Chapter 373: The Wolf of Capital and the Divine Weapon’s Sequel

Chapter 373: Chapter 373: The Wolf of Capital and the Divine Weapon’s Sequel

Late November, Wall Street, United States.

In stark contrast to the efforts of the World Alliance nations, each using their own methods to safeguard their people, an air of depression lingered here, refusing to dissipate.

The financial system was still holding on, but the stock market was continuously in the red, having already crashed several times.

Practically anyone with a shred of financial literacy was pessimistic about stocks and securities. And how could savvy players like traders and Bankers possibly be unaware of the current situation?

So, had they fled?

In reality, the situation was a bit different.

Wallace Wood, a fifty-five-year-old Wall Street financial tycoon, was not only adept at stock market futures but also enjoyed earning his fortune by breaking up, merging, and acquiring bankrupt companies.

There was certainly no shortage of such financiers on Wall Street; Wood was simply one of the more famous ones.

At this moment, he stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of his office, a glass of red wine in one hand and a cigar clenched in his teeth, gazing at the scenery outside.

The pedestrians on the street below were still dressed in suits, but they all seemed to be in a hurry.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK~

A knock came from the door.

Without changing his posture, Wood took a sip of his wine.

"Come in."

"Sir, we’ve recovered fifty percent of the capital from your overseas investment projects. I’m afraid getting the rest back anytime soon isn’t realistic."

The person who entered was Wood’s secretary, a young man with a brilliant talent for finance.

"Hmph. Fifty percent is already quite good. Take ninety percent of that and throw it back in. Grab whatever you can get."

The secretary understood what Wood meant; they had done this several times before. He looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue, his confusion making it hard for him to speak.

The graying Wood turned, placed his wine glass on the wooden desk, and took a drag from his cigar.

"Charlie, you’re an outstanding young man. You have a genius’s instinct for capital that reminds me of myself when I was young."

"Is there something you want to say?"

Since his boss had asked, Charlie no longer held back.

"Sir, many people are scrambling to pull out their capital. Why would someone like you do the exact opposite? There’s no way you can’t see the situation for what it is!"

Wood didn’t answer immediately. He took two puffs of his cigar, and only after exhaling the smoke did he speak slowly.

"Charlie, you say I can see the situation clearly, but have you truly seen it clearly yourself?"

Charlie was normally quite conceited, but now he didn’t dare to answer rashly. ’What on earth does Mr. Wood mean?’

Fortunately, he didn’t have to ponder for long. Wood gave him the answer.

"Wall Street has massive interest groups that control astonishing amounts of capital. But a large portion of us don’t actually produce anything, yet we rake in the most abundant wealth."

"Just like the methods I often use, just like the breakups and acquisitions of other financiers..."

"Ordinary people, even typical businesses in distress, can’t possibly fight us! Rather than calling them business tactics, it’s more accurate to say we’re just engaged in legal robbery!"

Charlie’s brow furrowed. He couldn’t make sense of these self-deprecating and cynical words.

"You were right about one thing: I see things very clearly. And so do some of the old-timers on this street."

"The rules have changed, Charlie. The rules have changed!"

"Even if it looks like they haven’t, they have!"

Charlie noticed that at this moment, the hand Wood was using to hold his cigar was trembling slightly.

"For me now, money has truly become just a number. The apocalypse isn’t just empty talk—you know that much. Let me tell you a few things you don’t know!"

"Thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of years ago, we faced this same kind of apocalypse. The ancient Guardian factions called it the Dark Tide..."

"This isn’t some zombie virus from a sci-fi movie, nor is it a resource crisis. It’s an invasion by monsters from other worlds. Those things are the source of fear in ancient human genetic memory. They’re the most primitive reason why humans are afraid of the dark!"

"Those earthquakes aren’t caused by so-called tectonic shifts. They’re a sign that worlds are nearing a collision. This isn’t a crisis you can overcome with personal wealth, nor is it a disaster you can escape by flying somewhere else. We need protection!"

He clipped the end of his cigar and gently set it down, as if to calm the trembling in his limbs.

"In an apocalypse like this, what do you think the maintainers of order might do to a robber? I don’t want to wait for them to make a move!"

Wood’s question sent a chill down the quick-witted Charlie’s spine.

"So, the financial system cannot be allowed to collapse. This is to help the country, and to help myself. In the face of this torrent, no one can swim against the current. But we can slow the flood’s peak, reduce its destructive power. That way, if all my other preparations prove useless, at least I’ll have this card to play!"

Just as Wood said, many of the big shots in the financial system had, through their own channels, become insiders who understood the crisis.

The *Rini Debate* was now one of the most widely circulated apocalyptic theses in the world. Its predictions about the financial system should have been perfectly accurate.

But Rini himself was one of the earliest insiders and a member of the World Alliance’s team of experts. The debate he proposed had, naturally, long been thoroughly studied by the World Alliance.

Therefore, the financial system absolutely would not collapse immediately. At the very least, it couldn’t be allowed to collapse too ugly!

Capital’s nose for avoiding risk is incredibly sharp, that much is true. But for that very reason, they could also catch another scent.

As chaos loomed, the wealthy felt even less secure. Those capitalist groups who lacked confidence in themselves were especially worried about their own safety and future prospects.

The more they knew, the worse it got, and they were terrified by their own ignorance in the preceding years.

There was no need for direct orders from the government; in capitalist countries, such things wouldn’t be said openly anyway.

