We Are Isolated and Helpless

When it comes to shamelessness and scoundrelry, no country can rival it.

When the president and his Think Tank decide to sacrifice the interests of some ordinary people, no one can change that decision, and it is a hasty one, because the Bayer Federation is not as perfect as they imagined.

This country's economic and financial development has long been distorted and abnormal. It is not an unshakeable skyscraper, but a skyscraper built on a terrifying balancing act. With the slightest accident, it could collapse in an instant.

Many Middle Class are trapped by their large bond purchases, and the Presidential Cabinet keeps making excuses. Even if they put forward a few scapegoats, they cannot solve any substantive problems, and this contradiction is getting worse.

Then, on October 9th, an article titled "We Are Isolated and Helpless" was published, criticizing the wrong decisions the Presidential Cabinet had made since taking office, including their isolation policy, which was also the most failed policy in history.

The article exposes all the hidden contradictions and conflicts within the Federal and, using the inability to redeem bonds as a starting point, describes the Federal's true state in the International Community.

Just as the title of this article suggests, the Bayer Federation is isolated and helpless in the International Community. The seemingly powerful Federal Government is not only powerless but also clueless in the face of some blatant acts of thuggery, and can only resort to sacrificing its people.

In this article, the Bayer Federation is on the verge of collapse. The ever-accumulating class contradictions, social contradictions, contradictions between capitalists and politicians, and contradictions in education and healthcare make it like a leaky warship that is about to sink.

The day after the article was published, the Federal Industrial Index experienced its first sharp drop after seven years of continuous growth, falling by more than five percent in just one morning.

A report has exposed the bloody reality that people wanted to hide; some things can no longer be concealed!

This has further exacerbated the flight of foreign capital. A large amount of international speculative capital has realized that the Federal's period of high returns has ended, and keeping money in Federal Federal will only lead to its downfall.

These international speculative funds, which have never held any particular stance or faction, left without hesitation, causing abnormal fluctuations in the trading volume of the stock market. On October 11, the Federal Industrial Index rebounded, and almost all newspapers and media outlets gave positive summaries.

The sharp drop on October 9th was just a technical adjustment, a way to build momentum for a new high. Some experts even used a spring as a model on television to explain why a drop is a build-up for an upward move, and why a drop can release more room for upward movement.

In the following days, the Stock Market seemed to indeed remain stable and rising steadily, just as the experts had predicted, but securities firms and financial companies were quietly withdrawing their investments.

Some people deliberately interpreted the trading volume, which was more than twice the usual amount, as the arrival of a new round of market activity, unaware that a huge crisis was actually hidden within it.

Even some things in reality have changed. For example, housing prices in first-tier Federal cities have begun to decline in general, and long-term installment payments are now supported. Banks have also begun to tighten their lending rates for mortgage loans.

Everything seemed to be getting better, and just when people were confused about who to believe, the Federal Industrial Index suffered another historic single-day drop of nine percent at the end of October.

This time, however, no one smiled and told everyone that it was just a "technical adjustment."

On the last Saturday of October, Lin Qi had just gotten up. He sat by the dining room looking at the newspaper in his hand. The newspaper, which should have been in color, seemed to have been transported back to a time when technology was not advanced enough. It was printed in black and white.

The front page of The 《Transaction Newspaper》 had only one word, which took up the entire page: "Disaster".

In just one day, tens of billions of dollars evaporated from the entire Federal trading market. Every exchange was packed with people, and even the much-discussed bond activists were left with little attention.

People are talking about stocks because the Federal Industrial Index has plummeted twice in one month, which is very unusual and has never happened before, not to mention the last crash, which wiped out a third or even half of the market value of many stocks.

This kind of drop is no longer a simple technical adjustment; it's not adjusting parameters or prices, it's adjusting lives.

An uncontrollable panic began to spread rapidly. Not only the 《Transaction Newspaper》, but almost all financial newspapers changed their usual colorful printing style to a somber black and white tone, as if they were mourning something.

In fact, reporting such pessimistic news at this time will not only not help the Financial Market, but will also directly burst the bubble.

