Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 656 - 662: You’ve had a hard time

Chapter 656: Chapter 662: You’ve had a hard time

Jethro seemed quite at ease, or else he wouldn’t have felt like having lunch.

Although the lunch was simple and eaten quickly, the fact that Jethro chose to have lunch at that time told Yang Yi that he must have reached an agreement with Artem.

Pretending to be unaware of something you actually know is quite a tough act to keep up.

Jethro ate quickly and was in a great mood. After hastily finishing his meal with his people, he glanced at his watch, a look of satisfaction on his face as he said, "Now that I’m full, let’s go back and take care of unfinished business."

It sounded easy, but assassinating a Ukrainian military officer and an important figure in the Big Ivan arms group was no simple task.

Yang Yi contacted Anton, and when he had summoned Anton back to his side, he asked anxiously, "How is it? Did you find Zalzayev?"

Anton had an odd look on his face, as if there was some bitterness mixed with a sense of pride at being recognized.

"Please, you’ve only been gone for a short while. How could I possibly have determined the target’s location in such a short time, track the target, and more... Do you really take me for omnipotent?"

Yang Yi chuckled awkwardly and said, "Outstanding abilities naturally lead people to place great expectations on you."

Anton smiled and then spread his hands, "Sorry to disappoint you this time. I couldn’t get into the Ministry of Defense, nor could I confirm the target’s location, let alone whether he has any protection. But if you had come two hours later, maybe I could have figured all that out."

Yang Yi expressed surprise, "Oh? How so?"

Anton shrugged, "In another two hours, the workday will be over..."

The answer was so simple that Yang Yi couldn’t help but laugh. After coughing twice, he patted Anton on the shoulder and said, "Alright then, we’ll wait another two hours. But I’m curious."

Yang Yi looked toward the Ministry of Defense building and said in a low voice, "The target must be aware of the danger he’s in right now. So why does he keep going to work? Hiding away should be an option, right?"

Anton replied softly, "I have a little understanding of the target."

"Oh, do tell."

"He is in charge of logistics, especially the allocation of equipment. Ukraine is facing a civil war, with increasing tensions in the east, and the new regime is frequently reallocating troops. Military equipment also needs to be moved. If he can’t fulfill his responsibilities at this moment, he’s going to lose his position. Don’t forget he’s a military man."

"Military men work regular shifts?"

"Uh, shouldn’t they? After all, he just handles logistics, he’s not front-line combat troops, and besides, no fighting has broken out yet."

Yang Yi shook his head and considered the military he was familiar with. He then looked at the sorry state of things in Ukraine and felt it didn’t seem right.

He sighed softly and said to Anton in a low voice, "This country has become a storeroom for arms dealers, and the military is riddled with gunrunners like a sieve. I really can’t be optimistic about the future of this country. Uh, don’t you have any reflections on this?"

Anton appeared surprised, "Why would I have any reflections?"

"Uh, don’t you have any feelings for this country?"

"Why should I have feelings for this country?"

Faced with Anton’s consecutive questions, Yang Yi wasn’t sure how to respond. Indeed, why should Anton have any feelings for this country, especially since he seemed entirely devoid of emotion.

Thinking about it, Yang Yi felt a trace of wariness towards Anton.

Anton truly seemed heartless, whether towards the state of Ukraine or the women associated with him. For Anton, everything was disposable, even the Black Devil he had strived half his life to join. To him, it held no allure; if ordered to deal with the Black Devil, he would do so without hesitation, entirely devoid of any sentimentality.

If Anton indeed was entirely without sentiment, then what was his attitude towards Yang Yi? What about his stance towards the Organization of Water?

To hope that spending time with Anton would foster some closeness or loyalty towards the Organization of Water and himself was nothing more than self-delusion, mere foolishness.

Loyalty, could someone like Anton even comprehend the concept?

To put it bluntly, Anton was likely the proverbial ingrained wolf, tameless by nurture. How could Yang Yi not be guarded against such a person, not feel a sense of fear?

Yang Yi showed no sign of the alarm he felt towards Anton on his face.

Meanwhile, Anton appeared utterly indifferent. He just looked at Yang Yi with a smile tinged with mockery, surely knowing how his words would be taken by Yang Yi, yet he didn’t care at all.

Observing Anton’s unchanging indifferent smile, and pondering how to broach conversation to alleviate the awkward atmosphere, Yang Yi was suddenly struck by a realization.

Something might be amiss.

Perhaps Anton did have someone he was loyal to, only, that entity no longer existed.

Because Anton’s sole loyalty was to the Soviet Union, the one and only Soviet Union. Neither the Black Devil that he coveted joining nor the Ukraine where he had lived for decades could take the Soviet Union’s place in his heart. When the Black Devil served the Soviet Union, Anton dreamed of joining them. When Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, Anton was willing to serve it.

But when the Soviet Union ceased to exist, nothing mattered to Anton, be it the Black Devil or Ukraine.

This meant that Anton wasn’t a man lacking loyalty; rather, his loyalty was too deep-seated. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, he had lost all reason to continue his existence. And in the many years since its collapse, no person or cause could replace the Soviet Union as the object of his fidelity.

Anton was a tool, an absolute tool, and even after his original master ceased to be, he was beyond use to anyone else. The problem was this tool had thoughts, for Anton was, after all, a living person. Only when this entity named Anton desired to serve some purpose would he become a tool once again.

A human-shaped tool, indifferent to life or death.

A machine’s part that could never find its right place.

Yang Yi suddenly felt pity for Anton. He truly pitied Anton because a person who had lost his purpose, who didn’t know the meaning of his own existence, might live without hardship, but surely without a trace of joy.

Yang Yi looked at Anton in silence for a long time.

Not until Anton’s smile had faded did Yang Yi, almost involuntarily, say to Anton in a low voice, "These years have been difficult for you."