Money Keeps Piling Up No Matter How Much I Spend

Chapter 191

Translator: Dreamscribe"Deputy Manager Kim. The report, is it done? Did you finish the revisions?"

"Yes. We've been up for two days straight, working together to finalize all the revisions."

"So it can go out today?"

"Yes. As soon as you approve it, we'll release it immediately."

Yeouido was in an uproar.

Two days ago, Kwangwoon had suddenly published a negative report on China.

The report, brimming with scathing criticism, was clearly taking aim at the Chinese market for anyone to see.

"We're not the only ones scrambling. I heard Wall Street's been turned upside down too. They were about to put out positive reports on China, just like us."

Financial markets had trends.

And steering client money toward those trending stocks was a securities firm's job.

The reports that analysts put out influenced client investment decisions far more than people realized, and their manipulation of market trends was a phenomenon that had been happening since time immemorial.

In that regard, the Chinese market was the trend the financial world had chosen this cycle.

But there was one entity that even the trendsetters themselves could not defy.

"If Kwangwoon's going against the current, there's nothing we can do. A casual word from Kwangwoon carries more weight than all of Wall Street and us barking combined."

The trends in finance were no longer made by Wall Street.

Remarkably, they were being made by a single securities firm here in Korea.

"Everyone's just watching to see what kind of report Kwangwoon puts out next. And the moment the content turns out to be the exact opposite of their own reports, they rush to revise them."

Kwangwoon currently had the power to move thousands of trillions of won in the stock market.

From Kwangwoon's own capital to the National Pension Service.

It was no exaggeration to call them the world's greatest Whale.

Companies like Whiterock and Wingard, with assets under management reaching a staggering ten quadrillion won, certainly existed, but they could never match Kwangwoon's power.

Because their assets were split across tens of thousands of funds, making it virtually impossible to consolidate them into one.

"Kwangwoon, on the other hand, can be moved single-handedly by one man, Jung Jin-ho. That's what makes it terrifying."

It was already widely known that Kwangwoon Group revolved around CEO Jung Jin-ho.

On top of that, Jin-ho had been hailed as an immortal investor the likes of which humanity would never see again, catapulting to stardom both in Korea and abroad.

"He doesn't show himself in the media much, but if that man so much as drops a casual remark, hundreds of companies could be blown to pieces without breaking a sweat, couldn't they?"

What gave Jin-ho's words such weight was largely Kwangwoon's media power.

Even if what he said happened to be a lie, Kwangwoon had the power to make it the truth.

"That's exactly why Wall Street hangs on his every word. Look at this China situation. Honestly, China doesn't have problems as severe as what Kwangwoon's report makes them out to be, does it?"

The report Kwangwoon had released to the world was considerably exaggerated.

But as mentioned, the truth didn't matter.

What mattered was Kwangwoon's intent.

Why would Kwangwoon put out a report like this?

It was a declaration of war, announcing they would wreck China exactly as the report described.

In other words, Wall Street and the domestic market weren't stirring because Kwangwoon's analysis was accurate.

It was because Kwangwoon had revealed that it had begun making its move against China.

"That's frightening. The idea that one person can sway the global economy."

"It's entirely plausible. Kwangwoon has a stranglehold on practically every sector right now. Recently they've been pouring massive investments into sports too, looking to swallow that whole."

Messi's transfer had sent shockwaves through the global sports market.

Criticism poured in, accusing a Whale bigger than Saudi Arabia of barging into the sports market to corrupt it, but Kwangwoon didn't stop and kept pouring in money regardless.

"They want everything under their control now."

"But isn't that way too dangerous? This is a company that's surpassed the power of nations."

"What can you do? There have been multiple attempts to stop Kwangwoon, but every time they failed and only ended up helping it grow even bigger."

In the past, most people had predicted that Kwangwoon would keep getting cocky, flying too close to the sun, and eventually get crushed.

But now, everyone's thinking had changed.

No matter how hard anyone tried to stamp them out, Kwangwoon refused to be stamped out and instead trampled the opposition.

