Free Web Novel“The FRB decided to proceed as planned. Wall Street banks will form a consortium, acquire 90% of the shares, and then carry out the bailout.”
The government had already been heavily criticized for supporting LTCM, so me taking it all on without conditions was supposed to be a win-win for both sides.
I never imagined they’d refuse my proposal.
“The Treasury Department’s prevailing opinion was to accept your offer. It’s true that a bailout is a burden for the government. But the FRB flatly rejected it.”
Was this Wall Street’s influence at work?
I shook my head inwardly.
The FRB is above Wall Street. No matter how powerful Wall Street is, it can’t override the FRB.
The FRB is a product of America’s unique central banking system—the Federal Reserve.
Though it’s a government institution, it’s outside the Treasury’s control.
“Chairman Alan strongly opposed it.”
Alan Greenspan.
That bastard.
“Do you know the reason?”
“No. He refused to even discuss it. The Treasury had no choice but to accept the FRB’s stance.”
I let out a sigh.
“Rubin, a promise is a promise, so I’ll help you this time. But don’t underestimate me too much.”
“Why would I ever underestimate you, Charlie?”
“I know how much Wall Street and the administration gained in Japan. But I got nothing. Acquiring LTCM was just a way for me to make some profit while putting up my own money. A bit disappointing, really.”
“Chairman Alan’s influence is stronger than mine.”
Supported wholeheartedly by the Jewish elite, Alan would remain head of the FRB until 2006.
Eighteen years controlling the global economy with one hand—that power came largely from Jewish backing.
“I know. Just tell the Wall Street people to talk money matters with James.”
“Thank you. Thanks to you, the government’s burden will be lighter. Personally, I hope we can maintain a good relationship.”
“I have no hard feelings toward you either, Rubin. You’ve helped me a lot.”
“Hahaha.”
That wasn’t a lie.
In the original timeline, the FRB had been favorable toward bailouts, which was why I targeted Rubin in the first place.
“Are you leaving the U.S. again?”
“I plan to stop by Korea first, then head to Russia. Crisis often means opportunity.”
“True. I think the same. I didn’t expect Russia to declare a moratorium this time. Sure, it was an IMF failure, but the administration also made a mistake. We judged Russia too much from our own perspective.”
I listened to Rubin ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) as he revealed the story behind Russia’s default.
I already knew the big picture, but hearing it firsthand helped me understand why Russia made that choice.
“Greedy Wall Street bankers, the IMF’s excessive demands, and the administration’s complacency all came together to create this situation.”
It was surprising to hear that Russia had done its best to keep its promises.
When negotiations with the IMF didn’t go well, they sent special envoys to the U.S. Treasury to negotiate directly and secured the outcome they wanted.
But it was only temporary.
Just two months after reaching the agreement, they declared a moratorium.
“In hindsight, I can’t help but wonder if things might have been different had we intervened more aggressively.”
Seeing him reveal his true feelings in front of me was unusual.
“Are you sure you should be telling me this? Sounds like classified information.”
“This level of information? Dreamhigh could get it easily if they wanted. Besides, I may be American, but my roots are in Russia.”
It wasn’t hard to accept that explanation, so I nodded. freeweɓnøvel.com
“Personally, I’m very disappointed. I had high hopes when Russia transitioned to a free-market economy. I also feel a bit sorry toward you, Charlie. I couldn’t stop the Jewish influence.”
“You don’t need to apologize. Business is just business. No reason for emotions to get involved. I’d like to maintain our personal friendship, even after you retire.”
Rubin smiled faintly at that.
His expression wasn’t bad, so I smiled back.
“I should get going. I need to discuss follow-up measures with James.”
“Understood. I hope we can meet next time with smiles.”
Leaving the Plaza Hotel, I headed to Dreamhigh, which was bustling as usual.
“Muhyuk, hold on a sec.”
Han Kyungyeong raised his hand as I entered his office.
I waited on the sofa while he finished processing documents in a frenzy.
Finally, Han Kyungyeong, looking exhausted, approached me.
“Someone’s buying Russian and Korean bonds. It doesn’t seem like they can secure a huge volume, though. Competition’s pushing the price up.”
Now, that’s interesting.
“Who?”
“No idea. But it’s not Wall Street. They’re desperate to sell bonds right now, not buy.”
“How much?”
“Currently trading at around 30%. I was planning to position around 20%, but once we started buying little by little, they got aggressive and pushed the competition.”
So someone was watching us and copying our moves.
“Don’t push too hard. No need to raise the price further. The other side probably won’t either.”
There was no need to overextend when we didn’t even know who the opponent was.
Waiting patiently would eventually yield the best returns, but paying over 30% was unnecessary. Better to target the dot-com bubble instead.
“What’s our stock ratio right now?”
“About 10%.”
“Raise it to 30%.”
We needed to secure stocks at low prices before the dot-com bubble began.
“What’s the portfolio?”
“Every internet-related company. Yahoo, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft—no exceptions. But don’t push prices up too much.”
