Evgeny Yegor opened his eyes, realizing his awakening was because the other party had lifted the Stunning Spell.
The bizarre scene before he fell unconscious flickered in his mind—
A red light struck Comrade Alexey.
The opponent hadn't used lethal force, using a Stunning Spell instead.
But in the next moment, the red beam that hit Comrade Alexey suddenly split into seven or eight others, striking the comrades closest to him.
Like a virus, it spread from one to ten, then ten to a hundred. Before he could react, he was hit by the Stunning Spell spreading from Comrade Mendeleev.
He seemed to have instinctively tried to dodge, but that red light seemed to correct its own trajectory?
And that spell, which had hit over a hundred people, was cast by the young witch sitting in front of him.
"Evgeny Yegor, born in 1925, graduated from Koldovstoretz School (one of the eleven schools recognized by the International Confederation of Wizards)."
"Dropped out in 1942 to join the Soviet Great Patriotic War. Violated the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy multiple times by using magic on the battlefield. Served in the Soviet Army until 1968 after World War II. Then returned to your hometown to live by growing magical plants."
"Among the 1,300 wizards currently entering Ukraine, you are the leader of 243 of them,"
Hydrus asked him with a smile, "Am I correct, Mr. Yegor?"
Evgeny looked as if he had seen a demon, his pupils shrinking slightly and his beard trembling.
"How do you know?"
'Of course, I explored your soul while you were unconscious.'
"You don't need to know that. Now, you only need to tell me: you led people to raid my granary and injured my people multiple times over the past few months. How do you plan to compensate me?"
"Compensate?"
Evgeny jumped up. If his wand hadn't been confiscated, he would have surely given this damn capitalist in front of him a slap!
"You capitalists! Exploiters! Vampires! Our people are starving, yet you let grain rot in the granary! Now, you actually want me to compensate you! I'll compensate your grandmother's leg! (Friends who understand Russian, please substitute the relevant profanity.)"
Evgeny cursed loudly, saliva flying everywhere. If Hydrus hadn't been alert and cast a Shielding Charm in front of her, she would have certainly been splattered.
"Mr. Yegor," Hydrus leaned back, "who told you my grain was left to rot in the granary?"
"In February 1992, food in Ukraine was swept clean by those people urged toward privatization. Food prices were hyped to a hundred times their pre-independence levels. Even the farmers who grew the grain couldn't afford to eat! It was I who purchased massive amounts of grain from China and sold it at fair prices, not only saving tens of millions of people but also stabilizing the Karbovanet!"
[Because of this, I took the entirety of Gringotts into my pocket!]
"July 1992, the toilet paper crisis! It was me again who stabilized the skyrocketing prices of the daily necessities market!"
[I only gave up a few aircraft blueprints, and the motherland sponsored a massive amount of domestic unsellable, nearly obsolete light industrial products. I even made a few billion in profit because of it.]
Hydrus narrated coldly,
"I poured billions of dollars in for the people, but what have you done for your people? What right do you have to shout at me here?"
"Just because you abandoned your motherland and your people to run to Ukraine and be a dog for the President?"
"Do you not know that your so-called good-hearted President is one of the main culprits behind the collapse of the Soviet Union?"
Evgeny's lips parted slightly; he was speechless for a moment. The young girl before him seemed somewhat different from the ruthless capitalist the President had described.
"The President said you are the biggest oligarch in Ukraine. As long as you are brought down and your assets are nationalized, Ukraine will improve."
"Heh, improve?"
Hydrus sneered, "What do you think 'improving' in Ukraine should look like?"
Evgeny raised his head and looked directly at Hydrus. "Nationalization of assets! Ukraine must naturally continue to follow the socialist path! Once Ukraine improves, we can prove to the comrades in Russia that only Marxism-Leninism is the right path! Then, we will have the chance to bring the Soviet Union back to life!"
"Hahahaha,"
Hydrus burst into laughter. Her Black family bloodline made her laughter extremely wild.
"Did the President say he wants to restore socialism?"
