Chapter 121 The Loyal Cheka (Revised)...
This is the biggest stain on Mikhail's career.
As a former Cheka who had survived brutal political struggles and ultimately emerged unscathed, he should have performed better than he appeared as a clueless novice in a quiet town far from Mosk.
It's important to know that, apart from him, there wasn't another unemployed KGB agent in the entire city—nor was there one still in service.
Having weathered many storms, to capsize in this small ditch in Vladimir is an utter disgrace!
The monarch to whom Mikhail swore allegiance did not mind rubbing salt into his already deep wounds.
“My dear, your loyalty is worthless.”
Her Majesty was even laughing easily, as if she wasn't the one who had been murdered, kidnapped, and forced to endure a gunfight at her residence the night before.
His excessive composure, treating life and death as a joke, strangely calmed down the originally panicked people around him, as if it really wasn't a big deal.
But if you think about it more carefully, isn't this a big deal?
If it weren't for that, the person sitting here today would be a corpse.
Mikhail's face looked terrible; her usual liveliness and sweetness were gone, highlighting her pale skin and inorganic brown eyes.
He Changyi wondered in surprise how she hadn't noticed before that Mr. Cheka actually looked like a crow from a certain angle.
"...I'm so sorry."
After an awkward silence, Mikhail said dryly, "But I can explain—"
He Changyi interrupted him rudely.
"You don't need to explain."
She said casually, "What's done is done. What we're lacking now is an explanation?"
Mikhail pursed his lips tightly, as if he had been shot in the face, and after a long while, he managed to speak with difficulty:
"You're right, I really shouldn't have explained."
He said with difficulty, "This is entirely my dereliction of duty, please punish me."
After saying that, Mikhail stepped forward and placed his sidearm and a metal belt on the table.
The other two people in the office were extremely surprised, looking at He Changyi and then at this unfamiliar colleague.
Ms. Tagyan cautiously began, "Perhaps we need to leave for a while..."
Manager Roman, like a little chick, hid pitifully behind Ms. Tagyana, only his big, frightened eyes peeking out.
He Changyi didn't look at them, but just waved his hand. So Ms. Tagi Yanna and Manager Roman quickly left the office, and she thoughtfully closed the door before leaving.
After the two left, Manager Roman couldn't wait and whispered, "Why...why..."
Ms. Tagyan said wisely, "Don't ask why. Remember, you are just a subordinate. You should not question any of your superior's actions. Even if she kills someone in front of you, all you need to do is hand her a handkerchief to wipe the blood."
Manager Roman nodded hesitantly, but after a while, he couldn't help but ask again, "But, but why is that...?"
Ms. Tagyan said irritably, "Damn it, stop asking, I already have a headache! Good heavens, I can't believe what I just saw, I need to go get a cup of hot tea with honey..."
In the short time that the two had left, Mikhail had already taken off his shirt and was bending down to take off his pants.
He Changyi stopped him from doing it.
“Mr. Mikhail, what are you thinking? This is not Sha'e's prison, nor is it your military camp. Or do you think I am a pervert who likes to use punishment as a means of control? Or is this the only way you can prove your loyalty?”
She smiled with distress, but there was no smile in her eyes.
In the office during winter, the temperature wasn't very high; even wearing a sweater, you could feel a slight chill. Mikhail's exposed skin quickly broke out in small bumps.
He seemed completely oblivious, instead flashing a lighthearted smile that was no different from his usual demeanor.
“I’m sorry to make you think that way, but I really can’t find a better way to make you happy. After all, I promised to be loyal to you, and I haven’t been able to do so… You don’t need to worry, this is not a punishment, I prefer to call it ‘discipline training’.”
He Changyi's hand brushed over the gun on the table, then over the metal belt beside it.
"Was this how your former boss trained you?"
Mikhail said casually, "No, it's much more serious than that. I've been far more likely to die at the hands of my own people than at the hands of the enemy. So you can rest assured that my tolerance level is higher than you think."
He Changyi exclaimed in admiration, "You are truly a competent Cheka."
Mikhail knelt on one knee, obediently lowering his head and presenting his pale, scarred back to her.
"please--"
He was even laughing as he spoke.
However, those delicate, white hands were removed from the table.
"I don't need so-called disciplinary training to vent my anger."
He Changyi stood up and looked down at Mikhail.
"You don't need to try to gain my sympathy."
She bent down, her cool fingers gently gliding across his back, seemingly imperceptible, yet instantly making his muscles tense.
Then, He Changyi straightened up, walked to the office door, grasped the doorknob, and said with his back to Mikhail:
"Go and prove your loyalty."
