The Tipping Point
Time continues to pass, waiting for the inevitable. I was twenty-three when I first heard about Project C.E. from Dr. Lee. Now, I’m twenty-eight. Five years have slipped by. I don’t feel any impatience. If plants are to grow, that much time has to pass. The world is falling apart quite definitively, anyway. The IBRA, the organization running Project C.E., is busy posting promotional content on social media claiming everything is going well, but the reality is far from it. They’ve even gone so far as to block their comment sections. They must realize they’ve made a mistake. They probably know by now that there’s no turning back.
Lately, my biggest concern has been purchasing firearms. The problem is that buying a gun isn’t exactly easy. I could get a hunting shotgun, but... that’s not really "owning" one. You have to keep them stored at the police station at all times—why would I call that my gun? No, that won't do. Besides, to buy a shotgun, you need a hunting license. I could get the license, sure. It’s not like I couldn't pass the test. But I don’t really want to go through all that trouble just to end up with a shotgun. Still, it would be nice to have a firearm. What if society really goes to hell? There’s no weapon as reliable as a gun. The limited ammunition is a drawback, but the mere fact of possessing a firearm acts as a deterrent. So, it’s hard to just give up on the idea. But...
Around the time I was thinking about that, I received some peculiar information from Dr. Lee. He suggested that if things continue on this path, a day might come when we can no longer use anything made of metal. It was a critical piece of information, so I read it thoroughly. I realized this could become a massive problem.
He said some plants have already begun to mutate. And those plants possess an acidity of about pH 3 to 4. Acidic spores with a viscous texture. Considering that pH 7 is neutral, a pH of 3 to 4 is extremely acidic. Since the pH scale is logarithmic, a drop from 7 to 6 means it’s ten times more acidic. So, pH 4 is 1,000 times more acidic than neutral. pH 3 is 10,000 times more acidic. It’s still in the early stages, so it’s not severe yet, but he said there are signs of it spreading rapidly. If that happens, carbon steel will be the first and most severely affected. If you add moisture to that, it means all exposed steel will corrode. And there’s no shortage of moisture. The plants are busy churning out water vapor as it is. In other words, if things go on like this, our entire civilization will become trash. Everything will likely collapse. You can assume there isn't a single place in this world that doesn't use steel. And it’s not just steel. Galvanized metal, copper, aluminum—everything will be a problem. The only thing that might hold up is stainless steel. Furthermore, this is a problem for people, too. I’m not sure exactly how it will manifest, but spores with that level of acidity will easily wreck a person’s respiratory system. The only silver lining is that people probably won’t die immediately from it. Instead, they’ll live with chronic inflammation. Fortunately, the impact on skin and such will be less severe. If that’s the case, the need for antihistamines will skyrocket. And if I have to go outside, I’ll need to wear protective gear for my respiratory system at all times. A mask probably won’t be enough. I’d have to use one in an emergency, but still.
Thanks to that, I dropped the idea of acquiring firearms. It’s meaningless if I can’t use them when I need them. Of course, not all guns will break. Some might stay functional. But a single malfunction could render a firearm useless. And what if it explodes in my hand? Ugh. No, that’s not happening. I can’t use such unreliable equipment. So, I’m abandoning the attempt to get guns. I’d rather use a 3D printer to make homemade ones.
Anyway, I have a lot more work to do. I need to maintain the hydroelectric and wind generators and solar panels I installed on the mountain. If I leave them as they are, they’ll break down before I even get to use them much. Fortunately, most of them are stainless steel, but there are parts that aren't. Some need sealing, others need coating. I contacted each manufacturer to check for alternatives. Naturally, they said it was difficult. They don’t like to go beyond their usual scope of work. I understand. There’s no way they’d have anyone like me worrying that acidic mucous spores are about to be scattered across the world. But money solves everything. I paid the companies a high price to replace some parts with stainless steel and to create additional cases for complete sealing. I also applied epoxy coating to everything else I could. As long as it doesn’t corrode, that’s enough. With that, the power issue is settled for now. Well, I’m sure other problems will arise.
And now, it’s time to start buying up antihistamines. It’s a product with high demand anyway, as respiratory illnesses are becoming more frequent. So, buying in bulk shouldn’t be a big issue now. So many people are buying them. Perhaps in the past, someone buying in bulk would have been viewed with suspicion. But not now. It means the environment has become one where buying in bulk is acceptable. Plus, thankfully, many warehouse-style pharmacies have popped up lately. It’s a relief. It saved me a lot of trouble.
