Empire of Shadows

The phone was answered after a long wait. The investor, covering the mouthpiece, looked at the crowd. ”Someone answered.”

He made a shushing gesture, then spoke into the receiver. ”I would like to speak with the CEO. I am... we know each other. He will talk to me.”

Cooper now recognized this man. At the last investor dividend meeting, he sat in the front row. It was rumored that he and his clients had invested over five million dollars ($5,000,000) in Hope Mining stock!

That was an absolutely massive figure in this era.

The heavy investment also brought astonishing returns. The $5 million investment had reached a peak market value of over $12 million—and the full $5 million was not purchased at the bottom.

There were many such traders in Deterland who liked to invest using a ”chase the gain” strategy.

After buying a hundred dollars worth of stock at the bottom, every time the price increased by a certain percentage—say, 3%, 6%, or 10%—they would, according to their own style, buy an additional amount of stock, usually up to 30% of their current holdings.

This ”chase the gain” model seemed somewhat foolish, but it was actually a trading method verified by the free stock market.

It might look like they were constantly raising their average holding price by buying more stock, but the stock market is not an ”average value game.” Every transaction is a separate event and calculation.

If they bought 100 shares at $1 and then 100 shares at $2, the average holding price might seem to be $1.50.But that wasn’t the case; they just owned 100 shares at $1 and 100 shares at $2.

As long as the stock continued to rise, they would keep buying, ensuring each purchase brought a certain profit.

If the stock immediately fell after a purchase, they would follow a pre-set stop-loss rule.

For example, if they bought after a 6% increase, they would start selling a portion of their holdings when the price dropped to only a 3% gain.

When significant volatility appeared, they would quickly liquidate all their shares—the ”kill the decline” part of ”chase the gain, kill the decline.”

Since this trading method was publicized in books, some people who used it made a killing in the investment market.

No one, not even God, can guarantee the direction of those damned charts in the next second.

Some people make money, and some don’t. Those who succeeded or failed with other methods came up with new methods.

In any case, this investor was among the heaviest individual holders of the circulating shares.

It was perfectly normal for him to have the CEO’s business card.

The secretary quickly answered his call. ”I am sorry, sir. The CEO has business and is not in the office these past two days...”

The Five Million Dollar Man heard a tremble in the CEO’s secretary’s voice, which immediately made him feel uneasy. ”Has something happened?”

The female secretary on the other end of the phone seemed on the verge of breaking down; her voice was tearful. ”I’m sorry, I can’t go into detail with you. I cannot...”

”I have to hang up. Goodbye.”

The call was abruptly terminated. The girl’s crying seemed to carry a frighteningly contagious virus, spreading even through the phone line.

The Five Million Dollar Man tried his best to appear normal, but his slightly trembling hands betrayed his inner turmoil.

He tried twice before successfully placing the receiver back on the cradle, then turned around, clasping his hands behind his back to hide the trembling.

No matter how hard he tried to hide it, someone noticed his distress and asked about it.

He looked at the people in the room, simply shaking his head repeatedly.

Under the crowd’s urging, after a long silence, he finally pursed his lips and recounted what the secretary had said, adding his own analysis. ”The company might be in trouble.”

Everyone in the room wore looks of disbelief. ”Don’t joke! How could it be in trouble?”

The Five Million Dollar Man nervously ran his hands over his face. ”I don’t know, but I feel like something is seriously wrong. I need to go to the company and see.”

Hope Mining had its own building in the New Golden City. Although the location wasn’t prime, having a standalone office building was a subtle hint, a declaration of their supposed strength.

It was a way to tell people they had substance.

Some very small ”listed companies” in the Federation didn’t even own their office buildings; some still rented space.

But Hope Mining owned its building, which made them different. According to the Federal Financial Security Act, any enterprise meeting the Federal listing standards could go public.

Some small ”listed companies” had minimal scale; they simply wanted to go public to attract more investor attention and gain development opportunities.

It was a weekend, and anything happening at this time was absolutely terrible.

The Five Million Dollar Man stated he was leaving immediately to check, and everyone else volunteered to go with him, including Cooper.

