“A spy’s work is very tedious.”
Yang Yi had not believed Li Fan’s words at the time but now he completely believed them.
It was already the thirteenth day of the mission. Yang Yi and Kate had both lost their initial passion and vigor after the first two days passed.
Both of them were sitting in the car every day just lingering in the proximity of a tall building. They had to put on different disguises and drive a different car every day. They could not leave the car either since they needed to be ready to extract the team at any moment if anyone’s identity was exposed. They had to eat in the car and could not take a half of a step out of it unless they needed to go to the washroom.
Yang Yi almost broke down when he thought about the possibility of having to live like this for two months.
Yang Yi felt like he had learned a lot over the past thirteen days, but he had not learned anything essential. He did not have the kind of qualifications Ryan and Wales did. He was unable to infiltrate Anthony Investment Company and shoulder the responsibility of actually stealing the intelligence.
John did not resent Yang Yi for needing to be taught, but he also could not allow a rookie to destroy the team’s cohesiveness. Yang Yi would have to learn what John was willing to teach him slowly. It was impossible for John to assign Yang Yi any important responsibilities during this mission.
John did not have the time to teach Yang Yi during the mission because he was the brain; he was responsible for making sure everything went smoothly. He wanted Yang Yi to start from the basics of a mission and learn how an organization worked gradually.
Both Yang Yi and Kate received tasks that required low technical skills. He did not know that Ryan and Wales had already infiltrated Anthony Investment Company on the fourth and eighth day, respectively.
Yang Yi and Kate’s relationship logically should have improved while they were continuously repeating such boring tasks. Yet, neither one of them took the initiative to talk to the other about anything other than work.
The relationship between the two was awkward instead of being harmonious even though they had spent so much time together.
It was a little different today because there was someone else besides them in the car.
Daniel was with them in the back seat. Yang Yi had hoped that he would now have someone to chat with after the last few days of silence but he was quickly disappointed. Daniel was not talkative and had not said a single sentence the entire time.
Yang Yi finally broke after withstanding the silence for some time. There were three people sitting in the car but no one was saying anything. Yang Yi turned towards Daniel hoping to stop himself from going crazy and softly asked, “Are you hungry? I will go buy something if you want. My treat.”
Daniel raised his head to nod before quickly lowering it again.
Yang Yi felt bitter, but continued helplessly, “What do you want to eat?”
Daniel did not reply. A notification chimed on Yang Yi’s phone a few seconds later. He unlocked his phone and saw an additional sentence in the chat group. “A burger is fine and a cup of coffee. Thank you.”
Yang Yi lowered his phone and looked at Daniel in exasperation, “Buddy, you are sitting right next to me. Why not just use the time it takes to type to speak to me?”
Daniel raised his head, looked at Yang Yi, and lowered it again. He typed on the laptop’s keyboard for a short period.
Yang Yi heard another notification from his phone and raised his hand powerlessly. He felt the urge to start cursing. There was a new sentence in the chat after he unlocked the screen, “I think it is better this way.”
Yang Yi lowered his hand with a sigh. “Hamburger and coffee got it. I am going to the washroom first. I will buy it on the way back. What about you?”
Kate took out a ten pound note without even looking at him, “Anything will do.”
Yang Yi took the note from her and released his seat belt. He opened the car door and was about to step out, but he quickly moved his leg back into the car and closed the door.
“I just saw Wayne Rushford.”
Yang Yi was nervous after seeing Anthony Investment Company’s chairman.
Kate immediately asked, “Where?”
“The man who just climbed out of the car over there. He is the one with a beard wearing a black suit. There are two men by his side. Do you see him?”
Kate frowned as she only saw his back, “Are you sure? Have you seen Wayne Rushford before?”
“I have not seen him in person before, but I have seen a photo of him.”
“Are you sure that man is Wayne Rushford? You clearly saw that it was him?”
Yang Yi did not hesitate at all and responded, “That is definitely Wayne Rushford.”
Kate stretched her hand and said, “I doubt it, but even if it is him it does not really matter. It is quite normal for him to show up at the building that houses his company.”
Yang Yi did not want to talk to Kate, but he could not help responding in his excitement, “We have been here for thirteen days. I am just excited to finally see someone who is related to the mission.”
