Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 449 - 437: Heart-to-Heart

Chapter 449: Chapter 437: Heart-to-Heart

Jethro once again rode in the same car with Yang Yi and his group.

His expression had been grim the entire time, and finally, Jethro let out a long sigh.

With a look of deep distress, Jethro whispered, "Once the time comes, just leave, don’t renew the contract."

Yang Yi looked at Jethro with some surprise, but Jethro didn’t return his gaze and merely stared blankly at the car ahead and continued in a low voice, "You’re here just to make money; there’s no need to risk your lives."

Yang Yi whispered back, "Oh, why do you say that?"

Jethro let out another long sigh before whispering, "What, Justin didn’t explain things clearly to you?"

"He mentioned some things, but I don’t see how they’re related to the current situation."

Jethro spread his arms wide and then let them fall helplessly onto his legs, slapping them down.

"What’s the relation? Heh."

With a bitter smile, Jethro shook his head and said, "You know I work for Deyo, right? You should also know what I’m here to do. Justin always tells you these things, doesn’t he?"

After a moment’s hesitation, Yang Yi still whispered, "Yes, you’re here to take over Big Ivan’s territory, to wage a war. It’s a good business opportunity."

Jethro took out a pack of cigarettes, lit one, cracked open the car window enough to flick his ashes outside, and then whispered, "The time isn’t right yet. Who is Big Ivan? What is Ukraine? Ukraine is Big Ivan’s backyard, a place he would rather die than give up. What kind of person is Big Ivan? He’s someone who would rather die than take a loss. Do you think it’s going to be easy to snatch his backyard from him?"

Jethro was actually stifling his frustration. He had a belly full of complaints but couldn’t find anyone to vent to, so Yang Yi, with whom he had the closest relationship besides Boyata, became his confidant.

"The Americans have made a move on Big Ivan, even bombing his lair with laser-guided bombs. Many people think Big Ivan is dead, including my boss, but..."

Jethro waved his hand, his face a picture of helplessness, "But even if Big Ivan is dead, will his influence just dissipate like that? Europe is Andre’s turf, and this guy is fiercely loyal to Big Ivan. Whether he’s alive or not, Andre won’t give up this place easily. And Andre has been in Ukraine for many years; he has built a significant influence and has very complex connections. In fact, the entire Ukrainian military has strong ties with him. Do you understand what that means?"

Jethro asked Yang Yi a question, but without waiting for an answer, Jethro said with a worried frown, "It means Ukraine is Andre’s home field. His strength here is too great. To confront him head-on with just our current manpower, hoping to uproot Big Ivan’s influence entirely, is just naïve."

Yang Yi whispered, "But now Ukraine has a new master."

Jethro let out a bitter laugh, "Yes, there’s a change in power now, and we have a great chance to take Ukraine for ourselves, but it will take time. Big Ivan was able to use the Ukrainian arms depots as his own warehouses because of his connections with the military. Slowly, the new government will clean out the military and replace them with their own people. We can start infiltrating the Ukrainian military from the top. We only need one year because the new Ukrainian government can’t wait too long. At most, in one year’s time, we can establish relations with the military, from top to bottom, naturally squeezing out Big Ivan’s influence."

Another long sigh, Jethro whispered, "But what about now? The military’s power has hardly changed, especially the middle and lower ranks. Almost all the officers who have access to the arms depots are Big Ivan’s men. Trying to force our way in now would be impossible. Going head to head with Andre would mean challenging the interests of half of the Ukrainian military, not to mention that even if Big Ivan died, Andre still has a very strong force. This is their stronghold. To think we could eliminate all of Big Ivan’s people, how is that possible!"

Yang Yi felt that Jethro was being quite decent. Although these things would become apparent to anyone given enough time, hearing them from Jethro meant that he was genuinely on board. Regardless of whether he had a strong desire to confide, at least he was willing to speak the truth.

So Yang Yi felt rather guilty at that moment.

Jethro calmed down a bit and said in a low voice to Yang Yi, "Tonight we are going to kill Andre, but I don’t think it’s possible. While I’m here, I try to avoid direct conflict with Andre and to hide our tracks as much as possible. Honestly, with our current strength, taking on Andre head-on means certain death."

Yang Yi whispered, "Why don’t you discuss these concerns with the boss?"

"How could I not? I told the boss the plan in detail. He was originally in agreement with it, but now, it seems he has changed his mind."

Another soft sigh, Jethro whispered, "This is Andre’s home ground. While I’m in Kiev, I have to be extremely cautious, for fear of Andre discovering our traces. But after a large-scale operation like tonight’s, I expect we’ll be completely exposed. Even if we gain some advantage tonight, we’ll still be far from a complete victory. So if we go to war tonight, what follows will inevitably be constant retaliation and counter-retaliation. This war is not going to be over in a short time. I estimate, at least a year."

Yang Yi whispered, "Justin said the same, that’s why we’re here to take on the mission."

Jethro said with disdain, "You only see the opportunity to make money, but have you considered how easy it would be to withstand Big Ivan’s retaliation? This war is about financial power, consuming..."

Jethro looked at Yang Yi and then said expressionlessly, "What’s consumed are the lives of people like you. If it weren’t for the fact that you saved me, do you think I would tell you this?"

Yang Yi felt an even stronger sense of guilt, so he whispered, "Thank you."

Jethro waved his hand, "My boss has money, but Big Ivan has more. Alright, even if Big Ivan dies as we hope, Andre won’t be short of funds, and even if Andre dies, there will still be other subordinates of Big Ivan coming here to replace him. This war isn’t going to end in the short term unless all of Big Ivan’s men are dead or he runs out of money and can’t fight any longer. But the biggest arms dealer group in the world, do you think that’s likely?"

Yang Yi whispered, "So the early stages are the most dangerous, when the fighting is most intense and both sides are heavily depleted."

Jethro whispered, "Exactly. So once this mission is over, get out of here as quickly as you can. Once the situation starts to stabilize, then come back to make money. You saved my life once, and if there’s an opportunity to earn money, I will let you know."