Corporate Spy

"I am a corporate spy. That is my specialization. I get paid for obtaining trade secrets on behalf of an employer. The job is very risky but it is not dangerous. A lot of people think that all spy work is fascinating and full of excitement like in the movies. I hope your interest in the profession is not due to this same misconception."

John finished his explanation and stared at Yang Yi. He smiled, "Since I am just a corporate spy, the things I can teach you are limited. There is also no way I can lead you into your dad's circle. Although we are both technically spies, we do not have a lot of similarities. Now that I have told you all of this, are you still willing to study under me?"

Yang Yi did not hesitate to answer the question. "Of course. I will be grateful if you are willing to teach me."

John sighed and stood up. He left a business card on the table. "Call me tomorrow at eight in the morning. Goodbye."

He left immediately after he spoke.

John did not ask Yang Yi for any details. He did not ask questions about his background, his identity, where he was all these years, how he discovered the cause of his parents' death, or how he was going to get his revenge.

Yang Yi believed there were two reasons why he did not ask. First, John was a spy. Even if he was just a modest corporate spy, he strictly adhered to the principle of not frivolously prying into other people's matters.

The other reason was John did not want to get entangled in Yang Yi's personal grudges.

John was helping Yang Yi and teaching him some things purely out of gratitude. He would not get involved in Yang Yi's plan for revenge. That was why he did not ask Yang Yi for details. It would also ensure that Yang Yi would not have any reason to eliminate him even if they disagreed and separated later.

Yang Yi did not currently have any intention of doing so but that could change in the future. John was taking precautionary measures since there was no guarantee when helping others. It could end badly. It was best for him to not know much so he could avoid any future trouble. John would not be willing to find out more even if Yang Yi was willing to share.

None of that mattered. It was enough if John was willing to help him.

Yang Yi was wondering what sort of person his dad was now.

Based on what Yang Yi remembered, his dad was a very low profile kind of person. He was just an ordinary businessman. He loved to laugh. He was very successful. Although he was not home much, his dad would make sure to spend time with him whenever he was home.

Yang Yi remembered him as a good dad because of this. Yet, he also understood that everyone had two different personas.

He could be a good dad and husband to his family and an unsavory character to others.

Yang Yi left the café after finishing his coffee. He searched for a hotel where he could stay the night.

On his second day in England, Yang Yi woke up at six in the morning to wash up and have his breakfast. He then waited until eight in the hotel lobby. He called John at eight o'clock exactly.

"I will arrive at my office by nine o'clock. Jones Accounting Firm on 186 Saville Street. That is where you can find me."

John ended the call. Yang Yi thought about what he said before realizing Saville Street was quite far from where he was staying. He would be cutting it rather close even if he left right now.

He rushed out of the hotel lobby and climbed into a taxi he had booked earlier. He told the driver with an urgent tone, "To 186 Saville Street. Quick."

It took him fifty-eight minutes to reach the address. It was an old three-story building. The ground floor belonged to a men's clothing store. Jones Accounting Firm was on the second floor.

Yang Yi rushed upstairs as quickly as possible. He managed to push open the door to the accounting firm at exactly nine o'clock.

"Hi, I am looking for Mr. John Jones."

"Could I have your name, sir?"

"Yang Yi."

"Okay, Mr. Jones is waiting for you in his office. Please follow me."

The accounting firm was not large. Yang Yi glanced around and saw a total of six cubicles in the main hallway. Four of the cubicles were occupied. There were also four partitioned rooms in the space.

The receptionist, who was in her twenties, escorted Yang Yi to one of the rooms. She knocked on the door and said, "Mr. Jones, the guest you have been waiting for has arrived."

"Send him in."

Yang Yi entered the room. It was a small room with simple decorations that were well-arranged. It did at least look like the office of a boss of an accounting firm.

John was wearing a pair of reading glasses. He saw Yang Yi enter and set aside the documents he was reading. He set them on the table and took off the glasses. He extended his hand towards a chair and said, "Please sit. Take a look at this. If there is no issue with it, you can sign it."

