America's people are in for some serious suffering!

S.P.E.A.R., Ring Fortress.

Dressed in a white lab coat and wearing black-rimmed glasses, Lin Hao walked into the office of Director Zheng Xian, looking every bit the refined intellectual.

Zheng Xian, who had been busy tinkering with a potted orchid, glanced back. "Sit wherever you like. There's tea in the pot—freshly brewed Longjing."

Lin Hao walked over to the sofa and sat down, picking up the teapot to pour himself a cup. Remembering he was the one asking for a favor, he poured one for Zheng Xian as well.

Once Zheng Xian finished his work by the windowsill, he set down his shears and wiped his hands with a wet towel before walking over to the sofa, sitting down to Lin Hao's left.

"Is there a result for my application?" Lin Hao sipped his tea.

"Look at you, impatient again!" Zheng Xian glared at him.

At these words, Lin Hao seemed to drift into a trance, as if remembering something, and replied with a gentle smile: "Zheng Plant, I just want to make progress so badly!"

As he spoke, he chuckled to himself, lost in a distant memory.

"You're being erratic again..." Zheng Xian couldn't help but sigh, defeated. "The higher-ups have approved your request. From now on, you are the head of the Americas Branch. Go and reorganize the intelligence network over there."

Lin Hao's smile faded, and a flicker of joy flashed behind his glasses.

He drank his tea slowly, set the cup down, and asked with a serious expression, "What is the bottom line?"

Zheng Xian also set down his teacup, met Lin Hao's gaze, and said sternly, "Remember which country you belong to. Aside from that..."

"Anything goes!"

The joy in Lin Hao's eyes could no longer be hidden, and the corners of his mouth curled upward.

"Alright, I'll go arrange the handover." Lin Hao stood up, looking rather eager.

Watching his brisk pace, Zheng Xian shook his head with a wry smile.

A moment later, the office door was pushed open, and a woman with a lithe figure and cascading black hair walked in.

She sat down uninvited and poured herself some tea.

"Are we really sending Director Lin to America?" Weather Witch still found it hard to believe.

"Ever since Nick Fury took charge, the S.H.I.E.L.D. on the other side has become increasingly arrogant. Not only did they dismantle our network in the Americas, but they even established a S.H.I.E.L.D. branch in Hong Kong, using the dues we pay to act as a thug for the Americans."

"It's time to teach him a lesson." Zheng Xian kept a straight face, his voice cold. "This is what we call fighting poison with poison."

"But this poison..." Weather Witch looked genuinely unsettled. "Isn't it a bit too potent?"

"Indeed, the people of America..." Zheng Xian's expression suddenly turned strange, as if he were suppressing a laugh: "...are going to suffer."

His tone was filled with an irrepressible sense of schadenfreude.

Bang.

The conference room door was shoved open with force, and a man in a white lab coat with hair as messy as straw burst in, impatiently asking Zheng Xian, "Di... Director, is the Director going on field duty?"

Zheng Xian glared at him. "That is not a question you should be asking."

"Uh..." Yu Zhen immediately changed his approach. "Will the Director be coming to work tomorrow?"

Zheng Xian stared at him for a long time before carefully choosing his words. "Director Lin will be on leave for a while. While he's away, the Technical Development Department needs you, his assistant, to hold down..."

Yu Zhen's shoulders trembled, his hands shook, and tears streamed down his face. He hadn't heard a word of the rest, pulling out his phone in a frantic rush.

"Brothers, it's confirmed! The Great Demon Lord... he's leaving!"

Even through the phone, Zheng Xian could hear a deafening cheer erupting on the other end.

"Hahaha, tonight at Quanjude, it's on me!"

As he shouted, he bolted out the door.

Zheng Xian chased after him, yelling, "You brat, if the progress falls behind, you'll be the one to answer for it!"

"Don't worry, don't worry!" Yu Zhen ran happily, waving his hand. "I'll ask the Director for advice whenever there's an issue. As long as the Great Demon Lord stops picking on us, our work enthusiasm will definitely double."

