Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 824 - 829: At Home

Chapter 824: Chapter 829: At Home

No matter what it is, if it’s done to perfection, it will be expensive—extremely expensive.

Spy equipment was inherently costly, and Yang Yi knew this and was prepared. However, Eric’s quote still gave him a taste of what breathtakingly expensive meant.

"Four hundred and twenty thousand British Pounds."

Yang Yi choked on his own saliva, then whispered, "Each?"

"Each!"

Yang Yi sighed, "Why so expensive!"

Eric glanced to the side once more, looked at Yang Yi, and after a moment of contemplation as if he had made up his mind, he finally whispered, "This thing has been developed for half a year now, but so far, MI6 has not adopted it. The reason? It’s just too expensive!"

After finishing his point, Eric took out a camera as thick as a chopstick and as long as a cigarette, then he whispered, "Look at this. This one only costs twenty thousand British Pounds. Both MI6 and MI5 have adopted this type of camera as the mainstream standard."

Yang Yi whispered, "What’s the difference?"

Eric smiled and said, "Both models have their own power supply. The big one can operate for twenty hours as it has to power both the camera and the wireless transmission, that’s as long as it can last, while the small one can operate for sixty days. Both can transmit wireless signals, but the small one has sixteen channels which can be hidden within all current WiFi or mobile signals undetected, unlike the big one that just has one. Most impressively, the small one can be wirelessly charged. If your camera runs out of power, take a device that can wirelessly charge phones, get close depending on your charger’s power—it might work even from a hundred meters away, though ideally."

Yang Yi was shocked, he whispered, "How is that possible?"

"How I don’t know. But you should understand what this performance means, pal. This is the last glory of the British Empire, the limit of technology that the United Kingdom can achieve—it’s the best thing in the world, except for being too expensive!"

Yang Yi was somewhat skeptical, doubting that the tiny device in his hand was as formidable as it sounded, because it sounded a bit too sci-fi.

Currently, pinhole cameras were very common; they were basically worth next to nothing. Cheap ones could be purchased for a few Euros, and the better ones for a few hundred Euros, of course referring to what’s available on the civilian market.

A well-acknowledged reality: military technology generally has a twenty-year lead over civilian technology, and spy equipment in some fields is definitely more advanced than civilian counterparts by more than twenty years, involving many technologies unsuitable for mass production, or that haven’t yet reached the mass production stage, yet may have been used by spies for many years.

Another situation is where military technology isn’t too much advanced over civilian technology, but the standards are so much higher, especially when many products are used in such small quantities. Not to mention the manufacturing and material costs; just the design cost compared to civilian products is astronomical.

So, is a camera for four hundred and twenty thousand British Pounds expensive? For Yang Yi, it indeed was very expensive, but considering its research and development costs, the price was not unreasonable.

Seeing Yang Yi still hesitating, Eric whispered, "I can tell you a bit more. There are only six of this product; no more because it’s a technical validation product. Ten were made for British intelligence to try, and it’s a nationally funded research project that cost over three hundred million British Pounds. However, it can’t be adopted short term, so I got my hands on six of them. The reason I’m quoting four hundred and twenty thousand, pal, is because it’s the lowest domestic price. If UK were to purchase these cameras, the lowest price would still be four hundred and twenty thousand British Pounds!"

Yang Yi slowly exhaled, his face hesitant, "Great item, but... there’s a bit of a problem. My commission for this mission isn’t high, and almost no chance of retrieving the equipment. It’s too luxurious for me."

Eric softly said, "Don’t forget what I told you, I’ll give you a 10% discount, pal. Three hundred seventy-eight thousand British Pounds. If you take all six, I’ll even round it down: three hundred seventy thousand each. Trust me, you won’t find anything better than this."

Yang Yi scratched his head, "A bit cheaper, just a bit cheaper!"

Eric responded with a bitter smile, "It can’t get cheaper. This stuff isn’t mine, pal. I need to come up with two million British Pounds, do you understand?"

Breathing lightly, Yang Yi pondered for a moment, then said, "Three hundred fifty thousand, and I’ll buy a batch of listening devices and cheap cameras as well. Let’s become friends, you know what I mean, real friends."

Eric briefly fell silent, then stretched out his hand, "Alright, I’ll do this favor for a friend. I brought the listening devices, I’ll fetch them from the hotel I’m staying at later."

Yang Yi smiled, and then took out his phone, dialed quickly and said, "Transfer three million British Pounds or the equivalent in Euros."

Yang Yi hung up the call. Eric, with a satisfied smile, said, "Sea God, you’re my youngest client, but truly one of the best I ever had. I’m very happy to have made your acquaintance."

Both buyer and seller were satisfied, and the subsequent proceedings went smoothly. Yang Yi collected the items, and before picking them up, he had transferred the money to Eric’s account.

Yang Yi was alone; he didn’t rush back to his base but wandered the streets of Paris for a long time, then bought a phone and a SIM card.

Then Yang Yi made a call.

"Hello, Uncle Li, I just bought a bottle of good liquor, wondering if you’d like a taste?"

"Oh? What kind of liquor, where is it from?"

"Produced in the United Kingdom, said to be exceptionally good, but how good it actually is I’m not sure—that’s why I’m asking you to give it a try. It looks quite decent, really, it looks very good. It’s just that the bottle is a bit small."

Yang Yi emphasized the word "looks"; he and Li Fan hadn’t agreed on any code phrases, everything relied on tacit understanding and perception, however, he believed Li Fan would definitely understand his meaning.

"Alright, alright, it’s great that you still remember your uncle, I’m very glad. How much did you pay, was it expensive? Can’t have you, a young man, spending too much money."

"Not too expensive, forty-two British Pounds. I don’t earn much but can afford it. It’s my way of honoring you; spending money is only right, haha."

"Alright, alright, it’s just that the bottle’s small; I’m worried it won’t be enough to satisfy us. Can you buy one or two more bottles? If it’s good, your uncle will buy more."

Yang Yi grimaced; the devices were too small, and one really was too few. In case of a mishap, there’d be no second chance. So, he could only say, "I’ll get two for you, that’s all I have—there are only six in total."

"Thank you, by the way, I received the item you sent me last time; it was really great, incredibly useful for the family. I must thank you properly, you’ve really helped out the family."

Yang Yi couldn’t help but take a deep breath; the intelligence he had sent back last time was indeed very useful, which made him both happy and excited.