178: Chapter 178 We must establish our own eyes and ears.

Blackstone Group's phone call was not only made to Sterling but also to Lin Zhou.

Of course, Davis's wording was much more polite.

"Lin, my friend, congratulations! Your 'Miracle Seed' has done a beautiful job! The entire Wall Street is talking about your feat."

"I just did a little bit of minor work." Lin Zhou leaned back on the hotel sofa, his tone calm.

"I heard those old stubborn guys at Syngenta want to find trouble for you?" Davis changed the subject.

"It's possible."

"Rest assured, I have already warned them." Davis's voice carried a smile. "No one dares to touch our shared money printer. 'Oasis One' is very safe. However..."

He dragged out the tone.

"Lin, this time it's agricultural giants; next time it might be energy giants, or the military-industrial complex. Your country is like a child holding a gold brick, walking down a street full of hungry wolves. You cannot always rely on the deterrence of your neighbor (Huaxia), nor can you always rely on the verbal warnings of us 'business partners'."

Lin Zhou was silent; he knew what Davis said was the truth. External protection was, after all, temporary.

"Your security and intelligence system must be established as soon as possible. You need to have your own eyes to see the hands reaching out from the darkness; you need to have your own sharp blade to chop them off before that hand touches you."

Davis's voice became serious.

"Most importantly, my friend, you should consider going home. A national leader staying abroad for a long time is, in itself, a huge factor of instability. Your citizens need to see their leader with them, and your enemies also need to know that you are personally sitting in your homeland."

"I understand." Lin Zhou nodded. "Thank you for the reminder, Davis."

After hanging up, Lin Zhou paced back and forth in the room. Every word Davis said struck a chord in his heart. Whether it was the gold mine leak or this threat from the agricultural giants, both exposed his current biggest shortcoming—the lack of intelligence and counter-intelligence capabilities.

He was like a player wearing VR glasses, able to see the flashy data on the system panel, but completely blind to the crises lurking in the real world.

He must establish his own intelligence agency!

But the question was, how to build it? Although he had elites like Qin Yue and He Jun under his command, one was a diplomat and the other a military commander; neither was cut out for intelligence work.

Lin Zhou thought about it, and in the end, his gaze fell upon the person he was most familiar with and trusted the most to ask for help.

...

Beijing Suburbs, that familiar private club.

Still that antique tea room, still that set of purple clay tea sets.

Director Zhou personally brewed a cup of Dahongpao for Lin Zhou, the tea aroma curling: "We meet again so soon. What new ideas do you have this time?"

Lin Zhou adjusted his tone and switched to a more intimate form of address: "Uncle Zhou, I want to... establish our own intelligence and security department."

He recounted Davis's warning and his own worries exactly as they were.

After listening, Director Zhou's hand holding the teacup paused. He didn't answer immediately but looked at Lin Zhou deeply, his eyes filled with scrutiny and also a touch of gratification.

"Sit for a while and have some tea first."

Director Zhou put down the teacup and stood up. "This idea is no small matter; I need to take a call."

After speaking, he walked quickly out of the tea room.

Lin Zhou sat alone in the empty room, watching the rising tea smoke, feeling inevitably anxious. This wait lasted for more than half an hour.

Half an hour later, steady footsteps came from the corridor. Director Zhou pushed the door and entered. His expression had returned to its usual calm, but Lin Zhou could feel that the aura around him had become much more serious.

Director Zhou sat back in his seat, casually took a stack of sticky notes and a fountain pen from the side, and while writing something on the paper absentmindedly, he looked up at Lin Zhou. His tone was steady but carried a hint of refusal:

"Lin Zhou, it is very good that you can realize this problem. It shows that you have started to transform into a true 'statesman'. But we can only help you to a very limited extent with this matter."

"Why?" Lin Zhou's heart tightened.

"Because of the particularity of intelligence work." Director Zhou wrote, the pen tip scratching on the paper. "We can help you train troops and provide weapons. But an intelligence department... once we intervene too deeply, what do you think the Americans will say? They will immediately seize the handle and label you a 'Huaxia puppet', and all the political credibility you have accumulated internationally will instantly go bankrupt."

He paused, his gaze darkening: "Moreover, a country's eyes and ears must be completely in its own hands. If your system is established with our direct help, is what you see really the whole truth? Or is it what we want you to see?"

These words made cold sweat break out on Lin Zhou's back. He understood; this was not just a geopolitical consideration, but also a form of "protection" and "guidance" from Director Zhou.

"Then what should I do?" Lin Zhou was somewhat at a loss.

"Davis is right; you should go back." Director Zhou stopped writing and folded the note full of handwriting. His tone remained professional. "There is never a shortage of capable people in this world; what is lacking is a stage. Perhaps you can go to some places we find inconvenient to go to, and find some people we find inconvenient to use."

Director Zhou stood up, making a gesture to end the conversation.

"Alright, let's talk about this much for today; I have another meeting."

As Lin Zhou stood up to see him off, at the moment the two passed each other, Director Zhou's elbow seemed to accidentally hit the corner of the table heavily. The folded note slid off the edge of the table and fell onto the carpet at Lin Zhou's feet with a "pat".

Director Zhou, however, seemed completely unaware, not even turning his head, and walked straight out of the tea room.

Lin Zhou stood frozen in place, looking at the note lying quietly on the ground, his heart beating faster involuntarily.

He crouched down and slowly picked up the note and opened it.

There were no long speeches on it, only a printed-style coordinate address, and an ID consisting of numbers and letters that looked like some kind of dark web communication protocol.