NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 279



Only Noblemtl

NIS Agent Tears the Japanese Empire Episode 279

Time bomb (3)

Long ago.

Someone said.

It was said that as long as human greed exists, the value of gold will never fall.

I don’t know who said that.

It could be a quote from a prominent politician or businessman, reflecting on his life, or it could be the monologue of a drunken neighbor mixed with irritation and pain.

But whoever said it, it was a good thing for me.

Because I was proving that the person who said that was wrong.

“As I said before, the price of gold… is falling.”

“What did I say? I said the price of gold would fall.”

“… … .”

The price of gold fell and fell again as time went on.

At the same time that Japanese gold was pouring into the market, predictions were circulating that similar… no, even larger amounts of gold would be mined in distant South Africa and Australia, causing the price of gold to plummet.

“But that’s strange.”

“What else is strange?”

“Gold is a mineral that originally had a consistently high demand.”

“Yes.”

“But does it make sense that the price will suddenly drop just because a lot of gold is produced?”

The doctor’s question was a perfectly rational and common-sense question.

“Of course that doesn’t make sense.”

“Then why is the price of gold falling?”

“That’s because this situation doesn’t make sense.”

“… … ?”

The doctor looked at me with an expression as if to say, “Are you starting again?”

I shrugged and answered Dr. Lee.

“No, even Isaac Newton, one of the greatest geniuses in history, lost his entire fortune by jumping into the stock market and said that you can’t predict human madness.”

“So? You predicted all these people’s madness?”

“Um… … In this case, rather than predicting, it would be more correct to say inducing… ….”

“Induction? You induce this whole situation?”

“Yes.”

By moving Yun Deok-yeong, he simultaneously poured gold extracted from dozens of mines in Unsan-gun and its vicinity into the market, and by transferring the latest mining technology to the colonies of the British Empire, he made gold, which had not yet been discovered in the world, appear in people’s minds.

“If I didn’t plan and execute all this, then who did?”

“Yeah, that’s right… … So this is the result.”

The price of gold was falling steadily.

It didn’t suddenly become worthless overnight or go into the red like I had boasted… … but it was down to about half of what it was a few months ago.

“Do you think it will fall further from here?”

“Well, maybe, maybe not.”

“Wow… … What a riddle.”

“Haha, people who take advantage of others don’t usually make statements. That way, it becomes difficult to determine who is responsible later.”

“Are you bragging?”

“I guess so.”

At the time, the U.S. government was raising interest rates in an attempt to control the enormous amount of dollars in circulation.

At first, the U.S. government tried every possible means to distinguish between counterfeit money on the market, but now they realized that it was impossible to distinguish between them, and they were preparing to issue new currency.

So, in order to control the deterioration that was on the verge of driving out the good money and to control the dollars that were being released too much into the market, the U.S. government raised interest rates and restricted currency issuance.

Given this situation, I also stopped printing counterfeit money for a while and watched the situation unfold, hoping that it would continue if possible.

Thanks to this, the value of the dollar stabilized, and many American newspapers even boasted that the economy had stabilized again.

Americans believed that saying, and the rich no longer had interest in gold once the economy stabilized.

Gold was originally a popular safe asset when currency was fluctuating.

Because it was heavier and bulkier than currency and was inconvenient to store, it required a separate storage space, so it was often quickly thrown away once currency regained its credibility.

So now, the rich in America are trying to make small profits by dispersing all the gold they have accumulated into the market, and most of them were able to do so.

So everyone is happy… … .

It seemed as if a society had been completed where no one was hurt, everyone was satisfied, and everyone was happy.

Until now, that is.

But there was one thing people didn’t know.

“It’s said that the calmest moment is right before a typhoon hits.”

“typhoon?”

* * *

Late autumn when a cold wind blows.

The 31st, the last day of October.

This day was no different from any other day.

As the end of the year approaches, people are happily contemplating what to do for Christmas and New Year and who to give gifts to.

Companies also opened these people’s wallets and attracted people with aggressive price discounts in an attempt to sell off the inventory piled up in warehouses.

Up to this point, the U.S. economy appeared to be very stable and doing well.

but.

“I heard that one of the distributors is on the verge of bankruptcy?”

“Bankruptcy? Why?”

“The warehouse is overflowing with items and we can’t store any more, but no matter how many discounts we offer, it seems like people aren’t buying.”

“What? Even if you lower the price, people won’t buy?”

“I told you so. Aside from groceries, things like home appliances, children’s toys, and lawn mowers hardly sell at all.”

“Then will the stock be delisted?”

“I guess so.”

Strange signs were appearing everywhere.

Stories of people who took their own lives or ended their lives with their families because they could not overcome the hardships of life, or of people being arrested for robbing banks or people on the street or stealing from other people’s homes, were quite common.

Newspapers also reported on the rising crime rate in the United States and the growing prevalence of injustice in society.

At this point, it would have been normal to feel a sense of strangeness and anxiety, but for Americans living in a world rife with crime and violence, this was nothing special.

Even in New York, a major city in the United States, if you went down a dark alley, you would find yourself in the territory of a dangerous mafia.

