War is very costly, and it might even be said that among all human activities, it is the most expensive.
The Organization of Water had just received a substantial amount of money, and although Yang Yi did have some funds, it was nowhere near enough to support a war against Big Ivan, not by a long shot.
Not to mention anything else, just the cost of recruiting manpower was more than Yang Yi could afford; who would be willing to go against an opponent at Big Ivan’s level without sufficient compensation?
Therefore, the fact that Jethro was willing to provide financial support to Yang Yi was something to be extremely, extremely, extremely grateful for.
But money alone wasn’t enough.
Yang Yi looked at Jethro with a serious expression and said, "Besides money, we also need bait."
Jethro’s expression was quite significant, yet he remained silent while looking at Yang Yi.
Yang Yi spoke softly, "I want to use Ferdinand as bait. When necessary, I’ll use him to draw out Big Ivan’s men. Big Ivan won’t directly engage in these matters, but this is how we’ll have the chance to find him."
Jethro replied indifferently, "I understand."
Without a clear yes or no, Jethro’s response was taken as a silent consent.
Yang Yi continued, "I will deploy people to handle this, so the team protecting you will be smaller. You should try to minimize your activities during this time."
Jethro hesitated for a moment and then said, "Okay."
Jethro was someone who could make tough decisions. Once he had resolved to counterattack decisively, he would not hesitate. He was ready to bet everything on this confrontation.
Yang Yi breathed a sigh of relief. His biggest worry was that Jethro would refuse, or dare not let them go for his own safety. But since Jethro agreed to his request, all obstacles had been cleared.
Yang Yi stood up and said to Jethro in a stern voice, "At least two men must stay to protect you. The rest of us may need to leave at any moment, and I won’t notify you specially when that happens."
Jethro exhaled and then said in a deep voice, "Go ahead and do it!"
After returning to his room, Yang Yi said to everyone, "Jethro has agreed to all the conditions. He’s giving us ten million US dollars for the operations, and we can ask him for more if it runs out."
Brian nodded and replied, "Good."
Yang Yi spoke with gravity, "Now we must act quickly. Get Tang Guo and Schultz to Ukraine. I want them to be able to access any networked camera in Kyiv at any time."
Turning his head, Yang Yi looked at Zhang Yong and said, "Brother Yong, go recruit the right people. You know a lot of people. As long as you think they’re suitable, offer generous pay."
Zhang Yong nodded and said, "Understood."
Yang Yi turned to Chris and instructed, "You’ll organize the protection for Jethro during this time. Rodriguez and Sergei will stay with you. Keep at least two men with Jethro at all times... You know what I mean, right?"
Chris nodded and responded, "Understood."
Yang Yi then turned to Brian and said, "I’ve said all I needed to; you decide how to arrange the rest."
Brian unhesitatingly took over the command.
Brian said in a heavy voice, "I think Big Ivan is in Kyiv, so I won’t be leaving Kyiv during this time. You take Anton with you, let him buy whatever equipment he thinks is necessary. Additionally, tell McDonald to listen to me; I will set up a few battlefields with him, and if possible, I want to use bombs to greet the Black Devil."
After finishing, Brian said softly, "The Black Devil has no set pattern to his actions, but he has his own habits. If we find traces of the Black Devil, we must react quickly in a short amount of time, so we need to be prepared to shorten our preparation time considerably."
Yang Yi said in a deep voice, "Understood, I won’t drag out the time too long. I’ll depart to meet the Christmas tree at the fastest speed possible, and everyone should list any items they need for me."
Paul suddenly said, "I need a gun, the best gun, and not the mass-produced goods you can buy just anywhere."
With a grave expression, Paul continued, "That super shooter, he must be using a semi-automatic rifle that can fire quickly; otherwise, he couldn’t keep up with the shooting speed. The shooting speed has to be very fast and yet still precise..."
Paul paused for a moment, then shook his head, "At a distance of one thousand meters, to maintain such high accuracy, and with a very fast rate of fire, such a rifle... I don’t have one, and I can’t make one either, so I need to find a way to get my hands on one. When facing a super shooter, I don’t want my gun to hold me back."
Yang Yi said with difficulty, "Then where should we find this gun?"
Paul sighed, "I know some really good gunsmiths in the United States, but the problem is that such outstanding rifles require a commitment to excellence from the raw material stage and have to be hand-crafted with meticulous polishing and assembly during production. The rejection rate is extremely high, and the testing process is lengthy. So if it’s possible to buy a used one, that’ll work. I can modify it after I get my hands on it."
Brian said in a deep voice, "Do you want to kill that super shooter yourself?"
After a moment of silence, Paul said, "Yes."
Paul waved his hand and said, "I want to meet him. I’ve been thinking about it ever since I knew there was such a super shooter around."
Brian was still silent. Paul laughed, "Worried about me? There’s no need. It is indeed difficult to deal with an unimaginable sharpshooter, but I still want to try. If I die at his hands, I have nothing to complain about. You know what I want, right? I support you, and you should support me."
Brian looked at Paul for a while, and finally said softly, "Good luck."
Paul smiled, "Thanks."
Paul wanted to confront that super shooter, to duel with two sharpshooters. Brian didn’t want him to do that because the risk was too high, and Paul could very well die.
But Brian couldn’t stop Paul, just as Paul had said, it was what he himself wanted.
Just then, Xiao Ran suddenly said, "No, he’s mine."
Xiao Ran stood up and said decisively, "Either I die at his muzzle, or he dies at mine, but I will never let him become a psychological shadow for me!"
Laymen enjoy the show; experts see the intricacies. So Yang Yi and Zhang Yong just felt that the super shooter was very formidable and dangerous, but they wouldn’t have other thoughts.
But it was different for Paul and Xiao Ran; as snipers, upon discovering a realm they had never seen before and learning of a sharpshooter’s existence beyond their imagination, that shooter would become a mental shadow. Perhaps this shooter could be a driving force to spur their progress, but he could also become an insurmountable psychological barrier.
Paul was older, and his shooting skills had basically hit a plateau; he just wanted to have a showdown with the strongest opponent, even at the cost of his life.
But Xiao Ran was young. Her shooting skills still had room to improve, and being a sniper wasn’t just about having good marksmanship. As a sniper, she still had room to grow, so she was keener to personally take down the super shooter.
Xiao Ran and Paul were alike; whether they would die was not important. What mattered was that they had to have the courage to challenge the super shooter.