200: Chapter 200: A staggering 450 billion! The uncrowned king of the Middle East!

The door to the War Room was pushed open. Alan Fisher strode in.

His custom suit was wrinkled, his hair was unkempt, and his eyes were bloodshot. This was the result of staying up for three days and nights straight, yet he was in a state of eerie exhilaration, his steps feeling light and airy.

"Boss." Alan didn't waste words, slamming a thick report onto the table.

Chen Feng glanced at the table. "Give me the number directly."

"450 billion." Alan braced himself against the table, his voice raspy. "US dollars. It's been laundered and is sitting in various offshore accounts of Umbrella."

Chen Feng picked up his coffee and took a sip, remaining silent.

Seeing Chen Feng's calm demeanor, Alan grew anxious. "Boss, this is 450 billion! We've stripped Lockheed and Boeing, those military-industrial giants, of everything they've got! Israel's sovereign bonds are too stiff even to use as toilet paper now! Those old foxes on Wall Street are either jumping off buildings or going bankrupt; this money is enough to buy half of Africa!"

Chen Feng set down his cup and leaned back in his chair. "And?"

Alan froze, unsure of how to respond.

"This amount of money is only enough to get my next plan started." Chen Feng tapped the table. "Well done, Alan. Sarah will deposit your commission into your account. Also, your quota for 'Neo-Genesis' will be doubled next month."

Alan's eyes lit up instantly. To him, money was just a number; his life was what truly mattered.

"Thank you, Boss!" Alan bowed deeply.

Chen Feng waved him away.

As soon as Alan left, Chen Feng pulled up the system interface in his mind.

The funds had arrived.

The several advanced technology trees that had been stalled due to a lack of funds were now all lit up.

"System, unlock the T-Veronica Virus advanced sequence, the G-Virus stabilizer, and the mass production blueprints for the third-generation Tyrant."

A flash of light flickered across the interface.

[Research points deducted.]

[Advanced Gene Cloning Chamber blueprints unlocked.]

[Large-scale underground ecosystem construction plan unlocked.]

[Third-generation bio-weapon 'Tyrant' mass production line unlock progress: 100%.]

Chen Feng looked at the dense data on the interface, feeling immensely satisfied. With this money, the base beneath Los Angeles could be expanded by another ten levels, completely forging it into an impregnable fortress.

"Boss." Sarah pushed the door open, interrupting Chen Feng's calculations. "The people from Da Shi State have arrived."

"Sent by Qasim?"

"Yes, the team is led by his trusted aide, along with a personal representative of Supreme Leader Shahni." Sarah checked her tablet. "They brought something heavy and didn't go through customs; they used our private air route."

"Let them in."

Two minutes later, three men wearing traditional Iranian clothing walked into the War Room. The leader was a bearded middle-aged man who, upon entering, didn't dare to look Chen Feng in the face.

He walked to within three meters of the desk, his knees suddenly buckled, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

The two followers behind him also knelt, pressing their upper bodies completely onto the carpet with their foreheads firmly against the floor.

This was the highest form of obeisance in Da Shi State.

Chen Feng remained seated in his chair, watching the three men. "Didn't Qasim tell you that I don't go for this sort of thing?"

The middle-aged leader was trembling, not out of fear, but out of excitement. He raised his head, his eyes red-rimmed, and spoke in extremely stiff English. "Mr. Chen, you are our benefactor. You have accomplished what we haven't dared to dream of for generations."

Prime Minister Netanyahu had fallen, Israel was besieged by a 600,000-strong Arab coalition, and the U Federation was too busy to care about anything else. The mountain that had weighed over the Middle East for decades had been effortlessly overturned by this young man, who was not even thirty years old.

In the eyes of the people of the Middle East, Chen Feng was now a living god.

"Alright, get up and speak." Chen Feng tapped the table. "Qasim didn't send you here just to kowtow, did he?"

The middle-aged man scrambled up, but kept his back hunched. He pulled a gold-edged parchment document from his chest and presented it to Sarah with both hands.

Sarah took it, checked it to ensure there was no danger, and placed it on Chen Feng's desk.

Chen Feng opened the file.

