America: My Time

Chapter 1424 Awakening
Chapter 1414 Awakening

The financial war began, and Hong Kong quickly descended into a frenzied financial battle. The stock market experienced wild fluctuations, and Hong Kong was in a very dangerous situation facing attacks from Soros and international speculative capital. Even though they were not fighting alone and had strong backing, the financial assassins led by Soros were even more frenzied.

When this happened, John, who was in China, immediately received news from Hong Kong that Standard Chartered Bank was impacted. However, Standard Chartered's situation was relatively better, as it was well-prepared, had strong cash flow, and, most importantly, its battle with HSBC had solidified its position. Nevertheless, John's other assets in Hong Kong suffered heavy losses, his wealth shrank dramatically, and his stock price plummeted!

Although John had anticipated all of this, the sheer magnitude of it all still shocked him. However, crisis can also be an opportunity, and John had been waiting for this moment for so long. But at the start of this major battle, neither Standard Chartered Bank nor any of John's various businesses rushed to stabilize the situation. After all, this was just the beginning; even more frenzied events were yet to come, and John wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by.

With stock prices plummeting, John, who controlled a massive amount of capital, naturally wanted to seize the opportunity to reap greater profits. After all, the entire Hong Kong market was affected at this time. Compared to Soros and international speculative capital, John's idea was simpler, and his methods were also simpler: to buy at the bottom, to buy Hong Kong stocks at the right time, and to acquire those assets in Hong Kong that were forced to be sold.

At this point, talking about feelings and friendships is meaningless; interests are the foundation of everything. Moreover, the bigwigs in Hong Kong are under immense pressure, and it's difficult for them to escape unscathed on their own. They are all relying on external forces. However, compared to these bigwigs, John didn't care about the plummeting stock prices in his hands. Instead, he watched coldly from the sidelines, remained silent, and did not launch a counterattack against Soros and his ilk.

Neutrality? When many people saw Standard Chartered Bank's reaction and the lack of any response from John's numerous companies, they couldn't help but think that John wanted to remain neutral in this financial storm and didn't want to retaliate or confront them in any way, which made many people uneasy.

Those interested wanted to inquire about John's decision and learn about the situation at Standard Chartered Bank, but no matter how close their friends or how strong their relationships, they couldn't obtain any useful information from Standard Chartered. As for John's women, they were completely unaware of the matter. At this point, it wasn't just the bigwigs in Hong Kong who were paying attention to John; the Americans were also watching. They all wanted to know John's reaction and what he would do in this situation!
“Soros, things are completely different from what we thought. John hasn’t reacted at all, and Standard Chartered Bank hasn’t taken any action, as if they don’t care about our impact. The plan to pull John into this storm immediately is going to fail. This guy is more composed than we thought!”

"It's understandable that the plan failed. Don't forget the situation on the other side. John didn't lend a hand and even made a small fortune. The war in Hong Kong has only just begun. Do you think it's possible for him to get involved at this time? I know you'll say that John has a lot of assets in Hong Kong, and this will cause him considerable losses, but you have to understand that those are only the apparent losses, and he doesn't hold many shares. Not to mention Standard Chartered Bank, they've been tightening their belts. It's impossible to get him involved in the early stages of a conflict with someone like that!"

Compared to the tension of others, Soros remained calm about everything. After all, this was not the first time he had dealt with John, and he was very familiar with John's assets in Hong Kong. He even had a certain assessment of Standard Chartered Bank's funds. Standard Chartered Bank did not hold many shares in Hong Kong companies at the moment; it held shares in John's companies. At this time, they could naturally stand by and watch the situation unfold.

"However, if John doesn't get involved and Standard Chartered doesn't make a move, we have no idea how strong this guy is. If they strike us at a crucial moment, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"So what do you want? Do you want those guys at the Federal Reserve to persuade John to cooperate with us? Do you want the White House to persuade John to prioritize American interests? Are you overthinking it? John has so many assets in Hong Kong, would he sacrifice his own interests? Don't daydream. We are rivals with John, irreconcilable enemies!" Soros understood what these guys were thinking and laid everything out in the open.

“That’s true, but we can’t do nothing. You should know how much money Standard Chartered Bank has. If they get involved, the impact will be enormous!”

"What good is knowing? There's nothing we can do. And this guy will definitely make his move, and he'll do it at the most crucial moment. He'll buy up Hong Kong stocks and assets at rock-bottom prices. This isn't the first time he's done something like this. Most importantly, he understands Hong Kong better than we do." Soros sighed as he said this.

"That bastard is despicable! We do the bad things, we bear the infamy, but he gets all the benefits! I'm not reconciled! We can't let him get away with this!" This was the sentiment of most of the Taiwanese capitalists. They were resentful, but powerless against John, they could only blame themselves. The reputation of the Taiwanese was so bad that, thanks to John and other scheming individuals in Europe, it had spread throughout Asia, even affecting Europe and America. After all, destroying a country's financial system and plundering its wealth was a heinous act that drew fierce criticism. Most importantly, the United States had experienced several financial crises, and they knew how devastating a stock market crash could be, naturally making them hostile towards these guys.

Although John also profited from the crisis, his reputation was much better. At least he never initiated the attacks; he always profited passively, leaving no room for criticism. He neither caused trouble nor feared it, had an excellent reputation, and was trustworthy – that's how people perceived John. Especially during the recent Asian financial crisis and the changes at Samsung, John didn't kick them while they were down; instead, he offered assistance, giving them a chance to recover!

