Chapter 532.1: My Debt Is The Scythe Hanging Over Your Neck

"How is this even possible?"

In the meeting room of the New Alliance’s Internal Affairs Department in Dawn City, President Malvern of Boulder Town Bank sat at the conference table, his eyes bulging as he stared at a full case of black-and-white poker chips.

The moment the celebration ended, he had rushed to meet the New Alliance’s administrator, ready to negotiate repayment of the debt amounting to over 10,000,000 chips in principal and interest from the 510,000,000 credit loan.

As the president of Boulder Town Bank, every loan issued to the New Alliance had gone through him. He had already assigned his sharpest accountants to closely monitor every expense from the New Alliance. Even ‘members of Boulder Town’ like Liszt and Ditway were carefully audited. No one knew the New Alliance’s financial condition better than he did.

They absolutely could not afford to pay the chips by the end of the year.

How could an organization that ran on debt have cash left over? Not to mention the massive trade deficit they were facing. Those bumpkins in the northern suburbs had operated at a loss for an entire year! The New Alliance, in Malvern’s eyes, was like a dilapidated house riddled with debt and deficits.

They had overdrawn too much of their future to win the war against the Army. That was precisely why Malvern sat across from Chu Guang with such confidence.

At that point, debt restructuring was almost the New Alliance’s only option. If they didn’t reduce their debt scale to a reasonable level, they were headed for bankruptcy. Malvern didn’t think those muscle-brained folks knew much about economics, but he also didn’t want to see this hard-won house collapse just like that.

He was willing to help the New Alliance repay the money. But only if they accepted his conditions.

For example, allowing free exchange between silver coins and chips, which would help transfer part of the inflationary pressure from the local currency onto foreign ones.

Even better if they opened up exchange to CR.

If Chu Guang agreed to allow debt repayment by converting silver into chips as an intermediary, Malvern was even willing to forgive half the New Alliance’s total debt. Sure, those workhorses toiled for themselves, but in the end, wasn’t it all to let people like him enjoy life more?

And what could be more enjoyable than going to Ideal City?

Yet, to his complete disbelief, the New Alliance had repaid the loan, down to the last chip.

They even had the principal and interest already prepared for the following year.

"Would you like to count them?" Chu Guang asked with a calm smile, watching the stunned Malvern. "I heard chips are products of black-boxes, so they can’t be forged, right?"

"Ahem... That... I trust you guys would never do something like that, of course, but..." Malvern looked hard at Chu Guang. "I want to know where these chips came from."

Seeing his skeptical expression, Chu Guang chuckled casually and answered frankly. "A fair request. If someone in the New Alliance suddenly showed up with a large pile of cash, we would also ask them to explain its origin."

Malvern nodded. "Then can you tell me?"

Chu Guang didn’t hold back and replied plainly, "Your shareholders lent them to me."

Hearing this brazen answer, Malvern’s eyes almost popped out of his head. Gone was any pretense of decorum as he snapped, "How can you pay off old debt with new debt?!"

Chu Guang smiled slightly. "Our loan agreement only prohibits us from using bonds issued by Boulder Town Bank to repay loans from Boulder Town Bank. It doesn’t say anything about raising funds through other channels to pay existing debts, does it?"

"But that doesn’t solve anything!" Malvern shouted. "Do you know what you're doing?! Your debt will keep snowballing until it crushes you! And not just your money, everyone’s money will go down the drain!"

He was finally beginning to see the risk. But what infuriated him wasn't the increased exposure, it was that he believed there were better solutions. And yet the man in front of him had chosen the worst one, without even consulting him!

"We didn’t have much choice," Chu Guang said gently, trying to calm him down. "Your consumer market is too weak. We would love to sell you quality products, but your residents simply can’t afford them. And just selling you low-margin raw resources..."

"... That makes it almost impossible to offset the trade deficit," he continued, "Anyone with basic economic sense would know that sand can’t be worth more than cement. Yet over 90% of your cement output ends up sold to us. How can we fill that gap by selling you only sand?"

Malvern barked in frustration, "But you... You can’t solve it like this! Using new debt to pay off old debt is reckless and irresponsible!"

He had lent to the New Alliance because he believed they would repay their debts. But now, their methods made him doubt whether they ever intended to pay him back at all!

"But we have kept every promise," Chu Guang reminded him calmly, still smiling. "Back then, you asked us to import more of your goods and reduce the trade deficit between us. We followed through."

They had even done it beautifully.

After receiving the 200 million chip loan, the New Alliance didn’t just flip its trade surplus into a deficit, it even shot itself in the foot by increasing labor costs, giving Boulder Town’s cheap consumer goods a growing advantage in their market.

Malvern’s gaze sank as he glared at Chu Guang.

He had no grounds to accuse the New Alliance of bad faith. They had even laid the following year’s payment out in front of him.

The harshest term he could muster was ‘irresponsible’.

It was undeniably unethical. No matter how one spun it, the New Alliance was offloading the inflation created by their own overissued currency onto others.

