Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 316 - 302: Take the Crossover to the End

Chapter 316: Chapter 302: Take the Crossover to the End

Mountains may collapse before them, yet their expression does not change; such composure can only belong to those with immense resolve.

Gao Yi managed to maintain an unchanging demeanor under most circumstances, which was quite impressive. However, upon hearing news of great concern to him, he inevitably failed to conceal his ardent emotions.

And that was just as it should be, just right.

Joelson had little confidence in himself and feared being abandoned or sacrificed in the future. Dealing with someone as inscrutable as Gao Yi would only deepen his insecurities.

What drove Joelson to do just about anything was his will to survive—not ambition, not greed.

So when he saw Gao Yi finally show concern and enthusiasm, Joelson felt a wave of relief wash over him.

At last, he had found his place. There was a suitable position for him within the CIA, and it was essential to secure one with Gao Yi as well.

"Have you ever heard of the Dark Web?"

Joelson didn’t answer Gao Yi’s question but instead posed one of his own.

And it was a question all too familiar to Gao Yi.

"Of course I’ve heard of it. That’s obvious, isn’t it?"

Joelson nodded and then spoke very seriously, "You must know that the reputation of your Sky Garden was first made on the Dark Web. The name Sky Garden is derived from ’Garden’; you took over the Garden because the last ’Gardener’ was killed by the actual controllers of the Dark Web, the Andic Group, right?"

That was at the very heart of Gao Yi’s secrets, but now, as it came from Joelson’s mouth, Gao Yi was not at all surprised.

"Yes."

Joelson gave a slight smile and continued, "You were hunted by the Andic Group; Europe became too dangerous for you, so you went to the Middle East and took on a mission. Then you used crowdfunding on the Dark Web for the first time. Harold was your financier—through him you established connections. After that, to rescue Harold, you began interacting with Shaman and then kidnapped Shaman to force him to release Harold, right?"

"That’s right. How do you know all this?"

"We have many insiders in the Saudi National Intelligence Agency. The National Intelligence Bureau has no secrets from us."

After giving an explanation, Joelson spoke in a lower tone, "CIA now knows everything about your activities, habits, and career trajectory, but there’s one question we’ve never been able to clear up: How did you gain Shaman’s favor and trust?"

Joelson shrugged and chuckled with a tinge of frustration. "It’s just a bit of personal curiosity really, because the CIA has been researching for a long time and can’t find the key to this link. The people around Shaman are very tight-lipped. I just can’t understand how Shaman could let you go. It’s already a miracle that he let you go, and now he’s even willing to strongly support you. It’s incredible."

So there were things even the CIA couldn’t grasp.

What could Gao Yi say? He certainly couldn’t claim he earned his position by flattery.

"Well, Shaman greatly appreciated my brother, and then we turned from adversaries into friends."

Joelson took Gao Yi’s response as an unwillingness to disclose more, so he nodded, and steering the conversation away, he said, "Alright, let’s continue discussing the Dark Web. You must be clear by now; most of your information actually comes from the Dark Web’s publicly available data, which then feeds your private information to the CIA."

Gao Yi immediately responded, "The Dark Web is run by the CIA."

"No, the Dark Web is not run by the CIA, but it has very close ties to it. Strictly speaking, the Dark Web belongs to no one, but it likes to give off the impression that it’s under CIA control. In reality, the Dark Web has three shareholders: the CIA, the NSA, and the FBI. With the CIA dominating the intelligence trade within the Dark Web, the FBI dominated the data trade, and the NSA dominated the business of Mercenaries— the largest share. As for the Assassin business, it’s the staple of the operatives, the Andic Group."

For the first time, Gao Yi had such a clear understanding of the Dark Web.

Joelson continued, "It’s not that these three shareholders completely control these ventures, but rather, they dominate the most profitable businesses within them. The Dark Web then continues to take its cut and finally distributes it among these subtly intervening agencies based on the overall income."

Everyone is familiar with the CIA and FBI, but the NSA, the National Security Bureau, is an intelligence agency under the Pentagon, having branched off from the military and holding a high status.

Gao Yi suddenly said, "The Freedom Wind doesn’t know about this information of mine, right?"

Joelson nodded solemnly, "That’s right. Freedom Wind was formed by Deputy Director Porter McLaurin, and Deputy Director McLaurin didn’t participate in the Dark Web project. The Dark Web project is now managed by Deputy Director John Panetta. All this should be strictly confidential to you, but we have no secrets between us."

Now Gao Yi understood the line behind Crawford.

Gao Yi was satisfied and nodded, "Continue."

In a softer voice, Joelson said, "Since McLaurin can create Freedom Wind, then Director Panetta can as well. You could be an undercover asset sent out by Panetta, carrying out some long-term plan, whose specific details are only known to Panetta. The true mission is known only to the Deputy Director and the Director himself."

Gao Yi took a deep breath, "Is that... workable?"

"Of course, it’s workable. Why wouldn’t it be? As a Deputy Director, Panetta knows almost nothing about Freedom Wind, which McLaurin formed and isn’t even a top-secret unit. So if Deputy Director Panetta has a top-secret operation with you as the executor, where’s the problem?"

"There’s no problem, it’s quite good. But how would Deputy Director Panetta manage to extricate me from my previous