Ultimate Firepower

Chapter 670 Fire First

When someone speaks, they always center their thoughts on themselves, saying things like "I think," "I am like this," and "I want to do this and that." Anyone who does this can be considered a very confident person, but also a very selfish one.

So even before the words were spoken, Gao Yi knew that Thomas was indeed sincere, and the source of his sincerity was that Thomas did not want his brother's matter to harm himself.

Therefore, Gao Yi doesn't need to guide or coerce Thomas; Thomas will push forward on his own.

There couldn't be a better or less strenuous situation.

"Yes, as a successful person, you have to be extra careful. Mr. McVeigh, is your brother a member of Zilch?"

Gao Yi didn't want to listen to Thomas's long-winded explanation, and he didn't need to beat around the bush; he could just ask directly.

Thomas nodded, but then shook his head. He said with a serious expression, "He is, but he isn't. That's the point we need to make, Mr. Gardener. Zilch's situation is far more complicated than you think."

"Oh, please explain in detail."

Gao Yi remained attentive, while Thomas said without hesitation, "Zilch is not a well-organized group. I would even say that Zilch is not an organization at all. At best, Zilch is a very loose alliance of interests."

"Alliance of interests?"

"Yes, a loose alliance that exists among grassroots members of U.S. law enforcement agencies. I can sum up the characteristics of this organization in one sentence: shoot first, then draw the target."

The principle is quite simple: first fire a shot at the wall, then circle the bullet hole with chalk. This way, it looks like every shot hits the bullseye, guaranteeing a perfect 100% hit rate.

Gao Yi frowned and said, "Oh, what do you mean?"

“After the dark web came out, there were often bounties on it. One day, an FBI agent who was able to log into the dark web discovered that a bounty worth two million dollars was in his hands.”

Thomas shrugged and smiled, “So he registered the name zilch, took on the assassination job on the dark web, and then used his position to kill the target with a single shot while making the arrest, earning the two million dollar bounty.”

Gao Yi suddenly realized and said, "Oh ho, this is not bad, making extra money by taking advantage of one's position."

"Yes, that's how it all started. Then, this agent didn't keep this opportunity to earn extra money to himself because he knew he couldn't do much on his own. So he selflessly shared this discovery with his colleagues. Then, everyone suddenly realized that it was entirely possible to earn an astronomical amount of extra money while performing official duties. Although the opportunities weren't many, they did happen quite often."

Gao Yi nodded, and said with great emotion, "Therefore, the success rate of Zilch accepting missions is 100%, because they complete the missions first before accepting them."

"Yes, so Zilch was a complete mess at the beginning. My brother also joined this alliance of interests. At that time, the agent who registered the account first had already started taking a cut. Because there were many people completing the missions, but only one account, the smart person who first made extra money only charged a 5% commission to avoid people registering an account first and then taking on missions."

We'll sell in large quantities at low prices to avoid others registering their own accounts.

Gao Yi nodded and said, "So this smart person keeps an eye on the dark web and immediately contacts his colleague if he finds that a target's task overlaps with his colleague's, right?"

"Yes."

"So the business gets bigger and bigger, the money earned is increasing, the influence is growing, and more and more people are getting involved." "Yes, that's an inevitable result."

"Is this smart guy your brother?"

Thomas nodded, then said with a serious expression, "That's right, but if this loose system exists for too long, it will inevitably attract the attention of some people. When zilch has become a well-known ID, someone will naturally try to take it over."

Gao Yi looked at Thomas, who said calmly, "So Zilch's initial activities were limited to New York because my brother was in New York. Moreover, he didn't care much about secrecy at the beginning. He could discard this ID at any time and register a new one. As long as the dark web platform exists, there will always be overlapping official duties and bounties. So what's important is the overlapping tasks, not an account."

"Speak the key."

Thomas sighed and said, “Zilch is no longer my brother’s account. It was taken over by a very powerful figure, but my brother has received enough rewards. However… he wants to get out now because Zilch has deviated from its original purpose. Making some extra money on the side is almost risk-free, but taking on the mission to assassinate the president, especially the mission to assassinate the gardener, is too risky.”

Thomas chuckled wryly and spread his hands, saying, "The most fatal flaw is that Zilch's existence and ability to make money are based on the dark web, but now the dark web is yours. How can we compete like this?"

Gao Yi nodded and said, "Yes, so your brother wants to continue with the previous model, which means he's cooperating with me, right?"

"Yes, but he wants to make it clear to you that what's going on really has nothing to do with him, and that you must not take revenge on him when you seek revenge."

Gao Yi thought for a moment and said, "Why did he ask you to pass on a message? How did he know I would come looking for you?"

"Because I placed two orders for him, the dark web is all yours now. If you want to investigate, you can definitely find me."

After saying that, Thomas smiled bitterly and said, "I've been waiting for several days. You have no idea how much I've suffered these past few days."

"If I don't look for your brother, then who should I look for?"

Thomas sighed and said, "Zilch has split now. No, it's not split. My brother is now just a puppet managing accounts for others. Those who just wanted to make some extra money have been kidnapped by the real controllers of Zilch. Of course, there are also some who want to make more money than they can spend in one go."

"Get to the point, who is it?"

Thomas didn't give his name directly this time. He was silent for a moment, then said very seriously, "If I tell you everything, can you let me and Saine go? Can you guarantee that you can pardon my brother and not kill him even if it is found that he is related to Zilch?"

Gao Yi replied without hesitation, "Of course, do I have a grudge against you? This is just a business deal, and your brother is my business partner. Why would I want to kill you?"

After saying this in a rhetorical tone, Gao Yi said with a relaxed expression, "Unless you force me to kill you."

Thomas sighed and said in a low voice, "Zilch is now under Jeffrey's control, and Jeffrey works for the former president."

Gao Yi frowned. After thinking for a moment, he said, "That Jeffrey?"

Thomas looked somewhat helpless and said in a low voice, "It's the most famous one, you should be able to guess, that's right, it's Jeffrey from the island."

(End of this chapter)