Spark

Just as Wang Ming seized the first wave of the financial crisis, made his first big deal with Saudi Arabia, and started implementing China's large-scale infrastructure plan, the other side of the sea was already in a sea of ​​boiling flames.

The futures market plummeted blood-red, and the stock market had no room for recovery. Even if the US immediately came up with a rescue strategy and announced further easing policies on the spot, the curve was almost vertically downward, but there was no recovery at all. signs.

As predicted by Chen Feiyun, the number of suicides in the United States hit a record high within a month.

Countless investors chose to end their lives at this time, and their departure triggered a new round of chain reactions.

the reason is simple.

They are often the main source of income for a family and control the entire family's funds.

When those funds go down the drain, the family is irreparably shattered.

The tide of large-scale supply cuts and defaults has finally arrived.

One bank after another declared bankruptcy, and hundreds of millions of depositors were propelled into the streets by great panic, trying to withdraw their own money.

But obviously, under the tide of the run, even such an extremely reasonable request has become a luxury.

So far, social and economic activities have almost stagnated, and the crisis in the financial sector has finally spread to the real economy in the largest and most extreme way.

Ahead is the abyss of eternal doom, but it is too late to brake.

In May Club's office, Houston sat on a chair with a dead face, and the assistant opposite him also had a look of disbelief.

The two men stared unblinkingly at the TV set on the wall, and on the TV, then-President Bush was delivering his speech about the crisis.

"...it's a major tragedy and there's no doubt we've had difficulties."

"But we promise that the federal government will not give up on anyone."

"We are already urgently discussing countermeasures, and believe that the sluggish economic situation will be reversed in the near future."

Hearing the president's speech, a bitter smile appeared on Houston's face.

twist? How to reverse it?

By what?

Do you say it with your mouth, or print it with your money printing machine?

Yes, according to historical experience, when such a large-scale crisis breaks out, it is indeed a good strategy to transfer the crisis to other countries by releasing water and printing money.

The problem is, even if it is to pass on the crisis, it will take time!

And now, what we lack the most is time!

Maybe after another week or two, the economy will break through the most severe critical point, and then completely enter the downward fast lane.

By that time, everything will be too late.

So, what's the point of talking about "discussing policy" and saying "will not give up on anyone" now?

Find a way now!

Even if a group of people are sacrificed, it's better than everyone dying together, right?

Thinking of this, Houston directly picked up the remote control and turned off the TV.

Then, he turned to the assistant on the side and asked:

"You have seen the current situation, and there is no need for me to repeat it. I would like to ask you, what do you think of the current situation?"

"Or another way—do you think we still have a chance?"

The assistant sighed deeply, then shook his head and replied:

"If we only rely on our own strength, there is absolutely no hope."

"I have never seen such a serious financial crisis, even in the history books, I can't find a similar case."

"It came so fast, so fast, we didn't have any time to prepare."

"It will take at least another month for the various policy tools to be rolled out, and in that month, who knows how far things will go?"

"The only thing we can do now is to print as much money as possible, release as much water as possible, and then use administrative means to the greatest extent to stop all financial activities."

"Even if we are going to die, we must hold our breath first, and delay the moment of suffocation until a few weeks later."

"Only in this way, we have a slight chance of turning around"

Hearing what the assistant said, Houston nodded solemnly, and then he continued to ask:

"You just said that if we only rely on our own strength, there is no hope."

"That means, if other aid is brought in, maybe we can turn into a crisis?"

The assistant shook his head again and replied:

"It's impossible to turn things around, but if Europe is willing to step in to help us save the market, at least it can save us from the abyss."

"Currently, the biggest problems we are facing are the violent fluctuations in commodity market prices, the plummeting stock prices, and the bankruptcies caused by the large-scale supply cut-off of housing loans."

"The superposition of these three has almost locked up our entire market economic activities."

"If even one breakthrough is found among these three, the follow-up work can be carried out smoothly."

"Then where do you think we should break through?"

Houston asked.

