Chapter 10: Money and Talent Pour In

 

   Chapter 10: The Coin Developer’s End (1)

He was leisurely scrolling through the comments.

“Hm?”

An unexpected part was suddenly receiving a lot of attention.

**Title:** Wow, this “Insider” person is actually insane??

**Post content:** The author of the currently trending post is that famous “Insider,” right? I clicked on the nickname and checked his previous comments… and got goosebumps for real.

[Comments]

 (Troublemaker): I was curious so I checked… this guy is crazy lol

(Rat Kid): What is it?

Just go look yourself, it’s seriously chilling

Just came back after looking… f***, I need to change my soaked underwear

(Magpie): People above are overreacting.

Nah, not overreacting. The moment I saw it I doubted my own eyes 

Ryu Seong tilted his head in confusion, then finally understood the situation after reading a comment placed roughly in the middle.

(10-Year Veteran): Looking at the author’s old comments, he left advice on several whining/loss posts. In those, he wrote things like “It’ll go up to at least 4,000 won, so make sure to sell when it reaches that range.” If you want to see more, check the replies under that comment.

 Even more, he uploaded a screenshot of himself actually selling exactly at 4,000 won. The reason 4,000 won is shocking is because the all-time high was 4,008 won. Funny thing is, looking at the screenshot this “Insider” posted today, his average purchase price was under 600 won. Character limit, so continuing in another reply.

 Anyway, this means he wasn’t just randomly throwing out some price. Predicting it would reach 4,000 won, actually selling at that level, and that level being right around the true peak of 4,008 won… I’m already done for.

Give me back my underwear^^

 (Coin Lion): Damn… respect.

 Joining the underwear-soiling club

 (Newbie Investor 2): Participation complete 

(2-Year Veteran): Saw this comment and sold immediately. Thanks for the profit!

(Coin General): Sold!

(Confirmation Kill): Okay, this one I have to follow… selling too!

 (Kill Four): Selling as well 

He never imagined that a few comments he wrote out of pity would connect like this. Thanks to it, it seemed he would end up influencing far more coin newbies than expected.

*

The LiarCoin developer smirked slyly while selling off his coins.

“Stupid idiots.”

He held 50% of the coins. Another 40% was still to be mined. That meant only 10% of the total supply was actually circulating in the market. With that tiny float, there was no way such trading volume should have been possible—but people were foolishly ignoring that detail. Thanks to their ignorance, he was comfortably dumping small amounts onto the retail investors.

“I’ll lure in a few more suckers today. Starting tomorrow, I’ll really start dumping hard.”

He picked up the phone and called someone.

“Yeah, it’s me. Keep the wash trading going and spread some internet articles to attract even more retail investors. Of course. I’ll start the real dump tomorrow. Yes, like I said before, I’ll give you half the profits, so don’t worry. No—no, the fees from wash trading right now are huge? Don’t worry about it, I told you. Come on, you know the current coin price. Yes, yes, I’ll be waiting.”

Now, with only one day left until D-Day.

The developer accessed the coin gallery to check the reaction to LiarCoin. That’s when he noticed a strange post sitting at Best #1.

“What the hell is this? ‘Reasons why LiarCoin has a high probability of crashing starting tomorrow’?”

Frowning, he clicked the post. The moment he read the content, he couldn’t help but slam his fist on the desk.

“These f***ing lunatics!”

He had been far too relaxed.

Damn it, I got too cocky.

Once the initial shock passed, a new thought emerged.

No, wait—no.

This is just one person’s opinion. Most coin addicts would never fall for something like this.

“Yeah, they’re all idiots anyway.”

Believing that, he checked the comments—but to his surprise, the atmosphere made his eyes twitch.

“The mood…”

It was bad.

Extremely bad. Biting his nails anxiously, he checked other places, but they were burning with the same topic.

This won’t do.

He had planned to start tomorrow, but it looked like he needed to change the plan.

“Goddamn it.”

He called his syndicate contact.

“Did you see the boards just now? Yes, yes… just take a look first.”

After a short wait, a worried voice came through the phone.

