Chapter 277 : The Invisible Hand (12)
‘So that’s what this was all about…!’
Stein felt as if he had been smacked hard in the back of the head.
As the final puzzle piece clicked into place, he finally saw Ha Si-heon’s grand plan.
‘His ultimate goal all along was to make me switch sides to Stark.’
The current AI market was split into two camps—Stark and Gooble—locked in a tense tug-of-war.
Capital was also distributed almost equally between the two.
In that situation, what would happen if someone like Stein, a key figure in the Gooble camp, defected to Stark?
‘The balance would collapse instantly.’
The moment that massive weight shifted to the other side, the scales would tip dramatically in Stark’s favor.
Massive capital would flood into Stark like a tsunami.
AI stocks related to Stark would skyrocket across the board.
And then?
“You never intended to make money in Brazil in the first place, did you? Because you'd make up for it with AI anyway.”
Ha Si-heon didn’t deny it.
‘So that’s what this was about from the beginning…!’
He had already bet huge amounts on AI-related Stark stocks.
Which meant, the moment the scales tipped in that direction, he stood to gain astronomical profits.
So to Ha Si-heon, it didn’t matter whether he made money in Brazil or not.
As long as he could... drag Stein into Stark’s camp!
[There’s an old saying in Eastern military strategy: ‘Give up flesh to take the bone.’]
Brazil was the discarded “flesh.”
While his opponent tore into that flesh, Ha Si-heon would seize the larger, tougher “bone”—the entire AI market.
Stein understood it in his head...
But he still couldn’t accept it.
“Are you out of your mind? You're going to burn $800 million for a single move?”
Eight hundred million dollars was no small sum.
Even if he planned to recoup more than that in the AI market...
To throw away that much money without any guarantee the plan would work?
Was this really something a sane person would do?
And what if Stein didn’t switch sides to Stark and just held out?
Still, Ha Si-heon was calm.
[Let’s just call it an investment.]
“What kind of lunatic calls this an investment?”
No, this couldn’t even be called an investment.
It was outright madness.
And then—
A chilling voice came through the receiver.
[Do you believe I’m serious now?]
‘Again with that damn sincerity!’
By now, that phrase sounded like a cursed mantra on repeat.
[If you still don’t believe I’m sincere, I’ll simply increase my position to $1 billion. Oh, did I mention I have another engagement tomorrow? I’ll be appearing on a broadcast. I plan to mention the possibility of a Black Swan event in Brazil.]
Until now, Ha Si-heon had only raised the stakes.
He had never directly mentioned a “Black Swan.”
But now he was going to make it official.
“B-but there’s no solid basis for Brazil being a Black Swan…”
[You’re right, there isn’t. But does that even matter?]
He was right.
Even without offering any evidence, plenty of people were ready to believe Ha Si-heon.
After all, he had accurately predicted Black Swan events in Malaysia, Greece, and China.
The bigger problem?
Some of the people who trusted Ha Si-heon were Stein’s own core clients.
[Are you okay with that?]
He absolutely wasn’t.
In fact, at this very moment, he was being flooded with calls from massive institutional investors.
Just the news that Ha Si-heon had taken a short position in Brazil had already sparked panic—people feared a Black Swan event was imminent.
If Ha Si-heon went on air and officially declared it?
‘Then they’ll all dump their positions—no questions asked.’
Of course, just because a client requested something didn’t mean Stein had to comply.
He could try to convince them with logic like, “Ha Si-heon has no evidence—we deal in facts.”
But that was not an option Stein could afford.
That path would inevitably lead to conflict with his biggest clients.
And if that conflict led to a loss of trust—and eventually, fund withdrawals?
He could see billions of dollars being pulled out of the fund.
Ridiculously, none of this had anything to do with what was actually happening in Brazil.
[I can handle a $1 billion loss. Can you?]
‘This guy’s completely nuts!’
Ha Si-heon was tearing up the rules of investing.
It was no longer about who made the most money.
It was about who could lose the most and still survive.
And in that kind of battle, Ha Si-heon had the overwhelming advantage.
Because he was burning his own capital.
He didn’t need to follow anyone’s rules or worry about appearances.
Stein, on the other hand?
The funds he invested in Brazil were other people’s money.
He had to abide by client risk parameters.
Still, Stein didn’t want to surrender so easily to Ha Si-heon’s threats.
He hated to lose, and flipping his AI position overnight would be a devastating blow to his reputation.
If he publicly reversed a stance he had already declared, his credibility would evaporate.
So Stein decided to test Ha Si-heon.
“...What if I abandon Brazil too, and go head-to-head with you in the AI space?”
What if Stein also cut his losses in Brazil and went all in on the AI market, directly challenging Ha Si-heon?
Ha Si-heon had been willing to take losses in Brazil to secure AI gains—if Stein could block those gains, wouldn’t that be a win?
If Stein didn’t switch to Stark, then Ha Si-heon’s plan wouldn’t go as intended.
But then, Ha Si-heon asked quietly:
[Are you sure you won’t regret it?]
A chill ran down his spine.
That was the tone of someone who was prepared.
[I only planned to give this ‘opportunity’ to one person. And I wanted that person to be you. But if not... well, I’ll just have to roll the dice again.]
