Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 1224 - 1229: Thinking

Chapter 1224: Chapter 1229: Thinking

Thinking that Aaron might be guiding him step by step forward, Yang Yi felt overwhelmed—not only with fear and caution but also with a sense of frustration, as if everything was under the other’s control.

Yang Yi fell into prolonged contemplation, but in the end, he still couldn’t figure anything out.

It was inevitable—he had too little information at hand. Aaron had revealed piece after piece to him, leading him to imagine extraterrestrial civilizations or advanced technologies, yet none of these developments explained how they related to the Grey-cloaked People. Yang Yi remained completely in the dark.

Perhaps this was the effect Aaron wanted, to spark Yang Yi’s intense curiosity about the Grey-cloaked People without truly granting him the truth. Alternatively, Aaron might just be setting a trap for Yang Yi, leading him astray step by step. For a seasoned spy, achieving such an effect was hardly difficult.

Yet the problem was that the identity of the Grey-cloaked People seemed to be getting clearer—but what about the Cleaners? What exactly were the Cleaners aiming to do?

Now Yang Yi discovered that he felt increasingly alienated from his allies.

Based on the prior situation where the Cleaners and the Grey-cloaked People originally belonged to the same organization, perhaps their goals were actually the same, but they diverged in their chosen paths, thus creating sworn enemies from former comrades.

It’s like the saying "all roads lead to Rome." Two companions heading to Rome could choose different methods—one wants to fly, the other insists on walking. So, instead of progressing on their journey, they decide to eliminate each other before reaching Rome. This scenario is surely absurd because, while their methods differ greatly, there’s no need to kill one another.

Unless there’s another case: two companions traveling to Rome, one invents cars to drive there, while the other invents airplanes to fly there. Suddenly, all roadways to Rome become obsolete. The one who invented the car fights fiercely to take down the airplane inventor to protect his interest. If it’s like this, perhaps it makes a little sense.

But the possibilities of falling out between companions are endless—for example, still traveling together to Rome, but one discovers the other plans to destroy the city upon arrival, whereas his own plan is to protect it. In this case, they won’t even wait until reaching Rome—they’ll simply start fighting on the way.

Based on what he knew so far, Yang Yi felt the Cleaners seemed to be more radical, or perhaps stronger in their methods. The Cleaners appeared to be more capable in combat compared to the Grey-cloaked People.

Adding to this was the name "Shield of Freedom" associated with the Cleaners—the more he thought about it, the more mysterious this organization seemed. After thinking it over for a long time, Yang Yi eventually decided to stop tormenting himself. Exploring the fundamental goals of these two mysterious organizations was simply asking for trouble.

But what if he ultimately sided with the Grey-cloaked People?

What Yang Yi feared most—or perhaps, what he dreaded—was that he might truly align with the Grey-cloaked People. Although revenge was his sole reason for becoming a spy, things had changed now.

Once Yang Yi plunged into this murky water of espionage, he had accumulated too many entanglements. Treating revenge as his sole pursuit and disregarding all the complexities involving himself and those around him was clearly impossible.

He couldn’t think further—thinking too much would only cause him to hesitate. For a spy, losing faith in his motivations would spell serious trouble.

The trouble would be immense.

If he wasn’t driven by his determination for revenge and instead sought only profit, Yang Yi would definitely already be making a significant fortune by now. He would be focusing on getting rich rather than going head-to-head with the Grey-cloaked People.

Yang Yi ended his daydreaming and turned his attention to Petra.

Petra had been under continuous scrutiny from the Grey-cloaked People—this was not a good sign. It was highly plausible that Aaron suspected she might be keeping some critical evidence. If Aaron truly deemed Petra a threat, he would definitely eliminate her.

He needed to warn Petra, but how could he do it...

Yang Yi thought for a long time, then said to Petra, "Sounds interesting, but ultimately it doesn’t prove anything. I’ve always felt that searching for evidence of extraterrestrial beings in ancient texts is meaningless. It’s fine as a side interest to explore casually, but pursuing it as a primary research area seems misguided."

Petra shrugged and replied, "Exactly, I started with great confidence, but now I feel focusing on current, unfolding events is much more meaningful. All in all... the results are still disappointing, as we haven’t made any breakthrough discoveries."

No breakthrough discoveries are better—making a breakthrough might just cost lives. In his mind, Yang Yi silently said this to Petra before speaking indifferently, "Is your website active lately?"

"Not very active. There haven’t been any major discoveries, and we’re pretty much the same as other similar exploration organizations. But we won’t fall apart since it’s ultimately a group united by shared interests."

Yang Yi felt slightly relieved—there didn’t seem to be any immediate danger to Petra. With Aaron already having succeeded in his plans, he probably wouldn’t send anyone else to deal with her.

There was no need to dwell much on Petra’s situation. Yang Yi, having arrived in New York, shifted his focus to checking Boer and the others’ progress.

Boer and his group had always been in New York. Their work had been quite consistent, and now the Organization of Water could finally proudly proclaim that financial troubles would never burden them again.

The Organization of Water was no longer short of money—handling arms trade on one hand and financial transactions on the other—it was now virtually impossible for them to lack funds.

In turn, the Organization of Water had largely completed its internal division: specialists like Boer and Chris finally had roles suited to their talents. From now on, barring any major unforeseen events, someone like Boer should never mix with someone like Brian, who specialized purely in combat.

Thus, while the Organization of Water remained relatively small, it was increasingly taking the shape of a mature spy organization.

Although the Organization of Water still lacked sufficient manpower, Yang Yi upheld the principle of quality over quantity. Core members could remain unchanged indefinitely—he would never recklessly expand the team to gain power quickly.

That raised the question of whether combat personnel should be recruited separately as the organization’s strength improved—it was something worth serious consideration.

Should Brian’s team be expanded? Or should Zhang Yong’s team see reinforcements?

While both Brian and Zhang Yong were responsible for combat, Brian’s team consisted of loyal insiders, whereas Zhang Yong managed disposable recruits. So, should the Organization of Water strengthen its internal combat capabilities, or simply hire more mercenaries?