Cooper got into the stockbroker’s car. Recently, the two had become as close as brothers from different mothers, all due to Hope Mining stock.

They had become a community of interest, feeling each other’s joys and sorrows, and sharing common language and hobbies, which tightened their bond.

As the car started, Cooper asked, ”What do you think happened?”

The stockbroker shook his head. ”I can’t guess.”

”Right now, the company’s stock is performing excellently. Even if the state-owned asset commission cannot be re-negotiated, the resources they control should still drive market value up. I simply can’t imagine what could have happened.”

This was what puzzled the stockbroker most. If the previous crash was an accident caused by panic, then the current trouble with the CEO seemed utterly illogical.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t grasp what might have occurred.

”Maybe something internal with the board of directors?”

”I don’t know, but what I do know is that we’ll find out soon.”

The drive from there to Hope Mining’s headquarters didn’t take long—about thirty minutes.

As their car approached the main entrance, they noticed police cars with flashing lights outside the building. This immediately made them realize the problem was significant!

Ignoring potential parking fines, the two immediately parked their car on the side of the road and ran toward the entrance.

The Five Million Dollar Man and the others had arrived as well and were arguing with the police inside.

”I am an investor in this company! I have the right to know what is happening here!”

The Five Million Dollar Man’s face was flushed; he was clearly very angry and terrified!

The officer looked at him and shook his head. ”If you truly were some important figure, you wouldn’t be bothering a junior officer like me. You could call our captain or the chief, and they would tell me to clear the way for you.”

”Instead of standing here demanding I follow an order I can’t follow, why not try what I suggested?”

The Five Million Dollar Man glared at the officer fiercely. ”I’ll remember you.”

The officer shrugged indifferently. ”Suit yourself. You’d better have a good memory, or you might forget me.”

”F***!” the Five Million Dollar Man cursed, then turned back. ”Does anyone here know someone in the police department?”

Someone quickly raised a hand. ”I can make a call.”

Cooper and his stockbroker managed to push their way through the crowd. ”What’s going on?”

The Five Million Dollar Man recognized these two as investors. ”I’m not sure, but as you can see, this is definitely something bad. I need to make a call too.”

People made way for him. He quickly returned from the phone booth. He didn’t tell anyone what he did, but some people seemed to guess.

Others left to make calls, then returned.

A few minutes later, the officer received instructions. He looked at the wealthy investors without surprise and lifted the police tape. ”Only three of you can enter.”

The Five Million Dollar Man unhesitatingly took the lead. The man who managed to contact the police department took second place. After a brief scramble, a handsome, forty-something gentleman edged out the others and squeezed in.

As for Cooper and his stockbroker?

Minor figures like them had no chance of getting inside.

The moment the three men entered the main lobby, they felt a shift in the atmosphere.

There were more police officers in the lobby, questioning everyone around them. Some scrutinizing eyes were cast their way, and then an officer walked over. ”Are you employees here?”

The Five Million Dollar Man shook his head. ”I am an investor. I want to know what happened.”

The officer looked regretful. He glanced back at the noisy lobby. ”As you can see, we are also trying to figure out what happened.”

”What we know so far is that the company’s top executives have all vanished. The only information we have is that they left the country last week.”

”Their destination country is cooperating with our investigation request, but we are unsure when we will get concrete information.”

”Furthermore, all funds in the company’s accounts have disappeared.”

The Five Million Dollar Man froze. ”Disappeared?”

”What does that mean?”

The officer shrugged. ”Sorry, it means exactly that. The money was routed through various accounts using highly specialized methods, then withdrawn as cash, and vanished without a trace. We can’t find it.”

”In other words, they likely ran off with the funds!”

”Ran off with the funds?” The Five Million Dollar Man was so angry he laughed. ”Do you know how much their assets in Rapa are worth?”

”Plus, this building alone is worth a lot. Those are their biggest assets. How much money could they have run off with?”

”A few million? Ten million?”

”That’s less than a fraction of their assets. Why would they do that?”

The officer put his hands on his hips and looked at him. ”That’s what we are trying to figure out, sir.”

”If you don’t have any other business, you should leave now. Of course, if you want to see anyone, you can register, but whatever you do, you must be escorted by one of our people.”

