America: My Time

Chapter 1429 Plan Exposed
Chapter 1419 The Plan Exposed

"What did you say? Soros and his buddies suspect that everyone has been fooled by John, that Standard Chartered and Hurricane Investments don't have enough funds? Are you kidding me? Standard Chartered and Hurricane Investments' asset valuation should be fine!" Rockefeller was furious. How could Soros have such a thought?

“Rockefeller, I’m not joking. Soros and those guys are right. Have you forgotten how much gold reserves that bastard John controls? He did short gold a few years ago. Most importantly, Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Investments have always had problems with their performance during the Asian financial crisis. I hadn’t thought about it carefully before, but now that I think about it, it’s true. We’ve all been fooled!”

"You know what, once you think about it carefully, there really is something wrong with Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Investment's actions. I always felt there was something wrong before, but I didn't know where the problem was. Now I finally understand. We've all been fooled. John is really good at this. He's cunning and resourceful. We only saw the changes in the Asian financial crisis, his advance planning, and the benefits he offered, but we didn't notice the problems with Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Investment!"

"It's not just about Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Investments, but also about Integrity Bank, East West Bank, and his exchanges. We underestimated this guy's cunning! If everything is as Soros says, John was prepared all along, and Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Investments were just bait to deceive us!"

"Yes, we all underestimated this guy's scheming. If all of this is true, with his enormous gold reserves, he's not afraid of any risks. He can bring out enough gold futures and physical gold whenever he wants. Quantum Mining has accumulated a lot of gold reserves over the years, not to mention that this guy has been doing a lot of business in Africa and has accumulated an astonishing amount of gold reserves. If he wants, he can cause turmoil in the gold futures market at any time."

"What's the use of saying all this now? What we need to do now is find a solution. What if John really has fooled us all, and his target is gold futures, shorting gold? And what should we do then? Is Soros so sure that John doesn't have any funds in Hong Kong and won't deliver a fatal blow at a crucial moment? Is he absolutely certain that John won't have the funds to buy up Hong Kong at rock-bottom prices? This is no joke. If something goes wrong, the consequences will be too severe!"

"It's pointless to say all this now. If everything is true, it means John has already made a comprehensive plan. And don't you think it's suspicious that we haven't noticed anything for so long? How did John manage to accomplish all this without anyone noticing? Even if he wanted to do all this, he would need manpower. But Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Investments haven't made any moves or had any personnel. So he would need at least a large team to accomplish all this. Have you noticed their existence?"

"Hiss! We really didn't discover all of this, and to complete such a comprehensive plan, it's not something a single team can do; it requires several teams. How did he manage to do it? Could it be that he exposed his hidden people and assets? If so, it's a good thing for us!"

"Heh, that's ridiculous. Are you stupid? Do you think John would do something so foolish as to expose his hidden capital for such a small plan? You might be foolish enough to do that, but John would never do it. If I'm not mistaken, this guy is using the power of the exchanges. Don't forget John's exchanges!"

"That's right, it's the exchange. We all underestimated him. Only an exchange could do everything so quietly, and it also needs banks to cover for him. If there's no problem, it must be Standard Chartered Bank and Integrity Bank, and even Hurricane Investment is secretly covering for his plans. Think about John's influence in Japan. If he wants to have that influence in the financial world, he can certainly do it if he wants to accomplish all this quietly."

Before everything was exposed, no one could understand it. But upon careful analysis, a clear path quickly emerged in everyone's minds: it was John's conspiracy from beginning to end; they had never seen through his scheme. Didn't they initially discover that John was shorting gold? No, they all did, but that was due to the operations of Hurricane Investments and Standard Chartered Bank. However, everything quickly came to an end, so they also thought it was all over. They just didn't expect that John had other tricks up his sleeve, and that these tricks had been prepared in secret all along, only they were unaware of them.

At this moment, everyone realized just how important the exchange they hadn't paid much attention to was. Perhaps it meant nothing to them, but in John's hands, it was no small matter. Thinking of this, everyone gasped, shocked by what they had just realized. They hadn't expected things to be so serious; a small oversight had led to such severe consequences.

Of course, this was not a carelessness, but John's meticulous plan. Now that they have seen through it all, it is useless. Everything has already happened. Most importantly, they have no idea how much benefit John's plan has brought them over such a long period of time. The time and energy required to truly calculate the benefits behind it is too enormous, beyond their current capabilities. Moreover, by the time they have understood everything, all traces will have been erased.

Treacherous and cunning—that was everyone's first impression of John. Who would have thought that John was so adept at military strategy? His plan of feigning an attack while secretly advancing was masterful. If it weren't for Soros, they probably wouldn't have even noticed it after it was all over. How could this not make everyone worried and afraid!
"Find Morgan, he should know something, after all, he's closest to John!" At this moment, someone couldn't help but mention Morgan. After all, among these old guys, Morgan and John had the best relationship. If anyone knew all this, it would definitely be Morgan, so this guy thought of him!

