Starting from South America, speeding through the world

Chapter 317 Gogwu

Pentagon.

The auditorium was dimly lit.

A group of contractors in suits stood near the entrance, talking in hushed tones.

They held business cards in their hands and wore "visitor" badges around their necks.

While speaking, he kept glancing around at the guests.

Soon, all eyes were drawn to the out-of-place Asian man in the distance.

"Who brought this?" one of them asked in a low voice, tilting his head curiously to indicate.

"Who knows, but those medals on his chest, damn it, five rows."

"Did you see the silver star? Three bronze stars with a V, and a purple heart."

The General Dynamics representative squinted and clicked his tongue.

"This kind of rack has a rank of only E-7."

"An E-7 can have a DMSM hanging on its chest?" the man said, shaking his head in amazement.

"Wait—let me see the designer brand. Hernandez Garcia."

"what?"

“I said his name was John Hernandez Garcia.”

A brief silence.

The group exchanged glances, their expressions turning somewhat strange.

After a moment, the representative from Northrop Grumman coughed awkwardly twice.

"The same last name as Lieutenant General Carter, isn't it?"

Zhou Yi didn't pay attention to the group of bored contractors.

He knew how conspicuous he would be in this situation, but he didn't care at all.

The air conditioner was turned up too high, and the cold air blowing in gave me goosebumps.

The band in front of the stage was tuning their instruments, the deep hum of the brass instruments mingling with the casual conversation.

Zhou Yi picked up the champagne on the table, tilted his head back and took two sips, then turned and strolled outside.

He took out his cigarette case, intending to go outside for some fresh air, but found that the metal door remained completely still.

At this moment, nearby staff noticed his actions and quickly reminded him:
"I'm sorry, sir, this exit is locked."

He thought for a moment and then added, "There is a smoking area outside after the event."

Zhou Yi gave him a polite smile and put the cigarette pack back into his pocket.

Lucas was staring intently at him.

He can feel it.

Sure enough, when I turned around, I saw him standing straight next to James, his gaze fixed on us, it was hard to tell whether he was wary or annoyed.

Zhou Yi ignored him and found a corner to wait for the ceremony to officially begin.

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from the side and behind:

"Why are you hiding here?"

He turned his head and saw Isabel walking quickly toward him.

She wore a light gray dress, walked slowly, and had a slightly teasing expression.

"Mom was just looking for you," she said. "You disappeared so quickly again."

Zhou Yi sighed.

“In these situations, Lucas would love for me to make myself less noticeable,” he said.

"Ha, he's always so neurotic, just like when he was a kid."

As soon as she finished speaking, Isabel leaned against the wall.

"However, I'm begging you, please move over a bit later, consider it a family reunion."

"You were gone when I came back for Christmas last year."

"Mom said you were working, but I later found out you went overseas."

Zhou Yi nodded. "You're quite well-informed."

“When have I ever lacked intelligence?” Isabel laughed.

"Especially when Lucas tries to show off his abilities."

Zhou Yi followed her gaze and found Lucas still standing there, looking radiant.

“So,” he turned back, “you just came from Colombia?”

"Arrived in Washington last night, having taken off from Florence."

"Florencia? Isn't that in the province of Caquetá?"

“Exactly.” Isabel exhaled.

"Departing from Florence, first to Bogotá, then transferring to Miami."

"A full twenty-four hours of travel. The plane was small, and we even encountered thunderstorms on the way. I almost thought we would have to spend the night in Cali."

"How's it going over there?" Zhou Yi asked with interest. "Is the Gogwu willing to cooperate with the DDR[1] project?" "If you were a member of Congress, I would say, 'Disarmament, demobilization, reintegration—every step is progressing steadily, local governments, the United Nations, and we are working closely together, and the outlook is optimistic.'"

Isabel took a breath, then whispered:

"But to be honest, it's a complete mess over there, forgive my profanity."

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow in surprise, signaling her to continue.

"First of all, the so-called 'handing over of weapons' is a joke."

"Many people handed over outdated hunting rifles, or even rusty rifles."

"We do have AKs and M16s, but the numbers are completely disproportionate."

"We can tell, but unfortunately we have no evidence, so we can only pretend to be ignorant."

"We were also instructed by our superiors to emphasize 'positive progress' in our press releases."

Zhou Yi paused for a moment: "It sounds similar to what you said in Haikou before."

"Pretty much, except the situation in Colombia is more complicated."

"Some of the FARC guerrillas genuinely want to return, but most see it as an opportunity to recuperate."

"They receive training during the day and commit robbery, drug trafficking, and extortion at night."

“USAID has poured a lot of money into that.” Zhou Yi stroked his chin.

"Starting with 'Plan Colombia,' it adds up to roughly seven billion?"

Isabel looked quite helpless.

"The problem isn't money. It's a structural issue that no amount of money can solve."

“There are no markets, no roads, and no electricity in rural areas.”

"Farmers are forced to rely on coca cultivation, yet they cannot alter the land's structure."

"In addition, there is a gap in national governance. Bogotá has policies, but it lacks sovereignty in the Amazon."

Zhou Yi shrugged and turned to look at her:

"You're starting to sound like a dependent theorist scholar, the one they teach at Georgetown?"

"No, these are the things you told me back then."

Isabel's lips were pressed tightly together, her eyes darting around.

“You once said you would go to South America with me, but later you dropped out of school to join the army, stood with Lucas, and left me at home.”

The air froze as soon as he said that.

Zhou Yi, however, remained calm and composed.

He seemed not to have heard the accusation and naturally changed the subject:

"So how long do you plan to stay in Washington this time?"

Isabel was starting to regret bringing up the old topic again.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Zhou Yi ask the question.

“About a week,” she said.

"I'm coming back this time to give a report to the USAID LAC Bureau."

"Perhaps I'll participate in a few more roundtable discussions, such as those with Brookings or CSIS."

At this point, Isabel stared at Zhou Yi, a sly smile on her face.

"By the way, I heard from Lucas that you bought a house in Potomac?"

Zhou Yi shrugged. "The intelligence system is still as useful as ever, isn't it?"

“Let me stay with you for a few days,” Isabel leaned closer. “You can’t really bear to see your sister suffer in a cold hotel, can you?”

“You can also go to Lucas’s place.” Zhou Yi remained unmoved. “He’s in Arlington, and his house is quite large.”

Upon hearing this, Isabel immediately waved her hand dramatically.

"Him? And Sarah? Spare me."

"The two of them talk about 'American leadership' all the time, as if they're still living in a Cold War propaganda book. It's driving people crazy."

Zhou Yi couldn't help but chuckle.

"So you're determined to stay in Potomac?" he asked.

“Of course,” Isabel replied matter-of-factly.

"If you reject me, that would be truly heartless."

"After the ceremony, I'll go to the hotel to pack my things, and then we'll go home."

“It might be an hour later,” Zhou Yi said casually. “I have some small business to take care of in Washington.”

"What is it?" she asked curiously.

Zhou Yi remained silent.

Isabel, not getting an answer, showed a look of realization.

"Let me guess, I don't have the necessary permissions?"

"My God, this is like a childhood comeback."

(End of this chapter)