Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 518

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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518. A storm of blood will soon sweep through Moscow.

A few days later, in Moscow, Russia.
At a ferry terminal overlooking the imposing Russian Federal Security Service building across the river shrouded in deep darkness, a black Mercedes sedan sat parked.
The outdoor parking lot, unlit by a single streetlamp at this late hour, felt desolate in its emptiness, and the Riverside Road too was nearly devoid of passing traffic.
In the back seat of the sedan with its engine off, Seok-won sat alone, smoking a cigarette with the window cracked open slightly.
The tip of the cigarette between his lips glowed red, briefly illuminating his face in the darkness.
His sharp jawline, sculpted nose, and deep eyes revealed beneath the cigarette’s glow—his face remained as serene as a still lake, betraying no emotion whatsoever.
When the cigarette held between his fingers had burned halfway through.
Han Ji-sung, who had been outside with Bodyguard Bockus, approached from the side and gently tapped the car window before speaking softly.

“They’ve arrived.”

Seok-won lifted his head and gazed through the front windshield.
Headlights pierced through the darkness at the entrance, cutting into the parking lot.
He took one final deep drag, exhaled slowly, and flicked the cigarette out the window.
As the small ember traced a brief arc through the air and touched the ground, another Mercedes sedan pulled up beside him at a slight distance and stopped.
When the headlights switched off, darkness enveloped the surroundings once more, and a powerfully built man descended from the driver’s seat, glancing briefly in Seok-won’s direction before opening the rear door.
A middle-aged man with a cold expression emerged—Yuri Mikhailov, Director of the Russian Federal Security Service.
Mikhailov strode forward without hesitation toward the Mercedes where Seok-won sat, climbing into the back seat.
As the door closed, Seok-won, seated on the plush leather seat, extended his hand first.

“It’s been a while.”
“Indeed.”

Mikhailov grasped his hand and responded in fluent English, befitting his KGB background.
He met Seok-won’s gaze with sharp eyes as he spoke.

“I hear you conducted quite an interesting transaction with the President at the Kremlin earlier today.”

Seok-won replied with an unperturbed, composed demeanor.

“To think you’ve already grasped a confidential conversation I had with President Ivanov just hours ago. Your intelligence capabilities are truly impressive.”
“What exactly are you thinking, trying to acquire the Severtstal?”

Seok-won met Mikhailov’s piercing gaze directly without flinching.

“Unfortunately, while we’ve weathered the worst of the crisis, Russia’s economy hasn’t recovered sufficiently to service its debt obligations. We’re looking to take physical assets in lieu of the matured government bonds.”
“I fail to see why an investment fund like the Eldorado Fund would need an Akula-class strategic nuclear submarine.”

The Severtstal was the sixth vessel of Project 941 Akula-class, a massive strategic nuclear submarine whose name meant “shark” in Russian.
It was more commonly known by its NATO designation, Typhoon, and with a submerged displacement of 48,000 tons, it was the world’s largest and most formidable nuclear submarine, capable of carrying twenty SLBMs.
Able to lurk beneath the Arctic’s thick ice for extended periods before suddenly surfacing to launch nuclear missiles, it had been the Russian strategic weapon that America most feared and vigilantly guarded against during the height of the Cold War.

‘Once a terrifying instrument that had filled America with dread, yet powerless before the economic catastrophe that had forced Russia to declare a moratorium.’

All six vessels had been constructed and deployed between 1976 and 1986 during the height of the Cold War, but after the Soviet Union’s collapse, the economic devastation that engulfed Russia had forced the cancellation of planned successor vessels.
The commissioned nuclear submarines themselves couldn’t be properly maintained due to the drastic military budget cuts and simply sat moored in harbors, gathering rust.
Among those Typhoon-class submarines slowly corroding in neglect, Seok-won’s proposal to take the TK-20 Severtstal, commissioned in 1989 and the youngest of the fleet, as physical collateral in place of 60 million dollars in matured Russian government bonds had been accepted by President Ivanov.

“A submarine with power as formidable as its Typhoon designation suggests, merely gathering barnacles at a dock—surely that’s a tragic waste, is it not?”
“….”
“I intend to transport it to Korea, thoroughly remove the rust, restore it to operational condition, and have the Korean Navy put it to use.”
“While the Akula-class is indeed a formidable nuclear submarine, without the R-39 SLBM, it’s nothing more than a colossal hunk of metal wandering the ocean floor—surely you’re aware of that.”

Yuri Mikhailov’s eyes flashed with sharp intensity as he posed the question.

“You’re not suggesting the President has agreed to hand over the SLBMs as well, are you?”

The R-39 SLBM was a formidable multiple-warhead submarine-launched ballistic missile with a maximum range of 8,300 kilometers, capable of carrying ten nuclear warheads with explosive yields of 20 megatons each.

“Of course not.”

Seok-won laughed it off lightly.
“If we’re taking a nuclear submarine, why couldn’t we take nuclear missiles?”

Seok-won responded with unflappable composure to the still-suspicious gaze.

“Nuclear missiles that can reduce an entire metropolis housing millions to ash in an instant and a submarine that merely uses nuclear power as its propulsion source are fundamentally different things, are they not?”

Nuclear missiles derive their devastating power from the existence of nuclear submarines capable of remaining concealed while evading enemy surveillance, then suddenly launching dozens of SLBMs.
Yuri Mikhailov chose not to press the point and asked again.

“Then why are you taking a strategic nuclear submarine without nuclear missiles?”

