Chapter 2660 - 2634: Past Lives and Present Life

With all honesty, Gao Yang really doesn’t have any opinions about the Cleaners; he just thinks the strength shown by the Cleaners is too strong, giving him an instinctive feeling of fear and precaution.

After a long discussion, it’s just two names without clear meaning. Gao Yang said with slight disappointment, "It seems like we still haven’t figured out the origins of the Cleaners."

Yarebin raised his hand, then calmly said: "The United Kingdom, after the Industrial Revolution, became the world’s most powerful nation in the early 19th Century, controlling a quarter of the world’s population and a quarter of the world’s territory, known as the Empire where the sun never sets.

To maintain colonial rule, as well as manage vast colonies, the prototype of the first globally spanning intelligence system appeared in the United Kingdom; it was an inevitable result.

To deal with challenges from European Continent countries, the British intelligence system became powerful and complex. The United Kingdom pursued a policy of continental balance. To avoid European Continent countries forming an alliance that threatened the United Kingdom, the British intelligence system played a crucial role in the balance strategy, possessing the world’s most powerful intelligence system at that time.

However, relying solely on domestic intelligence personnel to collect intelligence was very inefficient, so the British started buying large amounts of intelligence, not needing to rely solely on the British, but paying for information. And with sufficient financial capacity, the demand for intelligence was great, resulting in the emergence of a network in Europe that began selling intelligence to the British, a preliminary network."

Gao Yang smiled and said, "So that’s why the United Kingdom is called the troublemaker, stirring wars across Europe to avoid any sufficiently strong force threatening the United Kingdom."

Yarebin nodded and continued in a deep voice: "In the early 20th Century, Germany posed a challenge to the British, who began to expand their military and abandoned the policy of splendid isolation, forming the Triple Entente primarily composed of Britain-France-Russia. With war imminent, all of Europe mobilized for the inevitable war, and undoubtedly, obtaining intelligence became the primary task for all countries. Thus, the intelligence organization that emerged in the 19th Century quickly grew.

World War I caused unprecedented destruction to Europe, greatly damaging the British national strength, and the prototype intelligence organization established by the British had already severed ties with the United Kingdom, maintaining neutrality, becoming a completely independent organization.

During the period between World War I and World War II, this organization was exceptionally active and strong, influencing even the newly established Cheka, which at the very least learned many practices from the organization."

Cheka was the predecessor of the KGB; despite numerous name changes, Cheka and the KGB remain fundamentally linked.

Gao Yang was extremely surprised and said: "Even Cheka was influenced by that organization?"

Yarebin slightly nodded, quietly saying: "Jelensky may have been a member of that organization, or at least familiar with it. After Cheka was established, its primary task was to eliminate the organization’s influence in Russia. Meanwhile, America was also wary of this invisible yet powerful organization. In 1924, after Hoover took charge of the Bureau of Investigation, he immediately began targeted actions. Combatting crime was just a minor part of the FBI’s work; counter-espionage was the core task."

Everyone remained silent, attentively listening to Yarebin recounting the little-known history.

"Until World War II, that organization remained very active, with many spies turning into double agents, working for both domestic intelligence units and the organization, reporting information domestically while exchanging it for wealth. Who wouldn’t be pleased with such an opportunity?

The destruction from World War II was immense, turning all of Europe into ruins, and the spy network suffered unprecedented damage. War doesn’t distinguish individuals’ identities among the dead. During World War II, this vast but still loosely structured organization rapidly disintegrated; those specializing in intelligence began trading intelligence, while those who were assassins banded together to form an Assassin Organization, maintaining certain degrees of contact and affiliation.

After the war, Europe became a wasteland, with the Soviet Union and America dominating Europe, and both began simultaneously attacking the underground intelligence organization. With higher efficiency from the Soviet Union and America leveraging the Marshall Plan to control Western Europe, attaining previously impossible power, their effectiveness was also commendable, leading to the organization’s complete collapse.

Under the pressure from the two most powerful forces at the time, the organization crumbled. However, the antagonism between America and the Soviet Union provided the remnants of the organization with sufficient nourishment, allowing them to survive. The Cicero Family rapidly emerged, and unprecedented Assassin Organizations cropped up. These newly appeared small organizations possessed skilled methods and rich experience; if there’s no historical accumulation, it’s unbelievable!"

After finishing, Yarebin looked at Gao Yang, speaking solemnly: "I suspect the Cleaners also separated from that organization during the same period. You know why America established the CIA in 1941? Because the FBI was fighting against that organization, and the organization was continuously infiltrating the FBI, with notable success, hence America had to establish a new CIA, tasking it with counter-espionage responsibilities."

Gao Yang exhaled softly, saying: "Indeed, the Cleaners hold significant power within the FBI. If they possess similar power within the CIA, I wouldn’t be troubled by the CIA right now."

Yarebin smiled and said, "Yes, when you mentioned the Cleaners, I wondered why they can ensure your safety. It’s because they truly possess incredibly strong abilities. After decades of infiltration and growth, having this strength is normal for the Cleaners. The good news is, if the Cleaners are really remnants of the former organization, then you don’t have to worry about anything, because their sole objective is money. Only money can sustain such a vast and loosely structured organization, and their credibility is outstanding, never seeking anything beyond money."

Glewatov also nodded, saying: "Seeking too many things increases exposure risk, and more importantly, such an organization with oversized ambitions means it’s too ambitious, which no official government would permit."

Gao Yang nodded and said with a smile, "Well, it seems like good news; I shouldn’t worry about being forced to act recklessly by the Cleaners one day. If that’s the case, then the Cleaners are indeed an excellent partner, although all of this is based on speculation."

After speaking, Gao Yang surveyed the crowd, especially glancing at Joseph and Little Donnie a few times before saying solemnly: "Friends, there are no outsiders here, but everything discussed today must never be revealed to anyone, because if the Cleaners find out we’ve leaked their secrets, it would truly be the end of the world."