Chapter 66

===================

Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

===================

[Make America Great Again!]

“I’ve really never seen a candidate like that in my life.”

America will soon have elections right around the corner.

Doiji Trent, counted as a strong conservative.

Facing him, Democrat Hilia Clint.

These two were running at polar extremes.

First, just looking at polls, Hilia Clint was clearly leading.

“This time there were so many scandals. Russian intervention suspicions and email scandals too. Plus Trent has many controversies from various statements.”

Trent is famous for making very dangerous statements.

Also, he brought up talk that if elected president, he’ll build a Mexican wall, block illegal immigrants, forcibly return companies that went overseas to America, and implement protectionist trade.

Plus defense cost increases toward allied countries, reducing dependence, etc.

He’s trying to exert tremendous influence on military and industry in all directions.

So by now, except for a few countries, all countries were praying for Hilia’s election.

“But even just looking at polls, isn’t Hilia overwhelming?”

“Well, you can tell just from SNS, right? Superstars all supporting Hilia. You can’t ignore that public opinion.”

This election was quite blatant.

The media was all determined to bury Trent, and Hollywood also had actors directly leave posts on SNS saying a psychopath like Trent mustn’t become America’s president.

“So our Kangsung also needs to make a decision soon.”

“A decision meaning..”

“Trent or Hilia. We also need to support one of these two.”

A Korean conglomerate supporting a specific US presidential candidate might seem like a funny thing. But this isn’t something to take lightly.

It’s the US president.

Someone who can shake the world economy, perhaps the strongest position on Earth.

No company wants to be hated by such a person.

“Moreover, Kangsung is competing with Ampl, and trying to expand the semiconductor market further, but the moment Trent checks us saying he’ll take care of domestic companies, it’ll become tremendously difficult.”

Trent already made statements several times about reviving domestic companies.

“The problem is companies within the US aren’t receiving such statements from Trent well.”

Saying he’ll revive domestic companies while unreasonably raising tariffs, and saying he’ll tightly screen immigrants in the US and deport them, so from US companies’ position it was distressing.

Just looking at Ampl, they import and use more than they produce themselves.

But if tariffs are raised here, product prices have no choice but to rise.

Is that all?

If all immigrants are kicked out, cheap labor also disappears together.

Then as always, they could just build factories in other countries, but Trent announced his position that he’ll force even conglomerates like Ampl to build factories in America.

“So companies are also working hard on public opinion battles to prevent Trent from being elected. While supporting Hilia’s side. Ah. Except for that energy and real estate.”

Since he talked a lot about reviving America’s energy industry from before, and the Trent family is a real estate conglomerate, there were many predictions that the real estate industry would benefit.

I nodded and quietly observed Chairman Kang Seong-ho.

“But.. Your face looks much gaunt.”

“Huh? Ahaha. Isn’t this actually better?”

They say Chairman Kang Seong-ho is almost only in Europe these days.

He was giving his all to European market expansion while joining hands with various semiconductor companies.

“Business expansion is good, but take care of your health too.”

“I should. Originally I had a routine I kept with daily exercise, but recently it feels like that all got broken. But what can I do? Even for our Kangsung Group’s fate going forward, I have to grind my body.”

When you say conglomerate chairman, it seems like rather than working hard, they’d leave work to others and play comfortably, but Chairman Kang Seong-ho was somehow like a hard worker.

“What can I do? I want to play too, but President Jeong made the situation. Making food, making side dishes, now I just have to eat it, but if I don’t eat that, am I human?”

Even saying that, Kangsung really had a lot to do.

So Chairman Kang Seong-ho is trying not to miss this opportunity.

“Oh right. And I heard. TSNC’s shipment all flew away at Tianjin Port? Plus they broke the contract with Gwangwoon then came back.”

“Yes. The shipment all flying away at Tianjin Port was also a big blow, but they’re in chaos because there’s no way to immediately transport to customers.”

“Then they’re clinging to Gwangwoon Shipping’s pants legs.”

“Yes. They’ll probably receive 3 times higher shipping fees.”

Borrowing President Kim Du-yeong’s words, it was a contempt penalty.

Shouldn’t they pay the price for unilaterally breaking the contract with us and joining hands with the Dragon Sea Alliance?

“Then how about this. Let’s do this?”

“Yes?”

“TSNC said they’ll give 3 times. You probably roughly calculated how much money they’ll receive regularly, right?”

