Starting from South America, speeding through the world

Chapter 154 Radiant
"I'm not trying to expose your weaknesses, I just want to tell you that I know more than you think."

"Take a small incident from eighteen years ago as an example."

"You, or more accurately, James."

"More than $500 million in special technology budgets were allocated under the guise of 'prototype testing of tactical environment visualization system'."

"On paper, the money was split into thirty-nine sub-contracts, distributed among six defense contractors."

"But what is the reality? Only seven projects are actually in operation. The remaining thirty-two are either outsourced shells or authorized but unexecuted projects."

Guess where all the money went in the end?

"Carter?"

Lucas broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

Where the hell did this weirdo come from?

How can someone know so much about their past?

Those things didn't leave a single record in the system.

"."

"you"

He opened his mouth with difficulty, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Zhou Yi smiled. "Do you need me to continue?"

"For example, Bahrain and Djibouti."

Do these two place names remind you of anything?

"."

Lucas sat stiffly on the sofa, staring intently at Zhou Yi, his face ashen.

The living room fell silent.

Finally, he asked in a low voice, "Who are you? Why are you looking for me?"

Seeing this, Zhou Yi walked over from beside the fireplace and sat down in the chair opposite him:

"Treat me as a friend."

“And as a friend,” he said, “you have to do me a favor.”

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but Lucas still didn't dare to utter a sound.

"I need information, insider intelligence about Republican candidates, including their schedules, private security arrangements, and encrypted communication nodes."

"besides--"

Seeing Lucas's strange expression, Zhou Yi couldn't help but laugh.

After a long pause, he regained his composure and said, "Specific security arrangements at the White House level."

"Travel routes, deployment orders, and everything else you can think of."

Upon hearing this, Lucas frowned: "Since you know me so well, you should know that it's not within my jurisdiction at all."

"I'm not with the Secret Service, and I certainly can't command the Department of Homeland Security."

“Don’t try to lie to me, Lucas Theodore Carter,” Zhou Yi’s voice turned cold.

"At this level, you can attend ODNI meetings every month."

"What's more, there's your college roommate too."

"You should know better than anyone where he is right now."

Upon hearing this, Lucas's eyes flickered slightly.

"Of course, if you still choose to deny it after hearing all this,"

Zhou Yi softened his tone slightly, "Then I can only remind you of one thing."

As he spoke, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and placed it on the table.

Above is a line of printed text:
—Ethan Carter, West Point, '27

Upon seeing the name, Lucas's pupils constricted sharply.

"He's a good boy."

Zhou Yi said calmly, "As your eldest son, he is intelligent, disciplined, and has a promising future."

"Your wife often says he's like you when you were young, at least on the surface."

Zhou Yi paused for a few seconds, then concluded meaningfully:
"So, what if he gets caught up in some kind of misfortune?"

"Whether it's a car accident, an emergency, or a training mishap, it will all be a regrettable tragedy."

"I guess you don't want that either, right?" "."

"."

Lucas's Adam's apple bobbed, and after a moment of silence, he slowly nodded.

The man in front of me clearly belongs to an extremely powerful system.

The fact that they can reveal almost everything about their past is enough to explain everything.

Damn it, that even included events from the last century, some of which he had almost completely forgotten.

He didn't think about it any further.

The intelligence wasn't his, nor was the country.

Only the son is truly one's own.

How can I contact you?

Zhou Yi stood up, turned the note over, revealing a website address.

mkt
"Find a clean device, install the Tails system, and access it using this address after startup."

"When logging in, enter 'horace' as the invitation code."

"The data channel is based on the old *** model, and the entry point is automatically refreshed every 72 hours without leaving a fixed path."

"Anything you upload won't be detected by the federal censorship system and can bypass internal log management."

"There are some other tasks for you to handle later, and you can contact me in the same way."

"Please respond as soon as possible; I've never been a very patient person."

Lucas nodded again and picked up the note.

He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What exactly do you want with this information?"

Zhou Yi laughed, with a hint of sarcasm.

“Lucas, stop being so annoying and stop being so naive.”

"You're forty-nine years old, and you've been in this industry for almost thirty years. How come you still don't understand?"

"Never ask questions unless someone tells you to."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than footsteps came from the other end of the stairs.

Lucas looked up nervously and saw that it was his wife who had come downstairs.

The woman's hair was a little messy, and she was wearing a nightgown, so she had obviously just come out of the bedroom.

"Why haven't you left yet?" she complained casually, her tone tinged with a hint of tired dissatisfaction.

But when she entered the living room and realized the presence of the strange man, she froze, and hesitantly asked, "Who is this?"

Upon seeing this, Lucas immediately stood up and vaguely explained, "This is a work friend."

Zhou Yi turned around at that moment: "Sarah, it's been a long time. You're still as radiant as ever."

His tone was gentle and natural.

The woman's expression remained confused, but out of politeness, she nodded slightly and replied courteously, "Thank you. Would you like something to drink?"

Coffee, tea, or water?

Lucas's eyelids began to twitch, and seeing that the two were about to continue their pleasantries, he decisively interrupted them:
"He should go; I have other plans."

Her husband's sudden rudeness startled her. She forced a smile at the stranger to cover her embarrassment.

Zhou Yi, however, didn't seem to care at all.

He shrugged, gave a brief instruction to "remember to get things done," and walked towards the entrance, pushing open the door to leave.

Sarah watched the man's retreating figure until it completely disappeared into the night.

The villa returned to quiet.

Only then did she notice the cold sweat beading on Lucas's forehead, sliding down his temples.

A sense of unease rose within her. The woman lowered her voice and asked, "What's going on? Who is he? Should we call the police?"

Lucas shook his head slightly, turned his back to her, and put the note into his pocket.

"It's nothing," he said. "It's just work."

"I still have to go to the bureau, it'll take a while, don't wait for me today."

The woman noticed his deliberate avoidance and knew she shouldn't press him at this moment, so she could only silently hug him and kiss him goodbye as usual.

(End of this chapter)