Chapter 220: Dancing with the Polar Bear (Part 2) - Seeking Subscriptions

His gaze lingered on him for a moment; Vladimir frowned slightly, but he did not accept Poladanovich's resignation immediately.

However, Poladanovich had indeed stayed in the position of Security Bureau Director for too long; once his own term ended next year, he would inevitably become a primary target for both domestic and foreign forces.

In an instant, Vladimir already had a plan in mind; the choice for the new Security Bureau Director would be his final arrangement before his term ended.

Poladanovich was, after all, his trusted aide, and over these years, he had rendered him great service.

Therefore, although he already had the thought of replacing him, Vladimir did not blame him too much; instead, he took the initiative to comfort him, a rare occurrence, "You don't need to blame yourself; today's matter cannot be blamed on you all!"

After organizing his thoughts, he continued: "Remember, half a month ago, the Severodvinsk Shipyard lost a Typhoon-class ballistic missile nuclear submarine, right?"

Poladanovich nodded. The Russian Navy had lost a Typhoon-class ballistic missile nuclear submarine that had not yet been decommissioned; the shock caused by this matter still affected the Russian top brass to this day, especially in the Navy. Almost all the top leaders of the Northern Fleet had received warnings, and the person in charge of the Severodvinsk Naval Base had been dismissed entirely and ordered to retire.

The nickname "Severodvinsk Phantom" was coined by Poladanovich himself.

Everyone in the office was a smart person, and they all knew the detailed inside story of the "Severodvinsk Phantom."

Therefore, now that Vladimir suddenly mentioned it, everyone in the office immediately widened their eyes.

"Mr. President, do you mean... the gunshots that rang out in the Presidential Palace earlier, could it be..." Defense Minister Konashenkov asked in disbelief.

Vladimir frowned and nodded slightly.

"That's right. Not long ago, that mechanical creature claiming to be from the planet Cybertron broke into the residence, saying it wanted to talk business with me..." Glancing at the time on his wrist, his frown deepened: "There isn't much time left for us. I have temporarily appeased that mechanical creature. I summoned you all urgently this time not only to give some instructions, but in a moment, Konashenkov and Dmitri will also accompany me to meet with that mechanical creature..."

"Is there only one?"

The voice of General Girokoyev, Commander of the Moscow Military District, was somewhat cold. He held his head high and looked at Vladimir, suggesting in a booming voice: "I have seen the pictures of the 'Severodvinsk Phantom.' It is estimated that its height should not exceed four meters, and its weight is around twenty or thirty tons. This size is not even as large as one of our T-90 Tanks. Mr. President, if there is sufficient preparation, I believe a single anti-tank missile could severely damage or even destroy it..."

Hearing this, Vladimir could not help but feel tempted.

However, in a flash, he suddenly thought of the scene he had witnessed with his own eyes earlier and could not help but shake his head, "General, it is not that simple..."

The Presidential Residence had surveillance equipment, so it naturally captured the previous video.

However, because the agreed-upon time was tight, Vladimir was also worried that if he dragged it out too long on his side, the other party, who had been difficult to appease, might cause trouble again.

At once, he sternly ordered: "I will tell you the detailed situation later. Now, Director Poladanovich, I have already ordered people to issue a gag order to everyone in the residence who knows about this, but considering that others might notice this, I need you to immediately arrange personnel to supervise newspapers, radio stations, and even foreign intelligence personnel in Russia to ensure that what happened earlier is not exposed!"

"Yes, Mr. President, I will go arrange it right now!"

Vladimir nodded slightly, then looked at General Girokoyev and instructed: "General, this may be an unprecedentedly huge crisis for Russia. In a moment, I will have someone copy the video captured in the residence and send it to you. I cannot issue an order for Russia to enter a state of wartime alert, as that might cause a serious diplomatic conflict. However, please return immediately and arrange for the Moscow Military District to mobilize. The worst-case scenario is that this city might fall into a sea of flames again after more than half a century!"

The few people in the office could not help but look at each other, but seeing him stand up as if preparing to leave, they hurriedly stood up as well. Especially General Girokoyev, who gave him a solemn military salute; with his expression becoming serious, he soon left with Director Poladanovich.

After the two left, Vladimir nodded slightly to Konashenkov and Dmitri, pointed to the watch on his wrist, and said: "Let's go, there is not much time left for the appointment with that mechanical creature. I cannot go to the Hero Mother Banquet, but I have already called Prime Minister Mikhail, and he will attend the banquet on my behalf in a moment. Now, you two will accompany me to see that mechanical creature. This may indeed be Russia's greatest crisis, but within the crisis, there are also infinite possibilities. If I am not mistaken, the Americans have already gotten too far ahead of us..."

Konashenkov and Dmitri clearly could not keep up with his train of thought.

But the two did not show it; they followed closely behind Vladimir. The three of them, under the protection of a fully armed squad of soldiers, left the Presidential Residence and headed straight for the West Garden.

"So there were other arrangements..."

In the West Garden, the azure light in Sun Cheng's eyes suddenly flickered, and the arc of his mouth curved further.

Earlier, when invading the Presidential Palace, he had already released dozens of sets of Micro-reconnaissance Drones throughout the Kremlin, so even the brief meeting that had just taken place in the Presidential Residence was seen by him in its entirety.

Noticing that Vladimir and the others had headed straight here after ending their meeting, he was in such a good mood that he even hummed a happy little tune from the real world in his heart.

The trip to Russia was destined to be a great success.

Sun Cheng had never doubted this!

Everything the Polar Bear needed, he had in his hands.

Technology, physical goods, and even capital!

Before leaving Brazil, he had given Atlas and the others instructions to resume the production of industrial robots, and ordered them to reasonably modify the existing industrial robot model to produce a batch of miner-type industrial robots specifically responsible for prospecting and mining.

Therefore, if Russia were truly so poor that they even wanted gold, he could produce a batch of gold given a little more time.

And in the pockets of the Polar Bear, there were simply too many good things that Sun Cheng coveted.

Not to mention the massive nuclear arsenal left over from the former Soviet Union; although he coveted it, he estimated that it would be difficult for the Polar Bear to loosen its grip on that.

However, as the country with the largest territory in the world, Russia's vast land contained extremely rich resources; almost all the rare metals and materials Sun Cheng coveted could be found there.

Moreover, Russia also had one good thing that Sun Cheng coveted immensely, and that was uranium ore!

ps:

1. A late make-up chapter!

2. Thanks to "Book Friend 20170111185222775" for becoming the first Helmsman of this book!