Though his tone was sharp as an interrogation, Seok-won answered without the slightest hint of intimidation, stating the facts plainly.

“We’re planning to modify it into a cruise missile launch platform rather than a nuclear missile platform.”
“A cruise missile launch platform, I see….”
“If that’s the case, Russia won’t face any burden from selling the Severstal.”

After hearing the response, Yuri Mikhailov still wore an expression tinged with doubt.

“Acquiring and retrofitting the Severstal will require substantial funding. What’s the reason for going to such lengths?”
“You must be aware that as North Korea conducts successive nuclear tests, anxiety is growing on the Korean Peninsula.”

Yuri Mikhailov nodded his head.

“Since we can’t develop nuclear weapons to counter North Korea, we need to at least possess a nuclear submarine and maintain a minimum second-strike capability so North Korea won’t recklessly use nuclear weapons. Don’t you agree that’s necessary for peace of mind?”
“Seeing you take direct action on what the government should be doing, you seem to be quite the patriot.”

Yuri Mikhailov spoke with a hint of sarcasm.
But Seok-won pretended not to notice and maintained a composed expression.

“If I didn’t live in Korea, perhaps I wouldn’t care. But since I’m living here with my family, I simply don’t want to live in constant anxiety, never knowing when a nuclear bomb might fall.”
“Korea has a treaty with the United States restricting nuclear use, doesn’t it? Operating a nuclear submarine would violate that agreement, wouldn’t it?”
“As I mentioned earlier, it’s being used solely for propulsion, not for attacks. We’ve already received advance approval from the White House.”

Had I not heard about President Ivanov’s deteriorating health and come up with this idea to hastily pursue it, I would never have attempted to acquire a Typhoon-class nuclear submarine without the White House’s permission in the first place.
Yuri Mikhailov frowned with displeasure and spoke.

“While the United States retrofits the Severstal into a cruise missile launch platform, they’ll examine every nook and cranny of the hull and assess exactly how advanced our Russian nuclear submarine technology is.”

Seok-won offered no response.
In fact, the decisive reason the American government approved Korea’s Navy operating a nuclear submarine was precisely this.
Even though the Cold War had ended, the opportunity to disassemble a Typhoon-class nuclear submarine—embodying Russia’s cutting-edge military technology as an adversary—down to every bolt and assess its nuclear capabilities and technological level was exceedingly rare.

“No matter how much of an alcoholic President Ivanov is, he wouldn’t be unaware of this. Yet he still handed over the Severstal, which means there must have been a hidden deal behind the scenes.”

Just as Yuri Mikhailov suspected, in addition to transferring the matured national bonds worth sixty million dollars, I had agreed to secretly hand ten million dollars to President Ivanov.
I had exploited his deteriorating health—a situation where he could no longer maintain his presidential position—and made him a sweet offer to secure his final severance package.
Seeing that Seok-won didn’t respond, Yuri Mikhailov, convinced his suspicion was correct, clicked his tongue with a look of contempt.

“Regardless, why did you want to meet today?”
“When I met President Ivanov in person today, his health looked considerably worse than the rumors suggested.”

Watching Yuri Mikhailov’s expression harden, I continued.

“When the throne sits vacant, a bloody power struggle inevitably erupts to claim it.”
“….”
“Since I’ve already wagered on you, Mikhailov, I’d like to offer some assistance to ensure you become the new master of the Kremlin.”
“What kind of assistance?”

Yuri Mikhailov didn’t hide his true intentions—someone of Seok-won’s caliber would certainly understand his ambitions.

“To win a fight, you need solid war funds. I’ve prepared twenty million dollars in cash to start.”

Yuri Mikhailov’s eyes widened momentarily before he composed his expression.
Though it lasted only a brief instant, I caught that fleeting reaction and smiled inwardly as I spoke.

“If that’s insufficient, I can provide whatever additional support you need. Just say the word.”

Yuri Mikhailov regarded me in silence for a moment, then asked in a measured tone.

“Why are you helping me this much?”
“As I mentioned before, I believe you have both the ambition and capability to rise far beyond this position, Mikhailov.”

My eyes gleamed with predatory sharpness as I flashed a grin, baring my teeth.

“That way, my investment will pay off handsomely.”

By openly revealing my expectation of future privileges once he seized power, Yuri Mikhailov actually relaxed his guard slightly.
When both parties had something clear to gain, there was no better business partner than that.

“I have plenty of uses for this money. I’ll put it to good use.”
“Then I’m relieved.”

After a brief exchange, Yuri Mikhailov opened the car door and returned to his Mercedes.
At my gesture, Han Ji-sung and Bockus transferred three large travel suitcases from the trunk to Yuri Mikhailov’s vehicle.
The suitcases were packed solid with bundles of hundred-dollar bills.
As I watched Yuri Mikhailov’s Mercedes sedan glide smoothly out of the parking lot with its headlights now on, I pulled out a cigarette and placed it between my lips.
I lit it with a lighter, inhaled the white smoke deeply, then exhaled slowly while murmuring.

“Moscow will soon be drenched in blood.”

New power has always bloomed brilliantly from pools of blood.
The first to shed that blood would be the politicians and oligarchs known as the Ivanov Family.
Seok-won let out a soft murmur, thinking of the Ivanov Family and oligarchs who would lose everything and fall into ruin—those who had dismissed Yuri Mikhailov as merely a fortunate upstart who had stumbled from the intelligence services into Russian politics.

“Things are about to get very interesting.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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