Fu Haoran never expected that trouble would strike the moment he boarded the plane, preparing to pack his belongings and return to the Warhammer World.
In Washington, D. C., at the White House press briefing room, the door to the president's office was pushed open, and Lanpu strode out, his bright red tie taut over his United States, his expression both excited and obsessive.
The chief of staff behind him, clutching a speech draft that had been revised for two hours, jogged up to offer some advice, but Lanpu simply pushed him away.
"I don't need to read from a script. What I want to say is more truthful than any script. Believe me, no one knows better than me how to deal with traitors."
Flashbulbs went off instantly. Lanpu stood in front of the podium, not looking at the teleprompter, his thick lips moving rapidly, spittle flying all over the microphone in front of him.
"Today, I am going to announce the most serious, worst, and most unforgivable act of treason in history!" Lanpu slammed his fist on the podium, poked the camera with his finger, and his face turned bright red.
"Someone! Bypassed Congress, bypassed the White House, bypassed United States law! Sold our top-of -United States fifth-generation fighter jets to the whole world! This is treason! Utter treason!"
"I don't care who he is or what forces are behind him! I'm warning all nations here! Anyone who dares to buy these fighter jets is an enemy of United States!"
"Anyone who opposes us is now! Return the fighter jets we've already acquired! Otherwise, we will use every means to make you pay the price!"
A CNN reporter stood up and asked, "Mr. President, why don't you name the person directly? Do you have concrete evidence?"
Lanpu scoffed, shaking his head. "I won't name names. The more you praise someone like that, the more you mention their name, the smuger they become. I won't give them any chance to ride the wave of popularity. That's why fakenews is always chasing after them!"
A FOX reporter followed up with a question, "Mr. President, as far as I know, University of Tokyo, Japan, South Korea, Turkey have already completed the delivery of fighter jets, and some countries have even put them into service. In this situation, how can we force their return?"
"Invalid transaction!" Lanpu said decisively, waving his hand. "Any transaction not approved by me is null and void! Those countries that accepted the goods without my permission are making enemies of United States! No one knows the rules of arms trade better than me!"
At the end of the press conference, Lanpu once again pressed his face against the camera, his tone menacing. "I don't care who this guy selling the fighter jets is, I'll find him! I'll sue him!"
"I will make him pay for his treason! Everyone who cooperates with him is an enemy of United States! Do you understand? Everyone!"
The moment the live broadcast signal was cut off, Lanpu's aides behind him all breathed a sigh of relief, their foreheads covered in sweat.
The chief of staff's speech notes were crumpled from being clutched so tightly. As Lanpu walked away, he patted him on the shoulder. "Well written."
"Mr. President, you haven't said a single word."
"Yes, that's why I'm right."
The White House directive spread throughout Washington that afternoon.
Fu Haoran had just gotten off the plane, quickly saw the news.
"Report the number of orders that have already been fulfilled," Fu Haoran said calmly.
Jimmy flipped open the folder and spoke rapidly, "24 aircraft from University of Tokyo, full payment upon delivery, $1.68 billion has been received in full."
" The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has four aircraft in stock, with a 50% premium, and US$420 million has already been received. Eight more are on the order list, bringing the total order to 12."
"12 aircraft for the South Korea Air Force, priced at a 15% premium. 50% of the payment, US$462 million, has been received, with the remaining balance to be paid in two installments."
" The Turkey Air Force has received payment for three aircraft, with the transaction settled in full and on delivery. The total amount received is $2.774 billion."
"An order for 120 arresting cables, totaling US$12 million, has been fully received and delivered."
Fu Haoran nodded and tapped the table with his fingertips.
Jimmy handed over the tablet, his expression instantly turning serious. "Boss, after the press conference, Australia, Canada, and several Europe countries immediately called off their intended orders, and the negotiation teams withdrew without even giving up their deposits."
"In addition, the White House, in conjunction with the SWIFT system, is attempting to freeze $12 billion in our global liquidity."
"Currently, only the 1.2 billion in publicly disclosed accounts in United States have been fully frozen. Apart from the 1.8 billion in offshore accounts in Hong Kong that have been safely transferred, all other overseas accounts have had their transactions restricted and cannot be transferred normally."
Fu Haoran had to admit that this was a ruthless move.
The US$1.8 billion in Hong Kong was his designated working capital for domestic investments, and not a single penny could be touched.
