Chapter 72

The Bear's Soup is Now My Story 72nd Episode

072 1997's Fortunes / Black Hole Entertainment

While heading to the Bolshoi (Grand) Theater where the "3rd Unicorn Miss Mister Selection Contest" was about to begin, Nikolai suddenly said,

"Can you stop the car for a moment?"

"Yes, Mr. President."

Five black cars lined up in a row on the street in front of the theater, which was showing a foreign film.

The people who had filled the open space in front of the theater all turned their gazes.

As eighteen burly men in black suits got out of the cars, the attention became even more focused.

Click.

Nikolai, who had gotten out of the car with Sasha, looked at the large sign.

'This movie came out around this time.'

Russia had been accepting Western culture since the time of former President Yeltsin, and when President Zahar came to power, it was completely open.

Therefore, Russians had become quite familiar with Western culture.

"What's with all these people? There are more kids than adults?"

As Sasha said, many of the gathered people were children who had come with their parents.

Nikolai recalled his days as a journalist while looking at the sign.

'Lost World: Jurassic Park... That movie must have been a huge hit. It's time to start a company.'

[Black Hole Entertainment]

This was the name of the company he was thinking of.

Through this company, he would draw the world's cultural industry into Russia like a black hole.

He had started the selection contest to make Russian culture stand tall in the world and to naturally make the independent countries accept Russian culture.

To make proper investments, he would need to know the names of future hit movies and talented actors or singers, but that wasn't a problem.

He would remember when he saw the names of movies, actors, or singers, just like now.

While Nikolai was staring at the sign, the people around him began to murmur.

"What a man, he's more handsome than a woman. Is he an actor?"

"I've never seen him before. Is he a newcomer?"

"Does a newcomer get such security? I thought President Zahar had come at first."

"I was also surprised. Should we go a little closer to see?"

"Sure, let's go."

As two young women in their early twenties were debating whether to go closer, another woman recognized Nikolai.

- Oh, I know that person. I saw him working with Zahar during the presidential election.

- That's right. I remember. He's the CEO of U-Mart and Gazprom. He often appeared on the news.

As the murmurs grew louder, Sasha signaled the security guards to be more cautious and tapped Nikolai's arm.

"Aren't you going? We need to arrive 30 minutes early."

"Yeah, let's go."

Nikolai, returning to reality, glanced around and smiled at the young women gathered nearby.

Squeal!

"It's me. He smiled at me."

"Ha, who wouldn't know it was me?"

The women screamed and argued, each claiming that the smile was for them.

Regardless of what they thought, Nikolai immediately got back into the car.

"Let's go."

Young women like this rarely showed interest in Nikolai during his journalist days.

He had lived frugally, trying to save enough for a two-bedroom apartment, and had no time for dating.

But now, with the situation completely changed, he would have new connections.

'My other half must be out there somewhere.'

* * *

The contest was attended by all the well-known social figures in Russia.

President Zahar attended at Nikolai's suggestion, and others naturally followed suit.

A special feature of this 3rd contest was that more participants from the 14 independent countries were present than Russians.

The preliminaries and finals were both held in Moscow.

The first policy implemented from Nikolai's suggestions to President Zahar was the visa exemption for independent countries.

This made it possible for people to travel as if it were their own country.

With a visa exemption, one could live and work in Russia for up to a year.

Russia didn't feel like a distant country to the independent states.

The host announced good news.

"In about three months, on December 1st, the apartments being built in Moscow will finally be available for occupancy. The winners of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd contests will each receive a 115 square meter (35 pyeong) apartment."

As soon as he finished speaking, the winners jumped up from their seats, some even shedding tears and hugging each other.

"It's only three months away. What should I do?"

"Let's go see it after the photo session. The building is already finished."

"Yeah, we must go. I can't believe I'm the owner of a Unicorn apartment. Mom! I have a home!"

In Russia, Unicorn apartments were a source of envy.

