Chapter 180: Black October - II

Frank was an ordinary working man. Both he and his wife had jobs, while their child was cared for by his mother living next door.

With two incomes, they naturally earned much more than a single earner. Over several years, that added up to a substantial sum.

Frank’s job sometimes involved dealing with the wealthy elite of Eminence. He knew better than most that overnight riches there weren’t a myth. After discussing with his wife, he opened an account with a financial firm.

It should be noted that ordinary people found it hard to trade stocks directly. Manual matching processes often caused them to miss the best opportunities. Faster, stable trading required private trading seats.

Such seats cost nearly a million each—far beyond ordinary means. So people had to entrust brokers to trade their accounts, paying multiple fees.

After some time, Frank and his wife made a decent profit.

When the market was bullish, even the worst stocks performed well, let alone those carefully picked by brokers.

Their funds quickly grew from a few thousand to nearly a hundred thousand—a huge sum for an average family.

But recently, the market turned difficult. Except for a few heavyweight stocks holding firm, most stocks’ upward momentum slowed.

Brokers called it a temporary adjustment and promised stocks would rise again afterward.

Many believed this because 95% of Eminence’s residents knew little to nothing about stocks. Only 5% were actual financial professionals.

The influx of inexperienced investors fueled the market boom, and many gained substantial dividends.

Lately, brokers recommended Frank buy certain bonds, claiming it was the best chance to cash out with over 10% profit—no better deal existed.

They said price fluctuations weren’t a worry because bonds’ ceiling price was their face value. Unless the issuing country added incentives, which only raised the cap, never lowered it.

In other words, a guaranteed profit. If no one else bought the bonds later, holders could still redeem them for cash.

After brushing up on bond basics, Frank and his wife agreed—at least according to the books they checked, bonds didn’t depreciate. If they’d consulted more professional sources, maybe they’d have thought differently.

But even then, it’s uncertain they would have chosen otherwise.

Ultimately, they invested all their savings plus bank credit loans into the first batch of foreign-issued war bonds. Because bond investments never lost money, they felt confident.

“About 12%, over twenty thousand!” Frank told family and friends, celebrating with an $8.99 bottle of liquor. Amid envious eyes, he felt on cloud nine, lucky and sharp enough to become a full-time investor. He even drafted a study plan—though it was already late.

All hopes for a bright future ended abruptly on the last Friday night of last month.

The final issue of Trading News used a quarter of its front page to warn investors bluntly about the huge risks of bond currency exchange. This time, the warning wasn’t buried beneath sensational headlines—it was stark and direct.

All of it stemmed from the Federal government’s total failure in international diplomacy.

During August and September, the presidential cabinet had hoped to resolve these issues diplomatically, but they clearly failed.

Neither the victorious nor the defeated countries of the world war held any goodwill toward the Baylor Federation. They delayed and shirked obligations at every opportunity.

Diplomatic failure quickly spiraled out of control. The first batch of war bonds was about to mature, but major banks had already cleared out whatever bonds they could and refused to redeem bonds or handle redemption services.

They knew these bonds were as good as worthless paper, bringing no value and only dragging them deeper into trouble.

So Trading News no longer hid the truth. It exposed the problems clearly, proving once again it was a newspaper that dared to tell the truth, with principles and conscience.

Its stance mirrored that of the Federation at the time—absolutely neutral, favoring no one.

After reading the report, Frank broke out in a cold sweat. He immediately asked his broker about bond redemption and went to the bank.

The bank flatly rejected his request and told him he could travel to the bond-issuing country’s bank to redeem in person. But redeeming domestically was impossible.

Still stubborn, Frank called the issuing bank. Initially, they said redemption was always available, giving him hope.

But after he gave them his bond code, they told him these bonds involved risks and redemption was temporarily suspended. That moment crushed Frank’s spirit.

Over a hundred thousand Sol, ten years of effort, all worthless paper.

Worst of all, he still had to pay monthly living expenses and loan interest. Otherwise, the bank would seize his and his parents’ house, his car. He’d be forced to move to a worse neighborhood, or even end up homeless with his family.

In despair, he called his broker.

“You knew all along, didn’t you!” Frank’s voice was low and furious, like a volcano about to erupt.

After a pause, the broker replied dryly, “If I said I didn’t know, would you believe me?”

Frank knew from that silence the broker had inside information, which made him angrier.

“We’ve known each other for years, worked well together. Why would you betray me? I thought we were friends.”

The broker chuckled, “Frank, friends like you fill several address books in my pocket.”

“You’ve made good money with my help these years. This is just a setback. Understand, I’m innocent too.”

“Our superiors told us to recommend these bonds. All we could do was call you, explain the profits and risks. The decision was yours, not mine.”

Broker calls followed a standard script. They never hid risks but used language tricks to distort their meaning.

When recommending bonds, the broker warned Frank of risks but made him believe it only meant the possibility of no one else buying the bonds later.

When the broker said Frank could redeem at face value, those risks ceased to seem real.

Frank’s voice grew more agitated. “You lied to me. That fact won’t change. You lied—give me my money back!”

The broker’s tone turned impatient. “First, I never lied. I said it was your decision.”

“Second, our contract said you bear the risks. When you made profits, why didn’t you call me to split them?”

“Wake up. You’re not a child who cries without candy. If you have nothing else, I’m hanging up—I don’t have time to waste.”

“Instead of wasting time, you should think about your future.”

With a snap, the phone slammed onto its base, and a busy signal buzzed through. Lynch exploded with rage—he was pushed to the edge.

If it were just their own savings lost, it might be bearable. But this included credit loans from the bank, part of his parents’ savings, and their own credit loans.

Once the credit loans became available, nearly everyone selected had taken them. In hard times, nothing felt safer than holding some cash.

But this also made problems that hadn’t existed before become terrifying.

The whole family might end up homeless.

After locking himself in his room for two days, Frank finally decided to escalate the matter. This wasn’t a rash choice, but a well-considered one.

As the first to make a fuss, if the federal government helped solve these issues, he—as the symbol of the problem’s origin—would be first in line for a solution.

Whether it meant going to prison didn’t matter much to him. He knew ten years of hard work couldn’t recover his lost money, but if ten years behind bars could, he felt it was worth it.

So on Sunday night, armed with a dagger and some ropes, he went to visit his broker.

This was why the broker appeared at the exchange that day with such a sullen expression.