Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 468 - 448: Just Asking a Question

Chapter 468: Chapter 448: Just Asking a Question

Feng Biao returned to his room; some matters definitely had to be discussed privately.

The visitor this time was someone Feng Biao didn’t recognize, not the local facilitator from Jinmen who had brought him here, but a stranger who had appeared suddenly today.

He knocked on the door punctually at 9:30, not a second late; these people were very precise about time.

"Mr. Feng, hello."

Feng Biao invited the visitor into his room, which was not large. It was a double standard room, but its area was quite spacious. After placing two single beds, fitting in two armchairs and a round table still made it seem spacious.

Seating the mysterious visitor whose name he didn’t know, Feng Biao didn’t bother with small talk and decided to get straight to the point.

"I called President Gao, and he is willing to ask, but he can’t guarantee the results."

Feng Biao didn’t conclude the matter conclusively, but the visitor only needed Feng Biao’s willingness; knowing that Gao Yi was willing to help was enough for everything else to be easier to manage.

"Thank you, Mr. Feng, for your help. May I then use your place to make a call to President Gao?"

The visitor wore a polite smile. Feng Biao thought for a moment and said, "Of course."

The visitor took out a mobile phone, dialed a number, and after a moment, Gao Yi’s voice came through.

"Hello, President Gao, this is Huang Haisheng."

Feng Biao was startled.

Feng Biao had never met Huang Haisheng; though they had been part of the same operation in Moscow, he and Gao Yi had maintained a safe distance, so he had not met Huang Haisheng.

To think that it was Huang Haisheng who had come personally.

"Hello, Mr. Huang," Gao Yi replied politely; he needed to listen to what Huang Haisheng had to say, so he just greeted him casually, then naturally addressed him as Mr. Huang.

Huang Haisheng spoke softly, "President Gao, here’s the thing, about two projects. One is the AIM-120; we just want to know about the advances on their side. From what we understand, their dual-pulse engine appears to have failed, but we don’t have a highly reliable source, so we are not sure, and need conclusive information."

Gao Yi, slightly puzzled, responded, "I don’t know what dual-pulse implies. Could you explain it to me simply?"

"Dual-pulse... it’s a two-stage rocket engine, though this is a bit tricky to explain. You just need to ask someone knowledgeable, and they’ll definitely know what it means."

Huang Haisheng’s tone was very polite as he continued, "Actually, we’re fairly confident, about seventy or eighty percent sure, that Old America is just bluffing. But the issue is that we have developed it ourselves! Yet, some veterans in our military industries are not quite ready to believe it. You might understand; they’ve spent half their lives replicating and chasing, and then all of a sudden, they find themselves ahead. This is a good thing, but they still feel somewhat uncertain without confirmation."

Gao Yi genuinely understood; if someone told him now that he was the world’s greatest assassin, he wouldn’t believe it either.

Shifting from being the pursuer to the leader indeed required some time to adjust.

"Is that all? Just to inquire?"

"Yes! We also worry that it might be strategic deception on Old America’s part, but the evidence we’ve gathered from various sources so far suggests that it’s not a deception; they truly haven’t made any progress, just been bluffing all along."

After finishing, Huang Haisheng felt that Gao Yi might not completely grasp the implications of his words, so he added, "This matter was requested by some veterans in our military industries, they just want to confirm it, so it’s actually not a big deal. It would be great if it’s convenient for you to ask; if not, then never mind."

Saying it’s ’just asking’ covers a broad scope, including Gao Yi’s efforts to obtain top-secret intelligence through painstaking efforts.

Thus, Huang Haisheng added, "Of course, we would definitely pay a consulting fee. Just name your price; as long as it’s not too excessive, we should be able to approve it."

"Alright, I’ll see about asking."

"The second matter is regarding the development progress of the Su-57’s design. We’ve always been tracking this kind of thing. To be honest, the technological progress from Sukhoi only holds a reference value for us now, with no significant implications to learn from, as our progress is faster than Russia’s. So now, Russia is trying to catch up to us. By staying updated with the Su-57 project’s real-time progress, we can get a more accurate understanding of their aerospace industry."

Huang Haisheng explained in detail; although this might expose his intentions, these matters were completely open secrets, and there was no need for concealment. This was precisely because Gao Yi was an outsider, thus requiring explanation.

If it were an insider, there wouldn’t be a need for so much explanation.

Huang Haisheng was counting on Gao Yi’s connections, as his direct access to the Soviet Union’s decades of sonar fingerprint data had caused great shock in the industry last time. This time, Huang hoped Gao Yi could help provide corroborative evidence to validate the information he had previously obtained.

Everyone likes to spend little and achieve much, so naturally, they would think of Gao Yi for such matters.

Whether gathering public information or conducting secretive inquiries, nothing beats letting the KGB speak for themselves.

