Eagle Sauce: The 055 destroyer was launched into the sea just after the founding of the country?

Inside the Kremlin, warm fireplaces dispelled the chill of early winter.

Joseph leaned back in a comfortable armchair, holding in his hand an extra edition of Pravda which had just been urgently printed by TASS.

The front page of the newspaper had a shocking headline: "American President Howell was assassinated!"

"Hahahaha!" Joseph burst into laughter, which echoed in the spacious office with an undisguised gloating look.

He threw the newspaper on the table, picked up his pipe, and slowly filled it with tobacco.

"What a sad ending, isn't it?"

He spoke to KGB Chairman Karpov beside him, his tone full of sarcasm.

"That guy who called himself the 'leader of the free world,' that treacherous traitor, ultimately died not on the battlefield, but at the gunpoint of his own people."

"What an ironic, capitalist ending!"

Karpov nodded respectfully. "Yes, Comrade General Secretary. This fully exposes the irreconcilable contradictions within the capitalist system."

"Their presidents change like a revolving lantern and could die 'accidentally' at any time for various reasons."

"It's just a daily meal,"

Joseph waved his hand dismissively, lit his pipe, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled thick smoke rings.

"I remember their Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley... that's how they died, right?"

"A country that can't even guarantee the safety of its own head of state still dreams of ruling the world? It's a huge joke!"

He stood up, walked to the window and looked at the snowflakes falling outside.

Howell's death was undoubtedly good news for him.

This means that the Eagle Sauce will fall into chaos for a period of time, and the crazy plan of all-out war may be stranded. This has won the bear a precious breathing space.

"However, we can't let our guard down," Joseph's eyes became sharp again. "After Howell dies, a new president will take office."

"The Eagle Sauce's policy toward the Soviet Union will not change because of the death of one person. We must continue to implement our plan, strengthen cooperation with the Dragon Kingdom, and restore our economic and military strength. This is the top priority."

"Yes, Comrade General Secretary," Karpov replied respectfully.

Just then, a secretary knocked on the door and reported with a nervous look.

"Comrade General Secretary, Comrade Perseus has urgent intelligence and requests an immediate meeting with you."

"Perseus?" Joseph frowned slightly.

Of course he remembered the codename. It was this mysterious yet efficient agent who had brought him intelligence on the "Red Light Project," allowing him to make that stunning move on the European chessboard.

"Shouldn't he be carrying out the follow-up work of the 'Morning Star' project in Europe? Why did he suddenly ask to see me?"

Joseph was a little puzzled, but his intuition told him that the news brought by Perseus must be extraordinary.

"Let him in." Joseph waved his hand, signaling the secretary to leave.

He sat back in his armchair, wondering about the purpose of Perseus's visit.

Did something go wrong in the execution of the Morning Star plan? Or did the Americans discover some clues?

A few minutes later, the office door was pushed open again.

Perseus, dressed in an ordinary gray suit, walked in with a steady gait. His face was expressionless, like a lifeless statue, except for his deep eyes, which revealed a calmness and sharpness beyond the ordinary.

"Comrade General Secretary." Perseus saluted, his voice low and steady.

"Please sit down, Comrade Perseus," Joseph pointed to the chair opposite him and asked directly, "Why are you so anxious to see me? Is there something wrong in Europe?"

Perseus sat down on the chair, his body straight as a sword ready to be unsheathed at any time.

Instead of answering Joseph's question directly, he asked a seemingly unrelated question.

"Comrade General Secretary, have you heard about the news that American President Howell was shot?"

There was a flash of displeasure in Joseph's eyes.

He doesn't like this roundabout way of reporting.

"Of course I do," he said impatiently. "The whole world knows it. He's dead, isn't he? Why should I ask? Do you think we have anything to do with his death?"

Perseus slowly shook his head, his eyes fixed on Joseph with a strange, disturbing penetrating power.

"Comrade General Secretary, everyone on Blue Star knows Howell was shot," Perseus said, his voice extremely low, as if every word weighed a thousand pounds. "But what they don't know is that... Howell isn't dead."

"what?!"

Joseph stood up suddenly from his chair, his pipe slipping from his hand and falling onto the thick carpet in shock. He stared at Perseus in disbelief, as if he were listening to a fairy tale.

"Say it again? Howell is not dead?"

Perseus' expression was extremely serious as he repeated each word with great emphasis.

"Yes, Comrade General Secretary. He is not dead. Although he was seriously injured, almost dead, he is still alive."

"At this moment, he is in a top military hospital in the US, receiving the highest level of treatment. The announcement of his death was a deliberate fabrication by certain factions within the US for political gain."

This news exploded in Joseph's mind like a thunderbolt.

He stood there, his mind blank.

In his decades-long political career, he has experienced countless conspiracies, betrayals and emergencies, but none of them has made him feel as shocked and incredible as today.

Howell is not dead? How is that possible?

Media around the world are reporting his "death", and the Vice President of the United States has even delivered an inaugural address.

If all this is fake, how unfathomable must the conspiracy behind it be?

"This...what's going on? Who is behind all this?"

Joseph's voice was a little hoarse with shock.

He sat down again, leaning forward slightly, eagerly waiting for Perseus's next words.

Perseus pulled a document marked Top Secret from his briefcase and handed it to Joseph.

"According to my intelligence sources inside Capitol Hill and the Pentagon, this assassination was a carefully planned political conspiracy from beginning to end."

Perseus' voice was eerily calm, but what he said was enough to shake the world.