"Shut up! It's fine if you want to die, but don't drag everyone down with you. What evidence do you have to dare say such a thing? Do you think Morgan is just a figurehead?" Rockefeller immediately rebuked him, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes. If Morgan knew about this, it would likely cause quite a stir. Moreover, he didn't think John would discuss such a serious matter with Morgan. It could only be said that this guy had been blinded by rage and uttered such foolish words.

"That's right, we don't want to hear those words again. This time, let's pretend we didn't hear anything. If you continue to speak so recklessly, you'll bear all the consequences yourself. We won't. It's fine if you're stupid, but don't drag everyone down with you. This is a big deal, and it concerns your own interests. Do you think John would tell Morgan? Also, don't bring trouble upon your family. I don't care who's behind you, and I don't want to know. If you want to die, that's your business, but don't drag us all down with you." Everyone present wasn't stupid; they naturally understood this guy's ulterior motives—trying to use this opportunity to sow discord between John and Morgan. They didn't want to face such suicidal behavior. The reason they kept this a secret was simple: if word got out, both Morgan and John would think it was a scheme to use this guy as a scapegoat. No one would believe he was really stupid enough not to see the situation. In the US, only these guys working together had the right to challenge Morgan and John. So, if this got out, the first thing people would think of was their conspiracy!
Rockefeller nodded and said, "That's right, we don't want to hear that again. If anyone wants to cause trouble, let them do it themselves. Don't drag us all into it. If this happens again, don't blame us for being ruthless. If you want to be independent of us, then be prepared to pay the price. Nothing comes without a price!"

Although he didn't say it outright, everyone knew that this guy must have been backed by oily capital and those guys from Selangor. This guy had teamed up with these bastards, or even, to put it more seriously, he had betrayed them.

"Alright, let's leave it at that. No one should talk about it anymore. After all, it won't do anyone any good if it gets out!" DuPont had no choice but to step in and advise. He was worried that if things got out of hand, he would get involved. After all, he knew about Rockefeller's losses in Southeast Asia. Moreover, the calmer John was, the more terrifying the crisis behind it was. If things went to the worst, someone would have to pay a bloody price.

Now that everything has happened and John's plan is complete, what's the point of going to Morgan? Not to mention that it would likely offend both Morgan and John, and if both of them went crazy, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"That's right, DuPont is right. This matter ends here. No one should bring it up again, or you will bear all the consequences. If something goes wrong, don't blame us for kicking you when you're down. No one will take responsibility for your stupidity."

The consensus was quickly established, and the old men present stopped discussing the issue altogether, shifting their focus back to gold futures and John's strategy. After all, this was no small matter; they needed to understand John's plans and his intentions regarding Hong Kong. To clarify this, they needed to know how much capital Standard Chartered Bank held and whether John would attempt to buy up Hong Kong at rock-bottom prices.

"Gentlemen, we need precise data on Standard Chartered Bank's situation. Otherwise, nothing we say will be of any use. We don't even know how much money they have, let alone what their plans are. Besides, John is too calm right now, so calm that it scares me. I don't want to see anything unexpected happen!"

Upon hearing Rockefeller's words, everyone sighed. If they could, they would naturally not want to face such a crisis. Everyone knew how formidable the security forces John controlled were and how powerful his network was in Southeast Asia. If things really came to a head, these old guys would not fare well. Moreover, John had already shared a considerable amount of benefits, and making any more demands would be tantamount to forcing the other party to fight them to the death.

At this point, even Rockefeller wouldn't dare to have such thoughts, nor would he dare to have a direct confrontation with John. If he did, the first one to suffer wouldn't be John, but Rockefeller. After all, John had a valid reason, while he didn't. Whoever took the initiative at this time would be the 'sinner'.

"We don't want any surprises to happen either. Regarding John's plan, I want to clarify one point first: how much impact will it have on us? Putting aside whether the changes in the gold futures market are within our control, and whether this trend aligns with our expectations, if all of this doesn't pose any harm to us, I don't want to stand against John and pull chestnuts out of the fire for others. If you all have such thoughts, then do it yourselves and don't drag me down with you."

“That’s right. We shouldn’t be thinking about John’s plan right now. Instead, we should consider how much all this will affect us. Whether John has any ideas about Hong Kong is not important to us. We were already prepared from the beginning. Even in the worst-case scenario, John will just make a move to buy up Hong Kong at rock-bottom prices. If we make a big fuss at this time, it will only provoke John, and things will become even more dangerous. I don’t want to face John’s wrath!”

"No one wants to face John's wrath. Don't forget that John has an even larger sum of money in his hands now. If something goes wrong at this time, do you think John will give up the acquisition of the port and turn against us instead? If that happens, who will bear the responsibility and the cost?"

These old guys were all just after the spoils; none of them wanted to take responsibility or confront John directly. Soros had thrown the problem at them, which was a calculated move in itself. If they got involved, they would directly clash with John, changing the situation. If things went wrong, they would bear the consequences! Everyone looks out for themselves; no one wanted to shoulder such pressure or put themselves in danger. So, the scene instantly fell silent.

(End of this chapter)