Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 846 - 851: Promotion and Salary Increase

Chapter 846: Chapter 851: Promotion and Salary Increase

They were supposed to meet during the day, but it wasn’t until nightfall that Eric finally made the call.

"Ensure safety, meet at nine, but you guys need to be prepared, things might have changed."

"What happened?"

Yang Yi needed to understand what had happened, then Eric explained in a slightly dejected tone, "My friend was summoned by his boss, he’s been promoted, he has been given a new team to carry out his research, I’m not sure if he is still willing to switch companies after the promotion."

Yang Yi was stunned for a moment, just when someone who was originally overlooked got promoted, causing obstacles to their recruitment effort, what kind of joke was this.

"Do you know the specifics?"

Eric spoke softly, "I don’t know, I haven’t met him yet, just spoke briefly over the phone, but anyway, you should prepare more thoroughly, at least offer my friend a more generous deal than before, just be mentally prepared."

After clarifying the meeting place, Yang Yi hung up the phone, then he raised his hand to touch his hair, muttered a few curses under his breath, and walked to the roadside.

Zhao Qiang appeared out of nowhere, standing next to Yang Yi, he asked in a low voice, "What’s wrong?"

"Meeting at nine o’clock, but there’s a problem, not sure how big it is yet. Li Wei has just been promoted and given a raise. The introducer doesn’t understand the situation, can’t know whether Li Wei is still willing to switch companies, damn, what a messed-up name!"

"You’ll get used to it, it’s actually quite convenient."

Zhao Qiang forced a couple of chuckles, then said quietly, "No worries, as long as Li Wei is still inclined to switch companies, as long as he remains dissatisfied, if he still contemplates changing jobs, we can definitely persuade him, let’s go to the meeting now, no need to think too much, everything will be clear after the meeting. By the way, what about your colleague?"

Yang Yi looked around, he didn’t see Anton anywhere, so he said quietly, "Why do you ask?"

"Er, after all, we’re not very familiar with their style, to be honest, I’m not really afraid of anything, but I worry that if something happens, it might be too late for your colleague to react if he’s too far from us."

"Don’t worry about that, if he has the responsibility, then he will definitely show up when needed, whether to save us or to finish us off, he definitely won’t mess up."

Zhao Qiang chuckled bitterly, "Then I’d rather pray he doesn’t show up."

Yang Yi and Zhao Qiang arrived at the meeting place Eric had mentioned, a restaurant with few people around.

By the time Yang Yi and Zhao Qiang arrived, Eric had already been waiting there.

It was eight fifty, Eric was alone, he stood up, invited Yang Yi and Zhao Qiang to sit down, then Yang Yi pointed at Zhao Qiang and said, "Buyer, this is my friend, also the middleman for this transaction."

Eric and Zhao Qiang did not shake hands, they just nodded at each other, then Yang Yi said to Zhao Qiang, "My friend, you can call him Christmas Tree, he sells some equipment, if you need anything, contact him, he guarantees fair prices and home delivery, and also, the stuff is definitely good."

Zhao Qiang smiled and said, "Can I get a contact?"

Eric nodded, "Of course, of course, but this is not urgent. Let’s talk about the current issue now. My friend was unable to utilize his talent, and he was very frustrated about it. But today, his boss suddenly told him he could lead a design team on his own. I think this might be a problem."

Zhao Qiang still looked calm, and said, "I don’t think it’s a biggie, we’ll know after talking to him."

Just then, the door of the restaurant was pushed open again, a man walked in with his head down. On seeing Eric and Yang Yi seated at the table, the man appeared hesitant and nervous, seemingly contemplating whether to keep walking forward.

Eric stood up, "Ian, come and sit."

Ian had a sparse beard but was not very thick, wearing scruffy clothes and dirty jeans, his T-shirt looked somewhat cleaner.

Ian approached Eric, he said quietly, "Hello, I..."

He shrugged his shoulders, then sat down, looking at Yang Yi and Zhao Qiang, he nervously said in a low voice, "Sorry, I, I..."

Eric patted Ian’s shoulder, smiling amicably, "Mate, don’t be nervous, no one is forcing you, no one will press you to make a decision, just take this as a casual chat, whatever decision you make, treat this as a gathering of friends."

Ian took a deep breath, "Alright, I’m a bit... unsure of what to do now."

Eric smiled, "Don’t rush, just introduce yourself, it’s okay, just talk about your most basic job situation."

In front of these seasoned guys like Eric and Yang Yi, Ian, like a child, took a deep breath and said quietly, "My name is Ian McAvoy, I graduated from Imperial College with a double Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering and Materials, currently I work at Kauswell National Laboratory."

Yang Yi felt a surge of excitement inside, clenched his fists under the table, a Ph.D. in the materials, that’s a match.

Ian looked at the placid Zhao Qiang and Yang Yi, then continued softly, "I’ve been working at Kauswell Laboratory for four years, four years of doing nothing, I feel I’m wasting my life and talents, there everything is filled with decay, but..."

Yang Yi interrupted softly, "Sorry to interrupt, this laboratory doesn’t seem very famous."

Eric shrugged, "No, it’s very famous, but it’s a national defense laboratory, funded by the British government, and also responsible for developing equipment needed by the intelligence departments. It’s not well known externally, but internally, it’s quite prominent."

Yang Yi, looking enlightened, said, "Oh, no wonder, please continue."

Ian continued after being interrupted, "I don’t like the work atmosphere there, I really don’t. No one appreciates your capability; what they value is seniority. I feel I won’t get any recognition until I’m fifty, but I’m only thirty-two this year, though I’ve been promoted today."

Ian glanced at Eric, then said quietly, "I used to be an assistant to a laboratory manager, but today I’ve become the head of an independent laboratory. I think, maybe it might be different..."

Zhao Qiang said in a deep voice, "One question, how many people do you have, how much is your research budget, what kind of research projects do you have?"

Ian fell silent for a moment, then said quietly, "I have no one yet, no budget... I don’t have any research projects yet, but..."

Zhao Qiang said sternly, "You’ve been played, mate. Your capability threatened your boss, so you were kicked out. You used to be able to do substantial work, now you’ll just be wasting your life in the lab you’re in charge of. That’s the situation."