"Great Demon Lord" Is An Affectionate Nickname!

After reconfirming that Cheng Yi's Life Card had burned out, Lin Hao finally confirmed that the "Cheng Yi" he saw at the bar yesterday was a fake, clearly a lure thrown out by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Even Cheng Yi, the former head of S.P.E.A.R.'s American branch, didn't know about Life Cards, so Nick Fury naturally wouldn't know either.

By deploying such a lure, S.H.I.E.L.D. clearly believed that S.P.E.A.R. headquarters was unaware of Cheng Yi's death and was trying to pull the wool over their eyes. Zheng Xian's internal report had indeed only concluded that "the American branch suffered a severe blow, and the head is missing."

Nick Fury received this conclusion through a mole planted within S.P.E.A.R., which is why he felt confident enough to initiate the "Imposter" plan.

Who would have thought that the imposter would be seen through by Lin Hao the moment he entered the bar.

But then another problem arose.

Only Zheng Xian and Cheng Yi knew about this bar in Los Angeles. Even Lin Hao, the new head, only learned about this hidden contact from Zheng Xian after arriving in America.

So how did the imposter know about it?

The world of espionage doesn't believe in coincidences, and Lin Hao didn't believe that him entering this bar and immediately encountering an impostor "Cheng Yi" was a coincidence.

This bar, located in a civilian neighborhood, wasn't particularly famous or distinctive. Its patrons were mostly locals, making them a relatively stable group.

Normally, there would only be two possibilities.

Either Cheng Yi revealed it before his death, or the bar owner, unable to bear the years of clandestine life, chose to betray them.

But Zheng Xian had personally witnessed Cheng Yi's Life Card burn out in an extremely short period, indicating he died instantaneously without enduring torture.

Did Cheng Yi willingly reveal his secrets before calmly accepting death?

What was the point?

Since he didn't know about Life Cards or that headquarters could confirm his death, there was no need for him to employ a "dead drop" deception to mislead headquarters. If he truly intended to defect, he could have easily exchanged his secrets for wealth and status.

Thus, without the intervention of any other special superpowers, the only remaining possibility was that the bar owner had already betrayed them.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had conspired with the bar owner and the fake "Cheng Yi" to set a trap, intending to lure the new head of S.P.E.A.R.'s American branch into their grasp.

This was also why Lin Hao took another look at the bar owner before leaving the bar last night.

He was suspicious and certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to walk into a trap.

However, Zheng Xian soon sent him new information.

"Ivan's Life Card is almost gone," Zheng Xian said on the video call. He had moved to a new metal rack and aimed the phone bug's eye at a glass casing on the rack. The Life Card inside was more than half burned.

Ivan was the elderly bar owner.

Zheng Xian then accessed the warehouse's internal surveillance and saw when Ivan's Life Card began to change.

"Starting at 2:21 AM, it's highly likely he was taken away by S.H.I.E.L.D. and interrogated after you left."

"So..." Zheng Xian confirmed with Lin Hao again, "Are you absolutely sure your technology has no loopholes?"

"Impossible!" Lin Hao was a little annoyed.

If even he couldn't personally travel to the One Piece world, could someone else have come from there? And even if someone had, could they be smarter than Vegapunk?

"Perhaps it's a feigned injury, or maybe there's a situation we're unaware of," Lin Hao suppressed his emotions and thought calmly. "If Ivan didn't betray us, I'll find a way to rescue him."

"Don't forget your promise; your own safety is the most important thing!" Zheng Xian reminded him.

Under normal circumstances, a genius scientist like Lin Hao, who mastered multiple black technologies, would never be sent on dangerous undercover missions to enemy countries. However, Lin Hao had pestered them, applied multiple times, and even threatened to go on strike.

After Zheng Xian and his direct superior assessed Lin Hao's financial situation, they confirmed that America couldn't offer him a higher price, thus eliminating the possibility of Lin Hao defecting.

This was because Lin Hao was too wealthy!

Not to mention the salary and special allowances S.P.E.A.R. provided him, as well as the bonuses from his numerous major inventions, Lin Hao had also partnered with several prominent domestic families to establish a technology company.

By analyzing the flying car obtained from the Capsule Corp Capsule and combining it with Vegapunk's energy technology, Lin Hao had developed a maglev car that could be popularized throughout society and a highly efficient, safe, energy-saving, and clean battery.

Even before Bulma repaired Goku's spaceship and built the time machine, the Dragon Ball world's battery technology was sufficient to power flying cars across mountains and seas, through crowds of people.

The most outrageous part was that it could be charged using a household power source.

The energy technology in the One Piece world was even more incredible; with the technological craftsmanship of the steam era, it could power lasers.

No matter how outrageous, Lin Hao had created such a battery.

Although the maglev car hadn't been released yet, the new battery had directly shaken the traditional energy structure, leading to the popularization of new energy vehicles.

The entire China had benefited from this, and in recent years, it had been breaking through the energy blockade of international forces with unstoppable momentum.

It was precisely because Nick Fury saw that ancient country across the ocean revitalizing that he meticulously laid his plans to sever the tentacles extended by S.P.E.A.R.

Since only Lin Hao could solve these unreasonable technical problems and innovate, he held more than half the shares in this technology company.

This wealth was immeasurable, not to mention the status and influence he possessed domestically as a result. Even if he went to other countries, Lin Hao would not be able to secure better conditions.

Moreover, Lin Hao was well aware of what America, known as the "beacon of human civilization," was like. No matter how well people of color performed here, there was a glass ceiling; they were merely high-class servants.

Because Lin Hao had confessed his true intentions to Zheng Xian and his direct superior and strongly requested to come to America, they agreed. Coincidentally, the American branch had been severely hit and urgently needed a strong figure to take over, so they dispatched Lin Hao.

As for Lin Hao's self-preservation abilities, they were not worried.

The nickname "Great Demon Lord" was initially given by his colleagues in S.P.E.A.R.'s technical development department who couldn't stand Lin Hao's torment. It carried an acknowledgment of Director Lin's professional capabilities.

After all, in China's sports world, "Great Demon Lord" was an affectionate nickname!

Later, Lin Hao took the opportunity to go on a few external missions, and from then on, "Great Demon Lord" became his agent codename. To enemies who were unaware of the truth, it was a well-deserved title.

In Zheng Xian's eyes, Lin Hao's own strength was already enough to defeat Weather Witch and Saber when they fought together, making him suitable for the head of the American branch.

In reality, this was only the combat power Lin Hao had showcased; the existence of Little Devil was something he couldn't reveal to anyone.

"Don't worry."

Lin Hao smiled at Zheng Xian, "Since they want to play 'Deceive the Heavens to Cross the Sea,' I'll play 'Borrow a Knife to Kill.'"

As luck would have it, when he flew north back to San Francisco on Bruce Lee's private jet this morning, his Observation Haki had detected an invisible aircraft flying at low altitude and low speed.

At this point in time on Earth, there was only one power that could possess such technology: the lighthouse of Africa, Wakanda, which claimed to be able to share advanced technology with the whole world, making MIT seem like elementary school level.