Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 397 - 379 Out of Questions

Chapter 397: Chapter 379 Out of Questions

France, Valle de Maen.

Valle de Maen is a satellite city of Paris, the reason for coming here was none; it was just an aimless wander by car.

The team was now complete. If the Garden was purely an assassin organization, then Gao Yi’s current team should be called Warhammer, for he had far more mercenaries under him than assassins.

Everyone, except for Li Jie, was in place.

And the intelligence reports had been delivered to Gao Yi on time.

"Iron Fist George is in Rotterdam."

After hanging up the phone, Gao Yi spoke softly to Green, "The exact location isn’t yet clear, but the director said it would be known shortly. We can head to Rotterdam first; the director mentioned that it’s still uncertain where Iron Fist George was before, nor how long he has been in Rotterdam. All these details, if we’re quick, it may only take a few hours to uncover, but if we’re slow, we might never find them."

Green nodded and then fell into deep thought.

After pondering for about ten minutes, Green finally said, "Before we have a confirmed location, we won’t go to Rotterdam."

"Why?"

It wasn’t a question of doubt, nor was it curiosity, but rather a simple request for advice.

"Because Iron Fist George is also in a situation where he is hiding and avoiding detection. As a professionally trained former special agent, finding him won’t be easy. He will be careful to erase any traces he leaves behind. If his whereabouts are exposed too easily, then there must certainly be a problem."

Gao Yi thought for a moment, then said, "According to the intelligence from the Directorate-General for External Security, Iron Fist George was last seen in Berlin."

"Berlin, Rotterdam..."

Iron Fist George thought it over and said, "If the French could precisely track Iron Fist George’s movements, then they wouldn’t need to wait for you to take him down."

"Uh, the French say Iron Fist George might have colluded with Freedom Wind, revealing himself deliberately to draw me out. Do you think that’s possible?"

"First, you need to explain to me what Freedom Wind is."

Gao Yi realized it wasn’t easy to explain Freedom Wind to Green in just a few words.

After a moment of contemplation, Gao Yi gave a wry smile and said, "Freedom Wind is the CIA’s ace special agent group, including the name Freedom Wind itself, everything is classified. Freedom Wind is the faction within the CIA with close ties to the Dark Web. Uh, there are known to be five types of winds within Freedom Wind, and the ones with confirmed names are Wei Feng, Hurricane, Tornado, Burning Wind, and to add, except for Wei Feng, I’ve taken down all the others."

Green looked surprised and said, "You took down three of CIA’s ace agents? Freedom Wind... I haven’t heard of it, but it’s normal since I’ve been away from the intelligence center for too long. As for Iron Fist George... he’s not qualified to collude with Freedom Wind, but it’s indeed possible for them to use him as bait."

"How so?"

"I know Iron Fist George, he was originally with MI6, and I also know about the diplomatic crisis that erupted between the UK and France because of him, which ultimately led to a covert war between both countries’ intelligence agencies settling the trouble he caused."

Green glanced at Gao Yi and said, "Those things you did in London, pretty audacious of you."

It wasn’t until then that Gao Yi realized, John, Green, Iron Fist George, they all originated from MI6.

"Uh, it’s not that I’m audacious, but rather..."

Gao Yi hesitated a bit, then said very seriously, "Nowadays, MI6 is just not up to standard; it’s not like when you were there."

A sneak flattery, though it was a dig at MI6, Green still took it to heart.

"Yeah, nowadays MI6 is practically a junkyard."

Visibly indignant, Green continued, "I don’t know about Freedom Wind, but I do know that you did a lot for the French in London. So, if Freedom Wind is closely related to the Dark Web, of course, they would know about your connection to the French External Security Bureau and would naturally be aware that you are likely to take down Iron Fist George for the French. Therefore, it’s quite possible for Freedom Wind to set a trap using Iron Fist George."

Gao Yi nodded, "Yes, that’s what my friend at the French External Security Bureau said."

"Basic question, how to escape being tracked by an intelligence agency from a major country?"

Teacher Green posed the question, and after pondering for a while, Gao Yi could only uncertainly reply, "That would be to escape in disguise, change shelters frequently, and try to hide one’s movements. Oh, the director said that one should either hide where no one can find you, or keep on running so that they can’t catch up."

Green looked at Gao Yi and said, "Obviously, the simplest way to hide is to go to a place completely isolated from the world, but almost no one uses this method. Why?"

"Because humans are social animals. As a special agent who has undergone years of professional training, one cannot live without women, money. How could such a person endure a life away from the crowds? So to judge how a person would choose to escape pursuit, you first have to analyze their personality. Clearly, Iron Fist George is definitely not the type to enjoy solitude, so we can rule out the simplest method."