No choice left?
“Dice…?”
[Oh, I mean I’ll go ‘convince’ someone else.]
Now, Stein felt like he could finally understand Ha Si-heon’s language.
He said he would “persuade” someone, but what he really meant was threatening another macro fund member.
The method was obvious.
It would be another one of his insane “give up the flesh to take the bone” threats.
Then—
[All I need is one person. Just one to tip the scales. And that person doesn’t necessarily have to be you, Mr. Stein.]
At those words, Stein’s mind froze for a moment.
‘If even one person gives in to his threats?’
The capital scales in the AI market would tip.
Stark-related stock would skyrocket, and Gooble stock would collapse.
And then...
Those who stayed on the Gooble side till the end would suffer massive losses.
[I believe you understand that only the first to defect becomes the winner. Everyone else becomes the loser.]
Only the one who turns first gets rewarded.
This... was a classic prisoner’s dilemma.
The structure where police separate accomplices and offer immunity to the first one who confesses.
If everyone stays silent, they all survive together.
But the moment one person defects—
The traitor walks free, and the rest suffer double the punishment.
So now, the question was...
Would the other members hold on and stay loyal?
‘No, this isn’t even a matter of loyalty anymore.’
Right now, this lunatic named Ha Si-heon was chasing after them, talking about bones and flesh, trying to rip off pieces himself—
Could the entire Macro Fund really withstand such mad threats without a single defection?
If even one person got scared and changed their position...
[I really tried, but it’s a shame you still don’t believe in my sincerity. Well, there are five of you. Surely one of you will believe me. Anyway, goodbye~]
“Wait!”
Stein’s voice shot out reflexively.
His lips were dry, but he barely managed to speak.
“I’ll try... believing you.”
It was a difficult decision.
At those words, Ha Si-heon’s voice instantly brightened.
[So you finally believe me? I’m truly glad. I hope we can be great partners.]
‘Partner, my ass...’
His stomach turned.
It felt like he had boarded the last ship on Earth he ever wanted to be on.
“Then, I’ll contact you again after I liquidate the position.”
But just as he tried to quickly end the call—
[Ah, about that. Would you consider letting me handle it for you?]
“Handle it...?”
Stein flinched.
A familiar chill crept up his spine.
“Is there... some card you’re still hiding?”
At that, a calm chuckle came through the receiver.
[It’s nothing much. Just... if we’re going to do this, isn’t it better to do it in a way that maximizes the effect rather than doing it half-baked?]
***
After finishing the persuasion, I quietly set my phone down and muttered softly.
“Well... I’ve successfully triggered the defection.”
The biggest hurdle was over, but the real task remained.
Now, there was one thing to consider—
How do I let the world know about Stein’s defection?
‘It has to generate the maximum impact.’
My goal was clear.
Use Stein’s defection as the catalyst to push Stark-related stocks to their absolute peak.
‘The higher the stock price, the better.’
And it wasn’t just about profits.
This was also a critical step for the most urgent task at hand—accelerating the pace of technology.
‘We need to accelerate AI infrastructure and hardware.’
Of course, the first step had already been taken.
Many companies were announcing plans to move up their launch dates.
But—
Announcing something and actually delivering on that promise were two completely different things.
‘Even with the will, reality might not follow.’
Just look at Envid.
They boldly declared that they would launch their next-gen GPU “Bolton” within Q2.
But behind that statement were multiple roadblocks.
The biggest one?
Securing production slots at TSMD.
TSMD’s state-of-the-art production lines were already mostly allocated to mega-clients like Anple and Qualcomz.
There was almost no room to squeeze in new slots.
They barely managed to secure some slots, but only by signing an urgent mass-production agreement.
And that contract came at a steep price.
Just to secure the initial volume, the minimum cost was $120 million.
In other words—
‘It all comes down to money in the end.’
But a capital expansion of this magnitude couldn’t be pushed through by management alone.
It required formal approval from the board of directors...
The problem was that the board was dragging its feet.
“Do we really need to expand our facilities in such a volatile market?”
“With competitors closing in at this pace... shouldn’t we be even more cautious?”
Under normal circumstances, the board wouldn’t question anything CEO Jackson said.
But now, they were unusually argumentative.
Still—
I understood where they were coming from.
They were operating according to one simple rule that governed most publicly listed companies, whether consciously or not.
When the stock price goes up, the board supports aggressive decisions.
—When it falters, the board always leans conservative.
And what was Envid’s stock price like now?
With macro funds from the Triangle Club shifting their GPU-related positions toward AMDA and Intel, it had stagnated.
That’s why the board wouldn’t open their wallets.
The solution to this problem was simple.
‘Raise the stock price.’
But while it’s easy to say, actually doing it is another story entirely.
And it couldn’t just rise “a little.”
A modest uptick would be seen as a temporary rebound, and the board would stay cautious.
What was needed now was full-on optimism—blind faith that ignored costs.
In other words, the stock price couldn’t just rise...
It had to soar like crazy.
And it had to show no sign of stopping.
And—
There was only one way to create that kind of momentum.
‘Looks like there’s no choice but to use that method again.’