"The funds we have on hand can only last for another six months at most," Jimmy added, his tone full of worry.
"Six months?" Fu Haoran leaned back in his chair, a smile playing on his lips. "That's enough time for me to finish up what I'm dealing with."
To him, the conflicts on Blue Star were nothing compared to the invasion of the Chaos Warband in the Hive World.
He didn't care about the mess in the 2K World at all.
Jimmy didn't ask any more questions. He had already figured out the rules; if he didn't understand something, he would just pretend he didn't hear it.
He continued, "In addition to this, we also face comprehensive legal pressure."
" The United States's tax authorities launched a full tax investigation against us, and the FBI seized all our offices and representative offices in the United States."
" The Department of Justice has formally opened a case, launching the highest-level treason investigation. The Pentagon has suspended all related U. S. maintenance contracts and is preparing to issue a global blockade and arrest warrant in conjunction with North Atlantic Treaty Organization."
Fu Haoran's expression remained completely unchanged.
"Leave them alone for now. As long as they don't cause trouble in the factory, let them do what they want."
He casually opened a social media platform, edited a post, and clicked send.
The caption was extremely brief: 43 fighter jets have been delivered, 104 remain in stock. Mr. President, you'd better think carefully. If I can't sell my stuff, guess what I'm going to do?
That's so hard to guess.
The accompanying image is a map of the Northern Expedition's marching route, with sharp arrows pointing directly from the West Coast to Washington.
The post garnered over a million reposts within ten minutes. The hashtags #NorthernExpeditionManifesto and # Lanpu # instantly topped the global trending charts.
The Oval Office.
Lanpu stared intently at the images on the screen, zooming in and out, his face flushed red and his chest heaving violently.
"What is this? What is he trying to do?! Is he threatening me?! Threatening the United States of America?!"
Guo Yixing, a Chinese-American staff member standing to the side of the desk, took half a step forward.
He was in his early forties, wore frameless glasses, and his suit was tailored to fit better than any of the White House staff present.
He immigrated to United States with his parents when he was sixteen. The first thing he did after graduating from college was to change his Chinese name from "Guo Yixing" to "Jonathan Guo". The second thing he did was to join the Republican Party.
He then emptied his pockets to donate political funds and frantically smeared his motherland, relying on the label of "the one who understands the threat from University of Tokyo the most" to squeeze into the core staff of the White House.
Within Lanpu's team, he was in charge of Asia-Pacific affairs, or more precisely, "To help the president deal with the University of Tokyo using the University of Tokyo way of thinking."
Guo Yixing hates two types of people the most: first, the "foolish masses" who think their motherland is good; and second, the Chinese who are more powerful than him and refuse to kneel United States.
Fu Haoran's rise shattered his years-long self-deception that he was superior to others.
Now that the opportunity was right in front of him, he couldn't wait to crush Fu Haoran to death, use the killing of his compatriots as a pledge of allegiance, completely erase his Asian identity, and gain a foothold in the White House.
"Mr. President, this is a marching map modeled after the Northern Expedition in the history of the University of Tokyo." He pointed to the route on the screen, his tone respectful, yet every word dripping with veiled malice. "He means he intends to lead his army all the way to Washington to overthrow the president, whom he sees as illegitimate and unjust."
"What?!" Lanpu's mind went blank, and a surge of rage instantly overwhelmed him. He kicked over the solid wood coffee table in front of him.
Glasses, pens, and confidential documents were scattered everywhere, strewn all over the floor.
"He's insane! Utterly insane! Traitor! Shameless loser! Trash!"
Lanpu pointed at the screen and roared, his voice crude and aggressive, in his signature domineering tone, "Immediately! Right now! Give the Pentagon the order! All active carrier strike groups, withdraw to the West Coast!"
" The 82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division are on full alert! All military bases surrounding Washington, D. C. are under lockdown! Forty-eight hours!"
I'm going to capture this yellow-skinned monkey and take him to Guantanamo! I'll make him kneel and beg for mercy!
The room full of staff fell silent, none daring to speak. The military advisor standing at the door was about to turn around when the Secretary of State grabbed him.
The Secretary of State stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Mr. President, I personally suggest that we calm down before deploying the carrier strike group."
"Calm down?!" Lanpu turned around and pointed out the window. "He publicly threatened to launch a Northern Expedition online! He threatened to march on Washington! You want me to calm down?!"
