Chapter 221: Accusations of Crime

Du Qiu and Ning Shuangshuang were completely stunned by Star Ocean’s words.

It was indeed a big deal.

Although it is not unprecedented for U.S. presidents to be assassinated, being killed while visiting another country is unheard-of.

More importantly, the country being visited wasn’t just any war-torn land, but a central nation in Europe, equally strong in its own right.

Who would dare to provoke Germany so boldly?

“Sir, there were journalists filming at the time, but they too met a fatal end. However, the video was still broadcast live. I’ll show it to you!”

A projection immediately shone forth.

The duration of the entire attack video was brief, merely three minutes before the journalist filming it also perished in a blast.

Only this live-streamed footage spread.

The video captured the moment when President Baysan Volbsk of the United States, with the aid of his security advisor Brens, was heading to evacuate to the roadside when several drones exploded behind them, flinging both into a nearby ditch.

When the footage finally froze, Du Qiu fell silent; the scene was all too familiar.

It mirrored that from the movie “Angel Has Fallen” from a few years ago, even the drones looked similar, only the location of the attack had been changed.

Whether the mastermind behind the curtain took inspiration from the film when planning this assassination or not was still unknown.

“Du Qiu, don’t you think this assassination feels like a conspiracy?” Ning Shuangshuang suddenly spoke.

Du Qiu turned to look at his girlfriend and asked, “Why do you feel that way?”

Ning Shuangshuang replied, “I don’t know. Maybe because I’ve been in this line of work for so long, I instinctively wonder if there’s a conspiracy behind many things.

But if I were the mastermind, I would definitely not choose to carry out such a shocking assassination in Berlin, the capital of Germany.

For one, it would antagonize two powerful nations at once and, secondly, it would certainly add great difficulty to the operation.

Although this operation was successful, the assassination team’s withdrawal will not be easy.

In principle, there should have been a helicopter or fighter jet escorting the convoy.

The assassins must have used some form of transport, like a box truck, to launch and deploy the drones.

By calculating the timing, these warplanes would be swooping down during their retreat, making it not hard to spot the truck’s movements.”

“Not necessarily. This is a large city, a box truck can easily get lost in traffic, and fighter jets can’t easily identify them from the air,” Du Qiu interjected.

“It could be helicopters though, they would respond quickly,” Ning Shuangshuang countered.

Star Ocean suddenly spoke, “Ma’am, the video didn’t capture it, but I’ve just collected other footage showing two escort helicopters being destroyed by drones right away.”

As it spoke, a projection displayed footage of the two helicopters being struck and plummeting after the explosions.

Du Qiu remarked, “These drones are not large, but the explosives they carry are powerful. They must be of Octane design, which shouldn’t be easy to come by. Perhaps this is a lead worth following to track down the assassins.”

“Sir, I’ve already acquired the surveillance system data for the surrounding area. I estimate that soon, others will confiscate this footage,” the projection relayed.

“Nicely done!” Du Qiu commended.

After some thought, he added, “Also, call in a satellite to lock onto Berlin from above. We’ll try to get a step ahead in finding the assassins and the masterminds behind this.

Activate our sleeper agent II in Berlin to obtain first-hand information. And don’t forget to activate the one in Washington. We need to keep abreast of the U.S. military’s movements!”

Ning Shuangshuang watched Du Qiu with surprise. In that moment, she saw a charm in her boyfriend that was completely different from before.

Perhaps this is what powerful and capable men possess, though, in reality, such men are usually more advanced in years.

She had a hunch that Du Qiu must have an extensive intelligence network, run by the artificial intelligence known as Star Ocean.

Thinking of the formidable potential of artificial intelligence, Ning Shuangshuang was further convinced.

“Du Qiu, we should consider who stands to benefit from the assassination of the U.S. president. It might be easier to find the mastermind behind it,” she suggested.

Du Qiu blinked, then nodded, “You’re not wrong, Shuangshuang. That’s the correct approach to take.”

He began counting on his fingers, “That being said, the first suspect would be the U.S. Vice-President Radack.

