I moved to Jeonil Hotel in Seoul for a more luxurious and varied break as the curfew in Gwacheon limited my options for a fulfilling rest.
Today’s menu was Western food. We were no longer in a hurry when dealing with food as if we were being chased by demons. I ate while looking outside the window and enjoyed the scenery of Seoul that I had longed for. Yeon-Hee was also looking in the same direction as she tore the inside of the baguette.
She muttered, “I should be careful from now on. I’m on… that…”
She wasn’t even ashamed to be naked in front of me, but she acted like a girl in puberty who just started her period. Anyway, her magic[1] of the month began. It was a real magic that only biological women could have, and this meant that Awakened could get pregnant. It was challenging to have babies now. As Yeon-Hee had mentioned, we needed to wait until the world where our childrens’ safety was guaranteed…
I nodded and sliced the steak. At that time, the thought came to my mind as I saw the blood flowing out of the meat with gravy.
Surprisingly, there were quite a lot of people addicted to monster blood. How are they dealing with that now?
Individuals addicted to monster blood, which gave them negative hallucinations, were often the weak. They were the ones who had desperately waited this day to come, hoping to view their civilization through illusions. I wondered if they would overcome their cravings for monster blood here since they would now be back home.
Thoughts spawned more thoughts, eventually leading to the notion of a reinforcing agent. Just as we could create weapons for boss monsters with mana stones, we could make reinforcing agents that would raise the limits of Awakened with monster blood in the past. They were enhanced through technology and were even used by civilians back then.
By now, countries around the world would have been studying monster carcasses by cutting, ripping them apart, creating useless DNA maps, storing internal organs, and preserving mana stones separately. The governments and scientists would be making frantic attempts to find the reason why the monster corps could endure the advanced firepower of mankind.
“What are you thinking?” Yeon-Hee asked.
I didn’t tell her to read my mind because I witnessed how painful it was for her to open up people’s minds and read them.
I responded, “Reinforcing agents. Do you know about that?”
Yeon-Hee slowly nodded and shifted her gaze toward the blood that was collected on the plate like me.
“I don’t know where it originated from, unlike the mana stone weapons.”
The reinforcing agents appeared much earlier than the mana stone weapons had in the past.
“Can you make it?” Yeon-Hee asked.
I shook my head. “If I could, then I wouldn’t have just thought about it here. I would have started making it right away.”
She pointed out, “If you wait, it will eventually come to your hands.”
Yeon-Hee cut the steak elegantly. Then, she pointed at the steak, plate, and baguette with a knife one by one.
“Just like all of these came out of your hands. I don’t know what route it will be, but the start was always from your pocket. Right?”
It would happen in the end, but I couldn’t assure it since I would be selling my stocks soon.
The one trillion dollars released by Jonathan Investment Finance Group was not the money that was stored in the company’s warehouse. From the Day of Advent until now, they had literally poured out everything to defend against the crazy plunge in world stock prices. The cash in the warehouse had been turned into global corporate stocks and sealed in the names of numerous paper companies.
As a result, the flow of global capital had been strained. The reason why the exchange volume looked the same as before was that cross trading[2] was underway to hide such truth. The massive amount of fees incurred there was also circulating in my pocket, but there were funds that were bound to leak outward as this continued.
Pennies like that didn’t matter. The real problem was that the flow of global capital was blocked. Money was supposed to move around. Leaving all of it to me was nothing different from forcibly locking up Awakened who were all beasts. As complaints could suddenly escalate, the global economy could also experience a massive shock that would be far more devastating than the Day of Advent.
On that day, individuals who were left with only cash due to the massive sell-off of assets were not a small group. They were those who believed that the world would never recover stability, and these individuals had caused the greatest circulation of cash in world history.
If the situation was left unattended, hyperinflation[3] would take place simultaneously around the world. That was why I said the shock would be more devastating than the Day of Advent.
If the impact of economic sanctions imposed on China was added to that, then the gold tower that I had put a lot of effort into building so far would inevitably collapse from its foundation. Therefore, the Jonathan Investment Finance Group had no choice but to hastily sell off some of our shares and attract one trillion dollars. Kim Cheong-Soo was the one who did this as he was the one who was currently leading the Group.
The conclusion was this. We had to release the stakes of the global companies we were controlling to the market. It was time to recoup the world’s overflowing cash primarily to prevent hyperinflation, ease the flow of stressed capital, and make the current economy flow smoother.
During the process, the public may point their fingers at my companies such as Jonathan Group while being oblivious to what they had received from me. Ironically, it would appear as if we were gaining more wealth. It was because we would look like we were selling money at a higher price than the cost we bought. We would dispose of some shares, but the value of the majority we still held would begin to rise.