The walkie-talkie buzzed right as he finished speaking. John’s voice followed quickly after the noise, “Left hand will start taking action. He has established a connection with the target’s computer. Daniel, start downloading the data immediately.”
The order surprised everyone.
There was not a plan to steal the intelligence, at least not today. Even if Ryan and Wales were able to gain the access necessary to obtain Anthony Investment Company’s trade secrets, they had no idea where the information was stored. It would be great if they could even confirm where the information was stored within a month and that was only if everything went smoothly.
A company’s core trade secrets would not be stored on the network where anyone could have access to them. It was most likely that the required intelligence for their mission was stored across a few of the company's departments. Anthony Investment Company’s finance department would have the account details; the marketing department would have certain documents related to acquisitions while the chairman of the board or managing director would have the plans for the acquisitions.
It was impossible for Ryan and Wales to gain access to the places where the trade secrets were being stored in two months. They could not go undercover to obtain the information due to the time constraint. They could only use the oldest and simplest approach to acquire the information: stealing.
Nowadays, it was impossible for any information to be fully secure after it was printed. Almost all information was kept on a computer or hard disk. The most important information would be isolated physically. The files would be kept on a computer or its hard drive and the computer would not be connected to a network. It was impossible to gain access via an external connection.
Daniel was a hacker, but he could not hack a computer that did not have a connection to the outside world. However, he would not even have to penetrate the firewall and could easily download the computer’s content when the computer was connected to the outside world via the local area network.
Ryan had already connected the computer, which he believed had the trade secrets, to the network. Daniel just needed to download the data.
It was good news, but Yang Yi could not believe it since it had come so suddenly.
Daniel was not excited at all. He typed rapidly on his laptop and said, “The download has started. The file size is huge and the internet speed is very slow. It will take twelve minutes to complete the download.”
John immediately responded via walkie-talkie, “Understood. Ryan’s time in the chairman’s office is limited. Only download the important files.”
Kate’s face turned white. She immediately spoke without waiting for Daniel to respond, “Ross said he just saw the chairman. I cannot confirm it but the chairman may be on his way up.”
There was a moment of silence before John muttered, “Damn it!”
Yang Yi did not know the current status of the mission. He did not have any idea why they now had an opportunity to steal the intelligence. He did know that an opportunity like this was difficult to come by. If they missed this opportunity, they might not get the chance to enter Rushford’s office again.
Anthony Investment Company rented two floors of the building: the seventh and eighth floor. They even had their own private company elevator.
Yang Yi might not know much about the situation inside, but he was aware of Rushford’s walking speed. It would take him less than a minute to walk into the building. In approximately ten seconds to a minute, the elevator would arrive. It would only take him forty seconds to reach his office on the eighth floor. The elevator was fast because it did not stop in between the first floor and the seventh.
Rushford would enter his office in about three minutes.
There was another moment of silence. John gave out more orders, “We will not make it in time. Ryan, give up! Clean up any evidence and leave the office. Daniel, clear all traces of the download.”
John was unwilling to do so, it could clearly be heard in his voice, but he quickly came to this particular decision. They had to abandon this opportunity, but they could try again in the future. They would not have a chance to continue if they were exposed now.
Yang Yi felt the need to take action. He spoke over the walkie-talkie, “I can delay the chairman! I can at least try to delay him!”
John quickly replied, “Do not!”
Yang Yi opened the car door and said, “This is a rare opportunity. I am confident! I will not be exposed!”
There was not much time to decide. Either John let Yang Yi try or they would need to abandon the mission.
Yang Yi quickly turned to Kate, “Look for my signal. If I nod it was successful and if I shake my head it was a failed attempt.”
Kate anxiously said, “What are you doing?!”
Yang Yi had not heard John’s order yet, but he had begun briefing Kate on the details. He could only use gestures to inform Kate whether he was successful or not because he could not hide a wireless communication device.
John solemnly said soon after, “Give it a try!”
Yang Yi immediately rushed out of the car.
Rushford was about to enter the building. Yang Yi quickly dashed towards the building trying to arrive before the elevator doors opened. Only God knew if he would actually be able to delay the chairman.
