Chapter 659: Red Sea Fury (Nine) (Patreon)

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Lila and Kayla exchanged glances upon hearing the news, confusion apparent in their eyes. They were the true comrades here, so how had they not heard that the heir of the Queen Group was associated with them?

"What's going on here? Explain," Kayla's tone grew colder as she demanded answers. Williams took a deep breath before responding, "I'm not entirely sure about the specifics, but I've heard something about Marxism. It seems like Young Queen's college classmate mentioned it, and he seemed to support this theory. It might be related to the book they're reading on the other side, right?"

Williams didn't seem very knowledgeable, struggling even with specialized terms. However, Kayla and Lila narrowed their eyes. The heir of the Queen Family was a Marxist? Kayla's mind began to entertain other thoughts.

"Are you sure about this?" Kayla asked again, applying pressure. She added, "This is no small matter. If the heir of the Queen Family has been influenced, it means there are people close to him who aren't clean. Who do you suspect?"

"I really don't know!" Williams was on the verge of tears. He continued, "I have no idea what that ideology is. I made my fortune in shipping and never read any books. I'm absolutely not involved..."

Kayla repeated her questions several times, but Williams couldn't provide any substantial information. This was just something he had heard, with no knowledge of the details or the cause and effect.

After ensuring Williams kept his mouth shut, the two of them left the Queen Group building. In the car, Kayla said, "I tend to believe what he said. What about you?"

Lila asked, "Which part are you referring to?"

"The list seems fine. I'm talking about the part concerning the Queen Family heir. Do you think Oliver Queen could be swayed?"

"Kayla, I understand that if we could win over the Queen Family heir, our work in Coastal City and the entire West Coast would go much smoother. But you need to realize that this comes with risks, and significant ones at that."

Lila was evidently more mature. He had been a leader in the Black Panther Party, survived several assassination attempts, and even managed to keep his job with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) after the party disbanded. He had a high reputation among all African Americans on the West Coast, which was inseparable from his cautious and steady personality.

"But it's worth a try!" Kayla slapped the steering wheel. "You know our influence has waned over time, or we wouldn't have failed with the Philby list."

"May 25th, in just ten days, the new representative assembly will convene. I hope we can make some progress before then."

Kayla's tone betrayed some impatience. Despite her swift rise through the ranks at the CIA, she hadn't achieved much since taking on an important position. She was eager to produce results.

"Of course, I understand your point, Kayla, but..."

"Let's go see old Toth first. If the situation is indeed true, then to protect Oliver, everyone with knowledge must disappear."

With Kayla's resolute tone, the car vanished on the horizon.

In the Los Angeles police station, Chloe held the keys to the file room and walked briskly through the corridors, with Lucifer Morningstar following closely behind. Chloe said, "The Black Wave Gang is a major adversary for the Los Angeles police. They're large, heavily armed, and we need to capture one of them and extract information before we can take action."

"I'll go," Lucifer Morningstar volunteered, but Chloe frowned and said, "Don't be ridiculous. You're just an ordinary person; the police should handle this."

Half an hour later, as Lucifer Morningstar pinned down a drug dealer on the ground, Chloe holstered her handgun. She approached and, with astonishment in her eyes, asked, "What did you do to him?"

The drug dealer on the ground had been frightened out of his wits. Upon seeing the demonic illusion on Lucifer Morningstar's face, he thought he had committed grave sins and was headed to hell. Without waiting for Lucifer Morningstar's questions, he confessed to everything.

This low-level drug dealer had no willpower and was essentially a petty thug with a side job. Nevertheless, they didn't possess any critical information, and after a lengthy interrogation, nothing significant was revealed.

Chloe wasn't angry; she had encountered such situations numerous times in her career. Every time she went on an operation, the people she brought in either knew nothing or were tight-lipped. She was accustomed to it.

However, Lucifer Morningstar, who was participating in an operation for the first time, didn't have the same patience. He knocked out the drug dealer and said, "Let's go straight to the gang's headquarters."

"Wait, you can't be reckless like this. They have..."

Another half-hour later, Chloe watched the chaos in the room as she gulped nervously. She turned to Lucifer Morningstar, who was standing in the middle of the room, holding the Black Wave Gang's leader by the neck.

In a moment of confusion, Chloe thought she saw two demon horns appear on Lucifer Morningstar's head, but she blinked and they disappeared. She chalked it up to fatigue and an illusion.

