Early the next morning, the people of Kahndaq suddenly received news that the International Gang had been annihilated.
Some thought it was an April Fool's joke, as today truly was April Fool's Day.
But this joke was too malicious, making people very unhappy.
However, with the return of the Night Raid Squad, they brought new information.
They confirmed that the International Gang had indeed been annihilated!
Under the wise leadership of the Resistance leader, the Night Raid Squad achieved a great victory, successfully breaking into the International Gang's stronghold, eliminating over a thousand enemies, and capturing several thousand.
Most importantly, the Night Raid Squad of several hundred suffered almost zero casualties!
This achievement was like a miracle, shaking neighboring countries for a time.
All countries immediately became restless; if this achievement was not exaggerated, then Kahndaq was a hidden military powerhouse!
So, as soon as the news broke, the closest organizations, Mossad and MI6, were the first to act, probing Kahndaq for intelligence.
Afterward, the CIA and KGB were not to be outdone, also dispatching their elites.
However, these intelligence experts were all intercepted by Umbrella's private intelligence team; of course, they couldn't openly use the Umbrella banner.
Instead—"S.H.I.E.L.D."
"To hell with S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
General Lane was so angry that his forehead throbbed; did they really think he hadn't read comics!
Since suffering a major setback in the Coast City incident, General Lane's political future had inevitably been greatly affected.
But he was, after all, an old general who had been immersed in the military for many years, with extensive connections, and plenty of old friends willing to support him.
So, although he had committed "major negligence," fortunately, it didn't lead to severe consequences, and he was only demoted and assigned to the intelligence department.
He was now the head of the CIA, so he was very dissatisfied with the Resistance his department encountered in Kahndaq.
Especially the intelligence about the opposing organization.
"S.H.I.E.L.D."? This was outright mockery! It was a provocation to the hegemony of the United States!
But unfortunately, with the government's declining credibility and the emergence of superheroes, the public was more willing to trust the Justice League than government organizations.
However, the Justice League's numbers were insufficient to cover All America; most cases were actually handled by local U.S. police departments.
But even so, citizens were still more willing to trust superheroes; this was not just a celebrity effect.
Ultimately, when the Justice League enforced justice, they wouldn't extort victims like the U.S. police.
They wouldn't discriminate against citizens' skin color or shift their focus because someone was an undocumented immigrant.
They wouldn't treat you differently because you were rich, nor would they neglect you because you were poor.
Most importantly, the Justice League did not require citizens to pay taxes.
They were entirely voluntary labor, which meant citizens actually had no right to demand anything from them.
But in General Lane's view, this behavior had, in fact, weakened the power of the United States; although it was inconspicuous, internationally, discerning people had already noticed the decline in the United States' influence.
He understood in his heart that a United States without hegemony was very dangerous, but the public had not realized this danger.
They were still immersed in the illusion of "we have superheroes"; this was an extremely serious problem.
This Kahndaq incident showed that even a tiny, insignificant country dared to say "no" to the United States; who else would submit to them in the future?
So, after much deliberation, he finally dialed someone's number.
A few seconds later, the call connected, and a very tired woman's voice came from the other end.
"This is Amanda Waller."
In the "Coast City incident," not only the President and the generals who signed were affected.
Even Waller, a mid-level Checkmate Officer, was demoted for "incitement" and was now back to being a low-level Checkmate employee.
But during her tenure, she had also rallied some people, so she finally didn't encounter the previous predicament of being harassed by her superiors.
Of course, this might also be related to her recent weight gain.
Under emotional distress, she overate, causing her weight to increase rapidly, almost changing her into a different person... "Amanda Waller, this is Sam Lane, I have something I'd like to discuss with you, regarding the X-Squad plan..."
Although he was assigned to the intelligence department, he still held considerable authority and resources.
And Checkmate, from a departmental classification perspective, could also be considered a type of intelligence department; General Lane clearly had other plans, hoping to control Checkmate.
Amanda Waller had originally thought her life was completely without hope; her only benefactor, Hawkman, had completely abandoned her due to the Coast City incident.
She had thought she would only drift through life as a small clerk, but she never expected to have a day when her luck would turn around.
Faced with the goodwill offered by General Lane, she clutched it like a drowning person grasping a lifeline.
"No problem! General Lane, you set the time and place; I can bring the plan over anytime!"
She said without hesitation; perhaps it was due to lingering resentment, but she had never discarded that plan.
You see, here's the opportunity!
General Lane raised an eyebrow and crossed his legs in his office chair: "Then I want you in my office right now; can you do that?"
"As you wish, General Lane," Amanda said respectfully, then immediately hung up and sprang into action.
She immediately used her past connections to dial the helicopter pilot's number.
"Joseph! I need a helicopter!"
The other end of the phone asked, "Where to?"
"Langley, Virginia!"
"Are you crazy? Do you know how far that is?" The other end of the phone was about to curse but suddenly felt something was off.
"Wait, Langley? You want to go to Langley?"
Others might not know, but who in intelligence didn't know that CIA headquarters was in Langley?
Amanda said triumphantly, "That's right! This time, a big shot is summoning me. I'm asking you one last time, can you go?"
Joseph quickly replied on the phone, "Of course, I can, of course, I can! But I need to refuel the helicopter..."
"I'm only giving you ten minutes!" Amanda said with full vigor before hanging up.
She then stood up, vigorously waved her arm, and then ran out the door.
She didn't stop for anyone who asked her anything; the most important thing right now was to firmly cling to General Lane's powerful support; nothing else mattered!
Two hours later, Checkmate's helicopter landed on the CIA's helipad, and Amanda rushed into General Lane's office without stopping.
Lane was stunned when he saw her, then couldn't help but sigh, thinking that faced with such a person, it was hard not to give her a chance to prove herself.
Things went smoothly afterward; after a long period of refinement, Amanda's "X-Squad" plan was already very complete.
Its structure was no different from the future "Suicide Squad," only the selection of personnel and historical development were different.
General Lane finished reading the entire plan and asked Amanda a few questions, all of which she answered perfectly.
He nodded in satisfaction, waved his hand, and gave Amanda permission to freely select members.
Some supervillains were themselves imprisoned in CIA-run prisons; Deadshot, for one, was currently in a CIA super-prison!
This former World's Greatest Marksman was the person Amanda had chosen to be the future leader of the "X-Squad"... Kahndaq.
At the first moment the International Gang organization was annihilated, it was not the Resistance organization, as reported in the news, that received the news and took action, but the local Umbrella.
After Dane eliminated Ismail, he quickly informed the local Person in chargeof the news, and they, as previously planned, contacted the supreme leader of the local Resistance organization. They also formulated a news plan for the next day, aiming to raise the organization's international prestige and ensure they could smoothly take over power.
This was actually not difficult; Kahndaq was, in fact, very small, a city-state; to gain control, only a citizen vote was needed.
And now that the Resistance had successfully defeated the International Gang, what other political organization could match their prestige and become the actual ruler of this country?
As for Umbrella, it only needed to change its skin and become a new local enterprise to successfully establish itself there.
After all, after the war, people still had to live, and Umbrella could provide Kahndaq with all the materials it desperately needed at present, everything!
As long as this move was stable, even if Umbrella did not interfere in Kahndaq's politics.
But with control over weapons, economy, and people's livelihoods in multiple aspects, Kahndaq had essentially become Umbrella's city.
This process would be relatively long, but it was stable; to ensure its smooth progress, Dane had recently moved his residence here.
Anyway, he opened a portal here; one side of the room door could lead to the Hall of Justice within the United States, and the other side could lead to Kahndaq, without delay...
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