Money Keeps Piling Up No Matter How Much I Spend

Chapter 134

Translator: Dreamscribe“Give me the report.”

CEO Kim Doo-young, who had rushed to work early in the morning, did not look pleased.

With his already intimidating face scowling, the atmosphere grew even more tense.

“The Ever Given, which was heading to the Netherlands, lost its course due to sudden strong winds, overspeeding, and a structural defect in the hull, and became stranded on the embankment of the canal.”

“When is the damage expected to be recovered?”

“The estimated time is 7 to 10 days.”

Kim Doo-young rubbed his face with his palm.

Seven to ten days.

For shipping, which is responsible for transportation, this was a fatal issue.

“So how many ships are unable to move?”

“If it really takes ten days for recovery, over 400 ships will be forcibly held.”

JIT.

Just In Time.

Also known as the zero-inventory system.

It’s a method applied in shipping and logistics, aiming to minimize inventory and reduce costs as much as possible.

Unnecessary goods are not handled, items are shipped only when needed, and only the necessary amount is stored.

It’s a highly efficient system that optimizes the time ships arrive at port, reduces unnecessary waiting time, and lessens port congestion.

“But the biggest drawback of this system shows at times like this. If transportation is delayed by more than two days due to missed schedules, the entire logistics system becomes paralyzed.”

"Right. But now you're saying we have to be stuck for ten days? Then what happens?"

“There will be a massive global logistics crisis. The damages alone will amount to tens of trillions of won. First of all, because energy resources aren’t being delivered, crude oil prices skyrocketed immediately after the accident.”

"What about the damage on our side?"

“They’re serious. As you know, Kwangwoon currently accounts for over 65% of global shipping. We also have an overwhelming number of vessels passing through the Suez.”

Due to the JIT system, transport had to follow an exact schedule.

If that was violated, a penalty had to be paid for the delay.

“Since this incident wasn’t caused by our mistake, we can avoid responsibility. If it becomes an issue, the blame should fall on Evermore Shipping, the company that owns the Ever Given.”

Evermore Shipping was a competitor of Kwangwoon Shipping based in Europe.

It could be said to be Europe’s countermeasure to block Kwangwoon’s monopoly.

Though it was originally a company with history.

It had recently grown through massive investments.

“Then we can sue Evermore Shipping for responsibility?”

“Yes. If we assess the damage, we could file a lawsuit worth several tens of billions of dollars.”

At that, the frown on Kim Doo-young’s face began to ease.

“Wait. Then if we play this right, we could inflict fatal damage on Evermore, couldn’t we?”

“Yes. It’s entirely possible. Although we will take a hit for now, if we shift all the blame to Evermore, we could deal them a significant blow.”

That significant blow could even be the decisive strike that drives Evermore to the brink of bankruptcy.

Suppressing the smirk rising on his lips, Kim Doo-young resumed grasping the situation.

“Which area is in most urgent need right now?”

“Indonesia. We were transporting the vaccines produced in response to the new virus variant, remember? And of all times, the accident occurred on the day the shipment was passing through the Suez Canal.”

Ah. The vaccines.

That was right.

When the vaccines were first distributed globally, both air and sea transport were used.

But most of it relied on air transport.

However, after the first round of distribution was completed, everyone began to use sea transport instead.

The shipping fees for air transport were ridiculously high, so everyone preferred sea transport.

Of course, Kim Doo-young’s influence played a part.

Wasn’t it a waste to leave everything to air transport?

At that time, shipping had virtually no business at all.

So he built a system to ensure that the second round of vaccine distribution would rely solely on shipping. And the countries didn’t really object.

Using sea transport over air transport resulted in significant cost savings.

Some criticized Kwangwoon for monopolizing both vaccines and logistics, but Kim Doo-young didn’t care.

If we let our guard down even a little, Kwangwoon Shipping could be torn apart again like before.

Hadn’t he sworn never to let such a tragedy happen again?

“But this is a bit of a problem.”

It was unfortunate, but there was no helping it.

It’s not like Kwangwoon deliberately caused the vessel to run aground.

“How is the recovery operation going?”

“The Egyptian government is doing its best to carry out the recovery, but since this is their first time facing such a situation, it seems they’re overwhelmed. That’s why they’ve also requested help from our side at Kwangwoon.”

“They want us to send technicians?”

“Yes. If we gather all the engineers we have and remove the grounded vessel, the route could reopen.”

“.......”

The executive making the report glanced at Kim Doo-young’s expression.

“But it seems you have no intention of doing that, CEO-nim.”

“Well, the route is already blocked. And with the JIT system now broken, a global logistics crisis is inevitable. But all of that responsibility falls on Evermore. So then, what would be the most beneficial thing for us?”

