Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 426 - 407: Silently

Chapter 426: Chapter 407: Silently

French cuisine is grandiose and complicated, the flavor is indeed good, but there’s only a little bit of each dish.

This meal won’t end in less than two hours.

Following the process of a formal French dinner, it would take at least an hour, and if Ge had reserved a lengthy menu, indeed it would take two hours.

Gao Yi felt somewhat tormented.

It’s not that the beauty isn’t pleasing to the eye, nor that the food isn’t tasty, but something just doesn’t feel right.

The most crucial point is, Gao Yi had already eaten his fill before coming!

"This is what you wanted, may I ask if the money is ready?"

Gao Yi placed the U-disk on the table, and with the appetizer just served, he chose to start directly.

Jenny was older, Annie was younger; during the negotiation, it should be Jenny making the decisions.

So, Gao Yi posed the question to Jenny.

Jenny seemed somewhat surprised by Gao Yi’s directness, she frowned slightly and whispered, "The money... could we discuss the price a bit more?"

Gao Yi was evidently set on getting straight to the point, seemingly neglecting the two beauties a bit too much.

Jenny hoped that Green could help speak on their behalf, she glanced at Green, and after a moment of thought, he chose to lower his head and eat.

Gao Yi also glanced at Green, and after seeing him lower his head, he knew that Green didn’t wish to express his stance.

"Hmm, the price can be discussed, how much can you offer?"

Jenny hesitated for a moment, then she said very seriously, "We can only offer forty-two million euros, that’s the highest authorization I’ve received."

"Deal, I accept the price, how will the payment be made?"

Jenny was stunned, her bewildered gaze at Gao Yi seemed a bit dumbfounded.

Following Jenny, Annie said, "We might need a little bit of time to complete the payment, because we need to verify the goods first."

"That’s acceptable."

Gao Yi agreed readily, pointing at the U-disk on the table he said, "Just take it to a computer to check it, if it’s suitable then make the payment, if not, then forget it. We’re doing a business of credit, I may not trust you but I trust him, so I will agree to your terms."

Gao Yi adopted an attitude of ’I lay down, you do as you please’.

It’s all in consideration of Green’s face, whatever is fine, it doesn’t matter if the money’s not given, as it’s all because of Green’s face.

Green felt that all his efforts were in vain.

It’s not because the two female agents dispatched had done something wrong, nor was there any scheming, it was just that Gao Yi was so straightforward that this negotiation truly became a simple transaction based on personal relations.

But this favor was owed to Green, not to the Military Intelligence Sixth Department.

It was the Military Intelligence Sixth Department that owed Green a favor, Green owed Gao Yi a favor, anyhow, there was a layer in between, not the outcome Green had hoped for.

All Green could do was raise his head again, he looked at Gao Yi somewhat helplessly, wanting to say something, but realizing probably nothing would be useful.

At this moment, Annie suddenly asked, "Was it you who killed Iron Fist George?"

"Hmm, yes, that’s correct."

Gao Yi immediately admitted.

Annie said with interest, "I heard he was very powerful."

"He was powerful, but he’s still dead."

After getting rich, Gao Yi found that everyone became very friendly towards him.

No matter what is said or done, nobody goes against his wishes.

It’s as if there are only good people left in this world, making it seem full of sunshine.

But this friendliness also felt very false.

Gao Yi really began to miss the taste of Erguotou, that cheap liquor, which seemed more delicious than the expensive white wine on the dining table right now.

At this moment, the cold dishes were served.

The cold dish was goose liver pâté, a classic French dish where the goose liver is marinated, roasted, pressed flat, then frozen before being sliced and served.

Two waiters came with trays, each carrying two portions of goose liver pâté. One waiter placed a portion of goose liver pâté in front of Gao Yi and said in French, "Goose liver pâté for you, please enjoy."

The waiter was male, you could tell his movements were skilled, his attitude good, and his serving of the dish was by the book.

Everything seemed normal, but Green let out a sigh of relief, and upon seeing the expression that suddenly appeared on Green’s face, Jenny’s brow furrowed.

Green said in a low voice, "This is going to be awkward."

Jenny immediately exclaimed, "Absolutely nothing to do with us!"

Here it comes again, the inexplicable conversation.

Just at that moment, the waiter carrying the dishes had already left with the empty tray, and Gao Yi had just picked up a fork, but before he could stretch out his fork, Green suddenly said, "Don’t move."

Gao Yi’s hand paused mid-air but smoothly went to skewer a piece of foie gras. However, he didn’t put it in his mouth; he simply placed the fork on the plate.

Annie was still young, and her face was filled with confusion, but she recovered quickly, whispering, "Oh, damn."

Green’s face looked awful as he said, "Poisoning, there was plenty of time to prepare it. The chef, the waiters, there’s an issue, he couldn’t possibly fail to notice."

Jenny said reluctantly, "I assure you, absolutely not an issue from our end!"

Green spread his hands and whispered, "Let’s leave. Make a scene, leave. It might draw the assassin out, or perhaps not, but today’s deal no longer needs to proceed."

