Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 499 - 487: Financial Crisis

Chapter 499: Chapter 487: Financial Crisis

The evacuation went very smoothly, which itself indicated that tonight’s proceedings were indeed not a trap set by the Grey-cloaked People. As a mysterious organization with at least decades of history, if they couldn’t handle something as simple as setting a trap, they would have been wiped out countless times by now.

Coming back empty-handed is always frustrating, but not falling into a trap that could have killed everyone was enough to make Yang Yi heave a sigh of relief.

Though the withdrawal was smooth, Yang Yi still harbored a sliver of doubt about the cleanup crew’s capabilities.

"We can’t fly directly out of Warsaw anymore; now we can only take a car to a safe place to wait. But by the time we reach the airport, the plane should already be there," Jenny said, unfazed by the failed mission and still full of confidence—although Yang Yi truly didn’t know where her confidence came from.

"What else?"

Jenny didn’t look at Yang Yi and showed no displeasure at his questioning tone. She said solemnly, "Someone will explain the rest to you."

Yang Yi promptly closed his mouth. He didn’t like Jenny or the way she operated, so since there was nothing to be said, he decided not to say anything at all.

He was resolute about the need for his own transportation route.

Of course, this transportation route didn’t refer to highways or railways. Fully-armed Trident couldn’t take flights or trains. If they wanted to travel from Ukraine to Poland, they either had to abandon all their equipment or sneak across the border.

The cleanup crew had its own transportation route, capable of ferrying Trident from Ukraine to Poland. Calling this route the "black road" or "dark path" would do—the underworld commonly accepted these terms. But Yang Yi’s preferred name was the "underground passage."

Yang Yi wanted to establish his own underground passage. If he didn’t have to rely on the cleanup crew, at least the operation wouldn’t be so passive. After the failure of the mission, the retreat had to be led by Jenny, who decided where to go. It was no exaggeration to say that he had put his life in someone else’s hands.

After daybreak, Yang Yi’s convoy finally arrived.

It was a farm, and on this farm, Yang Yi met Terry again.

Terry’s expression was as calm as ever.

"Please sit down. Someone is making breakfast. We can eat together shortly," Terry said.

Yang Yi, still armed, took a seat next to Terry. After placing his rifle against the sofa, he said gravely, "We failed this mission. However, the failure was due to your faulty intelligence. So, how do we settle the payment?"

Terry nodded and replied, "We take responsibility for this failure. Unfortunately, we can’t pay you because the contract clearly states that only upon retrieving the gold does the mission count as successful, and only then is there a commission."

A flawless response, as the agreement for the task was exactly as such. The cleanup crew wasn’t wrong in their handling of the situation.

But although the cleanup crew’s actions were within the rules, they lacked a sense of morality. While talking about morals in the underworld could be laughable, at the very least, Yang Yi was no longer willing to work with the cleanup crew.

"I just received some information this morning about you," Terry said, seeming sincere. After speaking those words, he fell silent for a moment before continuing, "So, some of our previous actions need to be adjusted. First off, some intelligence can now be shared with you."

Yang Yi frowned slightly.

Terry continued, "The gold was taken to Italy. According to the information we have, it appears to be in Rome. It’s strange; we have no idea why the Grey-cloaked People would send the gold to Rome. But for now, it seems that the gold has indeed arrived there."

Yang Yi said in a deep voice, "I’m not too concerned with the gold right now. I’m more interested in understanding what happened last night."

"We don’t know. We’re investigating, but it’s likely we won’t find out anything. Not all questions have answers, right?"

Yang Yi laughed, "That’s right, not all questions get answered."

"Now I just want to know one thing: Are you willing to continue this mission?"

Yang Yi hadn’t been outright deceived, but after suffering an unexpected setback, he would be a fool to hastily agree to take on the mission again.

"To take on this mission again... it’s not impossible, but I want to know, what happens if your intelligence is inaccurate again?"

"If a mistake on our part leads to the failure of the action, the fifteen million US Dollars will be paid in full."

Yang Yi exhaled and said, "Alright, I’ll consider it."

Terry said solemnly, "You should think about it, but you don’t have much time."

"How much time?"

"Until breakfast is over," Terry replied.

Yang Yi almost laughed. The duration of a breakfast, no matter how protracted, wouldn’t exceed an hour. Terry giving him one hour to decide on a matter so vital to Trident’s survival seemed rather harsh.

Terry stood up, looking regretful, "It seems we won’t be able to have breakfast together after all. Breakfast is ready, please."

Yang Yi definitely needed to consult with someone, and Terry understood this.

In a not-so-large dining room, the Trident members filled every seat. After leading Yang Yi to the dining room, Terry immediately excused himself.

Yang Yi was hungry too. Moreover, it wasn’t proper to discuss some matters blatantly in front of everyone, so he opted not to rush into conversation and started eating his breakfast instead.

Zhang Yong was very shrewd; though prone to making uncontrollable interjections, he was also exceptionally perceptive. When he saw that several people had almost finished eating, he spoke up loudly, "Are you done eating? If you’re done, come change clothes with me."

Zhang Yong, with the Alpha trio, left, and Anton followed suit, understanding the situation. Thus, the dining room was left with only a few of the older members including Yang Yi.

But Yang Yi still didn’t want to speak. Having planted many bugs himself, he was always wary of such tricks.

"Owl, Queen, let’s go for a walk," he said, inviting Brian and Xiao Ran. Only after reaching the fields did Yang Yi relay what Terry had discussed with him in full detail. Once he finished, before Brian could comment, Xiao Ran was visibly surprised, "That’s not right!"

"What’s not right?"

"The cleanup crew’s way of handling things isn’t like that, really, they’re not. If a failure is due to an issue on their end, they would never let their associate bear the loss. For a failure caused by incorrect intelligence like this, you wouldn’t need to demand anything; the cleanup crew would definitely pay up on their initiative."

Yang Yi sighed, "If it’s not that the cleanup crew has changed its style, then I guess... it’s that they’ve run into financial troubles."