Before she finished speaking, she opened the door and left without hesitation.
The sound of the door closing wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap.
Mikhail remained in the same position for a long time without moving, until the next person clumsily pushed open the door.
"Ah! I'm so sorry... I, I, I didn't see anything... I'm leaving now, no, right away—! No, wait, I, I can't leave, please allow me, please let me... I need to get a document..."
Mikhail stood up expressionlessly, grabbed his clothes, and dressed at a speed so fast it was almost invisible.
He slowly buckled his belt around his waist, then tucked his pistol into his back pocket, glancing at the trembling little mouse beside him.
"Besides numbers, don't you have any other talents?"
Without waiting for a reply, Mikhail scoffed, pushed open the door, and strode away.
Facing the shaky door, Manager Roman squeezed out a somewhat aggrieved remark: "Actually, I'm quite good at driving..."
The aftershocks of the kidnapping lasted for a long time.
He Changyi was extremely busy. She needed to find a safe new house, give all the bodyguards a large bonus, deal with the endless stream of visitors, and handle the mountain of gifts.
—God knows how anyone could stuff diamonds into a sealed caviar jar.
After things finally came to an end, Alexei came to say goodbye.
"I'm leaving."
He Changyi asked instinctively, "Are you planning to continue hiding in your dark, filthy cellar?"
During his escape, to avoid being captured by the police, the wounded Alexei fled to Siberia and hid in an abandoned cellar, where he survived the worst of his injuries by eating sprouted potatoes and wintering field mice.
Alexei scoffed, “Yes, I miss the warmth of the cellar, at least there I don’t have to study the art of language.”
Before He Changyi could refute, he said seriously, "I can't live as a fugitive forever; that's not a good thing for you."
He Changyi scoffed, "What's so strange about that? Do you think I'd be afraid of the police arresting me for harboring a fugitive?"
Alexei smirked. "Of course you won't. Ha, police, you can even have friendly conversations with them, just like any newspaper claims, ha, friendly and upright police, the nation's rising stars..."
He Changyi squinted at him thoughtfully, but Alexei abruptly changed the subject.
"In short, I've already figured out a way to deal with the arrest warrant, so you don't need to worry."
He Changyi said, "I wasn't worried at all. In fact, I've already found a way to get you off the hook. Whether it's changing your identity or spending money to have the warrant removed, it's not a problem. It's just a matter of how long it takes. I'm working on it."
She complained unhappily, "You're just making things difficult for me! God knows how much effort I put into knocking on those doors!"
Alexei suddenly stepped forward and hugged He Changyi.
The words she was about to say caught in her throat, and she raised her hand in confusion to pat Alexei.
"...You didn't cry from being so touched, did you?"
She even tried to reach back and touch his face to see if there were really tears.
"But I didn't bring a handkerchief today. You won't mind using toilet paper to wipe your tears, will you?"
Alexei released his grip, looking as if he had choked.
He Changyi looked closely and said disappointedly, "Why didn't she cry..."
Alexei asked with a forced smile, "Would you like me to put in some eye drops to fulfill your wish?"
He Changyi actually considered it for a moment, and then said regretfully, "Forget it, crying with eye drops doesn't look good, it's too fake. I still prefer to see you cry in person."
She looked up at Alexei expectantly: "Do you have any movies or novels that will make you cry?"
Alexei's smile vanished, and he said coldly, "Goodbye!"
He turned and left, looking as if he wished he could sprout wings and escape this demonic territory immediately.
"Hello."
He Changyi's voice came from behind him, and Alexei turned around to look.
She crossed her arms and gestured with her chin towards him.
"If things don't work out here, you're always welcome to come back."
Alexei's expression began to warm up, and his gaze toward He Changyi was even warm.
Then I heard her say sincerely, "Don't hide in the cellar and eat dead rats anymore. I really don't want to contact doctors for plague prevention again."
Alexei: ...
So what exactly was he moved by just now?!
The next person to say goodbye is Xie Xun.
He had been stuck in Vladimir for too long, but business in Eastern Europe couldn't always be managed remotely. In an era lacking long-term communication, a boss who was absent for a long time was tantamount to losing power, control, and competence.
"I'm sorry, I can't stay with you any longer."
Xie Xun said apologetically, "I'll come back as soon as I've dealt with things over there."
He Changyi raised her hand and straightened his coat collar.
Don't worry about me.
She said lightly, "Do I look so weak that I can't do without someone's help?"
Xie Xun looked down at her intently, then chuckled and said, "No, of course you're not."
His eyes were so soft, they reminded one of spring water, silk, and feathers.
"You are the strongest and most powerful person I have ever met."
