Genius Grandson Of The Loan Shark King

Mogilevich’s eyes shook.

The way he didn’t answer right away made it certain.

So you really have it. I asked again in a low voice.

“I’m asking because I already know. So don’t bother hiding it. Where is it? How many do you have?”

Mogilevich pressed his lips tightly together and turned his gaze aside, breathing roughly.

Even now, I could see him thinking desperately, trying to find a way to live.

“If you don’t know, that’s too bad.”

“······.”

I straightened my back and called out.

“Igor.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Kill him.”

Igor drew a gun from his waist.

He usually preferred automatics, but what he pulled out this time was a revolver.

He loaded a single bullet and spun the cylinder.

The dry click of the rotating chamber echoed around the basement.

Mogilevich jerked his head up at the sound and turned his eyes toward Igor.

When he saw the gun in Igor’s hand, his eyes trembled nonstop.

Igor placed his finger on the trigger and pointed the muzzle at Mogilevich’s head.

Even then, Mogilevich didn’t open his mouth.

I frowned at the sight—then suddenly thought of an amusing little game.

“Igor.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Load only one bullet and empty the rest.”

It was Russian roulette.

Igor immediately understood what I meant and left just one bullet, removing all the others.

“Mogilevich, you’ve got a nuclear weapon, don’t you?”

“······.”

He didn’t answer. He wouldn’t even meet my eyes, staring instead at the ground.

“Igor, pull it.”

At my command, Igor pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The hammer struck the chamber with a sharp click—but no shot fired.

Mogilevich’s eyes, filled with fear, darted between Igor and me.

“Seems your luck’s holding out. I’ll ask again. Where’s the nuclear weapon?”

“······.”

“Pull it.”

It was repeated twice more, but Mogilevich stubbornly kept his mouth shut.

“So there are three chances left, huh? The odds of you living just got that much smaller. Well, fine. Don’t talk if you don’t want to. You can take it with you to your grave.”

The fourth trigger pull. The revolver stayed silent again.

“One more.”

Igor pulled it again. Only the click of the hammer striking echoed.

“This the last one?” I shrugged and said casually,

“Mogilevich, you’re a lucky man. But that luck’s about to run out.”

“W-wait!”

As Igor started to pull the trigger for the next round, Mogilevich suddenly panicked, stuttering as he grabbed at my ankle.

It seemed he finally realized I was serious about killing him.

I pressed down hard on his hand.

“Ah—Aaaagh! My—my hand!”

“This is your last chance. You know there’s no next time. Where’s the nuclear weapon?”

“I’ll talk! Please, just let me live.”

Mogilevich pressed his forehead to the floor, his voice trembling pitifully.

I looked down at him, then gave Igor a look.

Without a word, Igor holstered the revolver.

“Talk.”

“H-Hungary. In Budapest.”

“Budapest?”

“Yes. There’s a secret warehouse there.”

“How many?”

“······Just one.”

Only one? Three were reported missing.

You expect me to believe that? I rubbed my chin slowly.

“When the Soviet Union collapsed, three warheads went missing. You’re telling me you only took one?”

“I only managed to get one! I really don’t know about the others!”

He trembled as he spoke, wrapping his thick hands around the back of his neck.

I clicked my tongue.

So this was the so-called godfather of the Russian mafia? I expected him to at least have some backbone.

“A mafia boss keeping nuclear weapons, huh······.”

I had suspected it, but I hadn’t thought it would actually be true.

I nudged him lightly with my shoe and asked again.

“Mogilevich, you seriously don’t know where the other warheads went?”

“I swear I don’t. I just happened to get mine by chance. I went to buy other weapons, and someone asked if I’d be interested in a nuclear warhead······.”

“Who was the bastard that sold that to you?”

“······.”

He went silent again. Confusion filled his eyes—it didn’t even seem intentional.

“You came this far and you still want to protect him? You should be more ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ worried about yourself. Who was it? Who sold it to you?”

“······It was Major General Nikolaev. If I’d refused, I would’ve been shot on the spot. I had no choice.”

“Major General Nikolaev?”

Igor muttered blankly beside me.

It was the first time I’d heard the name, but Igor seemed to recognize it.

“Igor.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Who is Nikolaev?”

“······That’s impossible, sir.”

What came out of Igor’s mouth wasn’t information but denial.

“He’s a man respected by all Soviet soldiers. This man is lying, boss. The General’s retired now, but still······.”

“Igor, I didn’t ask for your opinion. Who is he?”

My cold tone snapped him out of it. Igor lowered his head.

“······I’m sorry, boss. He was the general who commanded the Far Eastern Military District.”

“Far East—that’s the border with China and North Korea, isn’t it?”

“Yes, sir. He was one of the few true soldiers among soldiers.”

If Igor spoke of him like this, the man must have truly been respected—a commander of rare caliber.

“You’re sure it was Nikolaev?”

“I’ve no reason to lie now.”

“What was the relationship between you two?”

“What kind of relationship could a mafia boss and a soldier have? Most of the weapons I smuggled came from there.”

His confession came out flatly, but Igor was too stunned to speak.

“And now?”

“It’s hard to do arms deals inside Russia these days. But just beyond the borders, there are plenty of places to buy weapons. Nikolaev is the one who connects those deals.”

So the revered general had become a weapons broker.

It was a perfect snapshot of Russia’s reality.

I turned my head and looked at Igor, whose face had gone stiff.

