noveltune Chapter 182 Dancing on the Edge of a Knife
Chapter 182 Dancing on the Edge of a Knife
July 1989.
Three full days have passed since that opaque meeting on the fourth basement level that determined the future of the semiconductor industry.
Headquarters building of Saionji Industrial Co., Ltd., Marunouchi, Tokyo.
At the far end of the top floor, a blast-proof door reinforced with special lead plates was tightly closed. The walls of this extremely spacious encrypted communications room were covered with dark gray sound-absorbing foam and an electromagnetic radiation shielding coating. Four military-grade white noise generators placed in the corners of the room were running continuously, emitting a monotonous and incessant "hissing" sound.
This background noise, simulating rain and radio frequency interference, filled every inch of the room, enough to completely shatter any directional microphone signal attempting to eavesdrop from the outside.
A heavy solid wood conference table sits in the center of the room.
A world map of enormous size lay flat on the table. Under the dim spotlight overhead, several coordinates on the map appeared particularly glaring: an industrial town in Germany's Black Forest region, the plains of southern Netherlands, the coastline of California in the United States, and Niigata Prefecture in mainland Japan.
These locations were marked with heavy crosses using a red marker.
Saionji Satsuki sat in a large leather swivel chair.
Today she wore a soft beige silk shirt, the cuffs slightly rolled up, revealing her fair wrists. In her right hand she held a deep blue Montblanc fountain pen, the tip of her pen rising and falling in rhythm with her breath.
"Da, da, da."
The resin pen barrel tapped against the solid wood table, producing a crisp sound. This subtle tapping sound penetrated the white noise.
On the corner of the table sat an encrypted hands-free phone with complicated buttons and knobs.
At that moment, the phone's red indicator light began flashing rapidly.
A hoarse sound, heavily corroded by static interference, emanated from the speaker. A crackling sound of electricity accompanied heavy breathing.
"Boss."
Frank's voice traveled across the Pacific Ocean via an undersea cable into the secret room. This Wall Street executive at SA Investment had used the huge commissions he earned from shorting US stocks two years earlier to buy a penthouse apartment in Midtown Manhattan, and had also followed a "divine oracle" to buy a red Ferrari.
Aside from Wall Street already having its eye on him because of his relationship with Satsuki, he was living a very comfortable life, a typical example of upward social mobility.
But at this moment, the tone of this Wall Street upstart was filled with exhaustion from staying up all night and a deep sense of powerlessness.
"All initial attempts to reach an agreement on a merger or acquisition have failed."
Frank took a big gulp of water on the other end of the line, the sound of him swallowing amplified through the microphone.
"All initial attempts to reach an agreement on a merger or acquisition have failed."
"Those European multi-axis machine tool companies that possess atomic-level grinding precision, and those two special light source laboratories in California with extreme ultraviolet plasma excitation technology—they didn't even bother to look at the quotes and just hung up the phone."
He took a deep breath and spoke faster.
"The resistance was much greater than we had anticipated. It was only two years after the 'Toshiba scandal' of 1987. Toshiba Machine illegally exported nine-axis CNC machine tools to the Soviet Union, causing the U.S. Navy to lose its sonar advantage in tracking Soviet submarines."
"The Pentagon, the FBI, and even the CIA are now keeping a close eye on every Japanese company."
"The review committee of the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) has long been in a state of high alert. Any heavy industrial equipment and laboratory assets involving military potential, precision manufacturing, and advanced optics are on an absolute embargo and sales ban list."
"This iron curtain is too thick. We want to launch public takeover bids for these companies in Europe and the United States, posing as a Japanese zaibatsu, or even a Japanese-backed investment fund..."
"As soon as we submit an application, even for just 10 percent of the equity, the review committee will freeze all our accounts on Wall Street within 24 hours."
"An open acquisition won't work."
The hands-free phone's speaker fell silent, leaving only a faint background noise.
Executive Director Endo, standing beside the solid wood table, had a fine layer of sweat on his forehead.
He was dressed in a sharp dark suit, holding a thick financial statement in both hands. Upon hearing the words "account frozen," his fingers unconsciously tightened, gripping the edge of the paper tightly.
"Crack".
The thick printing paper made a slight, crisp sound.
Endo's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty. He wanted to speak up and persuade Satsuki, but since Shuichi wasn't around, he didn't dare.
