[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-bear-school-astartes":3,"chapter-bear-school-astartes-bear-school-astartes-chapter-979":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Bear School Astartes",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1620797,2087,"Chapter 979 - 961: Capital Chain Rupture","bear-school-astartes-chapter-979",979,"\u003Cp>Lann watched the hesitant steps of the dwarf financier, who was almost a partner, and the intelligence chief sitting across from him at the table with a smirk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sense of unease surged in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You just said, my...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann’s glass was still raised in mid-air, but his finely crafted face turned to look at Taler with a blank expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Savings?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taler raised his large wooden cup filled with Redanian beer, using the drinking motion to cover his face, as if trying to hide his smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the stifled laughing sound couldn’t be concealed, and the spilled chilled Redanian beer dampened his collar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with the dwarf’s short legs and Shilton’s hesitant steps like walking to the gallows, he had finally made his way from the guest room door to the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dwarf’s short and stout body was supposed to resemble an iron pile or an oak barrel filled with wine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now Shilton looked wilted like a frost-beaten eggplant, his chin nearly touching his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From this angle, he resembled a meatball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked over to Lann’s table with a sigh and a hop of his short legs, plopping his butt onto the bench.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Laugh at me again, and I’ll hammer your front teeth down your throat!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shilton Giancardi, a dwarf financier who had mingled in human society for many years, first aimed an angry insult at the intelligence chief across the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After cursing, he turned with a face full of apology and regret to the Demon Hunter beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His lips, hidden by a thick red beard, moved slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s just... um, how shall I put this...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes wandered under Lann’s gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more he did so, the worse Lann felt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him, Taler seemed to finally realize the etiquette expected from the first one seated at the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his hand to call Gatis to bring some snacks, and seeing the three at the table, Gatis also provided three silver forks with the dishes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The small tavern in this village was increasingly resembling a wealthy merchant club in a big city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let me be blunt...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Shilton’s muddled behavior, Taler interjected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But was immediately interrupted by the red-bearded dwarf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shut up, please!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking a deep breath, Shilton mustered the courage to look directly at the blinking Lann, as if finally resigned to his fate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lann, I... I got your personal account investment into trouble... the funds have issues.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After saying this, Shilton let out a long sigh, as if resigned, relieved from a burden, or perhaps his own spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His entire demeanor slumped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He mumbled with his head down: \"Whatever you decide to do with me, I won’t say a word. But if you give me some time, I’ll patch the gap even if I have to borrow money from home.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shilton had been mingling in human society for so long that even his dwarven speech habits had changed for socializing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, troubled and restless, he was back to his constant use of \"I.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well, no...\" Lann had a rough guess of the problem now, and he opened his mouth, \"Shilton, are you talking about my personal fund? What exactly went wrong?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I, I ran that personal fund too aggressively.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now deflated, Shilton simply resigned himself and continued speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hands twisted his fiery red beard into a tangled mess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You know how exciting it is for investors to have a fund they can maneuver freely.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I used that fund to invest widely, acquiring assets and shares, including shares in a shipping company in Novigrad and a ferry company on the Ponta River, and...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shilton listed many companies and assets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All of them seemed quite promising.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But didn’t I tell you not to worry about returns?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Lann never cared much about money from the start, or rather, after getting out of his initial predicament, he no longer cared about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taler, sitting to the side, responded to Lann while using a silver fork to eat the newly served cheese with ham slices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even if a financier isn’t greedy, you can’t expect him to resist investing when he has liquid funds in hand, can you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, I couldn’t resist.\" Shilton admitted his mistake, bowing his head, \"I unwittingly expanded too fast and too wide.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That personal fund’s source is easy to trace, and he’s a manager of the Valerian Steel Merchants Association, already a notable figure.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taler gestured with the silver fork in his hand, pointing at Shilton, while explaining the situation beyond finance to Lann.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When everyone knew it was your personal fund, its operations flowed practically unhindered policy-wise, faster than other funds, you understand?