Shadow Empire

Chapter 1055 Collapse and Salon

In the end, Ross's "courage" could not overcome his "cowardice"; he was not as strong as he imagined.

"General Ross" will eventually become a laughing stock!

At this time, the world's attention was drawn to the political changes in the Dantra Valley, but there was also a group of people whose eyes were firmly fixed on Lapa.

For example, Cooper.

"Hiss..." Cooper took a drag of his devilish cigarette, leaned back on the sofa, his lower body naked, while two young and beautiful girls were doing handicrafts.

Devil cigarettes are a type of cigarette very popular in Detland. They are made with regular cigarettes but with added ingredients. When these ingredients enter the body, they can produce a stronger sense of pleasure, or even hallucinations.

Many people actually know what's inside: spores of the ghost face mushroom. This mushroom is somewhat toxic, but as long as you don't use too much at once, there shouldn't be any major problems.

As a "miracle drug" for the indigenous people, over countless years of evolution, they have also mastered the method of neutralizing these toxins by chewing the root of a plant and swallowing its juice.

Therefore, the Devil's Cigarette and "God's Finger" need to be used together. While smoking the cigarette containing the spores of the Grimacea mushroom, you should chew the small piece of white and tender root in your mouth to get a more intense sense of satisfaction.

At this moment, Cooper was flying through the air, and he was somewhat delirious. Even if God came to him at this moment, he would have to take a few punches before he could leave.

That's how unreasonable it is, and how powerfully unreasonable it is.

He can fly in the sky and travel through the universe. With just a wave of his hand, he can wipe out a nebula and the strange alien species on those planets.

At this moment, even God has to step aside, because He is the only true God!
Feeling great is his biggest feeling right now, ever since the stock price started to soar – some time ago Hope Mining submitted an authorization document to its shareholders and the three major stock exchanges regarding acting as the agent for the entire state-owned assets of Lapa.

President Diego, the supreme ruler of Rapa, has authorized the transfer of almost all state-owned assets to Hope Mining for operation, which is absolutely huge news!
As soon as the news spread, Cooper's stock holdings, which had originally increased from over 100,000 to over 200,000, surged again to nearly 500,000!

That's the allure of the financial market. As long as you're bold enough, have good foresight, and aren't too unlucky, your net worth can double or even multiply in a short period of time, just like a common topic of conversation when chatting with friends and colleagues after work.

Here, doubling your money is no longer a miracle; doubling it tenfold or a hundredfold is the real miracle!

Cooper also heard that someone used off-exchange margin financing and their net worth increased more than tenfold in an instant, almost becoming a new elite in Detland!

He also longed for that kind of life, and he continued to increase his investment in the stock because everyone believed it would continue to soar.

To paraphrase what investors say in those stock market salons, when Hope Mining took over all of Rapa’s state-owned assets, it essentially monopolized the country’s resources.

In this country, they have pricing power in addition to the government's contract price. To put it simply, they have signed an agency contract with the government, which states that the mining company only needs to provide materials according to the list and quantity on the resource list provided to them by the Lapa government each quarter.

The excess portion can be sold on the market, and after deducting management fees and Hope Mining's profits, the remaining profits will go to the Lapa government.

Someone has specifically calculated this: after deducting other costs from 100 dollars of ore, there are about 70 dollars left. Of these 70 dollars, the Lapa government can only get 17 or 18 dollars, and the rest is all the revenue from Hope Mining!
This is an astonishing figure, because Lapa is extremely rich in resources, and they not only control the supply and demand of resources in the Lapa Valley.

At the same time, they can also sell these resources to businesses on the federal side.

In addition, with the preferential policies provided by the federal government, such as additional subsidies and tax rebates for importing certain key materials and special supplies, their profits are actually higher.

Stimulated by such a huge positive news, it's not impossible for the price to more than double, or even increase several times or more!
After all, that's the resources of an entire country!
Cooper finally experienced the exhilarating feeling of revenge and, under the guidance of his stockbroker, attended several rather unusual parties, which he then became deeply involved in.

Few normal people can resist the temptation of promiscuity. Beautiful female celebrities or male celebrities of the opposite sex never know how to refuse at this moment.

No matter what you ask them to do, they will do it. They have no dignity, no personality, only the most primal desires in their hearts are being vented!

In his dazed state, Cooper suddenly felt a sense of dread; he had been flying in the sky!
Suddenly, some mysterious force yanked him back to the ground, creating a huge crater, just like the crater left after a meteorite hit a planet.

Suddenly, God appeared in front of him, swung his fists, and unleashed a storm of punches on his face, instantly bringing him to his "wake-up" state.

