Reborn in 1950: Shorting the Federal Reserve at the Start

The air in the sewers beneath Wall Street is damp and cold, mixed with the smell of rotting silt and some indescribable stench of money.

Shen Jinghong wrapped his black trench coat tighter around himself, his feet treading on slippery moss, holding the powerful flashlight he'd swiped from the hardware store, illuminating the thick, despair-inducing concrete wall in front of him.

This is the outermost defensive perimeter of the Federal Reserve's underground vaults.

"Is this what's touted as the world's most secure vault?"

Shen Jinghong curled her lip, flicking the mud off her shoes with a look of disgust. "The road is a bit difficult to walk on, and the smell is a bit strong, but aren't these security measures a bit too reliant on these few-meter-thick walls?"

Logically, to enter this place, one would have to pass through that 90-ton steel gate, go through five identity verification checks, and deal with a group of heavily armed security personnel.

But Shen Jinghong was an efficient person and he didn't like to use the front door.

Since it's hard to get in through the door, let's tear down the wall.

He walked up to the reinforced concrete wall, which was at least a meter thick, and knocked on it. The sound was dull and deep, with alloy steel plates embedded in it. It would take a tank half a day to blast it, let alone explosives.

"System, stop pretending to be dead, let's eat."

Shen Jinghong placed her palm on the rough wall, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes.

[Beep! High-strength composite defensive wall detected. Composition: C40 concrete, manganese steel alloy plate, cut-resistant fiber... Determined to be an unclaimed/hostile obstacle.]

Is a fee charged?

"Take it! Pull out even the steel bars inside; we'll need building materials when we go back to build our house."

hum-

The air seemed to distort for a moment.

The wall in front of them, which was enough to make any master thief despair, vanished into thin air like pencil lines erased by an eraser.

The dark passage behind it was revealed, along with the gleaming golden gate at the end of the passage.

Shen Jinghong whistled and stepped across what was once a wall but was now an air barrier, as easily as passing through the fence of his own backyard.

Once you cross this barrier, the air inside instantly becomes dry and fresh.

There were no alarms, no infrared beams (which weren't common in those days), only deathly silence.

He followed the same method and successively "ate" away three load-bearing walls and two alloy fences, finally standing in the legendary core storage area.

The moment Shen Jinghong put the last blast door into his space, the blinding golden light almost dazzled him.

Although he was mentally prepared, the visual impact of actually facing the mountain of gold still made him gasp for breath.

gold.

It's all gold.

Neatly stacked gold bricks were piled up on a huge metal rack, reaching all the way to the ceiling. In the dim light of the emergency lights, they emitted a captivating yet eerie luster, like a sleeping golden beast lying quietly in this underground labyrinth.

This includes not only the US's own reserves, but also the assets that European countries transported during World War II to seek refuge.

Now, they all share the surname Shen.

"No wonder the US speaks so loudly; he really has a strong backbone."

Shen Jinghong walked to the nearest shelf, reached out her hand, and gently ran her fingertips across the cool and delicate metal surface.

That touch, heavy and weighty, carrying a sense of historical weight, made my heart race even faster than touching a girl's hand.

He used both hands to lift a heavy standard gold bar and weighed it in his hands.

It's really heavy.

How much grain could one gold brick exchange for in China? How many machine tools could it buy? How many children could sit in bright classrooms and study?

"This isn't gold; it's clearly the foundation of our country's industrialization."

Shen Jinghong's gaze was as tender as if he were looking at his first love, but a mischievous smile curled at the corner of his mouth. "This feel, tsk tsk, it's just like love. Unfortunately, this love is one-sided; I'm only responsible for possession."

"System, move it! Don't leave them a single gold dust!"

He suddenly spread his arms wide, like a mouse pouncing into a rice jar, and began a frenzied looting.

That exhilarating feeling of "leaving nothing but desolation in its wake" returned once again.

One after another, mountains of gold disappeared under his hands.

Area A, which was originally packed with people, is now empty.

Section B is empty.

Section C...

Shen Jinghong was drenched in sweat from running, but he didn't feel tired at all. Instead, he felt full of inexhaustible energy. The feeling of watching the enemy's national treasury turn into his own personal coffers was even more intoxicating than drinking two ounces of strong liquor.

"This shelf is nice, made of high-quality steel. I'll take it! I'll use it as shelving in the warehouse."

"This cart is quite smooth, I'll keep it! I'll use it to haul coal briquettes at the base from now on."

"Oh, there's a box of diamonds in the corner? Wow, you've got some serious secret stash of money hidden away, confiscate it!"

After half an hour.

The once magnificent underground vault of the Federal Reserve, which represented the heart of the world's financial hegemony, has been completely transformed into a bare concrete cave.

Not to mention the gold BRICS, Shen Jinghong didn't even spare the anti-slip mats on the ground and the thermometers and hygrometers on the wall.

He sat on a bare concrete floor, panting heavily, looking at the empty surroundings, feeling an overwhelming sense of satisfaction.

Just then, the system in my mind, which had only ever given mechanical announcements, suddenly emitted a different notification tone:

[Ding! Detection indicates the host's accumulated wealth has exceeded the threshold.]

[System functionality upgrade in progress...]

[Congratulations, host, you have unlocked a new feature: Reverse Engineering of Blueprints (Beginner Level).]

[Function Description: For any technological product stored in the data center, the system can automatically analyze its internal structure and generate reverse engineering drawings that conform to current industrial standards.]

Shen Jinghong was stunned for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh, almost jumping up in excitement.

"That's a real cheat!"

He had previously worried that simply bringing the airplanes and artillery back would require a considerable amount of time for domestic engineers to fully understand the technology. After all, reverse engineering isn't something you can understand just by disassembling it; the core lies in the material formulas and processing techniques.

Now that we have this feature, we can build whatever we want.

"We have the money, and we can get the blueprints done..."

Shen Jinghong got up from the ground and dusted himself off. His gaze seemed to pierce through the thick wall, looking towards the distant south.

Since this system is so powerful, I need to be bolder with my plans.

Money and conventional weapons alone are not enough.

In this dog-eat-dog world, if you really want others not to dare to bully you, you must hold a big stick that can overturn the table.

Truth lies only within the range of a shot, and dignity lies only on the edge of a sword.

In 1950, the greatest truth on this planet was hidden in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in the top-secret project known as the "Manhattan Project."

"Mr. Eagle, I've taken your money bag, and I've also seized your planes."

Shen Jinghong straightened his collar and waved at the empty vault, as if saying goodbye to an old friend who was about to go bankrupt.

"Next, lend me that big firecracker you use to scare people. After all, I'd like to hear it make a sound too."

He turned and walked back through the passage he had come from, his steps light and quick, his shadow stretching long in the dim light.

"Next stop, Oak Ridge. Mr. Oppenheimer, I hope your heart is strong enough to handle the surprise of this 'stolen' incident."