"Mr. Chen, this is a resolution jointly signed by Supreme Leader Shahni and General Qasim." The middle-aged man lowered his voice. "The permanent mining rights to two core oil fields in southern Da Shi State, near the Persian Gulf, belong to Umbrella Corporation from today onwards."

Chen Feng looked at the Arabic and English text side-by-side and was somewhat surprised.

Two core oil fields. These weren't some nearly depleted messes; they were the lifeblood of Da Shi State. The annual output was worth at least tens of billions of US dollars, and it was a continuous stream of cash.

"Just this?" Chen Feng closed the file.

"No, there's more." The middle-aged man swallowed his saliva. "Supreme Leader Shahni has demarcated an area of 500 square kilometers around the oil fields. This area will serve as a special zone exclusively for Umbrella Corporation."

"A special zone?"

"Yes. A state within a state." The middle-aged man's tone was extremely respectful. "The Iranian military will not set foot in the special zone. The laws, taxes, and airspace there will all be determined by Umbrella Corporation itself. You can station troops there, build factories, and even launch missiles; Da Shi State will never interfere."

Chen Feng tapped his fingers on the desk.

This gesture was quite interesting.

Qasim and Supreme Leader Shahni had completely tied their fates to Umbrella's war chariot. They knew very well that although Da Shi State currently had the upper hand, once the U Federation caught its breath, or elected a new president, the situation in the Middle East could reverse at any moment.

They needed a backer. A backer capable of rubbing the U Federation into the dirt.

Giving up the oil fields and the special zone was essentially paying protection money.

This was exactly what Chen Feng wanted. No matter how large the underground base in Los Angeles was, it was limited by its location within the U Federation. Conducting many heavy weapon projects and large-scale biochemical experiments domestically was prone to causing trouble.

Now, having a lawless territory in the Middle East that belonged entirely to him, he could finally let loose and get to work.

"Qasim is thoughtful." Chen Feng pushed the file to Sarah. "Tell him I accept this gift."

The middle-aged man let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as if the stone hanging in his heart had finally dropped.

"However," Chen Feng shifted his tone. "Qasim should know my rules. Since the special zone belongs to me, it has nothing to do with Da Shi State. From now on, whoever provokes the special zone, I will handle it according to my rules."

"Of course! Of course!" The middle-aged man nodded repeatedly.

"Alright, Sarah, take them to rest. And by the way, load up that batch of 'Neo-Genesis' for them."

The middle-aged man thanked him profusely again before backing out.

The War Room quieted down again.

Sarah put the document into the safe and turned to look at Chen Feng. "Boss, the construction of the special zone will require a massive amount of manpower and resources. Are we really going to expand so aggressively in the Middle East right now?"

"Expand? Why not?" Chen Feng stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the bustling night view of Los Angeles. "We have the money, and we have the territory. It's time for Umbrella to step out from the shadows and into the spotlight."

"How should we handle Clark?" Sarah asked. "He's completely obsessed with his presidential campaign right now, and he's shelved many affairs at The Pentagon."

"Let him busy himself." Chen Feng sneered. "A president without military power is just a commander-in-chief in name only. When he sits in that chair, he will realize that the true master of the U Federation has long since changed."

Chen Feng turned around and looked at Sarah.

"Go notify the R&D department and send them the blueprints for the third-generation 'Tyrant' production line. Within a month, I want to see the first batch of finished products off the line. Use the Tyrants to guard the special zone in the Middle East."

Sarah nodded. "Understood. Lin Hao and Kevin have also sent back news from Israel. They raided three abandoned underground bases and managed to get their hands on a lot of good stuff, including a batch of nuclear materials that hadn't been destroyed in time."

"Nuclear materials?" Chen Feng chuckled. "That old guy, Prime Minister Netanyahu, sure hid them well. Tell Lin Hao and them to pack everything up and ship it directly to the new special zone in Da Shi State. Let's make some big firecrackers to play with."

At this moment, Chen Feng held a cash flow of 450 billion US dollars, controlled two core oil fields in the Middle East, and possessed an armed special zone that was not under the jurisdiction of any country.

Umbrella was no longer just a pharmaceutical company.

It was now a true business empire that stood above nations.