This Game Is Too Realistic-Chapter 530.2: Dad, Lend Me Some Money!

Better than anyone, he knew how desperate the wastelanders were, and how much they craved life in the inner city. For that black card, they’d grovel in the dirt, peel off their dignity and hearts, and toss them into boiling oil.

“Yes, he’s a new noble. I even helped him get that black card. But the real core power of the inner city still has nothing to do with him. I can rally half the nobles to vote with me. He still has to worry about politics, worry about whom not to offend when voting. If he wants to stand firm in the inner city, he has to rely on us, on our family. He needs to kiss up to this vast web of blood vessels flowing through this tower.”

“You can think of him as our family’s dog.”

Looking into her husband’s confident eyes, Bonnie felt slightly reassured and placed her hand on his shoulder. “This family relies entirely on you. Just... don’t wear yourself out.”

She didn’t understand the complicated things.

Her father had protected her well. But from the occasional sorrow on her maid’s face, the bitterness when she wrote to her sweetheart, and her trembling reverence whenever she spoke to Bonnie... Bonnie could guess that life outside probably wasn’t easy.

Wrapping an arm around his wife’s waist, Sid declared with conviction, “Don’t worry. Your husband is not fighting alone. We are descendants of those noble pioneers who built a new world from the ruins of nothing.”

“And our enemies? They’re just a bunch of brain-frozen moles and scavengers with spoiled bellies.”

“They don’t understand true strategy. We see right through them, while they don’t even know what cards we hold.”

“We will not lose!”

...

"Hahaha! Those stupid pigs! You have no idea, when I told that idiot Sid he could use 90 chips to buy 100 chips' worth of debt, the expression on his face was absolutely priceless! Who knew a refined and elegant man could turn into a pig in just one second?!"

In a mansion in Dawn City, Liszt was laughing wildly, his face full of smugness and unrestrained mockery.

He vividly described to Chu Guang how he had tricked that greedy fat pig at the banquet, step by step luring him into the cage he had prepared, until the pig willingly looped the rope around its own neck.

Chu Guang listened with a smile and clapped his hand once. "Brilliant."

"You flatter me!" Suppressing the frivolous grin on his face, Liszt gave a slight bow and said respectfully, "No matter how brilliant my performance was, I was only an actor on stage. It can’t compare to you, who designed the entire stage for me!"

"Don’t be so modest! Flattering me won’t get you any favors," Chu Guang chuckled. "Did you bring the goods?"

"They’re right here." Liszt clapped his hands lightly.

Soon, his trusted aide Han Long pushed the door open and walked in from the study, carrying two large briefcases. At Liszt’s signal, Han Long laid the cases flat on an empty table in the room and opened the locks.

Inside, stacks of black-and-white chips lay neatly, each marked with a crown emblem, all with a denomination of 10,000.

Liszt turned to Chu Guang and said respectfully, "Please inspect them."

Chu Guang glanced at Lu Bei, who was standing beside him. "You count it."

"Yes, sir!" Lu Bei nodded crisply and walked over to the cases.

Even though Chu Guang trusted that Liszt had counted the chips thoroughly and wouldn't dare deceive him, having Lu Bei perform the count gave him peace of mind.

And as always, Lu Bei was meticulous with his tasks. He began verifying the stacks, one by one, with full focus.

Watching the young man count the money with such intensity, Liszt relaxed a little and looked at Chu Guang with a smile. "As per your instructions, I’ve already resold more than half the bonds to the more prominent nobles in Boulder Town. No doubt, they’ll soon flip them to the local factories."

If the previous wave of inflation had led to the concentration of wealth in the hands of nobles and merchants who held the means of production, then this wave, driven by subprime debt, would make even the merchants feel the bitter aftertaste of that sweet poison.

Those merchants were the slyest of them all.

They enjoyed the warmth of the economic hot springs with greed, but the moment the water started to burn, they were always the first to flinch.

That was why, when necessary, they would pull the slightly dimwitted but powerful nobles in with them to face any external threat.

So to fleece them, one had to be more clever. They would sell the butcher’s knife to the nobles of the inner city first, and have them do the bloody work.

The total of 3 billion in debt was only the beginning.

Neither Liszt nor Chu Guang had ever promised Boulder Town that it would be the last loan, nor that they wouldn’t use new debt to repay old ones.

"There’s one thing I don’t quite understand," Liszt suddenly said.

"What is it?"

