At 9:30 in the morning, in a temporarily borrowed office.

Inside the office area, Winslow, Chenier, and Michelle were sitting at their respective positions dealing with the follow-up work of the case.

After busily finalizing a document for half a day, Winslow looked up, exhaled, reached for his coffee, and found Reesi resting her chin in her hand, gazing absentmindedly, staring straight at the conference room nearby.

"Hey, Reesi, what's going on with you?"

A glint of understanding flashed in Winslow's eyes. After taking a sip of coffee, he patted Reesi's shoulder and asked with a low chuckle:

"Smitten by that pretty reporter?"

When the female reporter Louise entered the office, her attractive face and excellent figure drew everyone's attention back to her, and Winslow took a few extra glances.

However, everyone had already learned about her background from Mona, so they didn't give it too much thought. After Winslow looked a few times, he lowered his head and continued with his work.

"You're overthinking it."

Coming back to her senses, Reesi gave Winslow a white look and began to lower her head to continue working on her documents, meanwhile, explaining:

"Indeed, the woman is beautiful, but I haven't reached the point where I fall for everyone I see.

I was just thinking, once things slow down, if I could take a few days off to rest — I want to go house hunting."

"Wow."

Buying a house is a big deal; not only was Winslow a little surprised, Chenier and Michelle also turned their attention, asking curiously:

"Reesi, have you saved up enough money?"

"That's right."

Reesi let out a hee-hee chuckle, clasped her hands together, and bowed twice towards the conference room, saying:

"Thanks to Luo An, my wallet isn't starving."

"Where are you planning to buy a house? In New York or Washington D.C.?"

"I want them all!"

The four in the office area gathered to chat leisurely about house-related topics, the air filled with joviality.

On the other hand, inside the conference room, it was completely silent, the air heavy with tension.

Mona watched the female reporter Louise with an expressionless face, while Louise hooked the corner of her mouth, unfazed, and met her gaze. Luo An wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but it seemed as if sparks were flying in the air between them.

Clearing his throat, Luo An said:

"Sorry, Miss Louise, Mona is my most trusted team member; there is no need for her to leave the conference room."

"Most trusted?"

Louise chuckled lightly and turned her gaze to Luo An, saying:

"Is it because you two are living together?"

It wasn't a secret; many in the FBI were aware, and Luo An wasn't surprised that Louise had found out. He simply said blandly:

"So, can Miss Louise answer my question?"

Louise shook her head, took a sip of her coffee, and said:

"You trust Miss Mona, but I can't trust her.

The matters we're about to discuss involve federal secrets.

If Miss Mona insists on staying in the room and something happens later, I can only apologize to Miss Mona."

Hearing this, the smile on Luo An's face slowly disappeared, but before he could speak, Mona huffed, placed the coffee pot on the table, gave Luo An a look, and walked out of the conference room.

Mona trusted Luo An's capabilities; plus, the conference room was not very large, and there were other investigation team members outside; Louise couldn't possibly do anything to Luo An.

Mona's previous stay in the conference room was entirely out of caution. She certainly didn't do it out of jealousy or defense.

Not at all!

Bang—

The conference room door closed, and Luo An quietly looked at Louise, spreading his hands forward:

"Now, can we begin?"

Louise's lips curled up, she took out two badges and a piece of paper from her handbag beside her and pushed them over to Luo An, saying:

"This is the first matter."

Taking first the badge that was nearly the same size as the FBI's golden emblem, he opened it to find a picture of Louise Hernandez herself, with the words below "Federal National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) - Secret Agent," badge number 6506.

Then, opening the second piece of identification, Luo An's brow furrowed immediately.

Because inside was a picture of Luo An himself, with the words below "Federal National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) - Secret Special Agent," badge number 65061.

Opening the paper, he found the content was not much, just a letter of official appointment from the "Federal National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA)" for Luo An.

"I never expected Miss Louise to have a secret identity."

After reading through these materials, Luo An pointed directly to the ID with his picture on it and asked:

"What does this mean?"

The Federal National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, abbreviated as NGA, is an agency under the federal Ministry of Defense tasked with collecting, analyzing, and disseminating geospatial intelligence for national security.

The headquarters of the NGA is located in Bevo Fort, Virginia, and occupies a large area. It is the third-largest government building in the Washington Metropolitan Area, only behind the Pentagon and the Ronald Reagan Building, with support and liaison offices around the world.

Because the agency's budget, employee numbers, work projects, etc. are classified, Luo An had only heard of it and wasn't familiar with the details. He hadn't expected to encounter a secret agent from the NGA today.

"It means exactly what the documents say."

Miss Louise chuckled, reclaiming her ID, and said:

"Congratulations on joining the NGA, you've become a secret agent."

"This is just a unilateral decision on your part."

Luo An set aside the ID with his photo and the appointment letter, leaned back, and crossed his arms over his legs:

"I never filed an application, nor did I agree to this."

Miss Louise smiled and said:

"That's why I'm here today, to invite you to join the NGA."

"So, you're the recruiter?"

"That's right."

"I refuse."

"The credentials have already been issued, refusal is not an option."

Miss Louise's eyes narrowed, her smile sly as a fox, as she said:

"Isn't it nice to receive a pretty substantial salary every month?"

"So, what's the price to pay?"

Luo An spread his hands and said:

"This is the Federation, there are no free lunches here, or rather, the free ones are the most expensive.

I don't believe the NGA has so much surplus funding that they can afford to pay me for nothing."

"The free ones are the most expensive... That's quite the philosophical stance."

Miss Louise repeated the phrase Luo An had said, then went on:

"The main tasks of an NGA agent include collecting the geographical structures of other countries, exploring geospatial information of specific areas, and gathering valuable geoinformation from geology, aviation, and maritime sources.

Of course, your role is not just an agent, but a secret agent.

The duties of a secret agent aren't related to the aforementioned tasks, and I'm not very clear on the specifics either, because ever since I became a secret agent, I have never left the Federation to execute any missions, and I've long forgotten about this identity."

"Miss Louise sure has... a casual attitude."

Hearing that she had nearly forgotten about this identity, Luo An raised an eyebrow, then asked:

"Why does the NGA want me to join?"

"Because you're very skilled."

Miss Louise looked Luo An up and down, a spark of admiration barely noticeable in her eyes, and explained with a smile:

"No, I should say you are exceptionally skilled.

Some time ago, you led a team in investigating and handling a case related to arms dealers. During that time, you fought a group of enemies on an island in the southern part of the Federation.

The subsequent investigation showed you single-handedly killed 13 enemies and only sustained serious injury to your leg, with minor injuries elsewhere.

Although my name is Louise, there are no superheroes in this world.

The vast majority of Federation agents would not be able to produce such an appalling combat casualty ratio with so little injury to themselves. Your combat ability is truly formidable."

Miss Louise's eyes shone brightly, fixated on Luo An. She had seen many people but had never come across someone so impressive, so outstanding.

"Thank you for the compliment, Miss Louise."

Luo An casually responded, more interested in the underlying implication of Louise's words:

"So you mean, the NGA wants me to join and then send me on missions to other countries?"

Miss Louise didn't lie or beat around the bush, she nodded and said:

"That's a possibility."

"Heh—"

Luo An's lips curled into a smirk, casually tossing the ID to the side and then asked:

"You mentioned earlier this was the first matter, so what's the second one?"