CHAPTER 320: CHAPTER 10: RECRUITMENT (PART 2)

"Then..." The Chief of Staff was secretly astonished at Harden’s uncommon calmness. He steadied himself and continued:

"The Vice President is also intimidated by your tactics. He finds you somewhat... uncontrollable. But besides you, he really can’t find anyone else who can solve problems as cleanly and efficiently.

Once he holds power and sits securely in the White House, he’ll eventually kick you away like a used pawn."

"So..." Zhou Qingfeng remained indifferent, as if all he heard had nothing to do with him.

The Chief of Staff inadvertently exchanged glances with Harden, feeling a cold chill sweep over his body.

His gaze seemed devoid of any human emotion, looking at people as if staring at lifeless objects—Zhou Qingfeng was actually wearing contact lenses similar to ’colored contacts’.

The Chief of Staff couldn’t help but shiver, beginning to doubt if he had miscalculated, realizing that this man before him was impervious to coaxing or coercion.

But now that they’ve met and the words have been spoken, he could only muster his courage and continue, "Harden, you’ve been weaving your network of connections in Washington D.C. for a long time, even resorting to some... excessively harsh means.

Those who try to set you up eventually need someone above to report it to actually trip you up. The Vice President’s attitude toward you also requires someone to inform you.

Don’t you want to have your own network inside the White House too?"

"Oh..." Zhou Qingfeng let out a low hum, his cold expression finally showing some warmth.

He was quite unaccustomed to being actively courted by someone—he used to exhaust his mind to win others over, and today was the first time someone took the initiative to extend an olive branch.

"Sir, what do you want?" Zhou Qingfeng retorted.

The Chief of Staff pondered for a moment, lowering his voice: "Harden, how much do you know about Wayne Herbert and his ’X project’?"

"Not much," Zhou Qingfeng answered frankly, without concealment.

"The ’X project’ has an enhancement serum." The Chief of Staff’s tone suddenly became excited, "That thing is very dangerous, yet its effects are unbelievably strong.

I have some top-secret materials in hand, indicating Wayne Herbert has devised a groundbreaking biochemical product.

It greatly enhances the user’s physical functions, making them younger, stronger, and even longer-lived!

Do you know? After this pandemic, all bureaucratic classes are obsessed with the ’X project’. They know it’s dangerous, yet still desire it like moths to a flame."

The Chief of Staff sighed, continuing: "Wayne Herbert presumably sensed some danger, or perhaps had other ideas, as he actually hid with his entire team.

No, you cannot say they hid because there must be some powerful force secretly shielding him, making it impossible for us to find him now."

He then stared intently at Zhou Qingfeng, "Harden, your abilities are undoubtedly strong, but you lack a true foundation.

Currently, the Department of Homeland Security, the military intelligence bureau, and the FBI have all sent people to intervene in this matter, but I don’t think highly of those guys.

Your Ministry of Efficiency staff is too few to even count as a professional investigative agency.

But I can provide you with all necessary assistance, with the condition being that once you find the ’X’ enhancement serum, you must share a portion with me."

Zhou Qingfeng surprisingly asked: "What can you help me with?"

"I can use the name of the White House to help you mobilize the military, and I can even give your unformed ’volunteer’ team a formal establishment under the Special Service Bureau."

The Chief of Staff offered highly tempting conditions, "In this way, you will no longer be a powerless commander, but have an armed force that you can deploy.

By then, not only will you have power, but you’ll have the strength to match it."

Back then Ernst wanted to form a "medical volunteer" team.

But due to Fauci prematurely announcing the end of the pandemic, this team only recruited barely over a hundred people and stalled, now facing the crisis of disbandment.

Clearly, the Chief of Staff keenly noticed Harden’s oddly mismatched team and simply went with the flow, offering a formal establishment, allowing Zhou Qingfeng to legitimately command them.

Zhou Qingfeng’s thoughts quickly weighed the pros and cons.

A moment later, he smiled and extended his hand, tightly clasping it with the Chief of Staff: "May we have a pleasant cooperation!"

-----------------

After reaching a verbal collaboration with the Chief of Staff, the latter provided more detailed intelligence.

Wayne Herbert was like an octopus in the deep sea, having tightly entwined the bureaucratic class of Washington D.C. before disappearing.

His tentacles spanned fields of politics, business, military, education, and health, establishing intricate connections with various individuals, creating a large network of shared interests.

No wonder the ’countryman’ of the White House didn’t trust those bureaucrats because he was nearly entirely marginalized.

In contrast, Zhou Qingfeng’s methods seemed much more straightforward and brutal, like a bull barging into a china shop, knocking those high-ranking bureaucrats into disarray, forcing them to submit through relentless means.

These complex intelligence pieces were submitted in one fell swoop to ’Gray Shark’, allowing him to sift through the massive sea of data and pull out key clues.

"Victor, why are you looking for this person? Is he important?" "Gray Shark" asked from his wheelchair, while huge screens displayed cold numbers and graphs.

"Porter, do you want to stand up?" Zhou Qingfeng didn’t directly answer, throwing out an unattainable question instead.

’Gray Shark’ froze instantly.

Over the years, he had countless times longed to regain the ability to walk freely, but the harsh reality repeatedly drew him back to his cold wheelchair.

All the authoritative doctors once asserted that his necrotic nerves and atrophied leg muscles would never regain vitality.

But Zhou Qingfeng’s words were different.

"You’re saying the ’X’ enhancement serum... can let me stand?" ’Gray Shark’s’ breath became rapid.

"I can’t provide you any definite answer. But if that thing works for you, at least it can make you stronger, perhaps...stimulate your nerves and muscles to grow again."

Wow... ’Gray Shark’ let out consecutive faint calls, feeling an inexplicable tremor and a strong desire for physical recovery.

"Alright, let me check what’s really behind the ’X project’?"

He turned around, maneuvering the wheelchair towards the screen, and began to search for any trace related to Wayne Herbert in the extensive government network database.

"Pay attention to checking Libole in North Carolina, Dyersburg in Tennessee..." Zhou Qingfeng listed several place names in one breath.

These were locations he once escorted surviving refugees as an ’Undead’ mercenary ordered to, potentially hiding crucial clues about the ’X project’.

-----------------

After instructing ’Gray Shark’, Zhou Qingfeng sought out Ernst, asking, "How many of those ’volunteers’ do you still have?"

"Only about a dozen that can still be contacted," Ernst awkwardly scratched his head, "They all have families to care for, originally volunteering was to obtain some convenience. Now..."

Zhou Qingfeng listened thoughtfully, then asked, "Were your recruits from Washington D.C.?"

"Yes," Ernst answered blankly.

"Foolish," Zhou Qingfeng scolded with disappointment, "You recruited a bunch of well-off capital folks to be ’volunteers’, of course, they won’t do it."

Oh... Ernst suddenly realized, "I should recruit some people with less satisfactory lives to be ’volunteers’, right?"

Zhou Qingfeng grunted, instructing Ernst to find suitable recruits. But he still felt this ’gatekeeper’ wasn’t reliable, so he gritted his teeth, took out his phone, and dialed a number.

"Chief Constable Conges, are you willing to take a position in the Special Service Bureau? Yes, the White House Special Service Bureau, top-level confidentiality, the kind that protects the President."