Marsham Street, the location of the United Kingdom Home Office.
Yang Yi and Mike walked along the street, with only one purpose in mind: to observe the terrain of the Home Office building.
London is a city with some history, and Marsham Street is an old street; naturally, the Home Office building is also an establishment with quite a few years under its belt.
The red brick walls, white window frames, and the not-so-large door at the base of the building, from the outside, the Home Office building doesn’t stand out on Marsham Street.
The Home Office is divided into three departments: the Criminal Records Bureau, the Border and Immigration Agency, and the Identity and Passport Service.
Of course, their target was the Identity and Passport Service. The Identity and Passport Service doesn’t operate business with individuals, but the information Yang Yi and his team needed could definitely be found there since Mihali’s daughter was a new immigrant and it was very unlikely that she wouldn’t have applied for a passport after obtaining British citizenship.
After walking along Marsham Street and thoroughly observing the Home Office building several times, Yang Yi spoke softly, "Getting in shouldn’t be difficult."
"Yes, it shouldn’t be too hard."
"There must be a data processing center here, otherwise they couldn’t satisfy the Home Office’s information processing speed. What we need to do is figure out the location of the data processing center and the positions of the guards and staff. Then we can infiltrate at night, establish a physical connection, and if all goes well, a few hours should be enough to find the information we’re after. If we’re lucky, it might only take a few minutes to find the necessary data."
Mike nodded and responded, "Exactly."
Yang Yi turned to look at Mike and spoke in a low voice, "Aren’t you going to offer any suggestions?"
After pondering for a moment, Mike shook his head and said, "I don’t plan to make any suggestions. I think you should handle this the way you think is best."
Yang Yi smiled wryly and said, "But this is our first mission, and I have no experience. What if I make a mistake? That’s why I think it’s better for you to decide."
Mike replied quietly, "This is our first mission, but it’s not particularly important. It’s not a matter of life and death for the Organization of Water, and we have plenty of time. It’s good to finish the job early, but it’s also not a big deal if it’s completed later."
After glancing at Yang Yi, Mike spoke softly, "The experience from success is valuable, but so is the experience from failure. I can tell you what I would do, but I shouldn’t become your template. Go with your own ideas. Success is good and failure is not a problem. We still have time, and this mission has a high margin for error. Even if we fail in the Home Office operation, we can still look for the information at the transport department, so be confident."
Considering the first mission as an opportunity for practice was one thing, but Yang Yi, young and spirited as he was, hesitated only briefly before nodding and agreeing, "Alright, then I’ll give it a try."
Mike spoke softly, "I have one requirement."
"Don’t use Brian and the others. Don’t let them do anything. I won’t help you either; I will just observe. Take your own people and do it."
Yang Yi hesitated, as the Pandora trio were his ace in the hole. As long as they were not the ones personally operating the computers, they could pretty much do anything else required. However, without Brian and the others, Yang Yi felt far less confident.
"If you’re going to train, do it thoroughly. Not just you, but your people lack experience too. You can’t always rely on Brian and the other two; they are unreliable."
Mike’s words were meaningful, as he still didn’t trust Brian and his team—a mistrust that probably couldn’t be resolved until the end.
But Mike had a point. Brian and his team would eventually leave, and both Yang Yi and the Organization of Water needed to accumulate experience. Better to start with a mission that was relatively simple and safe than begin with one where failure meant death.
It was a challenge, but Yang Yi wasn’t afraid of challenges. He took a deep breath and declared, "Fine! I will personally take care of this!"
Mike smiled and patted Yang Yi on the shoulder, "Do it in the way you young people do. Just remember one thing, don’t get caught, and don’t get killed. Both Brian and I will be watching over you. Good luck."
Glancing at his watch, Mike smiled and said, "I’m going home now. You can take your time here."
There wasn’t much left to see. Yang Yi said without hesitation, "Wait, I’ll go back with you. There’s nothing more to see here."
Mike shrugged and said, "I thought you might want to go inside for a look, but since you’ve decided not to, it’s up to you."
Yang Yi laughed, "It’s not that I’m not going inside, but that I’ll look in another way."
Yang Yi and Mike returned to the villa together.
Brian and the others couldn’t be used, Mike insisted on watching from the sidelines, Zhang Yong was in Mexico and had not returned, Boer was just loafing around, but the rest of the people had to be fully utilized.
Yang Yi, Xiao Ran, Kate, Tang Guo, and Schultz, the five youngest members of the Organization of Water, sat down around the dining table.
When everyone had arrived, Yang Yi declared confidently, "Ladies and gentlemen, this mission will be completed by us, solely by us."
Yang Yi expected someone to object, but aside from him, none of the four others showed any sign of doing so. After waiting in vain for a while, Yang Yi cleared his throat and said, "I went to check out the terrain, and there’s nothing to see on the outside. Now, I want to know the situation inside the building. Schultz, Tang Guo, do you two have any ideas?"
Schultz and Tang Guo exchanged a look and then Schultz started laughing, "It’s quite simple."
Tang Guo also laughed, "Right, it’s not very hard."
"Actually, it’s quite difficult, but it’s not difficult for us."
"Exactly, because we are the best hackers."
Schultz and Tang Guo took turns boasting with perfect synchrony, and although they seemed confident, it would only be justified if they truly managed to pull it off.
Yang Yi asked in a serious tone, "How do we do it?"
Schultz laughed, "There are many ways, as long as someone inside is using a computer, there will always be a way."
Eagerly, Tang Guo said, "Exactly, let’s start now. I’ll collect the big data, Black Lightning, and you infiltrate and take control of the right targets."
The two of them were ready to get started right then and there, and Yang Yi was naturally happy to let them begin.
Watching the two start their work, Xiao Ran spoke with a hint of excitement, "Just the few of us will complete the mission? Great, this makes things interesting. Otherwise, it’s always Brian and his team’s show. Tell me, what should we do?"
Yang Yi looked at Kate and said, "I’ll try to infiltrate the Home Office to install a data processor. As for you, it’d be best if you stayed outside as cover."