Not only were they expensive, but the quality of the apartments was the best in the world.

Russian state TV had aired two documentaries about Unicorn apartments, which received an overwhelming response.

Korean construction companies came first to learn new technologies, followed by Japanese and Chinese companies.

In the West, apart from Korea, apartments were generally seen as homes for the middle class, but in Russia, it was the opposite.

Unicorn apartments had many features, the most significant being that all residents received a 'dacha'—a place to grow vegetables and spend weekends.

Located about an hour outside Moscow, this distance was insignificant to Russians.

The host continued.

"Among those who voted in the previous presidential election, those who won the voting lottery will also receive benefits."

1st place: 3 winners (55 pyeong). 2nd place: 6 winners (45 pyeong).

3rd place: 9 winners (35 pyeong). 4th place: 15 winners (25 pyeong).

People watching TV across the country, who were eligible, ran around their rooms and living rooms, expressing their joy.

Since President Zahar came to power, many changes had occurred, including a new law limiting foreign ownership of Russian real estate to 5%.

Bulk purchases in one location were prohibited, and land was generally leased.

Once all government administrative tasks were computerized, the 5% limit would be enforced nationwide.

Simultaneously, all homes had to be sold on a pre-sale basis, which was also a result of Nikolai's suggestions.

The preliminaries and finals, which lasted for eight hours, concluded successfully.

Nikolai also joined for the final group photo.

However, the posture of the winners was a bit off.

The men squatted in the front row in a 'sitting pose,' while the women stood behind, clinging to Nikolai's sides.

It could have been done with a wooden platform, but only Nikolai knew why it was done this way.

Since the 3rd contest, the group photo had been taken with Nikolai at the center.

He had created the contest, and his name had become very famous in Russia.

Kim Min-joon, who had attended and become a couple with a previous winner, distributed business cards to the winners.

"It's 'Ryubryu Marriage Information Company.' We connect the best brides and grooms from the independent countries and Korea. If you're interested, please contact us."

Kim Min-joon didn't speak Russian, so his partner distributed the cards efficiently.

* * *

The second World Ball first prize winners were three people.

Russia, USA, Belarus.

First prize total winnings:

- $1,035,570,000 (approximately 9,320 billion won).

Per person: approximately 3,106 billion won.

Annual: 155.3 billion won.

The second World Ball jackpot caused a stir worldwide.

Given the high sales volume in Russia, it wasn't surprising that the first prize winner was from Russia.

However, it was unexpected that a winner came from Belarus, a Soviet independent state with a population of 9.3 million.

Ultimately, this event made Belarusians feel closer to Russia.

However, it was different for the USA.

USA Powerball (first draw on April 22, 1992).

USA Mega Millions (first draw on September 6, 1996).

Russia World Ball (first draw on September 1, 1996).

The two American lotteries were well-established and running smoothly, but the sudden appearance of the World Ball caused a noticeable drop in sales.

The issue was that sales would continue to decline.

To address this, lottery officials gathered in Washington to brainstorm.

"This can't continue. It might be fine for now, but in a few years, the World Ball will dominate."

"There's no way to win."

"It might be hard to win, but there's a way to compete."

"What is it?"

"Like the World Ball, we can sell Powerball and Mega Millions online and allow foreigners to legally purchase them."

"Hmm. That would require changing the law…"

"Everyone knows how much revenue lotteries generate. If we need to change the law, we must do it."

Thus, Powerball and Mega Millions in the USA became legally available to foreigners.

...or so they thought.

The USA was not a country that easily changed its laws.

There was a deep cultural tradition of aligning laws with the USA.

Ultimately, the two American lotteries had to proceed as they did in the original history.

The World Ball was rapidly dominating the global lottery industry.

* * *

The White House.

Clinton and the CIA director were watching news about the USA lottery and the World Ball.

"Black Hole operates the World Ball?"

"Yes."

