Free Web NovelThere’s a saying that the pen is mightier than the sword.
It means the press holds power. Public opinion shifts according to every single article the media releases.
That’s why those who seize power always try to control the press. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
China was the perfect example.
And this time, I intended to expose the ugliness China had long buried beneath that control.
Rupert Murdoch was moving aggressively to acquire Dow Jones, yet he hadn’t disobeyed my instructions.
Using his tabloid networks, he began publishing corruption scandals involving high-ranking Chinese officials, one by one.
The first target he exposed was the Shanghai faction.
Newspapers in the UK, Australia, and the United States ran the stories.
China printed nothing.
Not a single line.
“Hmm.”
I scrolled through articles from Murdoch-owned outlets and let out a low hum.
“The Chinese media are completely silent?” I asked.
“Yes, Boss.”
“I expected resistance. But this is... surprising. If I were Hu Jintao, I wouldn’t miss this opportunity.”
There was a reason we started with corruption inside the Shanghai faction among the Shanghai Clique, Taizidang, and Communist Youth League.
To provoke internal conflict.
I had assumed they would at least leak the stories through smaller outlets.
“I can’t shake the feeling something is happening somewhere beyond my sight.”
China could act recklessly, but not now.
Could my involvement really have twisted history this much?
“What is it? Why are they reacting like this?”
Calling it “disciplining Korea” didn’t sit right. This felt like a direct strike at me.
It had been a while since I felt this.
That fogged-in sensation.
Like standing in thick mist, unable to see even a few steps ahead.
I leaned back into the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) sofa, tapping the armrest rhythmically.
I was the man who had helped realize their long-cherished project—the gas and oil pipelines between Russia and China.
I was a major investor in China.
There was no obvious reason for them to antagonize me.
This hadn’t happened in my previous life.
Which meant all I had now were guesses.
“Any new developments from Black Bear?”
“No, Boss. All available personnel have been mobilized to gather intelligence inside China. But they’re reporting little progress.”
If Black Bear said there was nothing, there was truly nothing.
“Accessing China’s top leadership isn’t easy. Intelligence won’t come cheap.”
I only knew Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao’s weaknesses and desires because of memories from my previous life.
But too much had changed because of me.
Events I had never seen before were now unfolding constantly.
“Surveillance on Wen Jiabao hasn’t been lifted?”
“No. Black Bear tracked the watchers. They’re believed to be agents from the Ministry of State Security.”
When I last spoke with Wen Jiabao, he had said surveillance around him had intensified.
So I ordered Black Bear to identify who was monitoring him.
“As expected. That explains why Wen is keeping his head down.”
They weren’t planning to eliminate him.
They were preventing him from helping me.
“And some of Black Bear’s operatives and HUMINT assets have been arrested.”
Manager Ma lowered his head slightly as he reported.
I frowned.
“They were completely off the grid. How were they identified?”
“That’s still unclear. We suspect one HUMINT asset may have betrayed us.”
Human intelligence was the most reliable source of information.
Black Bear had built human networks all over the world.
Unlike state agencies, as a PMC, Black Bear could move more freely.
“The network is cell-based, so total collapse is unlikely. But operational constraints are significant. Personnel in China are now building new networks while gathering intelligence. The burden is increasing.”
“This is getting more complicated than I anticipated.”
Frustration pressed against my chest.
Things weren’t moving according to my design.
“A force that would dare oppose me...”
One name surfaced.
Baltiche.
They had suffered heavy losses because of me.
If anyone could orchestrate something like this, it was them.
China must have trusted them enough to move.
They had the capacity to fill the vacuum if I withdrew.
“Contact Lorenzo Medici. I need to understand Baltiche’s movements. I suspect they’re behind all of this.”
“Yes, Boss.”
If Baltiche had aligned with China, the United States wouldn’t move recklessly either.
* * *
Jiang Zemin was meeting the French ambassador to China at his private residence.
“Chairman Jiang. It’s been a long time.”
“Joris. I heard you were appointed ambassador to China. How many years has it been since Shanghai?”
They had maintained a strong relationship since Jiang’s time as Shanghai Party Secretary.
“Thanks to you, I am here.”
“Thanks to me? I’m just an old man retired to the back room.”
“With respect, I’m here to assist in your current efforts. I serve as a messenger for them.”