The Saionji family's domestic business matrix is already rock-solid, so they are naturally not afraid of such simple economic sanctions. However, the huge sum of US dollars held in SA Investment's overseas accounts is currently the biggest lifeline supporting the semiconductor hardware acquisition. Once the COCOM agreement is crossed and the offshore funds are frozen by the United States, the grand technology puzzle on the fourth floor will be indefinitely halted.
For the Saionji family, which was making great strides and developing rapidly, this was tantamount to having one of its outward expansion arms severed.
Satsuki sat in the swivel chair, her expression remaining completely calm.
Her gaze fell silently on the world map covered with red crosses.
Loosen your fingertips.
"despair."
The Montblanc pen lay flat on the solid wood table with a dull thud. The sound interrupted Endo's heavy breathing.
"A behemoth cannot get through the barbed wire."
Satsuki's voice was clear and cold, spreading throughout the enclosed room filled with white noise.
"Chop it up."
Endo paused for a moment, then looked up at the girl in the swivel chair.
Satsuki leaned forward slightly, her gaze fixed on the encrypted phone flashing a red light.
"Frank".
"Yes, Boss," came the immediate reply from the other end of the phone.
"Utilize SA Investment's offshore funds in the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg. Find the top trust lawyers on Wall Street to set up an umbrella trust structure."
Satsuki's voice was clear and crisp as she articulated a series of instructions.
"Based on this underlying structure, we will split and register one hundred independently accounted offshore shell funds. The names should be completely unremarkable, such as 'Star Capital' or 'Deep Sea Trust'. We will use shell companies in the British Virgin Islands to conduct multi-layered cross-shareholding, and replace the legal representatives of all of them with nominee directors holding Swiss or Liechtenstein passports."
She extended her index finger and tapped the tip lightly on the table.
"An absolute firewall must be established at the legal level. Any equity penetration review targeting the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) must be completely cut off. The Saionji family must be absolutely prohibited from having any overt connection with these funds."
The crisp sound of Frank rapidly typing on the keyboard came through the hands-free phone.
"Boss, diversifying your shareholding can avoid early scrutiny of the source of funds. However, securities laws in Europe, the US, and Japan have strict mandatory disclosure limits. Once a single account holds more than 5% of the shares, it will trigger a disclosure announcement."
Frank's voice carried a hint of caution.
"Furthermore, even if regulatory agencies determine that these funds are 'concert parties,' their shareholding percentages will still be calculated together. The COCOM reviewers can still trace the source of the funds by following the trail."
Satsuki picked up the bone china teacup beside her.
The steam from the black tea rose slowly in the cool air. She took a small sip of the warm tea.
The bottom of the cup fell back onto the saucer with a crisp "ding".
"Therefore, the maximum amount of funds each account can accumulate is strictly limited to 4.9%."
"Have your legal teams ensure legal separation. Different places of registration, different custodian banks, different accounting firms. Make these 100 funds appear to any regulatory agency as just a group of unrelated international retail investors acting independently."
Her gaze fell on the world map on the table, her fingertips tracing over Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States, before finally pressing heavily on the coordinates of Niigata Prefecture, Japan.
"Spread your funds thin. Ten million, twenty million. Avoid all large-scale trading channels. Break your buy orders into small pieces, like drops of water, and blend them into the daily trading volume in the least conspicuous way."
"Each fund will accumulate shares in European machine tool companies, American light source laboratories, and local companies like Shin-Etsu Chemical for the long term."
Satsuki's lips curled up slightly, revealing a hint of pleasure in her smile.
This high-risk, high-reward economic activity, which involved dancing on the edge of a knife, gave her a physiological excitement.
"There's no need to join their board of directors, no need to reveal your identity, and no need to interfere in their day-to-day operations."
"As long as we use these 100 unconnected accounts, we can quietly acquire and effectively control more than 30 percent of their shares over the next few years."
"Someday in the future, when we need that machine to run."
"These decentralized foundations, through proxy voting, instantly concentrate votes at shareholder meetings. Thirty percent of the hidden shares is enough to exercise veto power. Any resolution that attempts to obstruct our access to equipment and materials will be utterly crushed."
A brief silence fell over the hands-free call.
Only Frank's increasingly heavy breathing came through the transoceanic radio waves.
This method of operation has precedents on Wall Street, but to simultaneously target several of the world's top core technology giants, mobilize hundreds of funds for extremely strict legal separation, and carry out covert accumulation of funds over several years—the requirements for the stability, confidentiality, and operational precision of the financial chain are chilling.
"Understood, Boss. The legal team will receive instructions tonight." Frank's voice regained its crispness.
