Chapter 502

China continued to extensively report on the achievements of Chang'e 8 day after day, expressing confidence in China's technological prowess and the economic effects.

The estimated deposit of the Geratinium mine in the Sea of Tranquility was a whopping 250 million tons.

When converted to market value, this was approximately 60 quadrillion dollars. This was an astronomical amount, equivalent to 3,000 times the US GDP.

Of course, there was the cost of mining and transporting it, and as the supply increased, the price would naturally fall, but the fact that they had discovered it and brought back a sample was an undeniable huge achievement.

China was already acting as if all the Geratinium on the moon was theirs. Naturally, other countries would not just stand by and watch.

The United States, Russia, the EU, and India issued related statements.

"The resources on the moon are a common asset of humanity. It is unacceptable for one country to monopolize them."

"According to the Outer Space Treaty, no one can claim sovereignty over the moon, just like the high seas or Antarctica."

"No particular country should ever exercise the right of occupancy over a lunar mine."

Even if the high seas do not belong to anyone, fishing is possible. The same goes for resource mining.

But no matter how vast the sea is, the good fishing spots are limited. When the first person to arrive casts a fishing rod, that spot becomes his until he leaves for another place.

China's plan was to preempt as many mining sites as possible, and a war of nerves broke out between the major powers over this.

President Ronald delivered a speech to the nation.

"The United States will immediately put the Artemis Program into action. We will go to the moon. We will begin construction of a base and a launch pad on the moon within this year. No matter what difficulties there may be, no matter how much it costs!"

***

I spoke with Allen Eberhardt on the phone.

[The pride of the American people is greatly hurt right now.]

"I heard President Ronald announced the implementation of the Artemis Program."

Both the Republicans and the Democrats in the House and Senate expressed strong support for this. That's how much of a shock it was that the United States had fallen behind China in lunar resource mining.

Some media outlets even used the expression that it was the biggest shock since the US fell behind in the manned spacecraft race.

[I think it's for the better. The United States is a country that exerts its full strength only when there is a competitor.]

The United States, which had suffered three consecutive defeats to the Soviet Union in the space race, announced the Apollo program to send a manned spacecraft to the moon and made it a reality.

At that time, the competition itself was the main purpose, whereas this time, it is a sure-fire way to make money. There was no reason not to jump in.

[The US Congress will form an emergency budget to support NASA and private space companies.]

"Space development is about to catch fire in earnest."

[It's as if the Space Race has begun again. There is a lot to do in the future. SpaceX is also planning to launch the Fat Phoenix again, and I would appreciate it if you could invest some money.]

"Aren't there people lining up to invest right now?"

[That's true, but I want to receive an investment from OTK Company. We will also need a lot of JN Batteries in the future.]

I asked with a smile.

"How much should I invest?"

***

Even while experiencing a recession after the bubble burst, Japan has reigned as a powerhouse in the global economy.

In this crisis that has engulfed the entire world, Japan has held up relatively well compared to other countries, thanks to its huge domestic market of 100 million people and the yen, a semi-key currency.

Japan collected information on the financial markets through various channels.

In their view, the collapse of China was a foregone conclusion. And if China collapsed, the emerging countries would have no choice but to fall with it.

The Japanese financial market has become extremely sensitive to losses, having suffered several times due to Kang Jin-hoo. Therefore, to minimize the damage, they continuously withdrew capital from the Asian financial markets.

High-ranking officials from countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia visited Japan and begged for help, but they were coldly rejected.

It was Kang Jin-hoo who filled the void left by the Japanese financial capital. He supported the collapsing countries with his own capital.

Surprisingly, the result was Kang Jin-hoo's victory.

Not only the entire world, which had suffered from speculative capital, but also the emerging countries that had avoided a national bankruptcy crisis, were all busy praising Kang Jin-hoo's achievements.

The Japanese political and business circles were in shock.

In fact, Japan, more than anyone else, had hoped for Kang Jin-hoo's downfall.

Among the right-wingers, there was even talk that the collapse of the Chinese and Korean economies in this opportunity would be more beneficial to Japan in the long run.

But the opposite situation had occurred.

The losses suffered by the international speculative capital became Kang Jin-hoo's profit. The money he had earned in two or three months was equivalent to Japan's annual national budget.

A bigger problem was what would happen in the future.

As soon as they escaped the shock of the financial crisis, the developed countries announced their space development plans one after another.

The United States, China, Russia, and Europe would launch rockets to mine Geratinium from the moon, and South Korea would make JN Batteries with that Geratinium.

It is now a well-known fact that the JN Battery is the core of future industry.

Japanese entrepreneurs unanimously urged the government for countermeasures, saying, 'If we fail to secure the JN Battery, Japan's industrial competitiveness will fall behind even that of South Korea and China.'

The countries that would be supplied with the JN Battery on a priority basis would naturally be the countries that had mined the Geratinium. But there was a high probability that Japan would be excluded from this.

Until now, Japan had participated in various space projects by providing capital, and Japanese capital had played an important role in space development. But now, the atmosphere was that Kang Jin-hoo alone could provide all the necessary capital. Therefore, Japan's position was bound to be further reduced.

Both in space development and the JN Battery, all countries were desperate for cooperation with OTK Company. The developed countries had already begun to move to join hands with OTK Company.

