227: Chapter 227 The New King's Gift, the President's Collar

As soon as Chen Feng's words, "The first gift is already on the way," fell, Sarah cut off the communication.

She had long since grown accustomed to her boss's mysterious and eccentric way of doing things; she only needed to execute, without asking questions.

Chen Feng stretched his limbs, feeling completely relaxed.

Having dealt with the old god and supported the new king, the giant ship of Umbrella could finally sail out of the shadows of the deep sea and onto the center of the global stage in broad daylight.

As for the congratulatory gift for Clark...

Chen Feng walked over to the wine cabinet, poured himself a glass of whiskey, and smiled silently.

He believed that the newly promoted president-elect would definitely "like" this great gift.

...

Meanwhile, in Chicago.

At General Clark's campaign headquarters, the smell of celebratory champagne had not yet dissipated, but the atmosphere had already turned solemn once again.

In the giant meeting room, only Clark and his chief political advisor, Howard Grant, remained.

This old fox, who had spent half his life navigating the ups and downs of politics, no longer possessed even a fraction of his earlier excitement. His face was colder than the cold coffee on the table.

"General, the trouble is just beginning," Howard said in a hoarse voice, pointing at the follow-up reports about the Eden Island scandal flashing across the screen.

"President Tanglangpu has fallen, but the mess she left behind is more terrifying than a volcano."

Clark crossed his hands and placed them on the table, looking at him with sharp eyes, gesturing for him to continue.

"That damned master videotape," Howard lowered his voice, as if the phrase itself carried a curse. "It is like a Sword of Damocles hanging over the entire U Federation—no, over the entire Western world."

"Although those two old fogies, Morgan and Rockefeller, spent a fortune to temporarily suppress public opinion, the source files are still out there. No one knows where they are, and everyone wants to get their hands on them."

"Now that you are about to enter the White House, this sword is as good as hanging over your head. Those families who were severely affected by the scandal will find it at all costs, either to destroy it or... to use it to blackmail you."

"Think about it, General. When you sit in that position, but someone else holds a bomb that can detonate the entire upper echelon at any moment, what a passive situation that would be."

Clark was expressionless, his fingers lightly tapping on the table, making a dull 'thud-thud' sound.

He naturally understood this logic.

Power must be absolute. Any variable out of control is a fatal threat.

"Then find it and destroy it," Clark's tone was simple and direct, like issuing a military order.

Howard smiled bitterly. "General, if only it were that easy. That crazy woman President Tanglangpu hid the thing deeper than nuclear launch codes. The FBI and CIA turned the White House upside down and couldn't even find the shadow of a hard drive. Now everyone guesses that the master tape might have been taken into the supermax prison with President Tanglangpu."

"But that place is an absolute fortress; no one can dream of taking anything out of there, let alone interrogating that woman who has gone completely insane."

Clark frowned slightly.

This was indeed a deadlock.

A massive threat that could neither be physically destroyed nor controlled.

Just then, there was a knock on the meeting room door, and a young assistant poked his head in, looking somewhat nervous.

"General, Mr. Howard, downstairs... there is a package for you. It is addressed to you by name and must be signed for by you personally."

"A package?" Clark and Howard exchanged a look.

At a time like this, who would use such an old-fashioned method to deliver something?

"Who sent it?" Clark asked.

The assistant swallowed hard, seemingly still recalling the scene from just now. "A... a very ordinary-looking man, wearing a black trench coat, a baseball cap, and sunglasses. His face couldn't be seen clearly. He didn't say a word, just put the box down and left. Our security tried to stop him, but... but before they could even react, he was gone."

Howard's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition welled up in his chest.

Clark stood up instead and said in a deep voice, "Have them bring it up."

A few minutes later, a box measuring half a meter square, made entirely of matte black metal, was laboriously carried in by two fully armed security personnel.

There were no markings on the surface of the box, except in one place, where a simple and striking logo was branded.

A red-and-white Umbrella.

Seeing this logo, Howard turned pale with fright and held his breath.

Clark waved his hand, dismissing everyone, leaving only himself and Howard in the entire meeting room.

He walked over to the metal box and scrutinized it closely.

The box had no lock, only a groove that looked like a biometric scanner.

Clark took a deep breath and pressed his right thumb onto it.

"Beep—Identity confirmed."

A faint synthesized mechanical voice sounded, and the lid of the box slowly opened upward, revealing what was wrapped in black velvet inside.

It was neither documents nor gold.

Only a palm-sized black hard drive enclosure lay quietly right in the center.

On the hard drive, a single word was engraved in blood-red font.

[PANDORA]

Looking at that word, Howard felt cold all over. His legs went weak, and he almost failed to stand firm, fortunately grabbing the table just in time.

"My God... This... this is impossible!" he cried out, his voice filled with unconcealed fear and shock.

"How... how did he get it?! This thing... this thing should be in the deepest safe of the White House! Or in the hands of that crazy woman President Tanglangpu!"

Clark did not speak.

He just stared intently at the small hard drive, his gaze deep.

He finally understood what the 'congratulatory gift' Chen Feng sent really was.

This gift was too heavy.

Heavy enough to crush the entire old world.

He slowly reached out and picked up the hard drive. The icy sensation from his fingertips felt like a red-hot branding iron, making his heart tremble.

At this moment, Clark understood everything completely.

From the outbreak of the Eden Island scandal to President Tanglangpu's madness, and then to himself being pushed to the pinnacle of power...

Everyone thought this was a chaotic situation out of control, a dog-eat-dog farce.

But looking at it now, it was not the case at all.

There had always been an invisible hand manipulating everything behind the scenes.

That young man named Chen Feng was not a player gambling with them at the card table at all.

He was the card table itself!

He made all the rules, dealt all the cards, and then watched coldly as these so-called 'important figures' fought to the death and shed rivers of blood over the tiny bits of bait he threw down.

Even the final hole card that could overturn everyone had been firmly held in his hand from the very beginning.

Whoever he wanted dead had to die.

Only those he wanted to live could live.

A chill that penetrated to his very bones made Clark, a decisive four-star general who was ruthless on the battlefield, feel what 'powerlessness' meant for the first time.

"General... what... what should we do now?" Howard's voice was shaking terribly. "Should... should we destroy it immediately? Once it's gone, everything will be over!"

Clark slowly shook his head. He placed the hard drive back into the box and closed the lid.

He smiled bitterly.

"No, Howard."

He turned around, looked at his political ally who had already been scared out of his wits, and said word by word,

"You've got one thing wrong."

"This is not a bomb."

"This is a congratulatory gift... sent to me by Mr. Chen."

Clark paused, his voice becoming incredibly dry.

"At the same time, it is also a... collar placed around my neck."

Howard was stunned. He stared blankly at Clark, his mind going completely blank.

Clark did not explain further.

He walked to his desk and picked up the red encrypted satellite phone that could connect to any corner of the globe.

He dialed a sequence of numbers he knew by heart and put the receiver to his ear.

"Connect me to Mr. Chen."