The Tyrant Billionaire-Chapter 639 The Collapse

Then, the bad news snowballed.

Every day brought more anxiety, and Fusajiro found himself waking in the middle of the night from nightmares of losing everything—his money, antiques, properties, and land—all gone. He would awaken feeling utterly powerless.

Finally, the latest report arrived. Opening theGlobal Times, the front-page headline struck him like a bolt of lightning.

"SEC Reports Hans Pharmaceuticals' Total Collapse: Stock Plunges to $0.43, Down 260x from Its Peak. Experts Say Recovery Is Impossible, Leaving Investors Penniless."

"The hardest-hit victims are several financial investment firms that heavily purchased Hans Pharmaceuticals shares. Their combined losses are estimated to exceed $400 million. Many of these funds reportedly came from Japanese investors."

Fusajiro's eyes bulged.

His chest tightened, his breathing became labored, and dizziness swept over him. The world seemed to spin.

He slowly collapsed.

By the time his family found him, Fusajiro was gone.

While grieving their father's death, the Abe family was struck by an even harsher reality: their father had mortgaged the entire family's assets to financial firms. Following the investment failure, they would soon be evicted from their home.

What would become of the once-glorious Abe family? Were they destined for the streets?

The Inoue Family

Inoue Yuichiro, in his forties, was the son of a WWII veteran who had served as a colonel in the invasion of many Asian countries. His father had plundered wealth, resources, and antiques during the war, which the family used to live comfortably after his death on the battlefield. Yuichiro even founded his own trading company.

When Japan's investment craze began, Yuichiro joined the frenzy on a friend's recommendation. He mortgaged his valuables, real estate, land, and even his company, raising over $400,000 for investment.

For a time, he was lost in dreams of great wealth.

Today's newspaper shattered that dream. Learning that the financial firms had failed, Yuichiro leaped to his feet in panic. "Impossible! This can't be true!"

Refusing to believe his investment was gone, he rushed to the investment company for answers.

Arriving there, he found hundreds of people gathered outside the firm, with more arriving by the minute.

"Bring out your manager and explain if our investments are truly lost! Did you put everything into Hans Pharmaceuticals?" someone shouted angrily.

"I want my money back! Return my investment now!" yelled another.

"Where's the manager? Get them out here to explain!" The crowd grew increasingly agitated.

But no matter how angry they became, the firm's Japanese security guards stood firm, barring entry to the building. None of the American financial managers made an appearance.

Soon, a few journalists arrived, capturing the chaos with cameras and video recorders.

That night, ABC Japan aired a report on the incident:

"Collapse of U.S.-Based Hans Pharmaceuticals Sparks Panic in Japan: Investment Firms Face Massive Losses."

"Several Japanese financial firms heavily invested in Hans Pharmaceuticals shares, resulting in failed investments. Angry citizens gathered outside the firms' offices, demanding the return of their money, leading to unrest."

"To maintain order, the U.S. Far East Command deployed soldiers to patrol the streets, dispersing the crowd."

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"When interviewed, representatives of the investment firms expressed regret, stating that they, too, suffered massive losses—far greater than those of the individual investors."

"As for refunds, that's out of the question. All investors signed contracts agreeing to the terms of managed investments, where gains and losses are borne by the investors. Before investing, we clearly reminded everyone:'Investments carry risks; caution is advised when entering the market.'We urge investors to remain calm."

The Scene at Tōnichi Bank Headquarters

Suddenly, a commotion broke out below the building. Someone pointed to the rooftop and shouted, "Someone's about to jump! It looks like President Tōjō!"

A crowd quickly gathered, craning their necks to see the figure standing on the seventh-floor rooftop.

Though it was far, they could make out his face—it was indeed Tōjō Kotarō, the president of Tōnichi Bank.

"What happened to the president?" someone asked.

"It seems he failed in his investments. Rumor has it he raised several million dollars and invested them in those American financial firms. Now, the investments failed, and the losses are impossible to cover."

"Is the president going to commit suicide?"

"It looks like it."

At that moment, several senior executives rushed out of the bank building. The vice president looked up and shouted, "President, please calm down! It hasn't come to that yet!"

Tōjō glanced down, his gaze hollow and empty.

Whoosh!

He leaped.

"Aahhh!"

Screams erupted from the crowd below.

Thud!

A pool of blood quickly formed in front of the bank's main doors. The once-dignified president of Tōnichi Bank now lay in a grotesquely twisted position, surrounded by splattered blood.

He was motionless.

Dead.

In life, no matter how powerful or admired you are, death reduces you to nothing but rotting flesh. Onlookers stared at the scene, feeling only disgust and fear.

The vice president stared at Tōjō's lifeless body, not with sadness but with a mix of anger and frustration. Grinding his teeth, he cursed silently:

"You took the easy way out, leaving this mess for me to clean up. What am I supposed to do now? You selfish bastard!"

A Wave of Suicides

In the following days, Japan's suicide rate skyrocketed.

Some hanged themselves.Some inhaled gas.Some jumped from buildings.Some drowned in the sea.

Body recovery teams worked tirelessly.

Government Crisis Talks

The widespread panic naturally alarmed the Japanese government. The Prime Minister and Cabinet members held an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures.

This investment craze had touched nearly every corner of society, involving tens of thousands of people and billions of dollars.

To put things in perspective, Japan's total foreign exchange reserves amounted to only $400–500 million. It was only thanks to the efforts of Hardy's special envoy to Japan—revitalizing the economy through industrial and entertainment ventures, along with logistics support for the Korean Peninsula conflict—that Japan's economy had shown any signs of recovery.

"Do you think those investment firms were involved in Hans Pharmaceuticals' fraud?" one cabinet minister speculated.

The coordinated buying of Hans Pharmaceuticals shares by these firms did seem suspicious.

"I think we need to investigate these firms to determine whether they engaged in fraudulent activities. If they did, we might be able to recover some losses for the affected investors," another minister suggested.

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