Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 172 - 171 Mistake

Chapter 172: Chapter 171 Mistake

Yang Yi was lost in thought, while Chris whispered, "But it seems very dangerous to rob drug dealers..."

Hank seemed a bit hesitant too, and that’s when Brian said impatiently, "What’s so dangerous? I’m not asking you to do it, I can handle everything myself. It’s just a robbery, what’s there to be afraid of?"

After he finished speaking, Brian stood up and said with a heavy tone, "Enough talking, we’ve got a place to stay, and while we still have money for food, let’s hurry up and fill our stomachs. Aren’t you guys hungry?"

How could they not be hungry? Brian hadn’t mentioned it, but once he did, everyone’s stomachs started growling. Yang Yi was also impatient to get up, exclaiming in a hurry, "Let’s go eat! I’m starving!"

The group left the hotel in a hurry, and there was a Mexican restaurant nearby. Yang Yi said, "Let’s eat there."

"No!"

"I want a burger!"

"Burgers, precisely!"

"Let’s go for burgers!"

Out of the five people, four insisted on burgers, which was fortunate since Tijuana has more than enough American fast-food restaurants.

They rushed into a fast-food joint, and a large platter of fries, the restaurant’s signature bacon burger, chicken burgers, cola, and chicken nuggets quickly covered the table that Yang Yi and his group occupied.

Once the burgers were served, Hank picked one up and bit into it, and Chris also couldn’t wait to take a bite. What Yang Yi had been particularly missing wasn’t burgers, but after eating them for over two years in prison, seeing a burger was like encountering a rare delicacy.

Only Brian didn’t move. He held his burger, brought it up to his nose, and took a deep sniff. Then, with a face full of emotion, he said, "It’s been over twenty years, I’ve finally got to eat one, this is not a dream, it’s not a dream!"

With a crunch, he took a bite, and finally, there was no more talking, just the sound of chewing.

After eating three burgers, Yang Yi couldn’t eat any more; he also had two large cups of cola and a large portion of fries left, but Brian went on to eat his fourth burger without stopping. Yang Yi was worried he might overstuff Brian to death.

Finally, after finishing his burgers, Brian picked up a piece of lettuce that had fallen onto the table and ate it, then belched contentedly. He then picked up his cola and said with satisfaction, "Don’t be in a hurry to drink the cola, it will make you eat less."

At that moment, Gweil looked up at the TV on the wall and said in a low voice, "Hey, they’re talking about us."

Yang Yi turned around and saw that the news broadcast in Spanish on the TV was about the sensational Pelican Bay Prison breakout.

Yang Yi now spoke Spanish, having learned it from Rodriguez.

Yang Yi started paying attention to the TV.

"So far, the Pelican Bay Prison mass prison escape has resulted in two seriously injured, four slightly injured—all campers in the national park who encountered the escaping prisoners. They were attacked by the prisoners and robbed of all of their belongings, including clothes. Thankfully, as of now, no fatalities have occurred, and the seriously injured are no longer in life-threatening condition. With the timely action of the local National Guard, most prisoners have been recaptured, while a large-scale search operation continues. Still, more than twelve fugitives have not yet been apprehended. The person in charge of the search operation has stated that they will soon find all the prisoners but refused to release more information."

Yang Yi watched the news and then lowered his head, feeling messy inside.

Brian also watched the news, but instead of commenting, he said softly, "Let’s go back after we finish eating and get some rest."

Yang Yi was feeling heavy-hearted, no, very heavy-hearted.

All the way back, Yang Yi seemed distracted. He arrived back at the hotel and threw himself heavily onto the bed. After lying there for a while, Yang Yi suddenly turned over, looked at the ceiling, and then slammed his fist down on the bed board.

The door was knocked, and Brian said softly, "I have some things I want to talk to you about."

Yang Yi got up, opened the door, and said in a low voice, "Come in."

