Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 816 - 821: Great Minds Think Alike

Chapter 816: Chapter 821: Great Minds Think Alike

Every sentence is understandable on its own, but when linked together, the deeper meaning becomes elusive—that’s how Zhang Yong felt right now.

Not just Zhang Yong, everyone else felt the same.

What’s the deal? Justin merely gave away some intelligence for free, and Yang Yi made the leap to Big Ivan showing up—those things are clearly unrelated.

Watching the crowd’s perplexed faces, Yang Yi spread his hands and said in a grave voice, "This matter is somewhat complicated, involving many different aspects. First, let’s talk about the outcome of this battle. No matter who did it, the victor is on Big Ivan’s side, right?"

"Yes, that’s right."

"So, after Big Ivan’s victory, what need does he have to spread this news himself?"

Zhang Yong frowned and said, "Of course it’s necessary. Can’t he be happy about winning?"

Yang Yi helplessly said, "I meant, why would Justin need to spread this news himself?"

Zhang Yong spread his hands and replied, "Fine, you continue, just pretend I didn’t ask."

Yang Yi said solemnly, "Considering Justin’s personality and style, he has no reason to do this. But the fact that he gave me this intelligence voluntarily is abnormal. If we deduce behavior from personality, then Justin’s actions must be profit-driven. So, where does his interest lie?"

After posing the question, Yang Yi immediately went on, "My guess is that Justin needs to rally support for Big Ivan, to let the entire underworld know that Big Ivan has the upper hand in the war with the United States. Big Ivan has gained an advantage; what is this? It’s deterrence! It’s warning everyone not to pick the wrong side. Amidst the conflict between Deyo and Big Ivan, stabilizing the confidence of one’s own people and undermining the enemy’s morale is undoubtedly very important."

Zhang Yong thought for a moment and said, "Alright, that makes sense."

Yang Yi continued, "Then let’s deduce from what I know of Gong Yang. If he was to take over Big Ivan’s position, and he also directed this battle, then he should be heavily promoting his victory. Since Justin could tell me this piece of news at the first opportunity, he couldn’t possibly be lacking more detailed information. If he wanted to promote Gong Yang, then at the very least he should have mentioned the name Gong Yang, telling everyone it was Gong Yang’s doing."

Kate murmured, "Perhaps Gong Yang wanted to keep it confidential."

Yang Yi shook his head and said, "Confidentiality is indeed important, but just a name isn’t that critical, is it? If it wasn’t Big Ivan, then Justin would certainly have mentioned a name, whether it be Gong Yang, Mother Sheep, a mountain goat or even a sheep—some new name would appear to replace Big Ivan. But there wasn’t; which means it could only be Big Ivan’s victory."

Zhang Yong nodded repeatedly, "Makes sense. Just the matter of coming up with a code name."

Yang Yi, full of excitement, said, "So, what does this tell us? Big Ivan is making an official comeback. Justin is rallying support for him, but I feel it’s not just about building momentum. Considering Justin’s urgency, I think perhaps Big Ivan wants to divert attention. Yes, Big Ivan is diverting attention!"

Xiao Ran couldn’t help interjecting, "How did it end up being about diverting attention again?"

Yang Yi waved his arms and said, "Why is it necessary to build momentum? Because Big Ivan’s situation was very grim. Deyo is nothing, but even the Americans have intervened. Who would think that Big Ivan could survive, let alone win? So, Big Ivan’s situation must have been dire."

Xiao Ran said, "It’s certain. I always thought Big Ivan was definitely done for."

"So now not only is Big Ivan alive, but he also seems to be able to win. What does that imply?"

Xiao Ran said urgently, "You just mentioned diverting attention."

Yang Yi smiled and said, "Oh, that’s just a possibility that came to mind, and I blurted it out. There’s just this possibility, you see. What if Big Ivan isn’t in Ukraine, but he draws the Americans’ attention there to facilitate his actions elsewhere, say, on American soil..."

Yang Yi was truly speaking off the cuff, without any concrete intelligence. All he could do was speculate. Yet, after mentioning American soil, he suddenly felt that this was precisely what Big Ivan intended to do.

There was no special reason; it was purely intuition, and the simplest, most direct, and fundamental reason of all.

If Big Ivan wasn’t up to something on American soil, he couldn’t possibly win against a superpower like the United States. The US has endless resources to take him down. It doesn’t matter if it’s just two or three failures; even if it were a hundred or a thousand, the US only needs to succeed once, and Big Ivan would be done for.

Big Ivan can’t win. He simply can’t. But for him, forcing the US to stop targeting him would be the ultimate victory.

