Chapter 874: Retaliation

In M Country, Washington, inside an ordinary conference room, cold white lights reflected off two somber faces, the air so oppressive it made one gasp for breath.

CIA head Pete Feng slammed an intelligence file onto the desktop and said in a deep voice: "Our intelligence network, training camp commanders, and mercenaries deployed across Southeast Asia have all been wiped out. All of this is thanks to your group. We cooperated with you on seven secret missions, and now the whole line has collapsed. Which mission exactly invited such crazy retaliation from the opponent? Have you investigated it?"

The man sitting opposite had a typical Jewish face; he was Eliezer Cohen, a core executive of the Black Stone Group.

"We have locked onto three operations with the highest suspicion. The First Team was ordered to assassinate the Huaxia target Liu Siman; during the operation, they encountered an extremely powerful ambush, and only one person from the whole team managed to escape back, but even that person died mysteriously later... Immediately after, Zhang Suquan's manor was bombed into ruins; this team was very likely subjected to the opponent's retaliation. The Second Team infiltrated Babylon Province to assassinate core officials of the local intelligence department; the operation was completely exposed, and all participating personnel were killed. The Third Team traveled far to Europe with the target being a key political figure in Yugoslavia; after the operation ended, the entire group went completely missing... As it stands, the organization attacking the Southeast Asian intelligence system most likely originated from one of these three operations. In my view, Yugoslavia is the most suspicious..."

"Trying to investigate them one by one is as difficult as ascending to heaven. We currently lack the capability for that," Pete Feng said, knitting his brows tightly.

Elize's eyes suddenly turned ruthless: "Since we can't clarify the source, there's no need to distinguish anymore. Mobilize personnel to launch retaliation against all three forces simultaneously and completely eliminate the hidden danger."

"Are you crazy?" Pete raised his eyes abruptly, his tone full of vigilance, "We have already lost a large number of personnel; if we act rashly again, how much more of a price will we have to pay? If we push the opponent to a dead end, who can guarantee they won't strike directly at our domestic headquarters and turn this place upside down?"

Hearing this, Elize pursed his lips and fell into silence.

After a long while, Pete rubbed his throbbing temples and said: "I always feel that this group of people who took action is the long-dormant Shadowers organization. Could they have reappeared in the world?"

"Impossible," Elize shook his head immediately, "Counting it up, that group of core figures is now well over fifty, old and frail. Even if their skills were top-notch back then, at this age, it's hard to have the strength of the past."

Pete nodded slowly: "What you say has some truth. But this matter must be investigated in secret; we must not act rashly."

"We have already invested in four smartphone R&D technology companies, but their technology is consistently inferior to Huaxia's. Once the opponent monopolizes the future mobile phone industry, the consequences will be unimaginable," Elize said with a grave expression, "If we don't eradicate that mobile phone chip company in Huaxia, we will be very passive."

Pete shook his head: "You can't just send people to assassinate whoever has leading technology, can you?"

"This is the most direct method; all other paths are too time-consuming and laborious," Elize said.

"Your way of doing things has already touched our bottom line and harmed our interests. We will not cooperate on this matter for now, and don't think about coercing us again," Pete said with a firm attitude.

Inside Shijingshan Amusement Park, Deputy Director Liu had just stepped off the pirate ship, and his stomach immediately churned violently.

His chest felt like it was blocked by a lump of wet cotton, making him unable to breathe, his throat tightened in waves, and sour fluid kept surging upward.

He stood holding the railing for a few seconds, his face deathly pale, his head buzzing.

"Teacher Liu, let's go ride the roller coaster!" Jiang Leyao hopped over, her eyes shining like two stars, her cheeks still carrying the excited flush from just finishing the pirate ship.

Deputy Director Liu hurriedly waved his hands vigorously, his voice even trembling slightly: "Don't, don't go... If you drag me up there again, I'll surely die here today." He clutched his chest, feeling his heart racing in waves, "My heart really can't take it anymore."

