Chapter 498

[China Announces Official Statement, Not an ICBM But a Spaceship]

[China National Space Administration Succeeds in Launching Lunar Probe Chang'e 8!]

[Secretly Launched at 5:30 AM, China Local Time]

[US Fails to Detect China's Rocket Launch]

[Defense Experts Express Serious Concerns for US Security...]

[Did Kang Jin-hoo Know in Advance?]

The news of the launch of China's Chang'e 8, which came after the SpaceX explosion, was enough to shake the world.

The collapsing global economy momentarily paused. As it was an event that no one had expected, everyone reacted as if they didn't know what to do.

- What? Why is China coming out here?

- Wasn't it over with SpaceX's failure?

- LOL, China has a spaceship? Do they even have the technology for that?

- LOL, a Chinese-made spaceship would probably explode on the way~

- The one that exploded on the way was an American spaceship.

- You shouldn't look down on China's technological capabilities. In the space industry right now, only China can compete with the US.

- They've been sending spaceships to the moon continuously, and they said they'd send a manned spaceship in 3 years.

- But could this have been planned by Kang Jin-hoo?

- No way...

- A lunar exploration rocket can't be launched in a day or two. This is 100% that Kang Jin-hoo was cooperating with China even before he announced the Geratinium.

- Did he know SpaceX would fail and get insurance from China?

- LOL... Kang Jin-hoo's big picture...

***

It's no exaggeration to say that the whole world was watching the launch of the Fat Phoenix together.

The same was true for OTK Company.

The launch took place at 3:15 PM local time. Although it was still dawn in Korea before the sun came up, many employees had come to work and were watching the situation on TV.

Team Leader Jung Gi-hong had prepared promotional materials to send to the media in the morning. But when the Fat Phoenix exploded in mid-air, his mentality also exploded.

At that moment, only one thought came to his mind.

'We're screwed!'

Until now, OTK Company had been pouring the funds raised by selling bonds into defending against speculative forces.

It had sold dollars in the foreign exchange market to buy yuan and emerging market currencies, and had also actively bought futures and options in the derivatives market.

But as soon as the Fat Phoenix exploded, the market began to fall vertically. Investors, thrown into fear that there was no way to stop a global economic collapse, all joined the selling spree.

Jung Gi-hong turned his head to the side and said.

"Are we... are we ruined?"

"I-I think so."

Park Sang-yeop, with a pale face, recalled Kang Jin-hoo's instructions.

'A collapse will begin with a flood of selling orders before and after the launch. When that happens, buy as much as you can, even if you have to pour in all the remaining funds.'

Following those instructions, they had been prepared to buy for several hours before the launch began. But when the collapse actually began, they didn't have the courage to buy.

Taek-gyu, who had returned after finishing a call with Kang Jin-hoo, gave instructions to the staff.

"What are you doing? Buy quickly."

Shin Yuri asked in surprise.

"Wait, wait a minute. You're buying in a situation like this?"

"Yeah. There's a saying, 'buy in fear'."

Jung Gi-hong cautiously retorted.

"Uh, um, I don't think this is buying in fear, I think it's buying in hell."

The staff nodded as if he was right.

Taek-gyu said with a smile.

"Don't worry. I'll take responsibility for everything, so just buy."

The staff typed on their keyboards with trembling fingers.

Even though tens of billions of dollars in buys were executed in the foreign exchange and stock markets in an instant, the market showed no signs of rebounding.

The endlessly falling market was enough to fill people with fear.

But at that moment, breaking news of China launching an ICBM flashed on the screen.

Park Sang-yeop was flustered.

"What? Why are they launching an ICBM in a situation like this?"

Jung Gi-hong was now at a point where he just wanted to let things be.

"Since the economy is ruined anyway, maybe they want to ruin everything with a nuclear war?"

"Does that even make sense?"

'No. For some reason, it might be possible for China.'

But the screen soon changed, and the official statement from the Chinese government that it was not an ICBM but a rocket being sent to the moon flowed out.

At that moment, the market, as if by magic, stopped its fall and began to rebound.

Jung Gi-hong quickly looked at Park Sang-yeop and shouted.

"Did you know this would happen?"

He had no idea. But what did that matter?

Park Sang-yeop stretched his hands to the sky and shouted.

"Damn it! I believed in you!"

Jung Gi-hong burst into tears without even realizing it.

"Oh! CEO Kang Jin-hoo!"

Cheers erupted from the entire company. The staff clapped, jumped in place, and hugged each other.

Although it wasn't over yet, everyone felt as if they had barely escaped death after falling to the bottom of hell.

Park Sang-yeop looked at the staff and said.

"Alright! Let's do it!"

"Waaaaah!"

Taek-gyu looked at the scene with a pleased expression.

'Yes. This is the reaction I wanted!'

***

Golden Gate Korea Branch.

At the news coming in one after another from the US and China, Ellie was surprised and looked at Oh Hyun-joo.

"What's going on? Did you know about this by any chance?"

"No. I didn't know either."

After being dazed for a moment, Oh Hyun-joo burst out laughing as if it was absurd.

"I thought they were both still kids, but they're all grown up now."

To think they would deceive everyone and prepare a card like this.

As the hedge funds launched their offensive, almost all financial companies were escaping from China. Some investment companies were taking a short position following the hedge funds to recover their losses.

Among the US IBs, J.P. Morgan was the most active in short-selling.

J.P. Morgan is Rothschild's main bank, and a significant portion of its shares are known to be owned by Rothschild.

On the other hand, Golden Gate had taken a neutral stance so far.

She called her husband.

Henry said in a relieved voice.

