Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 421 - 402: Opening Champagne at the Finale

Chapter 421: Chapter 402: Opening Champagne at the Finale

Gao Yi was here for the transaction, not to make friends, so apart from a minor displeasure due to a last-minute price increase, the transaction was completed smoothly.

Green did not witness the entire transaction, but he was mentally prepared. However, seeing Gao Yi and Sherkin emerge safe and sound without any of the complications he had anticipated was the only thing that puzzled him and even perplexed him.

Lucy was different; as long as the sky wasn’t falling, it didn’t concern her.

No, even if the sky did fall, it wouldn’t concern Lucy; whether to live or die, or who died, none of it mattered to Lucy.

Lucy even really had a few drinks.

"Do you want a drink? It’s quite good."

Lucy seemed slightly tipsy as she spoke. She was drinking a flashy yet tasteless cocktail, but after one glass after another, she was now a bit too drunk.

Seeing Gao Yi and Sherkin return to their booth, Green frowned and made a gesture, then he leaned close to Gao Yi’s ear and loudly asked, "Nothing happened?"

"Nothing at all, the transaction is over, let’s go."

Gao Yi answered Green’s question, took the cocktail handed to him by Lucy, and raised his glass to Sherkin.

On the table were Vodka, ready-made cocktails, an unopened Ace of Spades, and beer.

Sherkin opened the Vodka, took a glass, filled it up fully with Vodka, and with dissatisfaction raised his glass to Gao Yi then downed it in one go.

After drinking, he sighed and Sherkin shook his head and said, "Let’s go!"

Sherkin’s face still looked sorrowful.

Great actor, continuing the performance even after leaving the stage.

Gao Yi got up to leave, and Lucy, staggering a bit, decided to just cling to Gao Yi, saying softly, "I really like you, did I drink too much?"

Lucy was really drunk, and it was the first time Gao Yi had seen Lucy this drunk.

Holding Lucy by the arm and supporting her waist, the four of them left the noisy bar.

Green had not touched a drop of alcohol, so he drove.

Gao Yi helped Lucy into the back seat, and Sherkin got into the passenger seat. Once the car started, he said softly, "Please take me back to the meeting place, thank you."

Green expressed his confusion: "Is it all over?"

"It’s over."

"Really, nothing happened?"

Green still couldn’t believe that the transaction had ended so smoothly. Unable to suppress his curiosity and disregarding the rules, he asked bluntly, "I saw the buyers leaving without carrying anything. They didn’t take anything at all. I thought the transaction had failed. Why else would they leave empty-handed?"

Before Gao Yi could answer, Sherkin indifferently said, "Because they had already taken everything. The original materials are not important."

Green took a deep breath and said, "Alright, I guessed that might be the reason. So, what technology did they use?"

Now Sherkin got excited, he immediately said, "They photographed through the document bag, using strong light to backlight the bag for photos, and immediately uploaded them. What technology is this?"

"Oh, I don’t know what specific technology it is because many can do it, but with strong lighting, it’s basically layer recognition. It’s not particularly novel, but making the devices so small is impressive."

"Then they put a vinyl record in a box, and it was done in a few seconds, so what is that?"

"That’s easy. Transcribe it into electronic signals. Electronic signals, unlike the human ear, don’t need to play the whole thing to recognize and record. It’s like capturing a gunshot with a high-speed camera. What you see is the slow-motion footage, the same idea."

After speaking, Green sighed and said, "The technology isn’t new, but making the devices small is hard. Still, as the most advanced country in electronic technology right now, it’s not surprising for Northeastern University to have these capabilities. Hmm, did they download the data while they were at it? Damn, we are still somewhat behind."

Gao Yi curiously said, "Why do you say that?"

Green somewhat helplessly said, "Because previously stealing secrets was troublesome, you had to physically remove something, even if you took a photo, you had to carry out the film. But now everything is digitized, everything is networked, unless you’re in a space isolated from all electronic signals, what you see is what you get, and what is obtained is immediately transmitted back to headquarters."

Sherkin nodded his head, hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "KGB doesn’t have such technology."

"Military Intelligence Sixth Department does, but it’s two generations behind Northeastern University. To achieve this, first, you need your own communication network, a fast and secure network. So the United States can do it, Northeastern University can, Europe can’t, Russia is even less capable; miniaturization of electronic devices is a challenge. Our electronics industry is lagging."

Sherkin said quietly, "Russia now only has electronics, no industry."

Then Green and Sherkin together let out a long sigh.

The United States has GPS, Northeastern University has Seven Stars, Europe has Galileo, Russia has Glonass.

