Money Keeps Piling Up No Matter How Much I Spend

Chapter 194

Translator: Dreamscribe"Seriously...... They actually approved this at headquarters?"

"Yes. They say we're to follow the scenario the Strategy Team put together and move into action the moment the KW Exchange establishes itself in China."

Anthony Watson let out a scoff as he reviewed the directives that had come down from headquarters.

If he had still been a CIA man rather than part of Kwangwoon's Sentinel, he would have looked at this scenario and said one thing:

An impossible mission.

But now, his assessment was different.

It was still a difficult operation, certainly, but there was a real chance of success.

"China's surveillance apparatus is the best in the world. They're pouring everything they have into monitoring their military systems especially."

The United States had run operations against China time and again, trying to provoke internal strife. But not a single one had ever worked.

The reason was that China's current surveillance network was so airtight that finding a gap was nearly impossible.

The problem was that the system kept advancing with each passing day.

Recently, they had even introduced AI systems, reaching a level where they could monitor and control the entire Chinese populace and military alike.

"On top of that, the generals never really had a justification for staging a coup."

There was a saying that war is all about justification.

Without it, even the mightiest army would waver.

Russia's failure to fully push through Ukraine wasn't just due to Ukraine's tenacious resistance; it was also because morale within the Russian military itself had hit rock bottom.

They had no justification.

"Exactly. What's more, the generals have been enjoying enormous wealth and power, so they've been perfectly content with the Chinese system."

That was the problem.

No grievances, no justification.

At least, that had been the case until a few years ago.

"But it's true that when Kwangwoon burst the real estate bubble and major corporations started falling one after another, the generals' fortunes took a serious hit. And then, in the past few years, the Chinese government sent several generals to the execution block, claiming they were purging the Reform Faction."

"And that bred resentment among the commanders who served under those generals?"

"Yes. Those commanders actually have an easier time mobilizing troops. The problem is that unlike the generals, they haven't amassed personal fortunes, so they're short on war funds."

That was precisely what Kwangwoon intended to solve.

"But China has an extensive surveillance apparatus over its military that tracks the flow of funds as well."

"Which is exactly why the KW Exchange is going in."

Bitcoin, the worldwide phenomenon.

The Chinese government, however, had preemptively blocked Bitcoin, prohibiting transactions entirely.

"Because it could be used as war funding."

They could monitor every flow of money within China, but Bitcoin was a new monetary system that lay beyond their surveillance net.

It was the fear that it could be leveraged as military funding that had led them to ban trading outright.

"Their fears were justified. The reason Kwangwoon is pushing so hard to get the KW Exchange in first is precisely to channel war funds."

The situation in China right now was dire.

Back-to-back economic crises compounded by crop failures had sent prices through the roof long ago. Common people were looting because they had nothing to eat, and soldiers, even when they received their pay, found it laughably insufficient, their discontent boiling over.

"The problem is that this discontent has been festering for years, and now another financial crisis coupled with yet another crop failure has pushed things to the breaking point."

In this environment, Kwangwoon was simultaneously offering a Bitcoin exchange and food, something that could at least partially quell the people's anger.

"So Kwangwoon is entering at the perfect moment."

"No. They've been following the roadmap they drew up since the Tianjin port explosion to the letter. Kwangwoon clearly saw all of this coming."

No matter how many times he saw it, the company never ceased to amaze him.

How on earth had they planned all of this so meticulously, years in advance?

"But there will be quite a few generals who won't be swayed."

"Sure. The kind of people who couldn't care less if their subordinates drop dead, as long as they and their families are safe. But what if their own beloved children are in danger?"

"Pardon?"

"Compile a list of every general and official we need to turn, along with the exact overseas locations of their children. All of them."

A great many elite Chinese nationals were residing abroad.

Generally speaking, any Chinese person one encountered overseas had a decent chance of being the family member of a Party official.

And the children of numerous generals were likewise living abroad.

If money couldn't sway them, then rougher methods would have to be employed.

Back in the CIA, there had been human rights, laws, regulations, and all manner of constraints.

But Sentinel could not afford to be picky about its means when it came to fulfilling Kwangwoon's objectives.

"Don't you want to find out whether these generals prioritize loyalty to the Party, or protecting their children?"

"But...... if we take their children hostage and threaten them, they might cooperate in the short term, but it won't last."

"That's fine. Just looking at Kwangwoon's stance, they're not doing this to prop up one particular side. If they really wanted to make the Reform Faction the next regime, they would've concentrated their support there. But they're going for indiscriminate distribution, aren't they? This is about wanting China itself to fracture."

"What does Kwangwoon gain from that? If anything, Chinese factories shutting down and production grinding to a halt would send the entire world......"

Anthony smiled faintly at his subordinate's words.

"Into chaos. That's exactly what they want."

"Right. Think about what happens when China, the country responsible for global production, falls into civil war and its factories stop running."

The world had already tasted that terror once during COVID.

But this would be a shutdown caused by war.

Far more severe than what COVID had wrought.

"Every time crisis strikes, while everyone else falls, Kwangwoon soars higher. It'll be the same this time."

Even so, the idea that Kwangwoon had spent years laying the groundwork to cripple the world's production systems defied comprehension.

Which meant Kwangwoon was looking at something else entirely.

But even Anthony could not discern what that ultimate objective was.

* * *

"......"

I let out a short sigh as I looked at the bodyguards stationed at every corner of the company, their presence almost suffocating.

It wasn't just the company.

My home was blanketed with bodyguards too. Having them sweep the house before I even stepped inside was standard procedure now, and advance security checks before visiting anywhere else had become mandatory.

On top of that, escort vehicles clung to me every time I moved, making it look like some kind of presidential motorcade.

