Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 572 - 550: Rude

Chapter 572: Chapter 550: Rude

Los Angeles.

The continuous flights didn’t make Gao Yi feel very tired, but it was obvious that Yuri and Dani looked quite worn out.

After all, they’re older and different from young people like Gao Yi.

So, after returning to Los Angeles, the next affairs were handled by Gao Yi and Xinfeng.

"I’ll transfer the money."

"Okay."

The conversation between Gao Yi and Luca was excessively brief, but this time Luca uncharacteristically added after speaking, "How did things go?"

"Very smoothly, and we gained a lot."

Luca paused for a moment, then said softly, "Then can we meet? I feel there are some things we need to discuss in person."

Gao Yi thought for a moment and said, "Better not meet for now, if there’s anything, let’s talk on the phone."

"Then forget it, there’s nothing particularly urgent. Let me know when it’s convenient."

"Sure."

Gao Yi didn’t particularly pay attention to Luca’s words.

Being the sole finance manager of the Garden, Gao Yi always tried to minimize meetings with Luca. The reason was simple—if there’s any danger, at least they won’t all be wiped out.

People can die, but the money can’t be lost.

In other words, if something happened to Gao Yi and his team during the operation, it didn’t matter, as long as the money was safe. At least with Luca out there, transactions could still be processed.

However, if anything happened to Luca, like getting caught or worse, then Gao Yi would be in big trouble.

Luca had already transferred the promised money to Gao Yi, and after transferring the promised money to Martin and Christopher, Gao Yi smiled at the people in front of him: "Everyone, check your accounts."

Martin was naturally excited, Christopher was naturally happy, and Richard was almost ready to dance to cheer everyone up.

"Thanks, everyone, for your help. The payment has been made, so now it’s time for the things I mentioned before. You all deserve a promotion, but it will take some time since a promotion isn’t as straightforward as a bank transfer."

Gao Yi joked and then said to Christopher: "Arrange a time with your friend to meet first. It would be best if he’s willing to exchange resources through me. If not, that’s fine too."

Christopher was older and no longer sought major progress in his career. But since he recommended his superior, willing to create an opportunity for him, Gao Yi had to fulfill his promise.

Christopher smiled, "Okay, I’ll contact him right away."

Gao Yi looked at his watch, since the payment was made, he had to deal with Rana’s situation.

"I’ll go see Rana, you get in touch first."

The meeting location with Martin and the others was at Rana’s house.

It’s complicated. Rana was first taken to the Beverly Hills Police Station, but after a few hours of detention, mainly because she expressed willingness to cooperate and voluntarily provided some information, she was released and returned to her home.

After that, Panetta hurried over to deal with the spy issues at Rana’s house, but soon flew back to Washington, so during this period, Rana was extremely distressed, a situation that felt like every second was a year.

Now that Gao Yi returned to Los Angeles, he simply called the brothers still at the Beverly Hills Police Station to meet at Rana’s home.

Dealing with the Huaxinfeng in the Freedom Wind, this woman indeed posed somewhat of a hassle.

With people like Martin from the FBI and Christopher, a corrupt cop, present, they were more professional. If there was a need to silence someone, they could offer expert opinions.

Rana might never have felt so helpless in her life.

Rana waited in her bedroom to meet with Gao Yi, awaiting the judgment of fate. Additionally, the bedroom was convenient for doing other things.

Gao Yi knocked on Rana’s bedroom door, and Rana opened it. She was originally dressed quite formally, but now she had changed into a set of loose pajamas, not particularly attractive but very convenient, and she had also put on makeup.

It was hard to say whether Rana’s actions were sincere or insincere, as wearing pajamas wasn’t particularly flattering.

There was a chair in the bedroom, moved from the dressing room, and after seating Gao Yi, Rana sat on the bed.

Meeting in the bedroom of a mansion felt somehow special.

Unfortunately, having seen so many celebrities, Rana’s star aura didn’t hold much allure for Gao Yi.

Lucy was too beautiful, raising Gao Yi’s standards of appreciation, so Rana’s looks didn’t have much impact on him either.

With a business-like attitude, Gao Yi sat on the only dressing chair. After sitting down, his gaze remained steady as he said, "I just got back from Washington. Wei Feng is dead; I received the news when my plane landed. The DNA match confirmed it’s him."

Rana’s eyes went blank for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. In the end, she just nodded slightly, not speaking.

"About you, I promised you that if you cooperated, your conditions could be met. You want to escape the spy identity permanently, no problem. When I make this call, you can regain your freedom. The CIA will erase all files related to you; in the past you had nothing to do with the CIA, and in the future, the CIA won’t bother you anymore. Not even Mossad will harass you unless you voluntarily provide them with information."