"The impact of commodity market prices is extremely macroscopic, and we have no way to control it for the time being."

"Stocks are largely dependent on expectations, but to turn them around, we have to pay back the money we owe the people."

"So, the only viable breakthrough is bank failure."

Having said that, the assistant paused for a moment, then stood up, took out a pen, and began to write his plan on the whiteboard beside him.

"I think we should do it that way."

"First, we're going to give all homeowners a grace period to defer repayments for a reasonable period."

"This will give them time to breathe and ensure that they will not completely abandon themselves to the end because of a breach of contract."

"Secondly, we must actively seek new sources of funding for the banks."

"It's useless to rely on the central bank to release water. We have to seek help from other countries."

"Whether it is investment, purchase of national debt, or new trade orders, it will give us a huge boost"

"I think it's about time we talked to Europe."

"Now, in this world, they are the only ones who can save us."

Houston nodded helplessly.

His heart was extremely sad.

Once, for a long time, he just regarded Europe as a vassal of the United States.

Whether it is economically or militarily, they seem to only have to look at their own face.

But now, things have changed.

I actually want to ask them for help. From World War II to now, this is probably the first time in history.

Soon after, the White House.

The president sat on his throne, sternly reprimanding his subordinates.

"I've said it countless times, we have to keep the basic economic structures in place."

"The real economy cannot be abandoned. Even if we want to transfer industries, we must ensure the bottom line of domestic productivity!"

"What now? A financial storm has almost destroyed our entire country!"

"This is a lesson, a painful lesson!"

"Everyone is responsible for the development of things to this point!"

Seeing his angry expression, none of the people present dared to speak.

——

Yes, the current president is purely throwing the blame, even contradicting himself before and after what he said.

This is not a discussion that is conducive to the current situation, this is pure venting.

However, even if you want to vent, you can't interrupt him at this time.

Because what happened half an hour ago was really embarrassing.

It was originally a well-planned speech aimed at boosting market confidence and boosting the morale of the people.

The first half of the speech actually went very smoothly.

Many people present have been mobilized emotionally. They shouted in unison with the president's speech again and again, as if there is no obstacle in front of them that they cannot overcome.

However, with the appearance of an intruder, everything began to change.

Brandishing his prosthetic limb, the young man in military uniform rushed in front of the security guards desperately, questioning the president heartbreakingly, asking him why he spent a lot of money to fight a meaningless war, why he wanted to kill He left his right leg on the battlefield and asked him why the money he had finally saved would be burned for some reason that he could not understand at all.

He was very emotional, and if it weren't for the medal of honor on his chest and the prosthetic hand, it is very likely that he would have been shot dead on the spot.

But even so, he was subdued by the security personnel and pressed firmly to the ground.

The president tried to calm his emotions and tried to explain what happened to the people present, but no one was willing to listen.

Their eyes have been completely attracted by this tragic hero.

Some irrational people even began to attack the security guards, trying to pull the veteran up from the ground.

The scene was chaotic, and another voice gradually began to sound from the crowd.

"Pay back my money!"

"Repay the money."

These four simple words quickly gathered into a wave.

The situation was completely out of control, the security personnel were busy fighting the fire, and even the innermost bodyguards were affected.

Then, at a certain moment, the man stood up.

Then, he gave the president a resentful look and threw the prosthetic out of his hand.

Years of military life had made his arms extremely developed, and the prosthetic leg broke through the siege and hit the president in the face.

The emergency evacuation plan was launched immediately, and under the protection of bodyguards, the president finally returned to his palace.

However, even though half an hour had passed, the red mark from the prosthesis still remained on his face.

So, his anger is not without reason.

At least, everyone can understand.

So, all the people present listened to his speech quietly, until he had vented his anger and calmed down completely, and this meaningful discussion finally began.

The president sighed deeply and apologized for his gaffe.

Then he asked the question everyone expected:

"Where else can we get aid?"

Hearing this, the staff member standing on his left quickly replied:

"This issue has been discussed earlier."

