Looking at the man who had jumped from the building, Zane Blackwood felt a cold, sick feeling in his stomach.
But for Henry and the other Wall Street veterans, it was just... normal.
Soon, they got the news. The man who jumped was Shonari Ares, the founder of a big investment company.
Henry explained who he was. "Ares was a legend, boss. A 47-year-old Wall Street pro. He made $42 million in just three days back in 1982. He became famous overnight. After that, he made huge, winning bets against other countries' money."
He had saved up hundreds of millions and started his own company.
"When the Mexican money crisis happened in 1994, Ares struck again," Henry said. "He made over $970 million. It shocked everyone. His company's profit rate was 510%. He was a true genius."
"But," Henry sighed, "today, he made a huge mistake. He got greedy. He misjudged when the real giants, like Soros and the big banks, were going to make their move."
Just one day ago, Shonari Ares was a Wall Street titan. He managed $10 billion of other people's money and was personally worth $1.5 billion.
But now? All of it was gone.
Wiped out. In a single day.
One minute, he was in heaven. The next, he was in hell, with nothing. He'd gone from a billionaire to being in massive debt. How could he accept that? He couldn't imagine all the other traders laughing at him.
So, he chose to jump. He used death to escape.
"This is Wall Street," Zane sighed, his voice low. He felt truly unsettled.
"Boss," Henry said, with a sad, tired smile, "you don't need to pity him. People in our line of work... we're all full of a greedy desire for money. Our hearts are... bloated. Can you believe someone once spent $2 million on a single dinner?"
Zane was stunned. "Two million? For one meal? That's... that's insane."
"You guessed it, boss," Henry said. "The man who spent that $2 million was Ares, the man who just jumped. He was famous for it. As for fancy houses, big yachts, and art? That was all standard for him. Living like that is common in our world."
Henry's smile faded. "So don't feel sorry for him, boss. Even if I jumped one day, you wouldn't need to feel sorry for me."
"We come from the misery of risk, and we finally return to misery," Henry laughed, but it was a cold, empty sound. "This is the fate of us Wall Street people."
At that moment, Zane felt a real chill. It was terrifying.
Henry was saying these awful things with a smile on his face. It sent a shiver right down Zane's spine.
"Darn," Zane thought, "I should come to Wall Street less often. This place is toxic. These people are all insane!"
He wasn't just saying it. He was genuinely a little scared of them.
He looked over at his own team. Henry was smiling. The other traders? After learning a man had just died, they didn't show any sadness. They were all busy celebrating with champagne, toasting their own big win.
To them, a man's death was less important than deciding what to have for dinner.
"Ares should have died a long time ago," one 25-year-old trader at Gale Capital said loudly, raising his glass. "If he didn't die, how would us young people get a chance to rise up? If he hadn't jumped, I would've pushed him off sooner or later!"
Zane just stared. Was this guy even human?
And yet... all the other traders at Gale Capital cheered. They all agreed with him.
Zane felt sick. He wasn't just scared anymore. He was repulsed by this whole industry. The risk was too great. And these people, who were all rich, were just slaves to money.
"Isn't it better," Zane thought to himself, "to just be in Hollywood, making movies? And maybe meet a few nice women and talk about life?"
He admitted it. He was the kind of person who just wanted to enjoy life. He didn't like taking these kinds of huge, scary risks.
The next day, the money markets were all acting strange again. The big Wall Street banks, led by Soros, were moving money around, making the numbers jump up and down.
Zane's team at Gale Capital quietly followed behind and earned another $2 million. It wasn't much, but it was safe.
"The big players are getting ready for their next big move," Henry explained. "It's not smart to invest too much right now."
Zane nodded. "Yes. We're waiting. We're waiting for the Japanese government to step in. After that, the yen is going to fall, hard."
Zane was right.
In the following days, the yen started to crash. On the 21st, it fell 0.42%. On the 22nd, it fell 0.79%. On the 23rd, it fell 0.99%. On the 24th, it fell more than 2%! It was the biggest drop in a single day!
Banks and companies in Japan started to fail. The stock market was crashing. Big companies like Toyota and Sony were losing tons of money. In just a few days, 50,000 people were laid off from their jobs.
But the Wall Street banks and money players from all over the world were making fortunes. They were frantically grabbing the nation's wealth.
Zane's company, Gale Capital, rode the wave. They pocketed another $100 million.
In just a few days, Japan had lost tens of billions of dollars. The government could not sit by any longer.
At 9 a.m. on the 25th, the nation's Ministry of Finance made a big announcement.
"We will fight back against these speculators! We will launch a rescue plan today! We will use our backup money, $208 billion, and we will respond fully to the market!"
As soon as the news came out, the companies in Japan were excited. They believed their government could win.
Zane watched the news on TV, a sad, knowing look on his face.
"They're trying," he thought to himself. "But human greed... it's just not that easy to beat."
"The real battle... has only just begun."
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