Volume Six: What She Lost, What I Gained - Chapter 502: In the Storm
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So, Volume 6 begins! Clap clap clap clap clap clap! Applause and Monthly Votes are in order!:-D
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Economy.
The creation, transformation, and realization of value.
Economy is activity.
Activities that create, transform, and realize value to meet the material and spiritual needs of human beings.
Economics is an art.
Within a limited perimeter, maximizing profits becomes a battle of wits and strategies.
An indispensable part of Human Society and one of its most important pillars. Nothing has ever been so closely integrated with human production and life as the economy. Throughout history, the world has seen countless business geniuses emerge, some becoming incredibly wealthy, others dominating the business world, some single-handedly shaking up the entire economic sphere, and others directly controlling the lifeline of a particular economy.
John Lockephy, the "King of Spirit Stones"; Sam Wallerton, the "King of Commerce"; Matthias Matuki, the "Marine Transport Manager"; Warren Buffett, the "God of Investment"... These were all influential Big Figure once dominated the entire Spirit Star economic circle. Their wealth was their power; they could determine the rise and fall of a nation with a single word. Hundreds of millions of people were captivated by their wealth and charm, and regarded their path to success as a classic.
Even the most powerful figures have limited abilities. They may dominate their own field, but venturing into other fields will inevitably bring disadvantages. The more they expand outward, the less influence they have, until they disappear completely. The economic world has never lacked people who dominate a certain field, and there are quite a few who can simultaneously lead multiple fields, but a true "hegemon" who rules the entire planet's economic sphere has never appeared.
More than one Big Figure has devoted his entire life to this goal, but none of them have succeeded. In the end, they can only lament that someone who can unify the economic world must possess unparalleled talent and luck beyond divine intervention, and such a person cannot exist.
This is definitely a flag.
Two hundred years ago, in a remote town in a small country on the East Emperor Continent, a seven-year-old child entered a local shop and became an apprentice to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper saw that he was quite diligent and gave him some money to buy himself some better clothes.
This is the first money the future hegemon earns.
But the young apprentice didn't change out of his tattered clothes. Instead, he went to the exchange in the neighboring town, invested his money, and then rushed home to take care of his chronically ill parents.
This is the first investment of the future hegemon.
After that, he frequently used various disguises to enter and exit the exchange, trading increasingly larger sums of money, each transaction operating in a legal gray area. His money increased thirtyfold in a week and two hundredfold in a month. At this point, he began venturing into illegal territory—not exploiting legal loopholes, but genuinely breaking the law, yet he never felt uneasy. To him, the so-called law was merely a hypocritical cloak used to give mediocre people a sense of security. Would a true strongman be bound by such empty chains? Of course not.
Another half month passed, and he took over the shop where he worked, of course through dirty tricks and cunning, but he was confident that he had silenced everyone and erased all evidence against him. Justice? Evil? In the business world, there is no good or evil, only victory or defeat. He renamed the shop "Grey Starling Trading Company." He liked this bird, which was common in his hometown. Its grayish appearance was not beautiful, but its ability to catch pests was amazing, and it could nest anywhere.
He had no doubt that he could achieve great things. He not only possessed a strong business acumen and unparalleled luck, but also a special ability that he believed could only unleash its true value in his hands.
Two years later, the "Grey Starling Trading Company" had become the "Gray Starling Group," ranking among the top three in the country in terms of revenue. However, if political influence was taken into account, the Gray Starling Group was undoubtedly number one in the country. Although those who were brought to the forefront were all adults, only a few people knew that the highest leader of this group was a boy who was only ten years old.
In the following years, the Gray Starling Group grew at an astonishing pace. In the business wars, he used every means at his disposal, leaving even century-old established companies far behind. Logically, such aggressive expansion should have been harmful and unprofitable; without slowing down and regrouping, it would have only led to collapse. Many people were waiting to see him fail, but as it turned out, ordinary people could not comprehend the talent of a genius. He could swallow up even the largest companies whole, and he could solve problems that would drive anyone crazy, such as personnel allocation and capital management, in a day or two without ever making a mistake.
By the time he was thirteen, the Gray Starling Group's reputation had already resounded throughout the entire East Emperor Continent. Their business scope spanned virtually every industry. From financial investment to logistics and freight, from product design to factory production, from banking and wealth management to various insurance products, from daily necessities to construction and real estate, from agriculture and animal husbandry to mining and forestry, from music and art to sports competitions... and this was only what was on the surface. In the underworld, it was equally a supreme ruler, involved in illegal fundraising, usury, money-power transactions, casino operations, human trafficking, drug trafficking, arms smuggling... the Grey Starling Group's name could be found in every imaginable shady business.
His methods became increasingly sophisticated. No matter which field his group entered, he could quickly become a leader in that field. What was even more frightening was that, to outsiders, the Gray Starling Group was merely a very powerful conglomerate. Although it had long dominated various industries, the world economy appeared to be a diverse and thriving economy, with no single entity holding a dominant position. However, only those truly in high positions knew that the Gray Starling Group inevitably existed at the very top of any massive chain of interests. It had long since become the mastermind behind the scenes, and all other companies or enterprises were merely livestock living on its pasture.
