50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 865 Moscow, 1987
Just as the Baltic Sea was in turmoil, Sun Zhiwei, under a new identity, boarded a plane in Copenhagen and flew to Moscow.

Moscow in 87 was noticeably different from what it had been a few years earlier. When he transited through the city recently, he didn't leave the airport, so the difference wasn't immediately apparent.

His destination was Gorky, 400 kilometers away. Flights were scarce, and the next flight was in three days, giving him time to spend a few days in Moscow.

Bored, Sun Zhiwei didn't want to stay at the airport any longer, which had cost him thousands of dollars. After buying a ticket for a regional flight, he left the airport and headed towards the city center.

There are several hotels catering to foreigners in the city center. One advantage of staying in a foreign-related hotel is that you won't be harassed by ordinary police officers.

Of all the hotels catering to foreigners, the best one is the diplomatic designated hotel: the Hotel Ukraine. He currently holds Danish credentials, making it the perfect place for him to stay.

The Hotel Ukraine opened in 1957. Standing at 198 meters tall, it was the tallest hotel in the world at the time, with 34 floors and 1026 rooms.

This is a rather luxurious and well-regarded hotel, with even a fountain on the second floor. The hotel building is equipped with facilities such as a post office, telegraph office, bank, shops, and theater.

Designated by the Moscow Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this hotel also serves as a state guesthouse, and many foreign dignitaries have stayed here over the years.

Of course, with so many rooms, it's impossible to use them all for VIPs. Apart from a few floors reserved for VIPs, the other floors are also open to the public.

The environment here is luxurious and enjoyable enough that many high-ranking Moscow officials have long had their own private rooms in the Ukrainian hotel.

Relations between Denmark and Moscow have remained relatively stable in recent years, and trade and economic exchanges have continued. Overall, Danish documents do not attract much attention.

Sun Zhiwei's identification documents belonged to a Danish businessman, and his residence here was inconspicuous.

After settling into his hotel room, Sun Zhiwei took his identification and prepared to go for a stroll. His first stop was Lubyanka Square, which he hadn't visited in a long time.

Last time, in the KGB files, he saw a document that said there was a medicine warehouse in the KGB headquarters building at 11 Lubyanka Square, which contained various medicines used by KGB agents.

The history of this warehouse dates back to the October Revolution period, and it initially belonged to the Security Bureau laboratory.

However, at that time the Security Service mainly operated internally, and there were very few opportunities to use these poisons. Later, the laboratory was transferred to the KGB and located in the basement of the KGB headquarters building.

Subsequently, it shone brightly under the KGB, achieving numerous remarkable feats.

The most famous of these is ricin.

Castor beans are a very common plant; you may even find them around your house. Castor bean seeds are poisonous, and they were once widely cultivated in China in the 1960s.

At that time, the main use of castor beans was to extract castor oil, which was used in the preparation of strategic materials such as industrial lubricants and aerospace lubricants.

During that period of oil shortage, castor oil was purchased in small quantities by some citizens for consumption, until its toxic side effects became known and it was strictly banned.

Ricin is a highly toxic plant protein refined from castor oil, and it is often used by KGB agents in assassination operations.

Sun Zhiwei had actually wanted to get some special agents for a long time, but he hadn't done it on purpose. Since he was going to be in Moscow for a few days, he took the opportunity to get it done.

Previously, his identity made it inappropriate for him to move around freely in Moscow, but now, with his Danish credentials, things have become much easier.

He rented a car from the hotel and started driving around the city. When he passed Red Square, he stopped the car like any other tourist and went to take pictures in the middle of Red Square. Just as he was taking pictures of the onion domes, a civilian propeller plane suddenly flew overhead and headed straight for the center of Red Square.

Upon seeing the small, distinctly European-style plane, Sun Zhiwei instinctively opened his spatial storage and scanned it, immediately shocking even himself.

It turned out to be a plane from Germany, with German signs in the cockpit and the young man piloting it wearing a Hamburger AG badge.

Could this plane have flown from Germany? That would be too outrageous. That's over a thousand kilometers away. Are the Russian radar and air force just for show?
Soon, the propeller plane landed in the center of Red Square, and the young pilot stepped out of the cockpit triumphantly.

The crowd gathered around and came up to ask him questions. They were all surprised to learn that he was from Germany, and many of the bolder residents even came over to take photos with him.

The young man was taking photos and chatting happily in Red Square when, 20 minutes later, the police, having been alerted, rushed over and arrested him.

Sun Zhiwei had already heard the young man's account; he was from Germany and had arrived here after a long flight, and no one had stopped him along the way.

Haha, this is going to be interesting. The Soviet air defense department is going to be slapped in the face.

The German civilian propeller plane was piloted by an amateur young man with less than 40 hours of flight experience.

He flew straight for over a thousand kilometers, crossing countless air defense lines along the way, and directly entered the heart of the Soviet Union, the central Red Square of Moscow.

Sun Zhiwei could roughly guess what would happen next; a large number of people responsible would definitely be brought down.

This is actually a reflection of the times, witnessing the internal chaos of the Russian bear during this period and foreshadowing its eventual downfall.

It's actually quite easy to guess how these civilian aircraft flew over.

It simply exploited a gap in the radar monitoring network, coupled with the negligence of the radar monitoring personnel.

In addition, the small plane was slow, flew low, and was a small target; these combined factors led to this result.

In short, there were technical reasons and human error involved, but ten years ago, this would never have happened.

But now it's 1987, and the situation in the Russian country is different from what it was back then; it's like the sun has set.

As for this young man, although he has caused such a big mess, he shouldn't face a severe punishment. The Russians are much more flexible in their diplomacy now than they were a few years ago.

The final result was nothing more than the same as those drunkards in Leningrad: raised high, then gently put down.

The sentence might be a bit harsh, after all, even the Russians have their pride. They can just grant a pardon once things have calmed down.

Seeing that the young man had been taken away and there was no more excitement to be seen, Sun Zhiwei put away his camera, returned to his car, and continued his journey.

In the morning, he toured around Red Square. At noon, he ate authentic Russian food at a state-run restaurant. In the afternoon, his trajectory gradually shifted northeastward.

(End of this chapter)