Money Keeps Piling Up No Matter How Much I Spend

Chapter 91

Translator: Dreamscribe“What I want isn’t actually that much. Mainly companies in the chemical sector.”

I thought he was drunk, but as soon as the serious business talk began, the drunkenness completely vanished from Chairman Kang Sung-ho’s face like it had never been there.

“And if we acquire those companies, it’ll be good for you too, CEO Jung.”

I had a feeling what kind of companies Chairman Kang Sung-ho was targeting.

“You’re aiming for semiconductor parts companies, right?”

“That’s right. The companies that manufacture the very items Japan used to bully us with recently. Of course, the Japanese government won’t give them up so easily. Plus, they're the companies with the highest market share in the world, so it'll be even more difficult. But thanks to you, CEO Jung, it might just be possible."

The collapse of YCC was sending ripples throughout all of Japan.

Even in normal countries, a 2% interest rate hike is a significant shock, but in Japan, which had been trapped in a zero-interest rate paradise for decades, interest rates had suddenly soared to 5%.

No matter how wealthy a large corporation may be, it would inevitably be shaken by such a shocking economic phenomenon.

And the companies Chairman Kang Sung-ho was eyeing weren’t exactly large corporations with abundant funds. Although they had overwhelming market shares in specific components, they were not very large in scale.

“By the way, CEO Jung, have you already picked out which companies in Japan you want to acquire?”

Japan was currently running the biggest bargain sale in its history.

So, it was possible that other funds or institutions might step in to try and swallow up these companies, but that wasn’t necessarily the case.

That’s because the sharp interest rate hikes in Japan were also quite a shock for them.

In particular, many financial firms holding a large amount of yen, considering it a safe asset like the dollar, were hit hard and had no capacity to look elsewhere.

“Actually, I’m looking into a few. Especially, there are two major shipping companies in Japan that I’m exploring how to acquire.”

“Oh~ As expected. You and I are on the same wavelength! Right. If we’re going to pressure Japan, we need to use shipping. Didn’t you adjust the shipping schedules on your end and cause chaos in their ports?”

The report I received from the Research Team included details on Japan’s major shipping companies.

CEO Kim Doo-young had aggressively expanded Kwangwoon Shipping and opted for a strategy of crushing rival companies with volume and pricing, and as a result, Japanese shipping companies also suffered significant damage.

Because of this, two out of the four companies that used to represent Japanese shipping had gone bankrupt, and only two remained.

Even those were barely hanging on.

In that case, rather than acquiring them, it might be better to just let them collapse.

But my intuition sparked at those two companies.

“With Japan’s economy already reeling, if the logistics sector is also in chaos, it’s going to be a huge headache for the Japanese government. But if Kwangwoon Shipping suddenly appears and says it will acquire those two Japanese companies and restore the chaotic ports to normal, they would welcome it, wouldn’t they?”

“They would.”

“Then our movements will become much freer. We handle the urgent matters for the Japanese government right away while continuing to control the semiconductor sector. Then if it comes up, we can just make excuses that we're delayed because we're handling urgent matters first."

“Yes.”

“By pretending to cooperate with the Japanese government like that, we take over the shipping companies and let the semiconductor companies wither away. And in the end, we handpick only the companies we want. Ha-. As expected of you, CEO Jung. You were seeing this far ahead, weren’t you?”

“.......”

Frankly, it seemed like Chairman Kang Sung-ho was the one beating the drum, playing the janggu, and catching the crayfish all by himself.

Still, hearing it all laid out, it did sound like a solid plan.

Maybe this was the picture my intuition had been hoping for all along.

***

Milon Tusk had stepped down from his position as chairman of Tesla's board of directors.

He had taken a hit by having to pay a fine of 20 million dollars due to this week’s stock manipulation scandal, but even now, he had no regrets.

Because if he could wipe out those arrogant short-sellers strutting around, he would gladly do something like that again several more times.

Moreover, stepping down from the chairman position did not mean Milon Tusk could no longer participate in Tesla’s management. That was because he was still the CEO.

“What about the satellites launched this time? Are they still functioning well?”

“Yes. From positioning to connection, everything was successful.”

However, running and growing the company was all for the sake of his ultimate goal.

That goal was terraforming Mars and relocating humanity there.

Everyone pointed fingers, saying it was impossible, merely a delusion, but Milon Tusk believed.

He believed that one day, the migration of humanity to Mars would become possible, and that he would be the one to begin it.

That’s why he created the company Tesla, and established Space T, pushing forward with the current project called World Link.

All of this for a single purpose.

For Mars.

“CEO. We have a major problem.”

But in business, obstacles are bound to appear.

The question was how big that obstacle was, because that would determine whether his dream could be realized or would collapse right here.

"What are you talking about? Suddenly they can't supply batteries?"

What is the most important thing at Tesla?

That would be the battery.

Tesla is a company that produces electric vehicles.

But if there are no batteries to power the cars, no matter how well-made they are, they become useless.

Electric vehicles rely on batteries to operate.

