Chapter 150

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“This looks excellent.”

President Aiden nodded after reviewing the lengthy documents.

“Wasn’t growing the semiconductor industry your top priority, Mr. President? Once the Chips Act is passed, we’ll be able to grow the semiconductor industry even larger than now. With America at the center.”

“Yes. It must be that way. Whatever else happens, we can’t lose to China.”

The legislation Aiden was prioritizing was semiconductors.

Currently, the semiconductor market was entirely dependent on Asia.

So they wanted to have semiconductor factories built in America, creating a new semiconductor market that didn’t depend on other countries.

“By the way, Mr. President. There’s one more thing to report besides this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about Faceweb. It seems Gwangwoon is really trying to take Faceweb.”

Actually, he’d already heard that story.

“But didn’t you say there was no chance? That there’s no way that Markus guy would give up his stake?”

“Yes. But things are turning strange now. The EU suddenly unanimously agreed on legislation targeting Faceweb, completely cutting off Faceweb’s European revenue. Because of this, the market cap that was barely holding at $250 billion instantly dropped below $100 billion.”

Aiden frowned.

“Why is the EU attacking Faceweb?”

“After the EU passed that legislation very quickly, Gwangwoon apparently supplied natural gas, nickel, and even wheat at cost.”

“So the EU and Gwangwoon made a deal?”

“Yes. In exchange for attacking Faceweb, Gwangwoon handed over the resources they were holding at a low price. They were already at the brink of a major crisis with that absurd price tag of 11x the natural gas price. The EU had no choice either.”

Aiden found it ridiculous yet at the same time understood the EU.

Currently, natural gas prices were continuing an unprecedented surge.

Not only that, but nickel prices had also jumped 500%, meaning virtually all of Europe’s industrial market would take a hit.

“If Europe had gone into production at those prices, not just Europe but global prices would have been in turmoil.”

“So it doesn’t matter if one Faceweb falls.”

“Yes. If they can normalize the European economy by sacrificing Faceweb as an offering, passing one piece of legislation like that would mean nothing to them.”

In other words, the EU had knelt before Gwangwoon.

He’d heard the EU was quite wary of Gwangwoon and was even preparing to counter them, but they’d already been preempted.

“Then is Faceweb really going to fall?”

“Now everything’s left to Markus’s decision. Whether to watch the company’s stock price fall to rock bottom and go bankrupt, or meekly surrender.”

But would he really be able to hold out until the end?

“And today, former President Trent even posted something new. Saying the outdated Faceweb should disappear and be replaced by a new SNS that can excite people.”

“Why’s that guy making a fuss again?”

“Didn’t Markus forcibly suspend former President Trent’s Faceweb account? He also strongly criticized Trent’s ideology as wrong.”

In other words, Markus was an ardent supporter of President Aiden.

“………Could it be that Markus is waiting for our help?”

“He’s probably secretly hoping for it.”

“Is there a way to help?”

“Not really. Revenue was blocked in the EU, and this time Ampl also did a major update for privacy protection, blocking Faceweb’s advertising revenue. Actually, if it hadn’t been for the information leak incident, we could have helped somehow……..”

“There’s no justification?”

“Yes. And even if there was a way to help, it would be better not to help.”

Even if there was a way to help, they shouldn’t help?

“We should rather guide Gwangwoon to devour Faceweb. We pressure Faceweb from our side too.”

“Are you telling me to act as Gwangwoon’s lackey right now?”

“It’s not like that. If PikPik absorbs even Faceweb, we can attack Gwangwoon for monopoly.”

“………!”

It was an absolutely brilliant idea.

“What does everyone think?”

“I think it’s an excellent plan.”

“This way, we’ll definitely have justification to attack Gwangwoon.”

Deliberately let them eat Faceweb then attack for monopoly.

Where could there be a better idea than this?

“We actually needed to rein in SNS’s power since it was becoming excessively strong.”

“If we catch them on monopoly, we can tear apart the companies Gwangwoon owns. We’ll be able to attack all the companies Gwangwoon is currently operating, not just SNS.”

President Aiden smiled slightly.

Finally, he’d obtained an opportunity to land a proper blow on Gwangwoon.

Moreover, regulation and control over SNS, which had always been a headache, might become possible.

He absolutely couldn’t miss this opportunity.

“Then let’s move on our end too. So that Markus hands over his company one way or another.”

***

Faceweb.

It represented the world’s SNS while simultaneously being the entity that created the SNS boom.

A company that had soared to $1 trillion watched in real-time as it dropped below $100 billion.

“…………..”

The EU’s regulatory legislation dealt the decisive blow, but,

how should I put it.