He suddenly remembered something. ”Oh, by the way, this building is not owned by Hope Mining. They only leased the entire building and forged the ownership documents.”

”The owner of this building has also filed a police report. Hope Mining defaulted on three months’ rent.”

If not for that last sentence, the Five Million Dollar Man might still have thought there was some misunderstanding—that the CEO and board were off negotiating a new partnership or buying mineral resources.

But when he heard that the building, which had been touted from the start as Hope Mining’s owned asset, was actually rented and that they had defaulted on rent, he realized there might be a massive, terrible, shocking fraud!

He could barely stand still!

Sweat visibly beaded on his forehead. He immediately turned and rushed toward the exit. The two men who had come in with him quickly followed.

There was no point in staying here. It was better to consult with everyone outside and see if anyone else could figure out what had happened.

When they relayed the news they had gathered to the crowd outside, everyone wore expressions of disbelief.

And yet, as Deterland elites—whether they had personally experienced or heard countless stories of financial fraud—the convergence of these elements meant a shocking scam had just been partially exposed.

Many people began to tremble uncontrollably, including Cooper.

The Five Million Dollar Man took over the role of the salon host. He gathered people and addressed them. ”What we need now is solidarity. First, we need to figure out: what exactly happened?”

”If this building was rented, then... what about the company’s consistently profitable assets?”

”The mines, and the other assets—are they real, and did Hope Mining truly own them?”

The moment the officer mentioned the forged building ownership documents, a terrifying thought popped into the Five Million Dollar Man’s mind: It was all a scam!

From the very beginning, it was a scam!

They had been deceived, just like the ”miracle drug” and ”railway miracle” stories they often told—the ”miracle disasters” that had swept through Deterland and harvested countless investors!

There had been many large and small classic listed company scams before, the largest being the ”Drug Fraud” and ”Railway Fraud.”

Previously, a pharmaceutical company claimed to have developed a miracle drug capable of curing many diseases with just one injection.

They fabricated numerous professional clinical trial reports, including photos of patients, which they published continuously in newspapers and magazines.

Coupled with the endorsements of supposed medical experts, including some foreign experts, who called it a great invention and expressed anticipation for its launch effect.

The stock of the parent company developing this ”universal cure” skyrocketed like a rocket—if rockets existed in that era—shooting straight up and never coming down.

The stock, originally priced at less than a dollar, soared to over ten dollars in a short time. Everyone hailed it as a miracle in medical history and a great victory for humanity over disease!

Everyone anticipated its debut. Throughout this period, news constantly emerged about it conquering new diseases or gravely ill patients recovering after treatment with the miracle drug.

The convergence of information and materials led to a financial frenzy in Deterland!

Then, a reporter quickly published an article questioning the truth behind the miracle drug. More media outlets followed suit, and almost overnight, people realized the whole thing was a complete scam.

They made off with over 400 million Federal Sols, which translates to roughly $3 billion today.

The ”Railway Miracle” was a similar situation. A railway company suddenly claimed they had secured contracts to build tens of thousands of kilometers of railway at home and abroad, and displayed these contracts.

Mysteriously, the other parties to the contracts remained silent at the time, failing to expose the company.

Later, people seemed not to pursue this matter, as their attention was focused on where the culprits had gone.

The railway company also gained intense attention from Deterland investors, and its stock price multiplied several dozen times. Six months later, the rug was pulled out, and the executives disappeared.

All investments were lost. It was only then that the ”other parties to the contracts” publicly declared that they had never signed complete contracts with the company.

Some were just letters of intent, and the company had only displayed partial documents, concealing the content that would have raised alarm.

In short, they completely shed responsibility. Another several hundred million dollars vanished.

These stories became cautionary tales every veteran investor in Deterland told to newcomers, warning them that investment was not a low-risk endeavor.

On the contrary, investment was the highest-risk profit-making activity in the Federation!

Every investment required caution.

Yet, now such a disaster was unfolding before their eyes, and they could not accept it.

In this moment, all they could do was desperately hope that this wouldn’t be another ”Mining Miracle,” that it wouldn’t push them into an abyss they couldn’t escape!