Ophelia Modlin, age 42, was dispatched by the military to coordinate with Luo An's special investigation team in the case of the missing nuclear warhead, to act together. Before launching the search operation, Luo An had communicated with Ophelia briefly and found that this woman spoke half-truths and lied without drafting, with her expression unchanged. Luo An decided to keep Ophelia close by his side, watching her carefully to prevent her from doing something detrimental at a critical moment when acting with other members of the investigation team. Unexpectedly, halfway through the investigation, Chenier and Reesi went missing. Upon questioning Ophelia, she continued to lie, denying any military involvement, and insisted that Luo An prioritize the search for the nuclear warhead as Chenier and Reesi were not important. Therefore, Luo An knocked Ophelia out and stuffed her into the SUV's trunk as he no longer wanted to hear her lies and was determined to rescue the missing persons. Secondly, as a precaution, if the military intended harm towards Chenier and Reesi, he could use Ophelia as a hostage to make threats, buying time to strategize. Through minefield negotiations, Captain Josrey released Chenier and Reesi. Afterwards, to continue the search for the nuclear warhead, Luo An left the SUV with Winslow to observe the situation at the farm and decided to release Ophelia afterwards based on circumstances. Winslow firmly remembered the prior commands, but later details were inadvertently overlooked amid the intense battle at the farm. In the parking lot, a freshly released Ophelia Modlin was flushed, her chest heaving dramatically, as her eyes, wide with anger, fixated on Luo An and the others. Ophelia did not suffer from claustrophobia or a fear of darkness, as she had experienced longer periods of confinement training when she was younger. Ophelia's anger was not about these things; a person can go without food or water for a short time, but internal conflicts must be resolved. Such matters can be postponed, but cannot fundamentally cease… thus, at this moment, Ophelia's scent was quite complex. Choosing to ignore the murderous look in her eyes, Luo An contacted the military to have someone take Ophelia away. He rested that night and returned to Washington D.C. by plane the next morning. Winslow, Chenier, and a few others returned to the special investigation team's office area, while Luo An went to Vireness's office in the headquarters building. After knocking and entering the room, Luo An greeted: "Good morning, Chief." In the office, Vireness's expression was somewhat somber, but it gradually relaxed as Luo An walked in, and she nodded and said: "Good morning, you've worked hard on this mission." Luo An smiled without saying much, and as usual, took the seat across from her. Vireness handed him a folder from the table with a stern tone said: "I've roughly figured out the situation with the military." Luo An, somewhat surprised, took the folder. Vireness, not holding back any details, let out a cold scoff and briefly explained the circumstances. Recently, a secret military laboratory lost over a dozen keys and 3.2 kilograms of highly enriched uranium. To prevent demotion and punishment, the person in charge of the laboratory decided to suppress the situation, urgently searching for the thief who stole the keys and highly enriched uranium and retrieving the missing items. Coincidentally, air-to-air missiles from the Cold War period were discovered during this time. Thus, the person in charge planned to let a confidant take the nuclear warhead from the air-to-air missile, pose as a seller, and go to the underground black market to find the thief's trail. Only through trading items related to nuclear warhead in the black market can other market participants' leads be found eventually tracing and capturing the thief who stole the highly enriched uranium. The treasure seeker, Matteo, was actually an aide of the person in charge, and his plan of swapping real and fake nuclear warheads was also supported by the confidant. Captain Josrey, ostensibly sent by the person in charge for a "secret search" for the nuclear warhead, was actually tasked to assist and ensure that the nuclear warhead was taken and sold by Matteo, and to help find the thief, arrest them, and retrieve the keys and highly enriched uranium. As for Luo An and others, they were just roped in for the investigation due to procedural formalities, as searching was the responsibility of the FBI. Ophelia Modlin, a trusted subordinate of the person in charge, was sent specifically to monitor Luo An and sabotage their investigative activities at the opportune time. The plan was perfect; the senior official breathed a sigh of relief and was just waiting for the nuclear warhead to bait out clues about the thief. Then, he could only dream that Sobian from Texas would come out, kill Matteo first, and then steal the nuclear warhead. Person in charge: "..." While the person in charge was overwhelmed, trying to stall Vireness through his trusted subordinates, Luo An made a phone call to the Ministry of Defense. Federation law stipulates that the Minister of Defense, Deputy Minister of Defense, and the Heads of the Army, Navy, and Air Force must be civilians. The Minister of Defense and Heads of the military are equal, serving as officials of the Federation Government without direct command over the Federation Army, only as executive officers. Given the extraordinary circumstances surrounding nuclear events, the Federation Ministry of Defense has the authority to investigate and handle such matters. From the information Luo An provided, a Deputy Minister of Defense had his subordinates review the report on the missile nuclear warhead incident and discovered many discrepancies between the actual situation and the report. Further investigation quickly revealed the incidents of lost keys and highly enriched uranium. Person in charge: "..." Some matters, if not weighed, seem inconsequential, but once evaluated, they prove too massive to contain. This saying also applies in the Federation. Moreover, with existing discrepancies between the Ministry of Defense and the military system, the loss of nuclear raw materials also serves as a peculiar type of leverage. Consequently, the issue has now begun moving in other directions, such as power struggles and trading of interests. Listening to Vireness's words, Luo An's eyelids twitched, and after a moment of silence, he looked up and asked: "Chief, these pieces of information... where did you get them?" What Vireness revealed was exceedingly detailed, involving military areas out of the President's reach, and Luo An couldn't comprehend how she came to possess such information. Vireness cocked her legs, leaned back, hands crossed, and with a barely noticeable flicker of pride in her eyes, she chuckled: "Luo An, this is Washington; as everyone knows, there are no secrets in Washington." For the citizens of the Federation, many things are lifelong secrets, yet for some people in Washington D.C., these are hardly considered secrets. Such as the classified documents in a President's garage. The Federation Army is self-contained, integrated top to bottom, making it challenging to acquire desired information. However, the Ministry of Defense is in Washington, and its personnel are all officials of the Federation Government. The commitment to confidentiality of Federation Government officials is second only to those of the British Empire. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novelꞁire.net Watching Vireness, her head tilted, expression somewhat proud, Luo An's mouth twitched. He didn't know whether to admire Vireness's extensive connections or lament the strong confidentiality maintained by Federation Government personnel. Putting these messy thoughts aside, Luo An opened the folder in his hand, finding that it had no relevance to the current nuclear warhead theft but pertained to the follow-up of a previous explosion case. Bypassing the uninteresting text, his gaze moved to the end where the $1.4 million was very conspicuous. Luo An's lips curled into a smile, just about to speak, when his phone suddenly rang. Pressing the answer button, a familiar, enticing voice spoke: "Group Leader Luo An, I've already helped you; now it's your turn to help me."