So Yang Yi felt that Big Ivan could only have used some means to coerce the United States, forcing the United States not to pursue him anymore, but if that was the case, it would be unwise for Big Ivan to spread the news of the U.S. failure. If he truly hurt the pride of the United States too severely, wouldn’t it just push the Americans to deal with him even more frantically?

Although it sounded somewhat incredible, Yang Yi just felt that Big Ivan was up to something on American soil, which is why he needed to divert the attention of the Americans to Ukraine.

Yang Yi finally finished expressing his thoughts, then he turned to the others and said, "What do you think? Does my idea sound plausible?"

Zhang Yong replied with a helpless look, "Justin gave you a piece of intelligence, and you came up with all these far-fetched ideas—I’m impressed. As for whether it’s true or not, how could we know?"

Just then, Annastasia suddenly gave a gentle clap and smiled, "Brilliant, very bold and crazy speculation, but I believe that even if the truth isn’t exactly like this, it wouldn’t be too far off from your guess. Very thrilling."

Yang Yi felt a bit embarrassed by the praise, while Annastasia continued seriously, "My thoughts are basically the same as yours, so I have nothing more to add."

Zhang Yong chuckled awkwardly and said, "Well, okay, let’s assume that’s the case, although I find it a bit far-fetched. Just from one sentence by Justin, you came up with so much—it’s no easy feat. But what does this have to do with us?"

Annastasia looked at Zhang Yong and said, "You’re definitely not a spy, or you wouldn’t have made such an ignorant statement. Firstly, this demonstrates ability—deducing the truth behind an event is the most basic job for every analyst, but whether one can approximate the truth is a matter of personal skill. Besides, you might feel this conclusion is useless now, but what if you were working for the Americans? You need to understand something—if you were working for the Americans, then this conclusion might cause them to shift their focus from Ukraine to their homeland. So, do you still think his speculation is meaningless?"

Zhang Yong remained somewhat unconvinced, "Little Egg can think of it, and CIA can’t?"

Annastasia smiled and replied, "Different positions, different angles, and what you’re aware of, the Americans might not be. Is it so strange that the Americans haven’t thought of it? And how do you know the CIA hasn’t thought of it by now? The point isn’t whether the Americans have thought of it or not, but that he has."

After speaking, Annastasia looked at Zhang Yong and smiled, "Although this is just Little Egg’s conjecture and not the truth, if you want to seek the truth from this conjecture, then it is extremely meaningful. If you don’t want to pursue the truth based on this conjecture, it still remains extremely meaningful. As I said, it’s a question of ability. Do you fancy having a leader who is simple-minded? As the head of a Spy Organization, would you prefer him to be a rookie who only handles the basics?"

Zhang Yong laughed, "Of course not. Uh..."

After hesitating, Zhang Yong cautiously said, "But aren’t you just buttering him up? You know what I mean? You’re not just flattering him, right?"

Annastasia became serious, then she looked at Yang Yi and said, "As a spy, logical thinking is a must, but divergent thinking and observation are even more important. These abilities might not matter to you, but as your leader, he must possess them. I’m pleased that he does. Whether his speculation is fact or close to it, I don’t know. But I thought the same as him, so I admire him for that."

After thinking it over, Zhang Yong said, "Okay, I’m starting to think you make sense. Even though I don’t find Little Egg that impressive, well, his mind is indeed good. So, I’ll trust you on this. Hey, since you speak so highly of him, does that mean you considered the same, so you’re also impressive? Are you complimenting yourself?"

Annastasia just gave a faint smile, and then Brian, with a sycophantic look on his face, interjected, "Nonsense! Do you know what she does?"

Annastasia gestured to interrupt Brian, then he immediately clammed up, casting a ’you don’t understand anything’ gaze at Zhang Yong.

But Annastasia was smiling at Yang Yi, "Have you received professional training?"

Yang Yi shook his head and said, "No, but Mike taught me. Brian has told you about Mike, right? He taught me some basic principles of analyzing things, uh, and then in college I studied international relations."

Annastasia immediately clarified, "I mean, have you not received training to be a professional analyst, an intelligence analyst, correct?"

"Uh, yes, no, but Mike taught me..."

"How long did he teach you?"

"Uh, he mentioned it a few times."

"Just a few times?"

This time, Annastasia was the one who was astonished, while Brian added, "Mike has passed away, they didn’t spend much time together..."

Annastasia impatiently said, "I wasn’t asking you!"

Brian immediately fell silent, then Yang Yi, somewhat embarrassed, laughed, "Uh, yeah, just a few times."

Annastasia exclaimed in amazement and then looked at Yang Yi, "You really are a genius! A true genius!"