But, GPS is America’s own, Seven Stars is Northeastern University’s own, and even though Galileo is simple and shared within Europe, and even though Glonass developed early in Russia, it’s even simpler and due to lack of maintenance and follow-up satellites, is basically just a prop now.

So, what’s the challenge in quickly transmitting data on-site?

Of course, the functionality of these satellite networks is not just navigation; the real challenge is how to achieve high-speed interfacing with satellite signals and high-speed uploads in enclosed spaces. After all, even satellite phones are not effective indoors without moving to open spaces to search for signals and be usable.

How it was done, Green didn’t know, Sherkin didn’t know, and Gao Yi didn’t know either.

"Let’s not talk about things we don’t know," Gao Yi said to Sherkin, "How can you ensure that the KGB won’t turn against us?"

Sherkin spread his hands and said, "It’s simple, pay later."

"The key is, how do you get the KGB to agree to post-payment."

"When doing business with them, it’s common sense to deliver goods before payment when buying, and receive payment before delivery when selling. Plus, you need to leave enough profit margin to prevent them from raising the price suddenly."

After Sherkin finished, he hesitated for a moment and finally said: "So I reserved a profit margin of seventy-five percent for myself, and I’ll be satisfied if I can keep twenty-five percent in the end, but, uh, well, you know."

Gao Yi indeed understood.

Four hundred and fifty million, Sherkin quoted one hundred million, leaving himself three hundred million in profit and fifty million as a reward.

Sherkin was prepared for the KGB to demand a high price, but they underestimated the value of the deal and included Sherkin’s inflated price.

So, this time Sherkin made a big profit.

But Gao Yi, who earned even more, didn’t plan to squeeze anything more out of Sherkin , because he had already achieved financial freedom, and his desire for money had reached an all-time low.

What to do with the days ahead?

No more pursuits.

What’s the point of making money?

The money now could last for several lifetimes.

Retire in his early twenties?

Or use the money to support Lin Xianghua’s dreams and career.

To have no goals or directions at such a young age, such a life really lacks excitement.

Gao Yi sighed.

At this moment, Sherkin had also arrived at his destination and said to Gao Yi, "I will return to Baghdad immediately; you don’t need to go now, and there won’t be any subsequent deals, but I still have to make the final payment to the KGB. After I’ve handled these matters, I’ll inform you."

"Alright, we may collaborate again if there’s a chance."

Sherkin got out of the car, and Gao Yi pulled out his phone to call Feng Biao, waiting for the call to connect before he whispered, "The deal is over, let’s pull out tonight. We’re not going to Baghdad, we’re going to..."

Gao Yi thought for a moment, then asked Green, "Where shall we go?"

Green responded softly, "Next, you need to complete the deal with the UK, so it’s up to you where you want to go."

"Let’s go to Paris; I need to share some profits with the French friends."

Green, somewhat surprised, asked, "The French did nothing; why would you share with them?"

"Hey, for long-term considerations, one must not hog all the benefits," Gao Yi replied.

Green shrugged and said, "Alright, Paris it is."

Gao Yi said into the phone, "We’re going to Paris. Check for tickets, chartering a flight is also fine."

Once done talking to Feng Biao, Gao Yi spoke to Green, "Do you think I still need to have a face-to-face meeting with the buyers?"

"Generally, it’s not necessary to meet face-to-face, but I don’t know your preferences or their customs, so... just give them a greeting and see what they think," Green suggested.

Gao Yi thought that made sense and he called Huang Haisheng.

When Huang Haisheng answered, he said cheerfully, "Have you slept? If not, come over for some late-night snacks and a few drinks."

Huang Haisheng extended the invitation, leaving Gao Yi puzzled, and he asked, "Late-night snacks?"

"Yeah, after a whole night of fun, I’m hungry. Let’s eat and drink something before going to sleep. How about it, come sit in my room."

"Uh, okay, I’ll come by to your room."

After hanging up, Gao Yi turned to Green and said, "Strange, inviting me to drink, what does that mean? Is it some kind of secret code?"

Green exhaled deeply and replied softly, "Celebratory champagne."

"What? Champagne? What does that mean?"

Green angrily said, "Champagne obviously means celebration, what else could it be? Also, they think you are valuable and want to win you over, invest emotionally in you, so they use the celebration as an opportunity to build a good relationship with you to prepare for future cooperation, what else could there be, what else!"

Green suddenly burst into anger, and it was unclear what he was upset about.

Gao Yi understood and even felt sympathy for Green. He thought about it and decided not to provoke Green, and so, did not invite Green to the celebratory banquet.