Shadow Empire

Chapter 1067 Avalanche
"Everyone, this is a critical moment that could determine our life or death. Please do not spread this message until we have a clear understanding of the situation!"

Mr. Five Million watched these people from the roadside, saying, "Once the news leaks out, it will be difficult for us to sell our stocks on Monday."

"Monday may be a crucial day for us. Whether we can leave smoothly and unharmed depends on how slow the market reacts!"

“You should know what I’m talking about and what I’m trying to say, so…”

He pursed his lips. "Please keep this secret for now."

"I have already sent people to investigate the situation of Hope Mining's mines in Lapa, and I expect to have results soon."

"If you don't mind, I think we should get together now and discuss how best to proceed with the next steps."

At this moment, most people had lost the ability to think normally. Faced with Mr. Five Million's logical statement, they ultimately chose to support him.

They quickly gathered together and returned to their previous building. In a large hall, everyone sat down anxiously.

Mr. Five Million sat down next to the host. “I have a friend who has some connections with the Imperial Chamber of Commerce. The Imperial Chamber of Commerce has a lot of influence in Lapa now, and they can find out the truth about these things for us!”

Actually, he wasn't telling the truth. It wasn't that "he has a friend," but rather that his friend's friend's friend had some connection with the Imperial Chamber of Commerce.

To ask someone who isn't even a friend to do something for you, you'd have to pay a considerable fee and also incur a favor.

But in order to get the real situation, these efforts are still worthwhile.

In addition to contacting this person, he also contacted his lawyer, hoping that the lawyer could fix Hope Mining's assets as soon as possible and prevent them from cashing out and flowing out.

As long as these assets are still in the country and belong to them, at least he has a way to make up for some of the losses.

It's unlikely that all of them will be possible, but there shouldn't be any problems with some of them.

At this point, someone interjected, "Sir, why didn't you have someone conduct an investigation before?"

This sounds like an accusation that if Mr. Five Million had investigated the true state of Hope Mining earlier, perhaps everyone could have avoided this loss.

Subtle changes were occurring in everyone's expressions. Mr. Five Million frowned. "First of all, I have no obligation to investigate the true state of this company's operations and then inform you."

"Secondly, the period when the mining industry was developing most rapidly coincided with the period of the most chaotic civil war in Lapa."

"Under these circumstances, it would be difficult for anyone to conduct a thorough investigation until after the civil war ended."

"Finally, who the hell are you to criticize me?"

He looked at the host and said, "Either you kick him out, or I'll leave!"

People still place their hopes on Mr. Five Million, so naturally they won't let him leave. The only one who can leave is the one who criticizes Mr. Five Million.

When people are extremely anxious or panicked, they subconsciously make excuses for their mistakes in order to avoid things that could trigger them, such as the emotional pain caused by pain, failure, or death.

The best way is to shift the blame to others.

However, he clearly misjudged the situation this time; Mr. Five Million was not someone to be trifled with.

The host nodded and looked at the person. "I know you and I know some of your specific circumstances. You have three children. Cherish your life now."

"If I find out who leaked today's news, I guarantee he and his family will regret ever being born!"

The host is clearly a resourceful person; otherwise, it would be difficult to gather so many people together, and the major capital in Detland often has some connection with the mafia.

Gangs are one of the most useful tools in the world; anyone, regardless of class, can use them.

From destitute slum dwellers pleading with gang members loitering near their homes, "I've run into trouble," to high-ranking lords asking gang leaders, "There's something I need you to do."

They are present in every stage and class of society, which is perhaps why, in the minds of the federal people at this time, gangsters are almost the same as the police.

A period in which gangs proliferated due to policies and needs.

But all of this will soon come to an end.

If Mr. Five Million can invest five million, he must have the ability to protect his assets, and he may also have some connections with the underworld.

During this period, prominent figures in the underworld often held the same status as celebrities; they were well-known and admired by the public.

Therefore, Mr. Five Million's threat is not an intimidation, but a threat that is actually possible to be carried out!
The man who was kicked out turned red and then pale, and finally apologized to Mr. Five Million before leaving on his own. The atmosphere in the room became somewhat tense.

To lighten the mood, the host asked, "If I may be so bold as to ask, are the people you've found able to figure out these things in a short time?"

Mr. Five Million nodded. "I believe he can do it."

He was very confident, so the host didn't continue asking the question and instead focused on how to handle the aftermath.

About twenty minutes later, Mr. Five Million's friend called. Mr. Five Million answered the phone, and his expression grew worse as he held the receiver for longer.

When he hung up the phone, his expression had sunk to the bottom.

"I have some very bad news that I think will soon be impossible to keep quiet."

Urged on by others, he spoke slowly, “I just asked my friend to inquire over there. There are two mines whose names I remember. They said they were abandoned mines a long time ago and were bought by the Federation a couple of years ago.”

When he said those words, Mr. Five Million's expression was already starting to tense up. This five million didn't just belong to him; it also belonged to his friends and clients.

He might be held accountable by his friends and clients—don't be fooled by the promises made in the contract that he would bear all the losses himself.

But if such a huge loss were to occur, his friends and clients would never actually bear it themselves; they would try every means to shift the "damage" to others.

