Game within game: chess player

On the eve of the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, the former Soviet Union still left a rich military legacy to its major member countries. At that time, there were three aircraft carriers moored at the Ukrainian Black Sea Shipyard, namely the Kuznetsov, the Vaghyan and the Ulyanovsk.

Among them, the Kuznetsov was completed at that time, so the Russian Naval Command secretly sent people to drive it back to the port of Murmansk, and became Russia's only aircraft carrier so far.

The Ulyanovsk was not so lucky. After Norway and the United States required the Black Sea Shipyard to occupy the No. 0 dock (that is, the dock where the Ukrainian ship is located) to complete the shipbuilding order, this last dream of the Soviet Navy was ruthlessly dismantled. .

At this time, the only remaining aircraft carrier in the Black Sea Shipyard is the Vaghlyan aircraft carrier, which is 68% complete.

In 1995, the Ukrainian Black Sea Shipyard was almost at the end of its rope. The meager orders after the collapse of the Soviet Union were not enough to maintain the huge shipyard. The entire plant had not paid wages for half a year.

Against this background, the last Vaghlian aircraft carrier can only be auctioned off by the Black Sea Shipyard to survive the current crisis. However, the United States requires the Ukrainian authorities to make a commitment that the buyer of the aircraft carrier shall not use the aircraft carrier for any military purpose.

There are three companies bidding for the Vaghlian aircraft carrier this time. In addition to Ye Fang, there are also companies from the United States and India.

"American companies are also here to bid? An unfinished aircraft carrier?" Ye Fang didn't believe that the United States would be so sloppy in its affairs. It was probably here to disrupt the situation.

"We analyze that the United States sent a company to bid this time to monitor the bidding company. Its real purpose is not to really want to buy the Vaghlian." Xiang Yu replied.

"I am the consistent style of the United States." Ye Fang nodded.

"The previous bidding in Haojiang has put out the smoke screen. In the past two days, we will intensify the speculation on boat gambling. The purpose is to paralyze Western countries." Xiang Yu said.

"What's going on with that company in India?" Ye Fang asked.

"This company in India is quite weird. It opened a children's park in India. It said it would buy it back and transform it into the world's largest water park. However, we conducted a side investigation and found out that the company's registered capital was less than [-] US dollars, so we also It was once suspected that this Indian company also came to bid on behalf of the Indian government. But even if India wants to take over the Vagalyan and renovate it according to India's current economic strength, it will be an astronomical sum, which is simply not what the current Indian government can afford. ." Xiang Yu shook his head with confusion on his face.

"What is the specific process of our trip?" Ye Fang asked.

“As soon as we arrived in Ukraine, we submitted the application materials to the Black Sea Shipyard. The shipyard will confirm the qualifications of the bidding company with Ukrainian officials. In about three to five days, we will notify you to pay the bidding deposit. The deposit is 200 million US dollars, and then we will follow the process. It's been auctioned, and the reserve price is US$2000 million," Xiang Yu introduced.

"With only 2000 million U.S. dollars, or a full [-] million yuan, you can actually buy a quasi-aircraft carrier." Ye Fang couldn't help but sigh.

"Where is this? According to the calculations of the military intelligence department, in order for this aircraft carrier to form a formation combat capability, the country will invest at least [-] billion yuan. This does not include the cost of follow-up maintenance, so this is really not something that ordinary countries can afford. You Do you know how determined the country is to take this step? So this time we can only succeed and not fail, otherwise we will not be able to explain to the country." Xiang Yu looked at Ye Fang with firm eyes and said.

Hearing what Xiang Yu said, Ye Fang immediately felt that the responsibility on his shoulders was heavy, and he had a heroic attitude of failure or success.

"According to your opinion, the Indian company is just here to make soy sauce. There must be something wrong with it," Ye Fang said.

"Whether there is any problem or conspiracy, we can only find out when we get to Ukraine. We can only take advantage of it." Xiang Yu said.

When he came to Ukraine this time, Ye Fang did not mention the bidding for the Vaglyan to anyone in Su Long, and Su Long, who was a professional soldier, never asked. Ye Fang felt that in order to give everyone a sense of national honor to advance and retreat together, he decided to tell everyone about this so that everyone could be mentally prepared when performing tasks.

After getting Xiang Yu's consent, Ye Fang called Su Long and ten other brothers from Qingtian Security together and informed them of the mission to Ukraine.

