Chapter 21

I kept looking through the documents in front of a quiet Jonathan. He seemed to have put a lot of effort into setting up regulations for all of the paper companies since the links between more than a thousand paper companies were a mess. He arranged circular shareholdings and holding structures in a complex manner, and it made the readers, who reviewed these documents, dizzy.

Of course, the firms that did this on our behalf followed the law, but it became illegal when the results came into our hands. Ironically, we would be the ones at fault and not the firms who actually performed the work.

"So these are the originals. May I keep them?" I asked, and Jonathan slowly nodded.

The connections were complicated enough that even a few missing pages would make a search take years when looking for the missing links. Without this ledger, we wouldn't know where, how and how much funds were going to be put in. Therefore, this ledger was a manual that proved our ownership of those companies.

We moved towards the copy machine because we needed to give Jonathan his copies.

I suddenly asked, "Do you regret any of this?"

"No, Sun. Since I met you, I'm just letting things happen. We earned so much money that it feels unreal," Jonathan replied.

Even though he said such things, his face had stayed rigid ever since he took out the documents.

"It will take a minimum of three years until the tax investigation begins. There is a high possibility that it won't happen at all, but even if it does, what will be the chance that everything will be revealed?" I questioned.

Jonathan mumbled, "What if the worst-case scenario happens? What if…What if someone trails us…"

"If that day comes, let's stamp them out with money," I responded.

"Stamp them out with money?" he asked.

"Everything we do is for money," I said.

"I don't know what comes first and what comes later now," he replied.

"Here, take these," I handed him the copies instead of money.

The sound of the photocopier whirring did not stop, and I started to cross-check the copied documents with the accounts that held the most amounts of our funds.

Our paper companies were all over the world in offshore havens including the Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Switzerland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Bermuda, and Hong Kong. Among them, the elites were in core companies such as Gold Wish which was located in the Bahamas, a small island country southwest of Florida. Rich people were living like a royal family in huge mansions that were surrounded by palm trees, but how many of them had the money that Gold Wish had?

Then, the monitor screen brightened, and the Bahamas' account opened.

「Registered Business Name: Gold Wish」

「Account Balance: $ 3,000,000,000」

Below that, the transfer details of how three billion dollars were collected appeared on the screen. Five paper companies owned shares of Gold Wish, and the company names in the transfer history matched those in the documents.

All the paper companies were like this, and Jeon-il Investments, which was going to enter Korea, was the same. Jeon-il Investments would be established with five paper companies investing on an equal scale, which was in the same manner as Gold Wish. The plans to place ten billion dollars into Korea's Jeon-il Investments was completed despite the fact that the funds would be deposited in messy divided amounts over multiple periods of time.

"Have you checked the Bahamas' account?" Jonathan asked.

"Gold Wish?" I questioned.

Of course, Jonathan was aware of the name of the core company that had its roots in the Bahamas.

"Yes, it's clean. The commission fee must have been high," I said.

Dirty meant clean in this field.

He responded, "Where did you even learn that phrase? Anyway, I'm satisfied with the result. If we don't call this 'art,' what do we call it?"

"Which firms made them?" I asked.

Jonathan began listing legal and accounting firms that would do anything for money. I selected one of the companies that dealt with the last process of our company's division.

"It would be good to purchase this firm and impute it under Jonathan Investments," I said.

"It's good to shop, but we won't have enough money to buy everything we want. There are only ten billion dollars left in the New York company," Jonathan smirked at himself saying 'only ten billion dollars.'

It was the first time his expression loosened after being so rigid for a while.

"Our safe will be filled with money after October," I said.

"October?" He questioned.

"I wish you would stay with me here until then," I requested.

"What about the New York company? Do I actually trust the desk team?" Jonathan looked confused.

I explained, "It doesn't matter since the orders come from here. The real concern is whether they'll follow our orders well. Like if they are loyal to us, as I've emphasized before."

"I'm sorry to say this, but they're all losers who were kicked out to the curb after causing huge losses to their previous companies and investors," he responded.

According to his calculations, they would obviously obey the rules since they wouldn't dare act out. They had been crushed from their last failures. I nodded and moved towards the safe.

"You must be so tired, so please find a hotel. And from now on, use cash and never use credit cards," I said.

The safe unlocked with a dull sound. There were bundles of ten thousand won bills inside.

"Like criminals?" Jonathan asked.

"Like billionaires," I responded.

"That's the same thing," he said sardonically.

That was true. There was one scene from a Korean film that I could still remember. I forgot the title, but it was about a rich family's private life. The protagonist was the secretary for a rich family, and had a chance one day to go into their safe. It was a huge walk-in safe, and ten thousand won bills were stacked on all the shelves. The old woman, the head of the family, told the protagonist to take as much as he wished. The protagonist of the movie couldn't do it, but Jonathan did.

He put bills in his pants pockets and inside his jacket and briefcase. However, no matter how much he tried, the amount he could fit was less than ten million won.

"I'll get the hotel," Jonathan said before leaving.

I responded, "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

He paused, "Can we?"

"Yea, I'm on vacation now," I said.

Jonathan looked at me with a blown-up face as if he forgot that I was still a teenager.

