Chapter 120 Trust and Alliance (Revised)
The Volga's heater is incredibly powerful; in a quiet environment, you can even clearly hear the sound coming from the air vents.
Compared to the freezing cold outside, the car should theoretically be warm and cozy, but the atmosphere between the two passengers was anything but warm.
"Andrei, what are you worried about?"
He Changyi asked doubtfully, "My Zhong Guo identity? But I can assure you that I am not interested in your political games, nor do I intend to interfere in the political situation. In any case, I will only stand on your side, whether it is with votes or money, I will do my best to support you."
She declared confidently, "We will be one."
Andrei looked at He Changyi with annoyance.
...She had no idea what she was saying!
"No."
After a long silence, Andrei finally spoke.
"This has nothing to do with money, and even less to do with votes."
He Changyi frowned and asked him, "Then what do you want? Don't tell me that after we've known each other for so long, you still suspect I'm a spy sent by Zhong Guo to carry out economic colonization and strategic infiltration of your country?"
Andrei: "...I never thought of it that way."
He Changyi softened his tone, but his brows remained furrowed.
"So what are you thinking?"
She shook her head and said with some complaint, "Many times, I don't know what you really want."
Andrei looked up and saw that the blue color was burning.
"I……"
He Changyi suddenly interrupted him in an extremely cruel way.
"Don't say it."
She said in a calm, almost detached tone, "Love is unreliable, untrustworthy, and fleeting, like the summer in Mosk, followed by a long, painful winter."
Andrei was forced to remain silent, but his eyes said it all.
"Only profit, only profit, can keep everything looking new forever, just like an air conditioner, keeping the room temperature at the most comfortable level."
He Changyi said softly, "Andreusa, do you want to be my lover for a short time, or my ally for life?"
She even extended a hand to him, her skin fair and slender, with faint traces of blood visible in the lines.
Andrei lowered his eyes and stared intently at her hand.
His face was hidden in the shadows, making it impossible to see his expression; only his blond hair reflected a hazy glow in the dim light.
Why are you telling me all this?
Andrei's voice was somewhat hoarse and unfamiliar.
"Because you have already made your choice? Is it the man from Zhongguo just now, or that wanted criminal, or perhaps you have chosen someone other than us—Your Majesty?"
Andrei slowly raised his head, and he was actually smiling.
"Passionate, ruthless, cruel, soft-hearted... Your Majesty."
He no longer looked like the junior policeman in front of the train station, nor the senior police officer who visited late at night.
A colder, more persistent, yet also softer and more vulnerable side of him emerges from his depths.
Whom do you truly love?
The atmosphere inside the car had dropped to freezing point.
"No, I don't love anyone."
He Changyi said with a hint of apology, "I can't give any answers right now; I can't lie."
Andrei was taken aback.
He Changyi raised her hand to stroke his face and said gently, "You are very good. I liked you from the first moment I saw you, that's true. But you are too good, and I can't reciprocate your feelings in the same way, that's not fair."
Andrei grabbed her hand and said fiercely, "I don't need fairness!"
He Changyi said, "No, I need it."
Her speech quickened: "I can't deceive myself and pretend that everything is as it should be. It's not enjoyable for me; it's torture. I don't want to be sleepless every night from now on. I should be able to sleep peacefully, not with guilt towards others and myself!"
No one spoke again, and the car fell into a deathly silence.
He Changyi took a deep breath, withdrew her hand, and turned to pull the car door handle.
"Perhaps today is not a good time to talk."
Behind He Changyi, Andrei suddenly leaned over and closed the half-open car door again.
The car door closed with a soft, not too loud, sound, but the cold air from outside still managed to sneak in during that brief moment, instantly cooling the previously hot and even slightly chilly interior.
"No need for 30% equity."
Andrei's tone sounded completely calm now.
“I only need you to do one thing—treat the factories you are about to acquire the same way you treat the factories you have already acquired.”
He Changyi paused, then turned to look at him.
Andrei looked at her with remarkable calm.
"My only requirement is to restore the factories to normal operation, to restore the workers to normal life, to ensure that no one goes hungry and no one waits for the sun in unheated houses."
"This is something they can't do; please do it."
He Changyi said, moved, "Andeliusha..."
Andrei stopped looking at her and instead looked out the window at the empty street.
“I need you to know that I am not helping you because of personal feelings.”
He Changyi sighed and said, "Andrei, you've made me feel utterly ashamed."
She sincerely suggested, "Why don't you take some money? Otherwise, I'm not feeling very comfortable relying on this backer."
Andrei: ...