He Changyi withdrew his hand, took a step back, and examined it with satisfaction.
"Then go back without worry. Of course I can handle all the problems."
Xie Xun simply shook his head, looked at her, and didn't say anything.
It's strange. She's always been tough, unstoppable, but he can't feel at ease because of that. Instead, he's becoming more and more worried.
When they first met on the train, he was amazed by the young woman's fierce and outspoken nature, and sincerely believed that she would definitely do well in the chaotic country of Emei.
However, the longer he knew her, the more he felt she needed protection.
This was simply against common sense. Xie Xun himself found it absurd when he thought about it, but he still instinctively wanted to protect her.
It's so incredible, yet it really exists.
Anyone would think that he was the weaker party and more in need of protection between the two.
The weak want to stand in front of the strong; it's a complete reversal of the natural order.
Xie Xun could only say, "Take care of yourself."
He Changyi nodded indifferently, unaware of his complicated feelings, and instead brought up another topic.
Want to get rich?
Xie Xun's originally sentimental mind instantly calmed down.
He Changyi seemed unaware of the uproar she was about to stir up. Her tone was as calm as if she were sharing a discounted cabbage she had found at the market.
“I’ve thought about it carefully. If you just put the million dollars you brought in into the bank to earn interest, it would be a huge loss. Don’t say it was your own choice. People will fight for a job that could cost them their lives, but nobody will do a losing business. That’s an old saying.”
She stopped Xie Xun from saying what he was about to say, so he could only helplessly shut up and listen to what she had to say next.
“I bought several factories here. Although it was troublesome to buy them and to set them up, the return on investment was quite considerable. The difference between the purchase price and the selling price could be a hundred times, regardless of the upper limit.”
A hundred times?!
Xie Xun was stunned by the data. Even if he was doing some speculative business of buying low and selling high in Eastern Europe, the profit margin was only a few hundred percent at its highest. After that, he still had to go through two rounds of scrutiny by customs and tax authorities, plus the expenses of bribing local relationships, which further reduced the profit he received.
He Changyi spoke of it as if it were something perfectly natural.
“You helped me so much, I can’t be an ingrate and take advantage of you—that million dollars is all you have left.”
She said with a hint of reproach, "Xie Xun, why don't you leave yourself any way out?"
Xie Xun said in a hoarse voice, "I still have working capital in the account, I can still make a profit."
He Changyi asked him with a smile, "Then I'll let you earn even more, okay?"
He gazed at the woman before him in silence for a long time.
The winter sun was pale and weak, and it had almost no effect when it shone down, but he inexplicably saw a dazzling halo on her.
"good."
Xie Xun cleared his throat and said, "Okay, you decide."
He Changyi smiled at him and said with conviction, "A drop of kindness deserves a spring of gratitude in return."
—Great! This time she finally doesn't have to explain why she has to repay a whole spring for borrowing a drop of water. This really isn't usury!
Xie Xun simply smiled and nodded, looking like a fox whose fur had been stroked and lazily turned over, revealing its furry belly.
"I trust you."
He will always choose to believe her.
After seeing off the two male guests, He Changyi cracked her knuckles.
Alright, the thousand-day anti-theft phase is over, now it's her turn to be a thief for a thousand days.
A week after the kidnapping, a number of strange cases occurred in Vladimir.
Several government officials had their homes burglarized, but when police intervened, the victims insisted that nothing was missing from their homes.
"But your wife reported the theft as $300,000, along with gold and jewels equivalent to ten million rubles..."
The police officer was interrupted by the agitated victim before he could finish speaking.
"No! This is slander, pure slander! Everyone can testify to my incorruptibility; there could never be any dollars, gold, or jewels in my home!"
The police officer said suspiciously, "But this is what your wife said herself in the emergency call..."
The victim shouted, "No! That wasn't my wife making the call at all! Someone must be impersonating her! They're framing me! I'm innocent!"
The police had to first calm the victim down: "Okay, okay, let's assume what you're saying is true, but your house was indeed burgled, isn't that a fact?"
The victim's face flushed red and then turned pale. After a long while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth: "No, there was no theft, it's all a misunderstanding."
police:?
After the police, whose faces were filled with disbelief, left, a fierce conflict erupted within the victim's family.
"Why did you drive the police away? What about our money? Are you just going to stand by and watch thieves steal my gold and jewelry?!"
"You stupid woman! Do you think the police would know about those things?! Do you want to send me to jail?!"
The victim's wife slumped onto the sofa, covering her face with her hands, and choked out, "But that was all our family's wealth..."
