Chapter 1475: Chapter 1456: Bloody Reality

Yergenis appeared very surprised, even to the point of panic. He involuntarily took a step back and looked at Gao Yang with a vigilant expression: “Where’s Andre?”

Gao Yang remained expressionless and said flatly: “He’s dead.”

Yergenis covered his eyes with his hand, and after a moment, his hand slowly slid down to his mouth. After covering his mouth with his hand for a while, Yergenis said in a muffled voice: “Andre is dead!”

“Yes, he’s dead.”

Yergenis’s expression was very complicated. He let his hand drop, took several deep breaths, then shook his head and said: “Damn it!”

After speaking, Yergenis immediately waved his hand and said: “I’m not saying Andre should die. I’m saying this whole thing, this whole thing is really messed up.”

Gao Yang extended a hand and said in a deep voice: “Sit.”

Yergenis sat down on the chair, dazed for a moment, then looked up at Gao Yang and said: “Why did you call me here?”

Gao Yang’s tone was very calm, and he said in a deep voice: “Everything here is now under my control. The way you worked for Andre, now you just work for me the same way.”

Yergenis nodded but then immediately said: “What about the money?”

Gao Yang waved his hand lightly and said: “Everything as usual.”

Yergenis breathed out a sigh and shook his head: “No, no, things are different now, it can’t be as usual. I demand more money.”

Gao Yang remained silent. Yergenis sighed, leaned forward, and said seriously: “The situation now is not the same as before, it’s too dangerous. Andre is dead, people like me who worked for Andre are more likely to die. The situation is different, so I demand more money to work for you.”

Gao Yang looked very serious. He tapped the table lightly and said in a low voice: “Mr. Yergenis, how much did Andre pay you?”

Yergenis frowned and then said in a deep voice: “One hundred thousand a day.”

Gao Yang sighed, snapped his fingers loudly, and said: “Then how much do you demand now?”

“At least three hundred thousand a day.”

Gao Yang nodded, then smiled and said: “Alright, before I decide whether to meet your demands, please first tell me where Djo’s people are. Andre is dead, we need to strike back immediately, and that requires information from you, precise information.”

Yergenis took a breath and then looked very conflicted and said: “Right now, there is no intelligence. Djo’s people are hidden too well, or he simply doesn’t have people in Kiev. I’ve been searching for any clues related to Djo, but there’s been no progress. But rest assured, as long as you give me some time, I’ll certainly find a target for you to retaliate.”

Gao Yang shook his head and sighed: “Mr. Yergenis, let me ask you a question. How’s your personal relationship with Andre?”

Yergenis answered without hesitation: “Very good, we are old friends for many years.”

Gao Yang smiled and then raised a finger, pointed to his nose and said: “Let me ask you another question. Do I look like an idiot?”

Yergenis froze for a moment, glanced at Gao Yang, and managed a difficult smile but didn’t say anything.

Gao Yang said seriously: “I’m waiting for your answer. Tell me, do I look like an idiot?”

“No.”

After squeezing out a response, Yergenis said no more. Gao Yang kept his face composed and spoke in a calm voice: “Andre paid you one hundred thousand a day, yet you can’t provide any useful information. And Andre just died, killed by Djo’s people. Now you’re telling me that Djo’s people are too well-hidden, or that there might not be any in Kiev, and then you demand me to pay you three hundred thousand a day.”

Yergenis wiped his sweat, unable to say anything. Gao Yang calmly said: “Mr. Yergenis, Andre is dead. I suspect there is a mole among his subordinates. But I respect Andre greatly, so I haven’t immediately taken you out. I’m willing to observe your performance further to judge whether you’re the mole. However, from what I see, I can’t determine if you’re the mole yet, but I’m sure you’re useless. So, about useless people, do you know how to deal with them? Especially when there’s still a little bit of suspicion?”

Gao Yang would never raise the price for Yergenis, even if Yergenis came up with intelligence. Once Andre dies, if Yergenis, citing more dangerous circumstances, demands a higher price, what would others do? Would those who need to engage in direct battle also raise their prices?

Moreover, Yergenis dared to ask for an outrageous price without offering anything useful. Did he really think Gao Yang was some benevolent fool?

Yergenis wiped his sweat but couldn’t utter a single word, while Gao Yang, with a calm expression, said, “Especially what I don’t understand is, where do you get the confidence to ask me for three hundred thousand a day?”

Yergenis swallowed and said tremblingly, “Sorry, I just thought the situation is very dangerous now.”

