Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 222 - 221 Cooperation

Chapter 222: Chapter 221 Cooperation

An invitation and a plea, these two words have entirely different meanings.

Yang Yi noticed that Elvin’s choice of words was very subtle.

"I have always been keeping an eye on you, but after your father died, your mother was almost killed at the same time, and then you disappeared very quickly. I knew someone had protected you, I was aware of all this."

Elvin pointed at Yang Yi and said in a deep voice, "That intelligence has become important to us again. Without any reliable means to obtain its content, even after such a long time, I thought of you and decided to make contact."

"Why seek me out? Do you think I might know the content of that intelligence?"

"Yes, no one had high expectations of you, but after all other avenues were cut off, you were the only one left who offered a glimmer of hope, so this was merely a desperate attempt."

Elvin’s message was clear; Yang Yi was like a straw grasped by cleaners in desperation, not a lifesaving one but something tossed into the water on a whim, hoping for a big fish, even though they were fishing in a clear puddle with no expectation of any fish.

Therefore, Yang Yi’s status wasn’t so important; at least he wasn’t someone the cleaners were eager to enlist or eliminate.

His unimportant status actually relieved Yang Yi, because being of special importance to the cleaners at this time might not have been a good thing.

"The cleaners never directly conflict with any country, let alone a direct conflict with Huaxia’s intelligence agencies. You received Huaxia’s protection, so we had to be extra careful in our actions. Xiao Ran and you crossed paths, but we underestimated the response rate of Huaxia’s intelligence services. As soon as you two met, someone began to investigate Xiao Ran’s background, and so we immediately terminated the plan."

When Li Fan was taken to the police station, he quickly had his subordinates investigate Xiao Ran’s background because he found her appearance somewhat suspicious. Unexpectedly, this move made the cleaners terminate a plan targeting Yang Yi.

Yang Yi didn’t understand why the cleaners gave up investigating him so easily.

But Elvin had no intent to explain to Yang Yi.

Elvin earnestly said, "Although we had a plan to contact you, the cleaners hold no ill will toward you from any angle."

Yang Yi nodded and replied, "I want to believe that."

Elvin continued, "You went to the United Kingdom, and we lost surveillance on you for a short while, but after you arrived in the United States and entered Pelican Bay Prison, we resumed our monitoring and learned a few things."

Yang Yi took a deep breath and said, "Since I called Xiao Ran."

Elvin nodded and added, "Yes, after you called Xiao Ran. However, we didn’t invest much effort in you because you weren’t worth it yet, but now the situation has changed somewhat."

Yang Yi looked at Elvin, and after a moment of contemplation, Elvin said, "We urgently need to figure out the Grey-cloaked People’s plan, but our efforts to infiltrate them have failed miserably. Up to this point, the most important intelligence has come from a collaborator, and indeed, that person was your father. We still need this intelligence, and it’s more urgent than before, so I hope to establish cooperation with you!"

"Cooperate?"

"Yes, cooperate!"

Yang Yi took a breath and asked, "How do we cooperate?"

After a moment of thought, Elvin replied solemnly, "We saved you, so in return, you need to give us the information we want."

Yang Yi asked quietly, "What information do you want?"

Elvin sighed and said, "Given your current status and strength, I cannot tell you. I will tell you after you have made contact with the Grey-cloaked People."

Yang Yi frowned and said, "Of course, I hope to make contact with the Grey-cloaked People, but how can I do that?"

Elvin calmly said, "No one can find the Grey-cloaked People, and you don’t need to look for them. If you are successful, they will come to you. So, you only need to be a successful spy, and as long as you have enough strength, the Grey-cloaked People will approach you themselves."

Yang Yi liked the information Elvin shared with him; it was important and provided him with a path he had long sought to find.

Unable to find the Grey-cloaked People on his own, if Yang Yi could make a name for himself in the underground world’s spy circle and possess certain capabilities, then they would come looking for him—this was perfect, and most importantly, it was something Yang Yi could achieve.

"So, you want me to be a double agent and wait for the Grey-cloaked People to approach me, then pass information to you," he said.

"Exactly," replied Elvin.

Yang Yi sighed, his face relaxing, and said, "No problem, we can cooperate. My target is the Grey-cloaked People, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend. We have common interests so, of course, cooperation is possible. But cooperation should be mutually beneficial. So what benefits can I expect? For instance, will you help me?"

Elvin smiled and said, "Benefits? You have already received a benefit. The cleaners saved you—isn’t that benefit significant enough? As for further benefits you hope to receive, those are matters for the future. Right now, you are nothing. You are just a young man with impractical ambitions. The fact that I came here to meet you, without using special methods to interrogate you, means you have already received the utmost benefit."

It was blunt and somewhat unpleasant to hear, but Elvin spoke the truth.

Yang Yi smiled and said, "Alright, but Mr. Elvin, I know the cleaners are powerful. Since you want me to be a double agent, can’t you help me out? I can pay, after all. If I just could become a client of the cleaners—now that we’re cooperating, becoming a paid client should be fine, right?"

Elvin smiled, shook his head, and said, "No, you cannot become our client because you are far from meeting the criteria. Let me tell you what it takes to become a client of the cleaners: you must be an extremely important person in a specific field, or you must command a very formidable force, or you need a recommendation and a guarantee from a major client of the cleaners. Whether you can become a client is for us to judge, and you are far from meeting the standard, even if you have money. Besides, you are still quite poor."

Yang Yi nodded and said, "It seems you know about my financial situation as well. It looks like I’ll have to work hard. Once I become a major player in the spy circle, the cleaners will invite me to become a client, right?"

Elvin nodded and said, "Exactly. If we establish a cooperative relationship, then the requirements for you to become a client may be somewhat relaxed. Now, are you sure you want to cooperate with us?"

Without hesitation, Yang Yi responded, "Of course, we must cooperate."