My Realistic Simulation Game

Chapter 256 The Vast Shadow Behind It Reveals the Truth
It is now December 12th.

Everyone knew perfectly well that the Soviet Union had lost its legitimacy to exist, like a building whose load-bearing walls had been removed, leaving only the final tolling of its death knell.

And that day is getting closer and closer.

Sitting in the car, Qin Yuan looked out the window at the hurried pedestrians with indifferent expressions, but what he was thinking about was the reason why Latvians had urgently requested a meeting.

The Security Council is now history, having been split into four separate departments.

Latvís, the former Second Director General, has completely lost his power.

What will inevitably follow is the Yeh regime's thorough purge of the old forces.

"Elena, what do you think is the purpose of Director Latv's meeting with me this time?"

Turning his thoughts away, Qin Yuan turned his gaze to the woman beside him and asked.

"Too much has happened in Moscow recently. Gorbachev's power has completely collapsed, Yevgeny has reached some kind of tacit understanding with the leaders of the five Kolya and Belarusian states in the Belovezhskaya Pravda forest, and even Kazakhstan, the most influential country in Central Asia, has made concessions for the continuation of the Union."

"Politically, Ye made every step with extreme precision, reaping the greatest benefits."

"In the August coup, the KGB maintained a strange silence, but the instigator was none other than former chairman Kryuchkov. In Ye's view, this organization itself was untrustworthy."

"Bakatin took the position of the last chairman of the Security Committee on his recommendation. However, in such a turbulent situation, he followed the political will to dismantle the KGB. Although he protected some people from being purged, he also accelerated the collapse of this huge organization."

Yelena did not answer the question directly, but instead carefully sorted out the logic behind it.

"Go on," Qin Yuan listened attentively.

Elena nodded, her voice grave. "The de facto dismantling of the KGB will only greatly reduce the organization's influence and control over the entire Soviet Union."

"As the head of the intelligence department, Bakatin's compliant execution of this self-destructive decision clearly demonstrates a lack of sufficient national security awareness."

The reason was simple: the systematic disbandment of nearly 500,000 KGB members meant that the massive intelligence system that the Soviet Union had built up over decades collapsed instantly.

Foreign espionage activities will increase significantly, and the most important overseas intelligence network will be completely lost.

"Director Latvís clearly saw this; he saw Ye's determination to destroy the KGB."

"Moreover, the fate of the previous directors of the General Administration is right before our eyes."

Elena concluded, "He most likely wants to see you this time because he wants our help to arrange for him... to go abroad."

She looked at Qin Yuan with concern, "Director Latvian has obviously been placed under close surveillance by the Ye family. Qin, is it a bit risky for us to go see him now?"

Qin Yuan calmly shook his head: "It's definitely a risk. But he's already deeply intertwined with us, and he knows too many secrets."

“If he’s finished, he’ll likely drag us down with him. Since he wants to leave, we should get him out of there as soon as possible, as far away as possible, and as cleanly as possible.”

This person remaining in the Soviet Union is a ticking time bomb for everyone.

"Qin, he asked us to arrange to go abroad, and he will definitely demand a huge 'buyout fee'. You should be prepared."

Elena reminded her.

"Buyout money?" Qin Yuan frowned, a surge of anger rising in his heart. "The money we transfer to his overseas account every month must be no less than twenty million US dollars, right? Isn't that enough?"

This door must not be opened, otherwise those "partners" who have lost power will treat him as an ATM.

He never shortchanged himself on his share of the profits.

"Let's meet him first. Latvian has been in charge of the Second Directorate for so many years, he can't be without any tricks up his sleeve. If his only trump card is hoping we'll be kind, then he's not worth our investment."

A barely perceptible glint of cold light flashed in Qin Yuan's eyes. If necessary, he would not hesitate to take more thorough measures to eliminate any future troubles.

The journey was silent. The car quickly entered the center of Moscow, bypassed the solemn Lubyanka Square, turned into an inconspicuous, secluded street, and stopped in front of a seemingly ordinary bar.

Guided by an expressionless KGB officer, Qin Yuan entered the dimly lit and quiet bar and immediately spotted Latvian sitting alone in a corner, drinking.

At this moment, Latvian was a completely different person from the composed and hawk-like director he had been in St. Petersburg a few months earlier.

His face was weathered, his hair almost completely white, as if he had aged ten years in a short period of time, leaving only an empty shell abandoned by power.

Hearing footsteps, Latvian slowly turned around and forced a tired smile: "Qin, you've come."

