Chapter 121
─Hold on tight! We're taking off!
└How high is this thing going?
─Love you, hyung! Thanks to you, I got out with a profit!
└Fuck, I took a huge loss T_T
└Why?
└I got scared during the first part of Kim Segyun's announcement and sold at a loss...
└Oof.
└There's a reason they say you should listen to a Korean all the way to the end T_T
Since my announcement, stock prices across South Korea's industries, including SG Group, had skyrocketed.
They rose far higher than they'd fallen.
The effect called ‘Complete Pacification,’ which weakened monsters by 40%, had shocked people.
Even more shocking was that a Hunter could activate it at will.
“Hahahaha! The timing is fantastic! The timing!”
Zephyros was doubled over, laughing uproariously.
It had happened less than a week after they'd given in to pressure from the U.S. government and lifted the short-selling ban.
During that week...
SG Group and its affiliates' stock prices had been completely wrecked.
Korea's Hunter industry had been reduced to Wall Street's playground.
Now the situation had completely reversed.
Wall Street's capital would pay the price for short selling.
The time to settle the short positions hadn't come yet.
By the time they had to cover them, stock prices would surely have soared even higher.
It was an incredible result for a mere 200 Divine Authority.
If it didn't replenish, even 200 Divine Authority would be a lot, but thanks to clearing the Level 70 Gate and my past achievements in the other world, my Divine Authority had been steadily accumulating again.
I'd recover 200 Divine Authority in no time.
Good thing I'd tested it, just in case.
Of course, I'd only been aiming for ordinary Pacification; I hadn't expected to get the ‘Complete Pacification’ effect.
I wonder what America will do now.
That's what I'm more curious about.
If they can't turn things around, it'll deal Wall Street a fatal blow.
**
An empty office, with no one in it but a single old man.
“Heh, heh heh...”
Watching Kim Segyun's interview, Kaiser let out a hollow laugh.
“The one thing I feared has come to pass.”
He probably knew more about Level 70 Gates than anyone else in the world.
Though he hadn't succeeded in clearing one, he'd accumulated a great deal of information through repeated attempts.
What Kaiser knew was as follows.
1) Level 70 Great Gates yield no byproducts.
2) They don't even give rewards or experience.
3) The difficulty adjusts as you grow stronger.
He could accept the first and second points.
There would be a clear reward, after all.
But the third was the problem.
When he first reached Level 70, Kaiser had been relatively naive.
He thought that if he trained and got stronger, he could clear one.
The problem arose when he entered again after growing even stronger.
[The combat environment has been altered to account for the difference in combat power between you and your opponents.]
It was almost enough to make him laugh.
Though the North was destined to win, the Battle of Gettysburg had been so fierce that neither side could clearly be said to have had the upper hand.
But the stronger he became, the weaker the Union forces grew, while the Confederates became more powerful.
The balance was adjusted so that he would inevitably lose, no matter what.
It wasn't limited to that Gate.
After checking all the Level 70 Gates that had appeared across the United States, he was certain.
Level 70 Gates were places humans couldn't clear by their own power.
There hadn't been anyone like Ahmad back then, but the same would be true of Ahmad Triain.
What good would it do to go in with his forces boosted as much as possible?
He was certain of it.
No matter how many undead he had, could he clear Gettysburg alone if the Confederate army numbered a hundred thousand?
It was impossible.
And yet...
“How on earth did he clear it?”
He couldn't understand it at all.
Had Korea's Gates been weaker?
Otherwise, he couldn't begin to accept that clear.
He wanted to test it immediately, but decided to hold back for now.
The name ‘Kaiser’ still carried too much weight for him to act recklessly.
For now...
“Mr. Kaiser, your guests are waiting.”
He had to deal with the Wall Street monsters who'd invested on his word and suffered astronomical losses.
“Let's go.”
As he slowly headed to the reception room, the Wall Street representatives, seething with anger, began venting the moment they saw him.
“Kaiser! This isn't what you told us!”
“Do you have any idea how much we've lost?”
“Kaiser Corporation should compensate us...”
Kaiser raised a hand to stop them, then spoke in a low voice.
“Was anything I said wrong?”
“How can you even say that!”
“You all heard Kim Segyun's interview, didn't you? This is what he said.”
