Chapter 113

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“200 million dollars. No more than that.”

“W-wait. 200 million dollars?! We bought the company from you for 1.2 billion dollars, and you’re saying you’ll buy it back for 200 million?!”

“If you don’t want to sell, it can’t be helped. This meeting ends here. Besides P&R, there are many others lined up wanting to sell their companies to us.”

Kim Du-young coughed loudly once and tried to stand up from his seat.

Then the counterpart at the negotiation table urgently grabbed him.

“200 million dollars is… too harsh. We can’t even cover debts with that. Wouldn’t 400 million dollars work?”

“You made the difficult journey to Korea during this corona situation, so it’s unfortunate. Please take care on your way.”

“W-wait! 300 million dollars! Can’t go below this!”

At those words, CEO Kim Du-young naturally sat back down while backstepping.

“Indeed, it was worth coming all the way to Korea. We’ll acquire for 300 million dollars. You brought the contract draft, of course?”

“……”

The other company’s CEO and executives looked at Kim Du-young as if dumbfounded.

“How many more meetings do we have today?”

“Two. Everyone’s waiting for you, CEO. One is an in-person meeting, and the other has to be via video conference.”

“Phew. Yeah. Working this hard after so long isn’t easy.”

Currently, among countries worldwide, Korea was relatively on the safe side.

While the virus was spreading quickly in other countries, it was comparatively safe here.

Of course, there were forecasts that control would become increasingly difficult as the virus slowly spread, but as long as you pass the corona test, you could have business meetings like this.

“But CEO. At this rate, we’ll have a lot of money left over.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Since we’re acquiring companies at almost dirt cheap prices, it seems we’ll have more money left than expected.”

In other words, Kim Du-young was slashing prices like a thug.

“Hehehe. President Jeong put me here precisely to do this. I’m best at selling high and buying low.”

Gwangwoon Shipping was forcibly dismantled by the EU, sold the companies at the highest possible prices, and kept the sale proceeds without spending a single penny.

Following Jeong Jin-ho’s instructions to save that money.

The problem was that amount was going to have a lot left over.

“I heard President Jeong Jin-ho told you to spend all the money?”

“Ah, yeah. He told me to reclaim all the companies we lost. Repair this and that, plug holes with our money. And still money will be left over?”

“Yes. Maybe he means to gather all other shipping companies with the remaining money too?”

Kim Du-young still has one unfinished mission.

That is to completely dominate shipping.

A complete form that the EU, America, and various governments can no longer dismantle like before.

Who gave such a mission?

President Jeong Jin-ho?

Actually, he doesn’t remember well.

Perhaps during the blank period after having the company taken by the EU, he developed that resentment himself while obsessively sharpening his axe in delusion.

Either way, he considered now the first and last chance to release that resentment.

Moreover, didn’t Jeong Jin-ho personally give instructions?

To use all the sale proceeds he had been holding.

If it was Jeong Jin-ho, there must have been intention behind those words.

It clearly meant to release all his pent-up resentment with that money after reclaiming the lost companies.

“Keep the radar running. Besides the ones who went under because of us, there must be more people wanting to sell their companies because shipping itself has completely stopped.”

“Yes. But… is it okay to keep growing like this? As you said, shipping has effectively stopped completely. That’s why everyone is collapsing. If we just buy shipping indiscriminately in this situation……”

It was a voice of concern that they might similarly burst and die.

Actually, Kim Du-young was worried about that too.

But could Jeong Jin-ho not have known that?

That superhuman who sees through this world more clearly than anyone?

“Shipping is at its lowest point right now, so he wouldn’t have told me to acquire everything thoughtlessly because of that.”

“Then……”

“Since it hit the lowest point, it’s going to rebound. I was puzzled at first too. Shipping was too wrecked to enter now. Honestly, I was scared we might get crushed too. But it wasn’t just anyone—President Jeong Jin-ho gave the advice, right? Then you have to think differently.”

“For whatever reason, the shipping business will definitely revive, right?”

“Yeah. Though I don’t know exactly how it’s going to revive.”

Right now, the shipping business is like a time bomb.

Those people weren’t begging Kim Du-young to take their companies while bowing to his lowballing for nothing.

In their view too, shipping was finished.