On the streets, it was common for Irish and Italian mafias to occasionally fight and kill each other.

And in the less developed countryside, gangs of outdated robbers roamed around harassing people, and because of the rare wild beasts that would appear, every household had a gun.

In this situation, it is difficult to say how Americans will react when they hear that crime rates are rising.

“Tsk tsk… … People should earn money honestly to make a living.”

“Who said no?”

Everyone just clicked their tongues and turned around.

However, the situation of the capitalist believers of the New York Stock Exchange, who live on the front lines of capitalism, was completely different from that of people outside.

“Uh… … Uh uh… … ?”

“The stock price… is a bit strange…?”

When they saw the stock price graph, which had been steadily rising, fluctuating, they all stopped what they were doing and looked at the graph.

“It looks like someone is throwing away all the stocks they have?”

“I guess so.”

Overall, the U.S. stock market was still growing, but some stocks showed a bumpy graph with repeated declines and increases.

This meant that someone was dumping all the stocks they were holding at once.

“If it’s enough to affect the stock price… … It seems like the stock I’m holding was worth a lot of money… … .”

“You’re saying you’re throwing away your stocks here? Why can’t you just hold on to them and receive the dividends?”

“Could it be that there is some kind of bad news that we don’t know about?”

“Bad news? What could be called bad news… … .”

While the exchange people were talking about this situation, the stock price started to fall even steeper.

If the previous situation was one of repeated rises and falls, this time it fell endlessly.

“Huh?”

“Uh-huh-huh… … !”

“Hey, why is it like that!”

Like Icarus, who flew too close to the sun without fearing the sky and then fell to the ground, the stock price that had been sucking up the dreams and hopes of Americans fell in an instant.

The graph, which was falling sharply, seemed determined to hit bottom.

“Hey… Did something big happen to that company?”

“I’ve been working here for over ten years, and this is the first time I’ve seen it drop that steeply.”

“Can you just leave it like that?”

“Why? Did you put money in there too?”

“No. That’s not it… … .”

“Then just stay still. How many companies in the world fail and disappear?”

This is the first time I’ve been surprised by a sudden drop in stock prices.

After that, everyone just ignored it and let it slide.

Anyway, the stocks that fell this time were the kind that many securities companies didn’t even bother to look at.

“But there must be ordinary people who invested there… … .”

“Let it go. Who threatened me with a knife to my throat and asked me to throw money in there? It’s all my fault for stealing the money. Who should do anything about it?”

“That’s true, but… … .”

“We just have to take care of the company money. Okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

The incarnations of capitalism didn’t care whether the ants failed in their stock investments and died.

Their only interest is money.

Because it was just more money.

Their greed varied slightly from person to person, but in general, these people’s words were similar.

“… … ?”

“Uh huh…?”

“What the heck! What is this!”

The next day.

As soon as the market opened, the stock prices of all companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange plummeted simultaneously.

Even the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was aiming for 400 after passing 350, fell significantly, and in an instant, its first digit changed to 2.

People’s thoughts stopped as the stock prices fell faster than an eagle flying high in the sky swooping down to find its prey.

“This, this is… … .”

“First… … First, sell it… … Should I sell it? No, should I buy more… … ?”

Even seasoned securities firm employees had no idea what was going on, so they were at a loss as to whether to ride the bear market or run away.

But their cold-hearted god, capitalism, did not wait for their troubles.

Ants, blinded by the endless bear market, threw away their stocks to protect their wealth, and someone of unknown identity also threw away all the stocks he was holding.

Eight million shares were sold during the day the market was open.

After a bombing raid, all that was left were broken graphs and the pigs of capitalism sitting there in a daze.

“I’m screwed… … .”

Everyone nodded quietly at someone’s words.

November 1, 1928.

A day that marks the beginning of a new month.

It was a Thursday like any other day.

However, there were some people who felt relieved in the midst of all this.

“Well… … I was suspicious because you’ve been doing so well lately.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

“This is the kind of incident that was bound to happen someday.”

“Huh… … That’s how I should think.”

“But this is the end, right?”

“… … I guess that’s because it seems like everyone who was going to sell their stocks has already done so.”

“Still, I’m glad it ended like this. It’ll be okay if everyone just hugs each other tightly.”

Everyone in the stock exchange expected this situation to come.

Since the situation wasn’t that bad, everyone was able to laugh it off and move on despite the difficult situation.

Although the amount of money they blew was considerable, it was something that could be laughed off.

“It’ll go up again tomorrow anyway, so what?”

“Okay! We can upload it!”

Their relief was further fueled by the fact that the incident was limited to New York.

Because the Chicago and Buffalo exchanges were still maintaining a steady upward trend.

And as if to prove their point.

The next day, the stock price began to rise again.

No, rather, the stock price soared like crazy as the ants followed them fiercely, as if trying to make up for the previous losses on the stocks that the investors had slightly raised.

However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average failed to recover its previous day’s target and continued to fall.

In the middle of a crowded stock exchange where people were shouting and cursing, a young man and an old man, both neatly dressed, stood.

The old man asked the young man.

“Are you done?”

The young man answered with a smile.

“No, Doctor, this is just the beginning.”