“Igor.”

“Yes, boss.”

“I don’t know what relationship you had with Nikolaev, but he could be our enemy now. Can you handle that?”

“······Yes.”

He bit his lip hard before answering. I slowly shook my head.

“If it’s too much, you don’t have to do it. We can call in people from headquarters.”

“No, sir. I can do it. If you command it, my men and I would walk into hell itself. That’s the only way we can repay what you’ve done for us.”

Ever since I brought Igor in, I had employed all his former unit members—retired soldiers struggling to survive civilian life.

I bought them homes in Moscow, paid them high salaries.

Their loyalty to me was unmatched, even among the Black Bear mercenaries.

I smiled faintly at Igor, then turned my gaze back to Mogilevich.

“Where’s the warehouse with the nuclear warhead? Budapest is the capital of Hungary, right?”

“······.”

“Still planning to die clutching your bomb? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. It’s only a matter of time before we find it anyway.”

“N-no. I’ll talk! I’ll talk, just please don’t kill me.”

Mogilevich hastily gave me the address.

I memorized it, then rose to my feet.

I’d gotten everything I needed. Mogilevich was now useless.

I walked past the man kneeling on the floor and headed toward the exit.

“Igor.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Make it quick. We’ll need to hand the body over.”

Mogilevich jerked up, crawling toward me in panic.

“Y-you said you’d let me live······.”

I looked down at him, eyes cold and empty.

“Did I ever say I would? I said it depended on what you did.”

“You bastard! You never intended to let me live!”

Instead of answering, I gave a faint, crooked smile and turned away.

His curses and shrill howls followed me, but I ignored them and closed the iron basement door.

As I stepped outside, the cold wind brushed across my face.

“Boss.”

After a moment, Ma Director called to me carefully.

When I turned, he held up a phone.

“Medvedev has been calling.”

There were more than ten missed calls.

The basement had blocked all signals, so I hadn’t noticed. freewebnøvel.coɱ

I quickly took the phone and dialed Medvedev back.

― Mr. Kim!

He shouted the moment the line connected, his voice far more agitated than usual.

“Ah, Medvedev. My apologies.”

― I couldn’t reach you—I thought something had gone wrong.

“I was in a place with no signal. Did you arrest everyone?”

― Yes, the operation went perfectly. We’ve captured Usoyan and Ivankov as well.

“That’s good news.”

Everything had gone according to plan. Now all that remained was to leave Russia.

Then, through the receiver, Medvedev’s hesitant voice came again.

― But, Mr. Kim... Mogilevich—what about him?

At that exact moment, Igor opened the basement door and stepped out.

I looked at him silently, and he nodded once.

“He’s dead.”

― Good work.

“I hope you weren’t thinking of sparing him. Anyway, Medvedev—Mogilevich really did have a nuclear weapon.”

Silence lingered on the line. I kept walking toward the main building.

“He said it’s in a secret warehouse in Budapest, Hungary. We’ll have to verify it, of course.”

Ma Director opened the door for me.

The sudden warmth inside made my cheeks sting.

― Is that true?

“That’s what he said.”

― Understood. I’ll call back soon.

The call ended abruptly.

I went into the office and summoned Igor and Ma Director.

Once they were seated, I spoke.

“Igor, explain properly about Nikolaev. Why were you so shocked? I’ve never seen you like that.”

“He was the pride of the Soviet Army, sir. Though he retired after the collapse, even now his influence reaches not only the Russian military but also the armies of the former satellite states. To hear that he was involved in arms dealing... I still can’t believe it.”

Even now, Igor referred to him with honorifics.

That said everything about how respected the man had once been.

So why did he do it? Money? Or had everyone simply been deceived all along?

“Anyway, I don’t think Mogilevich was lying. Smuggling nuclear warheads out of the country would’ve required someone with that level of authority.”

“······.”

Igor clenched his jaw and lowered his head.

Just then, Ma Director’s phone rang in his inner pocket.

When I looked over, he handed it to me. The caller ID read Medvedev.

― Muhyuk, is it true?

But the voice on the line wasn’t Medvedev’s. It was Putin’s.

“Putin, you’re still awake?”

― That’s not the point. Did Mogilevich really have a nuclear weapon?

So Medvedev had woken him. Understandable—this was serious enough.

“Yes. Mogilevich confessed.”

― So it’s true... Where is it?

“He said it’s in a secret warehouse in Budapest.”

I told Putin everything, without hiding the location.

― Wait a moment.

I heard him give rapid orders to Medvedev on the other end.

Then his voice returned.

― Didn’t you feel any temptation? To just keep it for yourself instead of turning it over to us?

“Of course I did. But having it would bring more trouble than gain.”

― Ha ha. Wise of you. I would’ve been disappointed if you’d done otherwise.

“I’ll always stand on your side, Putin. Oh, and one more thing—I found out who sold it to him.”

― Good thing you didn’t kill him right away. Who was it? What kind of bastard sells nuclear weapons?

Putin’s voice carried a calm but heavy fury.

This was far beyond ordinary arms dealing—his anger was justified.

“Putin, do you know a man named Nikolaev?”

― Nikolaev? You mean General Nikolaev?

“He’s the one who made the offer to Mogilevich. Claimed he’d have been killed if he’d refused.”

― Nikolaev did that? ...I can’t believe it.

Even Putin’s reaction on the line was no different from Igor’s.