Chapter 168: <Richest of them all>

“Hello. I am Reporter Kim Giman from SBC. I am standing here at the Gwanghwamun Park where a protest is underway against the alleged corruption in the government. Tens of thousands of people have gathered here to make their voices heard. They are demanding a transparent investigation on the involved government officials who were accused of receiving bribes from Daeyang.”

The reporter approached one of the protesters and asked, “Why did you attend this event?”

“I couldn’t take the fact that our government is working for Daeyang rather than the people of Korea.”

“Do you believe the released documents then?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Some believes that only part of the report is true.”

“That is most likely a rumor created by the government as a coverup.”

Another protester who was walking by yelled, “SBC is funded by Daeyang too! It’s Daeyang’s slave! Go away!”

“Media can’t be trusted! Get out!”

The cameraman and the reporter started to be swarmed by angry protesters. The camera got turned off quickly and the screen changed to the news anchor.

“It appears we have some technical difficulties. We will go on to the next news report.”

The online forums went crazy.

“SBC needs to be investigated too!”

“I will never watch SBC again.”

“Broadcasting stations work for Daeyang. Don’t trust it.”

Woosung’s office.

Woosung turned off the TV.

“This is getting bigger by the minute.”

“The public is demanding the government to get rid of 1/3 of the members.”

Woosung grinned. “This is great for us.”

“I’m worried this is getting out of hand. I heard there are tens of thousands of protesters out in the public. I hope no one gets hurt.”

Woosung just smiled. There will be much bigger protests in the future and no one would get hurt. He wasn’t worried.

Jang Gwangchul continued, “There is even a rumor that if it gets any bigger, the government may declare martial law.”

Woosung’s eyes widened.

Martial law.

Woosung has seen it happen in the future, but he couldn’t see it being used at this point.

“I don’t think that will happen.”

“But what if hundreds of thousands of people gather? The government may have to get the military to control the situation.”

“We need to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“How?”

“US.”

Jang Gwangchul’s eyes widened. Woosung continued.

“I have connections in US. If you looked at my phone contact list, you would be shocked and impressed.”

“R… really?”

“I have been offered a US citizenship as well.”

“I… I see.”

“I can’t order around the US government obviously, but they will help me to some extent if I asked. I have enough financial power. What we need to focus on is taking over Daeyang. It’s stock price is continuing to decline and the public is giving it a cold shoulder. The One sales are going down too. This is our chance.”

“So we will go for it with an unlimited budget again?”

Woosung nodded. “Yes. It’s ok because I am expecting a huge opportunity soon. I am thinking I will make at least a billion dollars. Maybe even 2 billion.”

Jang Gwangchul swallowed and asked, “C… could I invest too?”

“Haha, you made billions of dollars so far, yet you want more?”

“You can never have too much money.”

“This time, it will involve a disaster. I will be making money off from other people’s misery. I don’t want you to be a part of it.”

Jang Gwangchul’s voice lowered. Something big would happen.

“So it will be huge again.”

“You will be shocked. Many people will get hurt and many could die. Today is March 1, so it will happen soon.”

“Well, then I will focus on the Daeyang situation. As a matter of fact, I got a call from a group of Daeyang’s primary partnering companies.”

“There are about 190 or so of them, right?”

“195 to be exact. We need many of those companies to support ANIX, so I will try to get at least 50% of them on our side.”

“Do your best.”

Lee Parksung said to his son Lee Sunghyun.

“The situation is getting worse.”

“…”

“The investigation on Daeyang and the relevant government officials could affect us too. I will, of course, try my best not to get you involved, but some people close to you may end up in jail. We still don’t know who is behind all this so get ready.”

Lee Sunghyun sighed, “I think it might be Kang Woosung, don’t you agree?”

“President Kang?”

“Yes. He hates Daeyang. He told me about it before.”

“I see.”

“He is too big for me to control now. It has been estimated his company will make up 20% of Korean GDP. He is the king of the business world now.”

“Then… If we take care of him, this situation will be resolved?”

“Probably, but it won’t be easy. He has become arrogant.”

“Bastard.”

“We have no choice. Whoever has the most money has the power. The public loves him too.”

Lee Parksung murmured, “I think I need to meet with him again.”

“If the conversation goes well, it would be great, but… It could get worse. You have already played the bad cop, so what do you think you can do?”

“I can play the good cop this time. I can make good offers on Yongsan project, self-driving cars, tax deductions, whatever he wants.”

“I’m not sure if it will work.”

“As you said, money can make anything happen. Why would he refuse these financial benefits?”

“Because… he will still make a lot of money even without your offer. I am not sure if he will find your proposal attractive.”

“Then…”

They both became quiet. There seemed to be no solution to this.

Tokyo.

Fukushima nuclear plant monitoring agent made an emergency call.

“We need to evacuate everyone and close down this plant right now.”

However, his superior refused the call. He was asked to continue monitoring and be ready. If they closed the plant, they will lose hundreds of millions of dollars.

Suddenly, the internal CCTV started to shake. The alarms went off loudly.

Everything turned red.

Emergency!

Emergency!

Emergency!

Emergency!

All the monitors went wild. The monitoring agents paled.

The core was starting to melt. This meant there could be a leak to the outside.

The CCTV cameras turned dark. One agent quickly turned on the TV. A piece of breaking news was being reported.

[Breaking News] Fukushima nuclear power plant explosion.

[Breaking News] Nuclear radiation damage expected.

[Breaking News] 30Km radius evacuation ordered.

The next day, the Nikkei index dropped by 10%. Alex exclaimed with excitement.