Chapter 1275: Too Much Of A Good Thing Is Also Bad
The coffee cup on the conference table suddenly shook.
Vladimir quickly reached out to hold the coffee cup. His back was drenched in cold sweat, but he maintained his smiling face on the surface and took out a cigar to pa.s.s to Huo Shaoheng.
“Major General Huo, calm down, calm down! I will definitely give you an explanation for this matter! I will definitely get to the bottom of the matter, okay? You also said just now that it was fortunate that Comrade Lina acted quickly and saved two people Otherwise… ”
“Otherwise, I would have taken a gun and shot all the KGB members one by one.” Don’t think that I won’t do it. When I was out on a mission years ago, I worked for people in the political department of the KGB headquarters.” Huo Shaoheng calmed down slightly, however, the words that came out of his mouth became more and more mocking.
This was the work that Vladimir had done before he was promoted.
There were many capable people in the KGB. To be able to climb up to his position, it wasn’t entirely based on true ability.
Vladimir didn’t feel embarra.s.sed at all. However, he also thought that their people had indeed gone overboard this time.
They were all soldiers on the special battlefront. Not harming their families was the bottom line, and it was also a principle that everyone silently abided by.
Everyone had their own family, relatives, and friends. No one jumped out of a stone.
When they carried out their mission, they were doing their own line of duty, not venting their personal anger.
“Major General Huo, I understand how you feel. If this had happened to me, I would have shot you!” Vladimir was filled with righteous indignation, but he didn’t forget to flatter Huo Shaoheng. He gave him a thumbs-up and praised, “Only you, Major General Huo, can remain calm and collected. You have the demeanor of a general!”
“That’s enough.” Huo Shaoheng waved his hand dismissively. “I’ll give you half a day. If you don’t explain yourself clearly, we won’t be done with this matter.”
Huo Shaoheng left the temporary conference room at the resort.
As Vladimir sat alone in the conference room, the smile on his face quickly faded. He picked up his phone and called Wa.s.sily of the KGB Headquarters’ political department.
The phone rang for a few times before it was picked up.
It was Wa.s.sily, the smarmy eunuch.
“Ah, Lieutenant General Vladimir, what happened this time really isn’t optimistic… ” Before Vladimir could speak, Wa.s.sily had already “accused the bad guy first” .
Vladimir felt a surge of anger. The grievances he had suffered at Huo Shaoheng’s hands was all directed at Wa.s.sily.
He jumped to his feet and kicked the conference table in front of him to the ground.
The coffee cups, coffee pots, and small plates filled with snacks on the conference table were all overturned and smashed to pieces.
The sound of a piece of porcelain was transmitted through the electromagnetic waves of the mobile phone to the KGB headquarters in Moscow.
Wa.s.sily’s expression soured. “Lieutenant General Vladimir, please calm down.”
“Calm down?! You caused such a huge mess, yet now you want me to calm down?! Why didn’t you calm down before you came up with this stupid idea!? If you want to die, no one will stop you ! But don’t drag others down with you! I haven’t lived long enough yet! ” Vladimir rolled up his sleeves as he cursed at his phone.
“I’m not even married yet! I haven’t had any children yet! I’ve been dragged down to my death by you. Do you know that I’m not going to die in peace? Wa.s.sily! Don’t think that no one will dare to settle the account with you! Why can’t you just be satisfied with having fun with your mistress outside of home? Does your wife know that you bought her a house?!”
Vladimir wasn’t an easy person to deal with. At this moment, he revealed all the shameful things about Wa.s.sily, so Wa.s.sily was also anxious. “Don’t spout nonsense! When have I ever slept with a mistress? You have to take responsibility for what you say!”
Vladimir sneered. “I take responsibility! I take all responsibility… !”
Before he could finish his words, the other side hung up with a “beep” .
After a while, Wa.s.sily used another phone line that wasn’t bugged to call Vladimir.
After Vladimir picked up the call, Wa.s.sily’s att.i.tude was much better.
He was forced to confess to Vladimir. “Lieutenant General Vladimir, I understand your anger, but you have to know that this a.s.sessment is unanimously agreed by our headquarters’ political department. Everyone thinks… ”
“Thinks what?!” Vladimir kicked again. This time, he kicked a high-backed soft chair to the corner of the room. The heavy chair was almost broken into pieces by his kick. He turned around and sat on the windowsill. “You guys sit in the office every day and only know how to think nonsense!”
