Blackstone Code-Chapter 625: Harmony Gold Bond

Capital has never been passionate, gentle, kind, or full of sunshine.

Capital is cold, ruthless—and greedy.

If someone tells you a capitalist is a good person, punch them in the face and spit on them.

Whether it was EverBright’s collapse or Liston’s downfall, both signaled the release of profits in the tens of millions.

A company might, through exploiting workers, reach the threshold of the upper class in a lifetime—so long as it exploits enough people to generate large profits—but its growth will never match the scale and speed of capital that devours other capital.

In the current federal capitalist world, the concept of capital has undergone a subtle change.

At first, people called those who pursued profits through exploitation, oppression, and deceit capitalists.

Now, people tend to call those who, on the same pursuit of profit, use financial tools and advanced methods to seize assets — whether individuals or groups — capitalists. This reflects an evolution of the era.

Even among capitalists, two groups have formed—industrialists and financiers. Amusingly, financiers tend to look down on industrialists, yet they can’t do without them.

If Lynch had simply opened factories, produced goods, and sold them, he might have spent his whole life trying to earn what he holds now.

But now, by combining certain means, he earned that wealth with ease.

Though calling it money isn’t entirely accurate—fixed assets and investment goods can’t be simply valued in monetary terms. In finance, real estate and investment goods aren’t considered true wealth until they’re liquidated. Until then, they’re just products.

Lynch acquired these goods. A portion of them would be distributed to others in the chain. The banks helped, and naturally, some people there would benefit. Lynch wasn’t a stingy man.

Mr. Truman also helped, but Lynch couldn’t give him goods or money directly—that would constitute a bribe and a crime.

However, he could use Truman’s name to provide certain benefits to the Federal military as a form of repayment.

Friendship is mutual. Help among friends is mutual.

Truman’s foundation lay in the military. As long as his ties there remained strong, his position in the federal government would be stable. Even if the president lost re-election, Truman could step back and take a high-level post in the Department of Defense.

The Joint Development Company also needed to be cut in. It might not seem directly involved, but it was—at least to some degree.

Without its strong stance, the six major banks might not have cooperated so readily.

Perhaps the board of directors of the corporation didn’t care much for Lynch’s offerings, but they still had to be shown some appreciation—for example, allowing them free use of one or two estates from Mr. Herbos’ mortgaged properties.

Ownership remained with Lynch. But when others needed to use the properties, there would be no conditions. This approach cost him little but demonstrated grace, generosity, and earned goodwill and friendship.

The world of capital has never been simple.

Some small benefits were also distributed. While Lynch’s net income decreased slightly, the slight still translated to tens of millions in product-based wealth.

After hanging up the phone, Lynch felt great. He hummed a tune, grinning to himself. He was laughing at himself—he really was too wicked.

But this was capital. This was the world. A few calculated moves had brought down a well-known international banker. Of course, if Lynch had slipped, he could’ve lost big too. But he played smarter—and won.

“You seem to be in a good mood?” Jania was curled on the sofa with a cushion, watching the news—reports related to Nagaryll. Gephra was paying close attention to the developments too.

The Federation had invested too much effort and money into Nagaryll. If things took a dramatic turn there, the Federation’s international strategy could shift.

In this globalized world, changes in attitudes among strong nations were noticed more acutely than those among weaker ones.

Lynch slouched into the sofa, stretching his body against the backrest, and said frankly, “I just made a few tens of millions of Gaels. Feels amazing.”

Sometimes people are strange: if you tell the truth, they think you’re lying. But tell a lie so outrageous that even you don’t believe it—and they take it as truth.

Jania laughed. “That means I made money too!”

Lynch was curious. “How much did you make?”

She shot him a glance. “Two hundred million!”

Lynch immediately understood what she meant. His desire stirred. He gently ran his hand along Jania’s calf resting on the sofa. Her skin was smooth and supple, just the right firmness. “Wanna earn a bit more?”

Jania licked her finger. “Only if you’ve got that much to give…”

What followed was a fierce trade war—one so intense it defied description. In the end, Lynch lost to Jania.

Lying together afterward, Jania asked playfully, “Do you know Harmony Capital?”

At that moment, Richard was basking in glory, attending a noble-hosted banquet meant to introduce him and his team to a wider audience.

After a year of study and refinement, Richard had built his own theoretical model atop the framework Lynch provided—and implemented it in practice.

Lynch had once explained a kind of business game to him—a model where people paid for ideals.

The game was simple: buy a ticket to enter, and endless wealth would follow. Money makes money—that’s the core of it.

Some might call it a scam. But when people saw real money returned in the first, second, and third rounds, even if they believed it was a scam, they still rushed in.

Lynch once met a cultured couple—both professors at a top university, doctoral advisors. They too had joined such a game.

They were acquaintances, so Lynch once asked them privately if they knew what they were getting into. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He expected them to argue or get offended, but they surprised him by calmly admitting they knew exactly what they were doing—and that the game was a scam.

That left Lynch baffled. If they knew it was a scam, why take part?

Their answer revealed something he had never considered: they could make money.

In most scams, the first wave of participants have the best shot at profit. If the first round of payouts fails, the scheme collapses.

High-level schemers often target people with social status and strong networks in the early stages. Top university professors and doctoral advisors clearly met the criteria.

That particular scheme was eventually exposed. Many people lost everything. But that professor couple walked away with eight figures.

This isn’t a joke—it actually happened.

Now, Richard was encountering a similar situation. As Harmony Capital had just begun its operation, it had already drawn in a number of important first-round clients.

Among them were members of the middle class—and even a noble.

The promise of high returns was irresistibly attractive in a society where people felt increasingly insecure. Domestic development was sluggish, and the Amellia region seemed like a bottomless pit devouring national output. People didn’t know how to make the right choices—until Richard appeared.

An 8% return per cycle stunned everyone. With each cycle lasting only 30 days, that meant a full return on investment within a year, and in the second year, a steady profit at 8% per month.

Globally renowned funds don’t even offer 15% annually. Harmony Capital promised 96% annual returns. Could that be a scam?

No—either it wasn’t a scam, or it was run by very sophisticated scammers.

Harmony Capital wasn’t without a real foundation. According to Richard, they had dozens of survey teams searching for gold mines around the world, with a steady number of new finds each year, all put into production.

The financial products they issued were called Harmony Gold Bonds. All investor returns supposedly came from these gold mines.

Some photos, a few reports, and briefings—people joined in cautiously at first, but after two steady rounds of payouts, no one cared whether Harmony Capital or its bonds were a scam. They only cared about the massive returns.

More and more people joined through various channels, and the funds under Richard’s control multiplied rapidly.

One of his key investors—an imperial count—had specially organized this banquet to attract even more participants.

Whether or not it was a scam, as long as Richard kept making money, those who got in early wouldn’t lose.

Once the last guest arrived, the count ordered the hall doors closed. He raised his glass, stood beside Richard, and shouted, “To Richard and the Bonds!”