Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 117 - 107: Awakening of the Bloodline

Chapter 117: Chapter 107: Awakening of the Bloodline

The sun had risen, and the weather was getting hotter.

Gao Yi and Lin Xianghua waited outside the shower room because it had air-conditioning, while those few lucky survivors, neither daring nor willing to stay inside the house, felt more at ease despite the heat outside.

By ten in the morning, Grasse finally emerged, wiping his hands as he stepped out of the shower room.

Luca also finally came out, looking very relieved.

"How did it go?"

"He coughed up 2.8 million dollars; another 4 million plus is impossible to retrieve. I didn’t expect this guy to be so clever."

Luca was wet in many places, but it didn’t matter—the blazing heat of Baghdad would quickly evaporate the moisture on his body.

"Why is it impossible to get?"

As far as this deal was concerned, Gao Yi wouldn’t be handling it himself, so he wouldn’t get any money from it; hence, he was merely curious.

And Luca, looking rather regretful, said, "The Plunderer wasn’t married, but he has a girlfriend in the United States who bore him two children, and another girlfriend in Ireland, who bore him one child. He converted this part of the money into real estate and stock investments, all registered under his girlfriends’ names. Plus, there are over four million in cash. Theoretically, we could get that money out, but it’s too much trouble, so what we can actually get is just the 2.8 million in cash."

Grasse, slightly aggrieved, said, "Just a mercenary and yet he amassed over ten million dollars."

Gao Yi, truly puzzled, said, "Is the underworld so warm-hearted? Misfortune doesn’t extend to their families? Transferring property to families clears all troubles?"

Luca shook his head and explained, "It’s not like that. The underworld still adheres to basic social norms. The Plunderer gave the money to his girlfriends, no accounts, no passwords involved. Unless you track down his girlfriends to get the money, but that’s a different story altogether, understand? It’s different from directly getting money from the Plunderer’s hands now."

"Oh, got it."

Grasse sighed and said, "2.8 million dollars, that’s a huge amount. Even after deducting twenty percent for expenses, it’s still a substantial sum. I’m going back with the Plunderer now; you guys take another car."

Gao Yi helplessly said, "We don’t have a car."

"You do now, a military vehicle from the Baghdad garrison. Do you want an armored vehicle or a regular one?"

Gao Yi pondered for a moment, then said, "A regular vehicle would do, an armored one is too conspicuous."

Grasse nodded, then picked up the phone and spoke a few words; he then said, "The weapons and equipment you need can be taken from the aid supplies given to the Iraqi Defense Army. Just wait a moment, I don’t have the authority to move these equipments just yet, but it will be available soon."

Within the jurisdiction of the Defense Clandestine Service, Grasse currently didn’t have enough authority, but Gao Yi guessed that by the end of the day, Grasse’s words would carry some weight.

Thus, the realm of the Secret Action Bureau was Gao Yi and his crew’s safe operating area.

This kind of investment was truly rapid and effective, ascending to heaven in one step if successful, and no loss if it failed.

At this moment, Gao Yi was filled with a sense of accomplishment.

Lin Xianghua helped move the Plunderer into Grasse’s vehicle, then military base personnel drove over two off-road vehicles, both identical Toyota off-roads, not using the eye-catching Hummer armored vehicles.

On the way back, Luca took the wheel.

But only after the car started moving did Gao Yi couldn’t help but say to Luca, "Why did you take Grasse’s money? I mean, we shouldn’t have taken any money since we decided to invest heavily in Grasse, making it thorough."

Luca, without hesitation, said, "It’s because I’m thinking long-term. Tell me, what now maintains our relationship with Grasse?"

"Based on... money?"

Initially, it was ten thousand dollars for convenience, which then led to dragging Grasse into danger, and now it was like kindling a fire in Grasse’s cold stove. So, what maintained the bond between Gao Yi and Grasse? Was it money, shared secrets, or a bond of mentorship?

None seemed reliable.

Gao Yi fell into deep thought, while Luca said, "It started with money, but we only offered a little. Now, you have provided Grasse a way upwards, but it’s just guidance; the real work must still be done by Grasse, hence including us, our role in Grasse’s endeavors isn’t notably important, especially once Grasse’s career gets on track. After this matter is over, we will be even more useless to him, right?"

"Right, that’s the logic."

Luca smiled and said, "Since the investment has succeeded, we cannot just reap a quick profit and leave. We need to turn this investment into a long-term stable income. So how to maintain a long-term cooperative relationship? Of course, it’s by making each party indispensable to the other. But we can’t always help for free, so processing their dirty money becomes the tie that binds Grasse to us, even binding the Secret Action Bureau."

Gao Yi nodded and said, "I understand your point, but how do you bind it? Even if you handle their finances, they could replace you at any time."

"I take five percent, which is already the lowest fee. No one they switch to can offer lower than that unless they plan to use coercive measures. But would you trust, would you dare, to hand your money to someone forced to work?" Gao Yi immediately said, "I certainly wouldn’t dare."

