Chapter 63: The Apocalypse Prophecy

For the Icq Consortium, the three major Hong Kong note-issuing banks were a powerful addition.

If Icq Corporation absorbed the branches of the three major note-issuing banks, it would never again need to worry about financing for its own enterprises—even as the Icq Consortium continued to grow, the three major note-issuing banks could fully meet its funding needs.

On the surface, the three major note-issuing banks could not be compared to Citibank, whether in scale, scope of operations, or profitability—Citibank utterly crushed them.

But for a consortium, the three major note-issuing banks were far more important than Citibank, because they represented the Hong Kong dollar, a currency recognized internationally.

Globally, the true elite banks were all note-issuing banks; other commercial and investment banks without note-issuing rights, no matter how large their scale or how strong their power, were never considered top-tier by major consortia.

Yet to absorb the three major note-issuing banks meant confronting the mainland: not only were HSBC and Standard Chartered’s boards closely tied to the mainland, but the Bank of China was entirely established by mainland personnel—and moreover, it held the authority to issue the renminbi.

These obstacles had once been insurmountable chasms for Ye Nan, but now, with the arrival of the spaceship, the moment to absorb the three major note-issuing banks seemed to have arrived.

“Smila, Smila!” Ye Nan shouted, cheering for Smila.

“What is it, brother?” Smila’s figure projected in, reluctantly.

Ye Nan’s nearly cruel words last time had deeply wounded her; she had originally decided not to respond to him, but when he called her name, she couldn’t help answering.

“Smila, tell the Sky Net to pretend to be weakening. Send a signal to the outside world—that if the U.S. launches a few more assaults, they will succeed. But remember, this is only an illusion; absolutely do not let the U.S. military actually break in.” Ye Nan said.

He was applying pressure on the mainland side—telling them that soon, the U.S. government would seize the spaceship; if they continued dawdling, they would end up with nothing.

Ye Nan believed that with this pressure, the mainland side would soon compromise—after all, compared to the technology inside the spaceship, the three major note-issuing banks seemed unimportant.

“Also, Smila, tell Philip to submit evidence of money laundering by the three major Hong Kong note-issuing banks and incite the New York Financial Bureau to sue them.”

“Ye Nan, you want to strike the three major note-issuing banks?” Stark stared at Ye Nan in disbelief, thinking this move was ill-advised. “If we intend to acquire them, there’s no need to damage them—once a bank’s reputation is harmed, restoring it becomes nearly impossible.”

Banks rely on reputation and prestige; with countless banks worldwide, if your credibility is poor, attracting depositors is simply impossible.

If the New York Financial Bureau sues the three major note-issuing banks, regardless of whether they ultimately clear their names, their reputation will be damaged—and repairing that damage will take a long time.

“I know that,” Ye Nan sighed bitterly. “But you don’t understand: among the three major note-issuing banks, only the Bank of China is fully controlled by the mainland; the others merely lean toward it.”

“When we attempt to absorb these banks, do you think the other shareholders will simply give up? Even with support from the mainland, they may still resist—there will inevitably be a fierce battle.”

“So I’m preparing in advance—using the New York Financial Bureau’s accusations of money laundering to tarnish their reputation, creating the illusion that the three banks are on the verge of collapse, undermining investor confidence, and with support from the mainland, we can easily take control of the three major note-issuing banks.”

Ye Nan extended his hand, making a grasping motion. “Banks are like the heart, supplying blood to the body; the three major note-issuing banks are three powerful hearts—they can propel the Icq Consortium to soar.”

“But what if they refuse to sell? What if they uncover our plot? After all, those who hold bank shares are shrewd businessmen with foresight—they’re all extremely sharp,” Stark asked again, as if he took pleasure in challenging Ye Nan.

“If they still won’t let go, don’t blame me,” Ye Nan’s expression suddenly darkened. “In the U.S., the Icq Consortium has many rivals—but in Hong Kong, the Icq Consortium is an absolute behemoth.”

“If they refuse to surrender their shares, they’ll face dual pressure from the Icq Consortium and the mainland. I believe the mainland government would be very happy to help us teach those disobedient consortia a lesson.”

Currently, the mainland needs us, so we can boldly make demands—as long as those demands don’t cross their bottom line.

“Aren’t you afraid of being defeated by your own negligence? Isn’t there a Chinese proverb: ‘A powerful dragon cannot overpower a ground snake’? If the Icq Corporation becomes too aggressive and provokes Hong Kong’s consortia to unite against us, what then?” Stark said worriedly. “As a businessman, your first priority is to maintain good relations with local powers and satisfy their appetites as much as possible—only then can your company establish a firm foothold.”

“What you’re doing will bring great trouble to the Icq Corporation.”

“Trouble? How big is Hong Kong?” Ye Nan sneered. “If we can obtain the three major note-issuing banks, losing the Hong Kong market doesn’t matter.”

With a loud bang, the door was violently shoved open, and Senator Kelly staggered in, gasping for breath.

“Wait, you can’t come in, Senator Kelly, you can’t come in!” the doctor shouted from behind, but made no real effort to stop him.

“Mr. Ye Nan, I’m looking for Mr. Ye Nan,” Senator Kelly said, trying to enter.

“Senator Kelly, why are you back?” Ye Nan frowned. “You look terrible.”

