《12 Hours After》Chapter 28: A Casino That Opens Every Four Years, Part II
Advertisement
[The candidates for the next mayor of Seoul are reduced to three.]
I read the article. The content was mediocre. It was what I already knew from a report from the established media just now. But I smiled at it. My five senses carried a deep, strong feeling. This was the article to make money. If the Seoul mayoral election was the biggest one in the election, there were real stakes in it. It was a stock, of a political kind.
'If you ride the waves of a political stock, you could make a lot of money. There's an upper and low limit price here every day.'
The problem was that I had never touched a political stock before. It was an informal investment in the first place, but when I was in stocks, there was no election. I started thinking, closing the email window.
'I need to study more.'
-------------------
"Welcome."
I entered the store to a greeting: Waffle, a famous electronics retail store located in Garosu-gil, Sinsa-dong.
"Do you have anything you're looking for?"
To the waiting staff, I asked, "Is there a tablet PC that works with a pen?"
"Do you mean an iPad?"
"Yes, I'm going to buy it."
"Oh, there are two main types, common edition and professional one. Would you like to come and see?"
The clerk showed me two kinds of models. They were a little different in size, but I did not know what was good for me now.
"What's the difference between the two?"
"No matter what, the professional version has a bigger screen and better performance. It's more expensive."
"Then give me a professional version."
"The pen is a separate sale."
I waved my hands out like a nuisance.
"Then please give me a pen too."
"Then, would you like a Wi-Fi version? Or do you want to use the LTE version? Every version has a different capacity."
This was too complicated, and I didn't want to hear more explanation.
"Just the best one, and the most expensive one, please."
The clerk grinned at my words, as the best customer was just like this.
"It's $1,241."
Advertisement
When I heard the price, I handed over my credit card.
'$1,241? Is that much for a tablet?'
In former times, I would have opened my eyes in circles, but since I recently started stock trading, I had not paid much attention to the price. In the first place, this tablet was being bought so I could do better. It was a kind of reinvestment. I was going to make tens of million dollars off this tablet PC!
I took my new tablet and settled down at a nearby scenic cafe. The screen was big and bright. When I drew on the screen with a pen, it was like writing in a notebook with a real pencil.
'All right, well, I'm looking forward to it.' I greeted the machine and immediately began to write my first notes. What I spent all day studying was political stock. The first words I wrote in my virtual notebook were 'Politics is basically fraud.'
I put another line next to it, 'It's a fraud with a poor story, which is not probable.
'The basic structure of political stock is like this: politician A who is in the election has ties with company B. The relationship is a thin relationship that is like, 'A is a high school classmate with the CEO of company B,' 'A worked there,' or 'A's brother has been a director at the company.' Therefore, if A is elected and has political influence, B will improve its performance.
'But a little thought makes it easy to see that this is a ridiculous story, because the story itself is a reason for collusion between politics and business. It is the nation's people who voted down the president last year for corruption. The president, who is the most powerful person in the country, also lost control of her family, school or whatever, and when it is found that the mayor of Seoul has given favors to a certain company or intervened in his interests, he should go into forced retirement.
'It worked in the days when money was flowing in and out without knowing, and the days when people below took care of themselves before the superiors told them to do something. However, these days, government workers who do such a thing will be cut out. So, they are reluctant to deal with where his personal connections are.
Advertisement
'But nevertheless, the story still worked on the stock market. The stock market fluctuates during the presidential election and also in the local elections. If we find out why a number of stocks have gone to the ceiling, a relative of a leading politician is working for company B.
I put another line on my tablet.
'But as it is a fraud, I don't need to deny it. Because stocks are a kind of game to play with prices. It's crazy. So everyone says, "don't do it." But that works in the stock market, because the price of a stock is basically made from a person's imagination. If they make a deal for $1,000 with toilet paper in the market, it will be $1,000, and if they trade a shell with pearls for $1, it will be $1.
'If Fireball and Ice Lance meet, Fireball wins, since Fireball is a six-circle magic, and Ice Lance is a four-circle magic. If there's such a setting in the fantasy world, it's like the fantasy world is going to roll like that.
'If politician A is elected, company B's stock price will rise. There is such a setting in the stock market, and so the world rolls. It's amazing, but it's true, and it's repeated every year.'
I followed up with another line. 'The political stocks: I only have to trade the leading stock.
'Here, the leading stock in the market is the most sensitive to good news, simply climbing up and falling down the most. However, the political stock has an argument over the setting of falsehood. If they're going to play with the political stocks, you'd better play with the leading stock. There are several reasons.
'First, the forces that manipulate stock prices intensively throw their bullets at the leading stock. Even for fraudsters and stock-manipulating forces, there is a limit to money. Most of them also manipulate stock prices with other people's money, taking high interest from the private bond market. Therefore, if the manipulation fails, their lives will be in danger. When they climb, they will raise it as well, so the theme will not die.'
'Second, stocks other than the leading stock can be eliminated during the rally, as the links between politician A and company B are usually weak. In some cases, company B says it is not directly related, and in that case, it drops as quickly as the rising stock that has been classified as a themed stock. They say the market could end before the election is even over.
'Finally, the simplest, most important reason is that the leading stock is the most popular. In other words, if they're going to gamble, it's better to do it at a casino bigger than a local swindler. Fraud is essentially the same.'