The Secretary of State, forcing a smile, explained, "Mr. President, it would be easy to handle with anyone else, but with him, I'm afraid it's really not feasible."
"Huh?" Lanpu seemed to have heard something utterly absurd, his face full of disdain. "You mean, as the President of the United States, I can't touch him?!"
"Yes, Mr. President." The Secretary of State nodded, his tone grave. "You may have forgotten, but he has an estimated 100,000 elite troops under his command, all veterans who fought in both Battles of Washington, and not a single one of them left him after the war."
Lanpu frowned and waved his hand dismissively. "One hundred thousand? Is that all? We have millions of active and reserve personnel in United States, with fighter jets and aircraft carriers everywhere. Why would we be afraid of a mere one hundred thousand rabble?"
The military advisor beside him stepped forward with a pained expression, filling in the most fatal gap. "Mr. President, they are not militia, much less Guerrilla Unit. The equipment these 100,000 men have, even the most ordinary soldiers, is more sophisticated than the standard equipment of our Delta Force."
"Huh? How is that possible?! Tell me, which idiot sent them this?! I'm going to kill him!" Lanpu roared.
"It wasn't given to them by someone else; they developed and produced it themselves." The Secretary of State looked at the President, whose face was filled with disbelief, but he knew that this was the truth. Or rather, at first, he had also felt the same way.
"Mr. President, I know this sounds absurd, but he has a complete closed-loop military-industrial complex, producing its own fighter jets, Armored Vehicle, artillery, and ammunition, without needing any external supplies."
"More importantly, his troops twice relieved Washington from siege, directly confronted an alien Xenomorph, and annihilated the invading enemy. Our conventional troops are good at counterinsurgency operations, but in a head-on confrontation, they are no match for them."
"If war breaks out rashly, it will be impossible to crush the enemy in the short term, and dragging it out will only escalate into a civil war-level chaos."
"Global capital will flee United States instantly, our stock and currency markets will collapse, and the dollar's hegemony will be impacted."
"What the hell?!" Lanpu's rage froze instantly, his mind blank for a few seconds, the arrogance and ferocity on his face gradually fading, leaving only disbelief. "You mean, besides being a warlord, he's also an all-encompassing arms company?"
"Not only can they build fighter jets and aircraft carriers, but they can even build the simplest individual weapons better than us?"
Everyone in the room fell silent. No one wanted to admit it, but it was an undeniable fact.
"Then call him over and put him on trial in public!" Lanpu shouted, his neck stiff.
The Secretary of State shook his head. "Mr. President, he once left three senators speechless during a questioning session on Capitol Hill. He walked into Capitol Hill in a suit and came out in the uniform of National Guard major general."
"He didn't utter a single swear word or make a single threat throughout the entire process, but he did it. That's why he dared to publicly advocate for the Northern Expedition this time," he said, "It's definitely not something he was joking about."
After several seconds of silence, Lanpu gritted his teeth and asked in a deep voice, his tone urgent and unwilling. "Then what do we do? I must deal with this troublemaker! Immediately! Right now! I won't allow anyone to threaten United States, to threaten me! I need the fastest, ruthlessest, and most thorough solution! I don't want to wait!"
The room fell silent once more.
No one dared to speak.
They can't win in a direct confrontation, and they'll lose face in negotiations; there's simply no way to have the best of both worlds.
Guo Yixing knew he had to speak up.
He was the only naturalized citizen in the room with yellow skin and University of Tokyo; his loyalty would not be questioned only when he handed a knife to his fellow countrymen.
He adjusted his glasses, took a step forward, and bent even lower. "Mr. President, my suggestion is, don't rush to attack him."
"Not fight him? He's threatening a northern expedition! He's threatening my country! Don't you think this is your homeland?!" Lanpu roared without any restraint, a statement so powerful it could end his political career.
"No, Mr. President, my loyalty to United States is beyond question!" Guo Yixing hurriedly declared, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, but his tone grew increasingly sinister.
"It is precisely because his threats are public that we cannot take direct action."
"His industrial area is located near Washington, D. C., and his men can cross the West Coast to Washington in a few days."
"If you call him a traitor today, your grassroots supporters will believe it, the unionized families in the Rust Belt will believe it, but the tech companies in Silicon Valley..."
Wall Street capital and half the members of the National Rifle Association will write you a joint letter saying that this person saved United States. We can't let you take that risk."
Guo Yixing paused, a glint of malice flashing in his eyes.
