Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: National Hero and Wall Street's King
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That day, what Genocider pulled off turned America completely upside down.
The Pearl Harbor incident and the Washington affair had been massive shocks, but they couldn't hold a candle to this.
Genocider had become a hero to the American people.
He already had a solid fanbase from Pearl Harbor and Washington, but this catapulted him to true "national hero" status.
Americans started calling Genocider "Genobro."
They'd gone beyond seeing him as a mere vigilante of justice—they were cheering for him as a full-blown hero.
Lv. 8s were leagues beyond regular S-Ranks, but SSS-grade—Lv. 9 Pulsars—were entities in a class of their own.
America had nearly 20 of them, sure, but that was only by scraping together Awakeners from around the world. Outside China, the EU, or India, nations with Lv. 9s were exceedingly rare.
Genocider had severed the heads of Babel Farms' CEO Eric and the other S-Ranks, scrawled that message in their blood, and vanished.
He'd kept his promise to hold a ceremony for the victims.
The frenzy wasn't limited to Americans, either.
The whole world was buzzing about Genocider, and Korean boards were exploding for entirely different reasons.
One place had turned into a total shitshow for entirely different reasons.
Wall Street.
"B-Babel Farms' stock!!!"
Minus 99%!
This was the plunge in Babel Farms' shares in just one day after Genocider's broadcast. Unthinkable for a behemoth with a market cap over 5 trillion dollars.
The real problem? It wasn't isolated to Babel Farms.
America's finance was a hyper-complex web of interconnections. With 5 trillion evaporating from the markets, chaos erupted everywhere.
"Whitelock, Babel Farms' majority shareholder, is tanking too! Fidel Mountain's shares are plummeting, and CDS premiums are spiking across other investment banks!"
"Margin calls are hitting in a chain reaction!"
The hedge funds were the kill shot.
They'd gone massively long to devour Do-hyun's shorts, but not with their own cash. Massive loans, insane leverage.
So it wasn't just the funds imploding—the banks that lent to them were facing catastrophic losses too.
Do-hyun was curious too.
After slipping out of Babel Farms HQ, he was resting at his rental when he asked Cecil.
"So, how much am I looking at here?"
"Factoring in the short ratio, put options, and CDS bets..."
"Skip the math. Just the bottom line."
"At least 50 billion dollars. Up to 200 billion max."
In Korean won, that was 70 trillion minimum to 270 trillion tops.
Post-New Era inflation had bloated asset values, but this was still enough to match the world's top billionaires in one go.
'Course, swallowing it all neat isn't happening.'
The world didn't work that simply.
Around lunchtime LA time—early afternoon in New York...
Ding-dong—
The doorbell rang at Do-hyun's place.
"I'll get it, sir!"
For reference, after his West Hollywood home got terrorized, Do-hyun was renting a modest two-bedroom, two-bath apartment. Cecil hustled to the door—but her face drained of color at the visitor.
"Well now. Long time no see, Miss Cecil."
An elderly gentleman.
Anyone into stocks or economics would recognize him.
"Adam Patton of CP Ogden. Pleased to meet the genius who played Wall Street like a fiddle."
The king of Wall Street had come calling on Do-hyun.
Wall Street.
The place that pulled the strings of global finance.
It had been huge pre-Cataclysm, but its dominance skyrocketed in the New Era.
America became the superpower of Awakeners, monopolizing arcane business—and sucking in investment from around the world. CP Ogden sat at the pinnacle of it all.
"Quite the modest digs. Even folks with less cash than you build lavish palaces in beachfront Malibu."
As mentioned, Do-hyun's rental was a plain apartment. Not luxury condos for high earners—the real deal for average American folks.
Do-hyun didn't hate luxury. Hell, he'd enjoyed what he could pre-collapse. But he'd picked this place for a reason.
'Gotta run for office sometime.'
Not to play the everyman card.
America, unlike the East, despised humility. They loved flashy displays of wealth.
Still, he'd chosen this for a specific goal.
'Unexpected. CP Ogden's chairman coming personally? Knew some Wall Street heavyweight would show for cleanup, but...'
