Bankruptcy War (1)
"With this method, I accumulated 180 million won in assets during my late twenties and achieved financial freedom."
“Unnie, you’re not in your late twenties anymore. You’re pushing thirty at this point...”
“Shut up. I’m still in my twenties. The government gave me an age system update.”
The moment age came up, Latte’s face turned venomous as she shot back at me. Prism followed up right away.
“Anyway, how on earth did you make 180 million? Everyone’s saying your seed money was only 30 million...”
“Oh, it was nothing special. I just studied stocks a bit.”
“You… studied stocks, Latte?”
When Noa tilted her head and repeated the words “stock studies,” Latte kept explaining.
“The stock system actually has more loopholes than you’d think. It runs on reverse logic that goes against normal supply-and-demand principles. There’s a floor price set, so once you secure downside rigidity with a massive volume attack, you can induce panic selling and—”
“......”
“......”
“......”
The chilly silence from everyone made Latte stop her boring, academic explanation and switch to something easier to understand.
“...I just have a talent for stocks.”
“Aha.”
“As expected from Latte noona.”
“Damn, I believed in you, Latte!”
“Huhu… From now on, call me the stock master.”
Latte’s nose shot up into the air, puffed up with confidence from all the praise. Before she could drown in self-admiration, I quickly asked the question I had been holding back.
“By the way, unnie.”
“Yeah?”
“You’ve already earned 180 million, so why did you throw that whole tantrum over a measly 30 million just now?”
“......”
“I mean, no matter what… taking back something you already gave is a bit much. As a human being, you know?”
“Fuck that. Stop bullshitting and pay me back, unnie.”
“Ugh...”
At my perfectly reasonable demand for debt repayment, Latte instinctively took a step back. I shouted at her like a sister-in-law grabbing someone by the hair.
“Give me my money, you bitch!”
“W-why is it your money…!!”
“Because I fucking lent it to you, dumbass. So whose money is it?”
A few more smacks and shouts followed. After that short catfight(?) ended, I finally calmed down enough to continue the meeting.
“Hoo… Hoo...”
“......”
Prism cleared his throat and spoke to me.
“Ahem… Anyway. There’s no need for us to fight each other. We all need money if we’re going to hunt Akgyeon.”
“Exactly how much?”
“At least 100 million. Because you need a minimum of 100 million to establish a ‘company.’”
“Of course, thanks to a certain someone who brought 180 million, we don’t have to go through the pain of collecting money from scratch.”
“...I haven’t said I’d give it yet?”
Latte protested timidly. Ignoring her, I asked Prism another question.
“By the way, Prism. What exactly is this ‘company’ thing?”
“Ah, that’s right. Yume, you only joined three days ago, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. I heard the general idea, but I still don’t know the exact system.”
I had heard that a ‘company’ system would be added, but I still had no idea what kind of content it actually was. Just from the name it sounded like some kind of team-play feature… but how exactly were we supposed to use it to drive Akgyeon off the server?
As if answering my question, Prism immediately began explaining the ‘company’ system.
“First of all, a company is basically like a guild from RPG games.”
“There are two positions: president and employee. But being president doesn’t come with any special benefits. It’s just a symbolic role.”
“......”
Up to this point it sounded exactly like a typical college group project. One team leader stuck with all the responsibility and zero pleasure. But this content wasn’t made just for realistic slice-of-life pretend play. The explanation that followed was more concrete.
“There are three types of companies: unlimited liability, limited liability, and stock corporations.”
“And each type has its own unique characteristics.”
First, unlimited liability companies. This was joint guarantee. Imagine a barbecue restaurant bill of a million won. Whether you split it N-ways or whatever, everyone had to pay. If someone ran away without paying, the rest got to enjoy a full course of police uncle and prison dates.
On the other hand, limited liability companies were prepaid. Think of it like collecting a million won in advance before a trip and covering all expenses with that amount. Even if some crazy bastards blew through the entire travel budget in one day, you had no obligation to pay out of your own pocket.
