I am a Big Player
Chapter 466 - 460, Blockade of Sea, Land, and Air (Second Update)_1

Chapter 466: 460, Blockade of Sea, Land, and Air (Second Update)_1

In a place unknown to Ren He, a document was secretly delivered to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which people commonly refer to as the FBI.

The person responsible for receiving the document was Simon, the white man who had reconstructed Ren He’s sniping operation at the crime scene.

In fact, the National Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are quite different, with the National Security Agency being responsible for more electronic intelligence systems, such as the electronic information surveillance and monitoring that people like Snowden were in charge of during their time working for contractors of the NSA.

Before Snowden exposed his identity, the outside world didn’t even know what kind of job he had; everyone who entered was engaged in confidentiality work.

Under the National Security Agency, agencies including the "Army Security Agency," "Naval Security Group," and "Air Force Security Service"—which as of today, have their functions slightly weakened—showed some symptoms of fatigue in the manhunt for Ren He.

In audio-visual works, references to various intelligence agencies appear frequently, sometimes confusing their functions, but in reality, their roles are clear.

The Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, is responsible for analyzing intelligence and never issues domestic tasks; it has no arrest authority.

The National Security Agency, NSA, is responsible for electronic intelligence and nominally falls under the Department of Defense, but in fact, it’s an organization that reports to the president and provides intelligence to the National Security Committee. Its inefficiency has earned it a joking nickname "No Such Agency," implying it does not really exist...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, falls under the Department of Justice and is the largest counter-espionage agency and most critical federal law enforcement agency in the U.S. It is on equal footing with the CIA. The FBI’s tasks are to investigate crimes that violate U.S. federal law and to investigate intelligence and terrorist activities from foreign countries. Among these, the FBI has the highest priority in activities such as countering foreign espionage, violent crime, and white-collar crime.

Merely from their functions, it can be seen that the department that poses the greatest threat to Ren He is by no means the CIA or NSA but the FBI, which is the real domestic law enforcement agency of the United States.

The FBI itself has been notorious in history, known for its unscrupulous methods.

After Simon officially signed for the document, he slowly walked back to his office, where he saw detailed information about the sniper—Ren He, a 17-year-old Chinese national.

He was a student at the Columbia University School of the Arts, a professor at the piano department of the Juilliard School of Music, known as the "poet-like professor," whose parents were influential figures in China.

The professor... Simon quite liked the "Croatian Rhapsody" piano piece. If he hadn’t been on a mission at the time, he probably would have attended that concert. Before, he didn’t feel any regret, thinking that if he missed this one, there would be more in the future.

But now he felt a deep regret, afraid that this particular concert might become the last one ever.

Simon didn’t deny his appreciation for the professor’s talents, as those classic piano pieces could calm him down after a busy day at work.

But personal preferences can never replace work, and to be honest, Simon was far more interested in Ren He’s identity as a sniper than as a little professor!

By day a professor and college student, and by night a war machine. What kind of person was this? The contradiction filled Simon’s heart with what seemed like an aesthetic pleasure, akin to admiring a highly contradictory oil painting. The intense conflict made him feel intoxicated.

Piano, painting, sniping, combat skills, gaming entrepreneurship—when all these were mixed together, they even left Simon a bit perplexed. Who exactly was the other party?

Simon even sketched in his mind someone in tails gracefully lifting a sniper rifle. The thought made him laugh—how was this like a character out of a movie?

The document he now received was from the NSA transferring the case of the little professor to the FBI. The NSA was currently caught in a media whirlwind due to a vehicle explosion in the city center, and later, installing detectors in the sewer covers turned up nothing. If it led to a public protest, the NSA’s credibility would indeed be damaged.

Moreover, the NSA seemed to have more critical issues at hand.

So, the most suitable solution was to hand over the case to the more violent home agency, the FBI, which meant that Simon was now in charge of the Ren He capture operation.

Previously, he had visited the scene, but since it was an NSA matter, he did not interfere. Now, he finally had proper jurisdiction.

He took out a map of New York and searched for the possible routes Ren He might have taken to leave.

First was by land. Normally, if people smuggle themselves to Mexico, it is not something to be concerned about, but at this time, blocking the escape routes would actually be the easiest thing to do. Simon even had intelligence suggesting it was very likely that Yang Xi and others had left by land, but at the time, the NSA was too preoccupied with hunting Ren He to care about anything else.

The FBI has always been an agency that stops at nothing. Sending a team to stir trouble in China is of course not possible, but if it were up to him, he would first catch everyone else and then have those people help him find the little professor.

Next was by air, with one civilian international airport in New York, one New York Air National Guard Base of the 105th Airlift Wing, and another New York Air National Guard Base.

The civilian airport had already heightened its security level. The security checkpoints were checking not just passports but also whether the individuals were in disguise, and comparing them with wanted images.

As for military airports, it goes without saying, the individual simply could not get on a plane. Even if they did manage to board one, the pilot would spot the suspicious individual, and if the person really was aboard a military aircraft, they would be arrested as soon as the plane landed.

Now, it seemed the only way left was by sea. New York has a long coastline. If the person was patient and strong enough to cross a length of coastline, using magnetic attachment and carrying an oxygen bottle, it would be very easy to hide underneath a cruise ship for up to 2 hours.

Then, taking advantage of the night, they could climb aboard the cruise ship. With a range of passengers and many hiding spots on a cruise ship, it wouldn’t be easy to find one person, especially considering the countless cruise ships that depart from New York every day.

Simon rhythmically tapped his fingers on his pearwood desk, then suddenly picked up the phone and said, "Arrange undercover agents to board all the major cruise ships that are due to depart soon. If any sort of situation arises, immediately order the ship to return and report to the coast guard for coordination, ready to rescue any person who jumps overboard during the return journey."