Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 157 - 156 An Unexpected Way

Chapter 157: Chapter 156 An Unexpected Way

Kate had been living in a hotel for two and a half years now, never leaving.

Yang Yi suddenly felt a bit heartbroken for Kate, a girl in the prime of her youth confined to living inside a building without being able to leave, which seemed a bit too cruel.

Moreover, this was an expensive affair, very expensive indeed—the Dark Night Knight was not a charitable organization, and the one million British Pounds per year they charged to protect Kate was honestly a bargain.

Without the reputation of the Dark Night Knight, without Danny’s adamant attitude to protect Kate, to be honest, the Destroyer would have killed her many times over by now.

People in the underworld don’t care for face, but when it comes to certain matters, face is what they value most. Whether the Dark Night Knight could protect Kate was the foundation of their credibility in the underworld and whether the Destroyer could kill her was the basis for their standing; this was an unsolvable conundrum.

So of course, Kate’s money wasn’t spent in vain. The Destroyer had permanently stationed someone near the beautiful restaurant, and once the deadlock was formed, both parties could only remain in this prolonged standoff.

Until Kate no longer had the money to pay the Dark Night Knight and had to leave.

Or perhaps after Yang Yi got out of jail, he would bring people to annihilate the Destroyer, or at least he would have the means to protect Kate and help her leave.

Why was Yang Yi thinking of gathering a crew? Why must he raise his own force? Because many things simply weren’t possible for one person to accomplish!

After ending the call with Danny, Yang Yi pondered for a long time. If he had to be released on parole, he could accept it, but immediately after his release, he would have to figure out how to get Brian out too and then find Zhang Yong.

Zhang Yong and Brian were the most powerful combatants Yang Yi knew of; the conflict between him and the Destroyer wasn’t a covert fight, but a battle of real swords and guns, and these two aces were the best allies he could find.

Once out of prison, things would be much more convenient; surely he wouldn’t be as hindered as he was inside the prison.

Now it was just a matter of waiting for the results of Raymond’s communication with the new warden. Yang Yi wasn’t much afraid of threats from fellow inmates, but he was worried that the guards would find an opportune moment to shoot him.

For now, he would endure and wait for the right opportunity.

Talking about an opportunity might be premature, but a change came the next day at breakfast.

As Yang Yi followed the line to the dining hall, a guard waved at him, then said expressionlessly, "3387, come here."

Yang Yi stepped to the side, the guard took his hands, cuffed him, and whispered, "The warden wants to see you."

Although he suspected that Raymond might have already dealt with influencing the warden, Yang Yi was still somewhat nervous because he feared that wasn’t the case.

As he visited the warden’s office for the second time, the warden’s face was still as unpleasant as ever.

After dismissing the guard with a wave of his hand, the warden spoke in a low voice with a grim face, "Last night, someone made a call to me."

The heart that Yang Yi had been holding up immediately settled down, but the warden continued with a dark expression, "What is your relationship with that escaped convict King Louis!"

It turned out that in prison, Zhang Yong was known as King Louis, something Yang Yi had just learned.

With his hands cuffed behind his back, Yang Yi felt a bit awkward because he couldn’t use hand gestures to reinforce his tone while lying. After a brief silence, he said softly, "Friend."

Seeing that the warden was about to speak, Yang Yi cut in, "It’s not what you imagine. We’re on good terms, but we’re not in league with each other. Whatever promises he made to you have nothing to do with me. I hope you can understand that. He entered Pelican Bay Prison for his own reasons, and I came in for mine."

The warden said in a deep voice, "What do you want to do?"

Yang Yi smiled and replied, "I’ve finished what I came to do, which is why I want to leave."

The warden exhaled, then said in a low voice, "King Louis has put me in a very awkward position, and it’s quite embarrassing. I had just taken office not long ago when he caused me great embarrassment, which made me very angry."

How could it not be embarrassing, how could it not be infuriating? Zhang Yong’s flashy escape from the prison certainly put the new warden in a terrible situation, and it was even possible that he could lose his job over it.

"I understand, but I’ll say it again: I am his friend but not his accomplice. He is he, and I am me. And I haven’t caused you any trouble, have I?"

The warden exhaled and then said gravely, "Five hundred thousand US dollars, and I can get you out."

This new warden at least had the virtue of candor, getting straight to the point with his offer, saving everyone’s time.

But five hundred thousand US dollars was out of the question. All that was left of Yang Yi’s money stored with Danny was three hundred thousand British pounds. According to the exchange rate, these wouldn’t even amount to five hundred thousand US dollars, and besides, Yang Yi didn’t want to pay that much.

"Impossible, just a hundred thousand, no more than a hundred thousand!"

Yang Yi firmly refused to budge, while the warden, expressionless, said, "Trading my future for a hundred thousand dollars is not something I would do. My bottom line is five hundred thousand dollars, and if you don’t agree, that’s okay. I can have someone take you back, and we can pretend this conversation never happened."

Five hundred thousand dollars was definitely not an option. That was much more than what Danny had mentioned. However, reverting things back to the start was also unacceptable.

Yang Yi hesitated for a moment, then said in a firm voice, "A hundred thousand dollars. This isn’t an escape; it’s just getting you to agree to my parole application. You don’t have to take any risks, so a hundred thousand dollars is already a lot."

The hundred thousand dollars Danny mentioned included bribing the parole officer. Now just giving the warden a hundred thousand dollars felt like a loss to Yang Yi.

The warden said nothing. He just made a stop gesture and was about to call the guards in.

Time, oh time. Yang Yi felt helpless. He thought continuing negotiations with the warden through Raymond was a good idea, but he really wanted to get out earlier. So he said in a stern voice, "One hundred and fifty thousand, absolutely no more!"

The warden pondered for a moment and then said in a firm voice, "Two hundred thousand, the final offer. Two hundred thousand!"

Yang Yi sighed helplessly and agreed, "Two hundred thousand!"

The warden immediately sat down, then said in a firm voice, "As soon as the money arrives, the parole officer will come to interview and review you."

Yang Yi immediately shook his head and said, "No, I’ll only pay the full amount after my parole application is approved. You have the power to stop my release, so I think paying half up front is fair. My method of getting out is not the same as King Louis’s."

The warden was still expressionless; he thought for a moment and then said gravely, "You will get the parole application, but remember, until I receive all the money, don’t even think about leaving the prison!"

Yang Yi smiled and replied, "You’ll receive the money soon."