"As henchmen, we must know our place. If we don't act this way, do you think those guys at the Federal Reserve will let us off the hook? Do you think those Rockefeller guys will let us off the hook? We don't have the ability to fight them, and don't count on Israel either. With John, that troublemaker, around, we can't do many things! If you want to break free from your current constraints, you need to become strong yourselves, stop making those ridiculous complaints." Soros's words, though harsh, were true. John's presence had significantly impacted the development of oilfield capital in the US. Assets they had their eyes on had fallen into John's hands. What troubled them most was the media and entertainment sector John controlled. For Americans, they didn't care about John's development in media and entertainment because they could enjoy excellent consumer experiences there. Besides, John had never used media and entertainment to do anything inappropriate. In their eyes, John was at most a playboy like Howard Hughes, after all, John was surrounded by many beautiful women.

Of course, John's 'good reputation' is not only due to his own promotion, but also to the support of oil and gas capital. Apart from this, no one has found anything wrong with John. It is precisely because of this that John's reputation and influence in the United States are much stronger than many others, and his credibility is absolutely guaranteed!

In fact, Oil Capital has now discovered the problem, but they are powerless to change it. Their initial decision caused them to miss many opportunities. Now they have realized that John's playboy reputation has little impact on them and that few Americans care. On the contrary, such a flawed person is worthy of their trust.

Do they regret it? It would be a lie to say they don't. If they had known John's schemes were so ruthless, they shouldn't have helped him cultivate this playboy reputation. But now it's too late; the reputation is already deeply ingrained. Not only Americans believe it, but the whole world believes John is a playboy, and a loyal one at that—a bit of a womanizer, but still within acceptable limits!
"Alright, we can't control what John wants to do now. We just need to proceed according to the original plan. After all, we have no choice in this matter!" In such matters, Soros and his ilk can only accept their fate, since they have to face the pressure from the Federal Reserve.

While Soros and his ilk were discussing how to deal with the current situation, the bigwigs in Hong Kong were making similar preparations. However, their pressure was even greater than Soros's, because they harbored a fear that John might betray them and launch a coordinated attack from within. After all, Standard Chartered Bank was incredibly powerful, especially after its battle with HSBC, which demonstrated its strength to everyone. If John and Soros were to collude at this juncture, they feared it could directly cause the entire Hong Kong stock market to collapse!

Of course, some people don't have such concerns. They believe that John has more assets in Hong Kong than they do and wouldn't do something so foolish. After all, John is a conglomerate and wouldn't sacrifice his own interests. Moreover, they are aware of the conflicts John has with Soros and even with Taiwan Capital.

In their eyes, only interests are eternal and unchanging. John's assets are the best guarantee. If Hong Kong were to fall to Soros and his group, John's losses would be far greater than theirs. Even if John were incredibly powerful, he could not accept such a loss, since he would never do something as foolish as sacrificing himself for others.

The bigwigs in Hong Kong all knew what kind of person John was. Although he valued relationships, he still prioritized profit. Otherwise, he wouldn't have seized opportunities to plunder wealth during crisis after crisis. However, he never attacked first, but only reaped the benefits, which is why he didn't incur the hostility of others.

The current situation in Hong Kong has made the bigwigs nervous, forcing them to sit down and discuss countermeasures: "Gentlemen, why don't we ask for help from the north? John is in the north, and I always feel uneasy that he hasn't done anything. After all, his power is too great, and we can't put all our assets in his hands!"

"I advise you not to have such thoughts. If it were possible to talk, do you think no one would step in? And do you think John might be being watched right now? His every move is being watched by those people. Do you think those American conglomerates wouldn't be prepared? Don't forget, John is currently undergoing asset restructuring!"

"Yes, this is really not the time to proactively communicate with John, and he won't give us any face. If there were any possibility, do you think Standard Chartered Bank would not have any reaction at all? Don't put him in the same category as us. He is making normal business investments, and we are the ones who need his help. The current situation in Hong Kong has nothing to do with him. It wasn't caused by him. No matter how many ideas we have, it's useless. We are not on the same side as him. Don't forget that he is an American."

Leveraging someone's influence? That's impossible. Besides, they're unaware that John had already communicated with them. These Hong Kong bigwigs wanting to use John's power are delusional. Expecting John to sacrifice his own interests to create opportunities for them is laughable; they don't deserve that. In short, John is American and won't sacrifice his own interests for them. Even if they had no connection to John, he wouldn't do that.

When Standard Chartered and HSBC were locked in their battle, did they lend John a hand? No, in fact, they preferred to side with HSBC and ignored Standard Chartered. Now that their own interests are threatened, they've turned to John and Standard Chartered. They're overthinking it. John doesn't care about their situation. Given the chance, John will definitely take advantage of the chaos and buy up their assets at rock-bottom prices!

While there's no exact figure for how much money Standard Chartered Bank has, it's certainly enough to buy up assets at rock-bottom prices. So, in the current situation, relying on John's help is less desirable than forcing them to fend for themselves! Everyone knows about John's situation, but they're unwilling to accept it. They still harbor a sliver of hope, otherwise they wouldn't have discussed countermeasures time and time again, knowing it's futile yet still trying.

(End of this chapter)