Past Life Returner - Chapter 25

It was October. As I got used to falling asleep at school after the vacation was over, Jonathan got used to Korean fast food. I ran to the office right after class, and it was filled with the smell of ramen cup noodles as always. The trash bin was full of empty cup noodle bowls and coke cans.

Jonathan was glued to the computer monitor and didn’t even notice me. I could tell he was depressed from looking at his back and the impatiently rushed movements he made with the mouse. Of course his face was gloomy. He had been like this for the past few days. Our losses would increase as the global stock market rose and the global trends except the Asian stock market were on the rise. Since our investment scale was immense our losses were massive.

I dropped my bag to make a sound on purpose then Jonathan turned his head towards me.

“You should’ve told me you were here” he said like a kid who was caught stealing.

Jonathan tried to hide the monitor with his body but I could see a bunch of red numbers on the parts he didn’t cover. They all indicated losses and it was natural for Jonathan to be conscious of losses. No one would be free in front of an enormous investment. Moreover we had put in an astronomical amount of funds worth tens of billions of dollars and the losses were accumulating. Not even God would be free in this situation.

I asked “How bad are our losses so far?”

“You know. We can’t even figure that out” Jonathan replied.

We had borrowed stock from firms all over the place and sold them and it took two months to do so. Therefore it would take much time to grasp an accurate total profit and losses since the deal’s date and scale were all different.

“How about an approximation?” I questioned.

“Probably deep in the red minus single digits” he answered.

I nodded and sat down then Jonathan stared at me with a surprised look. I had not sat in front of a computer since I finished betting on the plunge in the global stock market. From then this place had been occupied by Jonathan and I had worked out in the other room. Jonathan must have felt something when I suddenly sat there.

He opened his eyes wide to the extent that I could even see his veins. That’s right Jonathan.

“Let’s attack Hong Kong right now” I said.

They were going to burn anyway and we would just pour oil on it now so it would burn much bigger and faster. We became very busy from then as Jonathan and I moved between ten computers that we had already set up. We opened the account of one paper company per monitor then dispersed a hundred million to a billion dollars of oil mass and threw it at Hong Kong. The only sounds that filled up the office were keyboards clattering and the alarms signaling the completion of transactions.

Stock prices of Hong Kong’s leading companies across all sectors except banks including construction communication heavy industry chemistry and tourism began to fall. We did not touch the banks on purpose because we needed to calm them down just a little. Since the Hong Kong stock market had been attacked nonstop it responded more actively to our provocations.

It was then we looked at each other and Jonathan said what I was about to say.

“There are people following us. Even if we decide to lose a lot they will do the same” he said.

We both frowned for the first time after we started pouring oil all over Hong Kong.

“Do you think we’ve been caught?” Jonathan shouted.

Every time we clicked the numbers were soaring like missiles.

“It’s too early for anything Jonathan!” I shouted back.

“Just say something!” He responded.

“The New York company will defend us! Have them make our transactions for us!” I almost screamed.

Jonathan vaulted out of the chair causing it to fly to the wall and make a large bang. I looked carefully over the situation and stopped the trades. Jonathan was raising his voice and swearing outside for a long time. A little later he ran into the office then sent emails to his team members.

“I sent the transaction list and they will start on it right away” he said with his clenched teeth.

“Did you have them prepped in advance?” I asked and he nodded.

“Good job. Now time will let us know who is following us” I continued.

We had been careful but if the speculators attacking Hong Kong had tracked us I would be so mad and pursue this further. But if this was the work of smart investors at the stock market just doing this as part of their investment technique I would be fine. Which was it?

Soon after the defense funds from Jonathan Investments began flowing into the Hong Kong stock market. Jonathan bit his nails and didn’t take his eyes off the monitor.

“It’s calming down. Damn I was scared to death…The Hong Kong stock market could be crushed into pieces” Jonathan finally let out a sigh.

“Let’s wrap up when the market closes. We don’t need to spread more fear to others” my voice was also weak.

If our provocations became a nuclear bomb it would have meant the end of us as well. Fortunately things got settled and now we only had to wait for the Hong Kong government to make a quick decision. No one knew whether it would be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

However it was that night when I heard Jonathan’s scream when I prepared to go home.