Andrei turned to look at her speechlessly, and the previously oppressive atmosphere that was about to explode vanished.
"Even if you don't need money and votes, doesn't your family need them too?"
Upon hearing He Changyi's words, Andrei paused in his movement to open the car door.
He Changyi said, "I know you have always been an upright and kind person, but being upright and kind is not enough."
She reiterated, "Become my political ally, and from now on, we will support each other."
This time, Andrei's answer was finally—"Okay."
Let us be each other's shield and blade, together resisting the ever-present encroachment of darkness.
Perhaps not intimate enough, but at least trust enough.
From that moment on, I entrusted my life to him.
After the conversation, He Changyi returned to her apartment alone; she still had many things to take care of.
Inside the car, Andrei silently watched her retreating figure until she completely disappeared behind the gate.
Police officers came and went around the apartment, cordoning off the scene and collecting evidence. Even though the mastermind behind the murder was known, a flawless case still needed to be handled with due process, without any imperfections, and not overturned by anyone in court.
It was an incredibly long night, and after everything that had happened, dawn hadn't broken yet.
The streetlights were dim, their light illuminating only a small corner of the area, while most of the surrounding space was shrouded in darkness, almost as if it didn't exist.
Then, someone emerged from the darkness.
"We need to talk."
The newcomer tapped on the car window with his finger and met the gaze of Andrei behind the window.
"It's you?"
Through a thin pane of glass, Andrei's hand discreetly touched the gun pouch at his waist.
"You've finally crawled out of your mouse hole."
Andrei pronounced his name with contempt, word by word.
Alexei.
Alexei looked extremely calm, as if he were not standing in front of a senior police officer, but surrounded by police officers who could rush up and arrest him at any moment.
"Let's talk, Officer Andrei."
Andrei remained expressionless: "I have nothing to talk to the suspect. You should go talk to the judge about your sentence."
Alexei laughed. "You wouldn't want me to talk to the judge. We all know that murder was a setup. But it's also thanks to that murder; otherwise, could you have found another gang willing to cooperate with you?"
Andrei didn't speak, stared at him for a while, and then said softly:
"So, what can you do for me?"
Alexei had already calmly opened the car door and gotten in.
“There’s a lot I can do, whether it’s providing information on the composition of gang members, human trafficking networks, the power distribution in the Motor City, or lists of government officials who have been bribed… there’s bound to be something that interests you.”
With a bang, the car door slammed shut again.
Inside the car, Andrei suddenly asked, "Is this your decision, or someone else's?"
Alexei chuckled. "You're not trying to say she made me do this, are you? No, it has nothing to do with her; it was my own decision."
He lowered his eyes, and for some reason, he looked somewhat gentle.
"I can't keep hiding behind her forever."
"She needs me."
Alexei glanced at Andrei, a half-smile on his face, and said, "Forget it, you wouldn't understand. How could you possibly understand?"
Andrei remained silent, only looking at Alexei.
But Alexei inexplicably felt that Andrei was looking at him with pity.
...Are you crazy?
...Whom will the corrupt cops pity?
...If anyone should be pitied, it should be him, a poor wretch who was not chosen.
The atmosphere was so strange that Alexei even felt sorry for the pretentious guy in front of him. Damn it, who would need the sympathy of a corrupt cop?
"Alright, let's talk about cooperation."
Alexei tried to reverse the strange atmosphere and said seriously, "You get rid of the wanted notice for me, and I will become your spokesperson in the Black Faction. We will be the perfect ally."
Andrei looked at him and suddenly smiled: "Perhaps it's not the most perfect."
Then, his smile vanished, and he said coldly, "Captain Alexei, I will allow you to stand on my side."
Inside the Volga, two men's fists collided, like a silent, dark vow.
As dawn broke, news of the kidnapping spread like wildfire throughout Vladimir.
"I heard gunshots!"
"I saw with my own eyes them carrying a large number of bodies out of the house; the blood even stained the ground!"
"Boss Zhong Guo must be dead. It's such a pity. She was a good person..."
“I will pray for her in church; this is truly sad news.”
The citizens whispered among themselves, spreading rumors among themselves. Eventually, the rumors became distorted, even reaching the point of an exaggerated version: "Tanks took to the streets and bombarded the small building, leaving Boss Zhong Guo's body in pieces."
Therefore, when He Changyi appeared at Friendship Store, all the staff were excited!
"My God, you're still alive!"
Yelena was the first to pounce, but the black dog was a step ahead of her, grabbing He Changyi's waist and standing up, its passionate tongue aimed at her face.