“I know, yes. So I’m going to start dumping right now. Yes, gradually stop the wash trading. I’ll begin selling in exactly ten minutes.”

He hung up and waited ten minutes.

Time to properly start dumping LiarCoin.

“Tch.”

A bit regrettable, but…

“No helping it.”

Still, the massive profit was guaranteed. Forcing a smile, he pressed the sell button.

But.

The buy pressure was much weaker than expected. Almost no one was taking his sell orders. With wash trading stopped, it was even worse.

“What the…?”

Retail investors should have been heavily FOMO’d in by now—there should have been decent buy volume. But reality was completely different.

Damn it, does this even make sense?

With no choice, he dumped onto the much lower buy walls. The price instantly dropped 3%, but since it was essentially a made-from-nothing coin, it was pure profit anyway. A little annoying, but fine—he thought as he prepared to sell more.

Then.

“Wha…?”

The Coin Developer’s End (2)

The price plunged at a terrifying speed.

It was full-blown panic selling.

In shock, he threw out a massive amount of sell orders at prices far below the current level. But only a tiny fraction actually got filled.

“These crazy bastards!”

With panic selling combined with his own huge dump, the price began to spiral completely out of control.

Meanwhile.

Many people who had bought LiarCoin read the post written by Ryu Seong. Some sold immediately, while others, driven by greed, still held on. But even they kept one eye glued to the order book, ready to sell at any moment.

And then the incident happened.

**[Title: Trading has stopped??]**

**[Content: What the hell, is it lagging?]**

**[Comments]**

(Super Master): Looks like wash trading got turned off?

(Coin Newbie 1): Why?

 Who knows lol

 (Silence): Hmm… ㅋㅋ

A suspicious atmosphere began to spread.

At that exact moment, the developer started dumping.

The price instantly dropped more than 3%. Shocked retail investors rushed in and joined the selling frenzy, which quickly snowballed into full panic selling.

**[Title: ㅠㅠ I can’t do this anymore, selling too!]**

**[Title: Sigh… at least I made a little profit]**

**[Title: Wow, it’s dropping like crazy…? ]**

**[Title: Phew, that was close ㄷㄷ]**

**[Title: I told you to trust him! Just do whatever “Insider Hyung” says!]**

**[Title: It actually happened for real??]**

Seeing this, even more retail investors started selling.

**[Title: Holy crap, it’s plummeting HARD…!]**

**[Title: Zero buy pressure lol]**

**[Title: Panic sell…ㅠㅠ]**

Of course, even in this negative atmosphere, there were still people trying to buy.

**[Title: Insider my ass—this is when you BUY!]**

**[Title: Let’s goooo!]**

**[Title: Buy the fear!!]**

**[Title: This is the opportunity! Boarding Liar Coin right now ㄱㄱ]**

**[Title: Buy now and get rich^^]**

They were true gambling addicts.

But ordinary people—

Those who had jumped into the coin market just hoping to earn a bit of extra living expenses while going about their daily lives—couldn’t withstand this kind of mood.

Some took profit.

Some took small losses.

But they all sold.

2,000 won → 1,500 won → 1,000 won.

The price fell at breakneck speed.

700 won → 500 won → 300 won.

In just a few hours, it reached a point of no possible recovery.

**[Title: Wow, this is pure popcorn material lol]**

**[Title: Whew, I survived ㅋㅋ]**

**[Title: Insider Hyung-nim, I want to call you Master!]**

**[Title: Feels like I just watched a whole movie…]**

**[Title: Thank you so muchㅠㅠ]**

**[Title: I almost got wrecked because of this lying coin! True to its name—total scam coin, damn it ㅋㅋ]**

**[Title: Nearly lost my entire savings]**

**[Title: Ah, please, guys… SAVE ME!!! I still haven’t sold aaaah!]**

Nevertheless, the overall atmosphere in various cafes, galleries, and communities was surprisingly positive. Only a very small number of retail investors had suffered truly heavy losses, which made it possible.

*

The coin developer could no longer hide his anxiety.

“Damn it, damn it…!”