Choked by Vladimir’s words, Wa.s.sily rolled his eyes.
However, the evidence was in Vladimir’s hands. If he didn’t bring out some favor, Vladimir wouldn’t let it go.
Although Wa.s.sily wasn’t afraid of Vladimir, if they fought until both sides were ruined, his ambitious deputy would finally be able to take his place.
Wa.s.sily knew very well that he couldn’t make enemies everywhere.
He had already offended enough people within the KGB. He couldn’t offend the second-in-command, Vladimir…
Thinking of this, Wa.s.sily revealed some information to Vladimir to dispel his monstrous anger.
“Lieutenant General Vladimir, every test we take is targeted, and not made out of nothing. We have chosen to examine major Lina in front of the two citizens of the Huaxia Empire of course because we were suspicious of her background… ” Wa.s.sily said softly, and as he said this, he looked around vigilantly.
At this moment, he was sitting on a bench at the side of the Red Square in Moscow. There was no one around him. Some tourists from the Huaxia Empire were dancing on the Red Square. They were being surrounded by others, so his side wasn’t conspicuous.
When Vladimir heard this, his heart skipped a beat. This wasn’t good. It can’t be what he thought, right?!
“You suspect her background? ” Vladimir repeated Wa.s.sily’s words. His face became solemn. “What about her background is worthy of your suspicion?”
“We suspect that she has something to do with the Huaxia Empire.” Wa.s.sily told Vladimir the truth. “So our a.s.sessment this morning was to kill two birds with one stone. ”
“Impossible! ” Vladimir suddenly stood up, then said angrily, “d.a.m.n you for trying to kill birds with one stone! I think you guys are too idle thinking that everyone looks like a spy from the Huaxia Empire! I’ll be honest with you, we’ve already investigated this aspect! Her background is clean… ”
“It’s precisely because her background is clean and because she never breaks any rules. She’s as fast and accurate as a robot when executing missions! With her qualities, she’s very much like a spy from the Huaxia Empire!” Wa.s.sily said resolutely.
“d.a.m.n you! ” Vladimir was so angry that he laughed. “Why can’t she be an excellent spy from our country? You think she’s a spy from the Huaxia Empire just because you see a good one. How much do you look down on the loyal soldiers of our country?”
With a bitter smile, Wa.s.sily scratched his ear and said, “Don’t you know what a loyal soldier of our country is like? For example, a person like Ivan, who never makes bigs mistakes but always makes small mistakes, is the essence of our intelligence personnel…”
Vladimir found himself speechless.
He was basically the same kind of person, but he was more cunning than Ivan and could restrain himself.
Thinking about it, Lina was really different from them…
But Lina was a woman, and women were born different from men. Could it be that the women in their country were better than the men?!
Vladimir thought about it again and again, but refused to believe that Lina wasn’t on the same side as them.
Going through life and death together, they had worked together for so many years. They had each other’s backs.
If Lina was really a spy, they would have died at her hands long ago..
Moreover, the Huaxia Empire didn’t seem to be in possession of their internal intelligence.
For example, during this time that Huo Shaoheng had brought his fiancée to Russia, they had encountered many dangers.
They had been hunted down even when they were traveling, and his mother, who was a scientist, had almost been caught in the crossfire.
However, Lina’s performance today had indeed disappointed Vladimir.
After sitting quietly in the conference room for a while, Vladimir beckoned to the middle-aged driver who was poking his head out of the door. “Call Lina and tell her to come over. I have something to ask her.”
The middle-aged driver didn’t dare to continue joking with Vladimir. He quickly took out his phone and called Lina over.
…
Lina changed her clothes and came to the door of the conference room that the middle-aged driver had mentioned.
She nodded to the middle-aged driver at the door and said without an expression, “Lieutenant General Vladimir, Major Lina reporting for duty!”
“Come in.” Vladimir’s calm voice came from the conference room.
Lina composed herself and walked in.
“Close the door.” Vladimir glared at the middle-aged driver at the door.
The middle-aged driver’s eyes darted around, and his ears even p.r.i.c.ked up.
Lina closed the door with her hand and stood in front of Vladimir. She raised her hand and saluted, “Lieutenant General Vladimir, what can I do for you?”