John gave an overview, and it was Green’s turn to fill in the details.

Gao Yi nodded and said, "I see, judge based on personality."

"The second possibility is to wander around different places, but definitely in bustling cities that can satisfy Iron Fist George’s needs. In this case, Iron Fist George would have to keep changing his locations."

"And then?"

"Then he can’t let anyone discover his whereabouts. Exposure means death. So if the French knew Iron Fist George was in Berlin but still failed to finish him off, it can only mean their intelligence was either fake or outdated."

Having said that, Green calmly continued, "So whether or not Freedom Wind used Iron Fist George to lure you out, intelligence that is based on incorrect information is obviously useless, not even worth considering."

The fundamentals were accumulated bit by bit in just this way.

Gao Yi nodded, and Green went on, "The director’s intelligence is credible, so the only thing we can be sure of now is that Iron Fist George is in Rotterdam. Beyond that, everything is a blank. But if we want to find Iron Fist George under these circumstances, we can only hope the director will send us updated and more accurate intelligence; otherwise, we’d better do nothing at all."

Reaching this point, Green held up three fingers, "Lesson three, in intelligence work, diligence is not a virtue, caution is. You would rather give up an opportunity that seems very promising than take a risk because every trap is set to look like a perfect chance."

If only he had met Green a bit earlier, Gao Yi wouldn’t have been caught off guard by Freedom Wind and nearly wiped out.

Gao Yi said with emotion, "That makes sense. I set a perfect trap, but I was nearly killed by Freedom Wind using it. It seems that to an agent, a perfect opportunity often signals danger. I was too naive."

Green frowned and asked, "You have plenty of spies and special agents around you. Didn’t anyone remind you?"

Panetta, Grasse, Abdulla, and Marina – with so many intelligence personnel around him, not one had ever spoken to Gao Yi about an agent’s attitude towards an opportunity as Green had.

Seeing Gao Yi’s expression, Green shook his head and said, "It seems the people around you aren’t up to par. Either they lack ability, or they’ve written you off as expendable. Either way, they’re not adequate."

Gao Yi sighed and asked, "So what about now? What do we do?"

"I’ve said it already, wait for intelligence. Right now, we don’t even have an angle to work with. Either give up on taking out Iron Fist George or wait for reliable intelligence. But we certainly can’t rush into Rotterdam and wander the streets like fools – that would never lead to finding Iron Fist George."

Gao Yi pondered over Green’s words, feeling they made a lot of sense.

Green spoke seriously, "You must be clear about your own role. Understand whether you’re acting as an intelligence gatherer or a terminator in your mission. Different scenarios require different approaches. However, this time, you are clearly the terminator. So don’t touch the work of intelligence gathering. Don’t even think about it, nor formulate any scenarios you think might happen. Don’t predict where your target might appear because everything you know could be false information deliberately leaked by the enemy. Whether an agent or an assassin, protecting yourself is more important than eliminating your target, unless you regard yourself as expendable."

Don’t be prejudiced to avoid creating unnecessary trouble for yourself.

By doing nothing, you make no mistakes. By doing little, you make few mistakes. By doing much, you make many mistakes – this saying isn’t derogatory when applied to spies.

Gao Yi said softly, "I understand, thank you, teacher."

It was a sincere thank you, Gao Yi was very respectful.

After a moment, Green suddenly said, "If the intelligence reports that Iron Fist George has appeared in the Red Light District, then it is false intelligence. Why?"

It was a test for Gao Yi.

After thinking, Gao Yi said, "Because although Iron Fist George is lecherous, he doesn’t like to solicit prostitutes. I’m not clear on what type of women he likes, but I can at least be sure that if he could solve his problems with prostitutes, he wouldn’t have caused such a mess. Am I right?"

Green nodded and smiled, "Yes, very correct. You’re beginning to understand how to analyze a person’s behavior from their hobbies and habits. Iron Fist George..."

Green didn’t finish his sentence when Gao Yi’s phone rang.

After picking up the phone, he heard John whisper, "Confirmed in Rotterdam, but Iron Fist George realized he was exposed and is going to run. Destination unknown. His last stop was Antwerp, three days ago, and before that, Brussels, two weeks ago. Tell Green this; he’ll make a judgment. Also, tell Green that Iron Fist George got spooked. That’s all; I’ll contact you if there’s news."

Gao Yi put down the phone and relayed John’s words to Green.

Green smiled, then turned to Gao Yi, "The director sets a question for me, then I set one for you. It seems he doesn’t want you to just be a terminator; he wants you to learn how to think. Alright, with the clues we have now, where do you think Iron Fist George will go?"