Gao Yang said coldly, “Dangerous? I could casually find any idiot to do the same job as you and he’d face the same danger as you. So, should I pay this idiot a hundred thousand dollars a day? Mr. Yergenis, danger is not a reason for your high asking price. I value intelligence and can’t do without it. If you can provide me with the intel I need, I would gladly pay you three hundred thousand a day. If you can’t, then get lost!”

After speaking, Gao Yang leaned back and said indifferently, “Of course, given the current situation, telling you to get lost should be considered polite. I think you understand my point, don’t you? I’m not sure if you’re professional enough, so I have to remind you, intelligence gatherers are critical as they hold the key to winning a war. But intelligence gatherers often know too much, and for those who know too much and aren’t useful, how do you usually handle them?”

The weather wasn’t very hot, yet Yergenis looked like he was fished out of water. After wiping the sweat off his face indiscriminately, he shouted, “I’m not a useless waste. I will prove it to you.”

Gao Yang smiled slightly, appearing unconcerned, and said softly, “Then you’d better prove it to me quickly. You should understand, Andre is dead. Some of what he left behind is useful to me, some is not. I hope you belong to the useful category and not the one I have to take the trouble to clear.”

After speaking, Gao Yang checked his watch, then smiled and said, “As I said, I respect Andre, so I’ll give you six hours. If you provide me useful intelligence within six hours, everything stays the same. If there’s no progress after six hours, your salary will be reduced to fifty thousand a day. If there’s no progress after twelve hours, you’ll be working for free. And if you haven’t found anything after twenty-four hours, then don’t bother to find me anymore.”

After saying that, Gao Yang waved his hand and smiled, “Alright, you can leave now.”

Yergenis’s back was soaked through. After nodding at Gao Yang, he turned and hurriedly headed for the door. But just then, Gao Yang suddenly said, “Wait.”

Yergenis turned around, looking nervously at Gao Yang, who smiled and said, “I forgot to ask, you wouldn’t be foolish enough to give me false intelligence to deceive me, or outright betray me, would you?”

Yergenis said with difficulty, “Of course, I’m not that foolish.”

Gao Yang waved his hand again and said, “Goodbye.”

Yergenis pushed the door open and jogged out. After Yergenis left, Gao Yang slammed the table in frustration and said helplessly, “Damn greedy useless fool. Guys, could he really be Andre’s friend?”

Nulantova frowned in thought, then said, “Probably not, why?”

Gao Yang exhaled and sighed, “Better not be. If he really was Andre’s friend, I wouldn’t have the heart to take him down. Andre just died, and I don’t want to immediately take down his friend. But if he’s not, that makes things easier.”

Dennis pondered for a moment and then said seriously, “I’m sure he’s not Andre’s friend. Yergenis is well-informed and has many channels and methods to obtain intelligence. Andre had no better choice and hired him at a high salary to find any news on Djo. They knew each other before, but definitely not as friends.”

Gao Yang nodded and said, “Good, I’ve already threatened him. This person can’t stay. If he can’t find any intelligence within twenty-four hours, then take him out. If he makes any moves to defect to our enemies, then eliminate his entire family as a warning. He has family, right?”

Dennis nodded and said, “Yes.”

Gao Yang waved his hand and said, “That makes it easy. I’ll have someone keep an eye on him.”

Showing mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself and irresponsibility to all your people. Yergenis isn’t an enemy yet, but since Gao Yang has threatened him, precaution must be taken against him becoming one.

War is war. It’s not an exchange of dinner invitations or a graceful business negotiation where you depart amicably if talks fall through. This is war, a bloody war.

War inevitably involves death, and one wrong move can wipe out an entire family. This isn’t an ordinary war; it’s an Underworld war without any rules, much less the Geneva Conventions.

In war, all hypocritical masks are torn off, and everything is presented in the most straightforward, bloodiest way.

Therefore, Yergenis must either prove his value or die, because Gao Yang won’t keep an idle person, much less tolerate someone familiar with his side who might eventually defect to the enemy. So, if Yergenis can’t prove his usefulness, he can only die. But even in death, it wouldn’t be unjust because he involved himself from the beginning.

Having encountered such a useless fool, Gao Yang was quite helpless. He sighed and said heavily, “Without intelligence, everything is nonsense. Now, we need to find a new intelligence channel.” (To be continued. If you like this work, please cast a recommendation ticket or monthly ticket at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)