police, but they said my daughter's condition is fine, she just doesn't want to come home."

What?

Zhou Qingfeng felt a bit bewildered — 'Gray Shark's' crash course on being an 'FBI agent in three days' didn't cover this! He instinctively touched his chin, pondering how to handle this.

Mr. Ande added on the side: "Inspector Victor, this is my neighbor. His daughter is only fifteen and suddenly ran away from home. We're really at our wit's end, so we came to you for help."

Zhou Qingfeng muttered to himself, "What is this? I'm here to perform a mission, how did I become a community mediator?"

But he remained calm on the outside, asking, "Was there anything unusual before your daughter left home? Arguments with anyone, or any strange behavior?"

The middle-aged man shook his head, his voice hoarse: "No, she just disappeared suddenly. I searched all her friends' houses but didn't find her. The police said she's fine, but I'm just not at ease..."

Zhou Qingfeng sighed, feeling somewhat helpless. He took out his phone and called 'Gray Shark,' briefly explaining the situation.

On the other end of the phone, 'Gray Shark' listened and then commented: "Teenagers are very rebellious at this age. Most likely, she ran off to a friend's house to have fun.

The police confirmed she isn't missing or harmed, so they indeed refuse to provide her current information. It's a kind of political correctness here in the United States, emphasizing freedom."

Zhou Qingfeng frowned and asked, "What should I do now?" Helpuscontinuebyreadingatthesource:MV2LEMPYR.

'Gray Shark' chuckled, "You don't need to bother with this kind of thing, nor should you seek my help. I only deal with shady businesses, and I only have connections in Miami.

Outside of Miami, there's not much I can do to help."

To make things worse, 'Gray Shark' added, "If you really want to handle this, it's not impossible.

Behind you are the "dog dog" agents of the Ministry of Efficiency. They may be weak in law enforcement, but in investigations, they're formidable, even more so than the Department of Homeland Security.

You should ask Captain Thomas; he certainly has a way to investigate."

One sentence awakened the "dreamer."

Zhou Qingfeng felt a bit of righteous indignation. It's unacceptable for a teenager to run away from home just because her father wouldn't let her do drugs, party, or engage in promiscuity.

He actually called Thomas and briefly explained the situation.

On the other end, when Thomas heard Zhou Qingfeng asking for help to find a runaway girl, he turned pale.

He gritted his teeth and said, "You're a nationwide wanted man. Don't casually call me!

This kind of thing should be handled by local police. Why do you need to step in? Your primary job is to find Hammer Lee."

Zhou Qingfeng was silent for a moment, then asked, "Thomas, you're a father too, right? What would you do if your child was so rebellious that they ran away from home?

Wait until she's addicted to drugs, diseases, sores, surrounded by trash, and her life completely ruined at a young age before trying to save her?"

Thomas was taken aback and didn't speak for a while.

Zhou Qingfeng continued, "If you don't help, I'll consider you heartless, no better than the Tree of Justice's Dias.

Our cooperation will end here, and I'll find another way to deal with those threatening me. If we ever become enemies, I won't show mercy."

After a few seconds, Thomas sighed and said, "Send me the girl's information. Give me five minutes."

It didn't even take five minutes. In just two minutes, Zhou Qingfeng received an address and a web link.

The address was just two blocks away, not far at all.

The web link led to a social media account, full of party photos, alcohol, sound systems, and marijuana.

The girl they were looking for was there, but didn't seem to fit in well, suggesting there was still hope for her.

Zhou Qingfeng forwarded the address and link to the father, saying, "Your daughter is here. Her friends don't look like good people."

The father, relieved to find his daughter alive, thanked him profusely, "Thank you so much, Inspector! You've been a great help!"

Zhou Qingfeng waved it off, saying indifferently, "No need to thank me. Go find her quickly."

The father nodded repeatedly and turned to leave.

As he walked out of Lucy's apartment door, he spoke to Mr. Ande, who had led the way, "This FBI inspector is excellent. Thankfully, he's a fake."

Mr. Ande smiled, shrugged, and replied softly, "Yes, a fake is better; a fake can actually help us."

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At that moment, a station wagon drove past the apartment building where Lucy lived. Two seemingly ordinary 'Cleaners' sat inside, surveying the apartment and its surroundings carefully.

"Hammer's granddaughter lives here; she must know where the old man is hiding. But there are many residents in this building, making it tricky to act."

"No worries, we're official personnel. We can go straight to her door and take her away. If she resists, we can arrest her; after all, she has a criminal record."