Chapter Zero [The Origin of Everything]

December 23, 2021.

107 Plank Street, SN Altoona, PA.

On the wall of the three-story building, which looks like a typical American red brick exterior, hangs the nameplate of "Bainiu Information Network Services Company".

7:30 in the morning.

Tommy Blanco put on his work badge and walked into the office with a cup of Starbucks - just like an ordinary office worker.

"How's the situation?" Tommy put his backpack on the seat and glanced at several screens hanging on the wall.

The colleague on duty shrugged his shoulders and turned the pen in his hand boredly: "Everything is normal."

Tommy sat down expressionlessly, picked up the coffee he brought and took a sip, staring at the screen on the wall for a while.

Three different split screens display different satellite images.

Three different real-time satellite images show the same target.

In a certain area on the high seas, a certain target is being monitored in real time by three different satellites.

Tommy operated in front of the computer: "After forty minutes, satellite three will enter the blind spot, switch to satellite six and continue monitoring."

Tommy stared at the screen for about a minute, then sat down and looked through the duty monitoring records.

"You said..." The colleague came to Tommy's side, holding the back of his chair with his hand and sighing: "...how long do we have to do this work? I have been here for three years.

"

Tommy looked back at this young colleague and smiled: "Isn't this job good? High salary, high benefits, all insurances are paid for, and you get to get off work on time every day. I hope this job can continue like this - You should really see what the outside world has become."

The colleague muttered, with a hint of unwillingness in his tone: "I fucking retired from the Navy early and was transferred here not to do such a boring thing that wastes my life."

Tommy sighed and touched his graying hair: "When you reach my age, you will understand how valuable it is to have a stable job."

·

[Bainiu Information Network Service Company]

Registered capital is US$500,000.

On paper, this is a very ordinary information processing company.

The business scope includes: information consulting, information processing, network construction solution provision, etc. According to the registration data of the municipal system, this company has been operating well for eight years since its registration, and its book and tax status are clean even those of the IRS (Federal Taxation Service)

Even the vultures can't find anything wrong with it.

——Of course Tommy knew that these clean and unremarkable accounts were actually written by those vultures.

In fact, this [Bainiu Information Network Services Company] is just a cover.

Its true identity is a secret surveillance agency affiliated with the Langley Building (CIA).

The eleven members of the surveillance team, including Tommy, are all professionally trained surveillance and information analysis and processing personnel, as well as four armed security personnel transferred from the army.

In addition, the monitoring authority of six satellites can be mobilized at any time, and a water-cooled high-density server hidden in the basement of the building is used for information analysis and processing. The red authority of the federal highest security information network can be entered at any time.

Eight years ago, on the first day when this company was founded.

Tommy Blanco, who had just been transferred from an intelligence analysis department of the CIA at that time, looked at the boss of the newly established surveillance team standing in front of him, pointing one finger at his own eyes and the other at the surveillance screen.

Roaring at himself, the spit almost sprayed into his face.·

"We have only one job!

All eleven monitoring members are divided into three groups in shifts, six satellites have time-period monitoring rights, and 100 hours of coverage monitoring data are stored in the server!

All goals are for one: keep an eye on that damn guy!

Keep an eye on him!!

Make sure there are no blind spots, no dark time periods, no blind spots, all day long, all year round, keep an eye on him!! This is not my request! It is an order from Langley Building, an order from the White House!"

·

Yes, keep an eye on that guy.

To be precise: it is on the high seas, with a certain longitude and latitude as the center, and a radius of no more than 200 nautical miles.

According to the order: the target is a boat, and there is a person on the boat... This person, this boat, must move within this range, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely not allowed to exceed this activity area, otherwise...

At that time, Tommy, who had just arrived at the job, couldn't help but ask his boss a question: What if he runs away? "

I remember that at that time, the boss with a fierce expression suddenly froze for a moment, and there was a strange meaning in his eyes.

"...If something like that happens...it's not something we can handle. Someone else will deal with it...I hope it can be f**ked up...well no, I hope something terrible like that never happens

occur."

·

Eight years, 2894 days and nights, 69456 hours.

Tommy has been staying in Altoona, monitoring this target.

Fortunately, the situation my boss mentioned never happened.

Many times, Tommy couldn't help but think about this: He, a senior CIA intelligence information processing expert, was placed in this small town in central Pennsylvania for eight years. If it were revealed, he had spent eight years.

Years of life are spent here just to...

Monitoring a boat that is always going in circles.

Would anyone believe such a thing?

·

Over the past eight years, Tommy has also thought about why so much manpower and material resources are spent on monitoring such a ship that is always swimming within a radius of 200 nautical miles? What is on this ship? Who are the people on this ship?

What Tommy Blanco didn't know was that in addition to Country M, there were intelligence organizations from more than six countries and regional alliances around the world. On a night eight years ago, similar organizations were also established at the same time.

The goal and mission are also very consistent: keep an eye on this ship!

·

Tommy took the last sip of coffee, threw the paper cup into the trash can, and looked at the time.

8:01 in the morning.

There are less than ten minutes left until my 69,457th hour in this company.

He stretched subconsciously and glanced at the screen on the wall again.

On the screen, the logo representing the ship is moving.

"It seems a bit fast?" Tommy couldn't help but rub his eyes, wondering if he had seen it wrong.

Moreover, the direction of the target's movement is getting closer and closer to the critical point of 200 nautical miles radius marked by the surveillance!

Tommy opened his mouth subconsciously.

A few seconds later, when the ship's logo finally touched the critical point marking line on the screen...

Tommy suddenly jumped up as if he was electrocuted, his expression was horrified.

"WTF!!!"

The sound came from behind. Two colleagues on duty in the same group were staring at the screen, and one of them made a sound.

Tommy instantly felt a surge of blood in his head... as if he had been waiting for this moment for eight years of work.

At this moment, Tommy, as a civilian intelligence officer, did not realize anything more. In addition to being shocked, there was even a hint of absurdity in his heart.

...actually, really, happened?

Tommy reacted immediately, hurriedly picked up the phone on the table and pressed a button.

"BOSS, something happened."

"What?" the boss's voice came from the phone.

Tommy swallowed: "Red alert."

On the other end of the phone, there was an angry curse - it seemed like the boss had spilled the coffee.

·

Four minutes later, in an office in Langley Building (CIA headquarters), a gloomy-looking middle-aged man picked up the phone and listened, then silently put it down and cursed: "WTF!"

Eight minutes later, in the largest office of the White House, an old white man picked up the phone and after listening, he couldn't help but cursed: "WTF!"

·

December 23, 2021 at 11:21 am local time.

British Lonehill Island in the South Pacific.

The entrance of a local shop on the hillside.

A middle-aged man in a sweatshirt was sitting on a rock smoking a cigarette.

The middle-aged man sat on the stone, turned around and looked down the mountain. He didn't light another cigarette until a silver yacht slowly sailed away from the dock.
To be continued...