The victim stood there, pacing back and forth in the house like a trapped animal, and finally said through gritted teeth, "It's okay, I'll get back even more gold and dollars than this."
The next day, when the victim went to work, he heard his colleagues whispering in the office.
"Have you heard? A certain minister's house was burgled, and the thief scattered rubles all over the building..."
"I never imagined he was so rich! He lived in the oldest Khrushchev-era building, wore patched clothes, took the tram to work every day, and yet he had the Tsar's treasure hidden in his house... Seriously, why isn't the prosecutor investigating him?"
"The prosecutor can't afford to worry about a mere minister; he's already swamped with work. The mayor's and deputy mayor's overseas bank accounts have been exposed, and there are over ten million US dollars in those accounts!"
The people in the office gasped in surprise, and then a more heated discussion ensued.
The victim sat alone behind the desk, engrossed in looking at the documents, but after a long time, he still hadn't turned to the second page.
The entire police force of Vladimir was mobilized, with officers in gray uniforms visible on every street, as they searched the city for the audacious thief.
Even if he manages to escape through the sewers, can he really take away all those huge sums of dollars, gold, and jewelry?
A detached manor on the outskirts of the city has several rusty tanks parked at the entrance, their cannons pointing in different directions. Theoretically, they should just be decorations, but they inexplicably give people a strong sense of intimidation.
"This is indeed a pleasant surprise."
A pair of slender, white hands opened, and dazzling gemstones fell from between their fingers, making a clear, melodious sound.
Next to the jewel box were stacks of gold bars and US dollars, piled up in a simple and unpretentious manner, like bricks.
He Changyi looked at Mikhail with a half-smile.
"The way you expressed your loyalty really surprised me."
Mikhail dramatically removed his hat and bowed, saying cheerfully, "This is just a small gift; I hope it will make you happy enough."
He Changyi nodded and said, "I am indeed happy. These little things can make up for my loss. However, it's not enough."
She raised her chin, lowered her eyelids, and looked down at the sweet and enthusiastic KGB officer in front of her.
Do you have any even more surprising gifts?
Mikhail said cheerfully, "Of course, Your Majesty, I have prepared a good show for you."
It was indeed a good show.
When government officials in Vladimir were embroiled in corruption rumors, all the newspapers were giving it a scathing report, with news every day about huge sums of unexplained wealth being found in the homes of certain officials, and the local prosecutor's office was nearly paralyzed.
Prosecutors face immense pressure from superiors and colleagues, forcing them to make difficult—but not so difficult—choices between their future and their duties.
However, this time they did not have the decision-making power.
Mosk's investigation team has arrived.
On their very first day in Vladimir, the investigation team received a major surprise: an anonymous source presented them with a complete and detailed report on how officials at all levels had profited from the privatization of state-owned enterprises. Everyone, from the mayor to the clerk, received a copy.
But that's not all.
As news of official corruption reached its peak, workers from internal combustion engine and motorcycle factories, which had been carelessly abandoned like garbage, took to the streets.
"The people's factory, not the bureaucrats' factory!"
"They betrayed us!"
"We want work! We want food and heating!"
Workers holding up banners gathered in front of the city government building, and reporters, like piranhas smelling blood, rushed in with their cameras.
The police stood awkwardly on the periphery of the crowd, waved their batons a couple of times in a perfunctory manner, and then helplessly told their superiors that this was beyond their capabilities.
Officials in Vladimir are going crazy!
Everyone knows that Mosk's investigation team is there about the privatization of state-owned enterprises. Just as they were trying to cover up the facts and win over the investigation team, this protest broke out.
This was like a resounding slap in the face to every participant!
The investigation team, which had initially started to gravitate towards money and power, immediately changed its tune, refusing to even accept the gold bars.
In a short period of time, the bureaucrats of Vladimir not only lost their wealth, but also their more important power. It was like lying face up under the guillotine, watching the blade slowly slide down, with no chance of escape.
Damn it, who is pulling the strings behind all this?!
Are you satisfied with this?
Mikhail winked at He Changyi cheerfully, like a lively little hyena.
“Actually, I have other ways to make those guys suffer even more, but you forbid me from harming their families—”
He shook his head regretfully. "You are far too kind. Even the Tsar's daughter died in the basement."
He Changyi said bluntly, "Yes, you chose to secretly execute the Tsar's entire family, and then seventy years later the royalists rose from the ashes, and the descendants of the serfs wept for the Tsar with genuine emotion—history always repeats itself, doesn't it?"
Mikhail: ...
Mikhail said with difficulty, "Okay, I will do as you say."
"Good boy."
He Changyi patted him on the shoulder as a reward.
"You have indeed proven your loyalty."
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