Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 629 - 636: Christmas Tree

Chapter 629: Chapter 636: Christmas Tree

France, Paris.

In a café in the Shangri-La Hotel, Yang Yi sat at a coffee table, resting his chin on his left hand and leaning on the sofa of the café seat.

Yang Yi was waiting to meet Eric Forland.

Eric Forland, nicknamed "Christmas Tree," was a seller of high-end spy equipment. Mike had been a regular customer of his, and the Organization of Water now used most of its espionage gear purchased from him, but since Mike’s death, Yang Yi had to personally get in touch with him.

This was the first face-to-face meeting between Yang Yi and Eric, so on the phone, having agreed on a meeting place with Eric, Yang Yi had to use something as a token for their meeting, which was the watch on his wrist.

To keep the watch visible at all times, Yang Yi had to keep propping up his chin with his left hand.

The watch was sold by Eric, who would naturally recognize it. Twenty minutes after Yang Yi had been waiting, a middle-aged man with a large frame but somewhat thin, wearing a checkered suit, came over.

"Hi, good afternoon, nice to meet you."

Eric’s hair at the temples was somewhat graying, and he wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses; he looked like a successful middle-aged businessman.

Eric stood beside Yang Yi and extended his hand. Yang Yi immediately stood up, and as they shook hands, he said, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Forland."

Having gestured for Eric to sit opposite, Yang Yi said solemnly, "I was referred by Mike, who has passed away. From now on, I will be contacting you in his place."

Eric nodded and asked, "I regret Mike’s passing. So, Mr. Sea God, what do you need to meet me for this time?"

Yang Yi replied in a deep voice, "Many things, rather scattered. First, I need drones, ultra-long endurance ones with excellent surveillance capabilities, capable of 24-hour continuous cruising."

Eric let out a long sigh, pondered for a while, and then nodded, "Endurance is an issue with drones; your requirement can’t be met with rotary-wing drones, only fixed-wing ones."

Yang Yi immediately said, "I need it to be small, the smaller the better."

Eric frowned and said, "Endurance and size are conflicting. You want small drones with very long endurance... Yes, there’s a special agent drone that’s small in size but has long endurance, capable of at least five hours of flight. Theoretically, with six of these drones used in rotation, you could monitor a large area non-stop for 24 hours."

"How much?"

"One hundred thousand US dollars for one drone, and an additional forty thousand dollars for surveillance equipment. If optical equipment is also needed for nighttime use, then a full set is one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, so a drone with equipment is either one hundred and forty thousand or two hundred and twenty thousand dollars, depending on which type you need."

Yang Yi genuinely found it expensive, but there was no choice; this was top-quality espionage gear, somewhat pricier than military drones, not to be compared with civilian consumables in terms of price.

Yang Yi thought it over and said, "Okay, I’ll take them. Three drones for daytime use, three for nighttime use."

"Excellent."

Eric offered a slight smile, then continued, "Anything else?"

Yang Yi nodded, "There’s also a gun, a top-tier sniper rifle. Nothing mass-produced, it must be the very best custom-made sniper rifle you have, make doesn’t matter, preferably semi-automatic."

Eric scrunched his brow and said, "Custom-made sniper rifle? That’s rather troublesome and will take a lot of time."

"It can be second-hand."

Eric chuckled, "Would an excellent marksman sell their best weapon? No, so you have to buy rifles that are only sold after their former owner dies or that end up on the market. I can’t accept this business because there’s too much uncertainty. Second-hand is a gamble, I can help you order the best rifles, but if you need them urgently, then I can’t help you."

To do a good job, one must first sharpen one’s tools. Paul didn’t have a rifle he was particularly happy with, so he wanted one. It’s just that if none could be found, then he would have to abandon the idea.

As for ordering a new gun, there was no need to bother Eric; Paul could handle it himself.

"Could you ask around for me? Within a month, contact me if you find any particularly good rifles, new or old. But if it’s after a month, please check with me first before deciding whether to buy."

Eric smiled, "Sure, anything else?"

Kate’s special makeup supplies were running low and needed to be restocked at this opportunity. Yang Yi took out a list and said, "Prepare according to this list. Can I get the items by tomorrow?"

Eric glanced over it and replied, "The makeup can be acquired by tomorrow. For the drones, it will take three days. Pay half the deposit now, and the full amount upon delivery. Any issues?"

"No issues."

Eric pushed a piece of paper across the table to Yang Yi and smiled, "Please transfer the money to this account. If I don’t receive it within three hours, this deal is off. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Sea God. Goodbye."

After shaking hands with Yang Yi and saying goodbye, Eric left straight away. Once Eric was gone, Yang Yi got up and went outside the café, where he found Kate and Anton.

Kate asked in a low voice, "Is it all set?"

"It’s set, but we won’t get the items for another three days. Also, there are no guns, and I think it’s very likely we won’t find a suitable one for Paul."

Anton stood by, simply smiling. Yang Yi glanced at Anton and said, "Let’s go to Germany. We’ll come back after three days."

In truth, Anton should have stayed in Kiev, as he was definitely the person most familiar with it. But why did Brian send him away to follow Yang Yi? It was due to a trust issue.

Put simply, Brian didn’t trust Anton completely, thereby sending him away with Yang Yi. In fact, Yang Yi had no real need to go out, nor was there any use for Anton, but by doing so, Brian could make sure that whatever arrangements he made in Kiev, Anton would definitely be unaware of them, unable to leak anything even if he wanted to.

There was no choice; Anton claimed he had no special feelings for Black Devil, but who would dare believe that?

Yang Yi understood the implication, as did Brian. And Anton himself knew what Brian’s arrangements meant. However, Anton had no complaints because he realized that Brian’s precautions against him were normal and understandable. So, without saying anything, he’d obediently follow Yang Yi out for a stroll, treating it as a tour.