It was a very simple principle: if a participant held shares in a company, then continually used their abilities to do things beneficial to its operations—
Such as providing new technology, protecting it, or eliminating its competitors through a whole series of actions—
The natural result would be that the company's stock price rose, earning them a fortune.
And if it worked in reverse—
It could produce the opposite extreme as well.
For Adeline, who remained indifferent even toward sums of tens or even hundreds of billions of US Dollars, to describe it as "massive-scale losses," Fang Ran recalled the very real pressure he had felt from twenty million US Dollars at the casino.
He could not even imagine how enormous a crisis that had to be.
"If Fies Erde suffers massive losses, what does that do for the Covenant?"
"Unlike Huaxia's stocks, where profits are mostly made by buying low and selling high, North American markets allow short selling. Capitalist markets have developed for longer and have more comprehensive systems,"
"And within the bubbles generated by the virtual economy, numerous financial derivatives with complex rules have emerged."
She naturally spoke a few words that would likely have taken thousands more to explain in full.
Adeline calmly watched Fang Ran's completely baffled expression. After briefly covering the reason, she stated the fundamental conclusion directly.
"Simply put, the Covenant can gain immense profits from Fies Erde's enormous losses. Losses are the outcome they want to see."
"After all, compared with positive dividends, predatory destruction is simpler and more profitable."
She pressed a button on the remote, changing the display on the screen inside the luxury car.
For some reason, her still-calm voice carried a palpable pressure.
"In the worst-case scenario, certain crucial industries may even fall directly into the Covenant's hands