Chapter 26: Finally Taking Action

William White was under pressure during the hectic filming. Silver futures had started to boil over, and this fluctuation came with a historical backdrop. The severe inflation meant that precious metals wouldn't rise without cause.

America had lost two wars and racked up a mountain of debt. Now, they needed the whole world to cover the bill, while European allies were getting tired of it all.

Everyone was playing it safe, especially the wealthy. Gold had surpassed four hundred dollars an ounce, far from the benchmark price of thirty-five dollars.

Just think about how terrifying that is. If you were to exchange your assets for gold, what once bought a kilogram now couldn't even get you a hundred grams.

It was understandable why the rich were panicking. There was no hoarding in America; they had too many resources. A buying frenzy wouldn't spark in the U.S.

Severe inflation coupled with severe deflation created a messy situation. Tackling inflation by raising interest rates was straightforward; it would eventually bring inflation down.

However, dealing with deflation was quite another problem. There was no way to inject liquidity into the market. Not only could you not provide liquidity, but you also had to tighten it desperately. The economy wouldn't get better, that was for sure.

Hunter brothers were stirring things up in the futures market, drawing in a wide array of speculative investors. Everything seemed to be a loss, but when a decent investment opportunity showed up, of course, one had to get involved.

"Master, they must have started it; the opening today broke past six dollars," someone said.

"Heh, did that bunch finally start? Fulton, we'll just sit back and make money. With a situation this massive, they won't pull back easily," replied William.

"Right, Master. We're in for a bonanza this time."

"Just keep an eye on things; don't think too much about anything else."

Filming was moving fast, even if most of the projects flopped. Yet, due to great effort, they had made impressive progress.

No one cared how the Hunter family was playing things. There was still plenty of room in the market; they might not leave at peak prices, but selling off before the madness hit was still achievable.

Silver was indeed undervalued at the moment. The current price represented a retaliatory rebound; as for where it would ultimately land, only God knew.

The Hunter family had sounded the alarm, and suddenly the futures market became all the rage. It was uncommon to see so many people waiting to open accounts in futures trading.

Americans hardly ever stood in line. Perhaps the chaos on Black Friday counted, but otherwise, it was pretty rare.

The financial market saw even fewer lines. Ordinary investors had learned their lessons long ago; throughout history, they'd been burned more times than they could count. Most believed that when it came to professional matters, experts should manage them.

Financial institutions were well aware of Hunter's antics; they wouldn't foolishly pay tuition fees. Even if they got involved, participation was limited.

Ultimately, it came down to a matter of profit distribution. If one family controlled so much physical silver and succeeded in taking over, other investment banks would be in serious trouble, reduced to mere shadows of the Hunter family.

American culture wasn't built around allowing one person to dominate alone; it was a bottom line that simply wasn't to be crossed.

Look at Bill Gates, for instance. He might be a billionaire, but he owned very little Microsoft stock -- only about five percent at most.

It hadn't always been that way. Initially, Gates held quite a bit of stock; this led to various antitrust investigations. Had that not been the case, Microsoft would have already reached a trillion-dollar valuation.

In this era, being a billionaire was impressive. With two billion dollars in assets, one was basically considered the richest person in the world. The lowest in the top ten conglomerates only had around four billion.

If the Hunter family succeeded, their wealth would be nearly impossible to quantify. Based on their silver holdings, they'd crush several other conglomerates.

For the conglomerates, that was simply unacceptable. Once the Hunters reaped the rewards from silver, the capital market would be at their mercy. They could buy up anyone they wanted, turning other firms into easy pickings.

William White had been overly optimistic. The Hunter family wasn't naive; they hadn't stopped negotiating with the conglomerates.

Every successful family has its unique strengths. No foolish family could stand the test of time in this cutthroat society. Without certain abilities, one could easily become a victim.

William didn't qualify to be part of their power struggles. He merely lingered in the background, hoping to gain a few benefits. At the first sign of trouble, he'd need to make a quick exit.

The metals futures market had turned into a battleground. Once silver prices exceeded six dollars an ounce, the atmosphere buzzed with excitement. People couldn't help but be reminded of the soybeans contracts from years prior. The methods being used in silver trading were almost identical.

William White remained focused on filming. He couldn't resist the lure of money. If he were at the trading center, remaining calm would have been impossible; ramping up investment was a given.

Movies became a good distraction for him. He didn't want to change anything in his life. If history were altered drastically, he'd lose his advantage of foreknowledge.

Reborn individuals often had neurotic tendencies, or perhaps they suffered from a split personality. Deep down, William was a bit of a fool. To avoid being too miserable, he had to pretend to be a successful person.

This change was a distortion. In William's worldview, the kind of person he played was someone he despised. Thus, two personalities frequently switched roles.

Another serious issue arose when he was reborn, taking in too many memories. He could only view these fragments as cinematic scenes, never allowing them to become part of him, or he risked a breakdown.

Making a decisive plunge into the entertainment industry was also a major reason for this.

William discovered that as filming continued, many negative emotions began to fade. These feelings seemed genuinely like movie snippets, having nothing to do with him.

He had to admit, luck was on his side. He found a way to release negative emotions and avoid becoming a madman, something many who had traveled like him couldn't claim.

Maintaining a godlike perspective on issues would lead one to become somewhat divine. Once you were at that level, it probably meant you were nearing your end, as a divine being could hardly coexist with humans for long. Typically, they'd return to their world after doing something bad.

Divine figures always found creative ways to descend and woo mortals, only to cut and run whenever serious issues arose. They'd return to flaunt their fatherly love once the kids grew up.

It's hard to argue that divine beings lacked integrity. What could they possibly find appealing about mere mortals, these pathetic little ants? Wouldn't it be better to engage with fellow deities?

*****

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