He Changyi forcefully tore the black dog off himself, and while fighting with the dog, he asked with concern:
"I'm fine. Have your family's problems been resolved as well?"
Yelena anxiously checked He Changyi for any wounds, while simultaneously helping to pull the black dog's collar backward.
"I'm so glad you're alright! My family's problem is solved, and Black Dog helped us a lot..."
Yelena and her daughter rented a small room in an old residential building nearby. Although the room was small, only about 30 square meters, and the kitchen and toilet were shared, the living conditions were several levels better than when they temporarily lived in the building's bathroom.
However, since the building is over thirty years old, Yelena and her daughter's neighbors are either elderly retirees or unemployed young people, making the security situation quite bad.
A neighbor kept several vicious dogs, ostensibly for security, but for some reason, the thieves ended up causing considerable harm to the neighbors.
Yelena's youngest daughter, being a human cub, was constantly targeted by vicious dogs that were never full. Every time they saw her, the dogs would try to pounce and bite her, scaring the little girl so much that she dared not go home alone and could only linger downstairs, waiting for Yelena to come home from get off work.
Yelena negotiated with the dog owner several times, but he was a drunkard who had cured himself with diluted vodka and could only repeat himself over and over:
"My dog would never bite!"
"I keep dogs to bite people, but they're good kids, they only bite thieves and robbers! Oh, and Ye Mouqin too!"
Yelena said angrily, "Your dog almost bit my daughter!"
The dog owner waved his hand dismissively: "Impossible! It must be because your daughter is dressed like a sausage!"
Seeing that she couldn't reason with the drunkard, and with the vicious dogs becoming increasingly rampant, even threatening to ambush and surround her daughter in a hunting scenario, daring to rush out and attack her right in front of Yelena.
Yelena was furious and borrowed a fully loaded pistol from He Changyi, as well as a black dog.
"If those dogs don't understand human language, it's best if they understand dog language."
Yelena turned the safety on and off the pistol.
"Otherwise, I can only pray that they are not allergic to metals."
The black dog went to Yelena's house on a business trip as a coordinator. Now it is an adult, taller than most adults when it stands up, and its set of white, sharp teeth is enough to make people shudder.
Because He Changyi often took the black dog to the store, the black dog was familiar with Yelena and her daughter, and did not mind being led by Yelena's daughter.
When the two people and their dog entered the residential building, the vicious dogs rushed out as usual after hearing Yelena's daughter's voice. However, before they could even rush up and tear at them, a black tank rumbled and crashed into them!
The black dog wasn't particularly fast, but its size made it act like a small, overloaded truck when it charged, sending gusts of wind through the pack of dogs!
The fastest dog was knocked away by it, then bit the back of its neck and swung it around a few times, howling in pain. When it finally broke free, it ran away in a corner, trembling with fear.
The black dog bit any dog it saw, one bite at a time. In no time, it had dealt with all the vicious dogs. Even the biggest and fiercest one was no match for it.
In less than a minute, the pack of dogs that had been charging at Yelena and her daughter all fled, with only occasional mournful howls echoing in the stairwell.
The black dog swaggered back, wagging its tail arrogantly. Yelena's daughter exclaimed in delight, "Mom, it won!"
Only then did Yelena pull her right hand out of her pocket; her palm was sweaty, as was the gun handle.
"Yes, it won."
At that moment, a drunkard's roar suddenly came from the stairwell.
"Damn bitches, what have you all done to my dog?!"
The drunkard stormed down the stairs, yelling at Yelena and her daughter, "How dare you hurt my dog! You'll pay for this!"
However, before he could see clearly, a tremendous force struck his chest, and the drunkard fell backward with a thud, crashing heavily to the ground, unable to speak from the pain. When his eyes refocused, he saw that what had stepped on his chest was a huge Caucasian Shepherd Dog, as large as a tiger.
The black dog bared its teeth dangerously, letting out a threatening growl from its throat.
"Ah! Help, help—! It's going to eat me! Help!"
The drunkard was so frightened that he dared not move, and his screams for help attracted everyone in the building.
An old woman wrapped in a scarf peeked in and said disdainfully, "Great, now you finally know what it's like to be intimidated by a dog. Good dog, well done!"
Another old man wearing an earflap cap said, "This dog is much better than yours. By comparison, it's like an elegant gentleman. Look, it didn't even really bite you!"
The young man, perched on the railing, grinned and said, "Hey, what are you yelling about? This is your favorite dog! Don't forget, your catchphrase is 'A dog is man's best friend.' Say hello to your new friend!"
