33: The show is about to begin; the fish have already taken the bait!

"Sat... Satisfied!"

Long Weiguo looked at Lu Chen's face, which bore a "pure" smile, and shivered violently.

He squeezed the two words out through clenched teeth.

Then, in his heart, he silently made the sign of the cross for those "old friends" across the ocean.

For the first time, he truly felt... mournful for his enemies.

Why provoke anyone else?

But they just had to provoke this... little devil wearing a human skin suit!

...Three days later.

Western Alliance, Langley, CIA Headquarters, underground conference room.

The atmosphere was so oppressive you could wring water out of it.

Ever since the news of "Shadow's" failure arrived.

This place had turned into a morgue filled with the stench of defeatism.

Every senior CIA intelligence officer was crestfallen and silent, like a rooster that had lost a fight.

Director Burns, in particular, had aged at least ten years in three days.

His hawk-like eyes were bloodshot and filled with a deep sense of powerlessness.

They failed.

They failed miserably.

They hadn't even seen the enemy's face before being slapped back home!

Now, in their eyes, the Xia Nation was no longer an opponent they could easily manipulate.

Instead, it had become a black hedgehog, covered in sharp quills, leaving them unable to take a bite!

"Report!"

Just then, the conference room door was violently pushed open!

A young intelligence analyst, his face bearing an expression of ecstatic joy, as if he had seen a ghost, stumbled in!

He held a silver-white military encrypted USB drive high in his hand!

"Sir!"

His voice was trembling!

"'Guide'... 'Guide' has sent a message!"

Boom!

This sentence was like a depth charge dropped into a pool of stagnant water!

Instantly, the entire conference room... exploded!

"What?!"

Burns suddenly sprang up from his chair!

He darted toward the analyst, snatched the USB drive, and asked hoarsely:

"Is the information reliable?!"

"Absolutely reliable!" The analyst was red-faced with excitement!

"We repeatedly verified all the pre-arranged codes and encryption protocols! We are 100% certain it is him!"

"He said... although 'Shadow' failed, it bought him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"The Xia people, because they captured 'Shadow,' relaxed the internal security of the Kunlun Mountain Base!"

"He exploited this loophole and successfully infiltrated the database of one of the pangu's subdivisions!"

"And..."

The analyst took a deep breath and roared out in a tone bordering on "pilgrimage"!

"He got it!"

"He obtained partial top-secret data for the two core technologies of the pangu!"

"One is related to 'Room-Temperature Superconductivity'!"

"And the other..."

"Is a brand new type they are devoting all their efforts to tackling..."

"Super Battery!"

Silence.

Deathly silence.

Immediately after, an earth-shattering, tsunami-like cheer erupted!

"Oh! My God!"

"God! What did I just hear?!"

"We... we succeeded?!"

"Hahahaha! I knew it! 'Shadow's' sacrifice was worth it!"

All the senior CIA intelligence officers hugged each other like madmen, weeping tears of joy!

They had finally, finally pried open a corner of that damned iron can that was the Xia Nation!

They had finally glimpsed the true face of the terrifying devil that kept them awake at night!

The flame of hope was rekindled in Burns' bloodshot eyes.

Clenching the USB drive, which felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, he tremblingly issued the order.

"Quickly! Immediately! Hand the USB drive over to the Technical Department!"

"Have Professor Hans and his team crack and analyze the data inside at the fastest possible speed!"

"I want to know exactly what the Xia people's so-called 'Super Battery' is within one hour!"

...One hour later.

When the technical data, perfectly cracked and translated into English, was presented to the Western Alliance's top materials science and energy experts.

The entire Technical Analysis Center... erupted!

"Oh God! Is... is this real?!"

Professor Hans Schmidt, a white-haired German professor wearing wire-rimmed glasses, trembled with excitement as he looked at the incredible molecular formulas and performance parameters on the screen!

"Energy density of 1000 Wh/kg?!"

"My heavens! This... this is more than three times the current Lithium Battery Technology!"

"This is nothing short of a... miracle!"

"And this 'Mesoporous Carbon Nanofiber' and 'Atomic Deposition' technology! It's too ingenious! Too perfect! This is a solution only God could have conceived!"

"With this! With this! Our Western Alliance will completely break free from dependence on Fossil Fuels!"

"Our electric cars, our airplanes, our aircraft carriers..."

"Will all usher in an unprecedented, super revolution!"

Listening to the exclamations around him, filled with fervor and adoration.

Burns' hanging heart finally settled completely!

He let out a long, heavy breath.

A long-lost winner's smile appeared on his face!

He picked up the internal communication phone and dialed the number that connected directly to the Western Alliance's highest center of power.

"Sir."

His voice was filled with uncontrollable excitement and pride.

"Prometheus has stolen the Divine Fire for us."

"Our counterattack..."

"Can now begin."

He did not know.

That at the very moment he uttered those words.

Ten thousand miles away.

Kunlun Mountain Underground Base.

Lu Chen was looking at the real-time surveillance displayed clearly on the light screen in front of him, showing all the footage from CIA Headquarters.

Listening to Burns' "counterattack" declaration, which was full of Chuunibyou Vibes.

A helpless smile appeared on his face.

He stretched, getting up from the Levitation Chair.

"Sigh."

He let out a soft sigh.

"I originally wanted to play with you a bit longer."

"But I didn't expect..."

"You'd take the bait... so quickly."

He turned around and looked at the Ice Goddess standing quietly behind him.

"Qingying."

"Hmm?" Su Qingying looked up, her cold eyes carrying a hint of inquiry.

"Send out the notification."

Lu Chen's lips curved into a cold arc, anticipating the show.

"Just say..."

"The show has begun."

"Also..."

"Help me prepare a short-selling list for the stocks of all Military-Industrial Enterprises in the Western Alliance."