America: My Time

Chapter 539 The Second Step of the Plan Unfolds
Chapter 539 The Second Step of the Plan Begins
Soon, when the second phase of the plan was launched, NBC, Paramount, and many other media outlets sprang into action, beginning to broadcast live coverage of the New York Stock Exchange, letting the entire United States know that a terrible stock market crash was about to occur and how devastating such crashes were.

Of course, economists were also frantically using their abilities to explain everything to the audience. Soon, not only NBC was mobilized, but also Asian television stations, Japanese television stations, and many other media outlets took action. At this time, Phoenix Media and Legendary Entertainment went all out, frantically reporting on the situation in New York, letting the world know about the stock market crash, and causing more people to panic and be afraid.

With the media's involvement, the disaster was quickly amplified, all of which was part of John's plan, handled by Jaguar Security. In this reporting, the communications satellite network played an unimaginable role, allowing everything that happened in New York to spread globally in the fastest possible way.

Despite the New York Stock Exchange's state-of-the-art and optimized computer systems, such a massive trading volume was overwhelming. After all, it was the 1980s, and the servers were far from sufficient. Even with servers running, the exchange couldn't handle all the transactions.

It's not that there's a problem with Dream World's trading software, but rather that the exchange's servers can't handle such a massive amount of information. A long time ago, when Dream World developed new servers and workstations, they recommended them to these financial institutions. However, those guys thought their servers and computers were fine and could operate normally, so there was no need to introduce new hardware. But now they regret it. Faced with such a huge amount of information to process, the servers can no longer handle it, and soon many transactions will be unable to be executed.

This wasn't caused by human intervention, but rather by insufficient hardware. Dream World can't be blamed for this; they had already extended cooperation invitations to these financial institutions once the new servers and workstations were completed. Unfortunately, these companies didn't take it seriously, and now they're completely dumbfounded by the sheer volume of information.

"Damn it, what did the technicians say? Is there any way to solve this problem?" When the service provider learned that the exchange's servers and workstations could not complete all the transactions, he realized that he was in big trouble. If he could not solve the problem, it would only make the situation more dangerous, make everything more chaotic, and shake Wall Street.

The fact that so many transactions could not be completed means that many people are trapped in this stock market crash and cannot extricate themselves. It is too late to regret it now. If they had known that this would happen, they should not have rejected Dream World's "good intentions". Now it is all too late. Even if they placed an order, it would be impossible to complete the hardware transformation of the New York Stock Exchange.

"The technicians are unable to solve the existing problems. It's a hardware issue. Unless we completely replace the hardware, we can't solve the fundamental problem."

"Contact Dreamworld and ask them to find a way to resolve this crisis for us?" At this point, the New York Stock Exchange had no choice but to seek a solution from Dreamworld. Unfortunately, their subordinates had already done all that, but Dreamworld had no solution. No matter how much they squeezed the current hardware, they couldn't finish it.

"We contacted Dream World from the beginning, but they didn't have a solution either. It's a hardware problem; the existing hardware can't handle such massive information processing. Only upgrading can solve it. Besides, they don't want to see us pushing the servers to their limits so relentlessly, as it's easy for them to crash. Although the solution is simple, it would cause an unimaginable crisis for the entire stock market!"

"Damn Dream World, is there no other way but to upgrade the hardware? And if they use the fastest speed, when will we be able to complete the hardware upgrade?"

"Dream World doesn't have server storage, so we'll need time to wait before we can complete the hardware upgrade!"

Does Dream World really not have servers? No, it does. John had already taken them away under the guise of other companies. The purpose was simple: to cut off their escape route. John knew exactly how powerful the servers of these American financial institutions were. If they exceeded the server's capacity to process information, they would naturally think of upgrading the hardware. In order to prevent the spread of panic, the New York Stock Exchange would definitely use all its resources. But without servers, even if you have the biggest ideas, it's useless. So, from the very beginning, these guys' escape route was cut off.