He understood all too well the bottom line of people like Fu Haoran: they could confront the authorities head-on, but they would never lay a hand on ordinary citizens. He also knew how to use United States's rules to destroy a rising Chinese nation from the root.
As a democratic and liberal activist who has escaped suffering and is striving for freedom, nothing would better prove his loyalty to United States than crushing this compatriot who brought glory to the country with his own hands.
"But we can win, and we can win at zero cost."
Guo Yixing pulled a map out of his briefcase and spread it on the table.
The map marked the locations of all of Fu Haoran's industrial zones in North America. The DYB North America Industrial Park was circled in red, and the land routes to Washington., were marked densely next to it. Every ten kilometers, there was a blue arrow that read "MAGA Militia Assembly Point".
"Mr. President, we won't go to war directly. We'll play the rules, manipulate public opinion, and launch a grassroots encirclement, slowly boiling the frog in water, subduing the enemy without a fight." Guo Yixing's finger tapped on the map, his words venomous yet clear. "First, the government will escalate sanctions, completely cutting off all his channels."
"Freeze all his overseas accounts, accelerate the Department of Justice's treason investigation, cut off all his supply chains, and simultaneously issue a global arrest warrant with North Atlantic Treaty Organization— Pentagon, tie his hands and feet."
"Secondly, create public opinion momentum and establish a consensus across the entire internet."
"Label all his businesses as traitors aiding the enemy, evil military-industrial oligarchs, and invaders of Chinese capital; portray him as a public enemy who stole United States technology and attempted to overthrow the United States regime. Have all media outlets broadcast this 24/7, nailing him to the pillar of shame."
"The third, and most crucial, step is to mobilize grassroots forces."
Guo Yixing lowered his voice, his eyes full of calculation. "Your MAGA die-hards and low-level rednecks have long harbored resentment towards foreign capital and the rising power of China, and have long held a grudge against his monopoly on top-tier military trade and his crushing of United States's military industry."
"All we need is official tacit approval and tacit consent to guide them into launching a nationwide campaign of condemnation."
"They were incited to storm factories, block logistics, besiege employees, and sabotage production lines. Vandalism, protests, online doxxing, arson, and other acts of vandalism were all vaguely portrayed and defined as spontaneous, righteous actions by the people."
"The law does not punish the masses; no matter how powerful he is, he wouldn't dare to use force against ordinary people in United States."
"If he retaliates, it will be a massacre of civilians, solidifying his reputation as an evil tyrant, losing all public support, and Wall Street and Silicon Valley will immediately sever ties with him."
"While we secretly mobilized troops to encircle and trap him, we also used civilian forces to continuously wear him down, annoy him, and break him."
"We'll strike when he's in dire straits and abandoned by everyone, delivering a fatal blow."
This set of underhanded tricks, layer upon layer, is extremely vicious.
Without firing a single shot, by using civilian riots to coerce official pressure, Fu Haoran's entire escape route was effectively blocked.
Lanpu's eyes lit up instantly, his irritated face breaking into wild joy. He slammed his fist on the table. "Brilliant! Perfect! Nobody knows better than me how to mobilize the masses! Let's go with this plan! You're a hundred times better than these useless military advisors!"
In his view, the best strategy is to defeat the opponent without engaging in direct confrontation, without taking the risk of defeat.
He immediately grabbed his phone, his fingers flying across the keyboard, and posted a top-of-the-page tweet that was pushed across the entire internet. The wording was blunt, crude, and highly inflammatory, perfectly replicating his usual manic style. "Listen up, all people of United States! DYB Technology and its controllers are traitors, thieves, and evil oligarchs!"
"They stole United States's cutting-edge military technology, sold fifth-generation fighter jets privately, profited at the expense of the enemy, trampled on United States's laws, and threatened the security of the entire United States!"
"This is a just and righteous crusade by the entire nation! All patriotic United States can take action to resist evil industries and purge traitors from the country! All acts of justice in defending United States are innocent!"
The tweet instantly went viral across the United States.
Countless MAGA die-hards and lower-class rednecks instantly became excited. Long-suppressed resentment, xenophobia, and jealousy of top-tier capital, under the official's tacit approval and instigation, completely erupted.
Extremists who were initially observing suddenly found themselves backed by the authorities and began to rally and form groups.
A nationwide crackdown on Fu Haoran's businesses is quietly taking shape.