[I was really surprised. To think they had prepared a card like this.]

"I feel like I have to learn from them now."

[It's not over yet.]

They have only just succeeded in the launch. Everything will be over only when the spaceship carrying the mined samples returns.

"Jin-hoo and Taek-gyu will definitely make it."

Henry agreed with her.

[I think so too.]

If you know who will win, it's clear what you have to do.

***

Two months ago.

At the meeting with Chairman Zhang Pinghua and Premier Bo Xiaoyu, I told them about the JN Battery and the plan to mine Geratinium from the moon as a way to prevent the collapse of the Chinese economy.

Premier Bo Xiaoyu asked, as if it was absurd.

"You're going to mine Geratinium from the moon to make batteries? Do you think that's possible?"

"Isn't it sufficiently possible for China?"

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, space was practically the exclusive stage of the United States. The country that has newly challenged this is China.

In the early days, China's space industry was handled by the People's Liberation Army. But as its scale grew, it established the China National Space Administration in 1993 and began full-scale space development.

Although accurate data is not disclosed, the annual budget is estimated to be over $10 billion, and the related personnel is over 300,000.

In the past, the space race was a battle of pride between hegemonic powers. But in modern times, it has begun to take on a different meaning.

The space industry itself has begun to be profitable.

The moon is the most important forward base for advancing into space. Just as the US pushed the Constellation and Artemis programs to build a manned base and a launch pad on the moon, China also announced the Chang'e program (Chinese Lunar Exploration Program) for lunar exploration and base construction.

Starting with the launch of Chang'e 1 to the moon in 2007, they landed Chang'e 3 on the moon in 2013, and in 2018, they landed Chang'e 4, carrying a probe, on the far side of the moon for the first time in the world to investigate the geological structure and resources of the moon.

After successfully completing several lunar explorations, the China National Space Administration hurried to launch Chang'e 5. Unlike the previous ones, which were limited to exploration, Chang'e 5 was scheduled to collect resource samples from the lunar surface, then perform an unmanned docking in lunar orbit and return to Earth.

"We just need to slightly change the Chang'e program. But the entire process must be carried out in secret."

If it becomes known, they will use all sorts of means to interfere. Rothschild's influence extends to the US and Europe.

On the other hand, China strongly regulates foreign capital in its financial market. That's why Rothschild is trying to take control of the Chinese financial market through this.

Chairman Zhang Pinghua asked.

"Do you know what it means to launch a rocket in secret?"

"I do."

All you have to do is deceive the whole world and send a spaceship to the moon. But this is not as simple a problem as it sounds.

The basic principles of a spaceship and an ICBM are the same.

If you load cargo or equipment onto a rocket that can break through the atmosphere and send it into space, it becomes a spaceship. If you attach a nuclear warhead and drop it back to the ground, it becomes an ICBM.

The launch of a satellite or missile can be a provocative act against neighboring countries, so it must be notified to the international community in advance.

But to proceed with this in secret, you have to take that much risk.

The US and China are virtual adversaries. Launching a rocket in secret is tantamount to showing the enemy your most important military card.

Premier Bo Xiaoyu said, as if snapping.

"How are we supposed to believe that there is Geratinium on the moon and that you can make batteries with it?"

I did not back down and retorted.

"When I advised you to prepare for the Big One, President Ronald said the same thing. What do you think would have happened to the US now if you hadn't believed my words then?"

At my words, Premier Bo Xiaoyu frowned but could not say anything.

At that time, the Big One was a threat that might or might not come. On the other hand, the financial crisis is something that is already happening.

"If you're thinking about the possibility of failure, you can just sit back and watch China collapse."

Premier Bo Xiaoyu slammed the table hard.

"Watch your mouth! Do you think China can't defeat the speculators?"

"The situation is different now."

"What's different?"

"The enemy has become stronger. They are not fools, so they will not repeat the same mistake as last time."

The hedge funds launched their offensive in a state of full preparation. On the other hand, the Chinese economic situation has worsened compared to before.

Premier Bo Xiaoyu said to Chairman Zhang Pinghua.

"This is an extremely low-probability event. We cannot take a risk on something that is not certain."

If SpaceX's launch fails, the market will take it as my failure. Similarly, if China fails to launch a rocket, people will take it as Chairman Zhang Pinghua's failure.

Right now, China is pouring all its efforts into defending against the attack of speculative forces.

In this situation, if it becomes known that they have wasted money and time on a useless project, it will be difficult to avoid political criticism.

The Communist Party has justified its dictatorship by highlighting the achievements of economic growth. The fact that the Chinese economy is collapsing meant that the state-led planned economic system that the Communist Party had been leading was being shaken to its roots.

A division is already occurring within the party, and there is even talk of returning to a collective leadership system.

If it fails, he will have to risk his political life, as he does not know what kind of aftermath will follow.

"I will bet everything on this. If I fail, OTK Company will go bankrupt before the Chinese economy collapses."

People lie, but money doesn't lie.

I looked straight at Chairman Zhang Pinghua and said.

"If you're afraid of failure, you can't do anything. Even if you pour out your foreign exchange reserves and defeat the speculative forces, do you think China will be okay? Even if you win, it will be after the Chinese economy has been torn to shreds."

A war of attrition leaves great damage on both the winning and losing sides.

China also had to endure a huge loss when it defeated the speculative forces last time. Its foreign exchange reserves decreased, consumption stagnated due to the sudden increase, and many companies were on the verge of bankruptcy.

Chairman Zhang Pinghua, who had been staring at my face for a while, slowly opened his mouth.

"Heaven and Earth decided by a single throw. Whether it's heaven or earth will be decided by a single match."