Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 552 - 531 Leisurely Chess

Chapter 552: Chapter 531 Leisurely Chess

There’s a saying about a beast-like intuition—Gao Yi possessed such an intuition for danger. By now, even without a keen sense, both Gao Yi and Xinfeng could clearly see that this situation carried too many anomalies.

They didn’t know exactly what was happening, but it’d never be wrong to sound the alarm first.

When Rana claimed she hadn’t done anything in Russia, yet Plevenov treated her as his greatest fear—and it was precisely that fear that led him to choose unconditional cooperation with Alexander—the problem arose.

What exactly did Rana do? What was Plevenov afraid of?

Then, why did so many people from the Europe Department come to Rana’s house only to be caught by Gao Yi and the others?

And further still, what could Wei Feng do? What was he capable of?

Panetta was perplexed. He said in shock, "What? Are you saying Wei Feng plans to assassinate me?"

"No! Not assassination! He’s collecting evidence of your crimes!"

Xinfeng could no longer afford to be polite. He leaned close to Gao Yi’s phone, speaking quickly, "Think fast about what you’ve done today that might leave traces—things that could be discovered and used as evidence!"

Panetta was momentarily dumbfounded and stammered, "Everything I’ve done is... is..."

All of it was against protocol, all illegal, all evidence that could force Panetta out of office. Even with someone pulling strings to protect him, it would still leak out as a gigantic scandal that would ruin him completely—a disgrace so big he’d have no choice but to resign.

Gao Yi couldn’t waste time interrogating Panetta because there was a simple method to trace the root of this matter.

Cross-examination. Let Rana, who believed she had done nothing, and Plevenov, who feared her like a tiger, go through the accounts together.

"Stay safe and handle your affairs. I’m hanging up now—I need to get to the bottom of this."

Gao Yi hung up Panetta’s call, then turned solemnly to Rana and said, "Plevenov, the Director of the KGB Security Bureau—do you know him? What has happened between you two?"

Rana opened her mouth, thought for a moment, and then nodded. "I know him—we’ve met twice. Once at a banquet in a semi-private setting with many people present, and another time at a party hosted by Russian tycoons."

"Did anything happen?"

"No, but we exchanged contact information. He seemed very interested in me..." She hesitated and continued, "Well, many men are interested in me, but Russians are rarely as blunt and direct. They skip the probing phase and unabashedly express their desire to sleep with you."

Rana shrugged slightly and said, "But I’m not the type to rely on trading my body for intel. There’s no need for me to do that."

"No need to explain."

Gao Yi quickly dialed Plevenov.

The call connected, and Gao Yi spoke urgently, "This is Gardener. Tell me—what has happened between you and Rana Gadot. This is crucial."

Plevenov stuttered and stammered, "Uh... this... hmm..."

Gao Yi’s voice dropped into a grim tone, "Be honest—this is extremely important. I suspect this is a conspiracy, or let me phrase it another way: how did you find out Rana was a spy? When did you discover it?"

Plevenov sighed softly and replied in a low voice, "I found out not too long ago because Rana told me herself she was a spy. She said I had to hand her some critical intelligence, or she’d... she’d... release our private chat records publicly."

Gao Yi was thoroughly perplexed, while Xinfeng froze briefly before pressing the bridge of his nose in disbelief.

"What? Just because of chat records?"

Could chat records be that damaging?

Gao Yi expressed doubts and confusion about this.

Rana shook her head and replied softly, "I’ve never chatted with him, but now I understand what’s going on—it’s simple. I hand every valuable contact I collect over to Wei Feng. He handles the follow-up communications."

Was this the simplest form of telecom fraud?

Someone thinking they were chatting with a beautiful woman when it was actually a crude, middle-aged man on the other end.

But Plevenov’s worst misfortune lay in the fact that he and Rana had indeed exchanged contact info.

The most concerning thing for Gao Yi now was the possibility that his connection with Plevenov was also a setup orchestrated by Wei Feng. If that were true, Wei Feng was terrifyingly capable.

Wei Feng baited Rana, used members of the Europe Department willing to cooperate with him as bait, and turned around to send them into Hell. But how did he ensure they’d draw Gao Yi’s attention—or, more precisely, how did he guarantee Panetta would notice those people?

The clue came from Plevenov, but how did Wei Feng know Gao Yi would reach out to Plevenov? If this was all part of Wei Feng’s setup, it was utterly chilling.

Gao Yi couldn’t grasp the key to unraveling it, so he pressed Plevenov further, "You’ve been tricked—the person you were chatting with wasn’t Rana. It was someone else. Now, tell me—what exactly did you say to them? Also, when did you first learn Rana was a spy?"

"What?"

Plevenov seemed unable to believe he had fallen for such a simple trick. He hesitated for a moment, then murmured, "Actually, I didn’t say much. At first, I asked what Hollywood stars were like during filming. Then she asked me about what my work entailed, um, but there wasn’t much more..."

Gao Yi snapped urgently, "Get to the point! The point! I’ve already said this is a conspiracy!"

"Alright, well, there was once I drank too much and started talking about personal matters... uh... um... it’s embarrassing to admit, but I was using a burner account, so... I said some rather explicit things and even sent a few... pictures."

Gao Yi was furious. A high-ranking individual making such a foolish and low-level mistake? Unimaginable.

But wait—perhaps precisely because this mistake was so simplistic and childish, Plevenov viewed it as the gravest stain upon his reputation, the source of his greatest fear?