Rana was slightly surprised but found it hard to believe things could be so easy and smooth, so she continued to look at Gao Yi with a somewhat concerned expression.

Gao Yi nodded and said, "Of course, things aren’t that simple. To completely disentangle yourself, you’ll still have to do one last thing for me, answer some final questions."

Rana licked her lips and said, "Go ahead."

"What do you know about the Dark Web and the Andic Group?"

Rana was momentarily stunned, thought for a while, and said, "We often use the Dark Web as a backup channel for passing information. Occasionally, we’ll make some extra money on it, not really for the money but to enhance our influence on the Dark Web."

Gao Yi nodded; Rana pondered.

After a moment, Rana continued, "The Dark Web... there’s nothing particularly noteworthy about it. I don’t know much about it. You might as well ask directly."

Gao Yi said calmly, "I want to destroy Andic, any suggestions?"

Rana’s eyes widened suddenly. She thought for a bit and said, "Destroy Andic?"

"Yes."

"Uh, sorry, it’s not that I don’t want to say anything, I really can’t give you any useful suggestions. I’m just an information-gathering spy, I’m not, nor have I ever had dealings with the Andic Group, though the organization I’m with has many ties to the Andic Group, but I’m really not involved in any of that."

Gao Yi was a bit disappointed, having hoped to gain some useful intelligence from Rana, but it seemed meaningless now.

"Okay, then this is it. You’re free; it’s all over. No one will bother you again from now on."

Keeping his word, Gao Yi didn’t want to use this matter as leverage over Rana. He couldn’t be bothered to do that, nor did he feel it was worth doing.

As they say, after seeing many important figures, someone like Rana, though having a star aura, appeared rather average to Gao Yi.

As he spoke, Gao Yi stood up, indicating he was about to leave. Then he suddenly remembered something and stopped, addressing Rana: "Oh, you’re a smart person. You wouldn’t expose this or what I said to the public, would you?"

Rana laughed, "Are you kidding? How foolish would I have to be to spread something like this around!"

"Good, goodbye."

Gao Yi nodded politely, said goodbye, and prepared to leave.

At this moment, Rana seemed a bit unsure. She addressed Gao Yi, "Just like this... you’re leaving just like that? It’s over?"

Gao Yi felt a bit dumbfounded by the question. He thought for a moment and said, "What else? Is there anything else?"

Rana tilted her head slightly, thought for a moment, and then said cautiously, "Actually, it’s not that I wanted to meet you dressed like this; it’s just that the time you spent talking with them was too short. I haven’t had time to change. I just finished doing my makeup, otherwise..."

Rana glanced at the wardrobe and then said softly, "You can pick an outfit you think looks nice."

Gao Yi suddenly realized, then quickly shook his head and chuckled, "No need, you look beautiful just the way you are. It’s just that I have some matters to attend to. Unfortunately, I can’t... you understand, I’m in a hurry, goodbye."

Rana’s brows slightly furrowed, she hesitated for a bit, and said, "I’m not the kind of person who needs to rely on my body to get resources."

"I know, I understand; your identity is very special. I didn’t mean it that way."

"I mean, you’re leaving just like that, without even taking a proper look at me, it makes me feel a bit hurt, I find your behavior somewhat rude."

Gao Yi frowned and said, "Uh, I’m in a hurry."

"I didn’t say we must do something right here and now, but out of courtesy, shouldn’t you at least say something nice about my carefully done makeup?"

Rana stood up; she was tall, just a bit shorter than Gao Yi. After walking over to him, she said with a serious expression, "Your girlfriend is beautiful, but I’m not bad either. Also, your current attitude makes me a bit uneasy, I feel like the way you look at me is as if I’m... dead."

"No, no, you misunderstood."

Gao Yi didn’t understand why he suddenly became the one needing to explain, the one at a disadvantage, when he was the person capable of deciding others’ fates.

After a brief moment of embarrassment, Gao Yi regained his composure and his demeanor. He said to Rana, "Stop with the nonsense, I said, I have a lot to deal with!"

With that, Gao Yi nodded slightly and turned to leave.

Women shouldn’t be pampered, especially those with no connection to oneself and no future relationship prospects. They shouldn’t be pampered any further.

Just maintain basic politeness, but don’t give them too much room for imagination.

Rana’s unease was understandable, as it was indeed unusual for Gao Yi to let her go so easily. But as mentioned before, having witnessed high-stakes situations, Gao Yi didn’t want any unnecessary entanglements with Rana.

As Gao Yi reached the door, Rana suddenly said, "Then let’s meet again after you’ve dealt with your affairs, I’ll wait for you, you know I’ll be here or pick a place, we can grab a meal together or do something else, anything, you decide."

Gao Yi paused, turned back, and looked at Rana, politely saying, "Okay, if I have the time I’ll contact you, goodbye."