“......If the recovery is delayed as much as possible, the amount Evermore has to be liable for will increase. If it reaches an unmanageable level, they won’t be able to hold on. That would mean we could eliminate a competitor without lifting a finger.”

At that response, both Kim Doo-young and the executives drew faint smiles on their lips.

“You understand well. Then you all know what needs to be done, right?”

***

They had thought that by tightening security at home and keeping watch everywhere, it would be enough.

That even Kwangwoon wouldn’t be able to make a move in such conditions.

“Who would’ve thought something would explode from the outside.”

The Suez Canal had come to a halt.

How on earth was anyone supposed to predict or prevent that?

“They’re vicious people. We never imagined they’d block the canal.”

“Is this really Kwangwoon’s doing? No matter how ruthless they are, would they really block the canal? How would they deal with the aftermath? Do we have any results from the investigation?”

“It’s still ongoing. The captain keeps repeating that it was a simple mistake. As always, there’s no physical evidence. But the incident happened right when ships headed to Indonesia were trying to pass through the Suez.”

President Joko slowly nodded at the vice president’s words.

“But there’s still a chance it wasn’t them, right?”

“From what I’ve heard, the Egyptian government requested help from Kwangwoon, but Kwangwoon is responding half-heartedly.”

“What? The ship needs to be moved immediately to reopen the canal!”

“They probably see no reason to. After all, they caused it. And the company involved in this accident is Evermore, a European shipping firm. This is a perfect chance for them to screw over their competitor.”

So they had pulled this stunt to catch two rabbits with one stone?

It was an outrage, but even more appalling was the fact that there was no way to retaliate.

“The urgent issue right now is the vaccines. If things had gone as scheduled, we would’ve been able to distribute them within a few days. But if they drag this incident out to the end, vaccine distribution will become impossible.”

Starting with the second round of vaccine distribution, Kwangwoon had built a shipping route exclusively through sea transport, making it so that transport could only be done via shipping.

Honestly, there were no complaints.

Unlike air transport, which required multiple flights for distribution, shipping could deliver everything with a single vessel.

So although it took more time, everyone had opted for shipping due to the drastically reduced transportation costs.

But they hadn’t considered one thing back then.

That this would provide Kwangwoon with a leverage point.

“Then what if we receive the vaccines via air transport?”

“The transportation cost will be much higher, but we should be able to receive the supply quickly. The problem is… Kwangwoon might use the excuse of additional vaccine production to delay the supply. They might even refuse to supply the vaccines at all.”

Just like how Indonesia had dragged things out to avoid paying its share to the Korean government.

Now that they were on the receiving end, there was nothing more infuriating.

“So what should we do?”

“We have no choice but to give them what they want.”

“Nickel? Are you saying all of this was done just to get that one resource?”

“They’ve recently expanded their influence into Canada, haven’t they? And Canada has outstanding nickel processing technology. It’s too blatant to be a coincidence, don’t you think?”

If they had just handed over the nickel ore when asked, none of this would’ve happened.

Because they didn’t, now they were going to have to pay double at a time when they couldn’t afford to waste a penny.

“......Send it.”

“What?”

“Nickel. Give them as much as they want. Then they’ll hand over the vaccines, right? Are you planning to shut down the tourism industry for good?”

The burning rage of having to surrender to those bastards surged up, but he had no choice but to accept it.

If they held out any longer, who knew what kind of retaliation might come next, and how much the country would stagger because of it?

***

“What? The Indonesian government?”

“Yes. They say they’ll sell all the nickel ore at cost. We can take as much as we want......?”

“All of a sudden?”

“Yes. At first, I thought it was a mistranslation. But I checked several times, and it’s accurate. They’re partially lifting the nickel ore export restrictions just for Kwangwoon.”

It was a strange turn of events.

Wasn’t it the Indonesian government that had firmly declared they’d never give up their nickel?

Even when developed countries had filed lawsuits and exerted pressure at a national level, they hadn’t batted an eye.

“I think it’s because of the vaccines. With the Suez Canal incident, they’ve practically lost access to the vaccines, so it’s like their house is on fire.”

“So in exchange for rapid vaccine supply, they’re offering nickel?”

“Yes. Considering they also sent a request to deliver the vaccines as soon as possible, that seems to be the case.”

Did they think we were going to threaten them with vaccines?

I have not even the slightest intention of toying with human lives.

That’s why, the moment the Suez Canal incident happened, we began additional vaccine production and started exploring air transport options.

“The fortunate thing is that, thanks to the CEO’s advance directive for additional production due to concerns about potential outbreaks in other countries besides Indonesia, we can complete delivery within two days.”

