King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

When Sanderson was injecting the Shadow Messenger with morphine, Joe Ga saw from the drone's perspective that about 6 kilometers ahead on the road, several police cars had blocked off a three-way intersection, diverting traffic onto another route.

As the drone shifted direction, Joe Ga realized that the area they were in had become an isolated 'island'.

This discovery sent a chill down Joe Ga's spine; he knew that he wasn't the one with the problem, which meant that it could only lie with the Shadow Messenger.

All the roads leading to the interior of America were now blocked. If Eric didn't bring him good news in the next ten minutes, he would have to risk moving south across the America-Mexico border.

The only piece of good news was that it was about to get dark, and he could create a batch of camouflage material to block thermal detection at any time.

After waiting a few minutes and seeing no further abnormalities in the sky, Joe Ga patted Ayu, signaling her to follow him...

Together, they rushed to the utterly disfigured G-class SUV's trunk under the high temperature, each grabbing two large bags and jogged back to their hiding spot.

Joe Ga distributed the cloaks lined with tin foil and coated with anti-infrared paint from the bags to everyone, then took out Ayu's exoskeleton and said to Nis, "Help King Kong put it on. I have a feeling we might have to travel a long distance."

While Joe Ga was distributing equipment and instructing everyone to carry their gear, 'Pliers' who was keeping an eye on the drone suddenly exclaimed, "Boss, six cars appeared in the direction of Ogen Town, and they don't look like drug traffickers' vehicles."

Joe Ga rushed over to 'Pliers', peered at the screen, then pointed to a spot on the screen and said, "The moment they cross this line, blow them up.

They're definitely not the police, nor the military. The fact that they are barging in here during the blockade...

Which department in America would operate like this?

I have a bad feeling..."

As Joe Ga was speaking, his phone suddenly rang...

After picking it up, he heard an anxious Eric say, "Hu Lang, evacuate now!

The CIA led a secret operation to strike against drug traffickers near Ogen Town, with the U.S. Army responsible for the airstrikes and the CIA's black squads responsible for ground operations.

My boss has challenged the Pentagon, who avoided the question, but the one piece of good news is that there will be no more airstrikes from now on.

Hu Lang, my boss is attempting urgent communication, but...

Evacuate quickly, Hu Lang, try to keep the Shadow Messenger alive if possible.

A USB drive doesn't prove anything; we need him alive to confirm some information."

Eric's words were somewhat vague, but Joe Ga detected an underlying message.

He didn't believe for a second that the CIA suddenly had a secret mission!

It's clearly stated by American law that any operation by the CIA within the U.S. is illegal!

This was a premeditated operation to silence someone, simply hiding behind the guise of striking against drug traffickers.

Eliminating the Shadow Messenger was Joe Ga's mission all along, except his actions had been too rash, resulting in the need to keep a live witness to verify the confession before the hit.

But now Eric was requesting that they keep a live witness as much as possible, which hinted that the critical files stolen by the Shadow Messenger might have been moved by him and his boss might have acquired some information.

Joe Ga surmised that if the Shadow Messenger's files were in the CIA's hands, then the CIA used the drug traffickers as bait to try and silence him. They would then use the files to engage in political exchange with the bigshot behind Eric.

This was a gamble Joe Ga couldn't see or reach, where he might face the full might of the CIA's black squad.

Once the CIA eliminated all of them, they could openly claim that they acquired the files from the Shadow Messenger. Should the bigwig refuse to comply, they would release the files.

Joe Ga now realized that if his guess was correct, the CIA might also just be a pawn, not the architect of everything.

However, Joe Ga still couldn't imagine who could make the CIA take such a big risk. There were still things he hadn't figured out...

But the situation was clear now; the bigshot behind Eric must have received some intelligence or implications, so they requested through Eric to ensure the Shadow Messenger stayed alive.

But for the CIA, the Shadow Messenger had to die.

His survival would prove CIA cooperation with the Glorious Society, would show how many illegal measures the opponent had taken to attack him, and all that information would become bargaining chips for the bigwig, constraining and even nullifying the gains of the CIA's risky endeavor.

At this moment, Joe Ga couldn't tell if running into that 'Coyote' was good luck or bad.

After nearly half a minute of silence, Joe Ga holding the phone said, "Eric, if your boss ends up compromising, is our agreement still valid?"

Knowing Joe Ga had grasped his hint, Eric started to hesitate.

This outsider also knew how tough the situation that Joe Ga faced was: if he couldn't offer reassurance, Joe Ga might just kill the Shadow Messenger and 'jump ship'.

Joe Ga's actions were tacitly sanctioned by the Justice Department and the bigwigs, so they were essentially legal, and the CIA's black operations definitely wouldn't stand up to scrutiny!

As long as he could extricate himself from this incident, with the protection of the Justice Department, what could anyone do to him?

Faced with these circumstances, Eric decisively said, "I will contact that Chris Jansen to meet someone; you can send your lawyer to Washington now. P·B will get the contract for Niger in a few hours.