Evgeny froze. "He didn't say that, but... isn't nationalizing assets meant to lead to socialism?"
Chapter 147: Brainwashing? I Studied Under Grindelwald! (2 / 2)
"Mr. Yegor," Hydrus shook her head gently, "how do you think Ukraine's state assets were converted into private ones?"
Hydrus looked at the dazed Evgeny and shook her head.
"When I bought the Black Sea Shipyard, it cost a total of two hundred million Karbovanets. Ninety million was the cost to buy the shipyard, and one hundred and ten million was for bribes to officials at all levels, including your President."
"Mr. Yegor, do you think after my assets are nationalized, those officials won't just sell off state assets cheaply again to line their own pockets?"
Evgeny certainly knew about the Black Sea Shipyard. The aircraft carriers under construction there were valued in the billions. Yet the entire shipyard was sold for only ninety million?
Evgeny remained silent for a long while before speaking softly—his voice was so quiet it was as if all the strength had been drained from his body:
"This is just your side of the story. You can't prove it!"
Hydrus was prepared and slammed a stack of photocopied purchase contracts in front of Evgeny.
Black Sea Shipyard: 90,000,000 Karbovanets.
Ukraine First Steel Mill: 13,000,000 Karbovanets.
Ukraine Special Vehicle Manufacturing Plant: 17,000,000 Karbovanets.
...
Evgeny's expression was conflicted. He spoke with difficulty, "Even if they are no good, you haven't proven that you can bring welfare to the people!"
"Return the wand to Mr. Yegor."
Edmond handed a wand to Evgeny.
"Come with me, Mr. Yegor. I will show you the greatest difference between the President and me."
[CRACK!]
The three appeared at a factory on the outskirts of the capital, Kiev,
Surrounding this factory was a residential area,
The residential area was peaceful. The elderly and women at home were either busy with housework or resting in the small park.
"This is one of my food processing plants," Hydrus said. "I can guarantee that all my industries are like this."
Yegor looked at the happy smiles on people's faces—smiles that could only be seen when the Soviet Union was at its strongest!
Hydrus continued, "More than half of Ukraine's population works under me. Those Ukrainians who haven't become my employees are doing everything they can to become one!"
Edmond added, "The benefits we provide to employees are very high. We provide housing and meals, and each employee has two spots for family members to eat for free."
Yegor opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but finally sighed softly.
"Mr. Yegor," Hydrus coaxed, "if you really help the President bring me down, have you thought about what would happen to these people?"
Yegor's mind was in a turmoil, unable to decide for a moment.
"Come, let's go to one more place!"
[CRACK!]
"This is the residential area for the families of Kiev's municipal civil servants."
Hydrus led Yegor inside,
This place was completely different from the residential areas of the AA Group's subsidiaries. It was dirty, messy, and poor. The civil servants' families passing by didn't have a single smile on their faces; they were all sallow and thin, in a terrible state of mind.
"The AA Group was hiring again last week. Did you sign up?"
"I did, but unfortunately, I wasn't selected."
"How could that be? You're the most capable female worker of our generation. Are they blind? Why didn't they pick you?"
"Why else? They found out that Andre is a civil servant. Lately, the government has been targeting the AA Group. Isn't it normal that they won't let civil servants' families work in the factory?"
"What exactly does the government want? In my opinion, it would be better if the AA Group formed the government!"
"But if that happens, won't our husbands lose their steady jobs?"
"You're so silly! How much do civil servants even earn? A regular worker at the AA Group earns more than a civil servant!"
"That's true!"
Listening to the women's conversation, Yegor was completely speechless.
It turned out everything Hydrus said was true... The President was bringing disaster to the country and the people, while Hydrus was the savior of Ukraine. They had actually become the knives in the President's hands.
Although this knife couldn't hurt Hydrus at all.
"Alright, Mr. Yegor,"
Hydrus was very satisfied with the divine assistance from those women and asked with a smile,
"Have you thought about how you're going to compensate me now?"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]