In short, it had grown into a company that could neither be toppled nor crushed.

Because of that, Wall Street had given it a name.

KW Empire.

Meaning it had already become an empire.

"Don't think too hard about it. Securities guys like us shouldn't look at the big picture. Just focus on the profit right in front of you. If you really hate that, then go ahead and win every single investment like that man Jung Jin-ho does."

"Ugh. No way. And the moment we go against this current, we'd be the ones getting pummeled."

Looked at this way, maybe investing had gotten easier than it used to be.

Just copy what Kwangwoon did, exactly as they did it.

But the moment you did the opposite, you'd have to weather the storm that came crashing down on your own.

* * *

"Unrest from within? China?"

"Yes. The signs are far from ordinary right now. Our assessment is that this could actually escalate to military action inside China."

China, of all places.

There was a time when China had been on the verge of fracturing.

And so they had agonized over it.

Open up entirely, or seize control to preserve power?

In the end, they chose the latter, putting a man named Li Jinping at the front.

They then purged every opposing force, massacred even innocent civilians, and finally built the current regime in blood.

"Isn't the current regime supposed to be the most unshakeable, the most solid?"

"Yes. It was certainly the most powerful regime in Chinese history. That's why even the United States had such a hard time trying to crack it."

The United States had toppled numerous regimes through covert operations over the years.

China had been one of their targets too, but they'd never managed it.

China had already built such a solid internal foundation and put every safeguard in place to ensure it wouldn't be shaken by external interference.

"And that China is being shaken? Because of Kwangwoon, no less?"

Anthony, head of Kwangwoon's Sentinel, let out a hollow laugh as he listened to the reports coming in about the Chinese financial crisis.

What the United States and multiple advanced nations had struggled with all their might to achieve and failed, Kwangwoon was accomplishing.

"How is that even possible?"

"From what we've gathered, the buildup appears to have started much earlier than expected."

"Buildup? By Kwangwoon?"

"Yes. Starting with the Tianjin port incident in 2015, they gradually funneled capital into the Chinese side, then formally became a partner in the Chinese government's Belt and Road Initiative. There was pushback, of course, but Kwangwoon had already secured control of port operating rights in advance, so they came out with the biggest gains."

"So that means they've had connections inside the Chinese government for a long time."

"Yes. Even during the Korean Wave ban, while every other Korean company took losses, Kwangwoon turned a profit. But the real turning point was the Evergrande Group crisis."

Evergrande Group had been one of China's major conglomerates.

But when Kwangwoon engineered Evergrande's default, China's Real Estate Bubble burst wide open.

"Apparently, there had been factions discontented with the current regime even before that. The problem was that the regime's grip was too strong for them to so much as stretch their legs, but when Evergrande collapsed, they achieved significant growth."

"The Real Estate Bubble burst, Evergrande went bankrupt, and naturally more people grew discontented with the current regime?"

"Yes. Companies that had been blacklisted by the regime and unable to grow reportedly started climbing after Evergrande's bankruptcy, which was a decisive factor."

"Then engineering Evergrande's bankruptcy was ultimately about nurturing the opposition to the current regime?"

"Exactly. And the group that surfaced as a result is the Reform Faction."

The Reform Faction.

A new organization now standing in direct opposition to the current Chinese regime.

"When the Chinese government implemented zero-COVID and locked down cities, public discontent swelled. When Evergrande's bankruptcy brought natural gas pipeline production to a complete halt, China fell behind Kwangwoon in energy supply as well. The forceful suppression of the Hong Kong protests also drove all the capital there to flee to Korea. China lost its title as Asia's hub to Korea, and the slush funds Chinese public security should have had were absorbed over there too."

And so, over the course of several years, Kwangwoon had been quietly working behind the scenes, severing the Chinese government's limbs one by one.

"And the Sichuan earthquake played the most critical role. Thanks to that earthquake, we were able to deploy a large number of our operatives disguised as Kwangwoon Foundation volunteers."

"Then the Sichuan earthquake, don't tell me..."