"The New Alliance has accounts in Boulder Town, right?" Liszt asked with confusion. "Since the chips have to be traded there anyway, why not just transfer them directly? Why insist on cash?"

Chu Guang smiled and replied casually, "Because this money isn't for purchasing goods, it’s bait. In this game, we can only guarantee our credit. Others... not so much. So I need part of the cash off-the-books to honor our promises."

He glanced at the briefcases on the table.

Following Chu Guang’s instructions, Liszt had made Sid prepay 20 million chips as a deposit, all in cash, and arranged for it to be delivered to the New Alliance.

No one dared question Sid about the purpose of the withdrawal. And since 20 million was neither a small nor overly large amount, Boulder Town Bank wouldn’t notice anything suspicious.

Half of the 20 million was used to pay off existing debt to Boulder Town Bank. The other half was a message to Malvern. The New Alliance was already prepared to cover next year’s principal and interest.

He didn’t even need to think about using debt to strong-arm the New Alliance into making concessions!

Malvern was a clever man. He already sensed that earning too much of the local currency was like drinking a bellyful of bubbles, and would certainly use debt as leverage. He might push for freer circulation between chips and silver coins, or ask the New Alliance to help offload the excess liquidity somewhere else.

Whether that meant allowing chip to CR conversion, or pricing the Lion Kingdom’s grain and West Continent Municipality’s mineral resources in chips, those were all viable levers.

But Chu Guang had no intention of letting that sly fox escape easily. In fact, he planned to drag him in even deeper into the abyss.

Malvern would never have guessed that his biggest shareholder, impatient to please the New Alliance, had already rushed to repay the year-end principal and interest, essentially stabbing him in the back without his knowledge.

Liszt nodded, half-understanding. "So what about the remaining money? Pulling out 830 million chips in cash is no small feat. Boulder Town Bank will definitely notice. Even if Sid tries to withdraw it himself, it won’t be easy."

Chu Guang smiled. "Nonsense. There’s no need to carry it out of their city. What would I do with that much waste paper? We’ll use it to buy things. Part of it will go toward repurchasing discounted debt, and part toward purchasing production materials. I may need your help with that."

Liszt’s curiosity was piqued. "What is the New Alliance buying?"

Chu Guang didn’t tell him. He simply replied,

"Anything that can’t be bought with the 510 million mid to long-term loan Boulder Town Bank issued us can be bought with this cash. Our Industrial Department and Finance Department have compiled a list. I can tell you it exists, but not what’s on it."

Well, that would be unfair to other competitors.

Liszt wanted to sell Boulder Town for a good price, and Chu Guang would make sure he got his fair share, but only the agreed-upon part.

The New Alliance’s future plans were another matter entirely.

Liszt immediately understood and didn’t ask further. Smiling, he casually changed the subject. "Alright, just let me know when you need me... But seriously, your efficiency is off the charts. One meeting and everyone reached consensus. Meanwhile, the nobles in the inner city would argue for a week over who gets one extra bite of chicken, and then suddenly rush through the important decisions."

"That’s their problem." Seeing Lu Bei nod at him, Chu Guang smiled and rose from the sofa, shaking hands with the also-standing Liszt. "But I promise, everyone will get their share. Not one bite less than they deserve."

Firmly grasping that strong, steel-like hand, Liszt returned the smile and replied with utmost respect. "It’s an honor to serve you!"

...

While the upper echelons of Boulder Town and the New Alliance were playing their political chess, the three-day celebration had finally entered its closing act.

After the night, people would return to their daily routines and go back to work.

Yet hardly anyone felt disappointed. In fact, they were looking forward to sunrise the next day.

The moment the sun rose, they would only need to work eight hours a day, and not only would their wages remain untouched, their bosses would be required to pay them more. The New Alliance demanded cooperation from employers. Those who refused could pack up and move next door.

Compared to a fast-growing and limitless market, what did a little extra labor cost matter?

Smart people could do the math.

Elsewhere, with Ample Time’s help, Dori had just finished writing her column.

She was about to share the good news with her boss, Hal, when she saw him arrive from Boulder Town...

He came with a large group of employees in tow, all dusty and disheveled, carrying luggage like they’d just been kicked out.

At the doorstep by Linghu Lake, after hearing Hal’s explanation, Dori’s eyes widened. "The newspaper was dissolved?!"

Hal looked guilty under her shocked gaze and muttered, "... It wasn’t my decision."

"I know that! But... Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!" Dori clenched her fists in anger.