Hearing the word Roland mentioned, Luo An raised his eyebrows and asked:

"Is the person behind Sarls from MI6?"

MI6, a not unfamiliar name, anyone who has seen the 007 movie series knows it is the foreign intelligence agency of Great Britain, slightly from Northern Ireland, and not much of the United Kingdom.

In addition to MI6, there is also an MI5, whose relationship with MI6 is similar to that of the CIA and FBI, with MI6 operating abroad and MI5 responsible domestically.

"No."

Roland shook his head and replied:

"We haven't confirmed that yet."

Just as Luo An was about to voice his doubts, Roland quickly explained:

"However, what you just said is correct, not just anyone can deal in underground arms sales, they must have support from behind.

The CIA confirmed that the people behind Sarls aren't our guys, so if they are not ours, they could only be MI6's."

"..."

Luo An twitched the corners of his mouth, Roland's words were outrageous yet somewhat reasonable. After a brief consideration, he asked:

"Half of Sarls's activities are in Africa, could the person behind her come from a powerful African nation, the French Republic?"

Hearing Luo An refer to them as a powerful African nation, Roland was somewhat speechless and said:

"Impossible."

"Why?"

"There are two main reasons."

Roland explained earnestly:

"First, the weapons sold by Sarls, sixty percent are British-made, forty percent are Commonwealth-made, and almost none are French-made.

Second, if the person behind Sarls was from the French Republic, the Commonwealth's MI6 would have definitely intervened earlier, it would not have allowed Sarls to develop successfully up to now."

Luo An nodded in realization; the grudges between the Kingdom of England and the French Republic were deeply rooted after centuries of entanglement, they had grown accustomed to sabotaging each other.

Moreover, with the Kingdom of England having developed a habit of stirring trouble, countries had come to anticipate:

If in some event the Kingdom of England does not create chaos or meddle around, then the hidden hand behind it is very likely them.

Just like the Commonwealth, when a spokesperson declares something unrelated to the Commonwealth, it is very likely done by the Commonwealth.

These two have almost become axioms.

With thousands of thoughts flashing through his mind, Luo An slightly moved his eyes and then asked:

"One last question, why didn't your CIA take over this case and instead let our FBI handle it?"

Although there was the establishment of a "Special Investigation Unit," the CIA had the power and reasons to reject it, as the other foreign cases encountered by the FBI in the past weren't agreed upon so readily.

Roland blinked his eyes and did not answer immediately, watching him with an almost smile, Luo An said:

"So, your CIA actually plans to quietly wait for me to handle Sarls, and then you guys come in to take over her business territory, right?"

Roland squeezed out a somewhat awkward smile and spoke softly:

"Don't put it so unpleasantly, we…"

Luo An waved his hand to interrupt Roland, saying:

"I can overlook this matter, but I have one condition."

Roland quickly asked:

"What is the condition?"

Luo An extended his empty right hand towards him, with a wide grin:

"Where's my share?"

"..."

Roland left, leaving quickly, putting the matter about Mona behind him.

Luo An's request wasn't too much. Before Luo An brought up these matters, Roland could feign ignorance, but now Luo An was aware, and continuing to feign ignorance would be foolish.

But Roland did not have the authority; he needed to go back and consult with his superiors about how much of the share belonged to Luo An.

Watching Roland's figure gradually disappear into the elevator, Luo An corner of his mouth curved up, closed the office area's main door, and headed towards the conference room again.

Luo An did not intend to give up the operation to capture Sarls; it was a rare opportunity to make some extra money. Although the CIA seemed to be bullying the honest people, as long as it was handled properly, he would not only avoid being bullied, but he might even turn the tables, and the benefits from the case's conclusion wouldn't be small.

Inside the conference room, Reesi, Michelle, Chenier, and Winslow were gathered around Mona, looking at the computer. Luo An casually asked:

"How's the investigation going?"

"It's been quite an eye-opener."

Winslow repeatedly clicked his tongue:

"CIA's database is just full of 'interesting' intelligence."

"Let's look at those 'interesting' pieces of intelligence later."

Luo An pats Reesi on the shoulder, squeezing her aside with his bottom, selectively ignoring Reesi's clawing, and asks:

"Our primary goal now is to get close to Sarls. Have you found any suitable familiar faces?"

"I've sorted out three people."

Mona nods, pulls up photos of three men on the computer screen, and introduces:

"The first one, currently in Africa, is the head of a military government in a small African country, and has had numerous dealings with Sarls.

The second one, from a country in South America, is a big shot in a certain city of that country.

The third one, also in South America, is the leader of an opposition party in another country, who has purchased quite a few arms from Sarls, mainly used to fight the government forces."

"They are all 'talented' people."

Looking at the photos and information on the computer, Luo An raises his eyebrows, and Mona tilts her head to ask:

"Which target do you think is appropriate?"

Luo An gestures for Mona to enlarge the photo of the second target and says:

"The first one, the head of the military government, is too risky, seeking his 'help' would likely expose our intentions.

The third, the opposition leader, is good at hiding; even the local military can't find him, so it would be even harder for us.

Therefore, the second candidate, the big shot Almeron Cristo is the most suitable. Seeking his 'help' has the highest chance of success."

"OK."

Mona nods, continuing to type on her keyboard:

"I'll start gathering information on Almeron Cristo right away."

"No rush."

Luo An smiles and says:

"The special investigation team is not officially established yet, we still have time."

"I know."

After chatting idly for a while, Reesi suddenly looks around and asks:

"Where did that CIA Roland go?"

"He went back to the CIA to inquire about something."

Luo An casually replies with a smile, then leans close to Mona and whispers:

"Mona, help me check something."

————

The process is time-consuming but necessary. Over the next two days, the agents of Team 13 were divided into two groups.

One group was responsible for handling the paperwork following up on the explosion case, while the other group was tasked with investigating the criminal Almeron Cristo and gathering intelligence on Sarls.

Friday, 10 AM, Roland walks back into the office area of Team 13 and proceeds with Luo An into the leader's office.

Luo An hands him a cup of coffee, saying:

"You were gone quite a while, was my request that difficult to negotiate?"

Roland smiles, hands Luo An the document bag, and says:

"My superior says that after the special investigation team arrests Sarls, we can buy the arms from Sarls's hands at a price one-and-a-half times the black market rate."

"One-and-a-half times, are you sure?"

Luo An raises an eyebrow and asks:

"Buying so many weapons at such a price, isn't your superior afraid of making a loss and not being able to sell them?"

"No, there will definitely be buyers."

Roland chuckles:

"Like those MI6 guys."

Sarls has a lot of weapons, selling them at the original price to Roland's superiors, Luo An could definitely make a fortune.

But Roland's superiors are even more ruthless, clearly planning to take a slice off MI6.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Luo An clicks his tongue, surely, CIA knows how to make money.

Inside the document bag is a black identification, which he flips open to see a familiar photo, and beneath it, a line of text read:

CIA Secret Agent, Luo An Greenwood. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ ɴovᴇl(ꜰ)ir(e).nᴇt

Luo An: "..."