Chapter 149: Livelihood and the New Energy Era

East entrance of the White House.

The Secret Service agents stationed here, as if already notified, opened the gate in advance, allowing nine SUVs to glide into the White House.

The convoy drove straight to the plaza outside the White House Diplomatic Reception Hall.

It halted.

The doors opened, and another group of Secret Service agents carrying black briefcases stepped out.

But these agents were all familiar faces.

At the front walked the solemn, muscular Chris, whose left cheekbone bore the scar shaped like a slash and a dot.

Behind him were Ji Er, dressed in a light‑blue shirt under a black women's suit, along with nine members of the Ka Rong Task Force.

In addition to Ka Rong, more than ten intelligence officers who had infiltrated the Secret Service years earlier under the arrangement of the Red Queen and White Queen, and six accompanying technicians, were present.

Since the United States still publicly plays the "big boss" role, out of respect Umbrella dispatched the Ka Rong Task Force to personally handle the operation.

The group disguised as Secret Service agents entered the White House interior unimpeded.

Many civilian staff working at the White House, upon seeing familiar agents, would smile in goodwill, and the agents returned the smiles.

Soon.

Chris, Ji Er and their party arrived at the West Wing of the White House.

Four agents stationed outside the Oval Office, upon seeing Chris and the others, nodded and proactively cleared the way.

It seemed those four agents were also Umbrella intelligence officers.

In fact, since the Red Queen successfully breached the United States' military network, Umbrella has been covertly preparing today's operation.

Nearly four years passed, enough for the Red Queen and White Queen to complete a series of arrangements.

Knock, knock. Chris symbolically knocked on the door.

Immediately, without waiting for the President and cabinet ministers inside to respond, he pushed the door open and surged into the office with Ji Er and the others.

?

While Graham, Ke En and others were discussing how to fully sanction Umbrella, they clearly did not expect the agents to barge in.

Graham rose from his seat, looked at one of the agents, and asked anxiously:

"Jia Li Sen, did something happen to Ashlee?"

The agent Graham called Jia Li Sen was the team leader responsible for the safety of the President's daughter, Ashlee·Ge La Han Mu.

Most of the agents present were team members tasked with Ashlee's protection.

Graham may not be a good President, but he is certainly a good single father, accompanying his daughter whenever he has free time.

Seeing the original protectors of his daughter appear here made Graham's heart lift instantly.

However, Graham also noticed the completely unfamiliar faces of Chris, Ji Er, Ma Li Ni and others.

As a politician, Graham knew the protectors had betrayed him.

"No, sir," the intelligence officer codenamed Jia Li Sen shook his head, "Ashlee is safe."

As the dialogue continued, Ka Rong, the last to enter the office, casually closed the door.

The four agents still stationed outside continued their guard duty, maintaining a poker face that said "no entry," indifferent to the office's situation.

Inside the office.

All the ministers, including Ke En and Li Qi, stood up, their expressions stern as they confronted Ka Rong and the intelligence officers.

But everyone knew.

Since Ka Rong and the intelligence officers could reach here, it meant all surveillance systems had failed, and no outsider could intervene.

"Jia Li Sen, I don't think I've ever wronged you or your people,"

Graham scanned the intelligence officers present, questioning.

"Not at all, sir. On the contrary, you're an excellent superior, which is why we're here, hoping you'll be re‑elected,"

The intelligence officer codenamed Jia Li Sen spoke those words with sincere and earnest tone.

"Mr. President," Chris interjected at that moment, "we will now perform a procedure on you and your ministers, and we hope you will cooperate."

Speaking, Ka Rong and the intelligence officers opened their briefcases, revealing the tools, drugs and sterilization equipment required for the brainwashing procedure.

The six technicians first drew the curtains, then opened their briefcases and took out sterilization gear to disinfect the office.

"You are…" Seeing the technicians' skill, Graham said gravely to Chris, "people of Umbrella."

"Yes." Chris did not deny.

Receiving the affirmative reply, Graham's demeanor steadied; he sat back at the sturdy desk, appearing calmly resigned to his fate.

He regained the composure expected of the U. S. President and said, "I want to know what Umbrella's true purpose is. Is it merely to satisfy the board you serve, a selfish desire to control the world?"

He asked the necessary question, while also grossly unsettling Chris.

Although Graham knew that Chris and his team's presence meant they would not be swayed by words,

they still had to try; who knows?

"A selfish desire?" Before Chris could answer, Ji Er, standing aside, said with unmistakable disdain,

"Then, Mr. President, how do you view the Gulf War of years past and the involvement in the Somali civil war?"

"To defend democracy and freedom," Graham gave the standard reply.

"Enough," Ji Er said, too lazy to continue.

She, as an A‑level employee of Umbrella, naturally knew that the President and other officials were merely puppets placed on the surface by behind‑the‑scenes family and corporate forces.

"Mr. President," Chris said, "I have no comment on the superfluous matters, but I can tell you clearly that Umbrella has never been interested in so‑called politics or power.

After the procedure, the President and everyone present will forget the unpleasantness caused by us; in the future, you will only need to focus on America's livelihood development, without worrying about behind‑the‑scenes capital manipulation."

As the dialogue ended, the technicians began the outpatient‑style brainwashing procedure on Graham, Ke En, Li Qi and the other ministers.

After all, Umbrella's brainwashing procedure, since its debut, has become an extremely refined biotech.

The press conference far away in Raccoon City suffered no impact from the White House incident.

Inside the seventh‑floor stairwell conference room of Umbrella's new headquarters building.

"Everyone," the female spokesperson said to the crowd on site and to the viewers in front of televisions and computer screens, her face showing a professional smile.

"Currently, Umbrella has already secured cooperation with the United States and multiple other governments, and in the near future humanity will fully enter a green, high‑efficiency new‑energy era."

(End of chapter)