Kryptonians: Man of Steel

Chapter 1189: Destroying America at Once

Not only was Gatanjea not deterred by the nuclear explosion, but he continued to move forward, and every step he took made the ground tremble, as if the earth was shaking with its arrival.

"It has breached the island of Manhattan and is heading toward our capital city."

The intelligence officer's voice was tense and rapid. He moved his finger across the virtual map. A striking red line marked the monster's route, pointing directly to the heart of America - Financial Street.

Financial Street, the heart of the global financial center, brings together the world's top financial institutions, investment banks, stock exchanges, and countless decision makers who control the lifeline of the global economy.

Here, billions of capital flow every second, and every decision may cause fluctuations in the global market.

At this moment, this giant beast from the abyss is approaching the fragile nerve center of human civilization step by step.

“Financial Street…that’s our heart.”

The heavy voice of the Minister of Defense broke the silence in the room. Once the Financial Street, the core area that brings together global capital flows, financial decision-making and information exchange, is damaged, its impact will far exceed any natural disaster or war.

In modern society, the monetary system has long since departed from the gold standard and has been based on a complex credit system.

Gold, once the cornerstone of currency, is now more of a symbol of history and wealth than a measure of actual value.

The value of a currency depends more on the government's credit, the health of the economy and the confidence of the market.

"The loss of several hundred tons of gold may indeed be only a temporary fluctuation for the US dollar's monetary system. Historically, there are many countries that have experienced fluctuations in the value of their currencies due to changes in their gold reserves, but the dollar's status as a global reserve currency is not based solely on gold reserves. It relies more on the overall strength of the US economy, its international trade position, and the Federal Reserve's ability to regulate monetary policy."

The economic advisor spoke slowly, his eyes revealing a complex emotion, including helplessness towards reality and worry about the future.

"We can stabilize market expectations to a certain extent and alleviate the impact of gold outflows by adjusting interest rates, open market operations, and even quantitative easing. At the same time, strengthening market supervision and cracking down on speculative behavior can also effectively prevent the spread of market panic."

The economic adviser looked extremely unhappy.

"However, if the information system of the financial street is destroyed."

"That would be a burden that the entire financial system cannot bear. Financial Street, the heart of global finance, stores hundreds of millions of transaction records, customer data, risk assessment models and market forecast reports. This information is the cornerstone of the efficient operation of the financial market, the basis for investors' decision-making, and a tool for regulators to monitor market risks."

"If this critical information is deleted, tampered with or leaked, the consequences will be disastrous. Investors will lose trust and the market will fall into chaos. Banks may suspend services because they cannot verify the authenticity of transactions, companies may get into trouble because they cannot obtain financing, and individuals may panic because their assets shrink. All of this will lead to credit tightening, plummeting asset prices, and may even trigger a systemic financial crisis."

In the modern economic system, the transparency and accuracy of information are the cornerstones of maintaining market stability. Once this cornerstone is shaken, capital flows will fall into chaos, investor confidence will collapse, and even the most robust financial institutions may face the risk of bank runs.

What’s worse is that the complex capital credit system is like a big clock made up of countless precision gears. The break of any link may cause the entire system to shut down, with disastrous consequences.

“And it’s not just about the financial losses.”

Another consultant added.

"As the heart of global finance, every pulse of Financial Street affects the nerves of the global economy. The financial institutions, investment banks, exchanges, and countless multinational corporate headquarters here have woven together a complex global economic network. Once this place suffers a severe blow, its chain reaction will quickly spread to every corner of the world like a domino."

He further explained: "Imagine that if the credit system of the financial street is damaged, those companies that rely on short-term financing will find it difficult to maintain operations, and the risk of capital chain rupture will rise sharply. The stock market, as a barometer of the economy, will not only wipe out the wealth of countless investors, but will also hit market confidence, leading to a decline in consumption and investment willingness, and further dragging down the real economy. In addition, international trade financing will also be hindered, the global supply chain will face the risk of rupture, the circulation of goods and services will slow down, and price fluctuations will intensify, which may eventually lead to global inflation or deflation."

The president closed his eyes, and a series of catastrophic scenes emerged in his mind: on the streets, people were in panic because of their concerns about the future economic prospects; people lined up in front of the bank not to deposit or withdraw money, but to consult on how to protect their assets from depreciation; the stock market crash was not just a decline in a series of numbers, but behind it was the evaporation of the market value of countless companies, the shrinkage of the wealth of countless families, and a severe blow to economic vitality.

A wave of business bankruptcies ensued, the unemployment rate soared, social instability factors increased, the government's fiscal pressure increased unprecedentedly, and the social security system was on the brink of collapse.

In this global economic storm, capital, a cold and sharp entity, will show its most essential side.

As the consultant said, profit-seeking capital will quickly gather in the center of the storm like sharks smelling blood, trying to find opportunities in the chaos and engage in speculative operations of buying low and selling high.

Although these actions may bring profits to some investors in the short term, in the long run they will exacerbate market volatility, prolong the time of economic recovery, and may even trigger a deeper economic crisis.

At the same time, in the core area of ​​the Financial Street, the lights were on all night long, and the IT departments of major financial institutions were engaged in a silent battle.

What we are protecting is not only the data and files stored in the server, but also the stable operation of the global economy and the livelihoods of countless people.

Faced with a potentially catastrophic threat, they raced against time to transfer backups of their most important financial information to a highly secure data center far from the city center.

“We must ensure the integrity and security of this data,”

An engineer in charge of data backup said seriously, "They are the cornerstone of global economic activities. Once lost or tampered with, the consequences will be disastrous."

(End of this chapter)