"Currently, the May Club has conducted the first round of communication with many European countries, the Middle East, East Asia, and Australia, but the results... are not satisfactory."

"What does unsatisfactory mean? Just tell me the result!"

The staff took a deep breath. He tried to organize his words well so that what he said was not so sharp, but after thinking for a long time, he still said straightforwardly:

"As a result, all countries rejected us immediately."

"They can't take care of themselves. The crisis has begun to spread. No one can be alone."

"Compared to us, they just have a buffer time."

"But if you want to talk about the impact, maybe they will suffer more than us."

"How big can it be? Can they still compare with us? Don't they know that if we want to solve this crisis, we are the key?"

The president's expression became angry again, he could hardly understand such a "betrayal".

Are these allies of my own crazy?

Their official position should have been a collection of the most rational elites in the world, but judging from the current situation, they seem to have made the most conservative, stupid, and farsighted decision.

Looking at his expression, the staff also guessed his thoughts.

So he replied:

"Actually, sir, what you said is very clear to our allies."

"However, what they know better is another key point."

"That is, even if they overdraw all their power, it may not be enough to save us."

"In this case, shooting blindly will only make their own situation worse. I can understand their approach."

"I can't understand it, it doesn't make sense at all."

The president slammed the table, ran his hair anxiously, and walked around his desk.

"We have to convince them...the endogenous drive is not enough to get us out of the crisis, we need assistance!"

"Yes. But no one wants to help us."

The staff's words without any emotional fluctuations made the president suddenly quiet. At this moment, a word that he learned a long time ago from an ancient book from China flashed through his mind:

Moral support from many, scant support.

The United States today is probably a typical example of injustice and lack of support.

What the hell did we do?

Why is this happening? Why can't we even find a real ally in this moment of crisis?

The President sighed heavily, and after a moment of silence, he asked:

"What about Huaxia? Are they willing to make a move?"

"That's the crux of the matter, they are willing and even, they are able."

"So far, their financial markets have been rock solid."

"If they can help us rescue the market, then there may be room for recovery from this crisis."

"But the problem is...their conditions are too harsh."

"How harsh?"

The staff handed over a document in a timely manner, and after seeing the requirements on the document, the president's expression twisted instantly.

"unacceptable!"

"We can't possibly agree!"

"These conditions will completely ruin our development potential, and I will absolutely not allow such a thing to happen!"

"But we had no other choice"

"No."

The president interrupted his staff.

Then he said with a gloomy face:

"We still have options."

"oil."

"Oil in the Middle East, that's our only chance."

A few days later, the Zagros Mountains.

Under the cover of layers of rocks, a well-equipped team took advantage of the night to bypass the snow-capped mountains, and groped towards a certain military base hidden under the mountains.

There are as many as 25 of them. For an elite force like them, this number is enough to complete a small-scale annihilation operation.

But this time, their goal is not annihilation, but destruction.

There was silence on the radio, and the connection between the team members could only rely on the dim light sources on their watches and shoulders.

Perhaps if you are not careful, the team members following behind will completely lose track of the team members in front of them.

And under the principle of complete radio silence, no one would notice that he was left behind.

For the team members who were left behind, the failure of the mission was second to none. Once they lost contact with the main force and were unable to join the follow-up evacuation operation, all that awaited him was death or death.

After all, this is the interior of other countries.

Once discovered, their behavior will be regarded as aggression.

Fortunately, however, the team's extraordinary quality ruled out all accidents, and at around 3:00 in the morning, they successfully arrived at the scheduled assembly location.

Afterwards, all the team members gathered together, several team leaders pulled up the blackout cloth, and began to make a final check on the next battle plan.

"...So our goal this time is very simple, to destroy industrial facilities one kilometer to the northeast."

"According to intelligence, that facility may be related to weapons of mass destruction, perhaps nuclear bombs, or poison gas."

"But in any case, it's none of our business."

"All we have to do is to get close to it, guide the drone to drop the bomb in, and then quickly evacuate."