Gao Yi hurriedly said, "No problem, take the goods now, pay later, this deal won’t be affected."

Jenny nodded gratefully at Gao Yi and then whispered, "Logically speaking, if the assassin believes the operation has failed, they won’t strike again."

Green whispered, "If the operation fails, they won’t make a move, but what if their operation hasn’t started yet? I think the first step of the assassination was poisoning, but how can we be sure that poisoning is their only method?"

"So... Okay, sorry."

Jenny’s face was filled with helplessness as she picked up the white wine in front of her, suddenly stood up, and yelled at Green, "Pah! Scumbag!"

Next, Jenny was supposed to splash the wine on Green’s face.

But at this moment, the restaurant’s maitre d’ hurried over, wearing a smile and a sincere expression, "I apologize, I noticed that none of you touched the goose liver pâté in your plates. Is there an issue with the taste of our food, or is it something else?"

Green shrugged and said to the maitre d’, "Cyanide has solidified. Low-temperature frozen foie gras helps slow the evaporation of hydrogen cyanide, but don’t you think this foie gras is frozen too solidly?"

The maitre d’ turned pale; the goose liver pâté on everyone’s plates was a normal egg yolk color but obviously over-frozen with a slight frost on top.

"I’m sorry, I will have it replaced immediately, truly sorry."

The maitre d’ desperately apologized and then immediately gestured, and two waiters quickly approached.

Just then, a guest at the table next to Gao Yi’s stood up abruptly, drew a gun, and yelled at the servers, "Don’t move!"

"Sir! We are tasked with ensuring your safety, this place is dangerous, please leave immediately!"

Not just one table, but two – one table of guests aimed their guns at the servers while another table, with a man and a woman, pulled out a mobile phone and showed its screen to Gao Yi. After briefly letting Gao Yi look at the screen, they immediately said, "Our people found a chef in the kitchen had been killed and replaced. This is a direct assassination attempt against you. Please leave immediately. This file can prove my identity."

Not a credential, but a photo of Marina.

But what exactly could Marina’s photo prove?

The person near Gao Yi swiped on the phone, tapped it, and then Marina’s voice was played.

"Listen to him."

Just one sentence, but it was definitely Marina’s voice.

Marina just made the situation more complicated.

Here, there’s the Gardener, the Gardener’s Teacher, the Teacher’s Colleague, the Assassin who came to murder the Gardener, and the Bodyguard protecting the Gardener.

Gao Yi knew who the hell each of them was.

Green sighed, his gaze sweeping over the three waiters and the maitre d’ with their hands up, the two neighboring tables with gun-wielding diners, and the man and woman with the mobile phone.

After a moment of contemplation, Green suddenly said, "Let’s go, they are real Bodyguards; the waiters and the maitre d’ are not Assassins, that’s impossible."

With that, Green grabbed the USB drive in his hand, tucked it into his pocket, and then said to Jenny and Annie, "Not sure where the leak came from, let’s arrange another transaction."

Gao Yi was closely flanked by two people and judging by the contact, they both wore Bullet-Proof Vests.

The gun-wielding man called out urgently in French, and more people rushed in, at least six, four of them carrying briefcases. As they charged towards Gao Yi, they opened the briefcases, which transformed into shields, and then the four formed another defensive line around Gao Yi, escorting him to the restaurant’s exit.

As Gao Yi was being ushered out, he said to Green, "Give them the items, no need for another transaction!"

One of the armed men coldly said to Jenny, "Get out of here!"

Gao Yi wasn’t separated from Green; they both got into the same vehicle, not the one they had driven themselves, but a bullet-proof car.

Once in the car, Gao Yi asked Green with great confusion, "What’s going on?"

"The assassin made a move on you, poisoning your food. It was well done; ordinary people really can’t notice it, but unfortunately, all three of us are professionals. We could spot the irregularity in the foie gras. The poison is hydrogen cyanide, an aqueous solution of hydrocyanic acid, highly toxic, volatile, but its evaporation is slowed when frozen, ensuring you’d die quickly after consumption."

After explaining the danger, Green continued, "The reservation I made this morning was known to the Military Intelligence Sixth Department, and we were staying at the French External Security Bureau. No doubt, at least I was being monitored. So, the leak could be from the Military Intelligence Sixth Department, or from the French External Security Bureau, but considering your relationship with Marina, it’s not likely the leak came from the French External Security Bureau."

Green did not shift the blame onto the French; he remained serious, "Because there are multiple people protecting you, if one of your protectors is an assassin, you would have been in danger just now. They had many chances to shoot. So, my judgment is, the leak came from the Military Intelligence Sixth Department. The assassin promptly arrived at the restaurant and poisoned the foie gras, which was being chilled. The French found out a bit late, otherwise, they wouldn’t have waited until the foie gras was served and we showed signs of notice before realizing something was wrong."

Having said this, Green let out a soft sigh and said, "What I’m saying now is just an initial assessment; the actual situation might never be uncovered. But now, do you understand what constitutes an assassin’s style?"