A flicker crossed Jiang’s eyes.
“They replaced France’s ambassador overnight and sent you as their messenger? Impressive.”
Jiang had long known of Baltiche.
Without their approach, he would never have considered disciplining Korea—or attacking Kim Muhyuk.
“As promised, if Dream High withdraws its investments due to this incident, they will absorb the losses. And they are prepared to invest even more into China.”
“That’s welcome news. But why now? European countries rejected our investment requests before.”
Jiang looked genuinely curious.
Joris swallowed.
He had opposed it at the time.
“I’m not blaming you. Just curious.”
“China today is not China of the past. Back then, we couldn’t trust it.”
Jiang lifted an eyebrow.
“Couldn’t trust it? That disappoints me. You lacked trust in me?”
“Not you, Chairman. But doing business in China required bribes at every step. You know that.”
Jiang tilted his head.
“And that’s a problem?”
“Call it guanxi if you wish. But guanxi without gifts was impossible. It’s improved now.”
“Interesting. Very well.”
Jiang’s face hardened.
“So what is their message?”
Joris handed him a note.
“These are the Chinese companies Kim Muhyuk has invested in.”
Jiang nodded.
“I know them. But we cannot destroy all of them. You understand why.”
“Yes.”
Many high-ranking Party officials had invested in those same companies.
“We only ask that his shares be transferred to us.”
“So that’s the objective.”
Jiang smiled faintly.
“One objective. They want Kim Muhyuk’s downfall.”
“Europe is a better partner than Korea, no? And this time the U.S. won’t intervene. Some in America dislike Korea’s rising influence.”
“What about Russia?”
Joris hesitated.
Baltiche had poured money and personnel into Russia.
But the Kremlin’s new master—elevated with Muhyuk’s help—had purged anyone linked to Baltiche.
“Russia matters more to us than distant America.”
“We know about Kim Muhyuk’s relationship with the Russian president. But without justification, even they cannot act openly.”
That was true.
The balance of power between nations imposed natural restraint.
Jiang placed the note in his drawer.
“If Kim Muhyuk withdraws, you’ll receive his shares.”
“Thank you, Chairman Jiang.”
“More importantly...”
Jiang’s voice turned cold.
“European media are determined to damage China’s national dignity.”
Joris stiffened.
“Disappointing. If you cannot stop that, how do you expect to cooperate?”
“Europe prioritizes press freedom. Influential papers have not moved yet.”
“Rupert Murdoch leads the charge.”
“Yes.”
“Handle him. Quickly.”
Joris began explaining the operation already in motion regarding Rupert Murdoch.
* * *
“You can’t locate Lorenzo Medici?”
“That’s correct. All communication channels are severed. Black Bear has found nothing.”
He disappeared completely.
A man as ambitious as him wouldn’t vanish without reason.
“His businesses? The Medici family?”
“Operating normally. No unusual movements.”
“Last confirmed sighting?”
“Six months ago. Entered Austria. Vanished.”
The head of the family disappears, and no succession movement?
This confirms it.
Lorenzo Medici was suspected of colluding with me.
He avoided Baltiche’s trap.
But once suspicion takes root, it never fades.
I didn’t contact him.
He didn’t contact me.
“He’s probably still alive. He likely cut all external communications while this operation unfolds.”
The silence confirmed it.
Baltiche had aligned with China.
If I withdrew from China, they would fill the vacuum.
“We need to reconsider withdrawal.”
I wouldn’t make it easy for them.
I was about to issue instructions when my phone rang sharply.
“Hyung, I was just about to call you—”
— “A competitor jumped into the Dow Jones acquisition!”
Han Kyungyeong cut me off urgently.
“There was bound to be competition. But no one can offer better terms than we did.”
— “The New York Times. The Sulzberger family entered the bid.”
“What?”
The Sulzberger family had run The New York Times for over a century.
Alongside the Graham family of The Washington Post and the Bancroft family of The Wall Street Journal, they shaped American media power.
But The New York Times wasn’t financially strong.
If they were, they would have approached the Bancroft family long before Murdoch.
“They don’t have the money.”
— “The New York Times partnered with George Soros.”
George Soros.
Once a legend of Wall Street.
Lost heavily fighting us.
Profited massively attacking Japan alongside us.
And...
A pawn of Baltiche.
