Chapter 623: The Alchemy of Capital

On the news channel, war and smoke are the constant themes.
Turning on the television, the screen is filled with explosions and intense gunfire, like an unscripted, high-budget war documentary playing simultaneously worldwide.
On Goryeo's land, UN peacekeeping forces, in conjunction with various allied forces, are conducting a carpet-bombing operation against the remaining military forces;
Meanwhile, the vast empire, after the president's mysterious death, has descended into a chaotic frenzy of "division," with declarations of independence flying everywhere like cheap leaflets.
Fanghuan Investment, conference room.
Su Hao's expression is calm, but the air is thick with tension.
"Those international issues can be put aside for now," Liang Haiyuan speaks first,
"Right now, for us, the two most critical things are: North Goryeo, and the global stock market, which is already in the ICU."
"What's the situation in North Goryeo?" Su Hao asks.
Liu Bo, in charge of intelligence analysis, immediately chimed in, “We're basically not worried about North Korea’s ‘red button.’
The joint forces’ precision strikes have destroyed their main launch facilities; even if they wanted to, they couldn’t launch anything in the short term.
But the problem lies with their chemical weapons depot. If those people are desperate and decide to use one, thinking ‘I’ll take someone down with me,’ the situation will become extremely complicated.”
“What about surveillance?”
“The satellites in the sky are broadcasting live 24/7,” Liu Bo replied,
“If there’s any unusual activity over there, the next second will be a saturation bombardment.
And there’s a silver lining—
North Korea is so poor they’re practically broke; their fuel reserves are depleted, their supply lines are completely cut off, and they’re incapable of organizing any large-scale military operations.”
"So, the North Gaoli problem can just be left to time?"
"That's the scenario for the wildfire," Liu Bo nodded in confirmation.
"Anyway, that place is already an empty shell, and many forces within it are eager to latch onto us. If handled properly, a peaceful evolution is highly likely…
However, there's another crucial matter: we need to find a way to weather this current financial catastrophe!
The global stock market is on the verge of collapse.
The largest economic depression in human history is imminent…"
Finance is the lifeblood of modern civilization.
What would happen if this lifeblood stopped flowing?
Banks would shut down, payments would cease, and stocks would become worthless.
Followed by trade paralysis, supply chain disruptions, factory closures, and mass unemployment…
Ultimately, even banknotes themselves would lose their value, and modern civilization would crumble.
A primitive era of trade, recognizing only gold, food, and energy, would return to the world.
It was a complete collapse of social order, the destruction of cities, the disintegration of the nation…
It was a hellish scene no one wanted to imagine.
Liang Haiyuan added, his face pale:
“I’m afraid that right now, those business owners who used stocks as collateral to borrow money from banks to run their companies are already lining up on their way to the rooftop.
The chain reaction of bankruptcies has only just begun.”
"If we can't put the brakes on here and let it continue, the final outcome will be what I just mentioned—the collapse of civilization!"
"Yes, we must save the market, at all costs, to stabilize it," Su Hao nodded.
The question is, how?
The media is full of headlines like "The button is about to be pressed," and wealthy people around the world are frantically buying underground bunkers, preparing for a real-life Fallout. Market confidence is completely gone.
The only way now is to use an irresistible, overwhelmingly powerful force to forcibly pull this crazy world back on track!
And this force has only one form.
"Then use money!
Use massive, overwhelming amounts of money—enough to drown the entire planet—to drag the stock market back from the brink of collapse!"
“But… the global stock market is unimaginably huge,” Li Huilin voiced the question on everyone’s mind.
“So we need a giant, a giant that can silence everyone, to launch a ‘Normandy landing’-level assault!”
Liu Bo’s eyes gleamed with fervor.
“As long as we fire the first shot, as long as we can stabilize a point, we can spur other capital to follow!
Once confidence is restored, the market can start spinning again!”
A brief silence fell over the conference room as everyone digested this plan, which was more outrageous than science fiction.
It needed an actor who possessed two qualities simultaneously:
Incredibly wealthy, and with unparalleled global influence.
So rich, and so influential…
"!?!"
A flash of inspiration struck Su Hao like lightning, sending chills down his spine.
A crazy, audacious, yet perfectly logically closed-loop plan took shape in his mind!
The only one capable, and the only one with the guts to orchestrate this grand scheme, and ultimately appear as a savior…
Who else could it be but Fang Huan?
***
"Chairman, the bank called again.
They warned us that if we don't provide additional margin, they'll have no choice but to force liquidation."
$400. This was Stella Corporation's once-glorious stock price.
However, the turmoil in East Asia teetered it on the brink of collapse, and the upheaval in the empire delivered the fatal blow.
Now, that number that once drove countless people mad has fallen below $100 and is rapidly plummeting into the abyss.
Smarck, the man who dreamed of conquering Mars, hailed as the "Iron Man of Silicon Valley"...
was slumped in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, oblivious to the buzzing of his secretary's urgent reports.
"Do we... have enough money to cover margin calls?" he muttered to himself. "The amount we owe the banks is astronomical, isn't it?"
Previously, if Smarck wanted to spend money, whether investing in new projects or buying a private jet, he would theoretically have to sell stock.
But selling stock would not only dilute his control over the company but also cause the stock price to plummet due to negative news of "founders reducing their holdings."
Not to mention, the money earned from selling stock would have to be paid a large sum in taxes to the government.
So, super-rich individuals like Smarck chose a more "clever" path, one of the most ingenious maneuvers invented by capitalists:
He used his company's soaring stock as collateral to borrow massive sums from banks for company operations and his grand plans.
In this way, the money he spent was essentially a "loan," naturally avoiding paying a single penny of tax to the government, only needing to pay interest on time.
This was a perfect form of capital alchemy, a perpetual motion machine of money making money.
But this beautiful system had a fatal flaw, one he deliberately ignored—a stock price crash!
When the stock price itself, used as collateral, crashed, the bank would immediately demand additional margin, or even immediate loan repayment!
But for Stella's stock price to plummet to that level, unless… the entire world collapsed.
Smarck had never even considered such a black swan event.
But now, the world was truly on the verge of collapse!
The script of the Great Depression was unfolding right before his eyes.
All stocks are becoming worthless!