The government merely had to express its concern about the rapid deterioration of the financial system, and people like Wood would do their best to help. It was the same principle as buying a ticket for the ark; everyone understood without it being said aloud.

Coupled with the fact that the government had yet to officially declare or acknowledge the apocalyptic crisis, the financial sector was able to maintain a fragile balance at this critical juncture.

Ordinary people were definitely taking a heavy hit, but at least they could still offload their positions and weren’t losing everything they had invested.

The situation on Wall Street was just a microcosm of the system within the entire World Alliance. Whether they were willing or not, one could say that many of the former "Vampires" were now truly "propping up the market for the nation."

This was a method to stabilize public sentiment, and it also gave ordinary people a chance.

There would inevitably be losers, and the vulnerable were everywhere. No matter how much wisdom was applied, it was still impossible to cover all the bases.

Human society was too complex, and the human heart was too complex!

Some things, once they were spoken aloud, would trigger a stampede, and then it would be too late for anything.

...

Dawn Silent Moon Island—the Forging Space.

Under the enhancement and restriction of the Secret Realm Power and within the smelting environment, this place was like a gigantic furnace, blasting waves of intense heat.

Normally, forging wouldn’t affect such a large area, but there are always exceptions. When the object being forged reached a certain size, the radiant dissipation of energy became ubiquitous.

A massive Celestial Pillar lay stretched across the area from the castle square to the edge of a precipice.

An infinite heat emanated from it.

But the main reason the Celestial Pillar was radiating heat wasn’t the Secret Realm’s power, nor was it the presence of many furnaces. It was the white vapor that Gou Dandan had coughed up shortly after its birth.

"Boundary Flow Crow."

This was the term the Forged Gold Monsters had blurted out the first time they saw the tube of white vapor in Qin Xiaoxia’s hands.

Because of Gou Dandan’s human genes, its appearance and even its growth process had deviated completely from its original species. Not even Jilian’s memories could identify what kind of being Gou Dandan was supposed to be.

But the Forged Gold Monsters had recognized the substance in the crystal test tube at a single glance.

Their ancient knowledge contained legends of the Boundary Flow Crow.

In truth, it probably had many names—Devouring Feathered Beast and Sun-Flame Bird were among them—but in the history of the Forged Gold Monsters, it was called the Boundary Flow Crow.

This was because shortly after this wondrous bird was born, it would spit out "Boundary Flow." There were only a few opportunities in its entire life to collect it.

Not only did it dissipate easily, but it was also often guarded by a ferocious adult bird.

The adult birds were enormous and could emit heat as intense as the sun’s corona. They were one of the earliest species to master the ancient power of fire.

"Boundary Flow" was a translation from the Forged Gold Monsters’ native tongue. Its precise meaning was "the flowing and merging of boundaries."

Legend had it that in the distant past of the Zevari World, during the golden age of the Forged Gold Monsters, they had raised several pairs of Boundary Flow Crows. These creatures witnessed the glory of Zevari and sank into ruin along with it.

Although the Celestial Pillar that sealed Jilian could grow larger or smaller under the influence of the right Magic Power, its fundamental form was immense.

Even by relying on the Forged Gold Monsters’ Pilgrimage ritual, transforming the Celestial Pillar completely into a Magic Steel adsorbent would have taken countless years of effort.

But the appearance of "Boundary Flow" shortened this process, greatly increasing the efficiency of the Celestial Pillar’s conversion into an adsorbent body.

Analyzing the current data, Qin Xiaoxia was now certain that Brother Gou’s evolutionary Ability stemmed from what the World Alliance classified as a Category Two effect: passive specific erosion.

It wasn’t his Ability that led to Gou Dandan’s birth. Rather, while still just an egg, Gou Dandan had influenced Gou Junbao during his intimacy with Xiao Lili, causing Brother Gou to awaken his Ability and, by a stroke of luck, allowing him to survive.

Now, the superheated Celestial Pillar continuously blurred the surrounding air and illuminated the somewhat crazed faces of the Forged Gold Monsters.

"ROAR~~" "ROAR~~"

The Forged Gold Monsters rarely let out such beast-like roars, but they had frequently been doing so lately to vent their excitement.

This Secret Realm space had become unbearably scorching. Many of the association’s Craftsmen had chosen to go to other Sub-Secret Realms to forge equipment, but the Forged Gold Monsters alone remained here, waiting.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE...

This level of the Secret Realm suddenly began to shake violently. However, it wasn’t because of a change in the Celestial Pillar, but an earthquake in the outside world.

The earthquake originated in the world outside the Secret Realm. To allow those inside to be aware of external changes, the tremors could be felt within the Secret Realm, but they wouldn’t actually disturb anything inside it.

What was merely a slight tremor inside the Secret Realm was, on the real island outside, a violent shaking of the entire landmass caused by the trembling mountain, sending the surrounding sea into a frenzy of crashing waves.

Although the castle on Dawn Silent Moon Island was built on the island’s mountain, it was still an island, which meant it was already quite close to sea level.

One could only imagine how many cities and regions in the outside world, across the entire Earth, were feeling the tremors at this moment.

And how could the tremors underfoot possibly compare to the quake in people’s hearts?

"ROAR~~~ Forged Gold Monsters!! This is the blessing and gift of Zevari!! Prepare the Magic Steel!! We... are beginning!!!"

"ROAR~" "ROAR~"...

The normally quiet and honest Forged Gold Monsters now had all four of their eyes glowing as if possessed. As they let out sharp roars, their four hands raised rods, hammers, needles, and clubs, making them look like the most ferocious Demons from the Otherworld.