Money Keeps Piling Up No Matter How Much I Spend

Chapter 129

Translator: Dreamscribe“Welcome back, Managing Director!”

"Ah, y-yeah."

Managing Director Kim Jae-hyun, having returned to the Legal Team office, looked at the employees waiting for him and showed a troubled expression.

“So... did the conversation go well?”

“What did he say about how he plans to proceed with the lawsuit?”

Usually, office workers prefer to work less and earn more money.

But the Legal Team here was different.

When the Legal Team was first reorganized, it was as if they were preparing for a major lawsuit, selecting only the best talent from across the country.

Their salaries were at the top level of the industry, and the benefits were excellent as well.

So, people wondered what kind of lawsuit they were preparing to gather such a team.

‘But we’ve barely had any work. For the past few years.’

However, once they joined, there wasn’t really anything to do.

Aside from minor lawsuits, there hadn’t been any major litigation that shook the company.

“There will be a lawsuit against Losthood... right?”

So, they were thirsty for work.

They craved those intense, fierce court battles that escalated into a muddy fight.

“Yes. CEO Jung Jin-ho made the final decision to go through with the lawsuit.”

“That's right!”

“Finally, we get to do real work!”

It might seem strange to be excited about having to work.

But the Legal Team cost hundreds of billions of won a year to maintain.

And yet, there was practically no work assigned to them, so even they had started to question if this was really okay.

“I heard the reason our team was created was because of CEO Jung Jin-ho.”

“That’s right. I heard the Chairman created it personally in case any legal issues arose involving CEO Jung Jin-ho.”

And that was true.

Chairman Hwang Dae-woon created the Legal Team solely for CEO Jung Jin-ho.

After placing Kim Jae-hyun in an executive position, he had him take full charge of the Legal Team and told him just that.

That the Legal Team’s sole job was to protect CEO Jung Jin-ho.

“But how is it that not a single major incident happened for years... Is he really that law-abiding...?”

For someone in his position, it wouldn’t be unusual to have at least one legal issue, but over the past few years, not a single legal dispute had occurred.

“It's a relief that something has finally come up.”

“Agreed. But, Managing Director, what kind of amount are we talking about for the lawsuit? We can build our strategy based on that.”

“Well...”

How should he explain this?

Managing Director Kim Jae-hyun hesitated for a moment, but it wasn't something that could be avoided.

“100 trillion won.”

“Ah~. 100... What?”

“W-wait a minute, Managing Director. Not billion won, but trillion won?”

“Yeah.”

“Not 10 billion dollars, but 100 billion dollars?!”

“You heard it right.”

All the Legal Team employees froze in place.

Seeing that, Kim Jae-hyun let out a short laugh.

Because their reactions looked exactly like his earlier.

“Th-that’s absurd. 100 trillion won?!”

“The highest amount in U.S. legal history was 200 billion dollars, but that was the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, right? There's never been a case where a single company was ordered to pay nearly 100 billion dollars.”

The largest settlement in U.S. legal history was 200 billion dollars.

But that was a lawsuit filed by 40 states against tobacco companies for conducting misleading marketing related to smoking.

In other words, it wasn't against a single tobacco company, but all tobacco companies in the U.S. shared the compensation.

But this is a lawsuit demanding that a single company pay as much as 100 billion dollars.

There has never been a lawsuit of this scale against a single company in history.

“We might be able to get compensation, but there’s no way we’ll receive the full 100 trillion won.”

“Of course. But after thinking about it carefully, I don’t think CEO Jung actually expects to receive 100 trillion won.”

“Huh? Then...”

“He’s trying to grab the public’s attention. You guys mentioned earlier that there’s never been a lawsuit worth 100 billion dollars in U.S. legal history. And there’s never even been a claim demanding that much.”

“That’s right. We’d be the first.”

“Exactly. Naturally, the media is going to go wild over this, won’t they?”

Even without this, the United States and the rest of the world were already heating up over Losthood. Everyone was waiting for someone to step forward and gather investors to lead a lawsuit.

“What do you think will happen if we step in at this moment? Especially while claiming 100 billion dollars in damages.”

“Everyone knows it’s an absurd amount of compensation, but we’ll definitely grab all the attention.”

“Exactly. And at the same time, KW Exchange will launch an aggressive marketing campaign. They just released a new app that allows trading of U.S. stocks.”

“Taking all of Losthood’s members?”

“That’s right. That’s our role. To inform the global media in the most provocative way possible and blow up the scale. Advertising it as the first 100 billion dollar lawsuit in U.S. history.”

