Chapter 32

The Bear Stew is Now My Story Chapter 32

032: Judging People / Five Months Later. The warehouse, which would later be called a legend, was made by connecting two containers.

Creak.

Shasha opened the warehouse door.

The three men, tied up and sprawled on the floor, stopped their mumbling as soon as they saw her.

"Three of them?"

"Yeah. They were the ones who incited the others."

Crack!

"But what are they eating?"

The sound came from the back where two instant noodle packets had been torn open in a non-standard way.

"Huh? They're eating the noodles raw? Are these guys really swallowing the noodles?"

Nikolai struck the back of the head of the largest of the three.

Smack!

The satisfying impact felt good...

"Ah, my palm!"

His head was so hard, it felt like hitting a rock.

"What are you going to do? Just report them to the police?"

"No. We can't let them off that easily."

"Then what?"

"Ordinary people do any job because they don't have a job, but these guys tried to turn the site upside down."

That means they're not in a situation where they need money.

This isn't a democratic country like South Korea, so they couldn't have done it for the workers.

In other words,

'There must be someone behind these guys.'

Nikolai grabbed the collar of the large man who was mumbling and pulled him up.

He just glared at the man's face, pulling it close.

After a while, the large man spat out noodle crumbs and shouted,

"I don't know anything! I don't know anything!"

"But I didn't ask you anything?"

"..."

"Noodles are delicious, right? They taste good, but they have a downside."

"…?"

"You need to add hot water and wait for about three minutes to get the proper taste. And did you know that even such a delicious food can be used as a torture tool?"

"…?"

First, he needed to inform the employees that these guys had incited them.

He planned to give a chance to those who were swayed by the incitement.

Everyone makes mistakes.

But not twice.

"Put a gag in their mouths and take them to the place we went to last time."

Shasha tied the men up like dried fish and took them to the slightly elevated area where Nikolai had gone before.

When the unusual scene was set, the employees gathered.

When he thought enough had gathered, Nikolai spoke to them.

"These three were hired by someone to turn this site upside down. Think about it. Did they approach you and try to get you to join them?"

The murmurs grew louder, indicating that his words were resonating.

"Our Unicorn Construction pays the highest salary in the industry. Yet, they incited you, saying the salary was low. Also, the housing issue will be resolved over time, but they incited you as if it were causing tremendous harm."

Signs of unrest were visible among the employees.

"That's right. I thought it was strange."

"They kept nagging me during meals. So this is what they were planning. But why were you with them?"

"I didn't want to, but they said I'd get a higher salary…."

Employees started to back away or avoid eye contact.

"These guys used the weakness that we had to finish the project within the agreed period to cloud your judgment."

Now that he had informed them, it was time to mete out punishment.

Nikolai scanned the crowd and raised his voice.

"These guys will face severe legal action. But I want to give one last chance to those who joined them."

"…!"

"Anyone who still has complaints about Unicorn Construction, leave the site now."

When Nikolai finished speaking, not a single person left.

It was only natural.

Where else could they go to receive the same salary and benefits?

"Since no one is leaving, I'll consider this matter closed. But if something like this happens again, everyone involved will be fired."

As Nikolai left with the three men, the employees returned to their work.

Now, the question was how to deal with these guys.

* * *

That afternoon, the three men were moved to another container with their wrists tied.

Nikolai didn't ask them anything.

He just put a large bucket for their toilet needs and a lot of instant noodles in the container.

"What are you planning to do?"

"If they were going to talk, they would have done so when their identities were exposed."

"Will they really talk if you do this?"

"People can survive for three days without water, but eating noodles will make their throats drier and more uncomfortable. I gave them something to eat, but not water."

"You're really something…."

The door was closed all day except for once a day to remove the toilet bucket.

After two days, as the sun was setting, the men finally surrendered, unable to bear it any longer.

Kirill was also there.

"If you think I'm lying, I'll put you back in. Who hired you?"

"…"

The men's eyes hesitated, then looked at Kirill.

Nikolai and Shasha also looked at Kirill.

At that moment,

The largest man spoke.

"…Igor Petrov, the manager."

"Petrov, the manager?"

He nodded slowly, as if resigned.

So, Petrov, the manager, harbored a grudge over the previous incident?

It was possible.

The damage to Petrov was significant enough to make the company wobble.

Since he couldn't act directly, he might have used these guys.

"Phew. In the end, it was him. We need to take action."

"Of course, we need to make him pay."

"Then should we hand these guys over to the police?"

"The job isn't finished yet."

"Huh?"

Here, Nikolai's excellence shone again.

He threw the man who answered into the container and asked the other two,

"If you answer my questions truthfully, I'll give you six months' salary and let you go. But only the first one to speak. The other two will rot in jail for years."

"…!"

"…!"

Nikolai knew that Petrov, despite his grudge, wasn't the kind of person to order such a thing.

The Korean products were recommended by Nikolai, but it was Petrov's choice.

Also, Nikolai knew that Yuri Yusupov, the chairman, was one of Yeltsin's closest confidants, so he wouldn't have thought of doing such a thing.