I went to the building the next day with a group of men wearing black suits that covered their entire arms and legs despite the midsummer heat. The ID cards they wore around their necks like slaves clearly had Daemin Bank written on it and it made them look like slaves. I went past the gate and got on the same elevator with them.

The first floor of the building was rented by Daemin Bank, the biggest bank in Korea. The doors for clients and staff were on the outside, so there was no way that just anybody could pass through the lobby. The people I rode the elevator with were board members or special employees.

However, they seemed too young to be in high positions. I lowered my gaze and recognized the band-aids wrapped around their thumbs and forefingers. They were hiding their fingernails. Those were traces of battle! They must be Daemin Bank's Foreign Exchange Management Team. They were the reason why this building had been equipped with the best online network in the second half of 1997.

When I placed my ID card on the control panel, the light on the thirty-fourth floor lit up. That was where my office was. These people also seemed to be conscious of me, but the guy with the team leader's ID card lowered his guard after glancing at my young face and casual clothes.

"If we fail today again, a written apology wouldn't be the end. We must get the shot today," he opened his mouth.

"Yes," the other men answered mechanically. Then, the elevator started moving.

"Deputy Kim," said the leader.

"Yes," one of the guys responded.

"Has it come in?" The leader asked.

Deputy Kim looked confused, "Pardon?"

"What do you mean 'pardon?' The information leaked from Deutsche Bank. Aren't you responsible for it?" The leader raised his voice.

"Oh, yes," Deputy Kim answered hurriedly.

"Can't you do something right? Are you still asleep?" The leader seemed mad.

"Sorry, sir," Deputy Kim apologized.

"How are things going with it?" The leader asked.

"It has come in," Deputy Kim replied.

"You're lying, right?" The leader was inquisitive.

Deputy Kim said, "They leaked the information. According to my calculations, it was the group who monopolized the position on July 1st and liquidated on July 2nd."

"Wow…A single group did all of them? Are they gods?" The leader shook his head in admiration.

The man was not alone, and several others in the elevator questioned the deputy to check the authenticity of his findings. They were talking about what we did to the Thailand foreign exchange market in early July.

"You can't dig into the details?" The leader asked.

The deputy mumbled, "As you know, transaction history…"

"All right. We have to chase them down, Deputy Kim," the leader responded.

"Okay, sir," the deputy said.

"Anything else?" The leader questioned.

"There were no similar movements in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore," the deputy said.

"If they got it all, they must have earned loads of money. Gosh! So only Hong Kong is left, right?" The leader asked.

"Yes," the deputy answered.

"The attack on Hong Kong has started, but there isn't any news about it yet, right?" The leader questioned once more.

"Yes," the deputy replied.

"Close all the trades in the morning market," the leader ordered.

"The morning market?" The deputy was puzzled.

"Didn't you hear me? The mad sweeping group is gunning for Hong Kong. Come to the meeting room as soon as you finish the preparations! Let's go after them," the leader said.

They're coming for us? My poker face did not slip. The same thing would be happening in elite banks around the world, especially those whose money we stole!

But, then again, how could they chase after us when we have already separated into hundreds of paper companies?

Chapter 22

When I got there, Jonathan was already in the office. He must have been impressed with my drawing yesterday since he was standing in front of it again.

"It's so detailed. You would succeed as an illustrator. Is there anything you're bad at? Why did you draw a monster?"

Jonathan looked like he was evaluating my artwork as he touched his chin while looking over the picture inch by inch. Actually, he resembled a psychology consultant more.

I didn't answer his question as I replied, "It's about ninety feet tall."

"Were you inspired by Godzilla?" Jonathan asked.

You could say that the boss monster in my drawing was similar to Godzilla because not a single scratch could be seen on it even after it was hit by a fifteen megaton thermonuclear warhead. The Eight Evils and the Eight Virtues had to cooperate for the first and last time when this abomination appeared, and I watched the battle from a television screen with a terrible connection.

Jonathan, you asked me why I had to draw this monster. It's because this massive beast reminds me of my enemies, the overwhelming fear of monsters, and the vileness of the Eight Evils and the Eight Virtues. I still had twenty more years before I see this monster again. However, this time I was certain that I would achieve great wealth beyond belief and change the future completely.

Human beings are animals that need a purpose to do something. I couldn't disagree with that point, so I hung that drawing to remind me of my enemies and my goals…

"You can take it if you want. I can just draw another one."

I took off the drawing and handed it over to Jonathan. If he kept it until the Day of Advent, he would naturally know how I had become a genius. I wouldn't be able to hide anything from Jonathan after that day, and I would need comrades who I could trust genuinely, especially those who became Awakeners.

"You don't usually work out, right?" I questioned.

"Hey, muscle guy. If you're about to lecture me that trading is all about physical battle, make sure you know that exercise erodes vitality. There are parts of the human body that can be recovered, but also those cannot be healed. There's a reason why athletes die young. It's because…"

Jonathan's speech went in one ear and out the other. The reason that Jonathan could pass the Trial Tests was not because of his physical or muscular strength. The damn Trial Tests were taboo among the Awakened as there were so many horrible incidents that could not be described. We had to do everything to survive, and each moment tested our humanity.