“Yes, Mr. Ye Nan, I’m in terrible shape—please save me. That damn mutant turned me into a mutant,” Senator Kelly cried, stumbling and collapsing to the floor.

Ye Nan immediately rose from bed, lifted Senator Kelly up, and frowned deeper. “What happened? Your entire body is covered in fluid—what is this substance? Doctor, doctor, come quickly!”

Ye Nan called the doctor over and gently reassured him, “Don’t worry—this hospital is extremely powerful. Whatever your problem is, we’ll fix it.”

“I know. I know,” Senator Kelly gasped, as if each word cost him his life.

“I know this hospital is powerful, and I know you’re here, so I came to you. Mr. Ye Nan, please save me—no matter what, no matter the cost, I’m willing. I don’t want to die.”

Senator Kelly had another fear he didn’t voice: he feared that if he went to a regular hospital, he’d be labeled a mutant—and then he’d lose all chance of becoming president.

“Rest assured, I will save you,” Ye Nan said, making a promise as he looked at Senator Kelly.

If the plot hadn’t gone wrong, he had been transformed into a mutant by that machine—and Senator Kelly, due to radiation, had seen all his cells die, turning into a puddle of fluid, dying horribly.

But he couldn’t let Senator Kelly die—he was a crucial pawn, and Ye Nan would not allow him to perish.

“Magneto, I never thought you’d use my money to build a base, then betray me like this—is this what they call ‘reaping what you sow’?”

Ye Nan cursed inwardly—he had partnered with Magneto, providing him with vast sums of money, knew Magneto had built a base on some island, and even suspected Magneto would create that machine.

But he never imagined Magneto would target Senator Kelly—knowing full well he was Ye Nan’s man—using him as a lab subject to test his machine.

Ye Nan didn’t believe this was merely about needing test subjects. Frankly, there were countless people in the world—he could have chosen any batch. But he specifically kidnapped Senator Kelly, using him as a subject—it was pure provocation, a direct challenge to Ye Nan.

“Smila, check where Senator Kelly’s plane went,” Ye Nan asked.

Smila looked at Senator Kelly on the floor, her face filled with confusion, but she followed Ye Nan’s order—and immediately gasped. “How can there be two Senator Kellys?”

“So it’s true. Damn Magneto—you used Mystique to replace Senator Kelly at the meeting. Damn it—if you succeed, won’t the whole world fall into chaos?” Ye Nan cursed.

Ye Nan despised anyone who collaborated with him only to betray him—and Magneto’s plan was a devastating blow to him.

Magneto wanted to use that machine to turn every world leader into a mutant, creating a fait accompli from the top down—after all, if leaders themselves were mutants, they’d never allow public opposition to mutants; they’d even elevate mutant status.

But he forgot this was America, not Germany. Hitler could dominate and crush Jewish bankers—but America couldn’t. As former President Coolidge once said: “The president must speak little and act little; this country has its own path.”

Of course, in a sense, this was Coolidge’s compromise with the consortia.

“Stark, stay here and look after Senator Kelly. Peter, come with me—we’re going to stop that madman Magneto. We absolutely cannot let him succeed,” Ye Nan said. “If Magneto succeeds, the entire world will descend into chaos. Most importantly, that damn Magneto has no idea what consequences his experiment will cause.”

Ye Nan looked at Senator Kelly, then turned to the doctor. “Summon every available doctor—have them all treat Senator Kelly. Heal him at all costs.”

“Thank you,” Senator Kelly’s eyes filled with emotion.

He had seen too many consortia discard politicians after using them—politicians were treated like dogs: ordered east, never dared go west. Even then, they lived miserably; when trouble came, the consortia cast them aside—or even kicked them while they were down. Consortia like Ye Nan’s, willing to fully help him, were virtually nonexistent.

“Angela, Ellie, I’m sorry—I have something I must do,” Ye Nan said apologetically.

“It’s fine, Ye Nan. This is your work—I support you,” Angela said.

Ellie, though slightly displeased, followed Angela’s lead and said generously: “Besides, I’m going to study the Sun Scripture. By the way, Ye Nan, could you ask Smila to help me find some ancient Egyptian texts? I’ve found many unknown characters in the Sun Scripture—shaped like ancient Egyptian script, but I’ve never seen them before.”

“No problem,” Ye Nan nodded. “By the way, how’s your translation of the Sun Scripture going? Does it describe methods for using mutant powers?”

“No,” Ellie shook her head. “It’s mostly hymns praising the gods. But some cryptic passages describe a divine apocalypse—something like a prophecy.”

“A divine apocalypse? A prophecy?” Ye Nan felt sudden panic. He demanded urgently, “Does the prophecy mention the year 2012?”

“How do you know?” Ellie stared at Ye Nan in surprise. “I only translated that recently—I haven’t even told you yet. How did you know it was 2012?”

Boom!

Ye Nan stood frozen, as if struck by five thunderbolts.

“So my intuition was real. So my fear was real. So 2012 truly exists. So everything in this reality is just an illusion.”

Ye Nan murmured, his entire demeanor bordering on madness.

“Ye Nan, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Angela stared at him, full of concern.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I just thought of something—it’s nothing,” Ye Nan rubbed his temples. “Stay here. Peter, come with me. We’re going to confront that damn Magneto—I’m going to make him reap what he sowed.” (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote for it on (.). Your support is my greatest motivation.)