Chapter 602: Gunfight Every Day

"...Tsk, no wonder it's called 'Freedom M's Resilience,' gunfights every day."
When Su Hao first saw the news that the CEO of a major insurance company had been shot dead in the street, allegedly due to a claim refusal, this clichéd comment immediately popped into his head.
"The police haven't clearly released the shooter's motive, have they?"
"Yeah, Mr. Su," Liu Bo replied beside him.
"It's said this was all because of the insurance claim refusal.
But can this be brought up openly?
Wouldn't that just add fuel to the fire?
The police seem afraid of triggering greater social unrest, so they've been covering it up.
There are even rumors that they want to steer the case towards a 'personal grudge.'
Unfortunately, netizens these days aren't so easily fooled."
Once upon a time, manipulating public opinion was as easy as breathing.
Whatever the media fed, the public believed.
That was because information channels were monopolized, and the public was like frogs in a well.
But what era are we living in now?
This is the information-explosive internet age!
People are no longer satisfied with the high-sounding rhetoric of official press releases.
Social media and major forums are flooded with countless "insider information" and "in-depth analyses."
Amidst the mix of truth and falsehood, people are actually able to piece together a more accurate picture of the truth.
"Although there are all sorts of strange and false information flying around online, in a sense, it can be considered to have the function of 'correcting errors'."
Su Hao commented indifferently.
Of course, using the internet to incite hatred and encourage crime is absolutely prohibited.
"It's said that large insurance companies have been deleting photos and personal information of their executives from their official websites overnight, fearing they'll become the next target."
"What about that AI-powered automated auditing system that caused such a huge problem?"
"That...it seems they have no intention of changing it," Liu Bo said with a hint of sarcasm. "Apparently, they plan to continue using it, determined to stick with it to the end."
Su Hao could understand.
This system was their weapon for systematically and "legally" embezzling customer funds; it was their lifeline. How could they possibly give it up easily?
But it was precisely this deep-seated greed that triggered today's bloodshed.
"The online opinion right now is almost unanimously in support of the gunman, with some even comparing him to 'Jesus the Savior,' saying he's here to punish these financial vampires."
This isn't something a few online trolls could create.
This is a collective emotional outpouring from tens of thousands, even tens of millions, of ordinary people who have been exploited by insurance cartels for years.
"By the way, Chairman Su," Liu Bo suddenly remembered something, "those insurance companies you had us short..."
Su Hao's gaze sharpened slightly.
When he was compiling the list of insurance companies, his mysterious intuition, like being pricked by a needle, made him circle the names of several companies without hesitation and place huge short orders.
"Right after the shooting, the stocks of those companies we shorted... all plummeted, with an average drop of over 10%!"
Liu Bo's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement.
"Oh?"
"Yes! The stock price of the company whose CEO was murdered has plummeted, dropping nearly 20%!
The public outcry is still escalating, and it looks like the stock price will continue to fall."
Although Su Hao hadn't anticipated such a dramatic event, the outcome... was undoubtedly wonderful.
A staggering profit was easily obtained.
The only problem was that Su Hao felt a vague, inexplicable unease.
Making money through someone's death made him feel uneasy again, as if the profit was tainted with an indelible stench of blood.
Just then, Liu Bo boldly proposed a suggestion:
“Chairman Su, perhaps we could establish a special fund to help policyholders whose claims were wrongly denied by the AI ​​system.
We could provide them with legal and financial assistance, helping them get back the money that is rightfully theirs.
This way, we can demonstrate our corporate responsibility by helping those who truly need help;
and also create the most impactful and memorable publicity for our upcoming insurance business!”
This suggestion struck Su Hao like a bolt of lightning!
He felt a tingling sensation in his fingertips; that familiar feeling surged back into his heart!
“You mean, doing charity while advertising?”
“Yes! We can't help everyone.
But since that AI system has a 90% error rate, there must be a large number of families who have been wrongly accused and are truly in dire need of money!
Our appearance would be a lifeline for them!”
As soon as he finished speaking, intuition struck Su Hao's mind like a thunderbolt.
"..."
His fingers unconsciously traced the stock codes on the screen he had shorted.
Sure enough.
A surge of anxiety, urging him to close his positions immediately, surged from those codes like a tidal wave, frantically stimulating his nerves.
"Pass the word down," Su Hao's voice was calm and decisive.
"Clear all our short positions! Leave not a penny!
Then, allocate all profits from this operation to our newly established 'Fanghuan Insurance' project team.
Tell them to use this money to pull those who have been wronged back from hell."
"Yes, Chairman Su!"
Donating this huge profit might be a foolish decision from a business perspective.
But for Su Hao, using this blood-stained "ill-gotten gains" to do something "just" that would soothe his conscience was far more comforting than putting it in his own coffers.
Perhaps, it could offer some relief to his somewhat heavy heart.
***
"...You mean, the people at the Insurance Association believe that Fang Huan was behind this shooting?"
In a heavily guarded underground base, Anthony listened to his subordinate's report, his brow furrowed.
As the CEO of one of the world's top insurance companies, to be shot in the head in broad daylight in the lobby of a five-star hotel—this incident had an impact on the entire upper class of the United States no less than an 8-magnitude earthquake.
However, from some point onwards, a saying began to circulate in the underworld:
Whenever a world-shaking event occurs, the first thing you investigate isn't the truth, but whether "Fang Huan" is involved.
Sure enough, this name was mentioned again.
"Yes, boss. According to our intelligence infiltrated into the insurance association, they've identified Fang Huan Investment as the prime suspect.
They're cooperating with the FBI to try and find evidence linking the case to Fang Huan."
"In other words, they're investigating whether the gunman was acting on Fang Huan's orders?"
"Yes."
This suspicion is quite reasonable.
Because the timing is just too coincidental, almost like a script.
Just at the crucial moment when Fang Huan is preparing to enter the game, and the entire industry is united in boycotting them...
A precise, surgical strike shattered the credibility of the existing insurance giants.