Chapter 1476: Chapter One Thousand Four Hundred Fifty-Seven: Ineffective Reassurance

Intelligence doesn’t just fall from the sky. If you want intelligence, you either buy it or find it yourself.

Even a big shot like Justin in the intelligence community can’t possibly have his own intelligence network everywhere.

Wherever there are hotspots or needs, Justin sends people. His biggest advantage over outsiders is having the right personnel and channels to rapidly establish an intelligence network in a hotspot in the shortest time.

But no matter how fast Justin is, he needs time, and for Gao Yang, if he has to buy specific operational intelligence from Justin, losing the fight is not far off. He must at least have his own channels and network so he won’t be in the dark once he’s without Justin.

To intimidate the enemy, boost the morale of his people, and rein in those who might defect to the enemy, Gao Yang needs to fight a battle as soon as possible. Even if it’s just wiping out an irrelevant cannon fodder team for Djo, he’d have to know where they are to strike.

“Intelligence, intelligence, intelligence!”

After mumbling urgently, Gao Yang picked up the phone to call the person with the highest position in his codebook. Seeing Gao Yang pick up the phone, Nulantova and Dennis quickly got up and left the room.

Gao Yang thought for a moment and made the first call to the highest-ranking person in the codebook, Hagel, who almost saved Little Djokovic.

When Gao Yang dialed the number, he was still a bit anxious, worried that nobody would answer or that he wouldn’t get the results he wanted even if someone did answer.

When the call was really answered, Gao Yang’s anxiety vanished. In a confident tone, he said, “Hello, Hagel.”

Hagel is a fake name, but upon hearing it, the other party should know what it means.

“Hello, who is this?”

In a confident tone, Gao Yang said, “You can call me Peter. Now, I’m in charge here.”

“Where’s Andre?”

“He’s dead.”

“Did Grand Ivan send you?”

Gao Yang chuckled, and in an odd tone, he asked, “Of course. Do you even need to ask?”

Hagel let out a sigh over the phone, a sigh of relief, and then said casually, “It’s good that Grand Ivan is okay. That’s very good. So, what do you need?”

Gao Yang said solemnly, “Andre is dead. I must avenge him with the most violent and rapid retaliatory actions. I need to ensure there won’t be any obstacles during the operation, and I need your help for that.”

Hagel said casually, “No problem, leave the wrap-up to me. Kiev is in chaos right now, which facilitates your actions. I guarantee that no one in Kiev will bother you during your operation. But please, promise me that your actions must be swift, and your retreat as fast. Whether it’s the police or soldiers, they will eventually show up. If your actions are too slow, it will be awkward.”

Gao Yang smiled and then gently said, “There’s something else. I need your help locating Djo’s forces. As you know, I just got here and am not familiar with the situation.”

Hagel said, troubled, “That, I really can’t help with. Um, I’ll be blunt. You know my mind was a bit muddled recently, and I made some contacts with Djo. However, after Andre killed Little Djokovic, Djo’s actions in Kiev have become extremely secretive. I currently have no information on him.”

Gao Yang was somewhat disappointed. He sighed and said, “Alright, I’ll figure something out. Perhaps I will continue to ask for your help in the future. Let’s keep in touch. Goodbye.”

Hagel cleared his throat and said, “Peter, please convey my regards to Grand Ivan.”

Gao Yang smiled and said, “Okay, I will pass it on for you. Goodbye.”

After hanging up, Gao Yang realized a problem. Andre’s death gave a sense of reassurance to Grand Ivan’s secret network, especially those with wavering loyalties.

It’s simple: Andre died, and someone immediately took over his work. This is important because it means even if Grand Ivan can’t appear in person, he is still remotely steering his forces from the shadows.

Gao Yang sighed and muttered to himself, “Andre, you hung on to see me; you didn’t betray Grand Ivan’s trust. Well done, well done!”

After understanding what was in that codebook, Gao Yang realized why Andre had to give it to him. The reason is simple: that codebook is too important. It was such that Andre either had to hand it over to someone he trusted while alive or take it to the grave. He couldn’t just give it to anyone.

