novelThe Value of the Chips
| ← Ch.0889 | Ch.0891 → |
Translator: _Min_ Editor: Caron_
When the embassy was hit by the "missile", Venice Street erupted. A corner of the embassy was cut off, exposing the steel beams inside. The splattered concrete blocks even hit the armored vehicles on the street, showing their powerful force.
The soldiers leaning behind the armored vehicles peeked out and looked at the chaotic embassy and exclaimed, "WTF? What was that?"
"A missile? Or something else?"
"It didn't seem like it... Do you not think it looked like a person?"
If it weren't for the police's desperate attempt to stop the mob, those eager reporters would've rushed into the embassy to find out what it was. They were keen to know what exactly hit the embassy and they had every reason to believe that the audience waiting in front of the TV was also keen to know the truth.
The SWAT team leaned against the door of the embassy. Their automatic rifles were already loaded. They were just waiting for the commander to make an order before rushing in to teach the terrorists who had previously embarrassed them a lesson. However, Los Santos Sheriff Michael Williams appeared to be quite hesitant.
He didn't obtain authorization from the Capital.
Or, the Capital didn't receive authorization from Xin.
Lawrence leaned against the street light and pressed his phone to his ear. This was already the tenth call he received. Half the calls came from the Capital and half came from the FBA. Everyone had the same questions: What happened? What actually hit the embassy? Are the people in the embassy still alive?
As well as...
Did a war start?
Lawrence noticed the people outside the cordon hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation with the corner of his eye. Many people were busy uploading their captured photos to Twitter or Facebook, sharing their shock from that moment.
"I swear! I just saw it! It definitely wasn't a missile. It was a man! No, it's Iron Man! Jesus! This is crazy!"
"...Do superheroes really exist?"
"Why are our police still not moving? What are they waiting for?!"
Lawrence withdrew his gaze and sighed, turning his gaze to the half-collapsed embassy and praying.
[Please let everything be okay...]
...
Smoke blew out from the muzzle. Jiang Chen put away his tactical rifle and deactivated his power armor.
Having obtained the information he wanted, Jiang Chen naturally didn't need Cham Rothschild to live anymore. As a distant member of the Rothschild family, his blood was separated from Carmen by more than three generations. He didn't have any value as a bargaining chip.
As a Gatekeeper, he knew much more than Jiang Chen imagined.
Every time the Freemasonry Level 33 members held a secret meeting, he stood at the doorway of the conference room. Although he didn't deliberately explore the contents of the meetings, he still had a very clear understanding of the list of the Level 33 members and the location of the meetings.
After taking out his satellite phone, Jiang Chen put the rifle aside and sat on the sofa, dialing Ayesha's number.
"Are you okay?!"
There was a rare anxiety and panic in Ayesha's voice.
Hearing that familiar voice, Jiang Chen smiled with relief.
"I'm fine. The crisis at the embassy has been dealt with. In addition, I've obtained a lot of interesting intelligence from the Gatekeeper."
Ayesha made a sigh of relief and whispered in a blaming voice, "Next time... don't do this."
"Don't worry, I know my limits, " Jiang Chen said carelessly, leaning against the cushion on the sofa. He then said, "The rest of my job is to tie the loose ends. I need you to send more people to Europe. It's time for this to end."
Ayesha closed her eyes and said seriously, "Leave it to me."
"Also, let Zhang Yaping know. I need the Xin government to put pressure on the UA government. There's an interesting confession in my hands; it happens to belong to a CIB agent." Jiang Chen grinned."It will be a breakthrough for us to blackmail the Capital."
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Chen stretched his body and looked at Zhu Yu lying on the other sofa.
The Beta-4 drone provided her wounds with a simple treatment. It was hovering next to her after completing the task. Jiang Chen called the drone back through the holographic screen and threw it back to the storage dimension.
The drones downstairs were still hovering at the door to the hostage room, but there were no mercenaries alive left in the entire embassy. The power armor couldn't be disguised anymore and many rescued embassy staff would become suspicious about this. The reason why he wasn't in the embassy was also something that had to be kept a secret.
Although there were a lot of problematic things, Jiang Chen knew Xia Shiyu would surely think of a solution for him.
After dealing with the aftermath, while the outside world remained shocked by the situation inside the embassy, Jiang Chen had a phone conversation with the Capital.
After the call was connected, Jiang Chen unceremoniously exerted dominance in the conversation and used a furious yet calm tone.
"Madame Hill, I need an explanation for this attack."
"I really am sorry for the incident that happened to you and the staff of your embassy, Mr. Jiang Chen. I understand your anger and pain, but please believe me - we were also the victims of terrorism. Forty UA citizens died in the attack. Some of them were police officers and citizens. They could be fathers of children, husbands of wives—"
Although her tone was quite sincere, it undoubtedly avoided any responsibility and portrayed the UA as the victim. As a former secretary of state, Hill was undoubtedly a tough opponent on diplomatic issues.
However, Jiang Chen mercilessly interrupted her.
"Do you want to listen to a recording first?" Jiang Chen grinned.
Hill paused for a moment and didn't understand what Jiang Chen meant.
"I'll take that as a yes." Leaving this sentence, Jiang Chen opened the holographic screen of the watch and played the recording Penny obtained.
(Wind)
Ghost Agent: "What are you doing here?"
Steven: "Just in case."
Ghost Agent: "What do you mean by 'just in case'?"
Steven: "Literally... if he comes, I will kill him. If he doesn't come, then the mission fails..."
Ghost Agent: "Who is he?"
Steven: "Your boss, Jiang Chen."
When the recording was played halfway, Jiang Chen noticed that the breathing on the other side of the phone almost stopped. Half a minute after he turned off the recording, there wasn't a single word.
The CIB was suspected of murdering foreign key personnel visiting and even colluded with terrorists. Once exposed, this scandal wouldn't only destroy the diplomatic credentials of the UA for decades, but it would even shake the foundation of the current federal government. If the Republican Party used this to challenge the current government, Hill might become the president with the shortest term of the UA in the century.
As Jiang Chen expected, it was a sufficient bargaining chip.
With a curvature forming on his lips, Jiang Chen leaned back on the sofa, patiently waiting for Hill's reply.
"If you don't remember Steven's name, I can help you out. His identity is the CIB's agent supervisor, belonging to the Ukrainian Action Group. Now, he's in our hands."
With a long silence, Hill no longer avoided the question and said, "Be straightforward. What do you want?"
| ← Ch. 0889 | Ch. 0891 → |