The second suspect would involve the Persians—after all, the two are still at war, and conquering a foe by any means necessary is plausible.

The third suspect would depend on whether German Chancellor Karen survived. If she too had perished, her successor would also be suspicious.

For now, these three parties hold the power, capability, and interest to be influential suspects.”

As she watched Du Qiu talk, Ning Shuangshuang suddenly thought of a possibility and blurted out, “There’s another suspect: you! Or rather, Dream Technology!”

Du Qiu gave Ning Shuangshuang a stunned look and asked, “Why would you think of me or Dream Technology?”

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“The reason I consider Dream Technology a possibility is that we previously bombed their factory in South Sudan and took out their important shareholder, Li Shennan.

Information we obtained not so long ago revealed that Dr. Du Qiu we wanted to eliminate wasn’t masquerading as Li Shennan.

Dream Technology had already begun retaliating against American electronic and mechanical industries, and even expanded into software. We’ve suffered substantial economic losses.

Clearly, Dream Technology harbors intense animosity towards the United States; they have the motive for this attack.

Given Dream Technology’s technical prowess, they can certainly manufacture such bomb drones, hence they also have the capability to launch this attack.

Finally, consider the attack took place in Germany; please recall that Dream Technology first grew from there, so they benefit from the geographic advantage.

Thus, they managed to execute and swiftly withdraw from the attack, leaving the military and police grasping at straws.”

This was a meeting room inside the Presidential Mansion of the United States, where the now-in-charge President Radack convened an emergency meeting.

The newly appointed GIA Director-General, Caesar, spoke with conviction, seeming to pinpoint the blame on Dream Technology.

The assistant security advisor, Hilary, recently promoted to security advisor by Radack, appeared puzzled and queried, “But this is just your speculation. We still need evidence.”

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Curtis, intoned gravely, “We have ruled out the deputy president, the Persians, and the successors in German politics, leaving only Dream Technology.

Since Dream Technology is an enemy of the United States, we must label them as such, just as we did with the leader of Iraq, Hysan, back in the day—claiming washing powder to be a chemical weapon if necessary.

I recommend that we make swift preparations and strike Dream Technology decisively.

This will not only resolve the negative impact of this incident on the United States, but also save the many companies in the electronics, mechanical, and software sectors that are currently in dire straits.”

Radack looked to his other staff members, who were still appointees of former President Baysan Volbsk; he hadn’t had the chance to replace them yet.

Economic Advisor Snoken hesitated before speaking, “A military strike on a corporation is unprecedented, and it intersects with many nations, especially with major powers involved. How do we strike?”

Director-General of the GIA, Caesar, spoke coldly, “We can begin by targeting Dream Technology’s factories in smaller countries, such as the one in Tanga Federation.

Lately, Tanga Federation’s activities have been quite active in Central and Southern Africa, seemingly leading the charge in establishing a unified Central and Southern African market. This is not good for us.

We should take this opportunity to settle scores with them, which I guess will keep them in line.

To use an old Tang Country saying, ‘kill the chicken to scare the monkey,’ Tanga Federation is the chicken, and those major powers are the monkeys.

I believe that after we strike Dream Technology’s factory in Tanga Federation, most countries housing Dream Technology will align with us.”

“Director-General Caesar has a good idea; I support it,” said General Curtis, his eyes glinting in agreement.

Radack turned to the Speaker of the House, Lancer, and asked, “Such an action shouldn’t require parliamentary review, right? After all, we are not going to war with another country, only counteracting a terrorist organization.”

Lancer nodded and said, “Yes, your approval is sufficient for this kind of action.”

With that, the conclusion of this emergency meeting seemed imminent.

“Director-General Caesar, I need you to produce a comprehensive evidence dossier to declare to the world that Dream Technology is a terrorist organization!”

Director-General Caesar nodded calmly and uttered, “The evidence materials will be ready by tomorrow for your review.”

Radack turned to General Curtis and commanded, “Please prepare the military.”

The additional updates for League Master “Coffee-Colored Glasses” are now complete. Thank you, League Master!