It’s the same principle: selling intelligence to a foreign spy is treason, but selling it to an intelligence dealer is just business.

Gao Yi also understood. He thought for a moment and said, "I can inquire about the missile, I’m not sure if I can find out anything, but definitely no need for payment."

"No, no, a service fee must always be collected."

Gao Yi politely said, "I don’t need to spend money on this matter, nor should money be involved because once money exchanges hands, it distorts the intention and could lead to complications, and since I do not need to pay, I definitely won’t accept your money."

The meaning is clear: no money, just favors.

Huang Haisheng replied without hesitation, "Understood, understood, then we appreciate Mr. Gao’s efforts."

A President Gao, a Mr. Gao, just the difference in titles, but the underlying implications are substantial. However, such nuances can only be appreciated by oneself, and those who can understand are certainly skilled and won’t be doing poorly.

Gao Yi grasped some sense of it and chuckled softly, "As for the situation in Russia, I have to pay, and I must go through intermediaries, so whether I can ask, and how much it will cost is unclear. Besides, since money is involved on this end, I’ll just follow the rules and add a fee of thirty percent for the service. Clear dealings even among brothers, I think it’s better to discuss money matters upfront."

"That’s really how it should be, to trouble President Gao without compensation would make us uneasy, and we wouldn’t feel right to trouble you again in the future, haha."

Huang Haisheng laughed heartily, Gao Yi sighed and said, "Alright, I’ll make inquiries first, and I’ll contact you once I have an answer."

After hanging up the phone, Gao Yi pondered for a moment.

Regarding the Air-to-Air Missile, Gao Yi thought it was possible to ask Xinfeng, but Xinfeng clearly belongs to the action-oriented side, and has a relatively low rank.

The resources on the United States end are indeed far too abundant, Gao Yi has too many people to ask, and there’s also Grasse at the Pentagon, who is the right professional to ask about matters related to missiles.

But still, he feels the ranks are a bit low.

Never mind, just ask Panetta directly, I’m currently in a honeymoon phase with Panetta, such casual inquiries which don’t even require specific data, it would be wrong if he didn’t respond.

What’s crucial is that Panetta is of a high enough rank to be decisive.

Even if just to win some face for Feng Biao, Gao Yi must handle this matter beautifully.

No sooner said than done, he hung up and called Panetta right away, without a second’s delay.

He didn’t care about the time difference; moreover, Panetta had important matters to attend to today, he should be getting up.

The phone connected, Panetta whispered, "What’s the matter?"

Panetta’s voice sounded somewhat tense, which made Gao Yi feel tense as well and he asked, "How’s it going?"

Xinfeng had been dealing with matters on his own, Gao Yi was not aware of the progress, Panetta was worried something might have gone wrong, such as the evidence being fake, so he was a bit nervous answering the call, which made Gao Yi anxious as well.

"All the information has been received, why, is there a problem?"

Gao Yi was reassured and said, "No problem, um... sorry, I called just to inquire, that AIM-120 dual-pulse rocket motor, is it real or fake? Has it been equipped?"

Gao Yi’s question was casual, but such matters are not casually asked; after a slight silence, Panetta whispered, "Hm? Why ask this?"

"Northeastern University wants to know, they approached me."

Gao Yi was very frank, positioning himself as being completely trusting with Panetta.

Panetta sighed and said, "It’s still in the conceptual phase and has completely failed, we know Northeastern University has already used dual-pulse, the Pentagon has proposed an AIM-260 project, currently applying for Congress appropriations, it’s at this stage only, all public information, they definitely know, but I can confirm the accuracy of these messages."

The implication is that this information is all public, accessible worldwide, but no one can guarantee whether these are false messages intentionally released by the United States, but Panetta can confirm they are true, not smoke and mirrors.

That statement was sufficient, Panetta’s value lies in this statement.

Gao Yi whispered, "Thank you, that statement alone is enough, there’s no money to be made from it, but I can use this information as a good start for another deal."

Panetta whispered, "Buddy, let me give you one piece of advice, don’t pick sides, okay?"

Don’t fully align with Northeastern University, this is Panetta’s request to Gao Yi, otherwise, he won’t be able to maintain the current good cooperation relationship with Gao Yi.

Gao Yi laughed, "I’m just a middleman, why should a middleman take sides."

"That’s good, I’ve got to get going."

Panetta hung up the call, and Gao Yi dialed Huang Haisheng again.

Huang Haisheng, somewhat surprised and hesitant, responded softly, "Mr. Gao, is there anything else?"

"Yes, I’ve inquired. The dual-pulse is fake, stuck at the conceptual stage. This statement comes from the highest level of the intelligence system, guaranteed authenticity."

Huang Haisheng’s voice trembled, "So fast... that’s a bit too quick, sorry, let me take a moment to process this."