When everyone knew that they were going to carry out such a military mission that would be of great benefit to the present generation, everyone's faces were filled with excitement. If this thing is done, it will be something that everyone will be proud of for a lifetime. Su Long, on behalf of the brothers of Qingtian Security, said, "Brother Ye, just give the mission directly for this trip to Ukraine. No matter how dangerous it is, Even at the cost of our lives, we will not hesitate.”

"It's not that dangerous, I just want you to be mentally prepared. This auction is only the first step of the task. How to transport this big guy home is the most difficult, so we must make adequate preparations." Ye Fang said.

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!" Su Long and all Qingtian security guards saluted and replied loudly.

The plane landed at Boryspil International Airport in Kiev, Ukraine. As soon as Ye Fang and Xiang Yu walked out of the airport gate, they saw someone holding a sign with the name "Xu Yongping" standing in the crowd. Ye Fang always felt that he had seen this name somewhere before, and thought about it for a long time. Then I remembered, wasn’t this my pseudonym in Ukraine?

"I almost forgot my own name." Ye Fang turned around and specifically told Su Long about his pseudonym, so as not to reveal the secret.

After Xiang Yu saw the name tag, he walked over directly. The person who came was an official from the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine. His name was Wang Keming. He was the third secretary of the embassy and consulate. He was responsible for the reception and delivery of the embassy and consulate. Several people were there After a brief exchange of greetings, we got into the embassy and consulate’s car and left the international airport.

"Ambassador Lin is currently not in Ukraine. He asked me to arrange your daily life in Ukraine, so if you have any needs during your stay in Ukraine, you can directly ask me." Wang Keming said.

"We can do all these things by ourselves, you can just send us to where we live." Xiang Yu said.

Ye Fang didn't speak, but looked at the Russian-style neighborhood with interest through the car window, looking like he was on vacation, which made Xiang Yu frown.

Wang Keming rented a bus this time. He looked back at Su Long and others on the bus and said with a look of embarrassment, "I was told by the boss that only two to four people would come, so the apartment building I prepared might not be enough. But it's okay." , you feel aggrieved first, I will ask people to rent a few more apartments right away, very soon."

Xiang Yu was about to speak, but Ye Fang stopped him and said, "No need, we have already found a place to live. Just send us to this place."

Ye Fang waved his hand, and Su Long behind him stepped forward and handed Wang Keming a note. Wang Keming opened the note and looked at the location above. It turned out to be a gathering place for Ukraine's top rich, a riverside villa estate with a single villa worth one million euros.

Xiang Yu had no idea how luxurious the place Ye Fang was looking for. He thought he had done his homework before coming, so he couldn't help but cast admiring glances at him. But when the bus stopped at the door of one of the villas in the lakeside villa estate, Xiang Yu was dumbfounded. Not only is the surrounding environment of the villa good enough, but also because the villa in front of him refreshes Xiang Yu's perception of wealth with its visible luxury.

Wang Keming didn't know the details of Ye Fang, but he felt that those who could afford to rent such a villa were definitely not ordinary people. After dropping Ye Fang and Xiang Yu off, Wang Keming took the initiative to leave his contact information and left.

"Let's go in." Ye Fang said and walked directly towards the villa.

At this time, the housekeeper specially assigned to the villa is already waiting at the door of the villa. This key is bilingual in Chinese and Russian and was trained by a professional housekeeper training institution. At the same time, the villa is also equipped with two nannies and a chef, who are responsible for everyone's daily life.

"Hello, Mr. Xu! Welcome home!" A Ukrainian man in his 50s said hello to Ye Fang and Xiang Yu in standard Chinese.

Xiang Yu followed Ye Fang with a gloomy expression, completely ignoring the housekeeper's greetings and walked directly into the villa. Looking at the world's top European-style decoration and carpets made of gold velvet, Xiang Yu didn't know which foot to take first. Fortunately, a nanny brought indoor shoes for everyone in time. Su Long and others were obviously used to such a scene. They went directly to their rooms under the leadership of the housekeeper. They would not come out without Ye Fang's summons. , of course Su Long will take them to complete the security of the entire villa first.

Although it's already April, and it's already the beginning of spring in Beijing, it's still a white winter scene in Ukraine. However, the whole building was very warm, and the housekeeper thoughtfully brought Ye Fang a glass of red wine. Ye Fang sat comfortably on the sofa and looked at Xiang Yu, who had a look of reluctance on his face, and asked, "Miss Xiang, what's wrong with you? Isn't it good here?"