Yelena pulled her daughter past the drunk man, letting the black dog trample on him.
The drunkard screamed, "Don't go, don't go, save me! Take your dog with you!"
Yelena's daughter glanced back and asked uncertainly, "Mom, don't we need to save him?"
Yelena said gently, "No, my little angel, let him stay with his beloved dog. I believe he will enjoy it."
The black dog sat on the drunkard, baring its teeth menacingly whenever he tried to sit up, scaring the drunkard into not daring to move.
The hallway was poorly heated, and he was shivering from the cold, with snot and tears streaming down his face.
The black dog stretched comfortably.
—This human cushion is really nice.
He Changyi sent the black dog to Yelena's house on a business trip, and by a twist of fate, it escaped last night's attack. Fortunately, it wasn't in the apartment, otherwise it would have been injured or even killed.
The black dog was overjoyed to its owner, whom it hadn't seen for several days. He Changyi rubbed its big head and praised, "Good dog!"
What a great dog! Not only is it capable, but it's also very lucky.
He Changyi told Yelena that Geng Zhi was injured in last night's attack and needed to rest for a while, so she was entrusted with the affairs of the Friendship Store.
Yelena nodded solemnly and said, "Please rest assured, I will make sure the store is just as good as before, and there won't be any problems."
He Changyi patted Yelena on the shoulder: "I believe in you."
After finishing up at the store, He Changyi went to the Far Eastern Development Bank next door.
In the lobby, depositors conducting business openly or covertly glanced at the mysterious Zhong Guo boss, both shocked and curious.
"...Isn't she already dead?"
"My God, does Zhong Guoren possess the art of resurrection?"
"I once heard a saying in Zhongguo that the number of tails a person has corresponds to the number of lives they have, and each death results in the loss of one tail, so..."
Everyone in the hall looked behind He Changyi, trying to count how many tails this immortal boss had.
Manager Roman rushed out of the office and slammed on the brakes in front of He Changyi, nearly falling to the ground.
"You, you, you...you're so, so kind, you..."
He Changyi kindly said, "Come on, speak slowly, don't rush, catch your breath before you speak."
Manager Roman took a deep breath and finally managed to get the rest of his sentence out.
"You're not dead!"
He Changyi: ...
That's as if she dies all the time.
Ms. Tagyanna, who had rushed over, patted Manager Roman heavily on the shoulder and shoved him aside—young people are indeed strong; she had been running alongside him the whole time but hadn't been able to catch up.
"Boss, it's so good to see you here unharmed."
Ms. Tagyan said humorously, "I'm even already studying bankruptcy liquidation and transnational inheritance issues."
He Changyi was shocked and hurriedly said, "That's really dangerous! You know, my legal heirs aren't the people I really want to leave my inheritance to. If I really die, even just for the sake of inheritance, I'll have to come back from hell and write a will on the spot!"
Ms. Tajiyana: ? ? ?
Well, it sounds like Ms. He really doesn't want her inheritance to be taken by her legal heirs.
After some pleasantries, the group was finally able to sit in the office, drinking tea and discussing business.
"Recently, total deposits have been steadily recovering, and banks have begun to resume normal business operations."
Ms. Tajiyana, holding the report, said, "After receiving a million-dollar injection, the factory and stores' cash flow has been basically restored, and employee wages and supplier payments have been made on time."
Manager Roman said in a low voice, "I...I also applied to use a portion of US dollars...in the foreign exchange market..."
He Changyi nodded encouragingly: "Trading foreign exchange, right? The exchange rate has been fluctuating a lot recently, so you really shouldn't miss this opportunity."
Just as several people were talking in the office, the door suddenly opened, and someone rushed in without knocking.
"Miss He!"
The person who arrived was panting, with messy hair and clothes, clearly having just gotten out of bed and rushed over.
He Changyi looked the newcomer up and down and said slowly, "Isn't this our respected Mr. Mikhail?"
She asked with a forced smile, "What are you doing here? Are you here to witness the announcement of my will?"
Mikhail's face flushed red and then turned pale; the usually eloquent man was now speechless.
He Changyi said considerately, "Don't worry, I haven't drafted my will yet, but your name will definitely be on it—"
She drawled, “Mr. Mikhail, a loyal soldier of the Red Empire, never forgot to eliminate capitalists for the country, no matter when or where, even if it wasn’t through his own hands. Yes, not a single drop of innocent blood was stained on his hands.”
"Do you think these words meet your expectations, my respected former Cheka KGB Mikhail?"
He Changyi added the last sentence with a half-smile:
"And my negligent subordinates."
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