Chapter 84: Militaris 09 - Real Production's Total Collapse
"Viewers, good evening. Real Production, which we reported on yesterday, opened today with a sharp 10% drop right after the market began, kicking off a grim morning."
It was inevitable. After plummeting 61% in just one day yesterday, Real Production got hammered with another -10% the moment trading started today. Sell orders poured out like there was no tomorrow, and every financial news outlet or paper was plastered with the story all day. Some channels had already slotted in specials. That said it all about the sheer destructive power.
The stock kept climbing even after I dumped 2.8 trillion won and then shorted another 14 trillion on top of that. So the total money piled into it was...
An insane scale, no doubt about it. And the real tragedy? Most of that cash was flight capital. When I exposed all those sex-for-favors scandals, entertainment stocks tanked across the board, and the money fleeing the collapsing sector had funneled straight into Real Production. Now it was bleeding out too? Anyone who bailed into Real Production to escape the entertainment apocalypse had just gotten hit with a double whammy.
"Sign here."
"... "
Ignoring all that, I got to work. I'd put my Saturday brainstorm into action right away.
"My... my company..."
Emilia signed with tears in her eyes. The acquisition contract for Rainbow Miracle. After paying her a fortune to take full ownership from her hands, I'd reappoint her as CEO of Rainbow Miracle and vice president of Goryeo Entertainment.
She'd get her money and keep her status—hell, even upgrade it—so why the long face? She looked totally out of it.
"Hey. I'm handing over 500 billion won—what's the problem? You know your company's not even worth that much. But since you're one of my jotjips, I'm padding it out for you. Plus, you get to keep your job."
"Ugh... B-but people have feelings too..."
Emilia whined but stamped the seal to finalize it. That marked the first step of Rainbow Miracle officially becoming mine—or more precisely, Goryeo Entertainment's. Sure, it'd take a few months to wrap up all the red tape, but with the key agreement in place between us, we'd crested the eight-part ridge. The hard part's always the negotiation.
I signed and stamped too. Then, for the first time in a while, I dragged Emilia into the exec suite and stamped her womb as well. Gotta keep pounding away to level up that stamina stat. Strike while the iron's hot.
After wrapping up at Rainbow Miracle, I toured Ganghwa looking for a building to use as PMC headquarters.
"Should I just build a full-on group HQ complex?"
"Not a bad idea. You've already got one, two... five companies under you or in the works."
Goryeo Entertainment, Mu-yeol Finance, the unnamed PMC, Rainbow Miracle, and the corp for running the prison—that made five already.
"Oh right, you're getting that artificial island too. Running it personally would mean brutal taxes and regs, so you'll need a corp anyway."
"Ugh, those damn regulations."
"It's just such a massive asset..."
"So that's six total?"
"You could fold it under Goryeo Entertainment. Or since the prison's your main gig, stick it there."
"Guess I need to set it up ahead of time?"
"Not really—ownership transfer takes time anyway. When you draft the land acquisition and prison construction plans, include the island to get special prison business approval. Then you qualify to form the special prison corp. By the time ownership clears, just register it there."
"Too complicated. You handle it."
I gave Sua the go-ahead and cruised around what they called K-Entertainment's holy land. Towering buildings each flaunted their grandeur, but there was this eerie, rundown vibe—like everything was on its last legs. The people shuffling around looked like they'd lost all hope.
"Plenty of buildings for sale, huh?"
"Yeah."
"No point overbuilding and wasting time. Let's buy existing ones. Something big enough for Goryeo Entertainment, Rainbow Miracle, and the PMC."
"Got it."
The prison corp would obviously HQ on the artificial island, and for investment firms, I'd play the local government game to snag max tax breaks and perks. Ganghwa's an economic special zone with decent incentives, but with tens of trillions in assets under management, the taxes would still sting.
Oh. What if I redevelop Namdong Industrial Complex? Could probably score zero taxes plus a pile of benefits.
That cesspool overflowing with bottom-feeder scum. A hellhole no "high-crime area" label could capture. If I bulldozed it all, built investment HQs, company towers, shops, and kickstarted a commercial district? I'd rake in massive incentives.
I'd mulled it for the prison site, but it fit investments too. Baekseol would get her custom armaments soon, and I'd hire mercs en masse.
"Sua, Namdong Industrial Complex—is that in Yeonsu-gu?"
"No, Namdong-gu."
"Could I set up an investment HQ there with zero corp tax?"
"...We'd have to talk it out, but it's a dead zone anyway. If we develop it right? Totally doable. As long as we clear out all those gangbangers."
"Zero corp tax, construction subsidies—that's what I want."
"Buy the land first, though. If your vision pans out, prices will skyrocket. Waiting till then would be a hassle."
True.
"Assuming we buy it all—what's the tab?"
"One sec."
Sua tapped her device.
"At 100,000 won per pyeong, about 280 billion won."
"...Isn't that steep for worthless dirt?"
"Owners can't use it either, so yeah, we could haggle down. Maybe a few thousand or 10,000 per pyeong if we're sharp. With your dev commitment? Worth the investment."
"Hm."
Snagging an entire industrial zone for 280 billion? Bargain. But cleanup costs...
No. Think positive. Need a land base anyway. And land appreciates. At 100k per pyeong for 280 bil, hit 1 mil per and that's 28 tril profit.
Not even sure it'd cost that much for toxic waste.
Business is forever. My ops won't tank without a disaster. Hire staff, build their homes, shops...
Math checks out. Clear the gang trash, and it's pure win.
"Alright. Buy it up. Quietly, no leaks."
"Yes, sir."
- Purchase all land in Namdong Industrial Complex.
- Negotiate with Namdong-gu for maximum incentives.
- Eliminate all gangs in Namdong Industrial Complex.
- Begin development.
Solid blueprint. Needs refining, but not bad.
"Anyway, back to buildings."
Sua and I scouted Ganghwa city for buys. If the price felt right later, snag 'em and rent or flip.
+++
Wrapped the Ganghwa tour(?) and headed back to Goryeo Entertainment. Late evening by then. Finally checked the news.
"Just melted away. What is this, ice cream?"
The margin call demanding stock return within two business days had hit yesterday, but with another 75% vaporized in a day, I'd locked in 90% gains. Tomorrow? If it shed 70% more, the price would be a thirtieth of peak. That'd turn my 14 tril short into 96% profit.
Please keep tanking.
Sorry, investors—my money matters more.
And the next day, October 22, Thursday. Two hours before close, around 1 PM, Real Production hit 8,000 won. Down 77% from prior close.
"Back to true value."
"Yeah. It'll drop more."
The CEO vanishing was huge. Rug-pull rumors everywhere, even bounties posted. Straight out of the original story. Difference? In canon, the CEO probably slurped most profits. Here, I'd vacuumed 14 tril instead. He might've gotten scraps.
"Good enough. Return the shares."
"Yes, sir."
Price ticked up a bit buying back, but negligible. Sua covered all borrows before close. Goryeo Entertainment's account now showed about 16.2 trillion won—the original plus 13.5 tril short profits.