"Do you know that the country sent us here to perform a mission, not to enjoy it? Every penny you spend now is money from the national treasury. We don't say budgeting carefully, at least we should use it in a planned way. Now our mission We still don’t know if it can be completed, but we live in such a luxurious house, how can we live up to the country’s entrustment!” Xiang Yu looked righteous.

Ye Fang held back the smile on his lips and said, "Sit down first and listen to me! Sit down!"

Xiang Yu reluctantly sat across from Ye Fang and listened to Ye Fang say, "Miss Xiang, you don't need to tell me about the truth. I can speak more than you. The reason why I do this naturally has my own reasons." It makes sense. We are going to buy a gambling boat and build a casino with an investment of billions or even tens of billions. How can we, as the general manager of such a casino, live in an apartment in Kiev? In other words, I don’t rent a manor. Sorry for this identity. If we want to make people not doubt our identity, we must first identify ourselves. Our current identity is that of billionaires. Your biggest problem now is that you have not jumped out of your previous identity. , you will increase the chance of mission failure, do you understand? Comrade Xiang Yu!"

"What you said makes sense, huh!" Xiang Yu snorted coldly and turned around to walk upstairs.

Xiang Yu returned to his room, locked himself in the room, and then took out his satellite phone and called his elder brother Xiang Guo.

"Ye Fang is right! There is nothing wrong with what he did." Xiang Guo said directly after hearing what happened, "You are just acting as a translator to cooperate with Ye Fang in this mission. Furthermore, Ye Fang is the responsible person for this mission." Man, you just have to listen to his arrangements.”

"But, brother, you haven't seen how lavishly he spends money. I feel really uncomfortable when I see him." Xiang Yuqiang said.

Xiang Guo chuckled and said, "As long as you get used to it, it will be fine. Besides, whether he bought or rented this house, he spent his own money. Why are you so worried?"

"His own money? How much money can he have?" Xiang Yu obviously didn't believe how rich Ye Fang was.

"How much money does he have?!" Xiang Guo smiled and said, "You will know of course in the future. I shouldn't have put you in the army, I should have let you come out and get in touch with society more, so that you wouldn't make a fuss. "

After the siblings finished speaking, Xiang Guo hung up the phone. Xiang Yu recalled Xiang Guo's words, then packed his backpack and murmured, "Am I really wrong?"

Just when Ye Fang and Xiang Yu had just settled in Ukraine, a call came from Haojiang to the capital. The person who made the call was He Chaoqiong, and the person who answered the call was Miao Qianqian. These two women, who are worlds apart in terms of money and status, are connected because of Ye Fang. He Chaoqiong knew that Ye Fang was angry with her, so she did not take the initiative to call Ye Fang, but found Miao Qianqian's phone number in a roundabout way.

He Chaoqiong was very angry when he learned from Miao Qianqian's phone call that Ye Fang had gone abroad. Fortunately, Miao Qianqian found out that Ye Fang was going to Ukraine this time, and it was said that he was going to buy a gambling boat.

"Gambling on a boat?!" He Chaoqiong had heard that Ye Fang wanted to buy a gambling boat before, but at that time she only thought that this was an immature idea of ​​Ye Fang, but she did not expect that Ye Fang would just do it and go abroad. .

He Chaoqiong hung up Miao Qianqian's call and immediately asked someone to check the entry and exit records of Ye Fang of the airline company and found that there was no record of Ye Fang going to Ukraine.

"Isn't it Ukraine?" He Chaoqiong asked hesitantly. At this time, He Chaoqiong suddenly remembered the name of Ye Fang's bodyguard Su Long, and asked someone to check that there was indeed an entry and exit record. Among them, He Chaoqiong saw Xu Yongping's relevant information and found that he could match Ye Fang.

"Let's see where you are going to run this time?" He Chaoqiong showed a proud smile on his lips, but then he thought about why he had to use a fake identity to bid for the gambling boat? There must be something wrong with this! Originally, He Chaoqiong still had the mentality of a little girl, but now she has completely transformed into a Sherlock Holmes detective. She wants to understand why Ye Fang used a pseudonym to bid for gambling boats.

"Gambling on boats?!" He Chaoqiong quickly asked someone to search for information to see where there were ships for auction in Ukraine. Later, they discovered that there was an aircraft carrier for auction at the Black Sea Shipyard!

"Are you going to buy an aircraft carrier?" He Chaoqiong was stunned on the spot.