And finally…
“Stock corporations are exactly what you all know as stock companies.”
[Anonymous Supporter has sponsored 1,000 coins!]
“......”
I already knew plenty about stock corporations. Companies operated with investment money received from third-party shareholders. After all, BK Entertainment—the company I had spent months fighting tooth and nail against—was also a type of stock corporation. I could have talked about it for hours on stream, but there wasn’t enough space here, so I’ll skip the details.
‘It would just be boring and academic anyway.’
Anyway, to summarize:
Unlimited liability: guarantee. Downside: guarantee.
Limited liability: public funds. Downside: run out and you go bankrupt.
Stock corporation: Spirit Bomb. Downside: why is this your company again?
After thinking that far, I immediately asked Prism a question.
“So. I get the general idea… but why do these companies even exist?”
The viewers seemed to be in genuine pain from Prism’s explanation and had begun regressing into baby talk. The chat window was flooded with unpleasant onomatopoeia that sounded like babbling. Prism continued anyway.
“Obviously, it was made to make us fight.”
“Fight…?”
“Yes. In short, it’s content called ‘Bankruptcy War.’”
The server’s main content that perfectly lives up to its name. Companies wage deathmatches against each other with management rights on the line.
It was like super robot battles… no, super company battles. Companies would fight to the death over management rights. Like a female King Arthur and Gilgamesh dueling one-on-one over the Holy Grail. Prism’s explanation continued.
“When you declare war, you can pay the Bankruptcy Office to buy out the opposing company’s bonds.”
“Bonds…?”
“Yes. Pay 100 won to the Bankruptcy Office and you gain the right to collect 100 won from that company.”
In other words, it was a game of tug-of-war with money versus money. The side that ran out of firepower first would go bankrupt in a total chicken race. It was the classic “if you’re scared, then die” style of content. I held onto my spinning head and asked Prism.
“Then there’s no reason to choose unlimited liability, is there…? It looks like if you lose the war you just go straight into bankruptcy...”
In response to my question, Noa answered for Prism.
“Bonds have taxes attached depending on the company type. Unlimited liability has none, limited liability has 33%, and stock corporations have 50%.”
“So if a stock corporation wants to squeeze 100 won out of an opponent company, they have to spend 200 won.”
“...You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The insane tax rate made it feel like the server had been built in Arizona. Naturally, people would flock to unlimited liability companies. Even if the risk was higher, an attack efficiency difference of nearly double changed everything.
Prism continued.
“Akgyeon will establish a company soon. Probably an unlimited one.”
“He can set it up alone immediately. He’s earned a lot from PKing too.”
When Latte chimed in, Prism nodded.
“Yes. He can now legally bankrupt players. There’s no way Akgyeon would miss this opportunity.”
“And we’re going to use this opportunity to hunt Akgyeon. Using Latte noona’s capital, of course.”
“...When did I agree to hand over my money?”
Latte grumbled in dissatisfaction, but eventually let out a sigh and continued.
“Well… I will give it. I also don’t want to see that bastard’s face on the server anymore.”
“Hey hey, damn it! I believed in you!!”
“Unnie is the hero of the bankruptcy server.”
“Kya~ As expected from noona. You flipped the whole stage!!”
“...I hate this.”
After receiving congratulations from the three of us, Latte pouted. The meeting wrapped up in a somewhat warm atmosphere.
I asked Prism one last question.
“Then what type of company are we going with?”
“Company?”
“Yeah. I’m guessing unlimited liability?”
“Why… would you think that…?”
Prism asked in bewilderment. I answered with a slightly dazed face.
“Well… it has the most firepower, right?”
At those words, Prism shook his head extremely quickly and desperately.
“No no no, we’re obviously going with a stock corporation.”
“Why?”
“I have no intention of bankrupting any of you. You’re all big earners. I can’t burden you with such a huge risk.”
“......”
“And one more thing.”
Prism paused for a moment, then spoke to me in a confident tone.
“There’s no way Akgyeon has good public sentiment on this server, right?”
If Akgyeon was an individual, then we were a legion.