But Jiang Leyao didn't care at all; she grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward the roller coaster with a smile: "Let's go, let's go, just play once, it's really interesting!"

Deputy Director Liu couldn't refuse her and could only grit his teeth and follow.

The two did not know that a man holding a camera not far away was using a telephoto lens to capture their figures without a moment's pause.

Zhao Weiguo had been secretly tailing them for several days.

This Jiang Leyao was truly a handful—if she wasn't hanging out at amusement parks, visiting movie theaters, she was frequenting high-end restaurants or strolling through luxury shops downstairs at the World Trade Center.

Although Deputy Director Liu had indeed saved up quite a bit of money running private training classes over the years, he couldn't withstand this kind of squandering; a thousand or eight hundred yuan flowed out like water in a single day.

After getting off the roller coaster, Deputy Director Liu couldn't hold on anymore.

He stumbled toward a patch of bushes, bent over, and vomited violently, throwing up the breakfast he had eaten that morning completely, the pungent smell spreading all around.

Zhao Weiguo put down the camera and cursed coldly in a low voice: "To be in such poor health and still thinking about hooking up with a young girl, he really doesn't know his own limits."

Jiang Leyao was quite clever; she hurriedly stepped forward to hug Deputy Director Liu's arm, while her other hand gently patted his back, her voice soft enough to drip water: "I'm sorry, Teacher Liu, it's all my fault for being playful; I didn't know your body couldn't handle this..."

Deputy Director Liu straightened up, took out a tissue to wipe his mouth, feeling a bit embarrassed, and said stubbornly: "It's not that my body is poor; I've never been able to ride these swaying amusement facilities since I was a child; it's just how I am naturally."

Jiang Leyao's eyes turned slightly red, and her voice carried a bit of a choke: "Teacher Liu, you suffered this for me... I will definitely treat you well when we go back."

Deputy Director Liu looked at her exquisite face, his heart warmed, and he blurted out: "You are also very good, giving me a feeling of an old man marrying a young bride."

Jiang Leyao froze for a moment, her cheeks instantly turning bright red; she raised her hand to tap him lightly and said coquettishly: "You old rascal, you're really bad!"

One feigning shyness and the other grinning foolishly, the two looked exceptionally intimate.

In the distance, Zhao Weiguo put down the camera, looked at this scene through the viewfinder, curled his lips, and spat out a few words coldly: "Old thing, you don't have many peaceful days left, cherish them well."

Half a month later, Zhao Weiguo threw a bulging paper bag onto Ma Rui's desk and clapped his hands: "Everything inside is complete; it's enough to topple this Deputy Director Liu."

Ma Rui didn't rush to open the paper bag and looked up at him.

"But this old thing has long been divorced; at most, it counts as corrupt conduct and moral deficiency, so it's basically impossible for him to be sentenced to prison," Zhao Weiguo lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, "At worst, he'll just be dismissed from public office; that's the maximum penalty."

Ma Rui nodded slightly, "I understand that; I actually don't hate him that much, but..."

He didn't continue.

Zhao Weiguo exhaled a smoke ring and suddenly lowered his voice: "By the way, I also found out one thing—this Deputy Director Liu has an exceptionally close relationship with Li Xiang's mother."

Ma Rui raised an eyebrow: "Could it be that he is Li Xiang's biological father?"

Zhao Weiguo shook his head: "I checked briefly; it's not that kind of relationship. Deputy Director Liu was adopted by his cousin's family since he was young; this cousin treated him very well, providing for his food and drink, and paying for his schooling."

After listening, Ma Rui was silent for a moment and sighed softly: "Looking at it this way, Deputy Director Liu helping Li Xiang everywhere, I don't hate him as much anymore. This person, after all, still values family affection. But I ask myself, I have never offended him, yet he targeted me time and again; this point I still cannot let go of. I will still send the items out."