Chapter 349: Troubles
Xiao Peng never doubted that Ivan's words "seeking death" were meant to scare people.
There are two countries in the world that are most proficient in "assassinations": one is the former Soviet Union, including the current Russia, and the other is Israel. Russia ranks first in the number of assassinations.
According to statistics, from 1945 to 2013, the former Soviet Union, including what is now Russia, carried out a total of 758 assassinations. They had a famous "anti-traitor squad" dedicated to hunting down defectors. There's a local saying: "Mother Russia has very long nails." This means that even if you flee to the ends of the earth, you won't end up well.
There are even cases of former Soviet defectors being killed by Russia's "anti-espionage squads." They are truly "a gentleman's revenge is never too late."
However, there are some differences between the two countries. Although the former has carried out many assassinations, most of them are assassinations of its own politicians, journalists or traitors, while Israel assassinates people from other countries.
No one has more experience in assassinations than the Russians. They have centuries of experience in political assassinations.
Tsars like Peter III, Paul I, and Nicholas II all died in assassinations during palace power struggles. Stalin did the same thing. Trotsky, a leading figure in the Soviet revolution, was assassinated by Ramon Mercader, who was dispatched by Stalin. The assassin spent twenty years in prison in Mexico before being awarded the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union" and enjoying a major-general's pension in Moscow.
Anyway, after Ivan said the word "seeking death", Xiao Peng made the sign of the cross at Lomachenko.
"Xiao, who is bringing trouble to us Russia?" As soon as Ivan said this, Xiao Peng observed a moment of silence for Lomachenko. This put a big hat on Lomachenko's head.
'Bringing disgrace to Russia'! Listen, it has risen to the level of a country!
Xiao Peng wasn't shy: "His name is Vladimir Lomachenko. I don't know what he does specifically, but he runs the Grand Hotel Ukraine and runs a casino."
Most of the major five-star hotels in Kiev have casinos, and four-star hotels in other cities can also open casinos. These are all legal.
'When you are in trouble, you must think of change.'
As the poorest country in Europe, Ukraine's new president is also a man with ideas. Recently, their parliament passed a bill to build Ukraine into the "Las Vegas of Europe."
Their idea...is generally understandable.
After all, it's already this bad, how much worse can it get?
Ukraine has many beautiful places to attract tourists, and with the addition of casinos, there will be a better reason to attract tourists, which may be a good stimulus for economic development.
But there is also a problem here: Las Vegas is just a city in the United States, but you want to turn a country into a gambling city. Imagine: people are gambling collectively without doing anything productive. If it really comes to that, the country will be ruined.
This is similar to the legalization of drugs in some US states and parts of Europe: if you can't control it, then don't control it. It may stimulate the economy in the short term, but in the long run it's undoubtedly a poison that won't quench thirst.
Thanks to the education he received in China over the years, gambling and drugs are both terrible and unacceptable in his eyes.
After hearing what Xiao Peng said, Ivan on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment: "Are you talking about Vladimir Lomachenko?"
Xiao Peng came back to his senses: "Do you know him?"
Ivan took a deep breath and said, "Xiao, can you let Lomachenko answer the phone?"
Xiao Peng looked at Lomachenko, who was in his arms, and said, "Ivan, it seems he's not in a position to answer the phone."
Isn't it inconvenient to answer the phone? Lomachenko held Xiao Peng's wrists tightly with both hands. On the one hand, he was afraid that he would fall down, and on the other hand, he was almost suffocated by his collar.
Ivan was silent for a moment and said, "Is he still alive?"
"Of course I'm still alive!" Xiao Peng protested, "Ivan, who am I in your eyes? I'm just an ordinary person. How can you kill people at will?"
Ivan blinked. Turkey had hired a bunch of marine exploration companies for this Black Sea salvage operation, while Russia was using its own fleet to search. Yours was the only foreign-hired marine exploration company! Don't you understand why this is happening?
Do you still have the nerve to say that you are an ordinary person?
He coughed twice and said, "Xiao, what happened? Can you tell me?"
Xiao Peng said calmly, "Nothing serious. Someone just held me at gunpoint and demanded 51% of my company's shares!"
Ivan took a deep breath: "Xiao, can you turn on the hands-free?"
Xiao Peng said 'Oh' and turned on the hands-free mode: "Okay!"
As a result, Ivan's roaring voice came from the phone. The Russian he spoke was fast and urgent, and Xiao Peng couldn't understand it, but he always felt that Lomachenko's face became extremely ugly.
This must be an illusion, his face was not looking good to begin with...
After a roar on the phone, Ivan calmed down and said, "Xiao, do you believe me?"
Xiao Peng had already understood that this Lomachenko must have some connection to Ivan. This wasn't surprising. Although anti-Russian sentiment was strong in Ukraine, that was at the grassroots level. The top brass was still engaged in a power struggle. Pro-Russian, pro-American, pro-European factions—whoever emerged victorious would be steered by the state.
Again, "Hanxi democracy" is just a fig leaf for Western politicians.
However, Xiao Peng shook his head: "Ivan, I came to the Black Sea because I trusted you. Now I have paid the price for my trust in you. Not only me, but all my friends are in danger. I didn't expect that a trip to Kiev would turn out like this. Wait, I have a phone call! I don't want to talk to you for now!"
Xiao Peng hung up the phone and picked up the satellite phone. This time, the person who called was Chen Cheng.
He thought Chen Cheng was telling him good news, but unexpectedly, he received bad news: "Boss, come back soon."
Xiao Peng's first reaction was: "What happened to Pascal? Has he been set up again?"
Chen Cheng coughed dryly. "That's not the case. Our ship has been blocked by several ocean exploration companies. The lead company is called 'Decisive Mediterranean Victory' and their ship is called the 'Super Clover'. Pascal is negotiating with them."
Xiao Peng was stunned when he heard this. 'Decisive Mediterranean'? Isn't this the ocean exploration company run by Alan and Richard Bernard? It was from them that Xiao Peng had snatched Mata Hari's treasure.
Shit, they stole Moreau’s findings too!
Are they coming to Ukraine too? Has the original "Deep Sea Clover" become the "Super Clover"? Is this a complete overhaul?
Do you dare to cause trouble for me?
At this moment, a scream interrupted Xiao Peng's thoughts.
"Oujia?"
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