Chapter 62

The Bear's Soup is Now My Story 62

062 I Pick Up Two Diamonds / Find the Culprit

At the Alrosa in Mirny, Sakha Republic.

The highest temperature in Mirny in September was 10 degrees, and the lowest was around 1 degree.

"You see, it's warm, right?"

"Uh... yeah. It's much warmer than when I was at Gazprom."

Kirill took off his coat, and the others followed suit.

The group arrived at the diamond mining site and looked down at a deep and wide pit, wondering how it could have been dug by human hands.

"Wow, it's really deep. If I didn't know this was a diamond mine, I would have thought it was a meteor impact. It's amazing."

The mine is 525 meters deep (fourth in the world) and has a diameter of 1,200 meters.

"Bro, I just thought of something."

"What is it?"

"Looking at this, the pyramids are definitely made by humans. I thought they were made by aliens. Even with heavy machinery, if they could dig down hundreds of meters, why couldn't they build up?"

"..."

Dima's words left everyone speechless.

While Nikolai and his group were admiring the pit, a car quickly approached and stopped.

Then, a middle-aged man got out.

"I'm sorry. If you had contacted me before coming, I would have come to meet you."

He is the deputy director of Alrosa.

"It's fine. But how did you know I'm the new director?"

"I received a call from the President's office a little while ago."

"I see. Let's go to the office first."

"Yes, I'll show you the way."

A little later, Nikolai and his group entered the deputy director's office and sat down across from him.

To get a rough idea of the situation, Nikolai asked many questions.

"I heard the production has dropped below 50%. What's the problem?"

"You might not know since this is your first time at such a site, but just digging the ground doesn't guarantee a continuous supply of diamonds."

"Where else would you dig if not the ground?"

Nikolai's somewhat odd question made the deputy director blink.

"We pay the people working here to dig the ground."

"I didn't mean that. I meant that sometimes they come out, and sometimes they don't."

"Who doesn't know that? I'm asking because the production has dropped significantly compared to before."

"Ahem... The drop in production can be attributed to a combination of various issues."

"Can you explain it more simply?"

During the flight, Nikolai deeply considered how to normalize this site. He had a plan but wanted to gather more information from the deputy director first.

"First, most of the heavy machinery has been in use since the Soviet era and is severely outdated, and the working conditions are very poor. This has led to a continuous loss of manpower, resulting in a decrease in production."

Though his words sounded plausible, these issues were not new and had existed in the past. If the problems were significant, the production would have decreased much earlier.

Before Nikolai arrived, he had heard that "production dropped sharply after President Yeltsin stepped down." This implies that other major issues arose from that time, not just the aftermath of Yeltsin's departure.

Nikolai looked at the deputy director and then at the three large safes.

"Do you store the rough diamonds in there?"

"Yes, we also store the processed ones."

"Open them."

The deputy director, perhaps annoyed by the commanding tone, bit his lip and turned the dials on the three safes to open them.

Inside were several large rocks with diamonds embedded in them, and quite a few processed diamonds, slightly larger than peas, shining brightly.

"When do you collect them?"

"The bank employees come to collect them at 2 PM on Tuesdays and Fridays."

Nikolai picked up five of the processed diamonds, held them up to the light, and then naturally put them in his pocket.

"…?"

The deputy director looked surprised but didn't say anything.

If the owner wants to take them, what can he say?

"Can you give me 10 pens and about 200 sheets of A4 paper?"

"...Sure."

The deputy director, curious about why Nikolai was doing this, complied without a word.

He placed the pens and paper on the table.

"Cut this paper into 20 equal parts. Neatly."

"For what?"

It was a question Kirill asked, which the deputy director was also curious about.

"You'll find out soon. Cut them quickly."

The first two things to address at this site were:

1. People with firearms.

2. People who have been siphoning off diamonds.

There were other issues, but these needed to be resolved first.

So, the method he thought of was what he was preparing now.

Nikolai looked at an empty box in the corner and said to Sasha,

"Take care of that box. We'll use it soon."

He had a plan in mind, but the others didn't know the reason, so he wanted to explain it clearly.

But he calmly said to Sasha again,

"When will the police arrive?"

Sasha looked at his wristwatch and said,

"They said it would take about an hour when I called earlier, so they should be here soon."

The request came directly from the President's office, so they received 50 people in total: 20 police officers and 30 soldiers from the military.

"Sir... Why are the police here...?"

The deputy director asked, confused.

"Just rest on the sofa. They'll be here soon."

Without answering the deputy director's question, Nikolai closed his eyes for a moment to organize his plan.

