The Secret Investment Formula of a Chemical Genius - Chapter 148



Only Krnovel

Episode 148 Omens

Does your father know about that man?

A series of unrealistic things that have been happening around me until recently.

If you think about it, it all started with a small yellow envelope that my father, whom I met at a nursing home, gave me.

… … Clearly, my father knows about the man’s identity.

I tapped the desk with my fingers as if it were a habit.

No direct link was found between the two.

But judging from the flow of events so far, it is clear that there is some kind of relationship between the two.

However, it is not clear whether it is active cooperation or passive acquiescence… … .

“Excuse me, sir?”

When I raised my head from being lost in thought for a while, I saw the face of Manager Kim Seong-jae, who was flustered.

“Why are you doing that?”

“That’s it, sir, your cell phone is… … .”

As I followed Manager Kim Seong-jae and looked down, I saw a shiny cell phone.

I set it to silent, so I guess he didn’t even notice the call because he was thinking about something else for a moment.

“Can I leave the documents here?”

“yes.”

After Manager Kim Seong-jae put down the file he was holding and left.

I pressed a button on my phone.

“It’s been a while, sir.”

– How have you been?

“Yes. But what brings you here? Is it perhaps related to my father again… .”

– No, that’s not it. I just have something I need to tell you, sir.

“What kind of story are you talking about?”

– Well, honestly, I don’t know if it’s right for me to tell you this information…

A voice that was somewhat hesitant, unlike the usually cool-headed Director Baek Hee-seong.

I could hear someone whispering on the other end of the phone, wondering if there was someone nearby.

And after a while.

– Sir.

“Mr. Yoo Hae-jin?”

– You recognize my voice right away.

“Because we’ve met before.”

Yoo Hae-jin is the person who was introduced to him by Director Baek Hee-seong when he asked for an investigation related to Mikhail Ivanov.

– When do you have time?

“I think around 6pm would be possible. What’s the matter with you?

– I have some information that you absolutely must know.

“Is that information related to Mikhail Ivanov?”

– It might be, it might not be.

A somewhat ambiguous answer.

“Okay, let’s go to the office and hear the details.”

Considering the material the two people have given me so far.

Taking some time out didn’t seem like such a bad idea.

– I will prepare the materials and wait.

End the call.

I picked up the pile of files that filled my desk.

* * *

“Here it is.”

Hot coffee served by Director Baek Hee-seong.

Through the sour smoke rising above, Yoo Hae-jin’s plain face came into view.

“Can we get straight to the point?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The reason I came here in the first place wasn’t to chat. I nodded right away.

“Would you like to read this?”

Yoo Hae-jin held out a tablet PC in front of me.

… … About the historical unity of Russia and Ukraine?

When I gave him a puzzled look, Yoo Hae-jin nodded slightly.

It means to read it first.

‘Russia began as the Rus (Рѹ́сьскаѧ землѧ) in the 9th century. The Rus, which began in the area that is now called Eastern Europe, was founded by the East Slavs… … Therefore, in reality, current Ukraine and Belarus also share the same ancestors as Russia, the East Slavs… … .’

I read the entire six-page A4 article.

“Have you read it all?”

“Yes. It’s quite interesting.”

Although the article goes into some lengthy explanation, the main point it wants to make is this:

“It seems like an article written to emphasize the ethnic unity of Russia and Ukraine. Did I read it correctly?”

“You saw it exactly.”

The corners of Yoo Hae-jin’s mouth rose slightly.

“Of course it is interesting, but… … .”

I’m not a historian. Why are you asking me this?

As if he had noticed the meaning in my gaze.

“At the very bottom of the article. The name of the person who wrote the article is written in small letters. Would you like to check it?”

Let’s lower our gaze as he says.

“… … !”

The author of the article is someone I know well, even though I had little interest in Russia.

“Could this be… … .”

“Yes. It’s not someone with the same name. It’s the person you’re thinking of right now.”

The person who wrote the article is ‘that’ person, called the master of the Russian Kremlin.

A person’s thoughts and ideas are contained in his writing.

I read the article carefully again.

“How is it? It feels a bit different than the first time, right?”

“okay.”

The content of the article didn’t change, but once I found out who wrote it, things I hadn’t seen before started to become visible little by little.

“That’s pretty extreme.”

What ‘that’ person said and did in the article was not a historical fact about the unity of Russia and Ukraine.

The imperative that it must be so.

That’s the real intention behind this article.

“In the past, it was called hunchback. It was a disease where the spine was abnormally curved.”

“… … .”

“What if someone who sees that patient is forced to straighten his or her bent back because he or she thinks it is unsightly?”

“… … It will lead to death.”

It goes without saying that if you apply force to a curved spine, the spine will not straighten but break.

“That’s right. So even if you don’t like it, you should just leave it alone. That’s what most people would do with common sense.”

The intense obsession and madness felt here and there in the middle of the article.

I frowned without realizing it.

“Mr. Yoo Hae-jin, do you think the person who wrote this article is trying to straighten his hunched back?”

He held out a photo.

A sophisticated satellite image taken from above looking down.

“What is this?”

“This is Zapad.”

“Zapad?”

“Yes. It is a joint military exercise that Russia and Belarus regularly conduct every year.”

Yoo Hae-jin pointed somewhere with his finger.

I focused a little more on that part.

“And this is a satellite image from the Zapad exercise that was conducted in the same area last year.”

“… … !”

“How is it?”

“The difference… is clear.”

Military training exercises that are usually conducted regularly do not show significant differences in scale from year to year.

However, this year’s joint military exercise between Russia and Belarus, Zapad, was conducted on a scale incomparable to that of last year.

“This article was written on July 17th, two months later in September, the Zapad exercise began. On an unprecedented scale. Could these two events really be unrelated?