The Black Wave Gang's leader was thrown to the ground, equally terrified, and quickly confessed, "Yes, we did it. That damned Claude stole three of my customers, over a dozen clients. I had to kill her; otherwise, the Black Wave Gang couldn't survive!"

"Delilah has been working for your competitors for some time, hasn't she? Why did you wait until now to act?" Chloe sensed something was amiss.

According to psychologist Linda, Delilah's changes hadn't occurred just in the last few days. She had been forced into drug trafficking for a while. If the only reason was to protect her business from competition, the Black Wave Gang should have acted sooner to minimize their losses.

"I originally didn't plan to go after Claude; it wasn't worth it. But they pushed me too hard, and I had no choice." The Black Wave Gang's leader said, clearly angry.

"They? Who are they?" Lucifer Morningstar stepped forward.

"My superiors, the ones who supply me. They wanted me to prepare a customer base; they want to promote a new type of drug. They hope I can spread this drug as soon as possible so they can dominate the market..."

"A new type of drug? What is it?" Chloe asked again.

The Black Wave Gang's leader hesitated for a moment, instinctively glancing at the bar behind the sofa. Lucifer Morningstar noticed this and began searching behind the bar. The leader wanted to get up, but Chloe had her handgun pointed at him, so he dared not move.

After searching for a while, Lucifer Morningstar found a small box behind the bar. He opened it and found candies wrapped in silver foil inside. He picked up the box and, with Chloe, looked at the candies. Lucifer Morningstar unwrapped one and put it in his mouth. Chloe slapped him and exclaimed, "What are you doing? Spit it out! It could be poisoned!"

Lucifer Morningstar chewed it twice but didn't spit it out. Instead, he looked at Chloe's reaction and smiled, saying, "Are you concerned about me, Officer?"

"I am not." Chloe turned her head away but quickly added anxiously, "Spit it out quickly! What if it's really poisoned?"

"No need to worry; I've told you, I'm not an ordinary person." Lucifer Morningstar continued chewing. "This is just gum, and it tastes pretty good. As for whether there are drugs inside, I wouldn't be able to taste that."

"We need to have it tested," Chloe took the box from him, but as she held it, she paused. "Wait a minute, this box doesn't look like typical packaging. Los Angeles gum doesn't come in these metal containers. It looks more like something you'd find in Coastal City or Star City, maybe at a convenience store..."

Chloe seemed to remember something, staring at the box in thought. "I feel like I've seen this box somewhere, but I can't quite recall... Anyway, let's go back to the police station and have this gum analyzed."

The two of them drove back to the Los Angeles police station, and after submitting the gum for analysis, Chloe continued to stare at the box, trying to remember where she had seen it.

"Please, Officer, you're too dedicated to your work. Isn't it lunchtime now? Let's go grab something to eat," Lucifer Morningstar extended an invitation to Chloe.

Chloe had initially wanted to decline, but she also felt a bit hungry, so she set down the box she was holding and followed Lucifer Morningstar to the car.

Together, they arrived at a restaurant not far from Disney Paradise, bustling with tourists. In the center of the restaurant area, three large TVs were playing cartoons, which was a rarity in this era. Many children were gathered around the television, laughing and cheering.

"You have a daughter, right? You can bring her here; the food is affordable and delicious, they have children's meals, and they can watch TV. I think she'd like it," Lucifer Morningstar commented as he ate.

Chloe looked around at the restaurant's decor. As Lucifer Morningstar had mentioned, this restaurant, located next to Disney Paradise, seemed to be designed specifically for children and featured elements that many kids would enjoy.

"Thank you for the invitation. I've discovered a nice place," Chloe flashed her first smile since meeting Lucifer Morningstar. She continued, "I have to pick up Beatrice from school later, and if I'm late, she'll surely complain."

Lucifer Morningstar, although somewhat saddened, didn't insist. After finishing their meal, Chloe was about to leave when she heard an advertisement coming from the TV behind her.

"Queen Chewing Gum, your ideal life companion. Small packaging for convenience on the go, and large packaging for family gatherings. When buying chewing gum, make sure it's Queen Chewing Gum..."

Chloe suddenly stopped in her tracks. She turned around, wide-eyed, and looked at the TV. Lucifer Morningstar also turned his head. On the screen was a display of Queen Chewing Gum's large packaging, the so-called silver box gum.

The box on the TV was strikingly similar in size and appearance to the one they had found, except the box they found didn't have the Queen Group logo.

