Across the ocean, in a private residence—
Night had already fallen.
A woman sat at her desk, tapping her index finger rhythmically against the tabletop. If anyone familiar with the intelligence world saw her, they would immediately recognize her: Linna Pell, the newly appointed Director of the CIA, and the first woman in history to hold the position.
With over twenty years of experience in intelligence, Linna had earned a fierce reputation for her drive and results. Her appointment hadn't come without controversy—past missteps had attracted criticism—but she had managed to assume control of one of the world's most powerful intelligence agencies.
Right now, her gaze was fixed on a set of files displayed on her office computer—profiles of the operatives who had participated in the recent attack on Chen Mo.
The Falcon Operation had been her personal directive.
During her previous tenure, due to the error of a single agent, the CIA's entire espionage network in China had been dismantled. Some agents were executed, others were exposed and had to be pulled. The resulting fiasco had humiliated the agency.
To rebuild their advantage, she had authorized agents from other regions to infiltrate China. Before the operation, they were staged on vessels just beyond Chinese territorial waters, ready to extract Chen Mo once the mission succeeded.
According to the original plan drafted by Ruth, once captured, Chen Mo would be smuggled to one of their secret black-site labs through covert channels.
Chen Mo wasn't just a scientific genius—he was a global anomaly. In only three years, he had developed technologies that disrupted industries and unsettled nations. If they could obtain him, the United States would maintain technological superiority for decades.
But the plan failed.
Chen Mo had not only escaped, he was unharmed. All agents involved were confirmed dead. Though the loss in personnel was manageable, the failure of the operation was a disaster.
And now, the odds of getting a second chance at him were close to zero.
Worse still, if anyone were to discover the CIA's involvement, Linna would face more than just public scrutiny—it could spiral into a global incident.
"Troublesome…" she muttered, rubbing her temples.
After a long pause, she opened the agent profiles once more. With a few deliberate keystrokes, she deleted all their digital records. Even the USB backup files were wiped clean.
The Falcon Operation was a black project—known only to her and a select few. No traces had ever been uploaded to the CIA's official databases. Once the digital trails were erased, there would be no link between those agents and the CIA.
No one would ever know who they really were.
But Linna didn't know…
The moment she opened the USB file on her computer, a silent background process had copied everything—transmitting it directly to Chen Mo's computer via Mo Nu, his artificial intelligence assistant.
"CIA?"
Chen Mo stared coldly at the folder now sitting on his desktop.
He finally understood why Mo Nu couldn't locate the attackers' information over the past three days. Their identities hadn't been stored in any government or agency databases—they existed only in that USB, accessed briefly today.
So the mastermind was American.
Chen Mo's expression turned ice-cold.
He'd always kept a low profile, never showing off his wealth or flaunting power. But somehow, that had made these people mistake him for an easy target—a soft persimmon.
"Mo Ge, what do you plan to do now?" Mo Nu's holographic form appeared on the table, her legs swinging as she looked at him with curious eyes.
"I'm no saint," Chen Mo said, his voice hard. "I don't forgive people who try to kill me."
This time, Xiao Yu had nearly died, and he himself had narrowly escaped death. Innocent people had lost their lives. And all for what? Because the CIA wanted to kidnap him like they had done to others?
No. They would pay.
But revenge needed to be strategic. He couldn't confront the CIA directly—it would only invite global scrutiny and long-term retaliation. If they ever connected it back to him, he'd never know peace again.
After a long silence, a thought sparked in his mind.
"Mo Nu… remember the Clown Organization?"
"Of course," she replied. "They used the 'Clown Virus' to paralyze major cities' networks and extort ransom."
"At the time, they even tried to drag us into it. Now, it's time to return the favor," Chen Mo said, eyes narrowing.
After their last operation, the Clown Organization had vanished completely from the web. No identity, no trace. They had become a ghost story among hackers—a legend.
Chen Mo didn't mind reviving the legend.
"What's the plan, Mo Ge?" Mo Nu asked. "Are we kidnapping another city?"
"No," Chen Mo said calmly. "We're going to retaliate against the CIA."
"Invade their internal network. Copy every last agent file. No traces. No alarms."
Chen Mo's eyes gleamed with cold intent.
The CIA had targeted him. Now, he would cripple their most prized asset—their global spy network.
"All CIA agents?" Mo Nu confirmed.
"Yes. Everyone."
"Okay, Mo Ge." Mo Nu blinked… paused for ten seconds. Just as Chen Mo frowned, she added: "Done."
"Already?"
"Very simple. Really," she said smugly. "I'm an artificial intelligence backed by a quantum supercomputer. The current internet's firewalls? They're like walking into my own living room."
"In human terms, I'm a god in the network. Remember when I hacked the Japanese spy satellite and locked onto your car? That took five seconds."
"As for the delay with those assassins, that was only because their info was stored offline on a USB. Once it went online, I grabbed it instantly."
Chen Mo couldn't help but smile, impressed by how much more human Mo Nu had become.
Her abilities were terrifying—an AI of this level could overturn the balance of cyberwarfare. Which was exactly why he never mentioned her capabilities to outsiders, and only used her offensively in critical situations.
"Mo Nu, put all agent files on my desktop."
A second later, a compressed archive appeared on his screen.
"Unpack it," Chen Mo ordered.
The folder expanded automatically.
Even though he'd mentally prepared himself, Chen Mo still gasped at the sheer scale of what he saw.
Each file contained a complete dossier—photos, names, phone numbers, mission records, covert contacts. Many were embedded as businessmen, journalists, researchers, students, teachers, even low-level staff.
They were everywhere—on all five continents. Especially dense in developed countries and global power centers, including within the United States itself.
Some files even included detailed layouts of underground CIA facilities and lists of targeted individuals.
If the CIA ever learned he had this…
They would stop at nothing to kill him.
This was not just sensitive—it was existential. The core of their intelligence operations, now sitting on his desktop.
Chen Mo stared at the screen for a long time, deep in thought.
If he publicly released everything, it would shake the world and destroy the CIA's credibility forever.
But it was also dangerous. He had to be extremely careful—a single mistake would bring disaster.
Finally, his plan took shape.
"Mo Nu, here's what we'll do," he said, eyes sharp. "Pose as the Clown Organization and launch an attack on the CIA."
"Disguise your IP. Bounce it across multiple dummy nodes. Penetrate their network, plant the Clown Virus, seize their systems."
"Then, 'steal' the agent files in plain sight—loud and obvious."
"Just that?" Mo Nu asked.
"There's one more thing."
"Use their old Twitter account. Send a message—something cryptic. In English."
He paused for a beat.
"Send this:"
'My heart is like this face—half pure white, half shadow. I can choose to show you… or choose to hide. The new circus performance is about to begin.'