Spy-x-War Showdown-Chapter 1226 - 1231 Losing Faith

"Hi, buddy." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"My brother, long time no hear, how are you? How have you been lately?"

Compared to Yang Yi’s low voice, Justin’s tone sounded far more enthusiastic.

"Can I trust you, buddy?"

Yang Yi’s tone was quite serious, so after a moment of silence, Justin replied gravely, "You can!"

"I’m giving you one billion US dollars. Help me clean it, and then split it into four accounts. There’s one condition: anyone who comes to claim the money only needs to report their name to get it. Can it be done?"

Justin was silent for a long time. Then, in a low voice, he asked, "Why me?"

"Because you’re trustworthy, and apart from you, there’s no one else I can turn to for this."

Justin took a deep breath and said with emotion, "Trust, huh. Your demand is a bit high, but I can do it. However, the fee might be a bit steep. You know, just using a name to claim money is indeed very hard to pull off. Can we use a password or some set of numbers instead? Even a simple set of numbers is much easier and more secure than relying on just a name."

Yang Yi thought for a moment and said, "Fine. Should I contact you directly when the time comes?"

"Don’t contact me. Even though I’m confident I won’t pocket your money, I’m afraid that if something happens to me, the money will disappear along with me. You know, in our line of work, it’s never truly safe. So, let’s store it in a bank, okay?"

"Alright. Which bank?"

"Not sure yet, but I’ll let you know once I set it up. You hand me the money after I confirm."

"No, I’ll give you the money upfront, buddy. This deal might carry some risks for you."

Justin burst into laughter and nonchalantly said, "Do any of us live a risk-free life? Tell me, how many people do you think want to kill me? Every second, someone is thinking about killing me!"

"Alright, thank you."

"You’re welcome. I’ll keep the money in a secure place. Later, just tell me the set of numbers. Also, there’s something else I wanted to discuss with you."

"What is it?"

"About ISIS, buddy. You’ve been doing well with this. Can you send more people to the Middle East? Intelligence is very scarce and incredibly expensive, especially for the thing I talked to you about last time. Find me Baghdadi, and the money’s negotiable."

Yang Yi didn’t hesitate much and said in a low voice, "Alright, I’ll send more personnel over there. I’ll notify you as soon as we have any updates."

"Good luck. Stay in touch. Goodbye."

Yang Yi hung up the phone, then turned to Anton and said, "I need to make a call to Anna."

Anton nodded and operated on a machine for a while. After a moment, he nodded again and said, "Hold on. Tang Guo’s end is ready, but Schultz says he needs a little more time."

After another two minutes, Anton finally nodded and said, "Schultz is ready too. Go ahead and make the call."

Yang Yi was using a virtual internet phone. Its security was not particularly high, but it was still better than using a potentially monitored mobile phone. However, after passing through layers of encryption handled by Tang Guo and Schultz, along with a variety of complex arrangements, the level of security was at least acceptable for now.

Yang Yi dialed. Annastasia answered the call.

"Anna, I’ve got a problem."

"What problem?"

"My confidence has been shattered. I feel like everything is under his control. Everything we’ve been doing seems to be monitored, and it makes me uneasy, even terrified."

Anna was silent for a moment, then gently said, "It’s normal to feel this way because you’re not the only smart one in this world. Success or failure, it’s all normal for any spy. Really, it’s normal. You’ve encountered a worthy opponent, someone better than you—this happens. I can’t help you rebuild your confidence. I just want to ask you one thing: What do you want?"

Yang Yi froze for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I want... I want... Hmm, what do I want?"

Annastasia replied softly, "You’ve had too smooth of a journey. Up until now, you’ve done very well. You’ve obtained everything most people desire—wealth, status, power. You had all these while still so young. But I want to ask you, what do you truly want? Is it revenge?"

Yang Yi exhaled and said, "It was, but now... Well, now I’ve learned more. Everything I used to think might have been wrong. Simply put, I’m worried that I’ve actually been persuaded by the Grey-cloaked People."

Annastasia said softly, "You have no faith. You don’t have something or someone truly worth your loyalty and effort. The thing driving you forward was revenge. But now you’re uncertain if you should even take revenge, or revenge no longer holds the same importance to you. At this point, you’ve lost your sole motivation. So, I can’t help you. No one can help you. It’s all up to you. If you find a new goal, then pursue it. If you don’t, why not step back and live the dream life you’ve always imagined?"

In the end, it all came down to himself. Yang Yi exhaled and said, "I understand. Thank you."

"You’re welcome."

"Continue deploying more people to the Middle East. If we’re short on manpower, recruit more. Focus on gathering intelligence on ISIS and Baghdadi."

"Got it. Anything else?"

Yang Yi thought for a moment and said, "Tell Kate I’m fine, no need to worry. Contact me if there’s anything."

Just then, a phone rang. Yang Yi quickly checked his phone, but Anton spoke in a low voice, "It’s my phone. Hmm, I don’t recognize this number."

Yang Yi didn’t hang up, watching as Anton frowned and answered the call. Almost immediately, Anton’s face turned pale.

Yang Yi had never seen Anton’s expression so shocked, so dejected, so... sorrowful.

"What is it?"

Anton looked blankly at Yang Yi and said in a low voice, "Yarebin... is dead."

Yang Yi froze for a moment, then asked in disbelief, "What did you say?"

"Yarebin, last night, passed away peacefully in the house where he was born."

Anton hung up the call. As he spoke, his whole demeanor seemed to collapse.

Anton had always been injured, though he was able to move around. But even in his most painful moments, he had never appeared as defeated and helpless as now.

There were no tears, yet Anton’s demeanor conveyed a grief far deeper than crying could.

Yang Yi couldn’t help but say, "Anton! Yarebin was old. He... Don’t be too sad!"

Anton shook his head, looking at Yang Yi with trembling words, "You don’t understand. My faith is gone. My faith is completely gone..."