"Note, according to the previous deduction, the arrival time of the opponent's quick reaction force is about 3 minutes."

"That is to say, we must evacuate out of the pursuit range of the other party within three minutes after the explosion."

"Including the drone's delayed bomb drop, we have a total of five minutes."

"The route has been planned, I need everyone to remember your location."

"clear!"

Several team leaders answered in a low voice. Afterwards, they marked their positions on their PDAs and checked the time again with their watches.

"The current time is 3:15, and the other party's guard changing time is from 4:00 to 4:05."

"In order to avoid hitting their guard changing troops, we must set off after 3:50, that is to say, we need to approach their base safely, quickly and covertly within 10 minutes."

"Now, everyone rests in place, keeps the radio silent, and waits for my departure order!"

"clear."

After getting everyone's answers, the commander-in-chief turned off the flashlight and lifted the blackout cloth.

Afterwards, he groped to find a suitable place to sit down, quietly looked at the brightly lit base in the distance, and deduced the details of the next action again and again in his mind.

This is a mission that takes life as a bet.

But compared with its meaning, one's own life seems to be nothing.

Because, once the action is successful, those people in their homeland who are still struggling in the storm may be saved

This is really a disaster, and I will have the opportunity to be the hero to end this disaster.

He was a little lost in thought, but at this moment, someone patted his shoulder lightly.

With the dim light of his watch, he recognized that the person in front of him was the captain of Unit 2 and his most trusted partner.

The sub-captain moved closer to him, lowered his voice and asked:

"So, are there really weapons of mass destruction there? I think we've already used this reason once, and it's not convincing."

Hearing his words, the commander-in-chief subconsciously shook his head.

Then he replied:

"Weapons of mass destruction is just a broad term."

"It's actually an underground uranium enrichment facility."

"It has not been officially activated, but according to intelligence, a series of equipment including centrifuges have begun to be moved in."

"You know, their transit time is today."

"What we need to blow up is not actually an industrial facility, it's just a centrifuge that they haven't had time to install."

"But does it make sense?"

The squad leader asked puzzledly.

"Of course it makes sense. We don't want them to have nuclear weapons, that's what makes sense."

Hearing his answer, the team leader was silent for a long time before continuing to speak:

"But I think our actions this time are far more than what they seem on the surface."

"At least. We're not just going to blow something up."

"Maybe, we need to leave something behind."

"Am I right?"

The commander-in-chief did not answer, but his silence itself was an answer.

The two stopped talking, and the time passed quickly. At 3:50 in the morning, as a long convoy appeared from a distance, the team also started their operations.

They lurked in the night like ghosts, silently followed the ravines on the plain, and rushed to a position less than 200 meters away from the edge of the security zone of the base.

Here is the limit position they can reach.

Even their strongest projectile weapons are not enough to reach the core of the base without revealing their own position.

But luckily, their drones can.

In the silent night sky, a black shadow slowly flew over the base.

Subsequently, the ground beacon was locked, and all combat units began to evacuate according to the predetermined plan.

Everything went smoothly, to the point where it was doubtful whether such a large team was needed for this operation.

——

But at this moment, someone in the evacuated team was suddenly shot down without warning.

Two full seconds later, the sound of gunfire came from a distance.

Then, someone in the team fired back.

Immediately afterwards, the drone dropped the bomb.

The flames burst into the sky.

All this happened in just a few seconds.

It happened so smoothly as if it had been carefully rehearsed.

The sub-captain at the side looked at the commander-in-chief in astonishment, but under the dim light of the fire, his expression was extremely resolute.

Yes, he already knew the plan.

The "leave something behind" plan

A few days later, news of the attack on military facilities in Iran spread throughout the world.

The drones used in the raid, and the bodies of the attackers left behind at the scene, pointed the finger at another country.

saudi.

This is a crude and absurd conclusion.

But people who are exposed to the fear of the coming economic crisis don't think it is absurd at all.

They only know one thing:

The real storm in the desert is coming.