I, the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, am being kept by the state.

The global media has gone crazy.

Shocking! CIA Headquarters Disappears from Map, "Langley Volcano" Appears in Virginia! — CNN

"A Geological Disaster of the Century, or an Unknown Attack? The U.S. Geological Survey Remains Silent" — BBC

"Langley Volcano: The End of Science" - Time Magazine Cover

High-resolution satellite images and aerial photographs from the scene were spread to every corner of the internet.

In the footage, the building complex that once symbolized global intelligence hegemony is now half collapsed and half melted, completely swallowed by dark red lava and towering volcanic ash.

A group of top geologists, dressed in silver-white heat-resistant suits, stood several kilometers away on a safety line, staring at each other in bewilderment at the illogical, wildly fluctuating data on their instruments.

"This is not scientifically sound!"

An academician with white hair stared intently at the real-time transmitted map of the Earth's crustal structure, his voice trembling.

"There's a solid, stable layer of granite underneath! How could there be a volcano? It's like... like it just appeared out of nowhere!"

No one could answer him.

At this moment, science seems so pale and powerless.

……

The White House, Situation Room.

The atmosphere was so heavy it seemed like it could drip water.

"Bang!"

The newly inaugurated president slammed his hand on the conference table, his well-maintained face turning a deep purplish-red, his eyes bloodshot.

"Can someone explain to me why our intelligence center has turned into a damn barbecue grill?!"

"And this too!"

He slammed a document onto the center of the table. "A diplomatic note from China! Strongly worded, demanding an explanation from us for this 'terrorist attack'! They're laughing at us! The whole world is laughing at us!"

All eyes were on Burns at the end of the conference table.

The once high-spirited CIA director was now deathly pale, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

"Mr. President...this...this is an unpredictable geological disaster..."

His voice was dry and weak.

"Geological disaster?"

The president let out a harsh laugh, walked around the conference table, stepped up to Burns, leaned down, and growled almost into his ear.

"On the same night you ordered an attack on the Chinese Temple, a volcano sprang up in front of your headquarters?"

"You call this a coincidence?"

Burns shuddered, his lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a single word.

The president straightened up, his eyes devoid of any warmth, only cold decisiveness remaining.

"Burns, you're fired."

"Congress will establish a special investigation committee, and from now on you must cooperate with all investigations."

"Get out."

Burns was struck dumb, frozen in place.

He wanted to say something, but found that his throat felt like it was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand.

Amidst the pity or schadenfreude of his colleagues, he was "invited" out of the situation room by two Marines.

The moment the door closed, he heard the president's tired and angry voice.

"Replace him with the deputy director! Tell the Chinese people that we've caught a 'madman trying to sabotage relations between the two countries,' and we'll give them an explanation!"

Burns' legs went weak, and he was practically dragged away by the soldiers.

He knew he was finished.

He wasn't destroyed by that dragon.

He was discarded without hesitation, treated like trash, by the very country he had sworn allegiance to.

……

Capitol Hill, closed-door hearing.

There were no reporters, no flashbulbs, only cold questioning and piercing gazes.

Burns sat in the witness stand wearing an ill-fitting suit, his hair gray and his eyes unfocused. In just a few days, he seemed to have aged twenty years.

"Former Director,"

A seasoned senator slowly flipped through the documents, but his tone was aggressive.

"Based on the information we've obtained, both 'Ghost's' operations and 'Prometheus' project are the result of your bypassing of normal procedures and acting arbitrarily. Do you admit it?"

"I……"

"We have testimonies from dozens of senior CIA officials,"

The congressman interrupted him, throwing a stack of documents on the table. "They all objected to your crazy plans, but you suppressed them."

"Do you plead guilty?"

Burns suddenly looked up at the gallery.

Those deputies and supervisors who used to fawn over him now all avoided his gaze, their faces filled with indifference.

betray.

A complete and utter betrayal.

A metallic taste of blood rose in his throat, and Burns' reason completely collapsed at that moment.

He suddenly stood up, braced his hands on the table, and roared at the politicians filling the room with a ferocious expression.

"A madman? I'm the most lucid one!"

"You bunch of idiots have no idea what we're dealing with!"

"That's a dragon! A living god that can control lightning and create volcanoes! It's in China! It's protecting that country!"

His voice echoed in the solemn and dignified hearing hall, sounding so sharp and jarring.

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

The expressions on the members of parliament shifted from astonishment to absurdity, and finally to undisguised contempt and pity.

That's enough.

The committee chairman, seated at the head of the table, tapped his gavel, his face contorted with disgust. "A crazy scapegoat."

"Take him away."

"No! You will regret this! You will destroy this country!"

Burns struggled hysterically, but two strong security guards rushed up and grabbed his arms on either side.

"Let me go! I'm telling the truth! God... God really exists! Science can't kill it! Ah—!"

He was forcibly dragged along like a stray dog, leaving a pathetic trail on the ground.

The desperate and frantic screams gradually faded behind the heavy door.

……

Top Secret Meeting Room.

The hearing was being broadcast live on a huge screen on the wall.

As Burns was dragged out, someone in the room couldn't help but mutter, "Serves him right."

Chen Dong picked up the remote and turned off the screen.

The room returned to silence.

He didn't laugh; instead, his expression was more serious than ever.

He looked around at everyone present, and slowly began to speak. His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"We're not watching a joke."

"We are witnessing the madness and incompetence of a former empire in the face of absolute power."

Zhao Wenjin pushed up his glasses, and his expression became serious.

Chen Dong walked to the window, looked at the clear sky outside, and his voice carried a cold warning.

"Never underestimate a madman cornered. When they realize that all their methods have failed, they will become even more unscrupulous and have no bottom line."

"Remember, even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit."

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines, and the slight sense of relief they had felt from their victory vanished instantly.

Just then, a rapid telephone ring broke the silence of the room.

It was that red, top-secret telephone.

Chen Dong walked over quickly and answered the phone.

"explain."

"Lord Dragon Lord, something's up."