Shipping would revive someday, but they considered it the distant future.

“Looking at how President Jeong told us to suddenly acquire all this, the revival of shipping is definitely not a distant future story.”

But Kim Du-young believed.

Because to him, Jeong Jin-ho’s orders were like words from heaven.

————————————————————————————————————————

“I heard the National Pension’s position clearing is all done.”

“That’s a relief. The stock market is collapsing so much that I thought it might be hard to clear.”

“Yes. Fortunately, they started clearing according to the President’s instructions from the point of the big crash, so they processed the volume well. As you know, aren’t there institutions that do full buying during such crash markets?”

The problem was many institutions that bought large volumes from us got burned.

Because the financial market collapsed far more from the point where we shook off our positions.

“Following the President’s instructions, as positions were cleared, some stocks were quickly bought through OTC trading. The problem is the National Pension’s total assets currently are 1,000 trillion, and only a tiny portion was used while the rest is being held.”

That’s how money is.

If you don’t put it anywhere and just hold it, it rots as is.

Putting it somewhere to grow money is a wise investment method.

The problem is if you put money into the current stock market carelessly, you’re more likely to lose.

But the real problem was something else.

“Currently, we’re negotiating using vaccines, but Europe and even America are looking too sensitively at the National Pension and our Gwangwoon.”

Although we’re negotiating using vaccines as per the Vice President’s advice, developed country governments weren’t viewing us favorably.

The best method at times like this is to just buy bonds as the National Pension says, bury money in safe assets, and stay quiet as a mouse.

But I had already seen through intuition.

Although the entire market looks sunken beyond recovery right now, a great bull market in stocks is coming soon.

Missing that timing was too regrettable.

Because if that golden age is coming soon, it means whatever stock you buy now will moon.

“For now, we should move carefully. We’re still negotiating with various governments. Rather than provoking them unnecessarily, watching the situation before moving……”

I nodded and wrote “buy” with a pen in my notebook.

“……”

When I brought the pen tip to the buy side, some signal came, though faintly.

When I wrote “hold” next to it and brought the pen, this feeling was stronger in intensity.

‘Is this telling me to buy, or to hold?’

Looking at how the intensity is higher for hold……

‘Should I wait a bit more for now?’

————————————————————————————————————————

“There’s not just one or two places that need money. Not only the domestic market but externally too, nothing is intact. Especially if we don’t distribute unemployment benefits, the problem will get even bigger.”

Trent was getting a headache.

Since corona hit and the world economy stopped, water was coming in from all directions.

If they don’t plug those holes, everyone will drown.

“Is the securities sector the most dangerous?”

“Yes. For now, the Fed has decided to lower the benchmark interest rate. They say they’ll lower it about 0.5% to 1% to catch the currently crashing market.”

“And that’s effective?”

“The Fed and our government need to coordinate. Didn’t we inject about 70 billion dollars for the first round of quantitative easing? But since the effect was minimal, they see that things will only stabilize if they declare unlimited QE and purchase corporate bonds and MBS as needed.”

The idea was to reduce risk asset sentiment by narrowing credit spreads.

The problem was too much money was going in.

“That’s not the end. We need to expand credit support by buying corporate bonds, ETFs, and municipal bonds, and secure funding for companies and local governments.”

“So the conclusion is, we need to distribute money to all citizens, give money to companies, and also inject astronomical sums into the collapsing stock market?”

“Yes.”

His head was throbbing.

The corona situation had already made Trent’s presidential re-election practically impossible.

All countries are like this right now.

Everyone’s blaming the government for corona.

His head was already hurting from that, and now he had to empty all the money in the treasury to save this crashing economy.

“When exactly does this end?”

“First, vaccine distribution needs to happen as quickly as possible. Only then can we end this within at least 3 years.”

“So when exactly is that vaccine completed?”

“We’re in negotiations with Gwangwoon. They say if vaccine regulations are just eased, full distribution is possible within 3-4 months. The problem is……”

The adviser who was speaking hesitated.

“What is it?”

“They’re asking that in exchange for supplying vaccines cheaply and stably, we stop investigating or keeping Gwangwoon and the National Pension in check.”

“What? Wait. They’re threatening us with vaccines?”

“They didn’t literally say it like that, they said it indirectly. But the meaning is clear—we give vaccines, so don’t touch them.”

