When Luo Ziling, Lin Lan, and Wuyue arrived in Paris on the same flight, it was just lunchtime.
There are many European countries, but none of them are very large.
Flying from Berlin to Paris is not as far as from Yanjing to Zhonghai.
Luo Ziling originally thought that after they arrived in Paris, they would leisurely enjoy two days just like in Berlin, followed by new arrangements. Unexpectedly, just after settling down in Paris, Phoenix came knocking at the door.
Phoenix came to find Luo Ziling, and Lin Lan and Wuyue tactfully avoided the situation.
"What do you need?" Seeing Phoenix’s serious face, Luo Ziling had a foreboding premonition.
"The situation has changed!" Phoenix didn’t bother with formalities and got straight to the point, "We’ve encountered an unexpected issue, and we need your assistance."
"What could make even Captain Phoenix lose her head?" Luo Ziling appeared very surprised.
"Our people discovered that the U.S. Intelligence Agency has gotten involved."
Phoenix’s words were concise, only mentioning the intelligence agency’s involvement without additional explanation, which made Luo Ziling frown.
This woman didn’t explain such an important matter clearly with a few more sentences.
In a bit of a sulk, he didn’t press for more information and instead lowered his head and took a sip from his teacup.
Luo Ziling’s reluctance to inquire further was unexpected for Phoenix, so she continued, "The CIA is in collaboration with the target we are planning to assassinate. We are not yet sure if their involvement is intentional or coincidental."
"Can you just get to the point about what you need me to do?" Luo Ziling interrupted Phoenix impatiently, "I don’t care about the CIA or the CIB, I only care about what I need to do."
"We don’t wish to engage in conflict with them, nor can we afford to. Therefore, we must ensure they don’t get involved and avoid conflict at all costs." Phoenix looked calmly at Luo Ziling, unfazed by his impatience, "If any of them are involved, we need to eliminate them. Thus, we need your drugs."
"That’s contradictory," Luo Ziling analyzed seriously, "You said not to conflict with the intelligence agency, but you also want to eliminate their people. What exactly are you trying to convey? And what is a CIA? Can’t you speak Chinese?"
"CIA is America’s largest intelligence agency, Central Intelligence Agency." Phoenix was a bit surprised at Luo Ziling’s lack of awareness, but patiently explained, then added, "Yes, we indeed need to eliminate the intelligence agency personnel to prevent them from sabotaging our operations. Additionally, we plan to frame this issue on the organization we are targeting so the intelligence agency and the organization will become enemies."
"I am still confused and don’t fully understand your intentions. Miss Phoenix, can you explain things more clearly? If your ability to communicate is lacking, can Lin Lan do it instead?" Phoenix’s communication skills were indeed lacking, as evidenced by her previous unclear explanation, leaving Luo Ziling in the dark.
Phoenix appeared a bit upset but still called Lin Lan in.
Lin Lan was very disciplined.
Phoenix instructed her not to disclose matters that shouldn’t be told to Luo Ziling, and she followed Phoenix’s instructions, not mentioning even some things that should have been told to Luo Ziling.
For instance, the detailed situation of the organization they’re targeting and more information on the leader "Gu Feng" whom they intend to assassinate.
By contrast, Wuyue knew much more than he did.
And Wuyue assumed that Lin Lan would surely tell Luo Ziling many things on the way, so she did not elaborate. She didn’t want to discuss uncertain matters with Luo Ziling, especially since Lin Lan and Luo Ziling were together, and Luo Ziling could get more information from Dragon Rise members.
This directly led to Luo Ziling’s arrival in Europe, still unclear about many things.
Phoenix had Lin Lan explain some necessary situations to Luo Ziling, and Lin Lan followed orders, explaining the matters in detail to Luo Ziling.
The organization they’re up against has been collaborating with certain Western intelligence agencies.
They have a close partnership with Western intelligence agencies, frequently engaging in activities harmful to Huaxia’s interests.
Because of their frequent harmful actions against Huaxia, they’ve been favored by Western intelligence organizations, with many providing direct support. These Western intelligence organizations don’t wish to engage in conflict with Huaxia’s intelligence and special operations organizations, so they execute certain tasks through mercenary or terrorist groups instead.
They provide intelligence, weapons, money, and covert support during operations, leaving specific tasks to the members of these groups.
According to the Dragon Rise members, if the intelligence agency is contacting this organization and planning operations, it indicates the intelligence agency might once again be utilizing them to plan actions against Huaxia.
Therefore, Phoenix immediately decided to eliminate the intelligence agency personnel without alerting the organization’s leader.
Eliminating the intelligence agency’s operatives, whose whereabouts they have already tracked, is not difficult.
But to avoid leaving any troubles and to frame the organization, some thought is required.
The use of drugs is the most convenient and trace-free method.
Phoenix requested Luo Ziling to provide a potent drug that takes effect five hours after ingestion.
"Oh, I understand." After hearing Lin Lan’s explanation, Luo Ziling seemed to realize, "You’re planning to have the intelligence agency member ingest the drug, and he’ll die from poisoning during a meeting with the organization’s leader. The intelligence agency will eventually misunderstand that their operative was killed by the organization, right?"
Phoenix nodded gently, affirming Luo Ziling’s analysis.
"Actually, you haven’t told me the name of the organization you’re targeting!" Luo Ziling furrowed his brow, "Do they not have a name?"
"No," Phoenix nodded, "They have no public name, so we gave them code name 13."
"Are they the thirteenth target you’re planning to deal with this year?"
Phoenix didn’t deny it.
Luo Ziling had roughly understood the situation but still couldn’t grasp the whole picture, so he couldn’t help but ask, "Since you plan to act against this organization, your goal is surely to completely eradicate them. In that case, does it matter if they conflict with the intelligence agency?"
"We can’t eliminate them all right now; even if this operation is fully successful, only their headquarters personnel can be eliminated. Other members are scattered worldwide, making it impossible to eradicate them all at once. However, eliminating their main members would suffice to dismantle the organization entirely."
"Oh, I see!" Luo Ziling smiled, "You want to use the death of the intelligence agency member to effectively provoke the intelligence agency’s leadership. Once deprived of Western intelligence support, this organization will struggle to survive. Even if this operation doesn’t fully succeed, it will still diminish the organization’s survival space. Moreover, even if they know we acted against the organization, once their member is killed, they won’t overreact, right?"
"The situation is more complicated than you think; in short, just provide us with the drug as requested, preferably with precise timing." Phoenix appeared a bit impatient.
"Alright!" Luo Ziling thought for a moment, then agreed.
Phoenix added a reminder, "When you arrived in Paris, you might have been tailed by French intelligence operatives, so be cautious."
Phoenix’s reminder sent shivers down Luo Ziling’s spine.