My Realistic Simulation Game

Chapter 209: The Power of Life and Death, No Exaggeration

The night was as dark as ink, so thick it was almost impossible to see through, completely swallowing the outline of an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Kuibyshev.

All that could be heard was the howling of the cold wind.

The wind made the tin roof rattle.

The black cloth covering Binzi's head was roughly ripped off, and the glaring light made him squint instantly.

After his eyes adjusted to the light, he looked around and his heart sank to the bottom.

Gangzi was right next to him, his hands also tied behind his back, his face bruised, his eyes filled with anger and a hint of barely perceptible fear.

What shocked him even more was that Elena, Vasily, and several senior engineers and administrators from the Kuznetsov Design Bureau were all bundled together like sardines in a can, crammed into a corner of the cold, damp warehouse.

Everyone's here!

Binzi's mind went blank for a moment, completely confused.

If everyone has been arrested, then who betrayed them?
Who is the mole? Or was this a trap set from the very beginning, designed to wipe everyone out?

The only thing that gave him some comfort was that Wang Gongquan was not among them.

This means that there might still be a glimmer of hope, that someone still knows they've had an accident.

However, what was most striking was not the disheveled prisoners, but the group of people standing at the warehouse entrance.

The leader was wearing a well-tailored dark woolen overcoat, his posture as straight as a pine tree.

His face was cold and stern, his eyes like those of a hawk ready to pounce. He ordered his men to untie Elena's ropes.

He was speaking in low, rapid Russian to the expressionless Elena.

Standing beside him were several men with similarly cold and wary expressions, clearly KGB agents.

Binzi's Russian proficiency was limited to daily communication and trade terms. The other party spoke too fast, and he could only catch a few fragmented keywords: "telephone," "China," "come over," and "immediately."

He saw a faint, almost imperceptible flicker of emotion cross Elena's numb face when she heard those words, as if she had seen a glimmer of light in her despair, but it quickly returned to its deathly stillness.

Binzi was completely confused.

What role did Elena play in this conspiracy?
Is it a sacrificed pawn, or an active participant?
However, judging from the current situation, the KGB is clearly well aware of every move of Far East trade in Kuibyshev and has already laid a tight net to monitor it.

Their actions seemed to have been exposed to the other side from the very beginning.

Almost at the same time, Qin Yuan had just finished that heavy and oppressive pre-war simulation meeting.

The tense atmosphere in the courtyard had not completely dissipated when Qin Yuan's younger brother, Qin Ming, suddenly arrived.

"Big brother, big brother, the phone! The direct-line phone we installed before is ringing!"

Old Zhang was right outside the door. He stopped Qin Ming and asked, "Little Ming, what happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Qin Ming took a deep breath and quickly said, "Uncle Zhang, it's a phone call, a call from the Soviet Union."

I heard that the call was transferred from the Soviet Union.

Old Zhang immediately knocked on the inner door, and Qin Yuan heard the noise outside.

"Xiaoming, tell me slowly, what exactly happened?"

Qin Yuan pushed open the door from inside the house and came out.

At that moment, he had a bad feeling.

He installed the home phone, and only a few people know the number.

Moreover, the phone call was relayed across borders from the Soviet Union, which proves the seriousness of the matter.

"Brother, the call is from the Soviet Union. They say... they say Sister Elena is looking for you. She sounds very urgent and wants you to answer immediately!"

Qin Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Qin Yuan.

But Qin Yuan immediately took a deep breath.

Meanwhile, Old Zhang, Pan Shiyi, Feng Lun, and others in the courtyard exchanged glances, a strong sense of foreboding rising in their hearts.

"Go, go back."

Qin Yuan immediately stood up, almost without hesitation.

Fortunately, Old Zhang's house wasn't far from where Qin Yuan got married. After walking a few steps, or in just two or three minutes, Qin Yuan took the microphone from her parents, who were worried sick.

"I am Qin Yuan." His voice remained as calm and steady as ever.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, followed by a familiar yet icy female voice.

It was Elena.

But her voice had lost its former gentleness and warmth, leaving only a formulaic, almost mechanical tone, as if she were reciting a pre-prepared announcement:

"Mr. Qin, this is Elena. I am here on orders from my superiors to deliver a message to you."

"Please come to Moscow in person as soon as possible."

"There is an urgent matter that requires our in-person consultation."

"This matter concerns not only the 'business' you are conducting in Kuibyshev, but also the future of your entire Far East trade."

"Get it done as soon as possible."

The communication abruptly ended, giving Qin Yuan no opportunity to ask questions, raise doubts, or respond.

Qin Yuan held the telephone receiver, which seemed to have suddenly become scalding hot and heavy, standing there motionless for a long time. The light from the courtyard outside the window reflected on his face, making it appear dim and unclear.

Elena's use of this identity and this tone to convey a message signifies only one thing.

The KGB has officially withdrawn!
Moreover, the other party made no attempt to hide anything and directly pointed out "Kubyshev's business"!
Binzi and the others... sure enough, something happened to them!

