Chapter 1450: Zhang Lu’s Confidence
Not long after Ye Fan and Mengyao finished breakfast, Zhang Lu and Yang Shu arrived.
Ye Fan met with Zhang Lu and Yang Shu alone. The two of them had naturally come to report the relevant information and situation.
"Tell me what you’ve found and any new developments. We’ll work out our countermeasures." Ye Fan spoke straight away.
"Last night we didn’t sleep at all. We worked overtime, digging through the database, then combined that with some clues we got from Namie’s place. We did uncover a lot." Zhang Lu said slowly, "This time, Japan really went all-in. To get that batch of treasure, they’re basically determined to win at all costs. We’ve learned that the one who’s been masterminding and overseeing this whole operation from behind the scenes is someone called Nagano Yoko. We managed to find a few photos of this woman, but beyond that, there’s nothing."
"According to solid intel, Nagano Yoko is the overall commander of this operation. She’s lurking in Jin City, hidden in the shadows, directing everything. Namie and her people are directly under Nagano Yoko’s command. Namie is different from Asai—Asai reports directly to Nishi Gushu, but Nishi Gushu also takes orders from Nagano Yoko. So Nagano Yoko is actually our biggest enemy."
"Even though we’ve identified who the main enemy is, we know far too little about her."
"This woman named Nagano Yoko is watching us from the dark, ready to rush out and take a bite out of us at any moment."
"There’s no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days. We don’t know when Nagano Yoko will go for the kill, or from which direction she’ll strike. That’s a major headache. Trying to dig Nagano Yoko out is extremely difficult, and we don’t know how much destructive power she’s secretly holding. That alone is something we can’t help but fear."
"Even though we’ve learned quite a bit about Nagano Yoko, it doesn’t really help us with concrete action for now."
Zhang Lu laid out everything she had learned, word for word. She took this hidden enemy very seriously.
She had no choice but to take her seriously. An enemy who stays hidden and is also the biggest threat—how could you possibly underestimate that?
Zhang Lu had racked her brains to get Ji Jie to make that sacrifice and lure the enemy to bite. That move worked out well, but that was about as far as it went.
Right now, Nagano Yoko would definitely have gotten wind of it and would only grow more cautious, which was not a good thing for Zhang Lu and the others.
The old-fashioned methods won’t pin down a Poisonous Snake like Nagano Yoko. But Zhang Lu just couldn’t think of a better plan.
"So our top priority is to take down Nagano Yoko, the head of the whole thing. Only then can we do the most damage to Japan, our biggest enemy." Ye Fan said calmly. "Given the current situation, trying to capture Nagano Yoko is pure fantasy. A large-scale search for her isn’t wise either; it’ll only stir up speculation from all sides and won’t achieve much. Besides, Nagano Yoko isn’t our only enemy—there are others. We can’t pour too much time and energy into her alone. Not only would that be ineffective, it would also be a costly mobilization that’s not worth it."
"We’ve thought about that too." Yang Shu said. "But judging from what we have now, if we take out Nagano Yoko, we’re confident we can handle the other enemies. So hitting the hardest target first would be the best way to intimidate them."
"We have almost no real leads on the hardest target. If we strike recklessly, we’ll only end up startling the snake in the grass. It won’t do any good; it’ll just make the enemy more alert and nothing else." Ye Fan said evenly. "How much effort do we really want to invest in digging out this woman Nagano Yoko? It’ll drain us mentally and physically, and the payoff may not be worth it, right?"
"Then what do you think we should do?" Zhang Lu looked at Ye Fan and asked.
"We don’t change the current setup. Just maintain it as it is." Ye Fan said firmly. "That crucial Ancient Painting is in our hands, isn’t it? As long as we keep the Ancient Painting safe, we’re in an unbeatable position. This is not the time to spend extra effort on a focused search for Nagano Yoko. If our defenses spring a leak, we’ll be in trouble once the enemy attacks."
"That line of thinking is reasonable. I say we stick to this plan." Yang Shu smiled. "Trying to find a rat that’s hiding is no different from searching for a needle in a haystack. Better we keep watch and wait for the enemy to bite on the bait themselves."
On the question of active defense versus active offense, Ye Fan, Zhang Lu, and Yang Shu reached a consensus.
Zhang Lu and Yang Shu had no objections to Ye Fan’s decision.
Zhang Lu’s expression tightened. "Looking at all the enemies we’re facing so far, Namie, Asai, and their people—over forty in total—have died at our hands. That was a very strong force. But now it looks like the hidden power that hasn’t surfaced yet is stronger than the force we wiped out. We don’t know by how much, but we need to be mentally prepared. We can’t wait until the moment things blow up to start panicking."
"We’ve taken out most of Nagano Yoko’s frontline," Yang Shu said darkly. "But the Black Cat Team and the forces under Clive and Charles haven’t moved at all. It’s as if they’re in no rush to make a move."
Among the enemies they faced, apart from Nagano Yoko, the biggest threats were the forces of Clive and Charles as well as the Black Cat Team. Unfortunately, those two factions hadn’t made any moves, which made it impossible not to overthink things.
Just like Nishi Gushu, these two factions were standing out in the open, coming in under the guise of bidding on the Ancient Painting.
But their movements in the dark were definitely not few. Judging from how the auction house had been infiltrated, people from both factions had already gotten inside. That much was certain.
"Maybe they’re waiting for a chance to kill in one strike." Zhang Lu said. "The deeper they hide, the more likely they are plotting some shadowy conspiracy. Who knows when they’ll launch a fatal blow at us in some weak spot we never even imagined."
"The auction house staff are complicated. No matter who it is, as long as someone wants to act, all they have to do is buy off people on the inside. That’ll give them a huge opening. We have to be especially careful about that." Ye Fan warned. "We can’t expect everyone to share our determination—that’s impossible. The human heart is the hardest thing to read."
"That point should be a key focus of our precautions." Yang Shu nodded gravely, then added with some relief, "No matter how the enemy infiltrates, there’s one thing I’m certain of: nothing will happen to the Ancient Painting. That’s set in stone."
"I’ve got that same confidence." Zhang Lu said, full of self-assurance.
Ye Fan understood exactly where Zhang Lu’s confidence came from. After several rounds of covering for the Ancient Painting, the final hiding place for it was now known only to Zhang Lu. When it came to protecting the Ancient Painting, Zhang Lu was naturally utterly confident.