Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 1183 - 1188: Discussing Cooperation

Chapter 1183: Chapter 1188: Discussing Cooperation

Yang Yi went to Italy, alone, because he needed to discuss cooperation with Justin, while the Organization of Water was currently very busy.

It was still a private jet. After landing, a very luxurious car took Yang Yi to an estate on the outskirts of Rome. The estate had sprawling vineyards, expanses of rare grasslands for Rome, and towering olive trees.

When Yang Yi stepped out of the car, it was under the shade of a large olive tree. In the same shade, there was a long dining table draped with a pristine white cloth, adorned with fresh flowers and fruits.

Not far away, four tractors were parked.

Justin was standing in front of one of the tractors, vigorously wiping a tractor wheel hub with a cloth.

"You like tractors?"

Hearing Yang Yi’s voice, Justin, who was hard at work, glanced back. Then, he tossed the cloth into a bucket of water, took a towel handed to him by a nearby attendant to wipe his hands, and extended his hand toward Yang Yi.

As they shook hands, Justin smiled and said, "I’ve recently developed a liking for tractors—not long ago, actually. I started collecting them. Please, have a seat. I hope you enjoy the surroundings and my arrangements here."

Collecting tractors—just a quirky habit of someone with money—nothing too surprising.

Justin gestured for Yang Yi to sit, and Yang Yi followed him to the dining table. The two sat directly across from each other at a close distance.

"A glass of wine to start? It’s from this estate, and tastes excellent."

"Sure, thank you."

Justin snapped his fingers, and a maid brought over an ice bucket, set down two wine glasses, and began pouring the wine.

Once the wine was poured, Justin waved his hand, and everyone instantly disappeared, leaving only him and Yang Yi.

Lifting his wine glass, Justin said in a low voice, "Thank you for your help."

Yang Yi held his wine glass and smiled, "Congratulations. When will you officially take over as the head of the Cicero Family?"

Justin clinked glasses with Yang Yi and then smiled, "I already have. I just need a ceremony—some things require a sense of ritual. I’ll definitely send you an invitation, though I know you likely won’t be able to attend."

Justin’s ceremony would include many invitees, but those truly collaborating with him wouldn’t attend, as their identities could not be exposed to the public.

Yang Yi took a sip of red wine, then said calmly, "Unfortunately, I really can’t attend, so I’m offering my congratulations ahead of time."

Justin responded casually, "It’s fine. We all know that although ceremonies are significant, they don’t matter for people like us. Hmm, you’ve been very active in the United Kingdom these past couple of days. I didn’t think you’d be this thorough—you’ve uprooted the Russian Gang and North African Gang completely. Why did you do it? A sense of justice?"

"Justice? Maybe. I’m not entirely sure. I just felt disgusted by some of the things I saw, so I decided to step in and take care of it. You know I’m not short on money now, plus I’ve got plenty of time."

Justin chuckled, "That’s justice. I like people with a sense of justice."

Adjusting his seat for a more comfortable posture, Justin casually asked Yang Yi, "So, what are your plans next?"

Justin was no longer the fugitive-like character desperately clawing his way out of trouble. Now, he was confident, triumphant, and at ease. He had transitioned from being just another member of the Cicero Family to its patriarch.

"That’s what I wanted to talk to you about."

Yang Yi raised his glass, his expression serious, and said, "Our core business is intelligence work, but during your power struggle, we’ve put our operations on hold. We’re essentially at a standstill, and most of the spies we’ve recruited are idling."

Justin waved his hand and smiled, "You can mobilize your people now. You know, the Cicero Family has very few spies of its own. We mainly rely on collaborators like you to provide intelligence. I’m merely an intermediary for intelligence."

Yang Yi laughed, "Exactly. That’s why I’m here—to see if there’s any business."

"Are you looking to be the kind of provider who finds buyers first and then conducts targeted intelligence gathering?"

"Yes. That’s our specialty."

Justin nodded and said, "Excellent. That’s exactly what I hope you do. The ability to gather targeted intelligence is crucial, yet rare. We can work together very well."

After finishing his sentence, Justin smiled and said, "You’ve helped me a lot, so you obviously deserve a privileged position. Any suitable mission will be sent to you first, and you can pick and choose, too. Hmm, do you understand our cooperation model?"

"I do. We briefly collaborated during the Singer’s Affair, though it ended with betrayal."

Justin waved dismissively, "That wasn’t me. Honestly, I detest such behavior. Mario’s actions were undermining the foundation of the Cicero Family. Now, I’m in charge, and that kind of thing will never happen again. Also, the Organization of Water’s point of contact will be me—only me. I won’t appoint intermediaries anymore. You can come directly to me for anything, just like before."

Justin was offering significant consideration. Previously, the Organization of Water had direct contact with Justin, but now, given Justin’s elevated status, his willingness to maintain this arrangement was an undeniable favor.

Yang Yi lifted his wine glass, clinked glasses with Justin, and drained his red wine.

While pouring Yang Yi another glass, Justin spoke softly, "As long as you remain an intermediary for intelligence and don’t compete with me for business, we’ll always be friends."

Even the best of friends cannot have conflicting interests; otherwise, disputes are inevitable.

Justin’s point was clear: the Organization of Water must not encroach on business territories belonging to the Cicero Family. As long as this condition was met, he would always treat Yang Yi as a friend and offer preferential treatment to the Organization of Water.

Yang Yi smiled, "Compete with the Cicero Family for business? No, I just want to cooperate with you, not compete against you."

Justin smiled, "I know, but I still wanted to mention it in advance because I highly value our friendship and don’t want it to deteriorate over interests. Please trust me."

"I trust you."

"Speaking of cooperation, I now have a very important mission involving ISIS. Are you interested?"

Yang Yi smiled, "We’ve discussed this before, haven’t we?"

Justin swirled his glass lightly, letting the red wine ripple, and said in a deep voice, "But it’s different now. First, this mission is worth a lot of money. Besides, I owe Gong Yang a huge favor—just like I owe you. I want to repay that favor quickly. And you’re also in need of a lucrative mission, right?"

"Yes, I need a mission. The Organization of Water is an intelligence agency, but we haven’t done any intelligence work recently."

Justin exhaled, then said to Yang Yi in a serious tone, "Find Baghdadi. No matter how much Gong Yang offers, I’ll give you five million US dollars! And I’ll pay it all up front!"

Yang Yi chuckled, then said calmly, "I’ll take this mission. You don’t need to subsidize me personally; just pay me according to the market rate."