Chapter 66: Infiltrating the CSA
After successfully activating the invisibility potion, Jake moved almost freely within Devlin's mansion.
The classic villa had a completely different aesthetic—unlike Jake's estate filled with modern, even futuristic amenities, or the luxurious palace in Genovia where Mia lived.
This mansion radiated sophistication, with elegant black and mahogany as its dominant colors.
The living room was spacious, with few staff members visible, likely because the owner feared his identity as a CSA operative would be compromised.
A magnificent crystal chandelier hung overhead; while it looked stunning at first glance, after a while it felt somewhat off, as if countless cameras were hidden within the crystals.
Jake's instinct was correct—there were indeed cameras concealed in the chandelier, monitoring the entire mansion from multiple angles. However, for someone already invisible, high-tech surveillance was useless.
Stealth came almost naturally to Jake now. He could enter this state whenever needed, his breathing becoming slower and quieter, his footsteps becoming swift and nearly silent.
In the living room, Jake spotted Jason Isaacs—wait, no, it was Clark Devlin, the legendary CSA operative.
Who could blame him? The actor's appearance in Harry Potter as Lucius Malfoy was so iconic that Jake always subconsciously associated him with that role.
"Yeah, I need a new driver," Devlin, sitting on the leather sofa, spoke into his phone. "Someone with excellent driving skills, preferably."
"Yes, as long as they're fast and reliable. I hate being late for dates, and the same goes for assignments."
The CSA agent had just put on his tuxedo. Looking at the control watch on Devlin's left wrist, Jake knew he couldn't steal the suit, at least not in the short term.
Devlin continued speaking into the phone, "Wallace and I have been partners for years. I think he's in serious trouble, otherwise he wouldn't have gone dark for this long." He paused, as if listening to the other end, before continuing, "Wrap up what you're doing and find Wallace for me. I have to head back to headquarters later."
Jake, who had been waiting patiently to the side, suddenly perked up. This mission hadn't been a complete waste after all. Since he couldn't get his hands on the suit the agent was currently wearing, he could simply infiltrate CSA headquarters and acquire another one.
In the original movie plot, this type of equipment was mass-produced by Devlin's team.
He had one for himself and even had time to give one to his driver, Jimmy Tong. Even if full mass production wasn't possible, basic mechanized manufacturing should be achievable.
Devlin didn't keep Jake waiting long before heading out. Since he didn't have a driver at the moment, he drove himself. As an invisible man, Jake didn't hesitate—he immediately materialized the Black Beauty. With its simple color-changing ability and his enhanced skills, he managed to tail Devlin without being detected.
Devlin stopped in front of a nondescript government building. Jake quickly drove back to the Princess Diaries world, then immediately flashed back to this universe.
Everything happened so fast that pedestrians only saw a car suddenly vanish into thin air. They rubbed their eyes and could only attribute it to last night's partying and perhaps a hallucination from lack of sleep.
CSA Headquarters—
Also known as the Counter-Strategic Agency Headquarters—
The legendary organization Jake was finally able to witness firsthand.
It had appeared countless times in movies, but often played the role of the incompetent bureaucracy, constantly interfering with the protagonist's plans, stupidly helping the villains while maintaining a self-righteous attitude. However, its resources were undeniable.
In this movie, this department was indeed formidable.
The only slight disappointment was that Devlin suddenly received a phone call just as he was about to enter the main lobby and then turned around and left. But this didn't matter to Jake—he only needed to infiltrate the CSA building. He'd have plenty of time to slowly search for the tuxedo production facility.
While exploring the corridors, Jake arrived at a long, narrow conference room.
He finally witnessed the inner workings of this secretive department. Everyone wore either business attire or tactical gear with an ID badge clipped to their chest, serving as both identification and security clearance card.
"Del Blaine," Jake stared at a female agent's chest for a moment. Don't get the wrong idea—her professional blazer was buttoned up properly; he was reading her ID badge.
This sweet and energetic female agent was none other than the movie's leading lady.
A rookie agent and a cab driver in a high-tech suit—the two formed an unlikely but compelling partnership. Besides the martial arts action, this was also one of the film's main attractions. Jake remembered being charmed by this somewhat clumsy but attractive woman when he first watched the movie.
Now, seeing her up close, it was definitely true.
With an invisibility potion, wasn't this kind of harmless voyeurism irresistibly tempting?
Besides the amusing act of invisibly observing beautiful women, Jake also didn't forget to check what high-tech gadgets were present that hadn't appeared in the movie.
To Jake's slight disappointment, the computers were just standard desktop PCs, and the firearms were regulation-issue sidearms. The only truly advanced piece of technology, the tuxedo, was—if he wasn't mistaken—some kind of cutting-edge innovation unique to this world.
It seemed the CSA's research and development budget in this universe had been heavily focused on that one project.
"Everyone, please gather around and look at our Agent Wallace," a technician-type agent approached and addressed the working personnel.
"Missing for two days, fourteen hours and five minutes."
"Okay, that's a very detailed incident report, but I'd like to know more about what actually happened to him?" This was a senior official in a suit, his rank clearly higher than most field operatives.
"Simple. He drowned in his bathtub."
The preserved body laid out before them indeed showed signs of prolonged water submersion.
The medical examiner pointed at the corpse and continued, "Preliminary assessment: he lost consciousness due to blunt force trauma to the head."
Another agent interrupted him, "He's infiltrated terrorist cells and hostile organizations countless times without a scratch. You're telling me he drowned in his own bathtub?"
"Life's unpredictable, I guess. Get him to the morgue," the official ordered, seemingly accepting this conclusion.
"He didn't drown, sir."
Jake, standing directly in front of Del Blaine, was completely unprepared for her sudden interjection. A faint perfume scent drifted from her as she spoke, and to emphasize her point, Del leaned forward slightly, bringing her face even closer to where Jake stood invisibly.
"He was murdered. His life wasn't that unpredictable, was it?" Del said, completely unaware that an invisible man was standing inches from her face.
If she knew, would she have pulled her gun and fired?
Jake instinctively leaned back slightly.
"Who are you?" the senior official asked.
"Del Blaine, sir."
"Why do you think he didn't drown?"
"His lungs had fluid... but the fluid contained excessive clotted platelets and showed signs of severe dehydration... He died of thirst!"
Del became increasingly animated, even taking a step forward, nearly bumping into Jake's invisible form.
"This is getting too close for comfort," Jake thought, patting his chest nervously and continuing his exploration.
Jake knew the actual cause of Agent Wallace's death: the villain in the movie had hired a rogue scientist to develop a biotoxin based on water strider enzymes and distributed it through the municipal water supply.
If an ordinary person was poisoned, they would rapidly dehydrate and die of thirst, turning into a desiccated husk—truly horrifying!
Jake had no interest in getting involved with this bioweapon. Even if he had to eliminate enemies, he preferred giving them a quick death. This kind of brutal method, draining the body of all its moisture, was simply too cruel.
However, the so-called rogue scientist caught Jake's attention.
Having traveled through so many movie worlds, he'd always operated solo. Even in high-tech universes, he only acquired finished products—technical data and blueprints were practically useless to him without the expertise to implement them.
If he had a team of research scientists who could help him understand and apply advanced knowledge, the improvement and manufacturing of various high-tech equipment would become much simpler.
[Reader Support Milestones]
500 Power Stones → +2 Chapters
10 Reviews → +1 Chapter
Enjoyed the read? Leave a review.
20+ advanced chapters on P2treon Soulforger