Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 537 - 516: Just Business

Chapter 537: Chapter 516: Just Business

Gao Yi felt more and more like a villain in a movie.

In a dark corner, engaging in shady dealings.

The KGB director has not yet revealed himself, but after Plevenov returned, he did something astonishing—he submitted a written request to Nikolai, the outgoing but not yet officially retired director, proposing to transfer Alexander to the Security Bureau as the deputy director.

Nikolai could approve it or reject it, but Plevenov’s move left him momentarily puzzled.

Then, Ludelins suddenly launched an attack, accusing Alexander from his hospital bed of potentially being involved in the corruption scandal surrounding Deputy Director Yelinsay.

Ludelins’ primary target was Yelinsay, but Alexander got dragged into it as well. However, Alexander is Nikolai’s "Black Gloves." If Alexander were seriously investigated, the flames would inevitably burn Nicolai as well.

Ludelins wasn’t crazy, nor was he ungrateful.

Attacking someone doesn’t necessarily mean they’re an enemy; protecting someone doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a friend.

Ludelins’ sudden strike forced Nikolai to immediately change his stance. Now, he had to protect Alexander; otherwise, the day he officially retired might become the day the KGB launched an investigation to settle scores with him.

Ludelins has yet to clear his own name, but the evidence against Yelinsay is mounting. How much of it is truly Yelinsay’s dirty laundry and how much is Ludelins framing him remains unknown, but under Ludelins’ relentless assault, Yelinsay is unlikely to even dream of becoming the director. Just surviving would be a stroke of luck.

Meanwhile, Bozarsky, the third-ranking figure, seemed poised for success. He chose to remain neutral, staying out of the fray and quietly waiting for Ludelins and Yelinsay to destroy each other so that the director’s seat would fall right under him.

But in less than a day, Yelinsay and Nikolai made their move.

Bozarsky was the first to fall, being taken down due to suspicions surrounding the massive unexplained origins of his assets. The order for his investigation was personally signed by Nikolai.

As long as he hadn’t retired, Nikolai remained the KGB director, and his orders held authority.

The KGB’s power dynamics shifted three times in a day. After Ludelins released his video message, it took only one day and one night for Yelinsay to remain merely a suspect, while Bozarsky was the first to be convicted.

With overwhelming evidence, escape was impossible.

Then Nikolai personally sought out Alexander for a conversation. After their meeting, Alexander immediately returned to work and enjoyed the freedom to move around as he pleased.

What was expected to drag out indefinitely took less than forty-eight hours—within that time frame, the three most promising candidates for the KGB director position all collapsed.

Everything was proceeding according to Yuri’s plan.

Now was the most critical moment, and what Gao Yi needed to do was to give one final, subtle push at this pivotal time.

During this crucial juncture, Alexander dared not let his guard down. So, upon leaving the KGB, the first thing he did was meet Gao Yi.

"The situation is changing too fast. I think the President will soon appoint a new director to end this current chaos in the KGB once and for all, but Ludelins and Yelinsay probably won’t get dismissed, and Plevenov doesn’t seem to have much of a chance to take over as director. Things are very messy and troublesome right now."

Alexander didn’t know what had happened behind the scenes. Despite being an insider, he had no clue about what Gao Yi had done or what else Gao Yi might be planning to do.

But Alexander was a smart man; he knew whose help he needed—or who he should partner with.

"What’s missing now is a significant achievement for you and Plevenov to secure your positions. You take charge and collaborate with Plevenov to gain merit."

The timing was tight; there was no way to build up suspense, nor was there time for Alexander to slowly make his decision. Gao Yi had no choice but to deliver an extraordinary espionage achievement directly to Alexander.

"The CIA has been operating a forty-year-old intelligence network in Moscow, dating back to Soviet times. You haven’t discovered it until now, but now you can. You need to go back to Plevenov, fabricate a lead—create a lead out of thin air if you must—and then immediately launch an operation to capture the key figure of this intelligence network."

With Qin Pu expected to appoint the new director at any moment, every second mattered—there wasn’t a moment to waste.

Alexander felt overwhelmed. What Gao Yi was offering him was no small mole; it was someone extremely critical to the CIA.

"Who is it?"

"A mole and the entire intelligence network supporting them. You can capture the mole and the network leader, but the rest must be allowed to escape unharmed. If possible, collaborate with the CIA and help them successfully manage the crisis cleanly."

Alexander agreed without hesitation, responding, "Alright, who’s the mole?"

"Sholov, an official in the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, who has been selling intelligence to the United States. His contact is Evangel, an American posing as a journalist operating openly in Russia. You capture these two individuals; as for the others, either let them go or monitor them, and wait for the CIA to step in for a perfect extraction."

A win-win situation—Panetta wanted to purge rivals while keeping the majority of the network intact.

Alexander began brainstorming how to piece together plausible "evidence."

It’s easy to shoot first and draw the target later. Catching spies wasn’t easy, but fabricating evidence after catching them? That’s child’s play.

"I’ll go back and arrange for the arrest operation. Is there anything else I need to be mindful of?"

"Be quick. That’s all."

Alexander gave Gao Yi a profound look, seemingly hesitant. Gao Yi proactively asked, "Do you have any concerns?"

"If Plevenov does become the director, then will the two of us..."

Now that Alexander was seeing real prospects for success, and those prospects were so close, he suddenly had to confront a problem he hadn’t considered before—the possibility of both him and Plevenov becoming mere puppets to Gao Yi.

Being a puppet was unpleasant but manageable; what truly mattered was the risk of becoming Gao Yi’s puppet, being forced to harm Russia, and eventually having everything unravel. Once exposed, survival itself would be out of the question.

Gao Yi responded earnestly, "Everything is built on a foundation of voluntary cooperation. Nobody will force you to do anything, nor will anybody coerce you. Everything is just business—we’re only doing business."

Alexander nodded, then said to Gao Yi with genuine seriousness, "Alright, I’ll treat that as your promise. I hope you’ll honor it."

Gao Yi replied to Alexander, "I’ll wait for your good news."

Now Gao Yi only wanted to wrap up the matter in Moscow as quickly as possible. Once this was over, he could focus on his own affairs.

After all, it was his own matters that truly mattered.