Vladimir looked up at Lina, who was standing in front of him. For the first time, he realized that she was indeed different from them.
Her military posture was too standard…
In the past, he was only proud of this outstanding graduate from the Intelligence Academy, but now, looking at it from another angle, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
However, should he suspect that Lina was a spy from the Huaxia Empire just because she was better than others. Was this suspicion really warranted?
Vladimir realized that he had been led astray by Vasily’s unreasonable reasoning.
With an ambivalent expression, he looked at Lina and slowly said, “Comrade Major Lina, I have submitted the application to promote you to lieutenant colonel.”
“Thank you, Comrade Lieutenant General Vladimir! ” A trace of joy flashed in Lina’s eyes.
This trace of joy didn’t escape Vladimir’s eyes. He suddenly hesitated.
Was what the deeply paranoid Wa.s.sily said really reasonable?
Couldn’t their KGB have soldiers as excellent as the spies of the Huaxia Empire?!
Vladimir coughed heavily and made up his mind. ” … However, the headquarters political department still needs to conduct a further a.s.sessment on you.”
Lina immediately became serious. “I accept all the a.s.sessments from the headquarters. May I ask what kind of work you need me to do?”
Vladimir closed his eyes and said calmly, “You have pa.s.sed the first a.s.sessment.”
“Ah? ” For the first time, Lina seemed perturbed. She was smart and immediately understood. “Could the explosion of the equipment in the morning be the a.s.sessment?”
“What is the a.s.sessment for?” Lina’s confused expression made Vladimir feel even more guilty and ashamed.
His fingers dug in his pocket, then took out something the size of a lighter, and put it on the conference table.
Lina recognized at a glance that this was the switch of the famous “electric spark”!
” … so the explosion in the morning wasn’t really an explosion, but a ‘electric spark’.” Lina frowned. “Who is idle enough to use such a prank to scare people?”
She looked into Vladimir’s calm eyes in confusion, then said, “If this is the test, then I have already pa.s.sed, right? I saved my target at the first moment, leaving them unharmed.”
Vladimir still looked at her calmly and shook his head slightly, then said in a deep voice, “When the ‘electric spark’ was first activated, as long as you chose to save me, I would’ve immediately turned off this switch. No one would’ve suffered any harm.”
Lina’s face, which seemed to have a poker face glued on it, finally revealed a hint of astonishment on her face.
“… What? ! Lieutenant General Vladimir, why are you and the people from the headquarters’ political department so bored out of your lives?!” Her chest heaving up and down in anger, she angrily blamed Vladimir.
“It’s not us simply being bored. It was a direct reaction test for you. When you saw the spark start, your first reaction was to push Cereus away and save scientist Song. I was standing closest to you, and you also expressed interest in me, but when the accident happened, it was as if you didn’t see me.”
This kind of action was a huge blow to Vladimir at that time.
Now it was a double blow.
Lina clenched her fists in anger, and her lips trembled. After a while.., she suppressed her anger and said, “… I was on a mission! To me, the mission that Lieutenant General Vladimir gave me is more important than my life! Although I saved those two women from the Huaxia Empire, I don’t have any special personal feelings for them.”
“You saw me kick Cereus down with your own eyes, and you also saw me push scientist Song down with your own eyes. With my abilities, I could have gotten them to avoid danger more skillfully, but I didn’t do that. Because I wouldn’t waste any more effort to do anything that was beyond my authority!”
“On the contrary, you, Lieutenant General Vladimir, I treat you as a comrade-in-arms! Shouldn’t you be fighting alongside me at this time to deal with the enemy? Why did you think that I would save you at the first possible moment?! Why didn’t you save me at the first possible moment?”
Lina’s eyes finally turned red. She wiped her tears and said through gritted teeth, “… Which idiot designed this test? ! I’ll fight to the death with him!”
Ah, now she looked like a real KGB intelligence officer again!
Vladimir’s eyes lit up. At this time, the middle-aged driver also pushed open the door of the meeting room and gave Lina a thumbs up, then said seriously, “Well said! Major Lina, I’m on your side! ——Boss, Lina makes some good points. The people in the Political Department of the headquarters are all idiots, and those who believe in them are also idiots…”
“Get lost! ” Vladimir was so angry that he grabbed the cus.h.i.+on and threw it at the driver.