That was the obvious reason why so many Awakened had twisted personalities. Jonathan was an ordinary guy back then with average physical abilities but he had survived until the end. What that meant was that people like him were cunning.

Jonathan perhaps had gained his slyness from Wall Street, but he was changing after he met me. When the time came, I would train him hard so he wouldn't fall behind during the Trial Tests.

"Anyway."

Jonathan opened the door to a different room. Apparently, he had explored our office while waiting for me.

The office had been divided up into two spaces. One was my private exercise room with workout equipment, personal computer and the drawing Jonathan was interested in. The other was a computer room that stored our weapons. There were ten tables, and each one had one computer, five monitors and a terminal that was connected to the New York Stock Exchange. With all the other tools, the room was like the operations center of a large bank. The men from the elevator also worked in a space similar to this.

Jonathan asked, "Where is my seat?"

"This row is all yours and worth twenty five billion dollars," I answered.

Jonathan immediately understood what I was saying.

"I know it's an obvious question, but there are no additional people, right?" Jonathan questioned.

I shook my head, "No, there shouldn't be."

I had already separated the funds by putting in a great amount of effort and money, so why would I show my plans to outsiders? From now on, Jonathan and I were going to make transactions under many different names.

"But it won't be as hard as before," I said.

"Yes, let's talk about that," Jonathan took a seat and moved towards me.

"I'm planning to reduce the leverage to a minimum," I said.

"Yeah, that's a great idea because things have changed," Jonathan responded.

No way. It was not because of the ridiculously high operational funds but because our intervention was changing history. The decline in the baht was larger than anything recorded in history, and the hedge funds union and speculative forces had targeted Southeast Asia in a rougher way. Phillippine's peso, Malaysia's ringgit, and Indonesia's rupiah had collapsed at once simultaneously, not in succession. Events like each government's announcement and numbers in history were also proceeding faster than in the previous history.

I couldn't use the method of predicting the exact date to use maximum leverage again. Although I could no longer guess events, I had no regrets. I had already taken an astronomical amount of fifty billion dollars from the investors' pockets, and the general trend was the same even though the dates and numbers changed.

That was why I didn't exploit the speculators who were knocking on Hong Kong's backdoor from early August. I was looking forward to the events in Hong Kong in October because the investors' attacks would reach maximum in that month, and that would be our chance.

"You will see from the ongoing situation. Speculators chose Hong Kong as their next target and started operations as we anticipated," I said.

"The attackers will bleed," Jonathan talked about the conclusion first.

His tone was full of confidence and had the expression I had seen when Jonathan reminisced about his heyday in 1997 in Hong Kong. I was pleased to see that face again.

I continued, "With these circumstances, China won't intervene.".

"There's one thing that the Hong Kong government will do to protect the stock market. The attackers would think in the same way," Jonathan said.

"Don't you think so, Jonathan?" I questioned.

"Hong Kong is familiar with Wall Street's offensive strategies. I'm not saying that they have the most elites after Tokyo in Asia, but Hong Kong was the U.K.'s city until last month, so they know how to think like the attackers. They are also resilient, and there are about a hundred billion dollars in their foreign currency reserves," Jonathan's point was accurate.

He proved why his heyday had been in 1997 in Hong Kong. Being able to view from the enemy's perspective was as important as knowing oneself. That was why I could bother the Eight Evils and the Eight Virtues with my low-level abilities because I was able to predict what they would do to a certain extent.

I crossed my arms and nodded, "That's true."

That was my signal for Jonathan to continue his speech. However, that was really it. He had correctly guessed the trends but couldn't go in-depth. It was inevitable because Hong Kong defended itself beyond imagination.

"I'll ask you a question. The only way to defend the attacker's invasion is to increase the interest rate, and the stock market would obviously break down from that. Will Hong Kong be able to solve this contradiction?" I asked.

"They will because it's Hong Kong, and the investors won't be able to break them down," Jonathan replied.

"No, they won't. It's certain that the stock market will crash when the interest rate is raised," I responded.

However, Jonathan's eyes didn't flicker since he was convinced that Hong Kong could defend itself. Although he wasn't sure of the exact defense method, he was certain that the attackers couldn't break down Hong Kong.

"Sun. Are you…going to bet on the attacker's victory?" Jonathan questioned.

"Eventually, the Hong Kong government will abolish the fixed exchange rate system to protect the stock market. Their dollar will plunge, and they will get the profit," I replied.

"But that is…" Jonathan mumbled.

"Hong Kong's stock market is the only way for China to connect with the capitalist world, so Hong Kong should protect it no matter what the cost," I explained.

"Even by giving up their foreign exchange market," Jonathan's tone was wistful because my opinion was going in the opposite direction from him.

I continued, "Yes, the stock market and foreign exchange. If they have to give up one from them, it will be a foreign exchange."

Hong Kong's disclaimer on the foreign exchange market meant the attacker's victory.

"Sun, you should actually trust me this time," Jonathan said.