The person Andre could trust, mainly someone Grand Ivan could trust, was none other than Gao Yang. The only one who could use the codebook to continue fighting Djo without becoming uncontrollable, perhaps even taking over Grand Ivan’s people, was Gao Yang.

The brilliance of Andre handing over the codebook to Gao Yang was something that could only be comprehended, not articulated.

Andre managed to stay alive in unimaginable pain and severe injuries that would have killed anyone in a few minutes, holding on for several hours. This proved two things: his physical condition was excellent, and his willpower was incredibly strong. That he lived to see Gao Yang was a miracle in itself.

Grand Ivan placed Andre in the most important position in Europe. Andre wasn’t particularly outstanding, but Europe didn’t need him to do much since it was already his warehouse and factory. Grand Ivan only needed Andre to be loyal, and in this, he had good judgment. Even in death, Andre wouldn’t allow Europe to slip from his grasp; he persisted in entrusting Europe to Gao Yang, having done his utmost.

Reflecting on the few meetings with Andre, Gao Yang shook his head and muttered to himself, “How didn’t I realize you were so smart before?”

After briefly lamenting the passing of an old acquaintance, Gao Yang took Andre’s phone and called every important contact from the codebook.

The conversations were simple; stating that Andre was dead, and he was now taking over Andre’s work on Grand Ivan’s assignment.

Each person listed in the codebook either had a weakness in Grand Ivan’s hands or had interests tied to him. Regardless of the factors linking them to Grand Ivan, as long as he was alive, they could remain stable. Gao Yang’s call itself implied this.

Making these calls took Gao Yang an hour since, even with brief conversations, there were simply too many calls to make.

These calls inherently involved significant risk because Gao Yang didn’t know the status of the person on the other end. Perhaps some had already defected to Djo, meaning after these calls, someone might immediately use his phone signal for a location to come and eliminate him.

Finally, Gao Yang called a few key figures in Ukraine. These calls took slightly longer since he hoped to get some hints about Djo.

Again disappointed, these calls managed to arrange some matters, but yielded no intelligence on Djo. Some of his contacts were even from Ukraine’s intelligence department, and yet there was no useful information.

After hanging up, Gao Yang sighed, then picked up the walkie-talkie, turned it on, and spoke loudly into it: “We are evacuating this place immediately, Shadow, come over.”

Yake quickly came in. Gao Yang held out the phone Andre had left him and said in a low voice, “Destroy this cell phone properly, leave no traces.”

While removing the battery, Yake said quietly to Gao Yang, “Did you record all the numbers and such?”

Gao Yang nodded and said, “Of course.”

Yake nodded back, saying, “Leave it to me. I’ll destroy it right away. Boss, you’re learning fast.”

Gao Yang smiled and said, “With you and Leonard around, of course, I learn quickly.”

Yake asked softly, “Where are we going?”

Gao Yang spread his hands and said, “I don’t know yet. We’ll find a safe place; it’s not safe here anymore. Leave first, and then decide.”

Yake nodded and whispered, “Only us. Don’t bring anyone else. Um, Black Demon can come, but that’s the limit.”

Gao Yang pointed to the door and whispered, “Nulantova and Dennis must come. Many things require them.”

Yake thought for a moment and then nodded, “Alright, just those two. Don’t let anyone else know your hideout, not even a soul.”

Gao Yang whispered, “I need to leave for a moment. I must find Shava since we don’t have any reliable source of intelligence now. I want to see if Shava has anything to offer.”

Yake sneered, “A little gang leader, still a hick; what can he help you with?”

Gao Yang laughed and said, “Don’t say that. Sometimes, little people can make history too. Besides, weren’t we little people once? We also made our way from being country bumpkins, and we’re not even at the point to laugh at others yet.”

Yake shrugged, saying, “Alright, you’re always right. So, who’s coming with us?”

Gao Yang thought for a moment and said, “I’ll go myself—no, I’ll go with Eileen. A man and a woman are less conspicuous. We’ll go after we change disguises. Also, Yake, I’m thinking of propping Shava up, like nurturing him a bit. What do you think?”

(To be continued. Welcome to vote for this work on Qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com for updates.)

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