“Yes. Gwangwoon Shipping side is probably calculating.”

“Good. Then I’ll give 10 times that.”

“..Yes?”

“Going forward, reject all shipping requests from TSNC coming to Gwangwoon. Instead, our Kangsung Group will repay that loss 10 times.”

10 times is quite a large amount.

No matter how much Kangsung Group makes the most money in Korea, they’re not a place doing free charity.

Saying he’ll pay that much amount means it has that much value.

“TSNC’s logistics flying away at Tianjin Port was primarily big. Plus the Dragon Sea Alliance got smashed by the Chinese government. The people in charge there were caught one after another, their life or death unclear. In other words, there’s no company to take responsibility for TSNC’s shipping.”

TSNC is isolated now.

The semiconductors that should’ve been distributed everywhere from Tianjin Port all disappeared from the explosion, and though they’re quickly making more through additional production, there was no company to bring them.

“Taiwan doesn’t have a notable shipping company either.”

“Originally there were some, but they all closed or were absorbed by the Dragon Sea Alliance. Trusting that, TSNC also abandoned our Gwangwoon and contracted with them.”

“Right. But even Gwangwoon won’t help TSNC? Then no matter how much TSNC produces, they can’t move it elsewhere.”

But TSNC doesn’t only use shipping.

For them, not just sea routes but air routes were also open.

“There’s a reason TSNC inevitably uses shipping recently. As the shipping business went to hell overall, air transport business that was already being pushed by shipping also closed one after another. Plus as the decisive blow, Gwangwoon is dominating the entire shipping business like monopolizing it, right? So work decreased even more, and air transport businesses in Taiwan all closed.”

And there was one more decisive incident.

“Taiwan had a presidential election this year. But the Democratic Progressive Party side was elected. Until then the Nationalist Party implemented pro-China policies, but newly elected President Tsai Ing-wen announced she’ll firmly reject One China. There China lost their minds.”

From that day, China dispatched fighter jets flying through Taiwan airspace whenever they had the chance, dispatched warships, etc., staging military demonstrations.

Because of fighter jets flying over whenever they’re bored, cases started occurring where planes going well in Taiwan aviation turned around, and all customers looking for Taiwan air transport left due to decreased trust and safety.

TSNC also reluctantly chose the sea route.

“The funny thing is, TSNC is being criticized by the Taiwan government for the reason of joining hands with the Dragon Sea Alliance. Because outwardly they supported the current government and opposed One China, but ultimately were doing business with Chinese companies.”

In other words, this was exactly a golden opportunity heaven gave to Kangsung Group.

“TSNC doesn’t just send things, right? To get parts, ultimately they also have to import. And most of that is done through shipping.”

“Then you’re saying to also block that importing? Because our Gwangwoon Shipping is tightly holding that sea route.”

“Right. Do you understand why I’m saying I’ll regularly pay 10 times?”

10 times.

Quite a large amount.

But if they can dry up and kill TSNC, the foundry strongest, that 10 times price would probably be a cheaper price than expected.

“I’ll discuss exact pricing with Gwangwoon Shipping and send it to you.”

“Hmm. Can’t overcharge too much, okay? Oh right. But President Jeong. Earlier I was talking about Hilia Clint and Trent, right? Which one does President think will win?”

Honestly, this didn’t even need to borrow the power of intuition.

Aren’t all media and indicators pointing to who the next president is?

“Of course Hili..”

But right then.

I tried to say the name Hilia, but something unknown made me shut my mouth.

“What? Who?”

I tried to forcibly open my mouth, but it wouldn’t budge.

That means, don’t tell me..

“..Trent.”

***

95% of semiconductors produced at TSNC are all made domestically.

As China-Taiwan relations rapidly deteriorated, they recently announced their intention to build foundry factories in America or Europe, but that was at least 5 to 10 years away.

In other words, now is the first and last opportunity to isolate TSNC.

Not China, but Kangsung and Gwangwoon.

Two Korean companies were isolating the foundry dinosaur.

If TSNC dries up and dies like this, tremendous seismic shifts will occur in the semiconductor industry.

“Did you meet well with President Jeong Jin-ho?”

“Ah, yes. Met well.”

“Then how did President Jeong..”

“Well, President Jeong always says that, right? That he hopes our country’s companies do better than foreign companies. So maybe that’s why he said he’ll accept our proposal.”