I didn't mean to test Jonathan as I had already tested him multiple times. When four hundred thousand became two hundred million dollars when two hundred million became fifty billion dollars, and when he divided fifty billion dollars into numerous paper companies. There were many opportunities for him to push me away in the past. Well, I wouldn't have gone down that easy. Anyway, he didn't and passed all the tests.

"There is a phrase Koreans use a lot," I said.

"Out of nowhere?" Jonathan seemed confused.

"That you have to listen to me to the end. Hong Kong renouncing the foreign exchange market instead of the stock market is what attackers would think," I answered.

"Gosh, I was surprised," he said.

"You are right that Hong Kong can think like that. Then, can't you think of the answer?" I questioned.

"What you are saying is…" He slurred the end of his sentence.

"If I was a part of the Hong Kong government, I would give up on the stock market, not the foreign exchange market to an extreme extent that no one would've imagined. I would raise the short-term interest rate to the maximum like that," I put up three fingers.

"A three percent increase?" Jonathan asked.

I shook my head, "No, three hundred percent."

As expected, Jonathan's face cringed.

"Three hundred percent? Three hundred percent! I trust you, Sun. But not this time. That's insane! Not even a child would do that," he was clearly shocked.

Yes, anyone would know how crazy this idea was if he or she had read Economics for Dummies. However, Hong Kong was going to do such a thing.

"Jonathan, Hong Kong will destroy their stock market with their own hands," I said.

Chapter 23

"No matter how much I think about it, it's insane," Jonathan said after a long while.

I responded, "Yes, it is, but I'm sure that it will work."

"Have you been planning like this up until now, Sun?" He questioned.

"I'm just thinking from the enemy's perspective and looking at the data. Looking at what their approach is and how the enemy's target would react," I continued.

"However, the way you say Hong Kong would destroy their stock market with their own hands is…" Jonathan mumbled.

"But that's the best way to chase away the speculators," I replied.

He asked, "Will they give up easily? Despite all the damage?"

"I've already told you what the speculators were after from the beginning," I said.

"Korea!" He shouted.

"Yes, my country. Korea," I said.

In fact, the speculators wanted Japan the most. However, they couldn't even deal with Hong Kong that well. Japan was Asia's financial fortress along with Hong Kong. Also, the U.S. would never allow Japan to be played by the speculators even if they had to throw Korea to the wolves.

The reason why experienced financiers, businessmen and politicians' survival rates were relatively high in the Trial Tests was simple. Some people believed it was due to their reputation, but those who said such things had not even experienced the Trial Tests. In reality, reputation and fame were weaknesses there.

Their survival rate was comparatively high because they acted strategically as they had lived most of their lives on the battlefield. They knew what to do to take things away and hold on to what they had.

I belittled the speculators but their real identities were a part of the financial elites from the world's major banks. Their final objective was Korea. Fortunately, we had already created a defense system so the hedge funds and speculators wouldn't attack Korea. It was a financial system that had excluded foreigners' investment and intervention. Therefore, speculators couldn't directly attack Korea.

That was why they proceeded with a strategy that would crumble Korea from the inside by spreading fear to destroy Southeast Asia. The dread reached its peak when the speculators hit Hong Kong, which had looked impregnable. Fear would overwhelm Korea and the scared domestic investors would withdraw their investments. The foreign banks that had lent dollars to Korea's large companies would yell at them to return the funds rather than extend their loans. The banks would say that they wouldn't want to enter a suicide pact with the firms.

Fear led to chaos that Korea would be ruined. The situation would worsen until Korea declared a moratorium, a sign that they were defeated. That was the moment when speculators could collect the profit they had nurtured over a long period.

Do you get it now? About what strategy speculators would have to apply to attack an invincible enemy? Those tactics were required in Trial Tests, and those who learned such strategies were not only soldiers but also financiers, businessmen, and politicians.

You may have noticed already, but it was true. I was one of them, like Jonathan. I had also worked on Wall Street.

"The money we earned in Thailand was something that we normally couldn't have. Fifty billion dollars came out of the baht market from only three billion dollars. It must have been an unprecedented incident in financial history," I said.

"The term 'unprecedented incident' is not enough to describe it," Jonathan smiled faintly as he reminisced about that day.

I said, "Everyone is paying attention to us, even if they don't know who we are and how we are structured."

"They know that there's a group that has managed to monopolize everything," Jonathan replied.

I continued, "Everyone has habits, and that's true for trading too."

"I get what you are talking about," he responded.

"We should keep in mind that if our tail is caught, the trends will be in our favor," I said.

"Then, we would have to share everything we could've gotten, right?" He questioned.

"It would be alright if things stop there because we would have profit at least. My calculations and investments are based on the past record. As you already know, I prefer investment methods that go against the market. I will continue doing this in the future," I said.

Jonathan thought about it, "We hit the jackpot just like that."

"My calculations don't include the moment we lead the trends. If many forces follow us…I can't expect how each nation's financial policies would change," I said.

Jonathan finally looked like he realized how much money we earned in Thailand and how famous we had become in the global financial world. His face darkened quickly. Rather than the expression of a person with tremendous wealth, he seemed to blame himself for not being able to handle the burden.

"Sun, you are…" Jonathan met my eyes and wielded his tongue.

