Chapter 472: The Golden Rice Bowl Smashed into a Broken Earthenware Pot

"Chairman Su, this is a list of potential investment projects in Greece compiled by the research department."
Su Hao took the document, intending only to skim through it casually, like paying the property management fee for "Wildfire's" new base.
However, that one glance…
"…?"
He froze.
What was going on?
The recommended projects from the research department on the document, without exception, radiated a dazzling golden light in his field of vision!
Especially the bank stocks, real estate, and government bonds sectors—the light was so intense it was almost overwhelming!
Su Hao quickly picked up a pen and rapidly ticked off the projects with the strongest golden sheen.
"Here, here, and here... everything I circled, pass the word down: buy as much as you can! Sweep it all up!"
"Huh? Chairman Su! Even if we're being polite, is it really necessary to go this far?
Such a large-scale investment! Especially Greek government bonds, aren't they just 'worthless pieces of paper' that frequently default?"
Su Hao knew this, of course.
Financial institutions worldwide knew that investing in Greece now was practically the same as throwing money into the Aegean Sea and hearing a splash.
But Su Hao's intuition clearly didn't think so.
He smiled faintly, "I'm not doing this out of politeness."
"Ah—!" Liang Haiyuan instantly realized, a knowing, sly smile spreading across his face.
"Got it! I'll get on it right away! Looks like our brothers in the trading department finally have some work to do! Haha!"
These past few days have indeed been incredibly boring. Aside from helping with the finishing touches on some company acquisitions, the trading department's pack of hungry wolves has practically grown numb.
"Oh, right, Chairman Su, there's something else." Liang Haiyuan seemed to remember something. "Our intelligence indicates that a bank run is highly likely to erupt at Silicon Valley Bank within the next two days."
Su Hao nodded. He'd heard quite a bit about Silicon Valley Bank lately.
"Can't hold on?"
"Can't hold on. The sectors Silicon Valley Bank has heavily invested in are precisely the hardest hit by the Fed's precise rate hike. Everyone's in a panic selling frenzy.
Especially those startups we acquired, they're all withdrawing their deposits immediately, which has only accelerated the spread of panic."
Speaking of which, Silicon Valley Bank has indeed been incredibly unlucky.
They absorbed a massive influx of capital from the tech industry, but money couldn't just sit idle in accounts, so they invested most of it in US Treasury bonds, touted as the "safest in the world."
Unexpectedly, the US Federal Reserve suddenly raised interest rates without warning, smashing this golden goose into pieces.
The soaring interest rates caused bond prices to plummet immediately, resulting in a significant reduction in Silicon Valley Bank's assets.
This news caused an uproar among depositors, who rushed to the bank to withdraw their money, triggering an epic bank run.
"Even more damaging, there are rumors that Silicon Valley Bank is also involved in the 'Qatargate' scandal.
Therefore, some conspiracy theories suggest that Silicon Valley Bank's CEO deliberately exaggerated the risk of a bank run, intending to use the opportunity to shut down the bank and destroy evidence."
This situation is far more complex and murky than imagined.
"Will it affect us?"
"Probably not. The companies we acquired acted quickly; the money was already out."
That's good.
But Silicon Valley Bank is a massive company. If it collapses, the resulting financial earthquake will be enormous.
"What about the US government? They haven't said how they're going to handle it yet?"
"Nothing yet. After all, the government hasn't officially announced a bank run.
And even if it does collapse, the government probably won't be able to intervene in time.
The midterm elections are in two days; they're too busy to deal with this.
So, we can't count on official bailout funds in the short term..."
The moment Liang Haiyuan uttered the word "bailout,"
an invisible current surged through Su Hao's body!
"Chairman Su, are you alright?"
"Ah, I'm fine."
Why? Why did his intuition suddenly react?
Liang Haiyuan's last words were…
“You said the bailout funds are hard to get in, right?”
“Ah, yes, Chairman Su. I mean it's hard in the short term. They will definitely take measures, but that will be after the election.”
Here it comes again! That current surged through his body once more. Could it be…
The words “bailout”?
His intuition was reacting to that word?
“…Regarding the bailout,” Su Hao slowly began, “you said…how about we take the lead?”
“Huh?”
***
Across the ocean, in the United States.
The year-end drama is not yet over.
Because the most important grand finale of the year is about to begin.
