Chapter 162 Cohen's Background

Ramaswamy was the first to arrive at Mu Xin's office at the Oxford Town Power Company.

Mu Xin sat behind his desk, his coffee just refilled, with a map of Oxford Town spread out before him, several locations circled in red ink.

"What are you drawing?" Ramaswamy plopped down into the leather chair opposite the desk.

"A theme park." Mu Xin didn't even look up. "Cohen will definitely investigate. When he does, I need to have something to show him."

"Do you know who Cohen is?" Ramaswamy asked.

"No." Mu Xin put down his pen. "But I know he comes from Washington, and I know he's the reason the Governor had to be at today's meeting."

Ramaswamy thought for a moment before speaking, "Mr. Mu, in the conference room today—"

"I know." Mu Xin interrupted him. "If it were me, I would have stayed silent too."

Just as Ramaswamy was about to say something, footsteps echoed outside the office, followed by a knock on the door.

Governor DeWine stood at the door.

"Governor." Mu Xin stood up.

Governor DeWine didn't speak; he closed the door, walked over, and sat down.

"Bremer was very passive after you left," Governor DeWine began. "I told him he hadn't done his homework before inviting me."

Ramaswamy opened his mouth to speak, but Governor DeWine raised a hand to stop him.

"Wait. Acton said she's coming too. Let's talk when she gets here."

Ramaswamy frowned. "Acton is coming too?"

"She messaged me asking where Mr. Mu was." Governor DeWine's tone was flat. He then glanced at Mu Xin. "I told her you would return to the office. I knew you would come back."

"Besides, there are no political opponents today, only partners."

Mu Xin didn't say anything; he simply rose and went to the coffee machine to press three cups. Ten minutes later, Acton pushed open the office door.

"I haven't had dinner yet." Acton placed her bag on a chair and took the coffee Mu Xin handed her. "What about you guys?"

"Nobody has." Mu Xin sat back in his seat.

Mu Xin leaned back in his chair, looking at the three of them. "The reason you're all here is because you know what happened this afternoon isn't over."

"Cohen didn't believe in that theme park." Governor DeWine looked at Mu Xin.

"It's not that he didn't believe it," Mu Xin shook his head. "It's that he doesn't need to believe it. He just needs to investigate. Once he finds enough, he can choose where to strike."

"When did you start thinking about all this?" Ramaswamy's voice was a bit dry.

"The first day I bought the weapons." Mu Xin smiled.

"You mean you considered all this on the very first day you bought the weapons?" Governor DeWine looked at Mu Xin, surprised.

"Yes." Mu Xin took a sip of coffee and folded his hands on the table.

"Governor, nothing I've bought in Oxford Town can be used by people in Washington to threaten me."

"But the weapons can. That is my weakness."

"A security company is an explanation for the public, but it's useless to politicians in Washington."

"So from day one, I started thinking: if one day someone from Washington stood in front of me and asked why I bought weapons, how should I answer?"

Acton put down her cup. "Was your answer this afternoon prepared in advance?"

She didn't wait for Mu Xin to answer. Everyone heard the footsteps of someone else in the hallway.

Ramaswamy turned his head toward the door, alert.

The door was pushed open, and a man in a dark gray suit, wearing a Casio digital watch with a scratched face on his left wrist, walked in.

Jack Harrison, Mu Xin's lawyer in Washington.

"Mr. Mu, Oxford Town has changed a lot since I was last here." Harrison closed the door and scanned the people in the room. "Governor DeWine, I didn't expect to see you here."

Governor DeWine looked at Harrison, his expression shifting several times within a few seconds; he was the one who had introduced Harrison to Mu Xin.

"Jack." Governor DeWine's voice was hoarse. "Why are you here?"

"Because my client called me. After all, I get hundreds of thousands of dollars from him a year for doing absolutely nothing."

Harrison sat directly on the sofa, pulled a bottle of Coke from his briefcase, unscrewed it, and took a sip.

"He said there was someone from Washington this afternoon—no title, no business card, just a name and where they were from."

He set the Coke bottle down and looked around the room. "I spent several hours investigating this person."

Governor DeWine spoke again. "What did you find?"

"Not much." Harrison pulled a sheet of printed paper from his briefcase. "Department of Defense, Office of Industrial Security and Infrastructure Protection, Deputy Director."

"The name isn't on any public government website, the resume isn't on LinkedIn, and the academic records aren't in any university's alumni system."

"I couldn't even find out when he was hired. The only thing I'm sure of is that his office is in the E-Ring of The Pentagon, which isn't on any publicly available floor plan."

The room fell silent.

Department of Defense, Office of Industrial Security and Infrastructure Protection; that agency has a very long name.

Ramaswamy heard "Industrial Security," Governor DeWine heard "Department of Defense," and Acton heard "Infrastructure."

"What does this office manage?" Acton asked.

Harrison flipped the printed paper over, placed it on the table, and pushed it into the middle of the group.

"They don't manage much. They are only responsible for evaluating the acquisition and impact of foreign capital on U.S. defense supply chain companies."

"If they discover any suspected factors threatening national security during the evaluation process, they have three powers."

"First, initiate a comprehensive security review of the relevant enterprise; second, submit the review results to CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) as a reference for law enforcement."

"Third, and most importantly, they can directly contact the FBI counterintelligence division to recommend a background investigation into the relevant individual."

He emphasized the words "relevant individual."

"So, what he was asking about was weapons—asking about a Chinese international student stockpiling military-grade heavy equipment."

"These questions—" Governor DeWine carefully considered his wording, "these questions are indeed within his scope of duty."

Harrison didn't speak; he just nodded, then picked up the Coke bottle and took another sip.

"So they can investigate us using national security as a reason. By their definition, a Chinese citizen possessing military equipment is a risk in itself," Ramaswamy said, looking at Mu Xin.

"Mr. Mu, you don't look surprised." There was a hint of probing in Ramaswamy's voice.

"Because I knew this day would come from the very first day." Mu Xin shrugged.

"So after I bought the weapons, I kept thinking: if someone from Washington came, what would I show them? The answer is the theme park."

Acton gathered her thoughts. "Mr. Mu, can you explain the theme park thing again?"

"In the conference room this afternoon, I thought you were just making it up on the spot to deal with Cohen. So, are those zones real?!"