Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 386 - 368: No Retreat

Chapter 386: Chapter 368: No Retreat

The job was done, cleanly and smoothly.

In fact, there was a limit to what Gao Yi could do; he simply sold off the missile Shaman provided and then considered the operation concluded. As for how to wrap things up after poking a hole in the sky, he didn’t bother.

"If the sky collapses, there must be someone tall to hold it up; if there’s a hole, there must be someone capable to mend it. Gao Yi was only responsible for poking, not mending.

Next, Gao Yi only had one thing to do: settle the accounts.

And after clearing the accounts?

Gao Yi felt he could consider retiring.

He had made enough money, and although he didn’t have much cash on hand, that wasn’t really a problem. If Gao Yi wanted, a string of digits would immediately appear in his account—it was the kind that he definitely couldn’t spend in a lifetime.

Not only could Gao Yi himself not spend it all, but neither could Feng Biao, Xianghua, or anyone else.

With enough money and no immediate threats, why not retire instead of fighting life and death battles for fun?

Of course, having built such a large foundation at a young age, although it wasn’t a tangible industry, Gao Yi’s assets were mainly reflected in his connections and relationships. If he were to retire now, as time passed, his assets would rapidly diminish, even completely disappear.

But what did that matter?

Lin Xianghua had his pursuits, Feng Biao had his happiness; everyone would take their share of the money and go their own ways.

The only problem was that Gao Yi knew too much. If he thought about retiring now, it could potentially cause some trouble, but it didn’t matter; Shaman would surely protect him.

The thought of retirement was fleeting, but after it passed, it would come back again. After dismissing the thought, there would be a moment when he wouldn’t think about it, but when there really was nothing else, the thought would return.

Simply put, once the idea of retirement formed, the desire to continue striving became difficult.

"Lucy, how about we buy an island and live in seclusion?"

Sitting in the car, Gao Yi blurted this out on a whim.

Feng Biao was driving, Lin Xianghua sat in the passenger seat, and Lucy and Gao Yi were in the back. There weren’t any particularly intimate gestures between them.

But after Gao Yi spoke, Lucy responded quite flatly, "Sure."

Feng Biao was touched, but he didn’t speak. Lin Xianghua, however, seemed a bit melancholic, "Just like War Axe, are we disbanding too? Ah, after the glory, inevitably comes loneliness. That’s life."

Gao Yi sighed, "Why do I always feel you talk so weirdly after I find out you’re Ben, saying ’after the glory, inevitably comes loneliness’, that makes no sense."

After teasing Lin Xianghua, Gao Yi immediately said, "You all have shares from Brother Biao, we are brothers for life and death. The rest of our lives, money is definitely not an issue. Ghost, you want to fulfill your dreams, you’ve got financial support; Brother Biao, you want to marry ten wives, you can afford it; as for me..."

Gao Yu scratched his head, troubled, "What should I do?"

No goals, no dreams.

Feng Biao said indifferently, "What, not managing the Garden anymore?"

Gao Yi sighed, "The Garden, an assassin organization..."

Feng continued, "I don’t care, but wasn’t your goal to revitalize the Garden? If you retire, then you let it go."

"Does the Garden even need revitalization? In my hands, the Garden has reached its peak."

Gao Yi wasn’t boasting when he said this; he was very rational and aware, simply stating a fact.

"The Garden is just a name. I can randomly pick someone to continue taking tasks under the Garden’s name—CIA, FBI, NSA, which of these major US organizations don’t have my people? Can the Dark Web still jump around? Would Andic Group dare start trouble? As long as I don’t use the Garden’s name to stir up another European Dark Web, what can happen? Moreover, in Europe, there’s the protection of the French External Intelligence Agency, and in the Middle East, there’s Big Brother covering me. Just with the tasks from Saudi alone, I couldn’t finish them all."

He sighed, and Gao Yi spoke with a sense of desolation, "What’s the point of continuing to run such an assassin organization? It’s just flattening everything, just steamrolling the game, no fun. I, the Gardener, can step down. Let Luca take over if he wants it; if he doesn’t, just find someone else to be the Gardener, end of story."

"Things are as simple as Gao Yi said, at least in Gao Yi’s view."

