Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 404 - 386: Deciding the Future

Chapter 404: Chapter 386: Deciding the Future

Find a place, and then start dividing the loot.

Gao Yi and Green sat facing each other. This time, Luca had to be there because Gao Yi wasn’t very good at negotiating, but Luca was.

"I really didn’t expect that one day I’d feel as ignorant as a child just starting school, and even now, I can’t imagine how you managed to knock down Iron Fist George with a single punch."

Unexpectedly, Green started by praising Gao Yi, and then he sighed with deep emotion, "I’m very curious how Iron Fist George got hold of the intelligence, because he’s not really good at stealing intelligence. His forte is combat, and he’s the best fighter in the Military Intelligence Sixth Department, no, perhaps the best fighter in the history of the UK, yet he had no chance to fight back against you. I can’t imagine it, I can’t understand it."

Gao Yi really wanted to start discussing metallic hydrogen, but he wasn’t very interested in what Green was saying.

"Combat, well, it’s just like that, you punch, I punch, that low-end kind of fighting. But my high-end style of fighting, when faced with someone like Iron Fist George, determines the winner in an instant, just like that."

He simply made a brief comment and immediately said, "Now let’s talk about..."

"No, no, not so fast. You used Kung Fu, right?"

"Yes, Kung Fu."

"The Chinese Martial Arts I know aren’t like that; let me put it this way, I’ve fought so-called Kung Fu masters, but under a modern combat system, this so-called Kung Fu can’t withstand a single blow."

"That’s fake Kung Fu, just for show, purely performative. What I practice is real Kung Fu."

Gao Yi quickly responded to Green and tried again, "Now, we..."

"Don’t rush; why are you in such a hurry? What kind of Kung Fu do you use?"

"It’s complicated; Hsing Yi, Eight Trigram, real lethal techniques, not for show."

Gao Yi answered again, and then he suddenly realized Green’s underlying intention.

Surprised, Gao Yi said, "You’re not thinking if negotiations break down, you’ll turn hostile and start shooting, right? If that happens, you’ll never resolve your doubts, so is that why you keep asking me what type of Kung Fu I use?"

Green smiled slightly, "In the face of such huge interests, anything can happen."

Gao Yi waved his hand and said, "Enough, let’s stop talking about this and talk about how to deal with this USB drive."

He took out a USB drive from his pocket, placed it on the table, and said seriously, "I got this from Iron Fist George; alright, now let’s talk about who this belongs to. First of all, this USB drive belongs to me; any objections?"

Green thought for a moment and shook his head, "No objections, but I want a share."

"You can have a share, and you should have one, but do you want money or technology?"

Green sighed, "I am British, I’ve served the UK all my life; I can’t just watch technology that could decide the future pass by the UK."

Gao Yi spread his hands, "I feel the same way, probably what they call a sense of historical responsibility, but I think technology isn’t something we can share easily. So how about this, you tell me how much money you want, and I’ll pay you."

Green pondered for a moment and said, "Not a threat, just asking plainly, do you want to live or die?"

"I want to live."

"Good, then don’t make yourself a public enemy of the world."

After saying this lightly, Green continued, "Another question, are you a spy from Northeastern University?"

"No, absolutely not."

"I think so too, because you don’t have the basic qualifications a spy needs. If you’re not a spy from Northeastern University, then here comes the issue."

He paused for a moment, pointed to the USB drive on the table, and said, "You took this thing, claiming it’s the method for making metallic hydrogen under laboratory conditions. Tell me, who would believe you?"

"Uh..."

"Even if they believe the USB drive indeed contains scientific research from France, but will they treat it as something significant? Are you really just motivated by concern and love for the motherland?"

Gao Yi cracked a smile.

Green spoke softly, "Do you know what metallic hydrogen means?"

"I don’t know, but I could check."

Green shook his head. "No need to check, let me tell you. Metallic hydrogen is a room-temperature superconductor and a very strong form of energy. You could think of it as explosives, explosives dozens of times more powerful than TNT by mass. Additionally, metallic hydrogen is a metastable substance, possibly a key material for achieving controlled nuclear fusion because so far, there is no feasible technology to produce metallic hydrogen. So, most of its uses are just theoretical. But undoubtedly, once mass production of metallic hydrogen is realized, it will be another technical revolution."

Gao Yi nodded.