I knew what he was about to say.

"Jonathan. What did I answer when you asked me if I was planning to prevent the chaos in Korea?" I interrupted him.

"That you only care about the money," he answered.

"Yes. Don't think about the change in policies, unemployment rate and household debt. Let's only think about the numbers in front of us," I said.

He responded, "We can destroy a country if we want, and it will happen even if we make a mistake."

"We have already pocketed billions of dollars offshore," I said.

"You don't have to remind me that we are criminals like that every single time," his voice trailed off.

"No. What I'm trying to say is that this is the major you've dreamed of," I continued talking with sincerity, "However, I like how you are responsible. Wall Street numbs that feeling. But don't get weak."

Jonathan would get used to it slowly as humans always adapt to the present situation. At least, this was the excuse that killers made in Trial Tests.

"What's inside you, Sun. I can't…get used to it," Jonathan hesitated.

"It seems like we have found the motivation to fight. Let's start the briefing," I said.

Some basic financial knowledge was that raising interest rates would lower bonds and stock. We had lots of money, but the market had limits. Since we had to divide as much as possible, we needed to bet on the decline in stock and bonds.

Another basic financial piece of knowledge was that short selling was used when a fall was predicted. It literally meant selling nothing, and a loss occurred if the stock price went up. It was a strategy we used when the stock prices plunged in Thailand.

However, there were only a few countries that allowed short selling on bonds during this period even if short selling stocks was possible. We would need to finish betting on the decline in bonds in a different way.

"The New York companies would bet on the decline in bonds, so we will directly bet on a stock falling with the rest of paper companies," I said.

"Even if we proceed with stock, there's no way to bet on bond falling," Jonathan replied.

I asked, "So we should make a way. The desk team is idling, right?"

"Yes, because they haven't received the new order," he responded.

"How much can Jonathan Investments use?" I asked.

He answered, "Five billion dollars. I took out the other five billion for your shopping."

"That's enough. I'll write the product proposal. Have them go around the major banks not only in the U.S. but also in Europe with that," I continued.

"What if they don't accept it? Hong Kong is raising interest rates right now," he refuted.

"But not up to three hundred percent. You said that it would be insane," I responded.

"Yeah, even a fifty percent increase is crazy," he said.

"That's true. I'll make the banks accept our deal by setting the standard at a hundred percent increase. If the increase goes over, we win, but if it decreases, the banks win," I said.

"Sun…" he hesitated.

I pressed on, "It would be even crazier if they don't accept our proposal. Every bank would sign the contract as they would sneer at us. They would call us idiots and pop champagne to celebrate their victory."

During the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, those who gambled on it earned money like that. We laughed at them, but their earnings were massive. We wore suits and browsed through thick documents as we stated 'this is the result of the most advanced financial engineering based on a complex design.' However, what we actually did was a gamble between us and the bank. We were going to make this bet against the major global banks around the world.

"Who would refuse millions of dollars as a gift?" I asked.

Jonathan let out a sigh and murmured to himself. Then, he nodded slowly after pondering for a long while.

I continued, "We will make the proposal more attractive to them. They can have the entire amount if the increase is under a hundred percent, but we will apply profit in steps from hundred percent and above."

"What if it increases by three hundred percent as you anticipated?" Jonathan questioned.

"We would gain three times our investments," I replied.

"Everyone would jump into this. How about doing it with me?" he asked.

"Are you sure?" I was surprised.

"I'm saying that this is appetizing. I've never heard anything crazier than a three hundred percent interest rate increase. You telling me to establish our firm with my funds and giving you more than half of the shares sounded more ordinary than this. I'm so down," he said.

"Then, get ready," I said.

"For what?" He questioned.

"You will become famous, Jonathan. More than we could ever imagine," I said.

Chapter 24

Emily couldn't understand and accept the situation from the beginning. Jonathan was an ordinary guy who had just graduated from a junior level, and guys like him were a dime a dozen on Wall Street. Also, there had been rumors that Jonathan's past performances had been one of the worst.

However, in one night, this guy achieved a great success that would remain in financial history. Jonathan had earned ten billion dollars in just two months from a stake of fewer than one million dollars. No one could break this record forever.

Jonathan? The Jonathan that I knew? Emily talked about him with her coworkers whenever they had meals together, and the conclusion was always the same. There was only one way that Jonathan was able to make such a massive profit.

As Jonathan had hinted, it was placing one's entire fortune on maximum leverage. In other words, it meant he liquidated his properties in a suicidal manner, and, unbelievably, it worked. He was the luckiest man in the world. It was a miracle that even if gods of fortune such as Tyche from Greek mythology, Ganesha from Indian mythology and all other gods in the world graced Jonathan, it still seemed impossible to be that lucky. He was like Shakespeare's monkey.

It hasn't been long since he boasted and congratulated us for entering the major field… and now he's doing idiotic things, Emily thought.

She let out a sigh while looking at her briefcase. She was certain that Jonathan was drunk on his success because there were so many people on Wall Street who had overestimated temporary luck as their unbeatable capabilities. Emily knew this better than anyone else since she had done it and when she repented, her ruin was already irreversible.

