An hour passed quickly.
Some of East Cherry Country's top internet experts participated in the investigation, but they also found no problems.
The banking system showed absolutely no signs of intrusion.
"Damn it."
A bigwig from East Cherry Country, Fujiwara No, looked extremely grim.
He was currently in charge of this matter.
The stock market had already fallen three or four points.
Although the rate of decline had slowed, it was still falling, and the total decline for the day might reach five points.
When the overall market drops five points, some individual stocks plummet.
And this was just today.
If the matter wasn't resolved, it was likely to fall again tomorrow.
Could global short-selling funds let such an opportunity pass?
"Minister Fujiwara, we need to seek assistance from the US."
Someone suggested to Fujiwara No.
"Seek assistance from the US?"
Fujiwara No frowned.
This was a problem occurring with the banking system, seeking assistance from a foreign country, he worried that some additional risks might arise.
"Minister Fujiwara, with our strength, I'm afraid we can't solve this problem alone."
Another person said.
Fujiwara No walked back and forth. Although there were risks, they had to solve this problem as quickly as possible.
Soon, he reported to his superiors.
The higher-ups approved the idea of seeking assistance from the US.
A dozen minutes later, several powerful internet experts from the US intervened, and they remotely began to help investigate.
However, they found nothing after investigating for half an hour. The stock market was about to close, and the overall market decline had reached five points.
The decline of many individual stocks exceeded ten points.
"Fujiwara-kun, what's the situation?"
Fujiwara No stood and bowed slightly: "Hello, there are no results yet. I will definitely find out as soon as possible."
"Fujiwara-kun, at the latest by twelve o'clock tonight. If it can't be found out today, you should find another job."
After the other party finished speaking, they hung up the phone.
Fujiwara No straightened his body and frowned. In this situation, he could only pin his hopes on the internet experts from the US.
"Minister Fujiwara, I have an idea."
Someone said to Fujiwara No.
"Speak."
Fujiwara No looked at the other party and said in a deep voice.
"Minister Fujiwara, the Ishihara family previously encountered a cyber attack. The other party was very strong, and the Ishihara family suffered heavy losses, but ultimately couldn't find out who was responsible."
"Could it be the same person this time?"
Fujiwara No's heart stirred: "The Ishihara family?"
"Yes."
"Some people guessed that it was done by Lin Chen from China. Now Lin Chen in China is in a situation."
Fujiwara No asked: "What situation?"
He hadn't paid attention to news in that area.
"Lin Chen first encountered cyber violence, with many media outlets and internet bloggers standing up to accuse him, and then—"
Fujiwara No pondered: "You mean, it's possible that Lin Chen is doing this deliberately, he doesn't want to investigate those people one by one, and wants us to expose them?"
"Minister Fujiwara, I'm just guessing."
Fujiwara No thought carefully.
He wasn't in charge of the remote breeding program, but with the relationship between China and East Cherry Country, he knew that their country should have cultivated some public intellectuals in China.
It was difficult for Lin Chen to find evidence, so directly targeting them was entirely possible.
Of course, this was just a guess.
Without evidence, he wouldn't dare to speak recklessly, or there would be no good outcome.
"I hope this isn't the case."
"I hope we can find out where the problem lies."
Fujiwara No thought to himself.
Their own people and the internet experts from the US were now fully searching.
Long lines formed at banks all over East Cherry Country, and some small banks had already begun to experience a run on deposits.
Although the query results showed that the money was still there, what if it wasn't?
Now it was just a problem with the ATMs, but what if there was also a problem with the bank accounts and the money was gone?
Gradually, it became late at night.
Many of them researched in various ways, but after more than ten hours of research and investigation, they still hadn't found anything.
Fujiwara No's face was full of sorrow.
"Beep beep!"
His phone suddenly rang.
Fujiwara No's body trembled. He stood up straight, ready to be scolded.
"Fujiwara-kun—"
The phone was connected, and the person on the other end greeted him warmly. The temperature in December was low, but Fujiwara No's forehead broke out in sweat at the other party's warm greetings.
"Speak!"
After the other party finished greeting him, they said in a deep voice.
Fujiwara No wiped his sweat and said, "Sir, it's not that I'm incompetent, it's just that the enemy is too powerful. Even the many internet experts from the US haven't been able to help."
"I have an idea that might work."
The other party shouted, "Then why aren't you saying it quickly?"
Fujiwara No said: "We suspect that it was done by Lin Chen from China. He may be doing this as a warning to us."
"He wants us to expose some people, and if we do, the banking system will probably recover."
The person on the other end of the phone said sternly: "Are you crazy? We expose ourselves? What if it wasn't him? Wouldn't that make us look incredibly stupid?"
"I'll give you a little more time."
"You must find out the truth before the stock market opens tomorrow."
Fujiwara No bowed: "Yes!"
The night passed, and Fujiwara No didn't sleep all night. Many other people were like him, not sleeping all night.
However, it was useless.
They were busy all night, but still couldn't find out anything.
Nine o'clock, Tokyo time.
The East Cherry Country stock market opened.
The overall market plummeted three points in a very short time.
A disastrous start.
Seeing this result, Fujiwara No felt dizzy.
"How is the situation with the major banks?"
Fujiwara No took a deep breath and asked.
"Minister, the situation is not good."
"There are even more people queuing at the major banks. In rural areas, even the old men and women have received the news and are queuing to withdraw money."
Someone reported.
Fujiwara No's expression was extremely solemn.
If this continued, a large-scale run on deposits was likely to occur.
If money could not be withdrawn from the banks, panic would increase, and then more people would inevitably line up to withdraw money.
The more people who withdrew money, the less money there would be.
This would be a vicious cycle.
"Minister Fujiwara, the stock market is down four percent. At this rate, today's decline will definitely be more than yesterday's."
Someone said in a trembling voice.
He had bought a lot of stocks, and he was going to suffer a terrible loss.
Fujiwara No's expression was extremely ugly.
He had also invested a lot in stocks.
Moreover, he had heavily invested in bank stocks, which had already fallen more than ten points yesterday, and were heading for more than ten points again today.
"Sir—"
Fujiwara No went into the office.
He proactively called his superior.
"Sir, we have exhausted all possible methods, and now our people are exhausted. Even if they were full of energy, they wouldn't be able to find the problem."
"We must compromise."
"Otherwise, it is very likely to lead to serious consequences."
Fujiwara No persuaded.
The bigwig on the other end of the phone was silent for a while and said, "Fujiwara-kun, are you sure there is no other way?"
"Yes, sir."
After Fujiwara No finished speaking, the other party hung up the phone.
"Release some of the information."
"But don't let people know it came from our East Cherry Country."
The other party issued the order.
Soon, they released a small portion of the data on the dark web.
This data involved hundreds of people in China.