There are no rewards inside, no experience, not even byproducts.
“That's no different from what I said. Isn't it?”
“Th-that's true, but...”
“Of course, didn't I tell you to be wary of Kim Segyun? He's someone who can always create variables.”
Even Kaiser had been sure Kim Segyun would fail to clear it, but that didn't mean he'd bet on that outcome.
To be precise, Kaiser Corporation itself hadn't invested.
Only Kaiser's personal assets had been invested, distributed among several Wall Street investment banks.
“Besides, you aren't the only ones who lost money this time. I lost a substantial portion of my personal assets, too.”
Kaiser spoke calmly, but it had been a considerable blow.
That cash was supposed to be used to strengthen his control over Kaiser Corporation.
Moreover, now that the Under Seventy era had ended and the Over Seventy era had begun...
Even Kaiser's standing, which had remained intact until now, would surely start to be questioned.
“The common rabble may be shaken, but you are magnates who move trillions of dollars. I expect you to refrain from rash actions.”
“But...”
“Our losses are enormous! At this rate...”
“Are those losses real?”
“Pardon?”
“I asked if you've realized them.”
“Not yet...”
“Then they're just numbers on a computer.”
“But they'll become real soon enough.”
Kaiser clicked his tongue and continued.
“We can't just sit back and watch that happen.”
“...Do you have a way?”
“Think about it logically. Could an ability with an effect that powerful be used multiple times? If he could use it at will, there wouldn't be a time limit.”
The Wall Street capitalists were too flustered to grasp the situation, but Kaiser saw it clearly.
“It was a one-time thing, and only lasted 30 days. Nothing has changed. In the end, everything will go back to how it was after 30 days. When are the short positions due?”
“In a few months.”
“Can I keep working with you when you don't even understand the basic concept that it isn't a loss until you cover your position and realize it?”
“...But what if Kim Segyun clears another Level 70 Gate?”
“It seems even he found it difficult, didn't he? That's why he said he'd give up on clearing Level 70 Gates for the time being.”
“...That's true.”
Kim Segyun had clearly...
declared a temporary halt to clearing Level 70 Gates.
Though he had cleared one...
“Perhaps he used up something that could only be used once in the process, or suffered a serious injury that isn't visible from the outside.”
“...If that's the case.”
“Kim Segyun can't clear Level 70 Gates for now. And even if he does, all he can do is apply country-wide Pacification for about 30 days. Isn't that the conclusion?”
If that was true...
The stock prices that had risen temporarily would soon fall back to normal.
Beyond that, if Kim Segyun kept clearing Level 70 Gates but couldn't apply that ‘Complete Pacification’ effect...
No, even if he could apply it again, the public would realize...
that it only lasted a month, despite seeming absolute right now.
“Then...”
“We'll put in more capital. I'll invest more myself.”
Even Kaiser was putting up his own money.
Seeing how confident Kaiser was about this, the Wall Street capitalists looked at one another, then reached a decision and nodded.
“All right. We'll maintain our positions as well. But we can't increase them any further. The liquidity risk is already too high.”
“I'm fine with that. It means a bigger share for me. But we should move as quickly as possible. Someone else will soon come to the same conclusion I have.”
“...Understood.”
After the Wall Street capitalists left, Kaiser was alone. He glared at Kim Segyun on his monitor and muttered,
“I can only hope my gamble pays off.”
If it succeeded...
not only would Kaiser Corporation's control be secured overwhelmingly, but that massive Korean conglomerate might end up entirely in his grasp.
But if he was wrong...
“...There's no need to think that way.”
He knew that Ryan Spencer and Robert Garcia were conspiring with his granddaughter to scheme against him.
The reason he let them be, despite knowing, was simple.
Though he couldn't help what his granddaughter did, since she was family, he intended to drive those two ungrateful Judases straight to hell.
“Those nobodies would be nothing without my backing, and they dare bare their fangs at their master.”
He might be old, but he still had many years left to live.
Thanks to the elixir.
He had no intention of rotting away as some old man put out to pasture.
As the absolute ruler of America, he would live commanding others until the very moment he died.
That was the only future Kaiser could imagine for himself.
**
“It's still bothering me, it's really bothering me.”
Zephyros grumbled.
I'd seen the report, too.