He opened his somewhat bewildered eyes, looked at the stockbroker standing in front of him, and after a brief moment of surprise, a smile appeared on his face. "You're here to have some fun too?"

The stockbroker's face was ashen. "Something's happened!"

Just as Cooper was about to take another drag of his devilish cigarette, before the mouthpiece even touched his lips, the stockbroker slapped him to the ground.

Watching the demon smoke fall to the ground and gradually die down, Cooper became somewhat agitated. "Fuck, what are you doing?"

He stood up, and the two girls, their eyes glazed, continued to serve him; this was nothing to them.

If they provide excellent service, they can earn in a day what others earn in a month or even a year.

The ultimate goal for these young men and women of the new era is to earn as much money as they can in their lifetime while they are young, energetic, and attractive, and then start to enjoy life.

The stockbroker slammed the newspaper he was holding onto his chest. "Have you been fucking obsessed with this all along?"

"Look at the newspaper, something terrible has happened!"

Cooper rubbed his face. "You better not lie to me. I'm even afraid of myself when I get angry!"

He unfolded the newspaper, and was immediately drawn to the headline on the front page: "The Biggest Financial Disaster of the Century."

Below the title is a large, color-printed photo showing a group of desperate people throwing away their stocks, while on a billboard not far away, workers are removing Hope Mining from the top of the list.

Upon seeing this, Cooper suddenly snapped out of his daze. He rubbed his eyes hard, slapped his cheeks a few times, and began to read the report seriously.

He was so high that he couldn't even stand still; his body was swaying constantly, and he didn't know when he would tilt or fall.

The stockbroker gave the two girls some money to finish their work early, then pushed Cooper onto the sofa.

His attention was completely focused on the newspaper, and he didn't even realize that he had fallen.

These were a few dull minutes, during which the only sound was the increasingly heavy breathing.

A few minutes later, he suddenly looked up at the stockbroker and asked, "So, how much money do I have left?"

The stockbroker's face was also very grim. "There's still about... 170,000 to 180,000 left."

Seventeen or eighteen thousand is not a small amount. Even after the stock price was halved, Cooper still made money, and a lot of money at that.

His total principal, including later investments, did not exceed 150,000.

A profit of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan is still a considerable sum.

If he had never owned 500,000, perhaps he would still be satisfied now, but now, this amount of money is not enough for him.

He has spent a lot of money recently, with deductions from here and there. Even if he sells all his stocks now, he might still suffer a loss.

Those who have never been to Heaven will not know how unbearable Hell is.

He looked at the stockbroker, panting, "What do we do now?"

The stockbroker looked at him. "Now you have two choices."

"First, immediately liquidate your positions and leave the market, regardless of whether you have won or lost."

"Second, continue to observe and wait."

He was about to sit down when he noticed some stains on the sofa and Cooper's naked lower body. He rubbed his forehead and turned to look elsewhere. "Damn it, you need to put your pants on, you idiot!"

"This place is terrible, we need to find another place, let's go to the stock exchange!"

Although he had seen many bananas before, seeing one while discussing serious matters still made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Cooper then remembered, hurriedly found a pair of pants and put them on haphazardly, then sighed, tidied himself up, and left with the stockbroker. At the door, he showed his "lucky card" and signed the contract.

He doesn't have much cash on hand right now, but he owns very valuable stocks in the stock market, so the bank is willing to provide him with some assistance.

Like this bar, and some restaurants, and some shopping malls.

These businesses connected to his bank have all signed a cooperation agreement with the bank, under which the bank helps users who have been issued "lucky cards" to advance funds to the merchants.

Then, in each cycle, the bank will collect these debts from these users and charge a certain service fee.

The current service fee is 15%, which is not a low percentage.

Although its "commission" is very high, many people are still willing to do it because they don't have much cash on hand.

This is especially relevant for customers who are short on cash.

These clients are not poor people without money. For example, Cooper has stocks worth 500,000 in the stock market. I dare not say that he owns the first 5%, but he certainly owns the first 10%, or at least 15% of that amount.

But he doesn't have much cash on him, and he needs to make purchases. What should he do?
The lucky card played a crucial role.

He glanced at the bill, which read 1,170 yuan, with the change rounded off.

Without a second thought, he signed his name and was personally seen out by the manager.

He got into the stockbroker's car, and the two of them remained silent on the way to Detland, lost in thought or perhaps trying to accept the situation.

After enduring intermittent traffic jams, they finally returned to Detland. Just as they parked their car and were about to enter the stock exchange, the stockbroker spotted one of the people he recognized walking towards the office building next door.