The leaders of Germany, France, the UK, Brazil, and India scheduled their visits to South Korea to coincide with Kang Jin-hoo's return.

There was no more time to hesitate. They urgently tried to contact Kang Jin-hoo, who was in China, but could not reach him.

Foreign Minister Okamoto contacted OTK Company. After several calls and leaving messages, he finally managed to get in touch with the vice president.

"Hello, Vice President."

The vice president answered the phone cheerfully.

[It's been a while. The reason you're calling must be because we succeeded, right? If we had failed, you wouldn't have even cared.]

"That's not it."

[Oh, come on, you know it's true, so why are you pretending? I think it's a good thing. From our perspective, the more options, the better, right? By the way, you must be a little disappointed that we didn't go bankrupt.]

"What are you talking about?"

[I heard that the LDP members collectively visited the Yasukuni Shrine last week and prayed earnestly for OTK Company's bankruptcy.]

"That can't be."

[Was I mistaken? So, you're saying the LDP members did not visit the Yasukuni Shrine?]

"They did visit, but it was solely as part of the members' personal religious activities based on their beliefs."

[Oh! Beliefs are important. I'm curious what kind of beliefs the LDP members have, who pay respects at a shrine that enshrines as gods the war criminals who started a war and massacred Koreans.]

Foreign Minister Okamoto suppressed the curse that was rising in his throat and said.

"I will visit OTK Company."

[I'm a bit busy right now.]

"You must be busy with work, but..."

[No. Nine Tails 7 was just released. Console games are definitely a Japanese thing. I'm not going to meet anyone until I finish this.]

"Ah... a game?"

Foreign Minister Okamoto, who was flustered, collected himself and said earnestly.

"Still, please spare me a moment."

[Hmm, then I have one question for you. There was something I've always wanted to ask.]

"What is it?"

[You have to be completely honest.]

"Of course."

[Whose land is Dokdo?]

"..."

***

From the moment China launched its rocket, Grant Darrel Rothschild sensed defeat.

The market was in a wait-and-see mode regarding the possibility of success. But Grant trusted his gut. Investment requires cool reason, logical thinking, calculation, and probability. But sometimes, a single gut feeling is more important.

It was just one step. Just one more step and he could have had everything.

But Grant did not make the mistake of hesitating, falling into the sunk cost fallacy. Many within the family had opposed it, but only Grace had agreed with his thinking.

"We can seize the opportunity again later. For now, our priority is to preserve our strength and retreat."

Grant calmly commanded all of it.

Just as the most damage occurs when retreating from a battle, the same was true for investment.

Rothschild continuously leaked information favorable to them to the financial world, and while the hedge funds and private equity funds were holding out, they slowly retreated.

They sold dollars and bought yuan, passed on their short positions and derivatives to other financial companies, and secretly bought up other products.

They also bought up large quantities of private space companies and companies that make related parts, as well as stocks that would benefit from the JN Battery.

This would become the foundation for a future comeback.

The moment he made the decision, he moved quickly and succeeded in escaping just in time.

Nevertheless, he had to endure a huge loss. 40 percent of the total capital was gone. This was the result of pouring everything in to achieve the maximum profit.

If he hadn't retreated at the last moment, he wouldn't have been able to salvage even that much.

This was a shocking defeat that Rothschild had never experienced before.

But a bigger loss was the fact of the defeat itself.

Until now, the Rothschild family had reigned at the top of global finance, to the point of being the subject of various conspiracy theories.

What's important in the financial market is trust.

Rothschild never loses. Because everyone believed that, they were able to exert influence over the entire financial world and control financial companies even with a small stake.

But now, that prestige has crumbled. Capital will no longer send its infinite trust to Rothschild.

The financial companies that had suffered losses showed their hostility towards Rothschild. Some even broke off relations with the Rothschild banks and held board meetings to oust the Rothschild connections.

Until now, Rothschild had been an empire with colonies all over the world. But with this, its scale was reduced to a kingdom.

In the future, it will be impossible to move large-scale financial capital as before.

"We've lost too much with just one defeat."

At Grace's words, Grant's eyelids trembled slightly.

[That's what investment is like.]

The American and European capitals that had participated in this plan had suffered huge losses.

On the other hand, Kang Jin-hoo has gained the power to sway the market in the future. This crisis has rather become an opportunity to strengthen his power.

Who can face him now?

In both capital and experience, Rothschild was far superior to him. But he had something that Rothschild did not.

And that was the decisive reason why Rothschild had lost.

'Fate has chosen him in the end. I should have waited a little longer...'

Grant looked at his granddaughter with fading eyes. He did not have much time left.

[A person dies someday, but a family lasts forever. I have entrusted a difficult task to you.]

Grace smiled.

"You don't have to worry."

Grant slowly closed his eyes.

He had led the family from the time the post-war reconstruction began. In the meantime, the world's wealth had exploded, and Rothschild had also enjoyed unprecedented growth.

He had manipulated the financial market at will and led the world. All of that was now coming to an end.

He thought of the young Asian man he had met before.

Some people easily get what others can't, even with a lifetime of effort. Wealth, knowledge, looks, health, love, and so on.

This is a very common thing. Although he knew that fact well, for some reason, he felt that it was unfair today.

'What on earth does it feel like to see the future?'

That was the last thought he had.