That was plausible.

Things that seemed absurd often turned out to be simple truths upon close inspection.

Xinfeng’s face was filled with exasperation. He said, "This is a common tactic. Ask him which app he used."

"What app did you use to chat?"

"Twitter..."

"Did you leak classified information?"

"No. If she had asked about classified matters from the start, I wouldn’t have taken the bait. Damn it—it’s precisely because of this that I gradually let down my guard. Honestly, I really, really only... just..."

Gao Yi said coldly, "Enough. No need for excuses. Give me the exact timeline."

"About half a year ago, she suddenly stopped contacting me. Until a few days ago, when Ludelins’ video killing his mistress appeared on the Dark Web—that’s when she contacted me again and said she was a CIA spy. She also told me if I didn’t give her the intel she wanted, she’d post our chat logs and pictures on the Dark Web..."

"And then what?"

"I was already prepared for my complete ruin, but up till now, nothing has happened yet."

Gao Yi said over the phone, "Understood. You can rest assured now—Rana is here beside me, and the person you were chatting with wasn’t her. Your chat records won’t be disclosed."

Plevenov said in a low voice, "Alright, it’s just rather... uh... humiliating."

Gao Yi couldn’t afford to waste any more words. He ended the call.

Gao Yi looked over at Xinfeng.

Xinfeng spoke impatiently, "From a forged video circulating on the Dark Web, Wei Feng was able to connect it to Plevenov—a piece he once abandoned—and his intuition is terrifying. How could he link this incident to us? How could he know we’d contact Plevenov?"

Gao Yi spoke in a serious tone, "You mentioned pieces—this term jogged a thought. Your question is easily explained in our terms: it’s about setting idle pieces in advance."

Xinfeng and Rana both looked puzzled.

Gao Yi elaborated in a low voice, "Swing for anything—and see what sticks. Put it this way: if you were Wei Feng and suddenly saw evidence of KGB senior officials on the Dark Web, and it happened during a critical period when the KGB was changing directors, what would you think and do?"

"I’d consider whether I had any resources within the KGB to investigate the situation and assess whether I could gain anything from it along the way."

"Exactly. And Wei Feng then remembered his long-laid, seemingly useless piece: Plevenov."

Xinfeng frowned, "I get it now—activating a neglected pawn. No, not a discarded pawn—an idle piece he didn’t have time to use. All he needed was a probing threat against Plevenov. Even if it bore no fruit, there’d be little loss. But how did Wei Feng know the KGB was linked to me? Wait—I’ve got it!"

Gao Yi came to the same realization, so he and Xinfeng said simultaneously, "Prince!"

Speaking the same name at once, Xinfeng became excited. "Prince is Mason’s person—that is, Wei Feng’s person. Prince being betrayed must’ve stemmed from a problem within the CIA."

"And the only one relentlessly eliminating Mason’s residual forces is—you know who!"

Xinfeng exclaimed eagerly, "Exactly! Exactly! That’s how everything aligns! I felt Wei Feng’s trap was set hurriedly—it seemed almost too crude. How could he manage to assemble a group at Rana’s house?"

Gao Yi added, "Because he discovered his idle piece Plevenov had suddenly become the new KGB director! That’s when he realized there was a connection between the highest levels of the CIA and KGB. He didn’t need to understand everything—mere suspicion was enough. He used the possibility that Plevenov might want to silence Rana as bait. It was just a test! But unexpectedly, we played right into his hands!"

Xinfeng lamented, "This entire incident started as a mistake—rife with misunderstandings and errors. Yet, for Wei Feng, the outcome was correct."

The process didn’t matter; only the results did.

The result being: Panetta really assisted Plevenov in eliminating Rana—or more precisely, helped Plevenov eliminate Mason’s residual forces.

Gao Yi inhaled sharply and said, "Think—what does Wei Feng gain from this trap?"

Xinfeng replied in a low voice, "Too much! He must have an evidence chain in hand—there may be many flaws in it, but the result is irrefutable. The most fatal point is the collaboration with the KGB! If CIA agents are even suspected of this, they’re done for!"

Proof wasn’t essential—suspicion alone sufficed. For Wei Feng, this held true; for Gao Yi, it did as well.

Gao Yi only needed to suspect Wei Feng of possessing evidence against Panetta—the accuracy didn’t matter. Treating it as the worst-case scenario was undoubtedly the correct approach.

Wei Feng wasn’t seeking Panetta’s death—he wanted Panetta disgraced. Only by exposing all of Panetta’s crimes could Wei Feng clear his own name and Mason’s, overturning their cases and reclaiming lost ground.

Yet Wei Feng wasn’t just ruthless—he treated Rana and his loyal followers as bait, or perhaps as sacrifices, sending them to the altar merely to pique Panetta’s interest—or, rather, to provoke Panetta into exposing enough evidence while dealing with them.

Wei Feng was truly formidable. Despite lacking advantageous timing, location, or people, he still managed to devise a scenario where Panetta’s downfall became a real possibility—and quite a significant one.

One last question.

Wei Feng’s thought process was now clear, but his exact methods remained a mystery.

Gao Yi asked Xinfeng, "What can Wei Feng do to collect the evidence? What are his methods?"

Xinfeng shook his head, "I don’t know—but perhaps we should ask Sunflower."

At that moment, Rana let out a soft sigh and spoke quietly, "Maybe... I know."