"Nikolai, that man is involved in all sorts of businesses."

"I investigated as you suggested. Thailand accepted only a small portion of the funds offered by the IMF. The reason was that they had received all their loans from Russia in dollars, a year early."

The CIA director explained the loan relationship between the Unicorn Group, Gazprom, and Thai banks in detail.

Clinton's eyes lit up.

"Russia demanded a 50-year import agreement for Gazprom's gas and oil in return."

"…!"

"The contract has already been signed. And the CEO of Gazprom is that man, Nikolai."

"What…?"

"Since he was the campaign manager for Zahar during the election, it's likely that he was the one who arranged for Gazprom to sell gas and oil to Thailand for 50 years."

Clinton fell into deep thought before slowly speaking.

"I knew he wasn't an ordinary person…"

While Clinton was thinking about Nikolai, Nikolai was thinking about the next US president, George Bush.

* * *

GUM Department Store Black Hole CEO Office.

As soon as Nikolai entered the office, which he rarely visited, he asked the secretary.

"Did anyone call?"

"A call came from Dennis in the UK. He said he would call back when you arrived."

Just then, the phone rang.

Ding-dong♬-

The secretary immediately answered and handed the phone to Nikolai.

-Did the contest go well?

"I just finished. What's up?"

-Elliot has brought in two more speculative forces. They are Soros's Quantum Fund and Robertson's Tiger Fund. Both have significant capital.

"What's the exchange rate situation?"

-The Indonesian rupiah is continuously falling. It's following the same path as Thailand. And we have information that Japan is recalling all short-term loans.

Japan?

A significant amount of Japanese capital had flowed into Southeast Asian countries.

Due to poor economic conditions in Japan, Japanese banks and companies had turned their attention to Southeast Asia.

But if Japan suddenly recalled its funds?

'It's just like when Korea rapidly collapsed.'

-Indonesia won't last much longer.

"Prepare to act as soon as I give the signal."

-I'm always prepared. By the way, thanks for the bonus. It's the first time I've received such a large sum in my life.

"You made a lot in Thailand. I had to compensate you for your excellent work. If the situation in Indonesia ends well, I'll give you more."

-I'm just going to bury myself in Black Hole. Oh, and Jobs asked me to tell you that his comprehensive health check showed no issues. Do you need to be informed of such things?

Nikolai remembered that he had previously told Steve Jobs to get a comprehensive health check every three months.

However, he hadn't asked for reports, but it seemed Jobs was grateful for the concern.

"Next time, ask your brother to check every three months."

-Only you would be so thorough about a CEO's health.

"Anyway, transfer all the IT company stocks we bought to the US Black Hole corporation."

-You're serious? You know that your image in the US is bad because of the US IT company stocks, yet you want to transfer them?

"There's a good reason, so do it."

-Wow, you really have guts. I'll do it, but I'm a bit scared this time. Even in a free and capitalist country like the US, public opinion can't be ignored.

Public opinion can exert power that surpasses the law.

"I know what you're worried about. There's a solution. Don't worry too much."

When the dot-com bubble (IT bubble) bursts and it's time to sell, the US corporation can create a better situation for Nikolai.

The situation is different when a UK company holds a large amount of US IT company stocks compared to a US company doing the same.

"By the way, send me a list of movies scheduled to be released in the US this year and those currently in production. Also, include the names of famous actors and singers in Hollywood."

-Can't you find that on the internet?

"Sure, but you can do it for me. I don't have the time. People here are busy too."

Looking through the list, he would recall the hits and popular actors and singers.

"Also, slowly buy Disney stocks."

-Why Disney all of a sudden?

"It's part of the business I plan to start."

-You're starting a new business again, huh? Got it. I'll send the list and slowly buy Disney stocks. I'm excited to see what new business you're starting.

Nikolai gave one final instruction to find a suitable 'entertainment company' in the US.

It would be faster to acquire and restructure an existing company rather than start a new one.