The World Awakened Association promised humanity the revival of a new era. However, I intended to give them an unprecedented financial boom before that. At the same time, I would offset the impact of economic sanctions from China.
“You said you should rest when you can, right? I guess the owner of the world can’t even take a break properly.”
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When I took out the laptop, Yeon-Hee smiled at me.
“Then, I’ll take some of your food.”
***
The situation was urgent. There were too many signs of danger in the market to wait for his approval. There was no call from CEO Jonathan either. He couldn’t let things down as the group had put in lots of effort into defending on the Day of Advent.
In fact, Kim Cheong-Soo had done this in his position as the CFO[4] of Jonathan Group. The world was still riding a cockhorse with the joy of victory, but the battle that the group was fighting wasn’t over yet. Thus, he was forced to see a one trillion stake from countries and corporations with large pension funds. All they had was cash. Some of them even begged to buy shares at prices much higher than what Kim Cheong-Soo demanded.
Lubricating the global economy with a trillion-dollar oil posed no difficulties. Trades that normally took months were signed by express in one day.
One of Kim Cheong-Soo’s subordinates suddenly opened his office door and shouted in excitement, “Things are going good even by a little bit. The global stock prices are starting to go up!”
“I’m watching it.”
However, Kim Cheong-Soo couldn’t be as relieved as the guy who had reported it. The employee grasped the heavy atmosphere in the office. He was the chief trader of Jonathan Investment Finance Group and also directly under Kim Cheong-Soo.
“Umm… Is this transaction not approved by the higher-ups?” he asked timidly.
Kim Cheong-Soo shook his head. “No.”
“Oh my gosh.”
Kim Cheong-Soo reassured him, “I will take all the responsibility, so please keep your eyes on the market. We just barely stepped on a small fire.”
The reporter was unable to confess to completing his task. The deal was worth a trillion dollars, equivalent to nearly the GDP of Kim Cheong-Soo’s home country when converted to its currency. This was the biggest deal that would make a mark in financial history, regardless of how many assets the entire group had.
And the CFO just carried this out without the approval of the higher-ups?
The man who reported thought that the CFO’s accomplishment would be futile if it resulted in negative consequences.
“I will transfer the sale assets to the World Awakened Association. Please send a letter of cooperation to Washington D.C. You can contact this number about the use of funds.”
Kim Cheong-Soo’s words sounded like a will to the reporter. Then, he left after carefully closing the door.
Kim Cheong-Soo had never been in his accommodation since the Day of Advent, but the night felt especially too long. He was regretting it a bit. One of the leading players in the world was himself. He had been the protagonist of all kinds of adventures and hero stories since the owner had scouted him when he was wandering Wall Street as a nobody.
Such a life was coming to an end.
What was the point of having so much money? What is the point of living a royal life in the Bahamas?
Humans were animals that fed on the respect and honor of the public. It was difficult for Kim Cheong-Soo to think about his life without his[5] order. As a person who had already moved the world under him, Kim Cheong-Soo thought he was too young to be buried in the wilderness.
The new era had begun. Humanity would move on again, as always, toward an alien civilization that would have been dismissed as daydreaming before. The great stories of what new materials and resources those civilizations had, and how they impacted our global economy wouldn’t be recorded in history.
The next day, Kim Cheong-Soo was staring at the monitor while rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. He had received an email. There was only one person, other than his family, in the world who called him by his Korean name instead of Brian Kim or the CFO of Jonathan Group. The email had been sent from him, and Kim Cheong-Soo thought it would inform him about his death from this society.
However, the first sentence began like this.
「 It was an amazing move, Kim Cheong-Soo. The transfer of one trillion dollars to the association was also a great idea. 」
Kim Cheong-Soo’s entire body trembled. He realized his authority and indescribable excitement arose with a shudder.
「 I hope you still have enough energy to work more. The details are attached to this email. 」
There were three attached files. One was the conditions to be prioritized in liquidating shares in the future, and the other was specific instructions on imposing economic sanctions against China. He printed the last one, put it in his pocket, then transferred the previous two pieces of data to his smartphone.
Then, he yelled outside, “Get the car ready! We are going to Washington D.C. now!”
1. In Korea, people call having a period ‘magic.’ ☜
2. A practice in the stock market where two brokerage firms agree to trade securities with each other for their own clients without routing the orders through the open market. ☜
3. Rapid and uncontrolled increase in money supply, leading to a decrease in the value of the currency. ☜
4. Chief Financial Officer. ☜
5. Odin’s ☜