Tokyo, 1991: Starting as a bank clerk

Chapter 164 This place is very dangerous [Second update, please vote]

Kiryu laughed heartily and said, "Then I'll dare to offer my opinion."

He paused, a serious look in his eyes: "Dongzhenghui's current highly efficient, decentralized trading model essentially relies on the consensus among its members."

"People are willing to exchange points for transactions because they believe the information here is valuable."

"Things built on consensus often end up being destroyed by consensus itself."

Kiryu Yaya succinctly summarized the essential problems that the East Association will face in the future in just a few words.

"Destroyed by consensus —"

Seiichi Takatsukasa repeated the sentence, his tone tinged with contemplation, and then asked, "How should this sentence be understood?"

Kiryu Yaya slowly said, "The current operating model of the East Association is based on a consensus on valuable information, which is why it can operate efficiently."

"But consensus is never something that is unbreakable."

He turned around and looked at the huge black screen, his gaze deep and unfocused.

"As the Dongzheng Association continues to expand and attracts more and more members, the supply of information will grow exponentially."

"This isn't a bad thing, but the problem is that valuable information is diluted at this point."

"But in order to maintain trading activity and the circulation of points, the platform needs to continuously generate information that appears valuable."

"But truly scarce information is limited. What happens when supply can't keep up with demand?"

Kiryu Yaya paused for a moment.

"The information supply side will be corrupted."

"Information that shouldn't have entered the distribution channels, that is unverified, or even deliberately fabricated, will begin to fill the market. At first, it's just on the periphery, but it slowly infiltrates the core."

"At first, members won't notice."

"Because the platform's reputation for efficiency remains, and previous success stories are still being repeatedly mentioned, people still trust this system."

"But this trust will slowly be eroded."

Seiichi Takatsukasa frowned slightly, but he did not interrupt.

Seeing that the other person seemed to have difficulty understanding, Kiryu Yaya gave an example: "It's like a crow flying into a flock of pigeons. At first, the pigeons will be wary and reject it. But if this crow brings back food every day, the pigeons will gradually accept it and even start to imitate it."

"Over time, the pigeons acquired crow genes."

"Then, the crows' offspring continued to bring back food and continued to reproduce. The proportion of pigeons decreased, and the number of crows increased."

"Until one day, the flock of pigeons realized that they were no longer a flock of pigeons."

"But at this point, it's impossible to go back to the original state."

After listening, Seiichi Takatsukasa remained silent for a long time before carefully choosing his words: "You mean—the East Refinement Association will die from internal quality control failures?"

Kiryu Yaya shook his head: "This is an inevitable outcome that any information platform will face as it expands."

Seiichi Takatsukasa frowned: "Are there any measures, such as establishing a review mechanism, introducing authoritative certifications, or setting entry thresholds?"

Kiryu Yaya shook his head: "The core competitiveness of the East Association is high efficiency."

"Once an approval process is implemented, efficiency decreases. This decrease in efficiency leads to a further deterioration in the quality of high-value members and information. It's a vicious cycle with no solution."

"So your conclusion is————"

Seiichi Takatsukasa's tone became serious.

Kiryu Yaya took a deep breath.

"My conclusion is that the current operating model of the Dongzheng Association is a sustainable and excellent model as long as the membership size remains below a certain threshold."

"But once a certain critical point is crossed, expansion itself can become the cause of destruction."

After Kiryu Yaya finished speaking, he paused for a few seconds, then smiled shyly: "Of course, this is just a newcomer's wild thoughts. Senior, just listen to it and don't take it seriously."

Seiichi Takatsukasa did not laugh.

He picked up the glass of whiskey, his gaze fixed on the screen in the distance, and remained silent for a long time without moving.

Then he sighed, "Kiryu-kun, you're absolutely right."

"But unfortunately, even if it is heading towards extinction, the expansion of the Eastern Committee must not stop."

Upon hearing this, Kiryu Yaya was startled.

Judging from Seiichi Takaji's tone, the existence of the Toei Society seems to have a special mission.

He knew he was headed for destruction.

But he still chose to continue.

Kiryu Yaya wanted to know more, but Takatsukasa Seiichi didn't continue the topic.

He downed the rest of his whiskey in one gulp, then took a thin black card from his suit pocket and handed it to Kiryu Yaya.

The card is entirely black, except for a string of gold-plated numbers and letters printed in the lower right corner:

1000P.

Kiryu Yaya looked up, puzzled, and asked, "Senpai, what's this?"

Takatsukasa Seiichi chuckled softly, then suddenly remembered that this young man was a first-time member of the East Association, so he introduced, "This is an anonymous points card with a thousand points on it. It's not worth much. Since you're a new member, take it and play around with it. Consider it payment for keeping me company."

Kiryu Yaya repeatedly declined, saying, "Senpai, this is too precious—"

Upon hearing this, Takatsukasa Seiichi laughed heartily: "It's nothing to me, just accept it. It shows we get along well."

Seeing this, Kiryu Yaya no longer declined, accepted the points card with both hands, and said, "It is a gift from an elder, and I cannot refuse it."

"Kiryu thanks you, senpai."

Takatsukasa Seiichi was quite pleased with Kiryu Yaya's manners, and he nodded slightly: "Go ahead and get busy, no need to see me off. We can talk again sometime."

After saying that, he picked up the empty whiskey glass and turned to walk deeper into the trading hall.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped without looking back.

"Kiryu-kun."

"The waters around Dongzhenghui are very deep."

How far you can swim depends on your ability, not the points you have.

"Make good use of your wisdom."

"Don't waste it."

After saying that, he continued walking forward.

His pace was neither fast nor slow, carrying a composure that could only be cultivated after one had become accustomed to power and money.

Kiryu Yaya stood there, watching his figure disappear between the rows of semi-circular high tables.

Then, he looked at the black points card in his hand.

1000P.

One thousand points.

Based on a 10,000 yen to 1 point exchange rate, this unassuming little card is worth 10 million yen.

I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to reach the level of Seiichi Takatsukasa, who can casually throw money around like that.

Kiryu Yaya shook his head.

Then I walked to the nearest empty table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

With the help of a staff member, he inserted his points card into the card slot next to the screen.

The screen lit up.

Then, in the pop-up text box, Kiryu Yaya entered his own number.

Then, the previously zero points balance began to fluctuate—

0, 300, 600, 800 —

Finally, it came to a steady stop at 1000P.