“Everything can be transported by plane, right?”

“Yes. Oil prices have skyrocketed, so the transport cost is quite high, but the Indonesian government isn’t in a position to worry about that now.”

They even offered to cover the transportation costs.

And on top of that, they’re giving us nickel.

Unintentionally, everything had started to flow in the direction we wanted.

“Then we should send it quickly.”

“Yes. We were already looking into companies for air transport anyway. Since they said they’ll cover all the costs, we just need to load the goods and ship them.”

“Yes. Please go ahead with that. As quickly as possible. Before the virus spreads any further.”

“Got it, CEO-nim. Ah, and what about the nickel......?”

“They said they’d give us as much as we want, right?”

“Yes, that’s what they said.”

I smiled slightly.

“Then shouldn’t we take as much as we can?”

***

“Hmm? There you are. Didn’t you say you quit smoking?”

“Heh. The smoking room here is surprisingly well-built. Besides, after getting nagged again for the first time in a while, I really craved a cigarette.”

“Getting nagged?”

“Pfft. Don’t even get me started. Starting with, ‘That’s not how a tank should play’, they just went on and on... But why are you here smoking?”

“Me? I never said I quit.”

Kang Ji-hwan and Kim Doo-young sat in the smoking room, each lighting a cigarette.

“Hey. Did you know what this place was when you first came?”

“Of course. The Chairman asked me to play a game with him.”

“Then you should’ve told me what kind of place this was. Hah... I honestly thought it was some kind of massive secret organization and made a huge fuss…”

“Haha. Thanks to that, the Chairman and I had a good laugh.”

Even now, just thinking about it was ridiculous.

He had thought this secretive building was where members gathered to make critical decisions, but it turned out to be just a guild created by people who liked games.

The Chairman was the Guild Master.

CEO Jung Jin-ho was the Vice Guild Master.

And this building was personally constructed by Jung Jin-ho solely for the purpose of enjoying games even more.

“So, do you want to leave?”

“Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. The Chairman made me swear before I came in. You can come in freely, but leaving costs your life.”

"He must have really enjoyed deceiving you."

“Back then, it really made my knees shake.”

“But if you seriously wanted to leave, he wouldn’t stop you. He was just joking.”

Kim Doo-young knew that, too.

But he didn’t particularly want to leave.

“It’s... not as bad as I thought. The guild members here too. I thought games had nothing to do with me, but once I started learning, it’s actually fun.”

“There’s something that gets you fired up when dozens of people gather, communicate, take on raids together, and clear them.”

That was the same reason why Kang Ji-hwan had stayed in the guild all this time.

Of course, he still got nagged to improve his controls.

“Besides, I really like this facility. We can relax comfortably after a raid. There are plenty of amenities. But... these guild members, their average age seems pretty high?”

“It’s because the game’s old.”

“Well, that’s true, but when I talked to them, some were company executives, others ran big businesses. There’s even a government employee.”

“So what?”

“They say CEO Jung personally recruited the guild members after becoming Vice Guild Master. As the guild went through some reshuffling, the current members were solidified.”

In other words, about half of the current guild members were handpicked by Jung Jin-ho.

“You’ve only been here a short time, but you’ve found out a lot.”

“What’s the shipping industry about? It’s all about building connections. It’s how we make a living, so it’s just occupational instinct kicking in.”

“Well, I doubt he picked them based on their jobs. Most of them were probably people he met through the game.”

“No ulterior motives?”

“Right. It’s a group purely gathered to enjoy the game.”

True enough. From what Kim Doo-young had seen, the people here really did just love gaming.

That’s probably why they built a place like this and met up regularly.

“Have you heard of the Freemasons?”

“Huh? That group from all those conspiracy theories?”

“They were originally a guild of stonemasons. They shared architectural techniques, protected each other, and built networks. That kind of group.”

“And then it suddenly grew huge?”

“Yeah. As people in prominent positions in society started joining, the group grew to an incredible scale.”

That’s how the Freemasons became a core subject in conspiracy theories even now.

“Why bring that up all of a sudden?”

“Just... this place reminded me of them.”

“You’ve watched too many movies. Rest a bit and come out. You and I are both tanks, so we need to practice syncing up.”

“Ugh. I’m going to get scolded again for playing badly, huh.”

“Then just play well.”

With that, Kang Ji-hwan stubbed out his cigarette and left first.

Left alone, Kim Doo-young sat in quiet thought.

“A game guild...”

A game guild full of people who, suspiciously, held prominent positions.

Even if it had started as just a game guild, like the Freemasons who began as stonemasons, who could say what the future of this guild might hold?