Just hearing it was enough to make one’s fingertips tingle.

Even on a global scale, there hadn’t been a lawsuit close to 100 billion dollars.

And to pursue such a massive lawsuit now, with all media attention focused on Losthood?

And it’s our Legal Team doing it!?

“But there’s one thing everyone needs to keep in mind. Even though we’re putting forward 100 billion dollars to draw public interest, we still have to approach this lawsuit with the intent to win. It may be a marketing strategy for the company, but for us, it’s a battle we absolutely must win. You understand what I mean, right?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Okay. Then everyone, start preparing the materials. We’re going straight into a meeting.”

After sending off the staff, Managing Director Kim Jae-hyun also started moving busily for the first time in a while.

Then, suddenly, the expression on CEO Jung Jin-ho’s face came to mind, when he mentioned the 100 trillion won compensation.

A smile filled with confidence and composure.

But it didn’t seem like he was doing this simply to actually get 100 trillion won.

It was the face of a predator, aiming for something beyond what Kim Jae-hyun could even imagine.

***

“What? H-how much?”

“100 billion dollars. The lawsuit hasn’t been officially filed yet, but they’re widely advertising it across all media outlets. They’re saying that any investor who suffered losses from GameStop can join the lawsuit just by filling out a simple form. And the amount they’re claiming in damages is a staggering 100 billion dollars.”

“What the hell. These crazy bastards…! There’s a limit to how much of a show you can put on!”

Losthood had already been prepared for some member outflow after removing the buy button.

They also assumed Kwangwoon and Milon Tusk would lose interest now that they had achieved their respective goals.

In fact, Milon Tusk had made no particular statements after the incident.

But the real problem was Kwangwoon.

“It seems Kwangwoon was aiming for this from the beginning. As if they knew we would remove the buy button, they moved with lightning speed. They’re preparing the lawsuit in coordination with major U.S. law firms.”

“The real issue is the outflow of members. Kwangwoon is offering the class-action lawsuit service for free, but with one condition: they have to sign up for KW Exchange. They're instructing users to go into the app and apply directly. And just like us, they’ve made trading fees for U.S. stocks completely free.”

At first, it seemed like Kwangwoon was simply trying to crush Losthood to weaken its influence and protect KW Exchange.

But their goal wasn’t just to crush Losthood.

They intended to absorb all of Losthood’s members.

“Is it at a dangerous level?”

“Yes. It’s a very dangerous level. A considerable number of members have already left. What’s more, Kwangwoon is leveraging social media to highlight the stability and financial strength of KW Exchange, while at the same time spreading only malicious news about Losthood.”

In the past, TV and newspaper ads were the most powerful forms of publicity.

But now, there’s no tool that can surpass social media.

Social media is the ultimate marketing weapon.

And Kwangwoon had seized control of that very medium.

“Th-then what happens now?”

“If this situation continues... it will be a digital bank run.”

“!?”

A digital bank run, or broker run.

This phenomenon occurs when members concentrated in one securities firm begin to move en masse to another firm.

Just as a bank run happens when people suddenly rush in and withdraw their money, the same could happen to a securities firm.

However, bank runs are rare, and digital bank runs are even more unlikely.

But now, of all places, a digital bank run was threatening Losthood, the number one firm in the United States!

“What should we do?”

“What do you mean what should we do! Of course we have to stop it! Are you just going to sit back and watch all the money drain out and the company collapse!?”

“B-but how can we stop customers from wanting to withdraw their money?”

“Just come up with some kind of excuse. Say there's a server issue, or like we removed the buy button, just remove the withdraw button too! You guys were the ones who said to pull the buy button and now look at the mess we’re in!”

As Taines raged, the executives were left speechless.

And at the same time, they all felt the same thing.

They needed to escape, before it was too late.

***

“This... seems to be getting way bigger than expected, CEO-nim.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It looks like the impact of the 100 billion dollars you put forward hit the public harder than we thought.”

“We didn’t even ask the media to write articles, but they’re going wild with it. It’s exactly the kind of sensational story journalists love, right? A 100 billion dollar lawsuit, unprecedented in American history! That’s all they need for a headline.”

At that moment, all media outlets across the United States were running headlines about the 100 billion dollar lawsuit Kwangwoon had filed.

And this wasn’t only happening in the U.S.

Media overseas were also covering the incident in a big way, reporting that Kwangwoon had drawn their sword on behalf of countless victims.

