Chapter 557

Chapter 557: Riding a Tiger

In a large department store, Qi Fei was confirming the performance order with the cosplay organizers and the mall representatives when her phone rang.

With global connectivity, she could receive calls both domestically and internationally. Running such a large company, she certainly didn’t care about a bit of international roaming fees.

"Hello!"

The caller ID displayed an unfamiliar number, a landline from America.

"It’s me! Lin Mo!"

A male voice came through the receiver.

"Ah! Lin Mo, you bastard, you’re only calling me now! Where are you? I’ll send a friend to pick you up."

After a moment of surprise, Qi Fei’s voice revealed a hint of unusual excitement. This thick-headed guy had replied to her email last night, saying he would come to support her, but now she had no idea where he was or when he would arrive. He was always acting mysteriously, like a dragon whose head was seen but whose tail was hidden.

"Listen to me first, cancel the performance immediately. Go to the nearest police station, request protection, and have them contact the embassy to take you to the nearest consulate. Don’t ask why, just do it right away!"

Lin Mo’s voice was unexpectedly urgent. He had finally managed to hitch a ride on the highway and used a nearby public phone to call Qi Fei’s phone.

"…"

It seemed Qi Fei couldn’t immediately accept or understand Lin Mo’s words, and after a moment of silence, she didn’t say anything.

Just when Lin Mo thought the call had dropped or something had gone wrong and was about to redial, Qi Fei finally spoke.

"Lin Mo, tell me, what exactly is happening?"

"You need to be mentally prepared. I don’t know who has gone crazy, but someone has targeted me and intends to take my life. Now they want to use you as leverage. For your safety, it’s best if you follow my instructions. Pay special attention to the CIA; you absolutely cannot trust those bastards. Get to the consulate as quickly as possible, or getting into the embassy would be even better."

Lin Mo didn’t care whether the CIA was listening in; he directly cursed them over the phone for being unreliable and for not having any thoughts of using him as bait.

He regretted his outing; it would have been better not to go out at all. He never expected that a simple outing could become so complicated.

If it hadn’t been for the sniper’s last words, Lin Mo might have immediately canceled his trip to Los Angeles, turned around, or waited at that very spot for CIA support, unlike his current situation of riding a tiger—difficult to get off.

Some things weren’t in his control, and he felt a sudden sense of helplessness.

Ultimately, he still couldn’t understand the root cause of it all, and no one told him anything—not even Major Mo from the embassy had given him a hint.

Regarding the "Fenrir" alloy, it was better the fewer people who knew. The more who knew, the greater the danger. Major Mo would never disclose such important and dangerous information to Lin Mo; that would bring disaster to unrelated parties.

But now that things had escalated, whether or not it would bring disaster was no longer up to Major Mo and the others. Even Lockheed couldn’t control the situation. Even if they publicly vouched for Lin Mo, it was another matter whether other forces lurking for the "Fenrir" alloy would believe it. The chaotic situation had spiraled completely out of control.

The previous night, it wasn’t just China’s intelligence department that acted; other forces were waiting like wolves. If they hadn’t unexpectedly deployed a "Flying Wolf" rotorcraft for an aerial evacuation, it was likely that many other forces would have emerged to seize the opportunity, doing similarly shady things.

Time was running out. Before the intelligence personnel from China could provide timely support, Lin Mo could only rely on himself.

"No, no, this event can’t be canceled! It’s very important to me.”

Qi Fei insisted on the phone, not expecting the situation to turn out like this. If this had been before, she might have followed Lin Mo’s instructions without hesitation.

But now, this cosplay event was no longer just her personal hobby. Due to the Dragoon Corporation’s business relations, many Hollywood companies were very interested in forming collaborations with the Moonlit Lotus Design Center, which had crossed the ocean to come here.

Opportunities often appear unexpectedly, and to seize them, one must be well-prepared.

It was as if a pie was falling from the sky right onto Qi Fei’s head; how could she possibly miss it?

If she could establish a foothold in Hollywood or even America, the Moonlit Lotus would no longer be just a small design center in China, but a multinational enterprise.

This was significant for both development and talent acquisition, making it extremely important for Qi Fei.

"Why? You are in danger right now. This is not a joke. Cancel it immediately and do as I say." Lin Mo regretted not bringing the Gold Coins along.

Due to the chaos caused by Boeing, the U.S. Military’s inspection protocols were extremely tight, causing the gold giant dragon itself to be stuck in Area 51. Not to mention the kind of uproar this gold giant dragon would create there.