And the company in charge of those batteries, PitasoNic, suddenly halted production.

“To be precise, they say it’s impossible to produce them now due to the logistics chaos that erupted in Japan. Also, even the batteries that have already been produced cannot be shipped to the U.S. And on top of that, with the collapse of YCC, the entire Japanese economy is in crisis, so everything is a mess right now.”

PitasoNic is responsible for Tesla’s batteries.

A plant had been built in the state of Nevada, but the problem was that in order to manufacture finished products there, essential components had to be shipped from the Japanese factory.

Without those, no matter how many plants they build here, they simply cannot produce batteries.

“What the hell is going on? What happened while I was focused on other things?”

Milon Tusk hadn’t been receiving outside updates lately.

That was because of the test launch of the World Link project he was pushing forward.

Fortunately, the launch had ended successfully, but they were still in the process of testing how well it connected to the land.

And then, out of nowhere, something happened on the Japanese side.

“So someone is deliberately putting pressure on Japan?”

“Yes.”

“And that someone is Kwangwoon?”

“That’s correct.”

Kwangwoon again.

Just hearing that name sent a chill down his spine.

Not because of Kwangwoon itself, but because of the man operating behind it.

“What is the Japanese government doing? If they’re being attacked through logistics like that, they should be taking action!”

“On the contrary, they’re cooperating. Apparently, Kwangwoon reached out first, saying they would absorb the two Japanese shipping companies that were on the verge of collapse and also help clean up the port logistics.”

“And Japan just accepted that? Even though it’s clearly just a front to take advantage while pretending to be generous?”

“The Japanese government currently has no other options. With the collapse of YCC, their economy is already on the brink of ruin. If logistics fall apart on top of that, it becomes truly critical. So, the government handed over all logistics operations to Kwangwoon. Using that as an excuse, the logistics related to PitasoNic have been completely pushed back.”

The Japanese government must have been in a tough spot.

The YCC collapse was a financial event that sent global shockwaves.

And rumors were circulating that Kwangwoon was at the center of it.

No in fact, based on what Milon Tusk had uncovered, it was certain.

The reason the bear funds all simultaneously attacked Japan was because they were following behind Jung Jin-ho.

And there was a reason Jung Jin-ho triggered the YCC collapse.

It was to destroy the last remaining line of defense in Japan’s shipping industry, take control of it, and effectively obtain a weapon that could be used to threaten Japanese companies at any time.

The Japanese government should have at least protected that, but with the YCC collapse, they could no longer afford to delay and so, in the end, they surrendered.

Although Jung Jin-ho outwardly claimed he was helping Japan, the reality was that he had now created the perfect route to attack Japan at any time and devour the companies there.

“But why is he attacking us?”

PitasoNic was, in fact, a company that had gone through many difficulties.

They had tried to enter the home appliances, solar energy, and electronic components sectors, but were pushed out by other companies and were on the verge of collapse, until the rise of electric vehicles became their exit strategy.

The electric batteries they produced gained global recognition and became Tesla’s exclusive supplier.

Of course, they were increasing supply to other companies as well, but if PitasoNic were to be attacked, the first company to be shaken would be Tesla.

Other automakers could simply make gasoline cars, but Tesla produced only electric vehicles.

“Could it be that they’re trying to attack and acquire PitasoNic?”

“I don’t think that’s it. I haven’t heard anything about Kwangwoon acquiring large amounts of PitasoNic shares. It seems more likely that they’re disrupting our supply chain to deal a direct blow to Tesla.”

“But why? What did we ever do to them?”

“I’m not sure either…”

A flood of thoughts passed through Milon Tusk’s mind in that moment.

They weren’t attacking to acquire PitasoNic, so it was clear Tesla, the core of the supply chain, was the real target.

Why? Why on earth?

Was it because he had made Jung Jin-ho fly all the way to the U.S. the first time they met?

Or maybe… was it because of what happened last time?

Was Kwangwoon also dragged into suspicion because of the stock manipulation incident?

But in the end, Milon Tusk was the only one who underwent investigation at that time, and Kwangwoon wasn’t harmed at all.

“Ugh.”

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.

What had he done wrong to fall out of Jung Jin-ho’s favor?

If he had done something wrong, it would’ve been better if the man just called and said so.

“Did you try contacting Kwangwoon? Isn’t there any other way?”

“There is a way to get the parts using other shipping companies… but the costs are extremely high. And when we contact Kwangwoon Shipping, they just give the standard response saying they don’t know much about it.”

In the end, there was only one way to solve the issue.

“This has to be a sign telling me to go to him, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. No matter how we look at it, this time it’s a direct and blatant attack on our company.”

Milon Tusk exhaled briefly.

To think he had to meet Jung Jin-ho again.

It wasn’t exactly something he welcomed.

Was it because he played with Tesla stocks, jumping between longs and shorts?

Well, that part was fine.

Thanks to Jung Jin-ho, a lot of the short sellers had been purged.

Then why was meeting Jung Jin-ho so uncomfortable?