"Director Latvian, what's wrong..." Qin Yuan's face instantly changed to one of concern as he quickly stepped forward.

Latvís downed the last of the vodka in his glass and gripped Qin Yuan's hand tightly, as if grasping at the last straw.

He was the last bureau chief to be punished. He had originally held onto a sliver of hope, thinking it was a signal from the Ye family to the "club" behind him.

Only now did he realize that it was nothing more than being slowly cut with a dull knife. Under the Ye family's continued attacks and isolation, he not only lost all power, but his former network of connections also quickly froze.

Even the "club" he once relied on regarded him as a pawn in order to cut off the risks.

He wielded immense power in the past, but his problems were equally profound.

Once it falls into the hands of the Ye family, it will inevitably implicate a whole host of people.

Therefore, many people now hope that he will "disappear" as soon as possible.

Otherwise, what awaits him is likely a "forced suicide".

With nowhere else to turn, he had no choice but to seek help from this Chinese businessman whom he had once regarded as a pawn or even an ant.

"Qin, I know you're very busy right now. I've heard about the Far East Hotel incident. Choosing you was... the most successful investment I've ever made."

Latvis tried to ingratiate himself, his voice slightly hoarse, "I heard that Industrial Bank, Wells Fargo, and Morgan Stanley formed a syndicate and invested in your Far East International Bank?"

"Yes." Qin Yuan nodded. This was already a major event known to everyone in Moscow's financial circles.

"Brother, be careful!" Latvis squeezed Qin Yuan's hand tightly and lowered his voice, "Westerners' money isn't so easy to take! I've heard that quite a few people are eyeing you as a piece of fat meat!"

"Oh?" Qin Yuan remained noncommittal, naturally not easily intimidated by these words. "Director Latvian, I have always been law-abiding and law-abiding in the Soviet Union, and have never done anything out of line."

"Besides, aren't you... still here?"

He deliberately emphasized the word "you".

"I knew you wouldn't believe me."

Latvis seemed to have expected this. He calmly pulled a document sealed in kraft paper from inside his coat, placed it solemnly on the worn bar, and tapped it with his finger. "Brother, you don't really think that your 'talent fund' is contacting people that can really hide it from everyone, do you?"

"You think you can do what Americans and Europeans can do?"

He sneered and tapped his finger heavily on the bar counter. "Your name has long been on the top shelf of the unprocessed files on Bakajin's desk!"

"If you hadn't been relatively cautious in your actions, and had mostly been in contact with second-tier experts and scholars, unlike European and American institutions that recklessly poach core military industry talents, your company's doors would have been sealed off by the Ministry of Internal Affairs long ago!"

"Seize it?" Qin Yuan scoffed. "Director Latvsky, the supply of essential goods for the entire city of Moscow now largely depends on our Far East trade channels."

"From the Far East to the Volga River basin, how many towns rely on our supplies to basically operate?"

"My factories provide tens of thousands of jobs, and the construction of the new Volga automobile plant is in full swing."

"Far Eastern International Bank has attracted savings of up to tens of billions of rubles, with depositors spread across nearly a hundred cities!"

"Far East Hotels and Far East International Bank are backed by multiple Western capital groups. Not to mention, the Far East Group itself has the shadow of your 'club'."

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes filled with disdain: "Seize our property? Do you think I'd be intimidated by such words?"

His meticulously woven network of relationships is intricate and interconnected, so much so that a single move can have far-reaching consequences.

He had intricate connections with various factions within the Soviet Union, including domestic forces, Western capital, ordinary citizens, industrial alliances, and even vested interests within the Ye family group.

Not to mention the potential Chinese background he represents.

Moving against him would trigger a chain reaction that even the Ye family would have to think twice about.

Latvís wasn't surprised that he hadn't managed to intimidate Qin Yuan. He just tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a bitter and eerie smile, and his tone became indifferent again: "Qin, the key to the problem isn't those high-sounding things you just said."

"The key question is, can you guarantee that your group will never make a mistake? Will it always be of value to you?"

"When you lose your value, any guarantee is just a piece of waste paper, and anyone will not hesitate to discard you."

His fingers, slowly but firmly, touched the sealed document on the bar counter.

"I am the best example."

His voice was deep and clear: "Now, my position has been taken."

"The first thing the new department head did after taking office was to take over and clean up all classified files."

"And among them, the most crucial and deadly part..."

He raised his eyes, his cloudy eyes fixed on Qin Yuan, and asked, word by word:

Are you interested in buying it?

(End of this chapter)