Even more surprising?
'Not a devil contractor?'
Devils.
Another existential threat to humanity, alongside the Outer Gods.
In America, devils infested Silicon Valley and Wall Street hardest. Any hotshot trader there? Safe bet they were devil contractors.
······To survive devils, you had to borrow their power too.
Yet Adam Patton, king of Wall Street and CP Ogden chairman, was a perfectly normal human.
'I sense greed, but it's mild. Just your average sinner...'
"You came all this way for Babel Farms? What if I ignore your 'advice'?"
"SEC kicks in first. CFTC won't sit idle, and the FBI's attitude flips. Wall Street money scares people. They'll throw everything at you. Miss Cecil can fill you in on the details—she's lived it."
Nora Cecil's face turned ashen, reliving her past.
Yeah.
70 trillion, 270 trillion? All theoretical.
Stealing from Wall Street devils wasn't child's play.
"And if I push ahead anyway? What then?"
Do-hyun smirked.
"Skip the half-assed threats. Tell me what you really want. You have demands, right?"
Adam Patton eyed Do-hyun.
Powerless non-Awakener or not, his gaze was giant-like. Ruling from the peak of a financial empire.
"See it through to the end."
"Hm...?"
"SEC pressure? CFTC? FBI? I'll handle them all. Don't close the positions—rake in maximum profits."
'This guy's something.'
Do-hyun read his play.
'Using me to unleash a bloodbath on Wall Street.'
Dozens of hedge funds bankrupt, investment banks reeling.
Perfect for CP Ogden—crushing upstarts challenging his empire.
A win-win aligning Do-hyun and CP Ogden's interests... but one issue couldn't be ignored.
'I'd be full-on enemies with Wall Street's devils.'
Trash that needed wiping out eventually, but with his plate full, he didn't need more foes right now.
Strictly speaking, burning bridges for "just another 100 trillion" was the bigger loss.
But.
"Fine. I'll play along."
'Tucking tail 'cause devil scum scares me? Feels shitty.'
Do-hyun often followed his gut.
Especially against rotten types like Outer Gods or devils.
'I'll just take more than that in return.'
"One condition. After this, I plan to acquire Babel Farms clean. Make it happen."
"Easy enough... but why Babel Farms?"
"Gonna launch an arcane new drug. Get FDI approval fast-tracked too."
Acquiring Babel Farms wasn't just facilities—it meant patents for arcane pharma.
To go from underground elite sales to nationwide... worldwide supply? Those rights were key.
"Done. But I have a request. Mind if CP Ogden invests in Kim's arcane drug too?"
"Hm...?"
"Seeing you push it, doesn't seem ordinary. Can't pass up a hot investment tip—wouldn't be Wall Street."
Blatant spoon-licking. Do-hyun clicked his tongue.
'Not bad, though. CP Ogden as backers? Huge plus.'
PR boost, greased procedures via their clout. Plenty of upsides.
"Can't give much equity. And I want more."
The priors were small fry.
This was the real ask.
"Make me a MAGA member."
"!!"
Adam Patton's face hardened.
"······How do you know about that, Kim?"
Make America Great Again.
Slogan from a past president.
Now? Different meaning.
'America's top elites' secret society. Aiming to make a shaky America great again.'
MAGA had issues aplenty, but whatever.
Use 'em, ditch at the right time.
Do-hyun smirked.
"You've seen what I've done. You know who's closest to the king you've been waiting for—the one to make America great again. If MAGA truly cares about America, you'll back me."
"······!!"
Adam Patton was speechless for a beat.
"······Kim, you're impressive, I'll grant. But that's overreaching. Even stretching, we could take you in as a MAGA pawn at best. Nothing more."
A chess pawn.
MAGA's errand boy.
But.
"Wanna bet? Whether MAGA crowns me king or not."
"What...?"
Adam shook his head in disbelief, but Do-hyun's next words froze his face.
"Within two months at latest, your queen kneels first. Most humiliatingly. Then the bishop—you—next."