Therefore, she dashed towards Jonathan when he called her. She believed that she would be able to live on Wall Street again, but…

Emily looked devastated, "Seriously, why?"

She wanted to throw her briefcase as her bag was filled with documents that proved she was stupid. As soon as the deal was made between Jonathan Investments and the banks, she would lose her job again.

If you are dying to throw money away like that, just give it to me, Emily thought.

Her final destination was right in front of her. It was the headquarters of DP Krump, one of the Big Four of the financial industry. Although it was almost time for the meeting with her dream company, she had been wandering in front of the door for thirty minutes. She had to stop Jonathan, but there was no way to contact him. She had strict orders to follow, and they even threatened her to fulfill them no matter what. She grabbed her phone which was bigger than her fist.

Emily: I'm in front of DP Krump, but I can't go in. My feet are not moving.

Emily's colleague: Same here. Jonathan still hasn't responded to you, right?

Emily: No. Do we have to do this? I feel so stupid.

Emily's colleague: Bastard. I can't believe he called us to make us do such things like this.

Emily: So what are you going to do?

Emily's colleague: Do what? Just going to follow the orders. We cannot stop him from self-destructing. Do you think Jonathan actually sees money as money?

Emily: That's it.

Emily's colleague: Yea, that's it.

Afterwards, Emily thought calling her colleague was a mistake since it complicated things more. She entered the gigantic bank like a cow walking into the slaughterhouse. The wait was not long because she had already scheduled the meeting.

"Hello, I'm Emily from Jonathan's Investments," she said while handing out her name card. She was certain that the name card would become useless soon.

There was only one ordinary employee from DP Krump who had no significant authority. Emily put the documents first on the desk, and the employee kept scratching his head and stroking his nose while looking through the files.

"This is a new type of swap transaction. You've prepared a lot," the employee said.

Emily agreed that the preparation took a large amount of time and effort as she was also impressed by the expertise when she first received Jonathan's product proposal. However, trash was still trash.

The employee did his utmost to control himself and be polite, "As usual, I should tell you that I will review this, but I don't want to waste your time. Who would accept this kind of deal?"

Emily thought it was natural even if the DP Krump employee misunderstood the problem.

"Jonathan Investments is in position B. This means that we will be responsible for the position where profits are created when Hong Kong's short-term interest rate increases over a hundred percent," Emily said.

"What?" The employee exclaimed as he picked up the documents again.

Emily looked at his face while waiting for him to speak. It was exactly as she had expected because the employee's facial muscles were wriggling desperately to hide his smile. He left in a rush after saying that he had no authority over this. It was probably because he couldn't stop himself from laughing. Emily covered her face which was turning red.

A few moments later, employees of DP Krump got into the room. They were in a higher position than the first one: a team leader who could make decisions, and three subordinates. After a short greeting, they began checking the documents.

"A swap transaction like this is unprecedented. It also takes a long time to create a new product. In order to establish such a market with Hong Kong bonds…" the team leader said.

"We know," Emily interrupted.

"But thanks to your immaculate preparations, we can save lots of time and continue from this. How much money are we thinking about this deal?" The team leader asked.

Emily shouted inwardly that she had to stop here.

"Five hundred million dollars," she responded. That was a damn big amount of money.

Emily couldn't see what was going on around her, but she knew that they were sneering at her at that time. From then, the employees got busy. They took more time confirming there was no hidden device in Emily's product proposal after reading over it the first time.

There's no such thing like that! Congratulations. You just earned a humongous pile of money while sitting there doing nothing, Emily thought as she grabbed a pen to sign the contract.

Jonathan's parents would be the only people in the world who would refuse this worthless proposal. The employee with the highest position from DP Krump also took out a pen from his pocket. They signed, and he asked for a handshake.

"I know it would be rude to ask, but I've never heard of Jonathan Investments," he asked.

"It was just founded a few months ago. We look forward to maintaining a reciprocal relationship with DP Krump," Emily said.

However, they all thought that they wouldn't see each other again.

After signing the contract, Emily rushed out from the company as if she was escaping. She couldn't actually hear the sound, but she felt like DP Krump was still laughing at her. The worse thing was that DP Krump was not the last one she had to deal with. She had to fly to Europe to do this idiotic thing again.

"Conquest preparations are complete."

Jonathan turned his chair towards me after checking the email. He had remained silent about my prediction about Hong Kong's wild attitude from that day.

"We have achieved five billion dollars," Jonathan said.

Bonds were done, and it was time for stocks.

"It's our turn," I responded.

For the first time in a while, I felt my heart beat faster. I knew the strategy that the speculators would use and the defense mechanism of the Hong Kong government against them. However, our fifty billion dollars bet had not been figured out in their calculations. Also, it was hard to predict the exact date now, so it became impossible to earn huge profits by maximizing the leverage. Everything was up to my decision.

"You're going to bet all fifty billion dollars on the stock market crash, right?" Jonathan asked.

"I'm thinking about it," I answered.

"If you bet fifty billion dollars, Hong Kong will crash right away. The foreign exchange market would not be destroyed. Your calculations would go in the wrong direction, Sun," Jonathan was right.

"So we should stop at that point," I replied.

