CH136

New York, USA – Eldorado Fund Office

As yen buy orders poured in like a flood, Tyler let out a short whistle.

"Looks like Soros is dead set on taking down the Bank of Japan today."

Standing in the back with his arms crossed, Andrew silently watched the ever-shifting yen exchange rate alongside Landon. Then, with a serious expression, he asked:

"How much has been bought so far?"

Tyler quickly tapped on his keyboard before responding.

"A little over 300 million dollars."

"We don't know exactly how much firepower they've got, but they're definitely going in hard from the start."

Andrew gave a small nod.

Still seated, Tyler spun his chair around to face them and said,

"Maybe they're trying to crush the opposition early and kill their momentum."

"The real battle is in Tokyo. If they push too hard right now, they might run out of steam later."

At that moment, Landon chimed in.

"That is, unless they've stockpiled enough to make this level of spending a non-issue."

Andrew turned his head and asked,

"Do you have any intel on how much Soros's side is working with?"

Tyler, just as curious, also looked at Landon expectantly.

Taking in their gazes, Landon merely shrugged with an amused expression.

"That's the most critical secret of this whole operation. How would I know? If I had to guess, only Soros himself and a handful of his closest people know the exact amount."

"I figured as much."

Andrew looked slightly disappointed, having hoped for some insider information.

Tyler, too, had been secretly hoping for something juicier, only to be let down.

"But I can make an educated guess."

"A guess?"

"The boss mentioned something—Soros and the hedge funds have likely pooled together at least five billion dollars for today alone."

"Holy hell."

"They really brought that much to the table?"

Andrew and Tyler widened their eyes in disbelief, exhaling short gasps of astonishment.

But soon, they both nodded, coming to terms with the reality of the situation.

"Well, if you want to force the Bank of Japan into surrendering, you'd have to drop a bomb that big on Tokyo."

Tyler shook his head in agreement.

"And once other players like us catch on and start piling in, the Bank of Japan and the government are in for a nightmare of a day."

"The more they struggle, the more we profit—so I'd say this is shaping up pretty well for us, wouldn't you?"

Landon grinned, mimicking the expression of a classic villain.

"Come to think of it, when the earthquake hit and the yen crashed, the boss quickly sold his short positions and switched to long. I didn't understand it back then, but looking back now, it was perfect timing."

With his hands clasped behind his head, Tyler marveled at the memory.

"I never expected us to make this much profit."

Landon nodded in agreement with Andrew.

"If someone had said back then that the yen would shoot up to the 80s against the dollar, people would've called them insane."

"Exactly."

"I mean, who could've predicted this?"

Both of them shook their heads in unison, deep in thought.

It all came down to one thing—their boss was on another level.

While everyone else was caught off guard, he had foreseen the shift and hit the jackpot.

At first, people dismissed it as sheer luck. But after it happened again and again, no one doubted him anymore.

Everyone recognized Seok-won's brilliance.

"And I'm lucky to be working under someone like him."

Andrew truly believed that.

Just then, one of the team members sitting at a computer suddenly turned around and shouted.

"The exchange rate that dropped below 83 yen just bounced back!"

Andrew's eyes lit up as he strode over to check the monitor.

"Looks like the Bank of Japan has finally caught on and is taking action."

"I thought it would take them a little longer, but they caught on quicker than expected."

Landon muttered, and Tyler immediately chimed in.

"They're fighting off hedge funds—of course, they've been monitoring the forex market 24/7. If anything, this reaction isn't even that fast."

"Hmm… that's true."

As the two exchanged thoughts, Andrew rubbed his chin in thought before his gaze sharpened.

"Alright, let's step in now—buy 30 million dollars' worth of yen."

"Isn't it a bit early to jump in?"

Landon raised an eyebrow, but Andrew smirked.

"We're just throwing a light jab to let them know we're here."

"Fair enough. Trading isn't my specialty anyway, so I'll leave it to you."

Andrew gave him a quick nod of appreciation before turning back to his team.

"Split it into three rounds—buy 10 million dollars at a time."

"Understood!"

Tyler responded energetically and, along with his already-prepared team, began executing the yen purchases.

***

Nihonbashi-Hongokucho, Chuo City, Tokyo

A light spring drizzle had been falling since dawn.

Through the misty streets, a high-end Toyota sedan sped towards the Bank of Japan's headquarters, its tires screeching to a stop in front of the historic building.

As soon as the backseat door swung open, Kajiwara Yuki, Governor of the Bank of Japan, stepped out.

He didn't even wait for his aide to cover him with an umbrella, rushing into the building, rain soaking his suit.

That's how urgent this was.

His face was grim, his tie undone—he had clearly left in a hurry.

His footsteps echoed through the empty hallway as he strode toward the International Affairs Office, his aide struggling to keep up.

The moment Kajiwara threw open the door, a wave of noise hit him.

The room was brightly lit, filled with the shrill ringing of phones and frantic shouts from every direction.