Then executives’ faces brightened.

“But Gwangwoon is really amazing too. Honestly when they said they’d swallow Hanjong Shipping, I thought it was a foolish thing. But to grow it like that.”

“Yes. Who would have imagined? That it would be our country, not China, that isolates that TSNC.”

They never dreamed that the shipping business, useless like scrap paper, would be used as such a threatening card.

So sometimes they think.

Don’t tell me Jeong Jin-ho took the shipping business looking all the way here?

“Chairman. But when are you putting money into the Hilia fund..”

“Ah. About that.”

America allows companies to give political support through various routes.

But companies from other countries giving political support to US presidential candidates is illegal.

Then what should be done?

There’s also a loophole in this law.

If a US investment company makes a fund supporting a specific candidate, just put money there.

Then that money is used entirely to help the candidate, and that was the method for other countries’ companies to give political support.

“Is there anything on Trent’s side, not Hilia’s side?”

“What? But.. Trent has almost no possibility of being elected this time, doesn’t he?”

“A fund exists, but I heard there are almost no places putting money there.”

If the probability were fifty-fifty, people would think about it.

But looking at the indicators, they were all predicting only Hilia’s victory.

So money was only concentrating in that fund.

“Chairman. Did President Jeong Jin-ho say anything about this US election?”

“Yes. President Jeong Jin-ho says Trent will win.”

“..?”

The executives all tilted their heads.

Right now no one is predicting Trent’s victory.

Yet saying Trent will win?

“Could it be this time President Jeong Jin-ho is wrong?”

How could a person always be right every time?

But if there’s something learned through experience until now, it’s that betting on Jeong Jin-ho never caused losses.

“Honestly, even if we put money on Hilia’s side, would they be grateful? Besides us, a truckload is putting money there.”

Conversely, if money is put on Trent’s side?

“Since there are almost no companies betting there, probably won’t it remain powerfully in memory?”

“But Chairman. That assumption only holds if Trent wins the election. If Hilia gets elected like this, won’t only we become odd man out?”

In other words, it could become a dangerous bet wasting money.

But if it succeeds?

They get an opportunity to strengthen the semiconductor industry even more firmly than now, as Kangsung Group wants.

“They said you shouldn’t get addicted to betting on underdogs.”

But Kang Seong-ho also realized.

Seeing how his hands are already itching like this, he was also a natural-born gambler.

***

“President. I brought the materials you mentioned. These are things organizing various scenarios that will happen going forward if Trent is elected president.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Since America is the country with the highest influence in the world, economic direction also changes depending on what person is elected president here.

So they need to know well the campaign promises and economic style of the president to be elected next to be able to respond.

“Trent becoming president is too chaotic. Honestly you can’t even know where he’ll jump. For our country, the biggest problem would be the North Korea problem. He hasn’t even been elected yet, but Trent keeps making hardline statements about North Korea.”

“One fortunate thing is that the possibility of Trent being elected president is very slim. But President. Yet having us bring such materials means..”

Instead of answering, I smiled slightly.

Then the employees seemed to grasp that meaning and burst into sighs.

“If Trent is elected president, the first place affected is exactly here. Mexico. Especially the peso value is expected to drop tremendously. Because Trent candidate’s top priority pledge is exactly wall construction.”

Not even the Great Wall.

He declared he’d build a high wall between the US and Mexico preventing illegal immigrants from crossing over, and furthermore solve the drug problem too.

Plus he didn’t hesitate to say he’d torment Mexico, which can’t solve the drug problem, throughout his term.

Naturally if Trent is elected, Mexico’s currency peso value has no choice but to fall.

“But rather the peso price is rising?”

“Yes. People there probably also think Trent will absolutely never be elected. With such expectant psychology, the peso value is temporarily rising.”

But what my intuition was specially showing wasn’t the peso.

The place where stems starting from the peso connect.

‘Rupiah?’

Exactly Indonesia’s currency rupiah.

Plus this was a color I’m seeing for the first time.

Not blue, not red, plus not golden, pitch-black color was swallowing the rupiah.

‘What does this mean?’

The black stem didn’t end there.

It continued following the line, and only after turning dozens of pages did it stop at that destination.

Black, blue, red, golden.

A place where these four colors got entangled and mixed confusingly.

Moreover it’s that name that appeared only briefly, barely mentioned in this research materials, where all stems and colors connected.

‘..Bitcoin?’