He was also someone who wasn't afraid of trouble, and he knew his employer's personality and her capabilities. He wouldn't ask Satsuki why she did this; since it was a "divine decree," he would simply carry it out.
"Go and do it."
Executive Director Endo stood to the side, his hands trembling slightly.
He stepped forward and gently pushed the crumpled financial statement in his hand towards Satsuki. The statement was filled with densely packed numbers.
"Young Miss".
Endo's voice carried a hint of barely concealed hardness. Beads of sweat slid down his forehead and dripped onto the dark gray collar of his suit.
"This kind of operation requires an alarming amount of capital."
He turned to the first page of the report and pointed to the numbers marked in red pen.
"To simultaneously control 30% of the shares of these multinational giants involves the allocation of hundreds of billions of dollars. This huge sum needs to be broken down into smaller amounts and used to buy heavy industry stocks that don't immediately generate dividends or can't be easily liquidated..."
Endo took a deep breath.
"This means that our largest pool of liquid funds overseas will become 'dead money' that we cannot access. This will severely weaken SA Investment's ability to withstand financial risks."
He turned to the second page of the report.
The logo of the construction of Saionji Temple is printed at the top of the page.
"In addition, the domestic market is also stretched to its limit. The Saionji Pagoda in Odaiba is undergoing deep-sea caisson construction, with huge sums of money being poured into the sea every day. Next month, the giant glass dome of the Gokurakukan in Niseko, Hokkaido, will be capped. There are still payments for the final batch of tropical plants being airlifted, and final payments for the installation of the all-weather temperature control system..."
"These two expenses combined will completely drain the group's cash flow this quarter."
"Please consider this carefully."
As he spoke, Endo bowed deeply.
This is a financial report heavy enough to crush any large conglomerate.
War on three fronts.
A line is gnawing at the solid barriers of the global semiconductor supply chain in the darkness.
A line is being built amidst the snow and ice, creating an extravagant and wasteful dream.
Another line is pouring hundreds of tons of steel and concrete into the deep silt of Tokyo Bay, forcibly raising a black giant tower that points straight to the sky from that barren reclaimed land.
Satsuki lowered her eyes, her gaze quickly sweeping over the deficits and budget shortfalls.
She did not appear anxious.
I pulled the dark blue Montblanc pen back out of the pen holder.
The pen tip touches the paper.
He signed his name on the fund transfer confirmation form submitted by Endo.
The pen tip scratches against the paper, making a soft, rustling sound.
"Executive Director Endo."
Satsuki capped the pen.
"This is a period of dormancy that could last five or even ten years."
She looked up at the loyal but always worried financial manager.
"Those shredded dollars will sink to the bottom of the deep sea like stones. They won't shine, nor will they generate any immediate profits."
"Until the machine on the fourth basement level needs them to make a sound."
Satsuki pushed the signed document back to Endo.
Hang in there.
"Balance the books."
Endo stared at the signed document, his Adam's apple bobbing, but he said nothing more. He took the document with both hands and bowed deeply once more.
Since the young lady has made her decision, there's nothing we can do about it.
"Yes. I will exhaust all means to ensure that the cash flow does not dry up."
Satsuki nodded slightly, her gaze returning to the encrypted phone on the corner of the table.
She stretched out her finger and pressed the hang-up button.
The hoarse voice and faint electrical hum from the speaker were instantly cut off.
The receiver emitted a monotonous, cold "beep-beep" dial tone.
The sound echoed between the walls covered with sound-absorbing foam.
The moment the phone call ended.
The other side of the world. Midtown Manhattan, New York.
Inside a dimly lit office on Wall Street. The blinds cut the morning sunlight into thin stripes.
Frank sat in front of the multi-screen trading terminal, a cup of now-cold black coffee in his hand. His eyes were bloodshot, and his tie was roughly ripped loose.
He glanced at the time and slammed the Enter key on the keyboard.
"Smack."
The button bounces back with a crisp sound.
At the same second, dozens of large fax machines in the corner of the office started up simultaneously.
"Buzz—"
The gears mesh, and the drum rotates.
As the thermal paper passed through the heating probe, a faint burnt smell emanated from it, and legal authorization documents marked "Top Secret" were spat out of the machine's mouth.
British Virgin Islands. Bahamas. Luxembourg.
Countless urgent directives demanding the immediate establishment of umbrella trust structures and the recruitment of foreign nominees are being sent via undersea fiber optic cables to top law firms in tax havens.
A massive legal firewall is being built in the dark.