Kirill, Dima, and the deputy director of Unicorn Construction sat awkwardly, but Sasha went to the window and thought for a moment.

He seemed to be deeply considering the issues at the site.

'The deputy director's watch is a fairly expensive foreign brand.'

The deputy director's salary here wouldn't be much different from his previous salary at Gazprom.

Yet, he wears such an expensive watch.

Sasha frowned and observed the deputy director closely.

After some time, Sasha, who had been looking out the window, stuck his head out and then turned around, saying loudly,

"They're here."

"Then, let's go out."

As the group went outside, the deputy director followed, somewhat reluctantly.

Outside, soldiers and police officers were getting off a military truck.

"Hello, I'm in charge here."

A police officer of a slightly higher rank recognized Nikolai and greeted him.

"Have you been told that you'll be staying here for a few days?"

"Yes, I received orders to stay here until the matter is resolved."

"Though it might be inconvenient, please assist us."

"It's our duty."

Despite the typical stiffness of Russian police, it wasn't a problem, and Nikolai was satisfied.

"Sir, we should first check for firearms."

"Sure, I'll let you know when to start."

"Understood."

While talking to the police, Nikolai carefully observed the deputy director's expression.

"Deputy Director."

"…Yes? Yes."

"Until further notice, stop all operations."

"But who are these people? Why are soldiers and police at a construction site?"

"Didn't you hear what I just said?"

The deputy director, distracted by the soldiers and police, swallowed hard.

"…All of them?"

"You have a talent for repeating the same questions."

"I'll order them to stop."

"And have all the workers and staff gather here."

"Understood."

"Also, include the restaurant staff and others."

While the deputy director was stopping all operations, the soldiers and police took a short break.

The deputy director, who had been walking around the site, returned and asked,

"Sir, what's going on?"

"There are people at this site who have been siphoning off diamonds."

"…Siphoning off? Production has decreased, but you shouldn't solve this problem in such a way."

"Then how should we solve it?"

"Can't we discuss it gradually? This feels like you're accusing me of being involved."

The deputy director spoke in a strong tone, as if he felt wronged.

Regardless, Nikolai pressed on.

About 40 minutes later, over 200 people had gathered.

Since it was an open-pit mine, most of the work was done with heavy machinery, but it still required over 200 people.

Nikolai climbed up a high platform and addressed the workers,

"I am the new director of Alrosa. From now on, this site will be on hold until further notice."

Murmurs spread, but he continued,

"The soldiers and police need to conduct an investigation, so no one should leave until it's complete. If anyone tries to leave, they will be arrested immediately."

Nikolai called Sasha to arrange the people in rows of 10, with an arm's length between each person.

This made it easier to monitor them.

He then called Kirill to stand at the far right and raise one finger.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

He told Dima to stand in the 5th row and raise five fingers.

He told Sasha to stand in the 10th row and raise both hands.

"As you can see, this is row 1, this is row 5, and this is row 10. I've heard that there are people with firearms at this site, so I need to find them."

Finding the person hiding firearms increases the chances of finding the person siphoning off diamonds, as they might be the same person.

He instructed the deputy director of Unicorn Construction to distribute pens to the front row and to hold the cut paper to distribute to the people.

"Understood."

The procedure was as follows:

The 10 people in the front row would come forward with pens and stand almost touching the wall of the building in front.

If there is a person with firearms in rows 1 to 10, they would write the corresponding row number.

The rest of the people standing in rows would turn around so they couldn't see the movements of those in front.

This way, no one would know who wrote the numbers, making it a good method.

After writing, the papers would be placed in the prepared box, and Nikolai's group would handle the rest.

If a row number is written, the process would be repeated for that row.

This method would eventually identify the culprit.

To do this...

'I need to offer a tempting bait.'

Nikolai took out the five diamonds he had put in his pocket and showed two of them.

"I will give these two diamonds to anyone who can tell me who is hiding firearms. When writing the number, make a small mark that only you can recognize. Come to me at a convenient time, and I'll give you these diamonds."

The mark would help identify the person later by comparing it with the paper.

People murmured with some dissatisfaction but agreed, knowing that hiding firearms could result in a minimum of 5 years in prison.

They would have hidden the firearms well, so this method was used.

The two diamonds were a strong incentive.

The people lined up and began to follow Nikolai's plan.

While observing from above, Nikolai noticed three people who looked particularly anxious.

Pretending to observe the people, he went to the line and glanced at the name tags: the site manager and a dump truck driver.

The third person was a restaurant lady.

Nikolai smiled, looking at the deputy director, who looked even more anxious.

'The culprit is definitely among them.'