“A spy’s work is very tedious.”
Yang Yi had not believed Li Fan’s words at the time but now he completely believed them.
It was already the thirteenth day of the mission. Yang Yi and Kate had both lost their initial passion and vigor after the first two days passed.
Both of them were sitting in the car every day just lingering in the proximity of a tall building. They had to put on different disguises and drive a different car every day. They could not leave the car either since they needed to be ready to extract the team at any moment if anyone’s identity was exposed. They had to eat in the car and could not take a half of a step out of it unless they needed to go to the washroom.
Yang Yi almost broke down when he thought about the possibility of having to live like this for two months.
Yang Yi felt like he had learned a lot over the past thirteen days, but he had not learned anything essential. He did not have the kind of qualifications Ryan and Wales did. He was unable to infiltrate Anthony Investment Company and shoulder the responsibility of actually stealing the intelligence.
John did not resent Yang Yi for needing to be taught, but he also could not allow a rookie to destroy the team’s cohesiveness. Yang Yi would have to learn what John was willing to teach him slowly. It was impossible for John to assign Yang Yi any important responsibilities during this mission.
John did not have the time to teach Yang Yi during the mission because he was the brain; he was responsible for making sure everything went smoothly. He wanted Yang Yi to start from the basics of a mission and learn how an organization worked gradually.
Both Yang Yi and Kate received tasks that required low technical skills. He did not know that Ryan and Wales had already infiltrated Anthony Investment Company on the fourth and eighth day, respectively.
Yang Yi and Kate’s relationship logically should have improved while they were continuously repeating such boring tasks. Yet, neither one of them took the initiative to talk to the other about anything other than work.
The relationship between the two was awkward instead of being harmonious even though they had spent so much time together.
It was a little different today because there was someone else besides them in the car.
Daniel was with them in the back seat. Yang Yi had hoped that he would now have someone to chat with after the last few days of silence but he was quickly disappointed. Daniel was not talkative and had not said a single sentence the entire time.
Yang Yi finally broke after withstanding the silence for some time. There were three people sitting in the car but no one was saying anything. Yang Yi turned towards Daniel hoping to stop himself from going crazy and softly asked, “Are you hungry? I will go buy something if you want. My treat.”
Daniel raised his head to nod before quickly lowering it again.
Yang Yi felt bitter, but continued helplessly, “What do you want to eat?”
Daniel did not reply. A notification chimed on Yang Yi’s phone a few seconds later. He unlocked his phone and saw an additional sentence in the chat group. “A burger is fine and a cup of coffee. Thank you.”
Yang Yi lowered his phone and looked at Daniel in exasperation, “Buddy, you are sitting right next to me. Why not just use the time it takes to type to speak to me?”
Daniel raised his head, looked at Yang Yi, and lowered it again. He typed on the laptop’s keyboard for a short period.
Yang Yi heard another notification from his phone and raised his hand powerlessly. He felt the urge to start cursing. There was a new sentence in the chat after he unlocked the screen, “I think it is better this way.”
Yang Yi lowered his hand with a sigh. “Hamburger and coffee got it. I am going to the washroom first. I will buy it on the way back. What about you?”
Kate took out a ten pound note without even looking at him, “Anything will do.”
Yang Yi took the note from her and released his seat belt. He opened the car door and was about to step out, but he quickly moved his leg back into the car and closed the door.
“I just saw Wayne Rushford.”
Yang Yi was nervous after seeing Anthony Investment Company’s chairman.
Kate immediately asked, “Where?”
“The man who just climbed out of the car over there. He is the one with a beard wearing a black suit. There are two men by his side. Do you see him?”
Kate frowned as she only saw his back, “Are you sure? Have you seen Wayne Rushford before?”
“I have not seen him in person before, but I have seen a photo of him.”
“Are you sure that man is Wayne Rushford? You clearly saw that it was him?”
Yang Yi did not hesitate at all and responded, “That is definitely Wayne Rushford.”
Kate stretched her hand and said, “I doubt it, but even if it is him it does not really matter. It is quite normal for him to show up at the building that houses his company.”
Yang Yi did not want to talk to Kate, but he could not help responding in his excitement, “We have been here for thirteen days. I am just excited to finally see someone who is related to the mission.”
