162: Chapter 162 Cracks in the Power Struggle, Dispute Temporarily Shelved

Evelyn Strauss paused her shorthand pen on the paper for a long time, not even writing a single blank line.

Victoria Monroe set her tablet aside, lightly folded her fingers on the table, and pursed her lips slightly.

Alan Holt sat at the end of the long table, his hands resting flat on the stack of encrypted intelligence folders just transmitted from the Long Island scene, his expression cold and precise, waiting to speak last.

"According to the latest intelligence I have obtained," Alan Holt's tone was as unhurried as ever, but every word carried the irrefutable weight of repeated verification,

"Rockefeller III, the Astor Family, the DuPont Family, Rothschild, and the Vanderbilt Family, the Lighthouse Country's Five Great Families, simultaneously deployed their private armed forces an hour ago and stormed Solomon Crane's estate on the Gold Coast of the North Shore of Long Island."

"Solomon Crane himself has been confirmed dead in the crossfire, and currently, not a single member of the Crane Family has survived."

"More crucially, Rockefeller III and the others seem to have already established direct contact with Zeta Star, and during the crossfire, they received substantial technological assistance from Grey Alien."

Harris lowered her arms which were crossed over her chest, braced her hands on the edge of the table, leaned forward slightly, and spoke in a cold, sharp tone:

"Rockefeller and the Astor Family are now traitors to humanity."

"No matter how many generations they have spent on this land of the Lighthouse Country or how much wealth they have accumulated, siding with alien forces is treason."

"Traitors should never be tolerated; arrest them all and process them for treason!"

Secretary of Defense Graves stood beside her, tapped his knuckles on the table, and echoed:

"The Vice President is right."

"They are working for Zeta Star now."

"If we leave them unchecked, by the time the million-strong fleet arrives, they will be ready-made internal collaborators."

"This kind of time bomb at the level of a military alliance should be dismantled before they have any chance to detonate it."

Victoria Monroe lifted her hands from the table, lightly clasped her fingers in front of her, and spoke in an unhurried tone, but her wording was far more cautious than that of Harris and Graves:

"Rockefeller, the Astor Family, the DuPont Family, Rothschild, and the Vanderbilt Family—these families have inextricable ties to the very founding of the Lighthouse Country."

"The Astor Family were the northern financial group that, during the Revolutionary War, were among the first to provide military funds and horses to General Washington,"

"The DuPont Family has been supplying all the gunpowder for the federal army since the Civil War,"

"The railroads built by the Vanderbilt Family are the steel skeleton that connected the western states and New England into one entity,"

"And the Rockefeller Family, during the industrial age, held up half the sky of the Lighthouse Country's energy system."

"They are not partners; they are the chassis assembly of this vehicle called America."

"If you arrest them all for treason now, it is equivalent to tearing out the entire chassis of this vehicle, and no one will ever be able to provide replaceable new parts again."

Mark Milley slowly lowered his fists, which had been pressed against his forehead, onto the table, his voice steady but every word pressed down with immense weight:

"Victoria Monroe is right."

"These The Five Great Families are not just a few rich people."

"They are the underlying architecture of the Lighthouse Country's military, energy, financial, transportation, and military-industrial complex."

"We are currently facing the direct threat of Zeta Star's million-strong fleet; if we sever our own chassis at this time... we will collapse ourselves before Grey Alien' fleet even opens fire."

"Even before formulating any measures against them, more time is needed to assess the chain reaction."

Evelyn Strauss put down her shorthand pen, crossed her hands on the table, and spoke in a calm and precise tone:

"Even if we are to take action, now is not the time."

"Rockefeller III has already received initial feedback from some of Zeta Star's technological assistance, which means they indeed have the support of Grey Alien behind them."

"If we rashly take military action, it is equivalent to declaring war directly on Zeta Star."

"And until the Longevity Faction delivers the real technological assistance into our hands, we have absolutely no defensive capability against any attack from Zeta Star."

Biden sat in the center of the curved long table, leaning back in that high-backed leather chair, his fingers crossed in front of him, waiting until everyone had finished speaking before slowly opening his mouth:

"Alan Holt, first, keep a close watch on The Five Great Families."

"From now on, all movements of Rockefeller III, the Astor Family, the DuPont Family, Rothschild, and the Vanderbilt Family are to be placed under twenty-four-hour real-time surveillance."

He scanned everyone present, slowly unclasped his crossed fingers from in front of him, placed them flat on the table, his tone steady and restrained,

"As for taking action against them... not for now."

"Through the communication channels between The Five Great Families and Grey Alien, we can also indirectly grasp the movements of Zeta Star's million-strong fleet."

"This in itself is also a kind of utility."

After saying this, his gaze slowly swept from the left end of the long table to the right, taking in everyone's expression.

No one openly opposed,

but the expressions of refusal from each person, along with the attitudes revealed in the silence, were distinct.

Graves moved his fist away from the table, clenched it, and then relaxed it again; his jaw muscles were pulled extremely tight, clearly feeling that Biden was condoning a hidden danger that was undermining the foundations of national security.

Harris crossed her arms over her chest again, offering no rebuttal, but the corners of her mouth pursed downward, clearly feeling that Biden was too cautious and not decisive enough on an issue involving fundamental security principles.

Evelyn Strauss unconsciously tapped the corner of her shorthand notebook with her finger, sitting on the side and quietly watching Biden, her gaze full of unspoken criticism about the situation becoming too big to handle:

These old aristocrats, who had been dividing chips at the same poker table since before the founding of the country, had grown so large that even Biden found it inconvenient to confront them head-on.

Victoria Monroe and Mark Milley, meanwhile, exchanged a tacit glance in the silence.

Mark Milley turned slightly to the side, nodding to Victoria Monroe with only a very slight movement.

The two of them happened to simultaneously understand Biden's true consideration:

The Five Great Families have now gained the trust of Grey Alien, and touching them is equivalent to a complete falling out with Zeta Star.

In the event that the Longevity Faction cannot defeat Grey Alien' million-strong fleet, there will be no room for maneuver left.

Not taking action against The Five Great Families now is the most prudent approach.

Biden waited until everyone had said what they needed to say, placed his hands crossed back on the table in front of him, and cut to the next topic:

"Lord Zhang Long of the Longevity Faction has issued an order to us: destroy everything that could affect the 'Blockade Earth' prohibition."

"Only then will the Longevity Faction spare no effort in providing us with technological assistance."

"We previously locked onto two targets."

"First, Solomon's Jewish Financial Groups."

"Second, Prant, who is preparing to run for the next president."

"Now, Solomon has been wiped out by The Five Great Families, not by us."

"How will the people of the Longevity Faction view this?"

"They gave the order to us, we didn't accomplish it, and instead, a few old aristocrats got ahead of us and killed the person."

"Will Lord Zhang Long still provide us with technological assistance?"