The office buildings surrounding the exchange are the most expensive in Detland, and even in the entire New Gold Market. Whether buying, selling, or leasing, the prices are outrageously high; it's no exaggeration to say that every inch of land is worth its weight in gold.

The reason why the housing prices here are so outrageously high is because they are close to the stock exchange.

Investors need social spaces outside of exchanges, such as investor clubs or stock salons, which are good options.

Operating these venues doesn't require a large expense, but can generate substantial profits.

For example, some salons hosted by well-known figures can cost several thousand dollars per session, and this kind of business doesn't happen only once every few days; it happens almost every day.

After the market closes each trading day, these investors always feel restless and want to sit down and chat with others. What should be done?
In the past, they could go to public places like bars, order some alcohol, and chat while drinking.

Bars are now almost all closed, and considering their own safety—they might miss their trading day if they get caught drinking—they need more secluded places, and these enclosed salons are a good option.

The stockbroker took a few steps after him, then waved his hand, "Where are you going?"

The person he called to tilted his head. "There's a salon about Hope Mining going on inside. I heard there's some inside information. I have to go listen."

The stockbroker's eyes lit up. "Take me with you, we want to go too."

His friend glanced at Cooper, then at the stockbroker, and did not refuse.

The three entered the adjacent office building, then took the elevator to a certain floor, where they were led by staff into the salon.

The place is already packed with people; there aren't even any seats left.

Cooper used to attend these salons often, and the salons he attended were usually not full, with some seats empty most of the time.

But today, there are too many people here, and he can't even squeeze in!
"...We are now at a very critical juncture!"

There's someone in the middle of the crowd expressing their opinion, which is a common occurrence at salons. Some moderators or organizers share their views and ideas with others, and then everyone discusses them.

They call this a "intense clash of ideas," but in reality, the salon is essentially a place for mutual brainwashing; whoever can convince the other will be brainwashed.

The room was relatively quiet at the moment, and Cooper could sense that people seemed to trust the guy in the middle of the room.

Why would I say that?

"Because the situation has changed again, the remaining princely states have raised the slogan of taking back Zhuolan and annihilating the rebels, and they are marching towards Zhuolan."

“They themselves represent the legitimate ruling class of Lapa. If they can drive those anti-government armed groups out of Zoran, or even wipe them out completely.”

"Then there is still hope!"

"As long as they continue to acknowledge the proxy documents signed by Diego, the stock price will continue to soar!"

"Of course, this isn't absolute. It's possible they won't acknowledge the documents Diego signed, in which case the stock would be severely impacted!"

The people in the room suddenly became noisy, as if everyone wanted to express their opinions at this particular moment, making a great commotion.

The host slammed the microphone a few times, the piercing sound coming from the loudspeaker, before calming the excited atmosphere in the audience.

"Listen to me first!"

"I've gathered everyone here today to analyze the true situation with you, so that you, including myself, can look at the whole thing rationally."

"If anyone makes any more noise or argues, please leave. You are not welcome here!"

"If you leave now, we can still save face for each other. But if you don't plan to leave, you'd better learn to respect me, or you'll be very embarrassed if I throw you out!"

"The people gathered here today are all the elites of Detland. If I throw you out, you'll become the laughingstock of the entire Detland tomorrow!"

He finished speaking and waited for a while. The room was quiet. Cooper looked towards the door, but no one had left.

"Fine, since none of you are leaving, then be civilized and don't fucking interrupt me before I finish speaking!"

He smoothed his hair as he spoke, “When I said the stock market would be hit hard, I didn’t mean it would be hit hard based on its current performance, but rather that it would be hit hard based on our target market.”

"In fact, gentlemen, the share price was higher than it is now, before Hope Mining announced that they had taken over the state-owned assets in Lapa."

"Because we are optimistic about the development of Hope Mining in their main jobs, and its huge development potential is also the reason why we invested in it."

"The current price plunge is mainly due to panic selling."

"Once people realize this, its price will inevitably rise again to a reasonable level."

"I mean, even if it loses the contract to act as an agent for the state-owned assets of the Rapa government, its price will be much higher than it is now."

"So you don't need to worry about that at all. I just saw a lot of 'hyenas' in the exchange, and they are buying up your shares at unreasonable, extremely low prices."

"These hyenas are trying to exploit our emotional breakdowns and loss of rational thinking to make a hefty profit off us!"

"So, gentlemen, what you need to do most now is to stop the panic selling."

"It's really not a big deal. As long as the core of the mining industry remains intact, we will still be the big winners!"

Upon hearing the host's words, Cooper, who was initially extremely nervous, relaxed, both physically and emotionally.

He and the stockbroker exchanged a glance, both seeing hope in each other's eyes.

(End of this chapter)