"What point?" He questioned.

"The point that Hong Kong will hold its death grip on the foreign exchange market. If they change their plans to protect the stocks because of us, we will…" I said.

"We will be fucked up. It'll be a battle between the Hong Kong government and us two. However, the bigger the battle, the more we'll gain, right?" Jonathan seemed excited.

He must have made up his mind last night, and now, he spoke with determination.

"Full-scale war with Hong Kong? We are not on that level yet," I tried to calm him down.

Above all, I hated fighting against the opponents who would give up their limbs for a victory. If we made our move, Hong Kong would use the same strategy they applied to the hedge funds against us. They would choose to die with their enemies if needed!

"Then?" Jonathan asked.

"We should use fear like how the hedge funds did," I responded, and Jonathan nodded.

I continued, "Hong Kong is the center of Asia's financial world along with Tokyo. What would be the impact when they burn their stock market with their own hands?"

Jonathan shook a little because he knew what I was talking about.

"The whole world will be shocked. What if we add more fear to that?" I continued.

"Sun!" He shouted.

"The global stock market will thrash. Let's bet on that," I replied.

It could not be helped. Korea would have the IMF crisis sooner than recorded history, but they had to face the music, which might as well be sooner. I started booting up the computers.

"I'll bet five billion dollars to Hong Kong when the time comes. What you and I have to do now is…" I said.

"Make the paper companies work with the rest of our funds under the prediction that the global stock market will plunge," Jonathan finished my sentence.

"Yes. One thing that's as significant as the profit is that no one knows about us. If someone discovers who we are, everything will end there," I responded.

As we achieved everything at once, we could have collapsed just as quickly.

"Okay, then let's start. We don't have much time," I said.

This was the feeling. The feeling of adrenaline that covered my entire body. It was just like the times I had to open reward boxes despite knowing the outcome, good or ill. I placed my hands on the keyboard as a bunch of thoughts flew in my head.

Then, the day came.

Chapter 25

It was October. As I got used to falling asleep at school after the vacation was over, Jonathan got used to Korean fast food. I ran to the office right after class, and it was filled with the smell of ramen cup noodles as always. The trash bin was full of empty cup noodle bowls and coke cans.

Jonathan was glued to the computer monitor and didn't even notice me. I could tell he was depressed from looking at his back and the impatiently rushed movements he made with the mouse. Of course, his face was gloomy. He had been like this for the past few days. Our losses would increase as the global stock market rose, and the global trends except the Asian stock market were on the rise. Since our investment scale was immense, our losses were massive.

I dropped my bag to make a sound on purpose, then Jonathan turned his head towards me.

"You should've told me you were here," he said like a kid who was caught stealing.

Jonathan tried to hide the monitor with his body, but I could see a bunch of red numbers on the parts he didn't cover. They all indicated losses, and it was natural for Jonathan to be conscious of losses. No one would be free in front of an enormous investment. Moreover, we had put in an astronomical amount of funds worth tens of billions of dollars, and the losses were accumulating. Not even God would be free in this situation.

I asked, "How bad are our losses so far?"

"You know. We can't even figure that out," Jonathan replied.

We had borrowed stock from firms all over the place and sold them, and it took two months to do so. Therefore, it would take much time to grasp an accurate total profit and losses since the deal's date and scale were all different.

"How about an approximation?" I questioned.

"Probably deep in the red, minus single digits," he answered.

I nodded and sat down, then Jonathan stared at me with a surprised look. I had not sat in front of a computer since I finished betting on the plunge in the global stock market. From then, this place had been occupied by Jonathan, and I had worked out in the other room. Jonathan must have felt something when I suddenly sat there.

He opened his eyes wide to the extent that I could even see his veins. That's right, Jonathan.

"Let's attack Hong Kong right now," I said.

They were going to burn anyway, and we would just pour oil on it now so it would burn much bigger and faster. We became very busy from then as Jonathan and I moved between ten computers that we had already set up. We opened the account of one paper company per monitor, then dispersed a hundred million to a billion dollars of oil mass and threw it at Hong Kong. The only sounds that filled up the office were keyboards clattering and the alarms signaling the completion of transactions.

Stock prices of Hong Kong's leading companies across all sectors except banks including construction, communication, heavy industry, chemistry, and tourism began to fall. We did not touch the banks on purpose because we needed to calm them down just a little. Since the Hong Kong stock market had been attacked nonstop, it responded more actively to our provocations.

It was then we looked at each other and Jonathan said what I was about to say.

"There are people following us. Even if we decide to lose a lot, they will do the same," he said.

We both frowned for the first time after we started pouring oil all over Hong Kong.

"Do you think we've been caught?" Jonathan shouted.

Every time we clicked, the numbers were soaring like missiles.

"It's too early for anything, Jonathan!" I shouted back.

"Just say something!" He responded.

"The New York company will defend us! Have them make our transactions for us!" I almost screamed.

Jonathan vaulted out of the chair causing it to fly to the wall and make a large bang. I looked carefully over the situation and stopped the trades. Jonathan was raising his voice and swearing outside for a long time. A little later, he ran into the office, then sent emails to his team members.