Green continued, "Such cutting-edge technology, whoever masters it, controls the future. But this USB drive you’ve got is just a laboratory’s research results. It could be valid or invalid; it might become mainstream technology for producing metallic hydrogen in the future but it’s also possible that it’s just one of many methods for producing metallic hydrogen and not even the most effective one."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I mean, the technology you think is important might not be that significant after all. It might just end up as a technical reserve put away without any practical uses. Even if it’s truly useful, the country that owns the technology needs to invest a lot of resources and conduct long-term research to possibly mature a technology. At the minimum, that period is about ten years, quickly it’s twenty years, and slowly, it might need forty or fifty years."

Having said that, Green spread his hands. "Basic research is not a field for small or poor countries. The countries that can research and possibly make technological breakthroughs are few: United States, America Northeastern University, France, and the UK all don’t have great hope. Only America Northeastern University and the United States. So here’s the question for you, would a technology that could decide the course of humanity be enjoyed by one nation alone?"

"Couldn’t it?"

Gao Yi was not questioning; he genuinely didn’t understand.

Green shook his head and spoke in a low voice, "Impossible. It’s like the atomic bomb. Once one country has it, other nations will soon too. Technological paths might vary; one nation might be more advanced, another might lag, but you won’t have one country monopolizing all the technology. If such a situation ever does occur, it means war—a war initiated by those who are technologically behind."

Green sighed and continued, "So don’t take this technology too seriously. Besides, this technology is originally from France. Considering the current global situation, do you think technology that France has can really be kept completely confidential? So, your idea of giving this technology solely to America Northeastern University is utterly pointless."

Gao Yi always felt that Green’s words were not right.

Green didn’t want to explain anything more to Gao Yi, he just continued, "This kind of thing, the best choice is wholesale, everyone gets a share. Anyway, some countries getting it is meaningless — Can Ben have this technology and be ahead? Impossible. Even if Ben really makes a breakthrough technically, the results will be snatched away by the United States, and the UK..."

At this point, Green suddenly fell silent.

"What about the UK?"

"The UK, upon acquiring this technology, would just assign it to some laboratory for theoretical research. Then when it really comes to the point of investing a lot of money for further studies and trials, this technology gets tossed into some laboratory and shelved due to lack of funds and the shortsightedness of politicians. So what’s the point of me getting this technology? No point."

"Yet you still want to..."

Gao Yi sighed helplessly, yet Green spoke in a low voice, "It’s my responsibility; I’ve always got to give the UK more options for the future. Perhaps this technology, stolen today, decides the fate of the UK tomorrow."

"It was seized, not stolen."

Gao Yi corrected Green’s description and sighed, "You make sense; I’ll take your advice. Let’s not sell it but make a copy, one for each of us."

Green spoke indifferently, "Once the UK has it, it means the United States has it too, and then... it also means Russia has the same technology. Moreover, since this is originally French technology and since it’s going to spread anyhow, why shouldn’t we be the ones to spread it directly?"

Gao Yi was quite surprised, "Oh, you mean to sell it directly?"

"Iron Fist George has grievances against the UK, so he’s quoting other countries one billion, but ten billion to the UK. When it comes to you, you just quote one billion to the UK, and the same for America Northeastern University, and also quote one billion to the United States and Russia, including Germany and Spain — these are the countries Iron Fist George had negotiated with but hadn’t delivered to yet. Change the trader, they’ll still buy. But trust me, Spain just says they will buy but won’t really pay, but Germany, they will really buy because Germany is too eager to get out of its current situation."

Gao Yi couldn’t help but say, "Wholesale, right? Good. Alright then, um, I’ll take care of America Northeastern University and Russia’s sales. You handle the Britain and Germany side. No matter who sells it, we share the profits equally, but I want conditions, there are some countries we absolutely must not sell to."

Gao Yi was very generous; the conditions he laid out were extremely fair.

Luca hesitated to speak, but Gao Yi looked at him and said, "Do you have any thoughts?"

Luca immediately responded, "Don’t rush to set a price; some countries could be sold to at a higher price!"

Gao Yi looked toward Green, who nodded and said, "I fully agree with your conditions. Don’t rush setting a price. Now I’ll contact Britain, you handle your places that can deliver. We must complete all the deals within three days, we need to sell this thing as quickly as possible, to as many countries as possible, otherwise..."

Green looked at Gao Yi with a smile that was not quite a smile, "Otherwise, you’ll become a target for France to eliminate."