Once panic selling takes hold, it is very difficult to stop unless the National Power steps in to buy, but it is clear that the Federal Government does not have the financial resources to do so for the entire society.

Even if they did, they wouldn't do it. If the Conservative Party bankrupted the Federal Government, they would become a laughing stock in history—the first party and their president to bankrupt the Federal Government.

The thought is chilling; they would rather ignore it than become a laughing stock.

Lin Qi remained calm and composed as he read the news. He hadn't been in contact with these things recently, and he knew very well that they were destined to fail. External forces were only part of the problem; the Federal itself also had many internal issues.

Of course, the most fatal flaw was the isolation policy promoted by the Conservative Party government, which directly blocked international trade; as history shows.

The world's powerful nations today, if we can even count Federal, all actually originated during the Age of Exploration, an era that didn't emphasize isolationism.

Any country that pursues isolationism will only become weaker and weaker, while those countries that actively engage with the International Community and continuously expand and plunder will become stronger and stronger.

It is unbelievable that more than a hundred years later, a group of cowardly cowards led by the Conservative Party have actually turned back the clock of history. It is absolutely ironic, a huge irony, that the descendants of a group of adventurous navigators are afraid to contact the outside world.

However, this cannot be considered entirely a bad thing. At least this disaster has served as a wake-up call for the Federal, making some things easier to handle in the future.

While Lin Qi was still having breakfast, Ferral rushed over. Just as Lin Qi had expected, he came to ask about some things related to the Financial Market. He felt that Lin Qi would be more familiar with this area and would have more mature views. This was the impression Lin Qi gave to others.

"Bring Mr. Ferral a breakfast too..." After Ferral explained his purpose, Lin Qi asked the maid to prepare another breakfast, while closing the newspaper and placing it aside. "These things are actually not of much concern to us."

His first sentence set the tone. "There are only two publicly listed companies in Sabine City, one of which has already been delisted, and the other would have gone bankrupt soon even without this Stock Market Crash."

"Those who will truly be affected are only those who have made huge bets in the stock market. They will lose everything. If they have used Credit Loan, the situation may be even worse, but these people only make up a minority in society."

Ferral looked worried. "If most of the city's residents go bankrupt, even if the Presidential Cabinet provides us with some financial assistance, we will not be able to afford the city's needs."

Lin Qi smiled slightly, "You're overcomplicating things. When things get desperate enough, people's only need is to 'survive'."

"Regardless of whether those people used to live in big houses or drive luxury cars, once they go bankrupt, they will have to receive food aid just like ordinary people. All you have to do is distribute a few more Food Stamps and add some flour to the food aid."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Actually, I think that when you find it difficult to afford, turning solid food into liquid food can meet more food needs without increasing new inputs."

"Moreover, hunger contributes to the relative stability of the lower classes!"

When people are too hungry to do bad things, public order will naturally stabilize, which is not wrong.

Ferral shook his head with a wry smile. He didn't know what to say. Sometimes Lin Qi's words were so calm and rational that they didn't seem like something a young man should say, but he couldn't deny that he was right.

When external conditions are unfavorable, people's demands will be reduced to the simple matter of "survival".

The maid then served a lavish breakfast. Ferral thanked her and began to enjoy the sumptuous meal. He had only taken a few bites when Lin Qi suddenly asked, "That article, ' We Are Isolated and Helpless,' was it from within the Progressive Party?"

Ferral paused in his eating, then laughed and said, "Of course not, we wouldn't do something so stupid; it wouldn't be good for anyone."

Lin Qi smiled as he looked at him. In the eye contact with Lin Qi, Ferral gradually became unable to keep up. Lin Qi's gaze was very firm and certain, which made Ferral lose most of his appetite.

He was silent for a moment before taking out a cigarette and lighting it. "The higher-ups just informed us of their decision."

After receiving confirmation Lin Qi nodded and smiled, saying, "That's politics."

Ferral seemed to grasp the deeper meaning of those words, and he sighed, saying, "That's politics!"