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taler emphasized \"your,\" highlighting the importance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann certainly understood that his prestige and influence from the Sodden Mountain battlefield were still unforgettable to any informed person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Giving a green light to his personal fund was not even a deliberate gesture of goodwill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fund operates between multiple Northern Countries, and documents that usually take ten days to half a month to process might, in Shilton’s hands, be completed on the same day of application.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as a thrilling and skillful fight could fascinate Lann, this rapid financial turnover captivated Shilton, the controller.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And amid continuous success and constant stimulus, he forgot what Lann initially said about ’not caring about the rate of return.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Shilton weren’t ambitious in the financial sector, he wouldn’t have left Giancardi Bank to become the manager of the Valerian Steel Merchants Association.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a ’bang,’ Shilton placed the personal fund ledger on the table, pushing it silently towards Lann.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Demon Hunter quickly began to flip through it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t trained in accounting, just a humanities student.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But with his cognitive processor now unlocked to the [Human Union-Junior High] level, analyzing this ledger wasn’t any harder than merely memorizing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like casually flipping through a book, the ledger’s pages ’rustled’ by.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And moments later, from this most direct record, Lann already knew what was happening with his personal fund.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, it was exactly as Shilton had candidly stated initially—disrupted cash flow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Handling a large sum of assets, value increase is almost inevitable... unless interrupted by someone else’s financial operations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Shilton’s financial operation traces, Lann could sense his increasing joy and decreasing alertness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Starting with cautious investments, gradually lured by the thrill of successful investments and rapid asset growth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After one investment succeeded, it rushed into the next project.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the equity and assets obtained from the previous project were mortgaged to lend money from the bank, then invested in the next venture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Continuous profitability is fine, but such an ideal condition is rare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A slight loss isn’t a problem, as long as loans aren’t too high; the fund itself will operate fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, this kind of operation can enhance the fund’s vitality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However... it seemed Shilton became overly aggressive later in his investment behavior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the extent that, at one point in the cash flow, a company invested in collapsed, causing the subsequent funds to get stuck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann’s funds and assets were technically still there. But without new money entering the circulation to revitalize the cash flow, these would eventually disappear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is one of the reasons many companies operate well one day and declare bankruptcy the next.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You got played.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann closed the ledger, spoke reluctantly with pursed lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your personality flaw was exploited; they set up a long series of traps to lead you to this point.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those successive investment successes were like grains strewn on the road to lure a rooster into a trap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shilton looked up from his dejected state, confusedly staring at Lann.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As someone whose flaw of being greedy was exploited, leading him into a trap, Shilton, at this moment, was the most blinded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dwarf jumped off his stool, took the ledger, speaking in a low voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just short thirty-two thousand Oren Coins! Just miss that, and I can revive these assets!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shilton had faced investment failures before, and even larger-scale ones. But this time, he involved his friend Lann’s funds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why he felt unable to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In reality, managing affairs for the Valerian Steel Merchants Association was his main business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the rapidly expanding Valerian Steel Merchants Association, this amount of money was just a tiny fraction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he still came to Lann personally, to confess his mistake face-to-face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ll borrow from my hometown to revive it, so no need to worry, buddy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, Shilton instead comforted Lann, patting his arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And finally, the Red-bearded Dwarf pursed his lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Once I fix this mess... you should find another fund manager.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, it’s unnecessary, Shilton.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann patted the Dwarf’s shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You just got played; the ledger itself is flawless.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But I’m embarrassed to manage your personal fund anymore,\" Shilton shook his head stubbornly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides... maybe people indeed have limits. Balancing both the association and personal fund was my overestimation. Exactly as you said, I got played by someone. That was due to insufficient energy and my bad habits, leading to the trap.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sorry, Lann. I guess I’m truly unfit to manage your personal fund any longer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, the Red-bearded Dwarf sighed and headed back towards the guest room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But halfway, he turned back, frowning anxiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gritting his teeth, he pressed the silver fork, originally meant to be placed by the dish, heavily onto the table.\u003C\u002Fp>",1560,"2026-06-06T10:40:28.727Z",1,"novelbin.me","1e5d86cbb1742ddda08aba1f1470294430ee18c309d2b76144b64e3bbef75db3","bear-school-astartes-chapter-1039","bear-school-astartes-chapter-1038",1043,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbear-school-astartes-cover.jpg"]