I found some of the hottest stocks at the moment, classed as the leading stocks in the political theme, and turned it on my tablet in the form of 'politician A – company B' with a short background story.
[Joo Sung-won – Dongbo Construction]
'Mayor Joo Sung-won once served as an outside director of Dongbo Industry. His New Town Construction Policy is expected to be a good source for Dongbo Construction.'
[Lee Hee-chul - Endo Biologics]
'Many board members from MaxMedic, where Lee Hee-chul was CEO, are located in this company. Since Lee Hee-chul is a pharmacist and CEO of a pharmaceutical company, Endo Biologics is likely to benefit from it.'
[Jung Kwan-soo – Yurim Industries]
'Park Myung-won, CEO of Yurim Industries, is a friend of Chung Kwan-soo and a graduate of Seun University. Chung Kwan-soo is often seen with Park Myung-won, president of the National Assembly.'
'The share prices of Dongbo Construction, Endo Vironix, and Yulim Industries are already shaking. The current approval ratings of the three are: The highest, at 50%, is the current Mayor Joo Sung-won. Lee Hee-chul's approval rating is 35 percent. And finally, the approval rating of Jung Kwan-soo is 15%, and if there are some variables that will turn this ranking upside down, each representative theme would go up and down violently.'
I wrote another line on my tablet. 'I will be the best cheater in the world after I go into that fraud.'
I had been clicking on Politics every day since this day, peeking at opportunities, and that opportunity had come faster than I thought!
Advertisement
- In Serial34 Chapters
The Vagabond
A dark evil threatens the world that Kass recently found herself in, but she is no hero, just a girl that is trying to survive another hour. Join Kass on her journey through hostile lands and dark dungeons where she will come across all sorts of trouble as well as the occasional loot. If she's lucky, maybe even epic or legendary! It doesn't take long for Kass to realize her spot on the food chain with hungry monsters at every turn, but through thick and thin she begins to learn just what it takes to survive in this new world. She is but a lone wanderer. A Vagabond. This story is written as a LitRpg. It contains class systems, skill trees, and of course, lots of loot. (Don't be alarmed to not see any class systems in the first few chapters, they'll be there soon enough)
8 75 - In Serial29 Chapters
The Apotheosis Cycle
Stranded in a world straight out of fairy tales, Serena Araceli is forced to reconcile all she knew with what she slowly discovers. With her understanding and capability with magic altered and being forced to start anew as a beginner, the only boon of this situation is the voice in the back of her head. Now if only that voice would stop recommending that she take villainous actions for better results. In which an internal energy practitioner is transmigrated to an external energy magic-focused fairy tale land.
8 210 - In Serial8 Chapters
8 The Infinite
Is immortality a gift or curse? For 8 the suicidal immortal the answer is quite clear. But making his death wish a reality won't be an easy task. The Broken Wastelands are full of anomalous places that break the rules of physics, time and space, offering fates worse than death especially to an immortal such as 8. The people of the wastelands are no less dangerous, turning to fanatical and strange ways of life in order to fit the chaotic and twisted lands they call their home. What will 8 find first? A way to end his life once and for all? Or a purpose strong enough to make him abandon the search for death?
8 147 - In Serial7 Chapters
Archive of James: Origins.
*** Official start of Project is on the 16th October 2016 *** Summary Prologue and any released chapters/informational links are subject to change This is a fan fiction based on the works of Skada88 (permission was granted), This story is written to contain events that occur in his world but should not necessarily be considered “In canon” with his story. 2101 years ago a mass exodus of all species occurred from a bounteous large continent to a confined continent of sparse resources, Kingdoms of humans gathered in the center of continent, protected by high natural walls yet also damned by them for the lack of space, many of them living in fear of larger forces taking control. The Kingdom of Vonai has been standing at its precipice for many years, coerced and convinced by outside they decided to perform a ritual capable of tearing souls from other worlds to serve as soldiers. However the torch lit by man’s light reaches only so far before shadows come watching and waiting… each with its own cunning plans to manipulate power that could shatter even the heavens. ============================================ AOC - Origins. 1-2 releases per week Evolution tree dynamics Limited stats/Game style mechanics Mature language/Graphic Violence Varying paces between action/adventure and information based chapters
8 166 - In Serial16 Chapters
Danganronpa: Retirement Plan
Ultimates work hard for their talents. They practice their talent to the point where they're declared the best. That is, until someone better comes along and takes their glory and title.Felix, along with 15 other Ex Ultimates, find themselves playing a game to get their titles back. The catch is it's a killing game and they're all desperate to get their beloved talents back. * * *This story will contain mature topics such as, death, gore, blood, suicide, murder, eating disorders and various other triggering topics. Triggers will be *probably* be tagged, but I'm warning you regardless.I don't own Danganronpa. This is a fan work made for other fans to enjoy. * * *CURRENTLY WORKING ON: [ Chapter 1: Goodbye Life Savings ]
8 165 - In Serial8 Chapters
orphic | Complete
"Orphic(adj) Mysterious and entrancing; beyond ordinary understanding."(in which Yoongi learnt that word when he fell for a certain honey-like girl and his world completely changed in the blink of an eye)Started: August 2019Ended: September 2021
8 138