"But none of the three spoke, not knowing whether they could emotionally accept the fact of disbanding or they thought life after retirement would be too boring, so they didn’t want to retire."

Gao Yi whispered, "One must understand the importance of withdrawing at the peak, and must know the saying, ’when the birds are gone, the bow is hidden; when the rabbits die, the dogs are cooked.’ Right now, our positions are too high, and we’ve become weapons utilized by big shots like Panetta. As long as there is work, we can live in peace, but the day all rivals are eliminated, we will be in trouble."

Lin Xianghua whispered, "Don’t you want to go to the White House? Didn’t you say the President greatly appreciates you?"

Gao Yi dismissed it with a smile, "Only a fool would go, only an idiot would do it."

Gao Yi had always been clear about his position, no matter how high the levels he now reached, how extensive his networks, how strong his connections, none of this changed the fact that he ascended through force.

As a weapon, having enemies, of course, makes one useful; without enemies, knowing too much, one’s end would certainly be miserable.

To retire, one must do it early and quickly, when everyone is still unresponsive, just withdrawing and leaving. That was the only way to safely avoid troubles in the latter part of life. Any later, and one might not even have the chance to run.

The car quieted down, everyone deep in thought, then, after a moment, Feng Biao suddenly said, "Retirement is not bad, but I am just afraid... it’s hard to retire."

"Greed indeed makes it hard to retire, but if you’re not greedy, then there won’t be a problem."

Gao Yi whispered, "Don’t just think of having power, influence, and money. As long as we have enough money to spend for a lifetime, just disappear somewhere, and then this life is basically settled like that, then surely we can retire."

"To lose humanity is to lose a lot, to lose animal instinct is to lose everything."

Lin Xianghua suddenly interjected another seemingly philosophical statement, to which Feng Biao irritably replied, "Don’t spout that nonsense from your little book."

Lin Xianghua said earnestly, "This is a famous quote from ’Three Body.’"

Feng Biao opened his mouth, "Three Body... what is that?"

Lin Xianghua turned around from the passenger seat and looked at Gao Yi, seriously saying, "You now have friends, connections, money, resources. You’ve shot down American and British planes outside the American Embassy, yet you went on as if nothing happened. But believe it or not, if you retire, then your current friends will turn into your enemies, your network will become a giant web to kill you. Besides, there are many who can fight, but not many fighters attain your current status. So, your current success is not inevitable, but an accident. When you voluntarily give up everything you have now, it will be very hard to get it back."

Gao Yi could hardly stand these sensible yet earnest words from Lin Xianghua.

Gao Yi inhaled deeply, "I just said it, don’t take it seriously."

"It’s because you thought about it, that’s why you said it, and saying it means you took it seriously. Actually, I’m not against your retiring, but it’s dangerous to think about retiring just because you saw War Axe disbanding."

Lin Xianghua waved his hand, then he whispered, "If you want to retire, at least secure a safe way out for yourself first. Deciding to retire on a whim is very irresponsible and dangerous."

Gao Yi took a deep breath, "Never mind, no need to mention it further. I just thought of it and said it. Hmm, I will arrange a safe way out for us before I consider retiring. Today, just take it as a reminder."

Being in this world, one cannot freely control oneself; Gao Yi gained a new understanding of this saying.

After a long thought, Gao Yi suddenly asked Lin Xianghua, "What did you say earlier about losing our animal instinct?"

"To lose humanity is to lose a lot, to lose animal instinct is to lose everything."

Gao Yi felt that here, ’animal instinct’ could be seen as the power he currently possessed.

If he was to look long-term, he should consider his exit strategy now.

His current connections and network didn’t seem reliable, even with Shaman’s protection. But, depending on someone else for life and everything else is not advisable.

Knowing the proverb ’Being close to a ruler is like being close to a tiger’ should make one aware of how unreliable it is to place one’s hopes on a ruling figure.

Obtaining a sense of security from a political figure is foolish; today’s appreciation and usage may turn into tomorrow’s disdain, especially if one can only maintain a relationship with a political figure through obligations, which is akin to courting death.

Ultimately, one must rely on oneself; only when you are your own pillar, will you never fall.

So, the problem arises, if it is not yet time to withdraw swiftly and boldly, then how does one arrange an absolutely safe exit?

This matter...is not easy to handle.