The expressions of the others also turned terrible at this moment, and some forced awkward smiles. "Maybe... only one or two are like that?"

Mr. Five Million shook his head and gave them a number. “If you still don’t want to believe it, you can call them and ask them, but remember to pay them a commission.”

Two hours later, messages kept coming back, and they were all very bad news.

Hope Mining acquired a large number of closed mines in Lapa at very low prices and disguised them as if they were still in operation.

In reality, these mines had already ceased production. They purchased ore from other mines and pretended it was being pushed out of the mine shafts, leaving behind some "disguise" items at the scene. "Another scam!" Mr. Five Million leaned back on the sofa, completely lacking any decorum, looking like he was half-lying down, half-paralyzed.

Even he couldn't withstand a loss of five million.

"Our most important task now is to find a way to maintain the current situation and make use of all the resources at our disposal to sell as much as we can after the market opens on Monday."

"Regardless of the price, as long as we can get away, our losses will be less."

"Even if we only managed to escape with one hand, it's equivalent to us recovering one hand's loss now."

"Also, everyone, please mobilize your resources and find a way to suppress the media's coverage..."

"It's the weekend, and there are less than 24 hours left. We might still have a chance!"

Originally feeling utterly hopeless, Cooper's spirits were rekindled. When he turned to look at his stockbroker beside him, he noticed that the man was drenched in sweat.

It's not hot yet, so it's quite surprising that he's sweating so much.

Cooper sensed something was wrong with the stockbroker's twisted smile. He shook the guy, who was now considered his friend, hard. "What's wrong with you?"

"Should we go to the hospital to get it checked out?"

"I think something's not right with you."

The stockbroker turned to look at him, his lips twitching as if he wanted to laugh, but he looked even worse than if he were crying.

He twisted his neck stiffly a couple of times before looking away. "It's nothing, I just can't quite handle hearing this news."

Cooper himself was clearly in a low mood and didn't pay much attention to his good friend's emotional changes.

What he didn't know was that the stockbroker believed those people's so-called "landing to pick up customers" story.

Some people previously said that the market pullback caused by this panic selling was giving everyone who missed out a chance to get back on board, and the subsequent market performance did indeed match their analysis.

As investor fears subsided and the market returned to calm, stock prices began to climb again.

The stockbroker saw it as the biggest opportunity of his life, bar none.

So he not only mortgaged his house, car, and all his valuables that he had worked hard to acquire over the years, but also engaged in margin financing.

He wanted to make a big profit, enough to last him a lifetime.

He didn't tell anyone, including Cooper.

He was struggling because he had a very good relationship with Cooper recently, and if he told Cooper about the margin trading, based on his understanding of Cooper, Cooper would definitely go through with the margin trading.

It would be nice if two people got rich together, but... for some reason, he preferred to get rich by himself and then make money with Cooper.

He wanted to take a dominant position, whether in terms of industry knowledge, connections, or hard power; he wanted to control this friendship.

So he placed a larger bet.

In fact, he's not too afraid of ordinary ups and downs. He can just liquidate his positions in advance. With the money he's made now, he can not only pay back the money he borrowed, but also make a lot of money!
The problem is that the stock market is in serious trouble now, and he may not even have the chance to sell his shares, which means he will owe those financial companies a lot of money.

He knew all too well the debt collection methods these financial companies used; they could make him wish he were dead!

He used to always warn others to be careful about the risks in trading, and to avoid leveraged trading as much as possible.

While you can earn a lot, you also face the risk of leverage.

The returns may indeed increase several times over, but so do the risks.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, he himself fell into the trap.

However, he was still comforting himself, saying that Mr. Five Million was right. As long as he rushed to buy after the market opened tomorrow, he would still have a chance to escape successfully while no one knew what had happened.

After the meeting ended, no one was in the mood to stay and continue the conversation. They all left, anxiously awaiting their fate.

The next morning, Cooper and the stockbroker arrived at the exchange.

There were still twenty minutes before the market opened, but the exchange had become unusually lively. Cooper hadn't realized what was happening yet, but the stockbrokers realized the seriousness of the situation, or rather, that something was wrong.

Now, there are not only many well-known traders, but also some brokerage firm presidents and quite a few reporters, all seemingly engaged in conversation.

The stockbroker approached someone he knew, feigning composure as he greeted them, "Hi, do you have any big news?"

He pretended to be relaxed, but others could still see that something was off about him, that he was a little nervous.

A friend of his joked, "Last night, hoping for a mining industry collapse, the Financial Supervisory Commission issued an announcement overnight, freezing all stock trading to prevent more victims from entering the market."

"You look so pale, you're not already inside, are you?"

The fact that the stockbroker has been guiding his clients in trading this stock recently is no secret in his social circle, and he has boasted about it to people more than once.

He helped his clients double, triple, or even triple their wealth in just one or two months.

This has led many clients to voluntarily register under his name.

Who can resist a stockbroker who can help them make money?

The more customers he attracts, the more customers others lose.

The better he performs, the more it implies that others are incompetent within the industry and the company.

In an environment where money is the primary tool for manipulation, people will smile regardless of your opportunities.

A fake smile, or a genuine laugh!

(End of this chapter)