Both of them instinctively rushed outside the restaurant and got into the car. On their way back to the police station, a detective approached Chloe and said, "Officer Chloe, the test results you requested are in. The gum does indeed contain a special addictive substance, and our initial assessment suggests it might be some kind of drug."

"Alright, thank you." With the test report in hand, Chloe hurried to her office. She picked up the box and, locking eyes with Lucifer Morningstar, said, "Queen Group!"

Lucifer Morningstar rapidly deduced the sequence of events, speaking quickly, "Queen Group has developed a new type of drug, which is this chewing gum. In order to open up the market as soon as possible, they forced the Black Wave Gang's leader to seize customers. To compete for customers, the Black Wave Gang resorted to violence, resulting in the murder of Delilah, who was being controlled by Claude."

Then, both of them looked down at the gum inside the metal box. Chloe said, "If all of this is the work of Queen Group from Star City, then this piece of evidence we have..."

"The craftsmanship of this box is identical to the Queen Chewing Gum available in the market. It's the strongest evidence of their involvement in drug trafficking!" Lucifer Morningstar emphasized.

"If the heir of the Queen Group can be turned to our side, then Queen Group could be valuable to us. They mustn't fall..." Kayla's voice grew more resolute.

"Lila, stay rational! Are you really willing to cover up the crimes of a drug trafficking organization with a dark past? Don't you think you're twisting our original intentions?" Lila spoke loudly. "Is this what we stand for?"

"This is for a more important cause! We need every bit of power!" Kayla raised her voice. "I have no other choice!"

The female agent took a deep breath and said, "This is Moscow's request. The representative assembly is about to convene, and it will determine our next leader. He needs this power..."

"Who are you referring to?" Kayla's and Lila's voices were filled with deep disappointment as he questioned, "Do you really not remember why you're working for this?"

The car sped up, and Kayla's facial muscles began to tremble.

"Squeak!" The screeching of brakes was followed by Kayla's forehead colliding with the steering wheel, blood dripping down. Her hair fell loose, and she appeared hysterical and shattered.

After a long silence, Kayla slowly pushed her hair aside and said, "I'm going mad. I'm going mad soon. I'll do anything to defend my homeland. I have no other choice..."

"When you think like this, you've already lost your home," Lila turned his head away, saying, "We used to think the same way. We did whatever it took to preserve our faction... and what did it lead to?"

Kayla closed her eyes, preventing tears from falling. She said, "Perhaps everyone has realized by now that all of this is just a desperate struggle. But even so, I want to struggle once more. Who knows... maybe there's a chance?"

"He's using you all like this!" Lila raised his voice, saying, "He makes you believe he'll be the last hope, that he'll save this country..."

"But I can assure you, he won't do anything. When he tells you that you can do anything for power, disregarding the people, justice, and ideals, then you should know he's destined to be a traitor!"

Kayla took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and looked out the car window. At this moment, the twilight clouds were slowly dispersing, revealing a horizon where golden, red, and purple colors intermingled. A red sun was sinking slowly.

As the twilight light gradually faded, and after the long night passed, the dawn rose once more. On the TV, as the exterior scene shrank and the host's image enlarged, he rested his arms on the desktop and said:

"This station reports that the renowned Star City company, Queen Group, has produced a new type of drug resembling chewing gum. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), they have longstanding connections with Mexican drug cartels, notably the notorious Guadalajara drug cartel..."

"Currently, Queen Group's actions have sparked public outrage. In just three days, Star City has witnessed three protests. The Queen Tower is now closed, and the individuals responsible have been arrested..."

"Oliver Queen, the heir of the Queen Family, has tragically lost his life in a maritime accident. It remains unclear whether he understood the truth behind the group's operations, but there is no doubt that he will bear responsibility..."

"After this incident, Queen Group's stocks have plummeted, their financial situation is dire, and bankruptcy seems inevitable..."

The TV host flipped through his script and began reporting the next piece of news. He repeated:

"Now, onto international affairs, our neighboring country, Mexico, has recently seen several movements among farmers and laborers. Experts speculate a connection to the massacre that occurred in Sinoloa State."

"But there are also informants suggesting that this movement among farmers and laborers has been inflamed by left-wing factions. Some experts believe left-wing individuals may be collaborating with local drug traffickers, closely linking this movement to the earlier massacre..."

"Click." The TV was turned off. Hal slowly turned his head to look at Schiller and said, "Oliver has disappeared. Could it be..."

Schiller, who was writing medical records on the coffee table, didn't even lift his head as he replied, "As you can see, I'm just an ordinary university professor, currently on vacation."

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