Hu Lang, the Pentagon is at fault now, they won't reject my boss's demands.

As long as you can deliver the Shadow Messenger to me alive, I can negotiate more for you..."

Right then, Joe Ga witnessed the political struggles among America's top levels.

'The Pentagon feeling at fault', what does that imply?

It means that the Pentagon did something to offend Eric's boss.

What kind of person could make the Pentagon comply?

Among the big shots, their cunning maneuvers become a bloody storm when transmitted down the ranks.

The CIA, or rather those who can command the CIA, did not want to crush Eric's boss; they wanted him to back down and compromise.

This type of compromise could simply be casting a vote for them on a certain resolution, temporarily giving in on a specific issue, or supporting their choice for a particular appointment...

Strangely though, no matter how fiercely they fought, what they used was not their own assets, nor were their lives the ones being lost.

The other side used the CIA, while Eric and his team used the defense contracts!

Politicians always appear refined in public, polite even to their adversaries.

But who could have imagined that the covert battles they waged with taxpayers' money would be so vicious?

Joe Ga realized that the world was more messed up than he had imagined, which only reinforced his resolve to grow stronger in Central Africa.

He needed a solid foundation, to never become a 'pushover'.

His fate could be in the hands of these people, which was incredibly irritating to Joe Ga!!

When Joe Ga wanted to end his collaboration with Eric, 'Pliers' let out an excited roar...

"FUCK, got you guys!!"

After saying that, 'Pliers' threw the now black-screened remote control to the ground, then eagerly took the other four more powerful Springblade 600 remote controls from Joe Ga, smiling, "I like these things; the Springblade 600 has a bit more endurance. I'll let them roam south for a bit."

'Pliers' might seem crazy at times, but he was actually very clear-headed.
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He didn't know who had trapped him here, but he was aware that breaking through to the inside of America would be very difficult given the aerial assaults; heading south to cross the border into Mexico was the best way to evade the encirclement.

However, that was only Joe Ga's initial thought; now, he believed he needed a change of strategy.

He made a call to Wagner, telling him to drive to Washington overnight to meet with Chris.

Then Joe Ga looked at the Shadow Messenger, who could now sit up, and said with a sneer, "The assassin has arrived; to whom did you deliver the item?"

The Shadow Messenger, who was once an agent, had a clear judgement of his current situation...

Facing Joe Ga's question, he looked down and said, "If I tell you, I'll die..."

Joe Ga sneered, saying, "You'll die quicker if you don't speak!

You're lucky, my people want you alive, but only if you cooperate.

If you don't prove your value, or if the thing you handed over gets blown up, then you'll truly have no way to survive."

While speaking, Joe Ga looked at the silent Shadow Messenger, not quite understanding, and said, "I can't imagine why you would steal from the FBI, especially something so deadly.

If you were an agent for a certain country, I could understand.

But you're with the Glorious Society, how could you think those big shots would compromise with your kind?"

Facing Joe Ga's questioning, the Shadow Messenger finally broke his silence...

"I didn't even know what was in the document; it's been encrypted since it was downloaded.

All I wanted was the witness protection list and the FBI's intelligence on the Mexican gangs.

But unexpectedly, I came across that file; I thought it could be useful, so I downloaded it.

I've lost my drug channels in the East Coast of America, hard-earned and now gone. If I can't find a way to make up for the loss, both my family and I will meet horrific deaths.

You can't possibly think the Glorious Society is a charity organization, can you?"

While saying this, the Shadow Messenger gave Joe Ga a somber look, "Whether you believe it or not, the attack against you was actually 'Messenger's' idea; I'm just a shadow, an assistant.

The boss of the Glorious Society, 'Musa,' is Lebanese; he only trusts his own kind."

Joe Ga saw the sincerity in the Shadow Messenger's words, but he knew to take them with a grain of salt, as the words of such a person were always half-truths, unreliable without confirmation from a professional.

Regardless of the truth behind his words, Joe Ga, looking into the eyes of the Shadow Messenger, said with a smile, "You still haven't told me, to whom did you hand over the item?

Don't beat around the bush; if the item was with you, they would want to capture you alive, not silence you."

The Shadow Messenger knew Joe Ga wouldn't let him go, and that his best hope for survival at the moment lay with Joe Ga. After a long silence, he said, "It was a man named Harlotte!

My boss told me to deliver the encrypted file to Harlotte, and then he introduced me to the people from Seta and Jalisco.

I traded the witness list for their protection, and then made two big deals with them."

As he spoke, the Shadow Messenger looked at Joe Ga, who seemed to be lost in thought, and after some hesitation, continued, "I have another piece of information for you...

The one who came to take over the file from me was a Shah spy; he thought I was unaware of his identity, but I had actually seen him on a photograph before...

I think if you don't want to kill me for the time being, then you should start thinking about how to retreat."

Joe Ga was momentarily stunned by this 'critical information,' then he turned to Nis and asked, "Do you think this Harlotte could be the diamond merchant Harlotte I heard about from the military doctor bird?"