At the age of nineteen, he finally accomplished a monumental feat—unifying the currency of the entire planet. This meant that the Gray Starling Group had completely seized control of the Spirit Star's economy, and that he had finally become the economic overlord. Everyone in the world is driven by money, but only he could truly control money; he was the Law of Money, the most powerful person in the world, and one of the four invincible members of the organization.
"--That's how President Yu rose to power."
The voice of Givinia —no, she should be called Winnie now—finally stopped. It's really convenient to insert projections into one's mind; even with the sounds of wind and waves outside, it can be heard clearly.
However, it seemed that I was the only one listening attentively to her. Haoyue was angrily trying to wring out the water from her cheongsam, Xiao Wu was frowning and staring at the front of the passenger ship, Sin Annihilation was sticking to the cabin wall with suckers growing from its back, looking indifferent, Little Ying was hugging my waist tightly, and the Sick Spider was fixing itself in place with its thread with a bored look.
As for Givinia... her true form is certainly not here; what's here is only the projection she inserted into my mind beforehand.
"His rise to fame is like a fantasy novel for middle school students."
"But that's true. Anything that deviates too much from reality is easily doubted about its authenticity."
"Then tell me more about Business Capital."
"This city was developed by the Gray Starling Group with its immense financial resources. As its name suggests, it is the true center of the world economy, and also the largest and most prosperous city in the world. Gloria is nothing compared to it."
"So this is also the headquarters of the Gray Starling Group and Yu He?"
"Indeed, 'to one day occupy a place in the Business Capital's is the ultimate goal of every businessman in the world, and its status is self-evident... Of course, the Gray Starling Group itself is an insurmountable existence. No matter how powerful a company is, it is only fit to be its lackey."
"..."
I don't know much about economics, so I can't really understand the gray starling's status from just a few words. Basically, they must be incredibly powerful and influential, right?
"Can I understand that 'financial resources' is Yu He's strength? And that he has so much money he can't spend it all?"
"Rather than understanding it that way... it's more accurate to say that mentioning money to Yu He is pointless... Ah, be careful."
Whoosh!!!
Another huge wave crashed in, and I was naturally soaked to the bone. The bitter, salty taste of the seawater spread in my mouth, stinging my throat. The worst part was the seawater getting into my eyes; it was absolutely awful.
My clothes were completely soaked, and I could clearly see the outline of my bra. I should have worn a sports bra. I really envy those flat figures who can't be seen even when they're soaked.
"A Ye, are you alright?"
"It doesn't look good at all... Ugh... It's so salty!"
"Come on, A Ye! Just hang in there a little longer, it'll be over soon!"
"Don't worry about me... Where were we?"
"As for Yu He 'Yu He capabilities... Actually, I've had very little contact with him, and I don't know much about him—or rather, I dare not try to know. He's the world's number one shrewd businessman; when it comes to Machiavellian tactics, I'm definitely no match for him."
"Ahem... What about his combat abilities? He doesn't sound like someone who's focused on combat." I asked, spitting out the algae from my mouth.
"His combat ability... is very mysterious, that's all I can say, because there's almost no record of him fighting, and there's a lack of relevant information. In the organization, besides Neumann, he's probably the one least suited for combat."
"Um..."
If we disregard combat ability, the organization must have valued his other qualities when they recruited him, right?
"But Ye, please don't underestimate Yu He. In today's world where the economy and life are inextricably linked, Yu He, who controls the economy of Spirit Star, stands at the very top of the Human Society pyramid. He can mobilize the assets of the entire Human Society with a single word. Moreover, compared to the bad-tempered Leader, his prestige among the lower-level members of the organization is much higher. In fact, most of the organization's members are employees of the Gray Starling Group in the outside world. From this point of view, Yu He's faction is the largest faction in the organization! Regardless of his personal combat strength, his greatest weapon is definitely wealth and manpower!"
Wealth and manpower...
In other words,
"Unlike his wife, who personally takes action, as the contract states, Yu He will never step in unless absolutely necessary. What we really need to be wary of are the... Extra Weapon he sends out."
"That's exactly right."
Okay, I understand.
I feel increasingly uncomfortable. I finally understand how hard it was for sailors who used to drift at sea. It's so annoying. I really want to let a lot of water dry up in this area, but that would be terrible.
"Although I've mostly resigned myself to my fate, I still want to ask one last question..."
"Um?"
"Now that we've chosen this path, can we go back on our word? No, we can't, right?"
"Of course," the girl projection in his mind shrugged.
"After all, Business Capital is an underwater city."
Completely speechless, I, like Xiao Wu, looked ahead of the ship.
Those were dozens of enormous mouths lined up side by side.
Their master is a giant Sea Beast that resembles both a sea serpent and a whale.
Each mouth is hundreds of meters in diameter.
The Sea Emperor Clan is the third-ranked race among the ten major races of monsters.
These are all the world's largest vehicles, modified by the Gray Starling Group.
"Ready, we're going in!"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait--Aa...
I sincerely believe that
If only I could use my powers freely right now.