Chapter 83: Chapter 83

+++

“How do I look?”

Having resigned from the police and joined Prestige as an executive, Soo-ah stood in front of me in her new outfit first thing in the morning. Although it was just another uniform suit, it looked different on her compared to her usual police uniform.

Above all, it emphasized her uniquely large chest, which it supported and subtly revealed...

“Hmm. Perfect.”

An outfit that, frankly, prolongs a man’s life span.

And her lower half was equally impressive.

A very short skirt paired with black stockings. She wore high heels to maximize her femininity.

When she was with me as a police officer, she wore rugged attire to showcase her role, but now that she didn’t need to, she was practically dressed in a custom outfit designed to stimulate my cock.

In my previous life, with no tolerance for women, I would’ve probably cum just looking at her!

Of course, even now, just looking at her gets me excited.

“Should I keep dressing like this from now on?”

“Yeah. It’s perfect. I’m counting on you, Director Lim.”

Soo-ah flashed a bright smile.

“I look forward to serving you, Master~.”

Damn, this woman. Why’s she so damn cute?

“Hey, the police didn’t give you any trouble?”

“Oh, about my resignation? They didn’t say much. They didn’t seem to have the time.”

“Why?”

“No idea?”

Soo-ah tilted her head, genuinely clueless.

The person they’d personally promoted and summoned suddenly submitted her resignation, and they had no reaction? That’s strange.

Not only her but the whole team resigned as well...

“Maybe something came up to keep them busy?”

“Busy with what?”

“If you ask like that, I can only say I don’t know…”

This won’t do.

“Get up here.”

Let’s think about that later. Right now, I need to deal with this enticing woman.

+++

9:00 AM

“Good morning, viewers. Real Production’s stock, which had been on a tremendous upward trend, has hit a roadblock. After hitting a record high of 360,000 won yesterday, it began to drop as soon as the market opened today. Many experts are now raising alarms.”

11:00 AM

“Breaking news: Real Production’s stock price is plummeting sharply. The price has dropped over 20% from yesterday, now at the 280,000-won level, sparking investor anxiety and a flood of inquiries to brokerage firms. Financial authorities have announced a ban on short selling—”

1:00 PM

“Another update. Real Production’s stock has now hit the lower limit at 250,000 won. The entire market is in shock.”

3:00 PM

“It’s a bloodbath. Real Production’s stock closed with a record drop of -61% today, leaving countless investors in tears.”

October 20th, Tuesday.

Today began with a fiery morning with Soo-ah, and Real Production’s stock started to melt down.

The cause? It turned out that last night, messages from the Real Production CEO to his closest associate were leaked, revealing statements like “This is all a scam targeting pigs” and “The public is stupid and easy to fool.”

Gamers and investors, who had believed they’d soon get a fully immersive virtual reality sex game, found themselves suddenly branded as pigs.

Real Production rushed to contain the situation, but it had already spread across the internet, escalating beyond their control.

So, those in the know spent this morning suffering from extreme anxiety before the market even opened... And as soon as it opened today, it was a total Hallelujah.

The stock price, which had been 360,000 won, dropped 61% in a single day to 140,000 won. If this had been in pre-possessed Korea, they would’ve restricted price drops or triggered volatility safeguards, but in the hard-boiled, no-nonsense Republic of Korea in 2077, none of that exists.

It dropped a clean 61%, bringing me an immense profit. At this rate, there will be a flood of sell orders tomorrow, so the real nightmare starts then.

“How much did we short-sell?”

“Uh... 14 trillion won.”

“Wow. We really made a killing.”

The 2.8 trillion won earned from selling stocks we held, combined with the unlimited farming from short selling, brought in around 17 trillion won.

Of course, with short selling, you eventually have to buy back the stocks, so if we settle now, we’ll only get about 61% of that profit, but that’s still an unbelievable return.

“There’s already a recall coming in.”

“A recall? To return the stocks?”

“Yes. I guess they’re noticing something unusual. They’re asking us to settle immediately.”

“What’s our contract condition?”@@novelbin@@

“It requires us to return the stocks within two business days if there’s a recall. If we ignore it, the exchange could step in and forcibly liquidate the position.”

“Two days…”

In two more days, I think the stock will drop by 90%. We might be able to push it to liquidation.

Calculating for a 90% profit, 90% of 14 trillion is approximately 12.6 trillion won. I’d need to buy back about 1.4 trillion won worth of stock to settle it, but that’s a small amount I can let go as pocket change.

I’ve made over 12 trillion; ethically, it seems fair to pay that much.

“Delay the repayment as long as possible.”

“Yes, Master. Also, the Financial Supervisory Service reached out, asking why we shorted so much. They might launch an audit if we’re not careful.”

“Only now? Tell them to come. Did I do anything illegal?”

“Well…not exactly…”

“If they’re coming, tell them to send a sexy female inspector.”