"Yes. We believe Kwangwoon may have deliberately caused it. Kwangwoon knew that China's structure wasn't one that could be easily dismantled, so they spent years building up to this point. Considering they deployed our operatives to carry out covert operations and triggered this Chinese financial crisis to compound the chaos, it was all part of a meticulous plan."

Honestly, under normal circumstances, this Chinese financial crisis was something that could have simply blown over.

Meaning the Chinese government would have remained standing even if its citizens starved to death.

But the situation now was vastly different.

The Reform Faction had emerged to challenge the Chinese regime head-on, and the sentiment that the current regime had to be brought down was spreading fiercely within China itself.

On top of that, the worldwide crop failures and food shortages were hitting China directly, pushing public discontent to levels the government could barely contain.

"So you're saying the Chinese government could actually collapse at this rate?"

"It's still fifty-fifty at this point. We can't predict how the current regime will respond or how the Reform Faction will counter."

If the Chinese government were truly overturned, the entire world would be rocked.

"Then the Chinese government must be catching on by now, right? That Kwangwoon is behind all of this."

"Yes. They're likely starting to realize just how long they've been played by Kwangwoon."

That was what worried Anthony a little.

There was a saying, after all.

A cornered rat will bite the cat.

Would the Chinese government, being backed further and further into a corner, be any different?

* * *

"Yeah, Mom. Don't worry too much. I know I've been so busy with work that I haven't been paying enough attention, but Hye-rin's been doing a great job with the preparations. And I've already booked a restaurant so both families can get together soon. Yeah. Got it. I'll see you later."

I hung up the phone and let out a short breath.

The Vice President, who had been sitting beside me in the backseat, glanced at me cautiously and asked.

"I heard you're getting married soon. It seems like the preparations aren't easy."

"Yeah. There's way more to prepare than I ever imagined. And since I've been so busy with work, I feel bad that I haven't been able to give it much attention."

"I'm sure she understands. You're doing the most important work in this country, after all."

"Oh, come on. No need to put that kind of pressure on me."

"Every person in Korea knows it."

"As it is, I can't even walk the streets alone these days. Way too many people recognize me."

Just a year ago, hardly anyone on the street had recognized me.

But now, it was impossible to go out alone. Everyone in the country knew who I was.

God of investing, investment prodigy, legendary investor, and so on.

Titles I'd never wanted or intended had piled up in droves, trailing me like tags I couldn't shake off.

"This is exactly why I tried to stay off the media."

I'd turned down the flood of interview requests and TV appearances, and asked headquarters to minimize my media exposure, but what I had now was already the result of cutting it back as much as possible.

These days, it felt like I was doing a broadcast or interview roughly once every three days.

"Your accomplishments are simply extraordinary. Trends usually cool off quickly, but the buzz around you is still going strong. I think just when it starts to die down, something new breaks and reignites it."

"Because of this China situation?"

"Yes. You've boldly taken the opposite Position, betting on the Chinese market's collapse. Our Kwangwoon Securities released a report on it as well, and the market's in an uproar over it right now."

In the past, I'd had no hesitation when investing.

But now, a certain weight seemed to press down on me.

Unlike before, the eyes of the entire world were fixed on me.

Maybe this was why people said the best thing was to make a fortune without anyone knowing your face.

"So, how's the Chinese market looking right now? I was about to get briefed on... ugh."

"CEO-nim?"

It was happening again.

I clutched my throbbing head.

Something had been off with me for the past few days.

Without having done anything, my Intuition would fire out of nowhere, leaving me so dizzy I'd crouch down on the spot, or my stomach would churn as if I were about to vomit, and once I'd gone a full day barely able to drink even a sip of water.

And now my head began to pound violently again, as if I were about to pass out, and for a moment my vision blacked out.

'Why is this happening again all of a sudden?'

Just as I tried to call out to the Vice President for help before losing consciousness,

the darkness in my vision flooded with light, and a vision unfolded before me.

'Wait. That's...'

What had pierced through the darkness and lit up everything ahead was none other than,

"!?"

The headlights of a massive truck, barreling toward me at terrifying speed.