Chapter 76: The Great Toad Sage

When the market opened on August 14th, Japan Airlines’ stock price continued its collapse.

Because the price was already on the verge of 2,000 points, Sachi Ken’ichi began to buy back shares and return the borrowed stock, closing out the short position as Seiko had instructed.

Although many believed that 2,000 points would not be the end of JAL’s stock price collapse, Seiko was the employer, and Sachi Ken’ichi was just a stockbroker.

He could only operate according to Seiko’s wishes.

But subsequent events proved that Seiko’s decision was correct.

Because just as JAL’s stock price finally broke through the 2,000-point mark and seemed to be heading towards 1,950 with no return, the Tokyo Stock Exchange announced a suspension of trading due to abnormal fluctuations in JAL’s stock.

At present, the Tokyo Stock Exchange had neither price limits nor a circuit breaker mechanism, but they could manually decide to suspend trading.

This decision was very subjective, with no clear standards.

As everyone knows, such vague rules are actually a kind of backdoor for those in power.

So, when this “suspension of trading” occurred, there was no doubt that the visible hand of power was at work.

On one hand, Sachi Ken’ichi was extremely relieved that most of Seiko’s positions had been successfully settled around the 2,000-point mark, securing their profits.

On the other hand, he felt a bit of panic, because people claiming to be from the PSIA had found him and asked why he had started shorting JAL’s stock before August 12th.

PSIA, the Public Security Intelligence Agency, was originally established to deal with left-wing radical organizations and later gradually took on counter-terrorism functions.

That’s right, it was a counter-terrorism department.

The Japanese government initially did not treat the JAL air disaster as a simple accident, but investigated it as a criminal event.

Therefore, Sachi Ken’ichi’s advance short-selling of JAL naturally attracted the attention of the investigation department.

Sachi Ken’ichi relayed the news of the PSIA investigation to Seiko via his pager.

Seiko expressed her thanks but wasn’t particularly nervous.

For one, Muddy Waters’ influence wasn’t particularly large; Seiko had only managed to scrape together two billion yen.

On the other hand, wasn’t there still Onoue Nui?

Sure enough, a few police officers who seemed to be from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department soon found Seiko and asked her why she had chosen such a coincidental time to short JAL.

Seiko “truthfully” informed them: it was the spirit medium, the modern-day representative of the Great Toad God, the great prophet, Ms. Onoue, who had told her.

Although the officers were skeptical, they still went to verify whether Seiko’s words were true.

This verification didn’t matter much at first, but surprisingly, quite a few people stated that Onoue Nui was indeed a great prophet.

Her success rate in predicting horse races and stocks after communicating with the Toad God through her spiritual powers was very high.

And she had predicted that JAL’s stock would fall in the near future.

Although Onoue hadn’t specified why it would fall, perhaps it was a celestial secret that could not be revealed.

Thus, a dazzling new star of the bubble era, a Great Toad Sage of the financial world, a most absurd legend, rose ahead of its time.

Onoue Nui received all the fame, and Seiko could only regretfully accept the 400 million yen.

After repaying Urawa Construction’s 1.3 billion and Bubble Witch’s 700 million, the remaining 200 million yen in profit was taken by Muddy Waters.

On the set, Mother was filming its last two episodes.

During a break in filming, Aiko and another child were laughing and playing.

“Who’s that? Is she another new child actor?”

Okada Yukiko noticed the commotion over there and couldn’t help but ask curiously.

Although there had been other child actors on set before, it was rare to see Aiko playing so well with someone.

“Aiko’s good friend, Rika,” Seiko, who had come to the set to check on the progress, introduced casually. “She said she wants to be a big star too, so Aiko brought her over.”

Okada Yukiko looked at the two children and was silent for a long time before suddenly saying, “It’s not really a good thing for such young children to become stars. It would be better for them to get a proper education.”

Hearing this, Seiko turned her head in surprise to look at Okada Yukiko.

As far as she knew, Okada Yukiko was the very type who had fought desperately to become a star during her school years, even to the point of falling out with her family.

And now she was saying something like “being a star is not as good as getting a proper education”?

Seiko was just about to ask Okada Yukiko if she had been possessed by the lingering soul of some unknown girl. If that were the case, she could introduce her to a spirit medium.

However, a shrill female voice suddenly rang out on the set.

“Yukiko, why are you here again?!”

The voice was so loud that it startled both Aiko and Rika.

Seiko followed the sound and saw Okada Yukiko’s manager, Hosokawa Kazuko, hurrying over, her face filled with anger.

Upon seeing Hosokawa Kazuko, Okada Yukiko couldn’t help but shrink back.

“You have so much work you’re not doing, and you keep coming here to sit around and waste time. What on earth are you thinking?” Hosokawa Kazuko came to stand in front of Okada Yukiko and continued to question her angrily.

“Filming a drama is work too,” Okada Yukiko defended herself, lacking confidence.

“A drama? Do you think you’re the only one who has read the script?” Hosokawa Kazuko looked as if she was about to laugh from anger. “How many scenes do you even have? Do you need to come here so many times and stay for so long? Do you even have any scenes today?”

“I… I can also learn by watching others act…” Okada Yukiko’s voice grew even weaker.

“What’s the use of learning this? You’re an idol, not an actress.”

“An idol doesn’t need much acting skill. You have your own work to do.”

Hosokawa Kazuko’s anger gradually subsided, and her tone became earnest. “Yukiko, do you know how many people are wasting their time with you while you’re away from your duties? Let’s not even talk about me; as your manager, I’m one with you. But what about the makeup artists, drivers, planners at the company, and the behind-the-scenes staff of the TV shows? They all work for you. If you run off, what are they supposed to do? Yukiko, Mr. Aizawa and the company have invested so many resources in you. They don’t require you to bring in a certain amount of profit, but you can’t waste so many people’s expectations of you like this…”

“I know, I know,” Okada Yukiko finally gave in, as if giving up on herself. “Alright, I’ll go back with you now.”

“Mhm,” Hosokawa Kazuko seemed to let out a sigh of relief. “When we get back, apologize to everyone first. Everyone knows Yukiko is a good girl. They’ll forgive you…”

With that, Hosokawa Kazuko took Okada Yukiko’s hand and was about to leave.

However, just as they turned, a faint voice came from behind them.

“Are you blind?”

“I am the owner here, and I’ve been standing here for so long. You’re just going to leave without saying a single word to me?”

Hosokawa Kazuko’s steps faltered. Steeling herself, she slowly turned around, acting as if she had just noticed Seiko, and forced a sheepish smile. “Ah, it’s Miss Yamagami. I’m sorry, I was just too angry…”

But Seiko ignored her. She turned her head to the side, randomly found a yakuza, and said, “This lady’s eyesight isn’t very good. Take her to get it washed.”

“Yes, ma’am!”