It was rare for one human and one dragon to be apart, and he thought he could retrieve the watch evolved from the gold giant dragon from Area 51 in a few days. Instead, it became a mess right at this critical moment, leaving Lin Mo feeling frustrated and irritable—what bad luck!

Experiencing such terrible bad luck rarely happened. If he had known this would occur, he might as well have kept a spare body in the hotel as a backup, so he wouldn’t have faced the rare occurrence of such unfortunate timing.

This gold giant dragon was unexpectedly captured all at once by humans, and Lin Mo had a grudge against the damn electromagnetic scanner; he felt resentment even towards such technological equipment.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have let that silver knife slip by; Lin Mo believed the current situation outweighed his petty calculations involving the Gold Coins.

The only thing Lin Mo could rely on now was his own strength; as for the handgun at his waist, it was only for show at best.

“No! This is the biggest development opportunity for my company; I cannot miss it! Don’t worry, Lin Mo. I will notify the police and contact the embassy, but I really can’t leave. If I leave, the consequences would be unfathomable. Don’t worry; I will hire a professional security company and find several more bodyguards. One hundred should be enough, ideally with retired military personnel. I will strengthen my defenses; you don’t need to worry too much. This is America, and it won’t be that easy for them to cause trouble for me. I will set up the performance like a fortress, and everyone’s safety will not be an issue.”

Qi Fei felt a sweet warmth from Lin Mo’s urgency and concern; this thick-headed guy still cared about her.

However, she didn’t take the threats Lin Mo mentioned too seriously; after all, it wasn’t the end of the world. For an ordinary person like her, terrorists and agents in America and China were very distant concepts.

Calling a hundred police officers, hiring a security company, setting up visible and hidden bodyguards on-site, and assigning security experts to check every person entering—Qi Fei truly didn’t believe anyone here could pose a threat to her.

As she said, as the president of the Moonlit Lotus Design Center, as the leader of the company, there was no way she could act as a coward at this crucial moment.

If she withdrew, the team members she led would become headless dragons, missing this chance to step onto the world stage. She absolutely couldn’t trust others to handle everything, especially when she wasn’t present.

Those potential collaborators wouldn’t feel her sincerity if she wasn’t there in person.

With multiple potential collaborations at stake, Qi Fei transformed from an ordinary performer with a personal interest in this cosplay event into a sponsor, inviting interested business owners and representatives to participate.

This was an unprecedented opportunity for international development, even a rare chance that might not come again in a thousand years.

"You…" Lin Mo felt helpless, realizing he couldn’t persuade Qi Fei. He quickly changed his tone. "I will come over immediately. Remember, don’t go to a secluded place; you must go to a crowded area. Notify the police, the more officers, the better. It’s best to call in as many SWAT and security personnel as possible. Don’t worry about the money; I will cover the costs of hiring security. No matter how much it is, it’s not a problem."

After all, he could just blame it all on the Central Intelligence Agency later; Lin Mo had utterly lost faith in the CIA’s leaky intelligence management.

"Don’t worry, I will keep myself safe. Susan, where can I get a handgun? Hmm, something small. Oh, there’s a gun shop at the end of the street; that’s great. Can I borrow your ID to buy one? Get plenty of bullets, and by the way, ask about the best security company in Hollywood to hire a few dozen bodyguards. Yes, that’s right, right here. My boyfriend says someone is looking for trouble with me. It’s better to be prepared, right? I mean, I don’t know if what he said is true or not… Did you hear that? I’ve already arranged everything, so don’t worry. What, are those bad guys planning to attack with an army?"

On the other end of the phone, Qi Fei’s voice changed as she started talking to someone else before the call ended.

Spending a significant amount to use this cosplay event as the creative design showcase for Moonlit Lotus was invaluable; there’s nothing that tests creativity and design capabilities better than cosplay.

This is an era of attention economy; whoever can capture attention can seize money.

Exciting visual highlights, multimedia effects, and plot design would all test a design company’s true strength in advertising and event planning.

Qi Fei’s reassurances and her own resolve did not soothe Lin Mo in the slightest. Those who could deploy RPG rocket bombs and sniper attacks were not ordinary foes.

Police and security companies could hardly stop them; perhaps only a large team of special forces could do that—but there was simply no time left.

As the enemy had not acted yet, as long as he arrived on time, he could suppress anyone with ill intentions.