The feeling was strange because it was decisively my will that made Faceweb like this.

It’s called competition, but making my mind comfortable when we rose to first place by bringing down that massive company wasn’t quite the case.

“But it seems the US government is also trying to side with you, President.”

“That’s unexpected. I thought they’d desperately try to protect Faceweb.”

“Yes. On the contrary, they’re legally raising issues with Faceweb and putting tremendous pressure on Markus right now.”

This was really unexpected.

Faceweb is an American company.

So I thought they would at least try to prevent the company from being absorbed by PikPik.

But the US government, contrary to our expectations, was pressuring Faceweb from all directions.

“This way, Markus is also at his limit now. If the US government is determined to dig up legal issues, it could lead to prison. He’ll try to avoid that at all costs.”

“But why is America helping us?”

“Perhaps…… it’s because of the semiconductor-related project President Aiden is currently preparing.”

The large-scale project the Aiden administration was currently preparing.

That was semiconductors.

“Aren’t our Gwangwoon and Kangsung the powerhouses of the semiconductor business? There are various competing companies, but honestly, even those companies can’t survive without the products from our side.”

That’s why America wanted to build lots of factories within America to reduce their dependence on Asia.

“For President Aiden, this project is so important that his political career depends on it. If this project fails, not only his approval rating but the unemployment rate would also be uncontrollable.”

President Aiden’s goal was to strengthen the American market’s advantages while also increasing jobs. That’s why it was a project that absolutely could not fail.

“So they want us to fully support their project in exchange for handing over Faceweb?”

“Yes. That’s how we’re interpreting it. Otherwise, there’s no reason to suddenly pressure Faceweb.”

They say if you receive one thing, you give one thing—that’s the basics of politics. Business is the same.

“Then what ways are there for us to help?”

“There hasn’t been an announcement yet on exactly how they’ll proceed with the project. However, a few things can be predicted: they’ll definitely pour in a lot of money, and their goal will be to have as many factories built within America as possible.”

“We should buy some land in advance.”

“Yes. But the problem is we still don’t know exactly which sites America will select to have factories built. It’s classified before the announcement.”

That was the same for any country.

If you reveal the land before the project is selected, the land prices in that area would skyrocket.

So I was going to relax and wait, then move when the Aiden administration made their announcement, but…

“………?”

I felt a tingle as intuition spread throughout my entire body.

“………..”

I looked at a map of America just in case.

Then when I brought my hand to a certain point, once again, a thrill spread through my fingertips.

“Arizona?”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, that…….could you look into land in this area? If they were to build factories, where exactly would they build them?”

“Even though America hasn’t announced anything yet?”

“Well, they might let them choose sites freely. Contact headquarters and have them buy any good listings.”

“Ah, yes.”

Seeing that my intuition was only responding to this area, this seemed to be the optimal location for building factories.

“Also, President. China is also in contact with us right now.”

“China?”

“Yes, they’ve been under iron-clad lockdowns. But citizen backlash is so fierce that even the military can’t suppress it. So they’re planning to reach a compromise and lift the lockdown, and China also wants to actively receive foreign investment to revive their collapsed economy.”

The Chinese government was also feeling burdened by Aiden continuously creating new legislation targeting China. So they were trying to respond as well.

“But China’s risks are too high. Companies have already been backstabbed several times.”

“Then should we politely decline?”

“Yes, it seems better not to enter China for the time being. Still, rather than firmly refusing from the start, how about pretending to listen and smoothly passing it over?”

I waited quietly for a moment.

Soon, intuition flashed through my mind.

“Let’s do that. Please prepare at the company level so we can pass smoothly without conflict.”

“Yes. I’ll separately prepare the people to dispatch to China and also look into how to handle the government officials coming to us.”

All preparations were complete.

Now only one thing remained.

The decision of Markus, who held the key to Faceweb.

“What price are you looking at? For Markus’s stake.”

The price.

It was a company that had been worth $1 trillion.

Even though it had dropped to $100 billion, we’d have to factor in the potential value inside for Markus to accept.

“The price is probably……….”

I slowly wrote down the price on paper.

***

With even the EU submitting to Gwangwoon and pressuring Faceweb, the stock price completely nosedived.

Despite that, Markus kept holding his stake and endured.

There was exactly one thing he was counting on. That was the current administration’s leader, President Aiden.

Hadn’t Markus and Faceweb actively supported Aiden while continuing criticism of former President Trent?

As reward for that, the various lawsuits against Faceweb, as well as even the Cambridge incident, could be smoothly passed.

“………What did you say?”

But was the Aiden administration now abandoning Markus too?

“H-hand over the company?”