"I sent the transaction list, and they will start on it right away," he said with his clenched teeth.

"Did you have them prepped in advance?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Good job. Now time will let us know who is following us," I continued.

We had been careful, but if the speculators attacking Hong Kong had tracked us, I would be so mad and pursue this further. But, if this was the work of smart investors at the stock market just doing this as part of their investment technique, I would be fine. Which was it?

Soon after, the defense funds from Jonathan Investments began flowing into the Hong Kong stock market. Jonathan bit his nails and didn't take his eyes off the monitor.

"It's calming down. Damn, I was scared to death…The Hong Kong stock market could be crushed into pieces," Jonathan finally let out a sigh.

"Let's wrap up when the market closes. We don't need to spread more fear to others," my voice was also weak.

If our provocations became a nuclear bomb, it would have meant the end of us as well. Fortunately, things got settled, and now we only had to wait for the Hong Kong government to make a quick decision. No one knew whether it would be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

However, it was that night when I heard Jonathan's scream when I prepared to go home.

"You are wrong, Sun! You're wrong!" He screamed at me as if he had the biggest surprise of his life.

Clive, the general manager at DP Krump, was excited to receive the performance-based benefits at the end of the year. He completely forgot about the stress from the losses incurred in Bangkok after signing the proposal those idiots brought in.

"They called their company, Jonathan Investments. Haha," Clive said excitedly to his acquaintance in a Wall Street Salon.

The acquaintance laughed "Can you say that again? I can't believe it. How can they possibly think to earn profit by betting on over a hundred percent increase in Hong Kong interest rates?"

"Those were the most idiotic people I've ever seen," Clive responded.

"So how much did they bet?" The acquaintance asked.

"Five hundred million dollars," Clive replied.

"That's insane. What a brilliant idea to throw away money. That's the stupidest way I have ever heard. Congratulations, friend. You have earned an astronomical amount of profit just by sitting there. Oh, the news about Hong Kong is just coming up," the acquaintance said.

Clive called the salon employees quietly and asked them to turn up the volume while tipping them a lot. But he didn't need to. The bold letters on the bottom of the monitor made everyone in the salon open their eyes wide.

「Breaking news: Hong Kong's short-term interest rate increased by four hundred percent. 」

"Huh?"

Clive couldn't believe it even when he was staring at the screen. Increasing the rate by four hundred percent? Was that even possible? It would be more believable to say that gold could be made from poop. Then, Clive saw the people in Wall Street running out of the salon, and the cozy place had become chaotic as if a bomb had exploded. Clive's acquaintance was the same.

"I'll leave now!" The acquaintance said with a pale face.

The acquaintance knew how much Clive would lose, but he had to save his own life first rather than console Clive. The entire global stock market was falling due to the shock in Hong Kong. Clive was left alone, and he stared vacantly at the news screen that was already broadcasting different issues.

Clive's phone rang, but he couldn't hear anything. His mind was blank. He didn't even remember how he got back to his office.

"Clive!"

The executives at DP Krump were waiting for him at the entrance.

"What is going on?" They wailed.

Clive's head spun as he saw faces filled with anger.

"Why are you asking me that?" He asked them back.

"Then, whom should we ask?" They raised their voices.

He responded, "Ask the president of Hong Kong Central Bank why they did such a crazy thing. They are insane."

"Are you serious? You're fired!!!" They yelled at him.

Clive grimly nodded and went into his office. Other team members who had evaluated Jonathan Investments' proposal were waiting for him like they already knew what fate awaited them.

Clive fell down on his chair like a drunkard. He didn't stumble, but he limped.

"We can't retrieve it now, right?" He asked in a quiet voice.

"No," someone answered.

"Where did things begin to go wrong?" Clive seemed to have given up. No one could answer that question.

Jonathan pointed at the monitor as soon as he rushed into the office. The bold letters sparkled on the financial information site he had opened.

「Breaking news: Hong Kong's short-term interest rate increased by four hundred percent. 」

"What the fuck…" I couldn't stop myself from swearing.

Hong Kong's craziness raised the rate not to three hundred but to four hundred percent.

"Oh my god, Sun! You did it again. You crazy kid!" Jonathan shouted.

I felt my hands shake as I couldn't suppress my bursting emotions. It was not because of the money, though. The shock in Hong Kong would strike the entire world, and there had been no event that impacted the financial world like this before. Even the Day of Advent and the day when dungeons were unsealed after the gate opened didn't change the field as much as this.

I threw my bag again and sat. It was real that all global stock markets were on the trend of declining. The spot markets were falling in countries with open markets, and the futures markets were falling in those with closed markets. Everything was plunging, and we were reaping in the profits!

「The Asian financial crisis is spreading in a domino effect.」

「The second Black Monday.」

「Hong Kong, U.S., Japan and Europe stock prices are plunging.」

None of the stock markets in the world could avoid the shock that I had amplified. I had hit another jackpot. The absurd amount of money we made this year was just the beginning. In my previous life, the trait 'The Man Who Overcomes Adversity' and the skill 'Devi's Sword' were considered superpowers beyond human limits, but financial power was more important in this life. Especially in the future that I was going to create!