“The guys outside are professionals. They’ll adjust prices as they buy.” freeweɓnovel.cøm
It seemed Han Kyungyeong had been steadily recruiting the people I had recommended in the U.S.
I nodded with a grin.
“Divide the orders among team leaders and complete all purchases by next summer. No matter if prices rise or fall—just finish.”
“If our money enters, the stock index will inevitably rise.”
“Do it discreetly. Take it slow. The market just crashed because of Russia. If it goes up, they’ll think it’s just a technical rebound.”
“Got it.”
“I’ll head home first. Come by later.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t stop buying bonds, though.”
Han Kyungyeong flashed an OK sign with his fingers before leaving the office.
“I’ll head home first.”
Arriving at Han Kyungyeong’s house, I sat alone, organizing my thoughts while waiting for him.
‘Who could it be?’
The first thought was Wall Street.
But as Han Kyungyeong said, they were in no position to buy bonds.
‘Europe, maybe?’
Only a few entities could compete with us for large-scale bonds.
Japan was focused entirely on buying its own bonds, so they couldn’t jump in.
‘Rothschilds? Rockefeller?’
That was possible.
‘No... maybe Warren Buffett.’
After failing to acquire LTCM, Warren Buffett might be scooping up cheap Russian and Korean bonds.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
Han Kyungyeong’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
It was already getting dark outside.
“Oh, you’re here? How’d the orders go?”
“They’re thrilled. Stocks are their turf, after all. We’ve barely touched stocks before.”
“Good.”
“What about Rubin? Judging by your face, I’m guessing it fell through.”
I told him about failing to acquire LTCM. Han Kyungyeong nodded, agreeing that Alan’s decision made sense.
“In the end, they didn’t trust Wall Street and the Jews intervened directly. Most Wall Street banks are under Jewish influence anyway.”
“Still, it was indeed unexpected. Add in the bond-buying complications... it’s been a while since something didn’t go as I predicted.”
“Wow, Kim Muhyuk showing a human side.”
Han Kyungyeong chuckled teasingly.
I gave a wry smile, sensing he was trying to lighten the mood.
“What matters is what comes next. I’ll leave Korean stock acquisitions to Eva. You focus on finishing up with Joongwoo Group and shift to the U.S.”
“Who do you think should head Joongwoo Group?”
“What about you?”
Han Kyungyeong thought for a moment.
“Kim Byungwoo might be good.”
“He’s still tied to the accounting fraud.”
“You can cover that legally. Among Joongwoo’s executives, no one can do better. As vice president, he’s already handling restructuring and has overwhelming support from the employees.”
“If that’s your assessment, I’ll handle the legal issues.”
“The pride of Joongwoo’s employees is incredible. Call it loyalty, I guess. Very different from the U.S.”
Han Kyungyeong sounded genuinely impressed.
“They identify with the company itself. If there’s nothing else to review, finalize the main contract and file for delisting right away.”
“I’ll wrap everything up by year’s end.”
“You need to coordinate everything. You know what I mean, right? I’m also planning to introduce you to Eva soon. What do you think?”
“I don’t mind. What matters is your opinion.”
“You’re both crucial to my plans, so compete if you must, but don’t fight.”
Introducing Han Kyungyeong and Eva would save me a lot of direct work.
The day before my flight to the U.S.
I had dinner with Eric, Han Kyungyeong, and Oliver, making sure to discuss Black Bear’s future as well.
“You remember what I said, right? I don’t care about revenue as much as reputation. I want Black Bear to be a company that terrifies people just by name.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Keep expanding the Korean branch, too. I’ll be spending a lot of time in Korea, even if the U.S. is our main base.”
“Understood. I’ll keep recruiting Koreans. What do you think about Team Leader Jin?”
“I like him. He makes decisions quickly when responsibility is on the line.”
“Yes. I plan to put him in charge of the Korean branch. The local staff respect him as well.”
I nodded at Eric’s words. From what I’d seen, Team Leader Jin was indeed responsible.
“Good idea.”
Eric’s face brightened at my approval.
“Global conflicts will keep happening. To avoid sending their own citizens to die, countries will keep relying on mercenaries. We’ve contracted with the U.S. government, but I think we’re still in a growth phase. I’ll recruit regardless of nationality or race—even Eastern Europeans.”
“You’re asking for more money in a roundabout way.”
“Hahaha, caught me?”
“I told you from the start—don’t worry about money. There are plenty of ways to make it. What I need is power. You understand what I mean, right? The power to protect what’s mine.”
“Rest assured!”
Eric’s booming voice made me laugh.
The next day.
I didn’t wake up until midday. Maybe I had too much on my mind—I hadn’t slept in like that in a while.
After washing up, I prepared to leave for Korea with Chief Ma.
“Eva hasn’t returned to Korea yet?”
“No, Boss.”
“Nothing’s wrong, I hope?”
“According to the bodyguards with her, she’s been busy with business in Hong Kong.”
“All right. Keep an eye on her.”
Eva had promised to report after her trip to Hong Kong, but there had been no contact since her first day there.
I left the U.S., seeing off Eric and Han Kyungyeong as I departed.