“You are wrong Sun! You’re wrong!” He screamed at me as if he had the biggest surprise of his life.

***

Clive the general manager at DP Krump was excited to receive the performance-based benefits at the end of the year. He completely forgot about the stress from the losses incurred in Bangkok after signing the proposal those idiots brought in.

“They called their company Jonathan Investments. Haha” Clive said excitedly to his acquaintance in a Wall Street Salon.

The acquaintance laughed “Can you say that again? I can’t believe it. How can they possibly think to earn profit by betting on over a hundred percent increase in Hong Kong interest rates?”

“Those were the most idiotic people I’ve ever seen” Clive responded.

“So how much did they bet?” The acquaintance asked.

“Five hundred million dollars” Clive replied.

“That’s insane. What a brilliant idea to throw away money. That’s the stupidest way I have ever heard. Congratulations friend. You have earned an astronomical amount of profit just by sitting there. Oh the news about Hong Kong is just coming up” the acquaintance said.

Clive called the salon employees quietly and asked them to turn up the volume while tipping them a lot. But he didn’t need to. The bold letters on the bottom of the monitor made everyone in the salon open their eyes wide.

「Breaking news: Hong Kong’s short-term interest rate increased by four hundred percent. 」

“Huh?”

Clive couldn’t believe it even when he was staring at the screen. Increasing the rate by four hundred percent? Was that even possible? It would be more believable to say that gold could be made from poop. Then Clive saw the people in Wall Street running out of the salon and the cozy place had become chaotic as if a bomb had exploded. Clive’s acquaintance was the same.

“I’ll leave now!” The acquaintance said with a pale face.

The acquaintance knew how much Clive would lose but he had to save his own life first rather than console Clive. The entire global stock market was falling due to the shock in Hong Kong. Clive was left alone and he stared vacantly at the news screen that was already broadcasting different issues.

Clive’s phone rang but he couldn’t hear anything. His mind was blank. He didn’t even remember how he got back to his office.

“Clive!”

The executives at DP Krump were waiting for him at the entrance.

“What is going on?” They wailed.

Clive’s head spun as he saw faces filled with anger.

“Why are you asking me that?” He asked them back.

“Then whom should we ask?” They raised their voices.

He responded “Ask the president of Hong Kong Central Bank why they did such a crazy thing. They are insane.”

“Are you serious? You’re fired!!!” They yelled at him.

Clive grimly nodded and went into his office. Other team members who had evaluated Jonathan Investments’ proposal were waiting for him like they already knew what fate awaited them.

Clive fell down on his chair like a drunkard. He didn’t stumble but he limped. Search bit.ly/442AmPS for the original.

“We can’t retrieve it now right?” He asked in a quiet voice.

“No” someone answered.

“Where did things begin to go wrong?” Clive seemed to have given up. No one could answer that question.

***

Jonathan pointed at the monitor as soon as he rushed into the office. The bold letters sparkled on the financial information site he had opened.

「Breaking news: Hong Kong’s short-term interest rate increased by four hundred percent. 」

“What the fuck…” I couldn’t stop myself from swearing.

Hong Kong’s craziness raised the rate not to three hundred but to four hundred percent.

“Oh my god Sun! You did it again. You crazy kid!” Jonathan shouted.

I felt my hands shake as I couldn’t suppress my bursting emotions. It was not because of the money though. The shock in Hong Kong would strike the entire world and there had been no event that impacted the financial world like this before. Even the Day of Advent and the day when dungeons were unsealed after the gate opened didn’t change the field as much as this.

I threw my bag again and sat. It was real that all global stock markets were on the trend of declining. The spot markets were falling in countries with open markets and the futures markets were falling in those with closed markets. Everything was plunging and we were reaping in the profits!

「The Asian financial crisis is spreading in a domino effect.」

「The second Black Monday.」

「Hong Kong U.S. Japan and Europe stock prices are plunging.」

None of the stock markets in the world could avoid the shock that I had amplified. I had hit another jackpot. The absurd amount of money we made this year was just the beginning. In my previous life the trait ‘The Man Who Overcomes Adversity’ and the skill ‘Devi’s Sword’ were considered superpowers beyond human limits but financial power was more important in this life. Especially in the future that I was going to create!