Chapter 140: Kumamoto Earthquake

At the Jiangjin Group headquarters, during a senior management meeting.
The atmosphere was tense, tinged with a sense of relief at surviving a close call.
"Fortunately, we brought the situation under control faster than expected."
An executive wiped the sweat from his brow, saying with lingering fear.
"We announced a complete overhaul of the production line and testing processes, and swiftly implemented a system upgrade. Finally, positive feedback from the outside world is starting to emerge."
"Ha, isn't that because of the 'positive public opinion' we bought with real money?"
Qin Han sat upright in the main seat, his tone unreadable.
The helmsman of the Jiangjin Group, however, showed no signs of ease or satisfaction.
Another executive quickly chimed in:
"The chairman is right. We really went all out this time, hiring numerous influential media outlets and KOLs to endorse us. Our online marketing teams were on fire 24/7, flooding social media platforms and forums with positive reviews. The results were immediate."
The Note 7 battery explosion scandal nearly capsized the Jiangjin Group, this commercial behemoth.
Fortunately, they reacted swiftly and made drastic cuts, managing to grab a lifeline before completely sinking and barely managing to climb back up.
Of course, the cost was devastating. The complete recall of all Note 7 models, coupled with astronomical public relations and marketing expenses, nearly bankrupted the Jiangjin Group.
"These are all secondary. Ultimately, it was your decisive action, Chairman, that prevented a small fire from escalating into a raging inferno."
"That's right, that's right! Chairman's decision was a stroke of genius! A moment later, and the consequences would have been unimaginable!"
Qin Han listened to these compliments, but his face remained expressionless.
His mind wasn't on this at all.
His mind was completely occupied by one name—Kintetsu Group.
'What exactly is Su Hao up to?'
Ever since his last meeting with Su Hao, Qin Han had his men thoroughly investigate Kintetsu Group.
To be honest, he hadn't seen anything particularly special.
Kintetsu Group's goal was clear, and rather childish—to challenge the JR Group, which currently monopolized the lifeline of Japan's railways.
But trying to go head-to-head with the JR Group in the railway business was undoubtedly like an ant trying to shake a tree.
So Kintetsu chose a roundabout approach, engaging in octopus-like diversified expansion, attacking on all fronts and planting flags everywhere.
Investment, real estate, railways, hotels, department stores… they wanted to get a piece of anything that could make money.
Their slogan was: Catch up with JR Group within ten years!
And, surprisingly, their plan was actually progressing step by step.
Although their participation in the short squeeze on Jiangjin Group's stock resulted in a significant setback due to the Note 7 battery scandal, causing them considerable losses.
It only caused them a slight pain, far from crippling them or extinguishing their ambitions; at most, it was a minor, unexpected incident.
So the question is, what makes Su Hao so certain that holding Kintetsu's corporate bonds would bring in a fortune?
Qin Han was completely baffled.
"Ah, Chairman," an executive cautiously began, "I heard that the group has mobilized over 30 billion yen to buy corporate bonds on the market…"
"What considerations led the chairman to make such a significant investment decision?"
"Could you...give us a heads-up?"
"I've heard about it too, and it's Japanese short-term corporate bonds."
The other executives chimed in.
The atmosphere in the meeting room instantly became more tense.
These seasoned veterans, while speaking politely, were actually expressing their dissatisfaction indirectly:
Moving hundreds of billions of dollars without consulting them, the core executives, was incredibly disrespectful!
Was this handled a bit too "autocratic"?
"I'll explain this to you in detail later," Qin Han waved his hand, clearly not wanting to discuss it further.
"Ah, yes, yes, yes. Anyway, it's a short-term bond; the principal will be returned intact upon maturity, so there's no loss."
The executives wisely refrained from pressing further.
However… what if this investment really just results in "no profit or loss," or even a small loss due to transaction fees?
Then Qin Han would truly become a laughingstock both inside and outside the company.
A manufacturing group that doesn't even know how to spell the word "investment" dares to try and learn capital operations from the financial world?
They'd be laughed at to death.
"Next topic: the national operations of Jiangjin Hotel…"
Just then, the chairman's secretary, who had been standing at the back of the conference room, seemed to receive an urgent report. His expression changed abruptly, and he quickly walked to Qin Han's side, whispering a few words urgently in his ear.
"…!?"
After hearing the report, Qin Han abruptly looked up, staring at his secretary in disbelief, his voice trembling:
"You...you're telling the truth?!"
"Absolutely! It was breaking news that all the major news outlets were broadcasting simultaneously! There's no way it could be fake!"
The secretary also looked shaken.
Seeing Qin Han's face suddenly turn deathly pale, even showing a hint of horror, the executives all stopped their discussion, exchanging bewildered glances, wondering what earth-shattering event had occurred.
"Chairman, what happened..."
Qin Han took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart. Pointing to the large, previously black-screened LCD TV at the front of the conference room, he said in a deep voice:
"Turn the TV on! Quickly!"
"Yes, sir!"
The TV screen suddenly lit up. After a blinding white light, a large, bold headline appeared, striking everyone's hearts like a hammer blow:
[7.5 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan]
"Holy crap?!"
"Earthquake?! Kumamoto?!"
"Isn't Kumamoto a key industrial park that Japan is developing?!"
While the executives were buzzing with discussion and in an uproar over the earthquake news,
Qin Han, however, seemed frozen in place, staring blankly at the shocking images of the disaster on the screen. His mind went blank, as if struck by lightning!
Kintetsu Group…Kumamoto…
“Secretary Wu!” Qin Han abruptly stood up and shouted to his secretary,
“Kintetsu Group’s information! Quickly! Bring me all the information on Kintetsu Group’s projects in Kumamoto! Immediately! Right now!”
“Ah, yes, Chairman!”
Secretary Wu didn't dare delay and rushed out, returning moments later with a thick stack of documents.
Qin Han snatched the documents, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement, and quickly flipped through them.
He remembered clearly that when he last looked at the Kintetsu Group's report, he seemed to have glimpsed a key piece of information!
Sure enough!
"...!"
Qin Han's gaze fixed intently on a key project being undertaken by the Kintetsu Group:
[Kintetsu Group - Kumamoto Area Large-Scale Comprehensive Development Project Launch Report]
'Holy crap! So that's it!'
Qin Han felt every hair on his body stand on end!