"Petrov, the manager, didn't order it, right?"

"…!"

"Who did? Who gave the order?"

The two men's eyes darted and their expressions changed rapidly.

Then one of them, looking at the other man, asked,

"Are you really going to keep your promise…?"

"I swear on my name."

The man, looking at the other man again, spoke.

…That's what I thought.

Suddenly, the other man spoke first.

"Anton ordered it!"

By a hair's breadth, their futures changed.

The man who missed the chance spewed all sorts of curses at the other man.

"Put the one who didn't speak in too. I'll hand him over to the police in a few days."

"I was going to speak first!"

"It's too late."

Nikolai kept his promise.

He gave the man the equivalent of six months' salary and let him go.

However,

"Go and come back."

"I knew it."

"Why should I give money to such bad guys? They should reflect in jail."

Shasha, who was in the car, followed the man who disappeared. After a while, she brought back the man, tied up again.

"You promised to let me go! You bastard! Keep your promise!"

"I kept my promise. The one who brought you back is different from me."

"You fraud!"

"Compared to you, who killed hundreds of people, I'm an angel."

"What are you talking about?"

"There are such things. Shasha, put this guy separately. If you put him with the others, he might get beaten to death."

"About the money?"

"The money…"

If I take it back, it will feel weird.

"I'll give it to you as an early year-end bonus."

"Really?"

"I don't cheat you."

"Thank you. I'll use it well."

Shasha, feeling very happy, threw the man into another container.

"But how did you know? That Petrov, the manager, wasn't the culprit. I, in fact…."

Kirill, who received Shasha's gaze, flinched.

"Everyone has their limits, but Petrov, the manager, doesn't have the guts to do such a thing. I checked when I met him before."

If he had the guts, he wouldn't have been pushed aside by his grandfather's influence.

"Anton, the uncle, gave the order…."

"Is Anton, the uncle, out of his mind? How could he do such a thing, knowing how important this site is?"

"When people are cornered, they can't see anything."

If he had stayed quiet, his grandfather might have given him another chance. He's digging his own grave.

Kirill, making sure Shasha couldn't hear, whispered to her.

-Did you record it well?

-Perfectly.

Nikolai always prepared for any eventuality.

So, the news article would state that the culprits were ordered by Anton, the uncle.

He looked at the newspaper again.

'Sure enough.'

The article about President Yeltsin's impeachment was visible until the matter was resolved. After the impeachment result was announced, it disappeared.

It's the same now.

The newspaper had changed to May 12th, and the content filled the page.

'Thank goodness. If so many people had been in an accident, what would we have done?'

Now that the matter is resolved, it's time to finish off Anton completely.

Nikolai went inside and called his grandfather.

"Grandfather, it's me."

-Are you calling from Ussuriysk?

"Yes. I have something to tell you."

-Tell me.

"A few days ago, this happened."

After recounting the events, there was a long silence on the phone, followed by a sigh.

-…I'll bring Anton to the site in two days. Prepare those people.

"Understood."

* * *

Two days later, in the morning.

Yuri Yusupov, Anton, and the second son Yegor arrived at the site.

Yuri immediately ordered the man who had spoken last to be brought to him. He then pointed at Anton and asked in a heavy voice,

"Was this done by Anton?"

Yuri had heard the recording but wanted to hear it directly from the person involved.

"…"

The man, having been through this before, didn't speak.

He thought that speaking would only lead to jail.

But the carrot that followed swayed him.

"If you tell the truth, I'll let you go. I swear on the family's name."

"How can I trust you? Nikolai, the manager, said the same thing and then brought me back."

"I'm different from Nikolai… or, what can I do to make you trust me?"

"Let me take a plane and give me the money to flee."

"I'll do that. If this man answers, give him the money and take him away immediately."

"Yes."

Nikolai, having no choice but to follow his grandfather's words, nodded.

"Was it definitely Anton?"

"It was. Anton, the manager, paid us to do it."

Anton, who had been ordered not to speak until Yuri asked, couldn't remain silent.

He knew what his future would be if this ended like this.

"Father, it's a lie! I've never seen this guy before. You, you little bastard, speak properly!"

"You were the one who said it! If the matter was exposed, you were to blame it on Igor Petrov, the manager. But Nikolai, the manager, figured it out…."

As Anton tried to speak again, Yuri shot him a fierce look.

"Shut up!"

"Father…."

"Shut up."

Yuri closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and spoke to Nikolai.

"Give him the money and take him to Vladivostok airport."

Nikolai nodded and signaled to Shasha.

Shasha went inside, came out with a bundle of cash, and handed it to the man.

"Get in the car. This employee will take you to the airport."

The man, relieved to be leaving this hell, got into the car with a bright face.

When the car disappeared, Yuri turned to Anton, who was standing there in shock, and said,

"Disgraceful."

That one word from Yuri was the end.

Anton had no choice but to admit.

"I told you to stay quiet, but you caused trouble again?"

"Father…."

"If I gave you a chance, you should have stayed quiet until I called.