“… … .”

While I remain silent.

“Isn’t that an exaggeration?”

Director Baek Hee-seong scolded Yoo Hae-jin.

“Don’t you think so, senior?”

“This time, Ukraine said it wanted to join the EU and NATO. Isn’t this just a simple protest against that? That’s what the news is analyzing it as well.”

“Of course, that possibility cannot be completely ruled out. However, historically, wars have often broken out when people think that way.”

“that…….”

“Several signs of war were detected several years before World War I and II, but we tried to close our eyes and pretend not to see them. There are always big and small signals right before an incident breaks out. The same goes for war. Before an actual war breaks out, enormous preparations are needed. Stockpiling supplies, moving troops. It’s not something that can be resolved in a day or two. When I analyzed it, Russia had already completed preparations for war. And recently, several countries in the Western world, including the United States, decided to withdraw their embassies. An embassy is a last resort. That’s why it’s extremely rare for an embassy to be withdrawn unless it’s an extreme situation like war.”

“That’s what they say.”

As if there was nothing more to say.

Director Baek Hee-seong shrugged and looked at me.

Russia’s suspicious movements were certainly important information when looking at the international situation.

What I asked Mr. Yoo Hae-jin was to find out about Mikhail Ivanov.

That means.

“… … Mr. Yoo Hae-jin, do you think there is a connection between the downfall of Mikhail Ivanov and Russia’s recent strange behavior?”

“Until recently, Mikhail Ivanov was the leader of Wagner, Russia’s largest mercenary group.”

Although they are called mercenaries, it is a well-known fact that the Wagner Group is ‘his’ private army in the Kremlin.

“As far as I can tell, Mikhail Ivanov seems to have a lot of trust within the Wagner Group leadership. Even though it’s been a while since he stepped down from his position as leader, there are still rumors about him.”

“… … .”

“Sir, do you know what the first thing a country does before going to war is?”

“Internal crackdown… … .”

“That’s right. It’s called a weeding out. You can dodge bullets coming from the front, but you can’t dodge a knife from behind. It’s just a guess, but it’s possible that Mikhail Ivanov opposed Russia’s actions this time. He was probably overthrown in retaliation for that.”

“… … .”

“I don’t know if my analysis was helpful.”

“That’s enough. If you find out any relevant information, please contact me immediately.”

“All right.”

Yoo Hae-jin laughed quietly.

* * *

Animation streaming from TV.

Two children huddled together in front of it.

Despite their mother’s words telling them to eat fruit, Natasha and Eunsu couldn’t take their eyes off the penguin character.

A peaceful sight to see every evening.

Could it be that fun?

To the pure and untainted appearance of children.

I couldn’t help but laugh, but when I saw Natasha’s silver hair, my heart felt heavy as if a heavy weight had been hung on my chest.

Natasha’s biological father is Mikhail Ivanov.

… … said there was a possibility that it could be removed.

In Russia, being politically disqualified means more than just losing power.

According to Yoo Hae-jin, Mikhail Ivanov is currently rarely seen outside.

While it is expected that things will be okay for the time being as the attention of the Russian leadership has recently been focused elsewhere, it is unclear whether the situation will last forever.

Surely, Mikhail Ivanov sent Natasha to me because… … .

While I was lost in thought.

A tiny head suddenly came into view!

“… …What are you thinking about?”

“No, I didn’t think much about it.”

He shook his head, shaking off the traces of worry from his face.

In the moment that I thought it was just a moment.

It looks like the animation has already ended.

“… …Eat this.”

Natasha gave me a piece of fruit she had forked out.

When I turned my gaze, I saw Eun-soo approaching with her characteristically swaying steps and giving her mother some fruit.

“Is this for your grandmother?”

Nod nod.

“How can it be so pretty!”

The mother accepted the fruit that Eunsu offered and smiled brightly.

“Are you giving it to me to eat first?”

“……huh.”

“I’ll eat well.”

A crunchy, chewy pear.

My tongue was delighted with the cool yet sweet juice.

“Okay, now that you’ve eaten, Natasha too.”

When I stabbed her with a fork, Natasha opened her mouth and said, “Ah!”

I had no choice but to put it in his mouth.

The fruit pieces are fairly large compared to the size of the child’s mouth.

Cheeks that bulge out on both sides.

… … Well, I guess it’ll work out somehow.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at Natasha’s clear eyes as she looked up at me.

* * *

With all sorts of worries.

After staying up all night, I drove to work.

A guard looking at his cell phone with a serious expression on his face.

“good morning.”

“Ah… … yes.”

Somehow the answer was half a beat later than usual.

As my gaze instinctively turned downwards, the guard quickly put the cell phone he was holding into his pocket and quickly lowered his head.

“Sorry, during working hours.”

“No, thank you for your hard work.”

I park my car in the parking lot and go up to the office.

… … That’s strange.

The atmosphere at the company was a bit chaotic today.

I can’t really explain it, but it’s something…

at that time.

In the distance, I saw employees who had just arrived at work gathered together and hurriedly running somewhere.

The place they headed was the staff break room.

What’s going on?

It’s also strange for an employee who just arrived at work to go to the break room.

Their facial expressions were unusual.

After thinking about it for a moment, I headed toward the employee break room.

Let’s open the door to the break room and go in.

I noticed dozens of employees huddled together in front of a wall-mounted TV.

A chilling silence so intense that even the sound of breathing can be heard vividly in your ears.

What on earth are you looking at… … .

The screen was not visible properly because it was covered by my head.

Move your body towards the side that secures the field of vision as much as possible.

[Breaking News] Russia Invades Ukraine!]

“… … !”

A few days after meeting Yoo Hae-jin.

As he predicted, war eventually broke out between the two countries.

A large-scale all-out war like never before seen.