Look at these insolent bastards.

You dare make such threats against America?

“But this isn’t the time to be emotional. If distribution happens within 3-4 months, we can stabilize corona. Other countries are already making laws where only vaccinated people can enter and exit.”

“What if we contract with another place instead of Gwangwoon?”

“That takes too long. There’s no place that can produce vaccines faster than Gwangwoon’s AstraZenon. It’ll take more than twice as long. By then, only America will be a country without vaccines.”

There was a reason they were threatening with vaccines.

They know there’s no place that can produce vaccines except themselves right now.

“Does that mean other countries have all stopped investigations into Gwangwoon and the Korean National Pension?”

“Yes. Since they hold the vaccines for now. Also, if vaccines are distributed now and all citizens get vaccinated, Gwangwoon has to provide booster shots for future variant viruses too. Switching to another company’s vaccine risks major side effects.”

In other words, they’re stuck having to receive and use Gwangwoon’s vaccines for at least 3 years.

“This is ridiculous.”

Gwangwoon, making the great powers submit.

They can’t even harm those who made money using an international crisis.

“I’m sorry, but I have not even the slightest intention of bowing to Gwangwoon like those stupid leaders of other countries.”

But Gwangwoon also messed with the wrong person.

Who is Trent?

He was the eccentric called the greatest nutjob leader in American history.

“We need to pour a lot of money into the stock market, right?”

“Ah, yes. The important thing right now is to narrow the credit spread.”

“And we need to invest in corporate bonds, ETFs, etc. to provide support?”

“That’s right. Astronomical sums will have to be injected just to raise overall stock prices.”

The staff were already anxious about what strange idea Trent would come up with.

“Then can’t we just have the National Pension provide that money?”

“Pardon?”

“The National Pension and Gwangwoon made money using corona. So hold them accountable and tell them to pump money into our financial market. With the money they have, wouldn’t it be enough for stimulus?”

Dumbfounded, the staff blinked blankly.

“What? It won’t work?”

“Obviously they won’t accept. They know putting money into the current stock market means huge losses. The National Pension and Gwangwoon will definitely try to put all their funds into safe assets like bonds where prices are rising.”

Having a nation’s problems solved by a company and another country’s institution.

And at that, indiscriminately putting trillions into the stock market.

“Thanks to that, the stock market might temporarily rebound, but ultimately it’s a structure where the National Pension and Gwangwoon lose. They’ll definitely not do what we want.”

“Then make them do it. Tell them if they don’t do what we say, we’ll make this a diplomatic issue. Military withdrawal, tariffs and FTA, plus we’ll hold the Korean government accountable for everything including the ongoing North Korea negotiations.”

“B-but……”

Trent was stubborn.

It was amazing he came up with such a ridiculous idea in the first place.

Wasn’t he the person who, when negotiations with North Korea went slightly wrong, said let’s nuke Pyongyang?

“Go tell them immediately! I have absolutely no intention of bowing to those bastards!”

————————————————————————————————————————

“So… you’re saying the National Pension and us should pour massive amounts of money into the US stock market to pull up the collapsing market?”

“Yes. If we buy massively, stock prices will rise and the overall stock market will go up. Hasn’t the US government already temporarily pumped money into the market? Though the effect was minimal. So they want to inject more money this time, and they’re telling us to do it.”

It was a truly absurd idea.

Passing a nation’s problem to a private company and another country’s institution.

I could guess whose head came up with such a ridiculous idea.

Obviously Trent.

It was a very unfair and absurd proposal, but—

“Then we don’t need to hold back anymore?”

Ironically, that was what we needed most.

“Yes. No matter how much money we pour in, they can’t complain about market disruption. They pushed our backs telling us to do it.”

Both our Gwangwoon and the National Pension.

After position clearing ended, we couldn’t move large amounts of money.

Because countries around the world were monitoring us.

So the National Pension was nibbling away at stock purchases, and we only moved small amounts.

Then the US government suddenly handed us a free pass.

While bringing up accountability.

“……”

I brought my pen to the word “buy” I had written in my notebook.

“!?”

Intense thrill began shaking my entire body.

There was no feeling at all from “hold” anymore.

‘What. This Trent person……”

Is he an angel?