"Your safety is the top priority, CEO-nim. We all understand completely."

Surveillance on employees had been tightened as well, which could easily have bred complaints, but no one said a word. In fact, everyone was actively cooperating, saying it was necessary.

"What about the KW Exchange on the China side? Did it go in smoothly?"

"Yes. The Chinese government has been providing support very quickly, so the KW Exchange is now available in China. All you need to do is download it on your phone."

Opening the KW Exchange in the Chinese market hadn't been particularly difficult.

As long as the Chinese government approved it, all they had to do was buy up servers there in bulk, or install additional ones, and open the exchange.

"Then we just need to deliver the food supplies?"

"Yes. Since the Chinese government accepted the negotiations, Kwangwoon Shipping has already started transporting the food. The question is whether that amount will actually be enough to resolve China's food crisis."

China had an enormous amount of farmland.

But some regions had suffered historically bad crop failures, while others had been devastated by record-breaking floods, making it nearly impossible to harvest anything. That had been the fatal blow.

Moreover, even what little had been harvested was nowhere near enough; China simply had far too many mouths to feed.

Even importing from other countries came at such steep costs that ordinary people could barely afford it.

We were trying to alleviate their problem, even if only a little.

"CEO-nim. The Strategy Team is suggesting we space out the food deliveries."

"Why?"

"They're concerned that China might suddenly turn on us after receiving the food. Honestly, if they wanted to, they could just take the servers down and shut our exchange out at any time. So the idea is to hold back and deliver the food as slowly as possible until we have solid safeguards in place."

Hearing that, I furrowed my brow.

"Then the ones who suffer are innocent civilians, aren't they? People are starving right now because they have no food. If we decide to play a power game with the Chinese government, who's going to save those people?"

"That's......"

"Tell Kwangwoon Shipping exactly what I said. No spacing it out. Deliver all the food immediately."

I didn't want to blame the Strategy Team for their cold-blooded approach.

The Strategy Team existed to serve the company's interests.

And from their perspective, delivering all the food at once must have looked like a risk.

But I believed that even if the Chinese government stabbed us in the back and shut down the servers, we should never exploit something that involved people's lives purely for our own gain.

"......"

Still, just to be safe, I closed my eyes for a moment and waited for my Intuition to react.

I waited for what felt like a while.

"!"

My Intuition must have agreed that the Strategy Team had gone too far, because it surged powerfully in response.

"Relay the order immediately. And give me real-time reports on whether our shipments are actually making it into China."

"Yes, sir. Understood."

Even if the Chinese government truly betrayed our expectations this time, it would be alright.

Because even if it meant taking the long way around, I believed my sincerity would reach them eventually.

* * *

"What? What happened to the shipment we sent?"

"They say the military suddenly stormed in and completely seized the entire area."

"Who the hell did that? No, wait, before that, are our ships and crew safe?"

"Yes. Fortunately, it happened after we had finished unloading everything and pulled out."

Director Yang Jeong-gu, head of Kwangwoon's Strategy Team, let out a sigh of relief.

"So who did this? Attacking government food supplies without a second thought? Was it the Reform Faction?"

"No. Apparently a general named Tian Gang led the 74th Group Army of the Southern Theater Command in an attack on Guangzhou Port."

The 74th Group Army was under the central government's direct control.

"So it wasn't the Reform Faction; it was someone from the central government who betrayed the Party?"

"Yes. Based on the circumstances, that's how it appears. But if the 74th Army mobilized, this Tian Gang couldn't have acted alone."

In a way, the very thing China had feared most had come to pass.

In truth, for the past several weeks, China had been rooting out Reform Faction members trying to incite internal conflict, capturing and ruthlessly purging any officials connected to them.

Yet it wasn't the Reform Faction that had moved. A military unit under the central government itself had conducted an independent operation and seized the massive food shipment flowing into Guangzhou Port.

"What...... should we do? CEO-nim Jung Jin-ho wanted all the food sent at once so the Chinese people wouldn't suffer from hunger."

"Do you actually believe that?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you really think CEO-nim Jung Jin-ho sent all that food because he felt sorry for the Chinese people?"

"......"

Initially, Director Yang had wanted Kwangwoon Shipping to deliver the food in small, spaced-out intervals to keep the KW Exchange operational in China for as long as possible.

After all, the whole point of forcing the KW Exchange in was to use Bitcoin as a channel for transferring funds.

Yet strangely, CEO Jung Jin-ho had ordered them not to space it out and to deliver all the food at once. So that the common people suffering from the food crisis would no longer have to endure it.

But think about it.

Had Jung Jin-ho really done that out of concern for those people?

The Tianjin port explosion, the financial crisis, the real estate bubble.

Every single one had been engineered as part of Jung Jin-ho's plans.

If he had truly cared about them, he would never have done any of it.

Which meant there had been another motive all along.

"So this is what it was."

"Sir?"

"Sending all the food at once this time. This is what he was after."

He had deliberately sent the food to Guangzhou all at once to focus attention there.

And, as if on cue, military action had followed to seize those supplies.

Had they followed the Strategy Team's advice and spaced out the deliveries, no one would have made such a bold move.

"Then sending all the food at once was to give them justification to start an internal conflict......"

"Exactly. It's not just civilians who are hungry right now. Soldiers are losing their minds over meager pay and skyrocketing prices too. And for them, what better justification is there than food?"

When CEO Jung Jin-ho had said to deliver the food quickly for the sake of the common people, Director Yang had very nearly been fooled.

For a brief moment, he had thought, 'Well, at least he's not the kind of person who'd toy with human lives.'

But of course, he should have known better.

"How can one person be this ruthless?"

They say a true strategist has neither blood nor tears.

Director Yang had learned yet another hard lesson from Jung Jin-ho today.