Stock prices, which had skyrocketed temporarily, were slowly falling again.
It was because Wall Street's enormous capital hadn't pulled out and was maintaining its short positions.
They'd even increased their short positions.
They'd doubled down, so to speak.
“Kaiser Corporation. That place is always causing trouble, no matter what.”
I'd had a long-running bad relationship with them ever since my debut.
If I hadn't gotten this strong, I'd have had no choice but to keep getting pushed around by them.
That's how much power Kaiser and Kaiser Corporation wielded.
It was only natural.
They were the biggest dungeon development company, run by the greatest Hunter in the world's strongest nation.
Still...
It was time to end this bad blood.
Then I'd need to come up with a concrete plan.
“Our newly recruited CEO Kim Myeongjeong... he's trustworthy, right?”
“Hm? I suppose so.”
“...That's not enough.”
Still, we needed someone like CEO Kim Myeongjeong if this operation was going to succeed.
Zephyros making a move wouldn't look good, either.
For now, he was still Director of the National Intelligence Service.
“I'll talk it over with CEO Kim Myeongjeong and try to work things out.”
“...Can you manage? That guy's kind of a pushover...”
“Still, his track record speaks for itself.”
He'd also done a good job weathering Wall Street's destructive offensive, thanks in part to CEO Kim Myeongjeong.
“All right. I can't help much until I step down as Director of the NIS, so handle it yourself. You need to do well without me, too.”
“Yes, yes.”
Well, I'd better do a good job.
After seeing Zephyros off, I summoned CEO Kim Myeongjeong to my office.
“You called for me, Chairman?”
“Yes, Mr. Kim. Please have a seat here for a moment.”
“Ah, yes.”
Once he sat down, I had the secretary bring us tea, then...
I used bacteria that could detect electromagnetic waves to sweep the area one more time.
Of course, there were no bugs.
No matter how advanced or tiny a listening device was, there was nothing it could do against bacteria that could detect even the faintest electromagnetic waves.
As he watched me take precautions against a few other forms of eavesdropping as well, CEO Kim Myeongjeong's eyes widened.
“W-what's the matter...? Did I do something wrong?”
“No. It's just that this is top secret.”
“Ah...”
“So...”
When I reached out, Kim Myeongjeong, who wasn't Awakened, collapsed without even being able to resist.
Pride had burrowed into his brain.
Now that my control had increased and I understood the Pride entity better, it was possible to influence someone temporarily without causing permanent damage to their brain.
For a while, Pride would read CEO Kim Myeongjeong's thoughts and report to me if certain keywords came up.
I'd essentially planted a living wiretap.
It would be a problem if this one trap leaked to the outside somehow.
“Are you awake?”
When I woke him, he got up, rubbing his head.
“Honestly, even if you're tired, how can you fall asleep here?”
“D-did I fall asleep?”
“Yes, you were even snoring.”
“S-sorry.”
“No need to apologize.”
I handed him a document I'd prepared in my own handwriting beforehand.
“...What is this?”
“What you'll be doing from now on.”
“Project: The Fall of the Emperor...”
As he slowly read through it, CEO Kim Myeongjeong's eyes widened until they looked ready to burst.
“Ch-Chairman. This is...”
“It's exactly what it looks like. Keep reading.”
CEO Kim Myeongjeong flipped through the documents for quite some time.
When he reached the part about even Gates below Level 5 being eligible for clear credit, he was almost on the verge of losing his mind.
“S-so...”
“Yes, I want to trap the ‘Emperor’ as much as possible while keeping this secret. As you know, that will require walking a fine line.”
They couldn't realize their profits before I sprung the trap, or gain any influence over SG Group's management.
But if we defended too well, they wouldn't find it worthwhile and would simply pull out after making a modest profit.
A trap took a great deal of effort to spring on someone in the first place.
“You can do this, can't you?”
We had to keep wagging our tails, looking as though we were about to fold without actually doing so.
To do that...
We needed a financial expert, and this new CEO had extensive experience in the field.
“So... what you're saying, Chairman...”
CEO Kim barely managed to speak, his mouth opening and closing.
“You intend to bring Kaiser down in one shot?”
Of course.
If not now, who knew when we'd get another chance?
“Correct.”
I'll leave him utterly penniless.