"That settles it then. Does Grasse or his superiors know how to manipulate the funds in the Plunderer’s accounts? Can they find a way? They have to let me handle it. Purely helping out only makes both parties feel insecure. However, a long-term, stable, and secure collaboration puts everyone at ease, so this Grasse case might make us the permanent financiers to the Secret Action Bureau. In the future, who would dare to move against us when the Secret Action Bureau is the first to object, believe it or not?"

Gao Yi smiled like a benevolent father watching his son grow up, nodding continuously, "Believe, I believe."

Luca sighed and said, "I am indeed too skilled at this. But I’m curious, a few months ago when I first met you, you were just a young man who knew nothing. Even if you had spent time with Sean, he couldn’t possibly have taught you all this. So why do you suddenly understand? I mean, how do you suddenly know how to pull people in and even give life advice?"

Gao Yi was stunned for a moment, then seriously said, "Racial talent, cultural heritage, bloodline awakening, along with exceptional talents."

Those series of phrases can’t really be expressed in English, so Gao Yi added an English sentence, "Simply put, even if I haven’t eaten pork, I’ve seen pigs run. Watch some TV, movies, and read some books, and naturally I’ll get it. Don’t you think?" The last sentence was directed at Lin Xianghua, who blushed slightly and said, "If you say so."

Luca sighed and said, "We are assassins, but what kind of assassin does this? So are we still assassins?"

"Why wouldn’t we be?"

Luca seriously said, "I feel if things continue this way and Grasse really rises to power, which he undoubtedly will support what we do since taking down a fraudster in Iraq is a trivial task for him. If the Defense Clandestine Service could coordinate action with the Iraqi garrison, then here’s the question: If we let the Defense Clandestine Service deploy a squad to surround and capture the target, handing him over to us... what does this mission count for?"

Gao Yi scornfully said, "What does it count for? Of course, it counts as successfully completed!"

"I of course know the mission will be completed successfully, but is this still what assassins do? Our current role could be intermediaries, brokers, or money launderers, but it just doesn’t relate to assassins anymore. Should we transform? From now on, stop doing assassin chores and turn into intermediaries?"

Gao Yi thought for a moment, then said, "Don’t look at the process, look at the result. The result is we fulfilled the client’s request and got the commission, that’s all."

Luca whispered, "But the garden isn’t like this, it shouldn’t be like this..."

"So the garden is gone, no, it should be said that’s why the garden fell into my hands."

With a straightforward statement, Gao Yi indifferently said, "Killed by a hammer is an assassin, shot dead is not an assassin?"

With that, Luca was rendered speechless. After pondering for a moment, Luca suddenly said, "You’re right, I’m too conservative. I just want to correct you on one thing: assassins eventually have many irreplaceable roles, such as making the target die without any trace, making doctors unable to find any signs of murder."

Gao Yi nodded and said, "I know this principle, so we just don’t take such tasks."

Yet again, Luca was left speechless.

Lin Xianghua suddenly said, "That’s right, play to the strengths and avoid the weaknesses."

Gao Yi was very pleased that Lin Xianghua could perfectly follow his line of reasoning.

Luca shrugged and said, "So what do we do next? Do we wait for Grasse to get the money, let the Secret Action Bureau help us locate and capture our target, or do we take action ourselves?"

"You handle the money laundering for them; I’ll go find the target, as a sort of reconnaissance. If we can handle it ourselves, we won’t use the Secret Action Bureau since involving others means splitting the money."

Given the increasing importance of helping Grasse rise, which even affected their future direction, naturally, it was to be treated with the utmost importance. However, even without Luca, Gao Yi and his team’s tasks wouldn’t be affected much.

This is what’s called shooting two hawks with one arrow, not delaying either task.

Gao Yi was very satisfied and said, "The real job for the Secret Action Bureau is to look for Li Jie. If they could also sort out my gun issue here, that would be killing three birds with one stone, don’t you think? If I save Li Jie’s life, he wouldn’t have the nerve to charge me, would he?"

Luca, puzzled, said, "Just a gunsmith—why do you care so much?"

Gao Yi thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps it’s the importance of the first impression. Just because someone initially said he could solve my problem, I can’t stop thinking about him. Although replacing him is fine, it’s just making a gun, but since it’s a matter of convenience, why not just handle it while I’m at it."

After speaking, Gao Yi smiled at Luca and said, "Most importantly, getting the Secret Action Bureau to find Li Jie provides an opportunity for Grasse to freely owe me a favor. This kind of favor without spending money is the most crucial in any relationship, much more important than any straightforward monetary transaction. Do you understand?"

Luca, confused, said, "What could be more important than transactions of interests?"

Gao Yi laughed and shook his head, saying, "Now you operate stable transactions, while I manage relationships. You understand? Never mind, you don’t get it, so don’t bother understanding."