Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 538 - 526 Two Tigers on One Mountain

Chapter 538: Chapter 526 Two Tigers on One Mountain

How to navigate between two beautiful women often left Yang Yi feeling inadequate, but between two men, Yang Yi could manage it with ease and even elegantly.

Brian and Paul arrived, with Paul being the more composed of the two, but Brian and Anton had a bit of tension between them. However, for Yang Yi, this certainly wasn’t a problem.

Gathering his team into a solid, unified front was, of course, an ideal situation. However, it was also somewhat idealistic. Keeping the team dynamic was much simpler, especially fostering healthy competition within the group.

One of the simplest methods was the use of provocation.

"We don’t know how to get the intel we want from Anderson Research Association. Right now, we’ve got one plan in place, to have Chris pose as a client and make initial contact. But what else? Do you have any strategies?"

After posing the question to both Brian and Anton, Yang Yi hesitated before looking at Anton and saying solemnly, "It’s said that Black Devil is a master of all trades. So what would you do?"

With a nonchalant smile, Anton replied, "It depends on the target’s identity. There are meticulous methods and there are simple, direct methods. If we don’t need to care about the investigation target’s background, we simply capture them; under interrogation, everything comes out. If we can’t use the simple, direct approach, we then identify the surveillance target first, keep them under 24-hour watch, keep an eye on every move they make, wiretap all their phone calls, and investigate everyone they contact. Usually, we’ll make quick gains that way."

Brian coldly said, "You haven’t provided any substantial content."

Anton raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you need me to teach you how to do it?"

Undisturbed, Brian simply smiled and responded, "There are many people who could teach me, but you certainly aren’t one of them. Someone who doesn’t even know who Yarebin is doesn’t qualify to educate me."

Anton scoffed, "I could complete everything from surveillance to assassination on my own."

With an amused expression, Brian retorted, "Such a simple task—who here couldn’t do it?"

Yang Yi wanted to say he couldn’t, but that would be slapping Brian’s face, so he decided it was better to keep quiet.

In fact, among those present, aside from Anton and Brian, perhaps Paul could be added to the list. Besides these three, everyone else, without exception, couldn’t complete all the tasks by themselves. Truly comprehensive surveillance of a person was quite difficult. If two people felt it was too much pressure, imagine just one person doing it all.

After mocking Anton, Brian said gravely, "To investigate Anderson Research Association, we’ve got no leads right now. Our only clue is Lloyd, but we have no idea where he is. So my suggestion is covert observation, identifying who is tense during this time, who is particularly busy, and selecting a few key targets. Meanwhile, Chris needs to make contact with Anderson Research as soon as possible. As long as there’s contact, we’ll discover something. Once we have findings, the following steps will be much simpler."

Anton nodded, then said seriously, "Hmm, very constructive advice."

Anton’s expression and tone were serious, but the sarcasm was apparent to anyone.

However, Brian wasn’t offended; he only looked at Anton and said with a smile, "Glad you understand."

Anton’s sarcasm was deftly treated as praise by Brian, which irritated Anton.

Though neither man had a clear action plan, their verbal sparring had gradually clarified the next steps. Under the current circumstances, that was all they could do.

Yang Yi said firmly, "Alright, Chris will take the first step by making contact with Anderson Research Association, and while he’s at their headquarters, we’ll try to gather some useful information."

Speaking gravely, Anton said, "I could go with him, posing as his assistant."

Brian sneered and responded firmly, "It would be better to take someone familiar with American companies. Chris, how are your preparations going?"

Chris, looking helpless, replied, "I’m still studying the material. I need to understand everything about the company I’m going to represent, especially since I need to familiarize myself with a completely foreign business sector. So, at the earliest, I can go the day after tomorrow."

Brian frowned and asked, "Just memorizing some background information—does it really take that long?"

Smiling, Anton said, "If you have to read from documents while presenting your company, that’s hardly fitting. No worries, better to take it slow than to make a mistake."

Of course, Brian understood what Anton meant. Brian was just urging Chris on, well aware of the importance of knowing the material. However, being preempted by Anton made it seem as though he was a rookie who didn’t grasp priorities.

But for veterans like Brian and Anton, the first to lose their temper was the loser.

So Brian acted as if he hadn’t heard Anton’s words.

Chris, not wanting to offend either side and not wishing to be used as a pawn in their rivalry, cleared his throat and said, "Do you have anything else to say? If not, I’d like to go back to studying the documents. I need someone to question me so I can quickly get into the role."

Since there was no concrete action plan at this stage and further discussion was pointless, Yang Yi immediately said, "Let’s end the discussion here for now. Everyone think about what you need, and if we don’t have it, let me know as soon as possible so we can expedite procurement. Brian, you and Paul must be exhausted after your flight. Get some good rest tonight, and tomorrow we will finalize what needs to be done."

Very seriously, Brian said, "What we need isn’t equipment but personnel. Schultz or Tang Guo—at least one of them needs to come. When can they get here at the earliest?"

Yang Yi sighed and replied, "Tang Guo and Schultz are both working on their visas. I think it’s better to have Tang Guo come; at least she won’t stand out as much here. What do you think?"

After pondering for a moment, Brian nodded and said, "Then let’s go with Tang Guo. But why hasn’t she arrived yet?"

Yang Yi sighed again and answered, "Tang Guo’s brother kept her passport, and as for Schultz, he doesn’t even have one. I didn’t want them to get involved with the Cleaners, but it seems without their help, they’d have trouble even leaving the country..."

Brian remained silent for a moment before finally saying, "We can’t hide their existence from the Cleaners, and the Cleaners probably already know about them. So let’s have the Cleaners assist."

Reluctantly, Yang Yi nodded and said, "Alright. I’ll call the Cleaners now, and if we’re quick, Tang Guo could be here by tomorrow."