Brian walked into Yang Yi’s room and sat down on the only chair in the room.

Yang Yi sat on the bed but he did not look at Brian; he just hung his head, lost in thought.

After a long silence, Brian finally said softly, "You have something on your mind."

"Yes."

Brian said quietly, "It’s because you did something wrong. You made a big mistake, right?"

Yang Yi was silent for a while, then finally nodded, "Yes..."

Brian sighed and said, "What were you thinking, why did you let all the prisoners go?"

Yang Yi said in a low voice, "It wasn’t my plan. In fact, I had no plan. It just happened in the heat of the moment, I didn’t... I didn’t think about the consequences of releasing the prisoners at all. I just assumed that the National Guard would be able to catch them, but I didn’t foresee anyone getting hurt. I should have, though, considering I let a whole bunch of criminals loose, but I wasn’t thinking about that at the moment..."

Brian exhaled and said, "I guess so, because the consequences of setting all the prisoners free are too grave. If you had seriously considered it, you wouldn’t have done such a thing. The prisoners at Pelican Bay Prison are all heavy offenders. Freeing them isn’t just an escape; it’s a security crisis, a massive crisis that shocks the entire nation, turning a minor incident into a major event of national concern. So, it really wasn’t a wise move."

Yang Yi said softly, "Now I am thinking about those innocent victims."

Brian nodded and said, "You’re a smart young man, but you are still too young. Youth often leads to impulsiveness, and impulsiveness to mistakes, some of which should never be made, like releasing all the prisoners from Pelican Bay Prison without a second thought. If you were a bit more mature, perhaps you wouldn’t have done it."

Yang Yi sighed and said in a low voice, "What should I do, I feel terrible now, damn it!"

Brian said quietly, "Some mistakes should never be made because there are some errors that cannot be mended, no matter what you do. This time, it was still okay; no one died, only got injured. If someone had died, that would have been an irreparable mistake. To me, such incidents don’t matter much, but for you, if someone had died because of you, you would have owed a debt of conscience that you could never repay."

Brian appeared to be in great pain; looking at Yang Yi, he patted his chest and said solemnly, "I understand that pain, I am familiar with it, because I also have an indelible debt of conscience that makes it hard for me to breathe. No matter how many years pass or what punishment I have received, still, I am unable to relieve the pain in my heart because my debt cannot be repaid, my mistake cannot be mended."

Yang Yi said softly, "What did you do... Sorry, pretend I didn’t ask."

Yang Yi asked more than he should have; he knew what Brian had done wrong.

But Brian with a melancholic face said, "I betrayed my own country. That is the mistake I can never mend. I didn’t want to do it, but I still betrayed my country. That’s the fact, regardless of how many years I’ve been imprisoned or what punishment I’ve received; those are what I deserve, and yet they do not make up for my mistake."

After speaking, Brian sighed lightly and said, "You’re still young, I’m already old. Our identities and aspirations are different, but still, I want to tell you something, some mistakes can be made, but there are some that should never be made. You’re young, and making mistakes is inevitable, but you’d better think carefully before making decisions."

Yang Yi nodded, "Thank you for your advice, I’ll remember it."

Young people are prone to acting on impulse, and Yang Yi was a young man. As talented and intelligent as he was, he was still young, so naturally, he would make the mistakes common to young people, only this time, the consequences of his impulsiveness were particularly severe.

"Impulsiveness is not an excuse for making mistakes, nor is being young an excuse. The mistakes made in youthful impulsiveness cannot be remedied by simply growing up and maturing. I was once young too, and I’m still paying the price for the mistakes I made back then."

Brian smiled, "Alright, I’ve said a lot, because you’re the one who let me out of prison. In my eyes, you’re the angel sent by God to save me, and I don’t want to see you make the same mistakes as I have. It looks like you’re open to listening and willing to learn, so there’s nothing much else to say. Now, I want to talk to you about other, more important matters."