"And what about the year after next? Or ten years from now?" Chu Guang smiled faintly. "By then, the New Alliance might have 10 or 20 more survivor settlements. Will we really care about such a small amount of money from you?"

Malvern’s brows relaxed slightly, though still furrowed tight. Business size and investor returns were two different things. Just because a company grew didn’t mean its investors earned more. Moreover, Chu Guang still hadn’t budged on the core issue.

"You're worried about the risk holding chips will bring you, aren’t you?" Chu Guang said softly, seeing the concern in his eyes.

"Yes," Malvern admitted without hesitation. "I’m worried that if you keep playing this game, the bubble will pop the moment redemption is triggered. I get it now, what you’re doing is using our credit to back your debt."

"That’s pushing it a little too much," Chu Guang replied with a mild cough, then continued gently, "Let me offer a proposal that could solve your problem of inflation."

Malvern gripped the arms of his chair instinctively, staring at him intently. "What?"

"We plan to issue something called a bond. Think of it as a way to partially monetize the debt."

Hearing the word, Malvern stood to leave. But Chu Guang’s next words made him freeze mid-motion and sit back down.

"A bond denominated and settled in chips... In fact, we've already issued it."

"Why didn’t you tell me?!" Malvern looked at the box of chips, then at Chu Guang. A look of sudden realization crossed his face. "So that’s where the principal and interest came from."

Chu Guang smiled lightly. "Makes sense, right? Sand isn’t worth more than cement, but highways, railroads, buildings, bridges are. You don’t need to build them anymore, but we do. So just take your surplus currency and buy the bonds we issued."

Malvern squinted at him.

The New Alliance had indeed handed him a solution. They could store the surplus currency in a pool denominated in their chips, which wouldn’t depreciate.

But it still didn’t resolve the root issue.

Seeing he was unmoved, Chu Guang sighed to himself. Malvern was one of the rare sharp minds among the inner city nobles.

Everyone else was barreling full speed toward the curve. He, at least, knew when to tap the brakes.

In terms of capability, neither Charlie nor Sun Ruicai were his match. If the New Alliance truly played the balance sheet contraction card at a departmental meeting, they would lose from the very start. But that wasn’t their fault.

Those from humble beginnings were natural radicals. They supported sweeping reforms but often lacked tools beyond old experiences, making them too conservative. Either that or some of them would realize the old path didn’t work, but embark on a path no one had ever walked, shocking everyone eventually.

Thankfully, Chu Guang came from a civilized society, with professional and amateur players constantly brainstorming on forums about how to improve the New Alliance.

Limitations didn’t disappear just because one shouted louder, but they could be eased through communication.

That was how game strategies were often born.

"I promise that in the future, we will gradually open conversion between chips and silver coins. And yes, CR will also be available to you." As he spoke, Chu Guang tossed out his biggest bait yet.

He could feel the moment those words left his lips, Malvern held his breath. A flash of excitement passed through his otherwise calm eyes.

"I want more than a promise," Malvern said, locking eyes with him. "You say you’re trustworthy, then put it on paper."

"No problem." Chu Guang nodded readily.

Malvern blinked, surprised by how easily he agreed. Suspecting a trick, he quickly added, "And your name goes on it."

"Haha, of course! A deal this important absolutely needs my signature." Chu Guang laughed heartily and, seeing Malvern relax at last, continued, "Let’s say... five years. Within five years, we’ll fulfill all our promises. And it just so happens that the minimum maturity on our bonds is also five years. That gives you a nice timeframe to store all the inflation in this bond bucket and convert it into silver coins or CR afterward. How does that sound?"

Even as he tried to hide his excitement, Malvern couldn’t stop the smile curling at his lips.

He stood from the table, stepped over to Chu Guang, who had also risen, and grasped his hand firmly. "This is a great plan! Once I see the finalized paperwork, I’ll help you issue those bonds immediately. Thank you for thinking this through for us."

Though they had reached a satisfying result, Malvern remained cautious.

He subtly hinted to Chu Guang that he would only go through with issuing chip-denominated bonds after seeing that verbal promise turned into a legally binding document.

If the New Alliance really wanted to grow strong, they wouldn't joke around with their legal commitments.

Chu Guang smiled, shaking his hand warmly. "No need to thank me. Solving your risk is also helping ourselves. Our pursuit has always been a win-win situation!"

...

And Chu Guang wasn’t exaggerating, every word he said was genuine. The New Alliance had no interest in seeing Boulder Town's bubble burst too soon. Even if every bubble eventually popped, it had to be on his timeline, with minimal damage to the New Alliance.

So, he treated Malvern with great respect. That very day, he drafted a plan titled ‘Free Exchange of Chips and Silver Coins’ and proudly signed it.

Boulder Town Bank would serve as one of the distribution channels for the New Alliance's chip-denominated bonds.

Moreover, the bank would guarantee the successful launch of the New Alliance’s bond trading system in Boulder Town. This meant that inner city nobles could not only invest in the bonds more easily, but also freely list and sell them on the platform.

All it took was a few taps to complete a transaction. It had practically become a high-liquidity financial product.