He had promised the syndicate half of the profits. The problem was that the price had fallen so fast, and with almost no buy pressure left, the sales he managed to execute weren’t even enough to cover the massive fees—let alone turn a real profit.

They had run wash trading 24/7 to pump the price, and those transaction fees alone amounted to an enormous sum. So of course he was worried.

Those guys are ruthless…!

Terrified, he kept ignoring the incoming calls.

What do I do now?

Just then, someone started pounding violently on the front door.

“I know you’re in there. Come out.”

It was someone from the syndicate.

The mere fact that they had shown up made his heart pound like it would burst. There was no need to think about what to do. If they caught him now, he might actually die.

He held his breath and pretended not to be home.

He didn’t make a single sound.

The Coin Developer’s End (Final)**

But it didn’t work on them.

**Bang! Bang bang!**

The pounding on the door grew even louder.

“Open the damn door, you bastard! Or should we just smash it down and come in? If we break in and you’re actually inside? Then you’re really dead.”

At those words, the developer’s body trembled violently.

Still, he held out.

The growing terror and fear made him want to avoid facing reality at all costs.

“You little shit, just wait. I’m about to turn this door into splinters.”

A dull, heavy impact struck the front door.

**Kwaaaaang! Kwaang!**

It felt like a bomb had gone off.

His mind snapped awake in an instant.

If the door broke like this?

If they got inside?

They would never forgive him.

Maybe…!

The only way to earn even a sliver of mercy was to open it himself.

“You really not opening? It’s about to break any second now! Then you’re seriously dead!”

“I-I’ll open it…!”

“Ha, fuck. Finally talking. You’ve got three seconds. Open it before then.”

“I-I’m opening it right now…”

“Heh heh, good. Hurry up, punk.”

With shaking hands, he unlocked the door lock.

**Beep-**

The locked door swung open. Through the widening gap appeared several menacing-looking men. With ferocious glares, they stormed into the house.

“You fucking piece of shit.”

The man at the very front tapped the developer’s cheek—lightly at first.

One slap. Two. Three.

The sharp **smack smack** sounds grew louder and louder. He kept going until the coin developer’s cheeks swelled red and puffed up.

“Do you even realize how much damage you caused us?”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Yeah, sure. Well, let’s talk first. After one more hit.”

The final vicious backhand sent the developer staggering and collapsing to the floor. The man crouched down in front of him, smirking viciously as he continued.

“Shall we start by calculating the fees? Think you can cover it?”

“T-That’s…”

“You’re not answering straight? You wanna die?”

The developer’s mind shattered at the sight of the fist right in front of his face. Surrounded by several brutal-looking men, it genuinely felt like death was inches away. He couldn’t think properly anymore; his head felt completely empty. There was only one thing he could say now.

“I-I’m sorry!”

“So you’re saying you can’t pay?”

“I-It’s just that…”

“Fuck, you’re driving me insane. Can you pay or can’t you?!”

“N-No, I can’t! I’m sorry!”

“You little shit, there’s nothing to be sorry about—you just have to pay it back somehow. Right?”

“Y-Yes, yes. I-I have to pay it back.”

“Then first, let’s get everything you’ve got inside out.”

“H-Huh…?”

“Let’s harvest a few organs, you bastard. Add in the money you made selling the coin, and… well, it might at least cover part of the loss. What do you think?”

“Uh, uh…”

“You agree? Heh heh, good boy.”

“W-Wait! Please, spare me! Please!!”

The developer crawled across the floor.

He begged desperately, rubbing his hands and forehead on the ground like they were feet.

“What’s with the drama? Who said we’re killing you? We’ll only take enough so you don’t die, so relax. But damn, I wonder if this punk’s organs are even healthy.”

The man who seemed to be the leader scanned his subordinates.

“What are you all doing? Sightseeing? Grab him and let’s go!”

“Yes, hyung-nim!”

“Please, please spare me! I’ll pay it back somehow, I swear!!”

“Shut the fuck up, you noisy bastard.”

In the end, it took another taste of fist for the developer to finally shut his mouth.

“Guh… guuuuh…”

A thick, heavy darkness fell over his future.

The end.

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