The walkie-talkie buzzed right as he finished speaking. John’s voice followed quickly after the noise, “Left hand will start taking action. He has established a connection with the target’s computer. Daniel, start downloading the data immediately.”
The order surprised everyone.
There was not a plan to steal the intelligence, at least not today. Even if Ryan and Wales were able to gain the access necessary to obtain Anthony Investment Company’s trade secrets, they had no idea where the information was stored. It would be great if they could even confirm where the information was stored within a month and that was only if everything went smoothly.
A company’s core trade secrets would not be stored on the network where anyone could have access to them. It was most likely that the required intelligence for their mission was stored across a few of the company's departments. Anthony Investment Company’s finance department would have the account details; the marketing department would have certain documents related to acquisitions while the chairman of the board or managing director would have the plans for the acquisitions.
It was impossible for Ryan and Wales to gain access to the places where the trade secrets were being stored in two months. They could not go undercover to obtain the information due to the time constraint. They could only use the oldest and simplest approach to acquire the information: stealing.
Nowadays, it was impossible for any information to be fully secure after it was printed. Almost all information was kept on a computer or hard disk. The most important information would be isolated physically. The files would be kept on a computer or its hard drive and the computer would not be connected to a network. It was impossible to gain access via an external connection.
Daniel was a hacker, but he could not hack a computer that did not have a connection to the outside world. However, he would not even have to penetrate the firewall and could easily download the computer’s content when the computer was connected to the outside world via the local area network.
Ryan had already connected the computer, which he believed had the trade secrets, to the network. Daniel just needed to download the data.
It was good news, but Yang Yi could not believe it since it had come so suddenly.
Daniel was not excited at all. He typed rapidly on his laptop and said, “The download has started. The file size is huge and the internet speed is very slow. It will take twelve minutes to complete the download.”
John immediately responded via walkie-talkie, “Understood. Ryan’s time in the chairman’s office is limited. Only download the important files.”
Kate’s face turned white. She immediately spoke without waiting for Daniel to respond, “Ross said he just saw the chairman. I cannot confirm it but the chairman may be on his way up.”
There was a moment of silence before John muttered, “Damn it!”
Yang Yi did not know the current status of the mission. He did not have any idea why they now had an opportunity to steal the intelligence. He did know that an opportunity like this was difficult to come by. If they missed this opportunity, they might not get the chance to enter Rushford’s office again.
Anthony Investment Company rented two floors of the building: the seventh and eighth floor. They even had their own private company elevator.
Yang Yi might not know much about the situation inside, but he was aware of Rushford’s walking speed. It would take him less than a minute to walk into the building. In approximately ten seconds to a minute, the elevator would arrive. It would only take him forty seconds to reach his office on the eighth floor. The elevator was fast because it did not stop in between the first floor and the seventh.
Rushford would enter his office in about three minutes.
There was another moment of silence. John gave out more orders, “We will not make it in time. Ryan, give up! Clean up any evidence and leave the office. Daniel, clear all traces of the download.”
John was unwilling to do so, it could clearly be heard in his voice, but he quickly came to this particular decision. They had to abandon this opportunity, but they could try again in the future. They would not have a chance to continue if they were exposed now.
Yang Yi felt the need to take action. He spoke over the walkie-talkie, “I can delay the chairman! I can at least try to delay him!”
John quickly replied, “Do not!”
Yang Yi opened the car door and said, “This is a rare opportunity. I am confident! I will not be exposed!”
There was not much time to decide. Either John let Yang Yi try or they would need to abandon the mission.
Yang Yi quickly turned to Kate, “Look for my signal. If I nod it was successful and if I shake my head it was a failed attempt.”
Kate anxiously said, “What are you doing?!”
Yang Yi had not heard John’s order yet, but he had begun briefing Kate on the details. He could only use gestures to inform Kate whether he was successful or not because he could not hide a wireless communication device.
John solemnly said soon after, “Give it a try!”
Yang Yi immediately rushed out of the car.
Rushford was about to enter the building. Yang Yi quickly dashed towards the building trying to arrive before the elevator doors opened. Only God knew if he would actually be able to delay the chairman.