The truth was, it was an odd sense of fear.

How to describe it…

It was like being a herbivore in front of a predator.

Even if the predator wasn’t eyeing him as prey, the fear that it could open its jaws and devour him at any moment wrapped around him.

At first, he thought Jung Jin-ho was just a lucky investor.

But judging by everything that had happened so far, there was something more.

He didn’t know whether it was a power that moved world governments, or a meticulous strategy.

But he was afraid.

He was afraid of Jung Jin-ho.

That was the most accurate way to put it.

“Don’t go through Kwangwoon Shipping. Try reaching out to Kwangwoon Securities. We’ve had dealings with them before, so the communication line should still be open.”

“Yes. I’ll get on that right away.”

Still, he couldn’t just turn a blind eye to it.

When the other side was sending such a clear signal, ignoring it would surely lead to an even more intense attack next time.

***

“Who?”

“Milon Tusk. He says he wants a meeting with CEO-nim. As soon as possible. He even said he would fly to Korea himself.”

Why is that man coming all of a sudden?

“Recently, Kwangwoon Shipping acquired Japanese shipping companies and has been cooperating with Kangseong to apply pressure on the semiconductor sector, right? But it seems PitasoNic somehow got caught in the middle of that. Neither we at Kwangwoon nor Kangseong are targeting it specifically, though.”

In other words, it wasn’t an intentional harassment, PitasoNic just got caught up in the situation by accident.

Because the core batteries destined for Tesla were being produced there, it seemed Milon Tusk was rushing over to Korea in a panic.

"Hmm. If we adjust the logistics, PitasoNic's issue will be resolved immediately, right?"

“Yes. We actually contacted Kwangwoon Shipping, and they said that if CEO-nim gives the order to release it, they can dispatch the logistics right away.”

I see.

Then should I just go ahead and release the logistics?

There’s really no reason to meet with Milon Tusk.

Besides, I had no desire to see that intense, madness-filled face of his again, the one my intuition showed me the last time we met.

“Well then……”

I was about to tell the staff to prevent Tusk from coming to Korea.

“......!”

But as I opened my mouth to speak, no voice came out.

“CEO-nim?”

I tried several more times with effort, but my lips would not part in the end.

That’s when I felt it.

My intuition was urging me, telling me to meet Milon Tusk one more time.

“......Could you bring me the materials on what kind of projects Milon Tusk is currently working on?”

“Ah, yes. I actually expected you might ask, so I already secured a report summarizing recent trends regarding Milon Tusk and his companies.”

“Oh, thank you. As expected of you, Department Head.”

“Haha. I figured I should be able to anticipate this much by now.”

I flipped through the report.

Milon Tusk was running multiple projects through his companies.

Especially the dream of migrating humanity to Mars remained unchanged, and he was heavily investing in rocket engine development through Space T.

The rest didn’t seem particularly noteworthy, so I skimmed through them, until something caught my eye.

“World Link?”

“Ah. It’s a type of satellite communication service. In Korea, all telecom companies rely on ground-based stations, right? But this aims to launch a massive number of satellites, so networks can reach every corner of the globe. The problem is, launching that many satellites costs an astronomical amount of money. And more importantly, the company isn’t publicly listed, so it’s not even open to investment.”

It would still be a few years before it became commercially viable.

But apparently, Milon Tusk had already launched two satellites and begun test operations.

“If this succeeds, they say it could become the next-generation communication system.”

“Ugh. I wish something like this would come to Korea. Remember when that one cell tower caught fire and our communications were down for a whole week?”

Public sentiment toward Korea’s telecom companies isn’t very good.

They sucked money from us through high mobile internet bills in our youth, and if Apple hadn’t entered the market, we might never have even gotten Wi-Fi on our phones.

And then there’s the outdated “single device subsidy law” and other similarly antiquated policies.

All of this is possible because of the monopoly.

The three telecom companies that dominate Korea aren’t competing, they’re colluding to block new competitors and maintain absolute control.

“But there’s no helping it. There’s no way to beat those three. Even the spectrum auctions are run by the government, and they’re all rigged to favor those three companies.”

So right now, no matter how much money you throw at it, there’s no way to push out those three.

But then, a thought suddenly came to me.

You can’t beat land-based telecom providers.

But isn’t there a saying that “those who fly surpass those who run”?

What if it's not ground-based, but based in space?

“.......”

I quietly reached my hand toward World Link.

“!?”

At that very moment.

A strong trembling surged through me, and an image was forcibly imprinted onto my retina.

Thousands no, tens of thousands of satellites spreading across the Earth, dominating all communication networks, in a chilling yet tangible vision of the near future.

I felt like I knew what my intuition was trying to say.

The future of telecommunications… was now in Milon Tusk’s hands.

*****

For 30 or more extra chapters, you can check out my Patreon here --> patreon.com/dreamscribe

If you enjoy this novel, please review and rate it at Novelupdates. Thanks! ????

To receive the latest update notifications or report mistakes, join our Discord server linked below.