“Online communities are on fire too. People are saying Kwangwoon is bearing the cost on behalf of innocent victims. Public sentiment overwhelmingly sees us as heroes.”

“Of course, there are some who criticize this 100 billion dollar lawsuit as a ploy by KW Exchange to steal Losthood’s members... but they’re a tiny minority. The overwhelming majority is cheering us on.”

“On top of that, we’re seeing a huge influx of new members from the U.S. and other countries. Since GameStop was a global phenomenon, there are a lot of victims. With us saying all they have to do is sign up for KW Exchange and fill out some documents, they’re all flocking in.”

We offered an unprecedented condition to all KW Exchange members: if they simply submitted a short form, we would represent them in a class-action lawsuit.

And it was working incredibly well.

“What’s the actual user data?”

“Since U.S. stock trading is now free, more than 80% are signing up and immediately using Bitcoin or U.S. stock services.”

While Bitcoin trading still incurs fees, the U.S. stock side could be run on a different system, allowing us to waive those fees.

On top of that, we had overwhelming financial strength, so even if another GameStop-level incident occurred, we wouldn’t suffer any losses.

If we ever did face liquidity issues, we could always secure funding through the Kwangwoon Group.

That’s what we were highlighting: unlike others, we would never resort to something as disgraceful as removing the buy button, and we were using that to draw in more users.

“That’s why there’s increasing talk about a digital bank run right now. So many people are leaving Losthood that it’s becoming a real concern.”

It’s not just because they’re our competitor, we genuinely felt no sympathy for Losthood.

Removing the buy button and forcing users to sell? In the 21st century, how could something like that even happen?

“Apparently Losthood sensed the crisis too, because they’ve completely blocked withdrawals.”

“What...? Is that even allowed?”

“They’re the ones who removed the buy button, blocking withdrawals is nothing to them. They suddenly cited server issues and blocked transfers to other accounts.”

“They’re really something else.”

“Yes. If anything, they should be bowing their heads and apologizing. But this? It only works in our favor. Out of spite, even more users will flood to our side, and once all of Losthood’s disgraceful actions are presented in court, it could lead to a ruling in our favor.”

But at this rate, Losthood really might file for bankruptcy due to a digital bank run.

“Judging by how things are unfolding, it’s not impossible. There’s no way the U.S. government will just stand by while they forcibly block withdrawals. A massive securities firm like Losthood would basically be dismantled.”

“Then the impact on the stock market would be massive, right?”

“Yes. And even now, problems are already emerging in the real estate product sector. REITs, real estate funds, bonds, and so on. As Losthood members begin selling off all their assets- especially the real estate sector, where large amounts of money had been invested due to its reputation for high dividends, is plummeting.”

The Department Head handed me a separate report.

“This is an analysis of which stocks are likely to be heavily affected if Losthood actually goes bankrupt.”

I examined the report he gave me.

Real estate-related products were already in a crash phase, and many projections said the downturn would continue.

But what caught my eye was something else.

“...Virena?”

Only this company was shining with an unusually intense light.

“Ah. That’s a Canadian company. Canada is the third-largest wheat exporter in the world, as you know. Virena is one of the major players.”

“A wheat-selling company?”

“Yes. Wheat is their main product. They’re the biggest exporter in Canada. The problem is, last year, Canada went through a severe famine and experienced the worst harvest season in its history. That alone put the company in a tough position, but if Losthood really collapses, there are concerns that Canadian Virena could be in danger.”

Virena was acquired last year by a company called Ramsey.

The issue is, Ramsey is a company that makes its money through real estate, and in aggressively acquiring several companies including Virena, it took on massive debt.

“And now that real estate products and bond prices have plunged, Ramsey is in trouble too?”

“Yes. The parent company is facing a financial crisis, Virena’s revenue has fallen due to the Canadian famine, and if the Losthood situation explodes on top of all that... the entire group may collapse.”

I nodded and was about to move on. I had never been particularly interested in grain-related sectors. Besides, the company was already being labeled risky due to the famine.

But to simply ignore it- this light that Virena was emitting wasn’t ordinary.

Why was a company that seemed on the brink of collapse radiating light like this?

“......”

Then, should I just touch it and see, even if it’s a mistake?

With a lighthearted mind, I carefully reached out my hand.

In that very instant.

“!?”

The entire world turned red, and countless explosion sounds and screams surged from all directions, making my whole body feel paralyzed.

I’ve seen many visions until now, but never anything this horrifying or terrifying.

‘W-what is this...’