Zheng Xian shook his head and turned back to his office.

Lin Hao departed from the Ring Fortress, which was temporarily docked in the northern Yanshan mountains, and drove home to Beijing to have dinner with his parents. He told them honestly that he would be away on a business trip for a while, with no set date for his return.

The next morning, Lin Hao boarded a flight to America. Twelve hours later, the plane touched down at San Francisco International Airport.

Tall and well-proportioned, Lin Hao walked out of the airport wearing a black trench coat.

His features were soft, and when he smiled, he looked like a boy-next-door; the black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose only added to his scholarly air.

A taxi pulled up in front of Lin Hao, and the black driver tilted his head to ask, "Hey, mister, need a ride?"

Lin Hao glanced at the young man and gave a knowing smile. "Sure."

The taxi started and headed toward the city.

The city that never sleeps was bathed in a hazy, luminous glow. Lin Hao had boarded the plane at 8:00 AM Beijing time; after a twelve-hour flight, it was four in the morning in San Francisco.

Throughout the ride, the driver was quite talkative, constantly trying to engage Lin Hao in conversation.

"Mister, are you from Japan?"

"No, I am from China."

"Wow, China, I've heard of it. That's a great country!"

The black driver glanced at Lin Hao through the rearview mirror, his smile widening.

Noticing that Lin Hao was busy admiring the streetscape outside, he asked with a chuckle, "Is this your first time in America, sir? San Francisco is a beautiful city, isn't it?"

"Welcome to America, this place is heaven!"

The black driver had no idea what Lin Hao was seeing at that moment.

The Essence of Grievance drifting above the city, the wails of the weak echoing in his ears, and the lingering scent of blood...

"Yes, this is my heaven!" the Great Demon Lord smiled.

It was worth the years he spent applying; he had finally arrived—the heaven that belonged to a devil!

The taxi suddenly veered off the main road, accelerated, and after several twists and turns, arrived at a dilapidated slum, finally charging into an abandoned old factory.

"Hey, guys!" The black driver slammed on the brakes, slid out of the car with practiced ease, and waved happily toward the interior of the factory.

The lighting was dim, and several pieces of clothing suddenly drifted over.

"Hodi, don't tell me you're off the clock already." A floating garment suddenly spoke up. "It seems I need to remind you how much money you still owe me."

"Boss Ryan, I'll be able to pay you back in no time." As he spoke, the black man named Hodi pointed at Lin Hao, who had already stepped out of the car on his own, and laughed. "This kid just arrived from China; he's bound to have plenty of greenbacks on him."

"You know how it is, people from that country are stupid enough to actually save their money."

Ryan stepped into the light, revealing that beneath the floating clothes was actually a piece of farm equipment.

"Not bad, you actually managed to find a lone yellow-skinned monkey."

As he spoke, all the farm equipment in the abandoned factory gathered around, eyeing Lin Hao with predatory intent.

"Yellow-skinned monkey, hand over everything of value you have on you!"

"Boss Ryan might spare your life for the sake of God."

Lin Hao looked around at the farm equipment and revealed a knowing smile. "Truly, this is my heaven."

Suddenly, a thick, abyssal blackness surged from Lin Hao's body, transforming into a towering figure before the horrified gazes of the farm equipment.

A pair of scarlet eyes snapped open above the pitch-black torso, a pair of horns sprouted from its head, and it clutched a black pitchfork in its hand.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... What the F*ck!"

"M-m-mommy, he... he... he's a Demon!"

"Ah!!!"

The group of farm equipment erupted into high-pitched screams, yet the area around them had already been shrouded in darkness, preventing their voices from carrying any further.

"Don't... don't eat me..."

"I'm... I'm... sorry..."

"I prefer the way you looked just a moment ago. Please, change back."

Lin Hao reached out, and the massive Demon's head leaned in to rub against his palm, looking completely content with its scarlet eyes narrowed in bliss.

"Only like this can my little darling get a proper meal."

The Demon was terrifying enough, but the man before them, smiling like a boy next door, had become something even more frightening than a Demon... the Great Demon Lord!