As a Wall Street crocodile, John naturally wouldn't show mercy. Once caught in this disaster, there was no escape. Attacking the New York Stock Exchange's servers himself was out of the question—too dangerous. The servers themselves lacked sufficient processing capacity; that was the exchange's problem. John believed that the New York Stock Exchange's servers would crash soon, and once that happened, the consequences would be unimaginable. Even a restart would take time, and that time would be the final straw, causing them to collapse. At that point, the New York Stock Exchange would be in a state of utter devastation, and those who hadn't completed their trades would be plunged into an even greater crisis and disaster, paying a far greater price.

Faced with the server crisis, the New York Stock Exchange management dared not conceal anything and reported it directly. Otherwise, if a crisis were to occur, the consequences would be unimaginable, and they would have to bear all the responsibility.

However, this news was quickly exposed by the media, because someone had already interviewed Dream World and inquired about the situation at the New York Stock Exchange. After all, such a massive information processing problem had already been exposed by some competitors, especially those guys from IBM who even reported the server index of the New York Stock Exchange.

But that wasn't the worst of it. Soon, another terrifying piece of news reached Wall Street: David Rudd, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, upon learning of the situation in New York, ignorantly stated in Washington, "If it comes to a critical moment—though we don't know when that critical moment will be—I will discuss with the stock exchange the possibility of temporarily closing it." This news exacerbated the panic. If the exchange closed, traders wouldn't have time to sell their stocks, and their holdings could plummet, potentially becoming worthless.

Upon hearing this news, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted like a collapsing dam, crashing down like a flood. Ironically, the New York Stock Exchange, and many other exchanges in general, hadn't updated their servers, deeming it unnecessary. But now, with the crisis unfolding, they understood just how devastating it could be.

At this point, even before the market closed, some people on Wall Street had already committed suicide by jumping off buildings. Yesterday, he was a millionaire, or even a multi-millionaire, whom everyone envied, but now he was a millionaire in debt, or even a multi-millionaire in debt. If he also had to factor in bank interest, he would be beyond saving.

Now, both major television networks have made full preparations on Wall Street, and all of this is being reported directly to the American public, exacerbating the panic among Americans and making them realize that the stock market has undergone such astonishing changes in just half a day. How could this not make them fearful and uneasy?

As David Luther spoke, the stock market plummeted. Although what he said was true, the situation on the major exchanges was indeed dire, and the servers simply couldn't handle such a massive amount of information. This only deepened people's panic, and the selling pressure intensified, with panic spreading rapidly.

Originally, it was thought that their own servers could hold up until the market closed, but unexpectedly, the New York Stock Exchange's servers crashed just after the afternoon had passed. Because of John's careful calculation and planning, the trading that broke out on Black Monday far exceeded expectations. As soon as this happened, the market panicked even more, and some people even thought that the market was closed.

Although the New York Stock Exchange management came forward to explain, few people believed them. They instinctively thought it was the start of a market closure, which made the situation at the New York Stock Exchange even more chaotic. Some people even went so far as to vandalize and damage everything at the exchange.

Chaos erupted. The entire New York Stock Exchange was thrown into chaos instantly. At this point, even the presence of security guards was useless, because once such emotions erupted, even if it started with just a few people, it would quickly break the nerve of many others, making them go berserk and do crazy things.

"Boss, this is terrible! The New York Stock Exchange is in chaos! Their servers have crashed, causing widespread panic and making things spiral out of control. Countless people have gone berserk, smashing and looting everything at the exchange. The situation is completely out of control. Wall Street is in big trouble, the entire United States is in big trouble. If this isn't resolved soon, the consequences will be unimaginable!" Jimmy rushed to see Morgan Stanley to report the situation at the New York Stock Exchange. He was shocked and terrified by the magnitude of the incident. This crisis was making the stock market even more uncontrollable. Someone had to step up and calm the public's fears, otherwise things would spiral out of control!
(End of this chapter)