Strictly speaking, no publicly listed company is ever entirely free of problems.
The purpose of going public isn’t to demonstrate some grand ideal. Simply put, it’s to extract money from retail investors.
A listed company’s shares are divided into two categories. One part is held by shareholders—these shares are not traded easily. The other part consists of publicly tradable shares issued during the listing. These are actively traded on the market and determine the company’s stock price.
No matter how capitalists or listed companies spin it—claiming buying stocks is an investment—in truth, it’s all about making people believe they can profit from buying their stock.
The more popular the stock, the higher its price, the greater the company’s market value, and the more valuable the shareholders’ equity becomes.
That’s why most listed companies focus on inflating stock prices after going public—it’s far quicker than making actual profits.
A company might only net a few million in profit after a year of hard work, but if they can push the stock price up by just 5 or 10 percent, their market cap gains could far exceed their annual earnings.
This is one of the main reasons why modern capital tends to flow into finance: investors can reap large returns without enduring long-term operations—though they might also end up being the ones harvested.
How to make a stock popular? It’s simple: falsify financial reports, inflate sales numbers, and engage in strategic hype.
For example, if a company’s market cap doubles from 100 million to 200 million, that good news will directly affect the stock market. Late-moving retail investors start buying, sell orders decrease, and demand rises. Add in some other tactics—like inviting experts to speak about long-term prospects or hiring brokerages to promote the stock—and the shares begin to soar.
Stock prices can rise by 70–80%, even over 100%, to match the company’s public statements.
Every listed company uses these borderline legal tactics, pushing positive news to make shareholders rich overnight.
Even if they don’t manipulate the stock price this way, they’ll find other ways to cover problems to prevent price drops. And this—right here—is the reason why the Gephra Financial Index plummeted at the opening today.
The Finance Minister knows these companies too well. So does the market—especially the major investors. They chose to pull out rather than hold on.
Heavy industry, chemical companies—they all face environmental issues. But they have ways to cover up the bad news to protect valuations.
Normally, that’s just PR. But now, everything is under a microscope. Even minor, once-acceptable issues are now major problems.
Some companies have already been made examples of. The fate of the six suspended companies will be stock crashes, huge fines, even trading restrictions.
For a listed company, that’s not just painful—it’s soul-crushing.
Other companies, fearing they’ll be the next targets, are now desperate to fix their image with the Finance Minister. The simplest way is to buy back their own shares.
That’s what the Finance Minister asked them to do earlier, but they refused at the time.
Stock buybacks cost money—and small-scale buybacks are useless.
If a company wants to raise funds, it usually issues more shares. Large-cap stocks often have tens of millions of shares in circulation. Even buying back 10% means spending millions, even tens of millions in cash—seriously impacting operations. That’s why they refused earlier.
But now—they’ve caved.
“If a man has no way out, he’s more dangerous than a lion,” the Prime Minister said with a touch of emotion upon hearing the news.
Others were in the room. With his rising political fortune and powerful background, the Prime Minister had no shortage of people willing to work for him.
No one else spoke, as if silently pondering his words.
He didn’t continue immediately—just thought for a moment before chuckling softly.
“He’s clever—but we won’t just roll over.”
He looked at a man sitting on the left side of the table in the front row—a young man, though already in his thirties—his eldest son.
“Arrest all the Finance Ministry officials named in the reports. I’ve spoken with the Ministry of Internal Affairs—they’ll free up a floor for your team. I want full confessions.”
He leaned in slightly and added, “I want to know how they accepted bribes, how they used their positions to commit crimes, who they reported to, and how the benefits were distributed. Understood?”
His son nodded solemnly.
“I know what to do.”
The family had waited years for this opportunity. Now that it was here, the elite members of the clan were all mobilized around him—this is why great noble families stay powerful.
All it takes is one person to rise, and their power far exceeds anything ordinary people can muster. Ordinary people simply can’t defeat great nobles. That possibility is almost nonexistent.
The Prime Minister then turned to a second man—his nephew, around forty. He looked average, mild even—but the Prime Minister knew he was ruthless.
“The shareholders of Harmony Capital have all been arrested. I’ve coordinated with the police headquarters—you’ll have seventy-two hours. I want them to talk.”
“I want to know why they came to Gephra, what roles they and Richard played, their plans, and how they used bribes to get operating licenses and go public.”
His nephew bowed slightly.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get the truth out of them within a day.”
The Prime Minister believed him, but still gave one final warning:
“Don’t kill them. And I want their confessions while they’re still fully conscious.”
One directive after another was issued with precision. Though outwardly calm, inside the Prime Minister was in turmoil. This was his closest shot at absolute power. He wouldn’t let it slip through his fingers.
When all instructions had been given, he patted the armrest and stood up.
His eldest son immediately fetched his coat and helped him put it on. The others stood by respectfully.
Once dressed, the Prime Minister raised his chin, letting his son adjust the collar.
Nobles care deeply about such details—collars are seen as markers of one’s status.
“Father, are you going out?” his son asked while fixing the collar.
“Me?” the Prime Minister grunted lightly.
“I’m going to visit Lynch—have a little talk.”
“His recent moves gave me a lot of inspiration. And… we share the same goal. Maybe we can work together.” He stepped aside as his son finished adjusting the collar, then picked up his hat and put it on.
“Never underestimate anyone—not even a carriage driver.”
“The coachman is a well-known story in Gephra. He was once just a knight’s attendant, responsible for caring for the knight’s horse.
During a war, the knight was wounded, but their lord was about to face a battle that would determine life or death. The coachman decided to take the knight’s place in battle, believing that even if he died, it would spare his family from the lord’s wrath.
Unexpectedly, the coachman performed exceptionally on the battlefield and helped the lord secure victory.
When the lord was handing out rewards, he discovered that the one who had brought him victory wasn’t his knight—but merely a coachman.
Rather than being angry, the lord knighted him.
Of course, that knight later died in a duel over who got to sleep with the countess. He won the duel, but lost to the count…
The Prime Minister told this story to his son to remind him that, despite Lynch being a foreigner and only a minor noble, he must not be underestimated.
After the Prime Minister left, the others went off to carry out their tasks.
A little after 11 o’clock, the Prime Minister’s car stopped outside Lynch’s residence.
“Hope I’m here at just the right time!” he said with a warm smile as soon as they met, extending his hand to Lynch and holding the handshake for nearly ten seconds.
Lynch responded with equal enthusiasm. “I’ve been meaning to visit you as well, but was afraid you wouldn’t have time.”
“Then it seems I arrived just right, didn’t I?” The Prime Minister smiled—more a statement than a question.
One of Lynch’s servants took the Prime Minister’s coat and led them into the living room.
The Prime Minister glanced around the décor but made no comment. In his eyes, it looked bare and modest—even though the house wasn’t cheap.
After sitting down, the Prime Minister said, “I’ve heard many say that you’re the most outstanding young man in the Federation. Especially in economics—you seem to have a deeper understanding than some so-called experts.”
“What’s your view on the issues we’re currently facing?”