“…”

Whether they dare to show up is questionable, but it doesn’t matter. At least in terms of finance, I haven’t done anything wrong. The worst they can claim is market disturbance from excessive short selling…

But when I was steadily short-selling, the stock price was still going up. It merely slowed the upward trend slightly.

Ultimately, the reason for the crash is clear. The CEO’s own foolishness caused it, not my short selling.

In fact, I’ve adhered to every financial regulation. Even establishing Muyeol Finance, I’m going through all the proper procedures.

“I am pure under heaven.”

“…”

“Honestly, I should get an award for this. Starting with 7.5 billion won, I’ve turned it into 14 trillion, or rather 15 trillion. How many times over is that? They should give me bonus points for establishing a financial corporation. Who else in the world can do this?”

“I...guess so…”

Soo-ah gave me an awkward smile at my shameless boasting.

“How’s things with Nokonoko Headquarters? Have you reached out?”

“Yes, but the CEO shows no interest in mergers or acquisitions.”

“Hmph… Don’t they realize I’m being merciful? Keep trying. Raise the offer a bit and hint at some nuance. You know what I mean?”

“Yes, Master.”

If possible, I want to bring Nokonoko’s CEO over politely. That would help LUMINA shine even more, but if they keep refusing, I’ll have no choice.

I’ll have to remind them of the disrespect they showed to my Jojob.

“LUMINA is doing well, right?”

“Yes. Although it’s been overshadowed by the Real Production situation, we’ve covered advertisements everywhere, and awareness is skyrocketing. Popularity is rising along with it.”

“Good. Keep it up.”

“Yes.”

+++

Bang!

A massive fist crashed down, splitting the oak desk in half. Thick smoke rose, disrupting the air, but the subordinate couldn’t even flinch as he prayed for the man in front of him to calm down.

“Does this make sense?!”

“…”

“I asked, does this make sense?!”

Usually composed, Jang Kyung-soo swung his massive fist violently. The bookshelf holding numerous books and the luxurious chandelier shattered and fell to the floor.

But even then, his anger showed no sign of subsiding.

Why was he so furious?

Because Soo-ah, the one he had painstakingly promoted, rejected it and resigned?

And she took all thirty of her team members with her?

Sure, that was infuriating, but right now, he didn’t have time to worry about such trivial matters.

“Grahhhh!!!!”

Roaring like a lion, he finally lost control and crushed his subordinate’s head with his mechanical left hand, squeezing it like a sponge.

“Aaaagh!!”

Splat!

Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere.

The body, now without a master, collapsed helplessly.

Breathing heavily to calm down, he glanced at the flickering monitor.

Profit Rate: -51%

Just yesterday, his portfolio had been up 25%. Now, in a single day, it was down 51%.

Half his principal was gone.

“This…do you have any idea what money this is…!!”

As a drug lord, he had plenty of dirty money, but clean, usable money was much scarcer.

A huge amount was lost in laundering, and by the time he handed out payments here and there, the amount left in his hands was less than expected.

The money invested in Real Production was clean, freshly laundered cash that had finally made it into his hands.

Following his so-called experts' advice, he’d placed it in what they claimed was the most promising investment...

But now...

In a single day...

“Gah!”

He hadn’t even had time to respond. The stock started plummeting as soon as the market opened. His massive sell orders triggered further panic, causing the stock to drop even faster.

In the end, a massive amount of his capital was trapped in Real Production.

If this all gets liquidated…?

In the worst case, he might not have enough clean money to meet his monthly tribute payments.

Tributes, after all, had to be paid in clean money.

Jang Kyung-soo called for another subordinate.

“What’s the stock forecast for tomorrow?”

The subordinates hesitated before cautiously replying.

“…We anticipate additional margin calls and panic selling, which will likely lead to further declines—”

Bang!

A gun barrel emerged from Jang Kyung-soo’s left hand, and he shot the subordinate’s head clean off.

“What about you? What do you think?”

“W-well… If you sell immediately as soon as the market opens—”

Bang!

Another head exploded.

He looked to yet another subordinate, whose face had turned deathly pale, and stammered,

“T-the sentiment could stabilize tomorrow, and prices might rebound—”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Bang!

Another head blown off. All three subordinates in the room were now dead.

There was no answer to the situation. He knew it. He knew there was no way out.

He sat down in a relatively intact chair. He reached for a cigar, but upon noticing that the desk drawer had collapsed, he sighed.

It was expensive, too. Nothing was going right.

He summoned another subordinate, this one a trusted aide, someone he wouldn’t kill on a whim.

“Bring me the CEO of Real Production. Alive.”

“We… already tried to locate him, but he’s completely disappeared.”

“With a force of 200,000, you can’t catch one guy?!”

“We’re sorry, sir. He seems to have moved to another city, which complicates matters.”

“Sigh… then put a bounty on him.”

“Yes, sir.”

And with that, a hefty bounty was placed on the head of Real Production’s CEO.