Antihistamines are usually taken once a day. So, 365 pills will last me a year. But these aren’t just for me. They will be a huge asset after the world ends. So, I’m stocking up. The shelf life is three years at most, but it doesn’t matter. By then, people will be desperate for even expired medicine. Besides, the effectiveness doesn’t drop to zero the day after the expiration date.
I’m busy. It’s good to have things to do. It helps pass the idle time quickly. The omen of destruction looms like a shadow. The world is hurtling toward catastrophe. It’s just that, for now, everyone refuses to believe it. While preparing one by one, I keep an eye on the stock prices. And one month and fifteen days after I bought the put options, the incident finally occurred.
It wasn't a plane from the airline I bet against that crashed. It was a different company in the U.S. But the accident was significant. It was an emergency landing. There were quite a few casualties. Because of that, airline stocks fluctuated together. Down 5 percent. The stock price, which had been $29.33, fell to $27.86. But that was it. Just a few days later, the stock price slowly recovered. As if nothing had happened. It was expected. Usually, when an accident occurs, the market dips once and then returns to its original state.
However, I wait patiently. I’m not looking for something this trivial. And as it happens, a few days later, an accident occurred at a British airline. Another fatal accident. In reality, the number of fatal jet accidents worldwide in a year is barely one or two, so having accidents like this within a few days is extremely rare. However, this time, there was no impact on U.S. airline stocks. Probably because it was a British airline. But to me, this looked like the beginning. The things that had been bottled up until now have finally crossed the tipping point. It’s likely the start of the collapse. So, it’s an opportunity for me.
Two weeks later, the initial investigation results came out. They were full of cliché expressions. Weather-related flight impact, technical issues, engine performance degradation, electrical system malfunction... and so on. Still, there was no mention of pilot error. Does that mean the pilots did everything they could? Anyway, this was also expected. They wouldn’t say things like, "It’s due to metal corrosion caused by an unknown object" in the initial results. Regardless, the fact that an accident occurred was what mattered to me. So, I wait a little longer. I suspect those accidents were the first raindrops. So, more rain will come. Like the subtropical squalls that come often these days. Heavily.
And another month later. This time, another plane accident occurred in the U.S. Much more serious. The plane crashed almost as soon as it reached the airport, and it slammed into the city center without a chance to recover. It wasn't a minor accident that would be forgotten in a few days. It was a massive disaster with hundreds of casualties. Because of that, the stock prices plummeted. The airline sector itself was shaken, and the stock price fell to $22.
I fell into a deep dilemma. If I exercise the options right now, I can make 1.5 billion won. If I spent 500 million and made 1.5 billion, that’s a profit of 1 billion won. So, it would be enough to pull out now. Of course, the taxes would be enormous... but I can just pay them. They’ll probably take 22 percent, so I’d pay about 220 million won. But I hold onto them. I expect it to fall further. So, even though my hands were itching, I held back.
And as if to mock my decision, the stock price slowly recovered again. That’s how stocks are. No matter how I look at it, the current situation isn't the time for stocks to rise, yet they do. Then people make up all sorts of reasons. Like, "the resolution of bad news"? Anyway, there’s still plenty of time left until the expiration date. So, I feel a bit bitter while watching the stock price rise. I have to trust my decision. Who can I blame? I was the one who decided.
And just ten days later, my decision was proven correct. Furthermore, this time, a plane from the airline I bet against caused the accident. Very seriously. It was another fatal accident. This time, the impact was massive. The first was a mistake. The second was a coincidence. But the third? From then on, it’s terror. People engaged in panic selling, and the stock price fell like crazy. $16.89. The price displayed on the app. Actually, it had fallen to $16.55 earlier. But it rebounded slightly to that price. That’s it. Let’s exercise this contract now. Stocks or options aren't my money until I realize the profit. I’m a beginner, but I understand that much clearly. So, I must follow through. Because I’m a beginner who knows nothing.
I exercised all 3,800 contracts I held. As a result, I gained a little over 3.2 billion won. In other words, I turned 500 million into over 3.2 billion. Of course, even after paying about 770 million won in taxes, that’s how much I earned. I laughed while looking at the account. Damn. Making money is so easy. For a very brief moment, I thought I wished the world wouldn't end. Maybe that would be better? But it’s already too late. The world is still falling apart. So, I steel my heart again. And I re-examine what I should do with this money.