Though it was still early morning and most departments were still empty, this office was on full alert.

Every employee had reported in after the emergency call, staring at their monitors, clutching their phones, frantically moving.

Kajiwara didn't waste a second.

His eyes went straight to the large digital display on the opposite wall.

[USD/JPY: 82.99]

"…!"

His breath caught in his throat.

His face went pale.

Before the weekend, they had barely managed to hold the line at 83 yen—and now, it had been breached.

The shock was indescribable.

"What the hell…?"

A mix of frustration and fury scrambled his thoughts.

Just then, Matsuyama Nao, the department director, hurried over and bowed.

"Governor, you're here."

Matsuyama, already lean, had visibly lost weight after more than a month of battling hedge funds. His sharp features had grown even more haggard.

"What the hell were you all doing while the exchange rate collapsed?!"

Kajiwara's furious roar shook the entire room.

For a moment, everyone froze, turning toward their red-faced governor.

"We... we suffered an unexpected surprise attack through the Sydney forex market. We never saw it coming."

Matsuyama, still bowing, forced out an explanation.

But to Kajiwara, it sounded like nothing but excuses.

"And isn't it YOUR job to predict and prepare for things like this?!"

His sharp interrogation left Matsuyama speechless.

He had wanted to argue, but one look at Kajiwara's furious expression made him swallow his words.

'Anything I say now will just make things worse.'

Instead, Matsuyama simply bowed deeper, his head hanging low.

"I apologize."

"Pathetic!"

Kajiwara clicked his tongue, and Matsuyama's face burned with humiliation.

Being scolded in front of his entire team was beyond degrading.

But Kajiwara didn't care.

Ignoring him, he turned toward another man, one of the few people too busy to even notice the commotion.

"Yamada!"

"Yes, sir!"

Yamada Shinnosuke, head of foreign exchange operations, had just finished a call with a forex dealer in Sydney.

He immediately rushed forward.

Yamada hadn't left the office in over a week.

He hadn't even shaved—his face was covered in stubble.

Dark circles under his eyes and bloodshot veins showed the brutal effects of only a few hours of sleep per day.

But despite his exhaustion, his focus remained razor-sharp.

As Kajiwara barked orders without offering any real solutions, Yamada Shinnosuke fought the urge to roll his eyes.

If you can't help, at least don't get in the way.

But dealing with clueless higher-ups was nothing new.

Suppressing his frustration, Yamada kept his face neutral and responded, "You called for me, sir?"

"Explain the current situation."

Yamada stifled a sigh and gave a concise report.

"Over the weekend, hedge funds led by George Soros exploited a brief period of reduced tension. Using the Sydney forex market—where we had fewer eyes—they launched a massive buying spree, pushing up the yen."

"Those bastards. What a dirty trick."

Yamada found it ironic that Kajiwara was complaining about strategy in a high-stakes battle.

In this game, finding and exploiting the opponent's weak points wasn't dishonorable—it was just smart.

But he kept that thought to himself.

"Then why aren't we countering immediately?"

Does this guy even see what's happening around him?

Even now, the entire team was frantically working to hold the yen's value.

Suppressing the urge to curse, Yamada calmly replied, "We're doing everything we can, but their momentum is overwhelming."

Kajiwara scowled. "How much have they bought so far?"

"Over $300 million in orders already."

"…!"

The number was far beyond what Kajiwara had expected.

"That much?"

"Yes."

Yamada's tone was heavy.

His gut told him this wasn't just a normal attack.

Kajiwara, sensing the tension, demanded, "What are you getting at? Speak clearly!"

"They're going all-in. Just like they did with the Bank of England, they're pushing us to surrender."

"A full-scale assault?"

"Exactly."

Yamada nodded grimly.

"Damn Yankees!"

Kajiwara clenched his jaw, his body trembling with rage.

"If they're already pouring this much into the preliminary skirmish, then once the Tokyo forex market opens, they could throw in tens of billions more."

"Tens of billions?"

Kajiwara went pale, swallowing hard.

"If that happens…"

Yamada met his gaze and delivered the worst-case scenario.

"We might see the 80-yen barrier collapse today."

Kajiwara froze.

Everyone—traders, banks, the entire market—considered 80 yen per dollar to be the final line of defense.

If that broke, the Tokyo forex market would descend into sheer panic.

Investors would rush to buy yen out of fear, triggering a chaotic, uncontrollable spiral.

The mere thought of it sent a chill down Kajiwara's spine.

He snapped, "That cannot happen! Use more of our foreign reserves if necessary—hold the line at 80 yen at all costs!"

"We'll do our best."

But nobody in the room was confident it would be enough.

Kajiwara turned to Matsuyama. "I'm heading to the Prime Minister's office. Report to me the moment anything changes!"

"Understood."

Without another word, Kajiwara spun on his heel and stormed out, his aide struggling to keep up.

As they disappeared down the hall, Yamada let out a deep sigh.

The real battle had yet to begin.