An unprecedented and immense sense of crisis, like a super cold wave sweeping southward from Siberia, instantly engulfed Qin Yuan, making him feel a bone-chilling cold.

Old Zhang and Feng Lun immediately surrounded them. The others dared not speak, but Old Zhang had no such scruples: "Yuanzi, what happened? What did Elena say?"

Qin Yuan slowly put down the receiver, his fingers turning slightly white from the force.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and said in a low voice, "Something big has happened in the Soviet Union. The KGB has intervened."

As soon as the words "KGB" were uttered, Old Zhang felt a wave of dizziness.

Old Zhang had weathered many storms; he knew all too well what it meant that "something had happened in the Soviet Union" and that it had alarmed the KGB.

The KGB's official name was the Security Committee, and its highest enforcer was one of the few figures at the center of power in the Soviet Union.

It possesses supreme supervisory power over the entire country, enjoys a high degree of autonomy both domestically and internationally, and can even establish its own prisons and directly try and execute prisoners without legal judgment.

It is no exaggeration to say that they have the power of life and death over others.

Qin Yuan knew even more details than Old Zhang.

In later declassified documentaries.

The Security Committee had sixteen bureaus that monitored major Soviet institutions, covering a wide range of areas from counter-espionage and anti-infiltration, protecting core defense technologies and prohibiting their export, to investigating the integrity and corruption of Soviet officials, protecting important state figures, and spying on enemy countries.

They wield immense power.

If the Security Committee and the military hadn't chosen to remain neutral, Yeltsin would never have been able to win the final victory in the collapse of the Soviet Union.

What truly terrifies the world is not the official name of the Security Council.

Instead—KGB, three words.

According to the documentaries and books Qin Yuan saw in his later life, this security committee had as many as 500,000 members, as many as 1.5 million informants distributed throughout the Soviet Union, and 200,000 spies abroad.

The annual budget allocated to this organization is over ten billion US dollars.

Once you're targeted by such a terrifying organization, there's no chance of escape.

"All our plans must be moved up immediately, and we must get there as fast as we can!"

Without hesitation, Qin Yuan issued the order.

“Wu Weiguo, Pan Shiyi, and Yi Xiaodi, the three of you will come with me. Feng Lun will stay in Yanjing with Uncle Zhang to keep an eye on things. Liu Jun, you continue with your mission. Once we have all the people, we will take the K3 train directly to Moscow.”

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the group immediately began preparations for their departure.

Old Zhang, however, did not leave.

He witnessed firsthand how the network of Far Eastern trade in the Soviet Union was gradually built up, becoming deep and intricate.

If even this can't be contained, the situation must have reached an extremely serious point.

After the others temporarily left to make emergency preparations, he pulled Qin Yuan aside, walked to the far corner of the courtyard, and asked urgently in a low voice, "Yuanzi, tell me the truth, what exactly happened?"

"Is it... about the 'rocket engine' thing?"

Qin Yuan nodded solemnly: "It's most likely this. The KGB sent me the notification directly through Elena, this 'swallow'."

"I suspect that the KGB has planted more than just Elena!"

"Binzi and Gangzi's every move in Kuibyshev was probably under their close surveillance from beginning to end!"

Old Zhang gasped.

The KGB's terror lies in its pervasiveness and its ruthlessness in sacrificing everything for its goals.

So, Elena was likely used as bait to lull them into a false sense of security, making them believe that Qin Yuan was fully aware of the KGB's movements and thus become complacent.

But in fact, the KGB took advantage of this mentality to conduct a thorough surveillance and investigation of Far East trade!
"Yuanzi, since that's the case, you absolutely cannot go to the Soviet Union!"

Old Zhang's voice was filled with unprecedented anxiety, "I know the KGB's methods better than you do. Since they've set this up, you're just walking into their trap. It's too dangerous!"

Qin Yuan shook his head firmly: "Uncle Zhang, the KGB went to great lengths to set up such a big scheme, it couldn't have been just to arrest me."

"The Soviet Union is in complete chaos right now, so why are they keeping such a close eye on a foreign businessman like me? I suspect they have a deeper purpose, perhaps they want to negotiate, or perhaps they want to exchange something."

He paused, his tone becoming serious: "Besides, what will happen to Binzi and Gangzi if I don't go to the Soviet Union?"

"What about the vast territory we built in the Soviet Union? Are we just going to abandon it all? This is the result of all our hard work and the foundation for our future development!"

This is something we absolutely cannot give up on.

Qin Yuan knew clearly that 80% of his current strategic layout and his greatest future opportunities lay in the Soviet Union.

He had a clearer understanding of the exact timing and historical process of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

If he misses this once-in-a-lifetime historical opportunity because of his fear of the KGB, he will completely lose his leading advantage in this "game" and, even if he develops step by step in China, he will never be able to catch up with the three top players ahead of him.

Most importantly, based on all the signs and analysis, he judged that although this trip was extremely risky, it was not necessarily a death sentence.

At the critical juncture of the Soviet Union's eventual collapse, the KGB's behavior and tendencies were complex and subtle.

Faced with this historical tide, he had to take a gamble!
(End of this chapter)