Christmas?
No.
It's the US midterm elections.
A few days ago, all the polls and analyses showed that the Democratic Party would win by an overwhelming margin.
Until today.
"This...this is fucking real?!"
At the Democratic Party campaign headquarters, members of Congress, staring at the newly released poll numbers, instantly broke out in a cold sweat, their expensive custom-made shirts soaked through.
"Weren't we always leading by a wide margin? How did we get overtaken overnight?!"
"Mainly because...the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank caused extremely negative social impact!
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates to curb inflation, but this directly dealt a fatal blow to Silicon Valley Bank.
Now, the blame is all on us.
Plus, the 'Qatargate' scandal broke out, and all sorts of conspiracy theories are flying around..."
Silicon Valley Bank ultimately couldn't withstand the run on its banks and collapsed.
This shocking event unleashed the fury of countless citizens upon the Democratic Party.
“How can you blame us?! Raising interest rates was an inevitable choice to control inflation!
Silicon Valley Bank itself had problems with risk management!
Besides, weren't there reports that they were involved in the Qatar scandal and deliberately triggered a bank run to commit suicide?”
A congressman roared in exasperation.
“But the public doesn't care about any of that. In their eyes, it's our policies that caused all this.
And far too many ordinary people have suffered losses in this incident.”
However, the problem goes far beyond that.
“If our government could intervene quickly to rescue the market, perhaps we could salvage some of our reputation.”
“How?! The election is just around the corner!”
“Yes, that's the crux of the problem!”
While we were in a complete panic, Fanghuan Investment, that damned Fanghuan Investment, suddenly jumped out!
They announced they would provide "rescue" to all depositors who suffered losses in the Silicon Valley Bank incident, directly distributing Fanghuan coins as "rescue funds"!
This move made our government look like a bunch of incompetent idiots!
A bailout fund is the government's job.
When did it become a company's turn to "save the day"?
But Fanghuan did exactly that!
They announced the launch of a "charitable rescue plan," massively airdropping their Fanghuan coins to all Silicon Valley Bank depositors!
"Damn it, in the end, the reason Silicon Valley Bank collapsed so quickly was because Fanghuan's companies led the run on the bank! They're also responsible!"
"Yes! But the general public doesn't know this!
In their eyes, it's our government that suddenly raised interest rates, bankrupted the banks, and then ignored the victims!
And Fang Huan is the 'savior' who lent a helping hand in this crisis!"
"Although Fang Huan coins don't fully compensate for the losses, the effect is immediate!
Countless victims are nearly crashing Fang Huan's servers trying to claim the airdrops!
Using this as an excuse, the Communist Party is now going all out, relentlessly attacking us!"
The Communist Party has found a perfect opening, bombarding the Democratic Party with attacks on its incompetence 24/7.
Normally, the public is tired of this kind of political attack.
But this time, it concerns the hard-earned money of countless people, making the damage as devastating as a nuclear bomb.
"The House of Representatives, the Senate, the gubernatorial elections...we might... suffer a complete rout?"
"..."
The Democrats, who initially thought victory was assured, were stunned and bewildered by this sudden barrage of attacks.
They wanted to do something to salvage the situation, but tomorrow was election day, and there was simply no time.
What made them even more desperate was that the force behind this election's collapse wasn't their old rivals or the Communist Party.
It was Fanghuan Investment, which was frantically throwing money around under the guise of "market rescue"!
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank might have been inevitable, but without Fanghuan Investment's behind-the-scenes manipulation, it would never have exploded so devastatingly and so quickly right before the election!
“Fang Huan, it was absolutely intentional!
First, they detonated the Silicon Valley Bank powder keg, then entered the fray as saviors, completely disrupting the election!
And now, there's nothing we can do!”
“I was quite puzzled at first, why would an investment firm suddenly acquire a game company…
Damn it, it turns out, from the very beginning, their target was this midterm election!”
Everyone slumped into their chairs, their faces ashen.
The overwhelming victory of the Republican Party was a foregone conclusion.
The so-called “red wave” of the Republican Party, as described by the media, was about to arrive.
“No,” a senior aide shook his head dejectedly, his voice hoarse, “this shouldn’t be called a ‘red wave.’”
The force behind this colossal wave wasn’t the Republican Party at all.
“This is the ‘Fang Huan Wave’!”