Chapter 293: Chapter 207: Heading to Siam (First Update)
Manchester, Moritz received a call from the CIA headquarters back home that day.
When the video communication opened, appearing on the computer screen was Moritz’s direct supervisor, Judith, the Deputy Director of the CIA.
After the video connection was established, Judith’s face was gloomy, like the sky dense with dark clouds.
“BOSS, your expression, what happened?”
A sense of alarm struck Moritz’s heart; he wondered if he had recently done something wrong to offend his immediate superior.
“Tijuana has been provocatively challenging us at the Mexico border over the past two days, causing multiple bloody incidents, with significant casualties on the side of the border police.
Just before this video conference with you, the military and the White House were questioning how the CIA operates, how we failed to detect any intelligence. Moritz, can you answer me?”
Judith pulled out a stack of photos, her gaze sharp as a blade, staring intensely at Moritz, applying pressure.
Looking at the photos of the killed border police and the provocative writing in blood on the walls, Moritz felt an inexplicable sting in his heart, a sense of infuriation as if he experienced it himself.
But as a former veteran agent, Moritz quickly regained his calm.
“BOSS, this is Jieke Group’s response to our recent actions. Our establishment of the Asia-Pacific Eight Nation Alliance has angered Jieke Group.”
Moritz said in a steady voice, quickly understanding the reasons behind it.
The Beautiful Country’s pressure on Jieke Group led them to use the Tijuana Group, which they supported in Mexico, to cause trouble at the Beautiful Country’s border as a form of retaliation.
“However, we cannot retreat. The more they show their fury and try to use bloodshed to intimidate us, the more it shows that we have indeed hit their sore spot. We should not only keep up the blockade against Jieke Group but also increase our efforts.”
Moritz’s speech grew faster, not because he harbored deep hatred for Jieke Group.
It was because the existence of Jieke Group obstructed the nation’s interests and had to be eliminated.
“The higher-ups are very dissatisfied with your performance. So much funding has been spent with little to show for it. Tell me, do you have any high-value intelligence recently?”
In response to Moritz’s analysis, Judith nodded slightly. A ceasefire was out of the question; these losses would not intimidate the Beautiful Country.
The Beautiful Country had sustained significant casualties in the Middle East and the Vietnam War as well but managed to endure.
Although eventually withdrawing in defeat, they at least held out for several years.
“There’s a new discovery.”
Moritz produced a stack of documents, the photos on them showing a construction site undergoing renovation.
“Recently, Jieke Group has been ostentatiously working on some Ghost House, earmarking several thousand acres of land, with unclear intentions.”
“Did the satellites pick up anything?”
Judith immediately perked up and conjectured, “Could it be that under the guise of building a ghost house, they’re actually planning to deploy missile bases, radar, and military facilities? Jieke Group has the world’s top underground excavation technology, we cannot afford to be complacent.”
“So far, there has been no such discovery. Satellites and our agents have been monitoring the area, and the vehicles entering and leaving aren’t military, but we do not rule out new developments following. We will continue to watch. BOSS, to prevent future problems, we should cut off Jieke Group’s external military supply routes to facilitate future warfare.”
Moritz responded; he felt that Jieke Group wouldn’t invest so much effort into constructing a Ghost House, it was likely a cover for other purposes.
Moritz was concerned that if the other side deployed radar and missiles, Jieke Group always acted like a nouveau riche, similar to those from the Middle East with their turbans, who liked to spend money to buy what they couldn’t produce themselves.
“I will notify the navy to intensify the naval blockade. Even if it’s Russian vessels trying to breach, have them directly detained.”
Judith gave her reliable right-hand man a guarantee.
In the last clash with Jieke Group, the CIA had discovered that most of Jieke Group’s armaments were Russian models.
The Old Russians have been opposed to the Beautiful Country for so many years, with these two foes continuing their rivalry since the Cold War.
Those Slavs have always upheld a principle: any organization or power that displeases the Beautiful Country definitely gets support from us, the Russians.
After discussing this matter, Judith suddenly brought up another topic.
“Moritz, regarding the lab, you need to be more attentive and provide more support to their research.”
Upon hearing this, Moritz subconsciously said, “BOSS, did those scientists tattle on me?”
“That’s hardly the case!”
Judith waved her hand off, explaining, “You know that behind those scientists stand the various pharmaceutical giants, with complex intertwined relationships and interests.
Now, those companies have been piqued by Strengthening Pill and Parasites, looking to research something related to longevity.
They’ve also provided us at the CIA with significant operational funds, so it’s in our best interest to produce some results to avoid allegations of collecting money without doing work.”
“That Strengthening Pill does not extend life, it only temporarily enhances the body after ingestion. The same principle applies to Parasites. Just think, having such a creature lying on your heart, sucking your blood and nutrients, definitely won’t lead to longevity; it might even reduce lifespan.”
Moritz looked speechless; those tycoons were just afraid of death.
They used to be keen on investing in cutting-edge life sciences, studying things like anti-aging drugs, telomeres, genetic engineering, and so on.
Now that they’ve seen something new at Jieke Company, they’ve heatedly shifted their focus to longevity, but these two matters don’t relate at all.