“Yes, otherwise the judiciary will step in. Also, they say you’ll soon be served with a shareholder derivative lawsuit.”

Even America, which he’d trusted, abandoned Markus. That made him even more defiant.

“I will never hand over this company!”

But America wasn’t the only one who betrayed him.

“You need to back down now. Otherwise, we will forcibly remove you from your position.”

“……….!?”

“We will personally lead the shareholder derivative lawsuit. Because you, as the chief decision-maker, failed to properly protect the company.”

“Y-you people…………! Even so, if the lawsuit proceeds and I drag it out to the end, this company will go bankrupt before then!”

“We know. Then you’ll have to step down without receiving a penny. And you’ll face astronomical lawsuits from the victims. More than your assets can possibly cover.”

Markus flinched at the executives’ words.

“So you need to sell the stake you’re holding now. Before the company truly collapses!”

Markus quietly looked around the conference room.

Among all these people, no one was on his side.

Looking at them, it seemed they wouldn’t let him leave the conference room until he handed over the company today.

“…..How much did Gwangwoon offer?”

“$30 billion.”

“What? Just $30 billion!? This company was worth over $1 trillion, and I’m supposed to hand over all my stake for a mere $30 billion?!”

“We know too. Thinking of the past value, it’s a very low price. But you need to accept it. Faceweb can no longer maintain its former appearance, and isn’t $30 billion enough for retirement funds? You can live comfortably for life, and if you want, you can start a new business.”

But even so, $30 billion was a seriously lowball offer.

“You need to be rational. If you don’t sell the company like this, the US government will send you to prison, and you’ll have to pay enormous compensation. This is your last chance.”

“………!”

The executives pushed forward the contract sent from Gwangwoon.

“………….”

Markus stared at that paper for a long time, then grabbed the pen with trembling hands.

***

“Congratulations, Mr. President.”

“Now we can really attack Gwangwoon.”

“It’s still too early to pop the champagne. Let’s first do well with the project we’re working on.”

“Yes, we’ll also devise a strategy for how to deal with Gwangwoon.”

“Good. Everyone’s worked hard. That reptilian has finally surrendered. Haha.”

After making a light joke, Aiden ended the meeting in a warm atmosphere.

His steps felt light today.

Those Gwangwoon bastards didn’t know it was poison and bit down because the US government helped them.

Now they just had to devise a good strategy to finish them off.

“But why do you look like you’ve eaten shit?”

But the chief of staff’s complexion wasn’t good.

“It’s that…… Mr. President.”

John’s face, already pale, had turned even more white.

“What happened?”

“It seems……. we’ve been played by Gwangwoon.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

Played by Gwangwoon?

“Gwangwoon made a large-scale investment and bought up land.”

“Land?”

“Yes, land in Arizona.”

“Why would that……. wait.”

Arizona.

Where was that again?

It was the core area for this semiconductor project.

“Don’t tell me they bought the sites we designated?”

“Yes. They bought up that entire area.”

“Did we publicly announce where we were going to buy land?”

“No. We were maintaining strict confidentiality.”

“Then how did those bastards even know……!”

“Information leaked from inside us.”

He received another shock there.

This project, especially the site selection process, had been proceeding secretly.

Also, only the core staff knew about the matter.

“Then among those staff, don’t tell me………..”

“There are people working for Gwangwoon.”

“But didn’t you say you selected these staff because they were clean!?”

“I apologize. We really investigated thoroughly, and there were no connections, so we composed the core staff but…….”

The chief of staff was utterly ashamed.

Staff selected through thorough vetting to avoid Gwangwoon’s web spread everywhere.

Yet even they had been tainted by Gwangwoon.

“Not only that, but Gwangwoon is apparently in close dialogue with the Chinese government. China sent people directly, and Gwangwoon also sent people.”

“……… It’s a clear message.”

Aiden realized what it meant that Gwangwoon was openly buying Arizona land while going back and forth with China.

“They’re letting us know their people are already planted on our side. While also showing they’re in dialogue with China and giving us a warning. That if we attack Gwangwoon on the excuse of monopoly, they’ll funnel the entire semiconductor market to China.”

“!?”

If the semiconductor market all shifted to China, Aiden’s first large-scale project would be blown away completely.

Also, on top of the project failure, he’d receive tremendous criticism for losing market share to China. It would effectively be a major incident ending his political career.

“So we absolutely must not attack Gwangwoon. Mr. President, they’ve already shown us by buying Arizona land that they’re completely prepared.”

“…………”

The EU and Faceweb.

They weren’t the only ones who had been played by Gwangwoon’s hands.

America too had already been in Gwangwoon’s palm before they even realized it.

<End of Chapter 150>