The Mad Grigory

Grigory swaggered over and sat down across the desk, crossing one leg over the other.

"You've got cups here, right?" Grigory craned his neck, looking over the desk.

"Now isn't the time for drinking. What's a Russian bastard like you doing drinking Daughter's Red anyway?" Chen Zhao glared at Grigory. "Stop lying and tell me what happened!"

Unhurried, Grigory took two wineglasses from the coffee table, poured one for Chen Zhao and one for himself. He took a slow sip, his brow faintly furrowing, apparently unaccustomed to the taste.

"It's a long story. Don't rush me. I'll tell you slowly," Grigory said.

Chen Zhao said nothing, merely staring straight at him.

"Back when the undersea base negotiations were happening, I went to help out, didn't I? I went to Japan too," Grigory began.

Chen Zhao nodded. That was true. Grigory spoke many languages and had visited more than half the countries in the world. He was also Chen Zhao's trusted close friend, so Chen Zhao had asked him to help with negotiations with various nations.

Grigory had lived up to the task. At the negotiating table, he had been razor-sharp, sitting there with the fierce, intimidating presence of a bear and cowing the opponents across from him.

"The Japanese delegation was very stubborn. We had to put in a lot of effort before forcing them to sign. While I was in the restroom, I happened to overhear two members of the Japanese delegation talking in Japanese. They said they'd find a way to teach Chen Zhao Technology Company a lesson later. They thought I didn't understand Japanese, so they talked freely. I heard every word clearly."

"Obviously, they weren't satisfied with the terms we gave them, so they wanted to retaliate in secret. But I listened for a long time,