Homo Sapiens

After the ADM executives were eliminated, the other three members of the ABCD group were on edge and ramped up their security.

However, the FBI investigation had stalled, mainly because they couldn’t figure out how the bomb had gotten into the building.

Recently, a large number of FBI agents conducted a carpet search of Decatur City and the surrounding area.

Philip, the agent in charge of the local FBI office, wasn’t placed on administrative leave. Instead, he continued to lead the investigation. It wasn’t that his superiors were doing him any favors; the case was such a hot potato that no one else wanted to take it on.

After three days of watching surveillance footage, Philip rubbed his dry, tired eyes and picked up his black coffee.

”Boss, the explosives analysis is back. It was 133 to 135 kilograms of TNT. The blast originated from the ceiling of that conference room,” his assistant, Kelly, said as she walked in with a report.

Philip didn’t bother looking at it. Based on the blast site and his years of experience, he knew his own assessment would be almost identical to the report’s findings.

”What I want to know is how the culprit managed to install over one hundred thirty kilograms of TNT in that conference room ceiling without any ADM employees noticing.”

Kelly shrugged. ”According to the room schedule ADM provided, that conference room is used for meetings every week, and janitors clean it once a day.”

”What about recent maintenance records?” Philip asked, setting down his coffee.

”Two light bulbs were replaced 76 days ago, and a projector was replaced 153 days ago. Those are the most recent maintenance entries.”

Agent Jin from the tech division pulled out a set of the building’s blueprints obtained from the construction contractor, including both the original and post-renovation layouts.

Jin pointed to the floor where the explosion had occurred. ”This conference room only has two doors and four windows. The other ducts for air conditioning, heating, and electrical conduits are too small to allow entry. You’d have to be a rat to get through.”

Philip ignored Jin’s dry joke and, based on his own experience, offered the most logical explanation:

”The culprit must be extremely familiar with ADM Headquarters. It’s highly likely we’re looking for an insider.”

Jin nodded in agreement. His tech division had meticulously analyzed a year’s worth of surveillance footage from a one-kilometer radius around the building and found no suspicious individuals from the outside.

Since the likelihood of an outsider being involved was extremely low, it strongly suggested the problem was internal to ADM.

After all, in the FBI’s view, smuggling dozens of kilograms of TNT into the building without being discovered would be impossible unless the culprit held a position of some influence within ADM. There was no other explanation.

Although Philip privately suspected that ADM’s interim president, Ohm, had both motive and opportunity, investigating a top executive of a major corporation was no easy task.

At this point, the investigation seemed to have hit a dead end.

The attack on the ADM executives also caused a significant disruption to the Southeast Asian food war, which had just gotten underway.

Of course, the other ABCD members reacted quickly. Bunge Company and Cargill Company swiftly took over leadership of the plan from ADM, ensuring the food war continued to advance steadily.

Li Qingye wasn’t surprised by this. ’These guys won’t give up so easily.’

...

November 10, 2019.

Hongsawaddy, Tuwah Port.

Qingye Group Headquarters.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Yang Mengjiao, Domino, and others, the Hongsawaddy Branch had finally established a firm foothold in the Golden Triangle Region.

Furthermore, by supporting the Spider Web Managers and Soldiers, they had secretly gained control over many of Hongsawaddy’s warlords and members of prominent families.

Tuwah Port’s economy was becoming more prosperous by the day.

As the region’s economic pillar, Qingye Group had become the uncrowned king of this land.

「In the basement of Jade Manor in Tuwah Port.」

Yang Mengjiao and Domino had recently returned secretly from Shan State in the north to headquarters.

As soon as the two returned to headquarters, they were scheduled for physical examinations to check on their health. Domino, who had AIDS, underwent a particularly thorough and comprehensive check-up.

Ma Chi saw the two of them coming out of the medical room and greeted them with a smile. ”You two did great work up north. You’ve completely taken over the entire Shan State market.”

Yang Mengjiao scoffed. ”Are you kidding? That trash was worthy of fighting us? If I wasn’t worried about exposure, I would have wiped out that scum two months ago.”

”By the way, the Boss has developed a targeted drug that can treat AIDS,” Ma Chi told Yang Mengjiao, sharing the good news. ”It’s currently in human trials and should be ready for use in a few months.”

A flicker of excitement crossed Yang Mengjiao’s eyes.

Domino, standing beside her, patted her shoulder. ”Have faith in the Boss’s technology. Let’s head to the conference room and talk about the branch’s affairs.”

Once in the conference room, Yang Mengjiao’s expression returned to its usual calm. She activated a large screen concealed by a mural and projected a map of all of Hongsawaddy onto it.

The map of Hongsawaddy was divided into various blocks of four different colors.

The deep red areas represented the Hongsawaddy Branch’s fully controlled operational zones, while the light-red striped areas represented its infiltration zones.

White areas represented official Hongsawaddy government forces, and blue areas represented warlord forces.

A so-called ”fully controlled operational zone,” or a ”fully-mandated branch,” was, as the name implied, a branch that held absolute authority.

”The fully controlled operational zones we currently hold include Deline Province, Meng State, Karen State, Kachin State, and Shan State.”

”Our infiltration zones include Irawaddy Province, Yangon Province, Bago Province, Bamana District, Mandalay Province, Magway Province, and Shwebo Province. These areas also have a high degree of overlap with the territories managed by the official Hongsawaddy government.”

”The only three regions where we have not completed infiltration but have established commercial intelligence stations are Rakhine State, Kachin State, and Qin State.”

Ma Chi inquired, ”How many of the local armed forces have agreed to cooperate with us?”

Yang Mengjiao did a quick mental calculation. ”In the fully-mandated branch territories, we have 120,000 regular troops and 320,000 militia members. In the infiltration zones, we can guarantee influence over approximately 63,000 personnel.”

”Looks like it’s about time to close the net,” Ma Chi said, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

”Are you sure?” Domino asked, a little hesitant.

”Don’t you think this is a golden opportunity? Hongsawaddy’s relations with America have soured, leading to partial blockades along the coast, not to mention in the inland regions. Given this country’s history of instability, we can easily fish in troubled waters.”

Ma Chi had studied the current global situation and saw a rare window of opportunity. He continued, adding:

”The great powers are clashing with increasing intensity, and America’s influence in certain regions is waning. Meanwhile, our neighbor to the north won’t dare to intervene openly for the time being. This is our chance to take all of Hongsawaddy in one fell swoop and establish a regional fully-mandated branch. After all, this isn’t Luzon; there’s no legitimate path to power here. We can only obtain full operational authority over Hongsawaddy through this kind of method.”

Yang Mengjiao nodded. ”True, a swift and decisive move is for the best. Our people already occupy many key positions. As long as we move fast enough, we can create a fait accompli before the outside world has time to react.”

After a moment of thought, Domino didn’t object but instead proposed, ”Our own people can’t be directly involved.”

”You mean?” Ma Chi asked thoughtfully.

Domino reminded them, ”The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Wu Kailuo has been eyeing that position like a tiger, and he’s also extremely dissatisfied with some of Bamana’s actions.”

”I understand,” Ma Chi replied, grasping the idea instantly.

Yang Mengjiao had also figured out what Domino was thinking.