Yang Yi looked at the document John handed him. It was an employment contract for a position within Jones Accounting Firm.

Yang Yi looked at John in confusion. John said with a smile, "I operate an accounting firm as my primary business. Corporate espionage is a side business. If you are going to learn from me, you will need to have an appropriate identity while doing so."

Yang Yi reviewed and signed the document before respectfully returning it to John.

John took the document and smiled at Yang Yi, "You will work as an administrative assistant here. You are a newcomer and should start from the basic tasks such as maintaining the cleanliness of the office, preparing coffee and other miscellaneous things. Also, you need to become familiar with the accounting profession as soon as possible. I hope you can reach the level of competency of an accounting intern within six months.

There was no sign of dissatisfaction in Yang Yi's tone, just curiosity, when he asked, "Do I definitely have to start with doing these kinds of tasks?"

John nodded, "Yes."

Yang Yi scratched his head. He was a little frustrated, "I will do as you say. Can you explain how I will learn to be a spy by doing all of this?"

"Of course. You want to learn how to be a corporate spy from me; I have already provided you a cover by giving you an identity as a staff member here. Hence, you will need to be an accountant. There are a lot of advantages when a spy manages their own assets. Are there any problems?"

Yang Yi spread his hands and said, "Well, I do not have a problem with it. I will learn. I also want to learn other useful skills such as shooting and unarmed combat. I learned some unarmed combat skills before but I later realized that the style I practiced was not very useful. I just want you to know there are other skills I would like to learn as well."

John asked in a confused tone, "I do not understand why you would want to learn all these skills if you are going to be a corporate spy?"

Yang Yi was even more confused than John. He asked, "Are those not the basic skills of a spy?"

"Your thinking is wrong. You first need to get something straight. I am a corporate spy. Corporate spies have no need for those types of skills."

John waved his hand while laughing, "What is the most important thing for a spy? It is to obtain and transfer intelligence. The difficulty of transferring intelligence with current technology is zero. It can be done easily even by an ordinary person. The most crucial task is the one that is left which is to obtain intelligence."

"I understand this, but…"

"There is no but. Whether it is a corporate spy or any other type of spy, the mission is a failure the moment violence is used no matter the circumstances! Can you imagine how an Allied spy would obtain high-value military intelligence from a German headquarters in the Second World War? Did you think he would shoot and kill a German officer, strange a German General, and steal the key intelligence? Did you think he would escape with the information and be able to return home as a hero?"

Yang Yi was speechless while he was being questioned. John shook his head, "Those kinds of things are just movie plots. Such things do not happen in real life. A mission is a complete failure if a spy is exposed. Imagine you obtain important intelligence after killing a thousand people. We will assume it is about the Normandy landing. Do you still think the intelligence will be useful? If the information is useless, was there a need to kill a thousand people? Why would you do something that was meaningless? Did you just want to ruin the opportunity to obtain a valuable piece of intelligence?"

Yang Yi was completely stunned by John's words. He softly replied, "But there are many cases where you have to resort to violence to obtain the intelligence, right?"

"There are such circumstances where violence is required, but those are rare. You should never base your argument on a rare occurrence. Also, you cannot predict exactly what a spy will do in a situation that is always changing."

John laughed while looking at Yang Yi, "I will definitely help you and I will definitely use the best approach to do so. Your future position will not be a field agent, special force personnel or action task force personnel. You may need to use violence to solve many issues in the future but there is no need for you to personally get involved."

Yang Yi asked, "You mean my path will lead to the role of a boss or commander instead of someone on the field?"

John nodded and replied, "Yes, your job will be to become a commander, not a field agent. You will be like your dad, he had no need to personally take action to obtain any intelligence he needed. He only needed to issue an order and naturally, someone would accomplish all of it on his behalf."

Yang Yi exhaled and said, "I understand. So, there is no need for me to learn any specific skills yet?"

John laughed, "You need to learn specific skills, but you will not learn them from me. You need to start from the bottom and familiarize yourself with everything first. What you need to learn from me specifically are leadership skills. You will have to learn the other skills elsewhere. I am just a corporate spy after all. So, do you still want to join me?"