“The greatest benefit of the Triangle Club is…”

Ackman hesitated for a moment, as if debating whether to reveal this information, then finally opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.

“It’s MESH.”

“MESH?”

“Market Execution and Strategic Holdings. It’s a liquidity platform designed based on club membership, guaranteeing anonymity.”

There were many terms, but it was difficult to grasp their precise meaning.

Ackman hesitated again, then sighed before continuing his explanation.

“Simply put, it’s a multi-layered trading network with an anonymized structure based on members’ capital. It consists of paper companies, offshore SPCs, blind funds, and algorithmic distributed trading nodes through IP segmentation, making transaction tracking impossible.”

“In short, it’s shadow capital.”

A slight hint of disappointment slipped into my voice.

No wonder — using paper companies and similar methods to manage funds was such a common practice. Considering it was supposed to be an “exclusive benefit” only available here, it felt disappointingly ordinary.

Ackman noticed my lukewarm reaction and furrowed his brow.

“MESH is on a completely different level from ordinary paper companies. It consolidates the capital of not only active members but also retired ones, so the scale is enormous.”

The Triangle Club was a gathering of heavyweight hedge funds that dominated the global financial market.

If all their secret capital was pooled together…

“It amounts to about one trillion dollars.”

My eyes widened before I realized it.

Seeing my reaction, Ackman continued with a faint smile at the corner of his lips.

“For activist funds like ours, this kind of massive capital is truly a game changer. When attacking a company through official channels, disclosure obligations and regulatory constraints make it difficult to fully exert our capabilities.”

He was right.

When a fund acquires more than 5% of a company’s shares, it must be publicly disclosed, making surprise attacks impossible.

Even when executing short-selling strategies, one had to go through brokers, exposing the position’s direction and intent.

“But if we use MESH, the situation changes.”

A mysterious smile flickered across Ackman’s lips.

“Imagine hundreds or thousands of paper companies scattered around the world simultaneously building positions. Then, imagine them all suddenly liquidating at the same time.”

Stock prices would plummet.

On the surface, it would look like a “market reaction” created by countless individual investors, but in reality, it would be a coordinated collapse orchestrated by a single force.

“Using this method, it’s possible to perform a perfect assassination in the shadows rather than an open war.”

Of course, this is clearly illegal.

That’s why strict confidentiality is essential.

With a thin smile, Ackman continued.

“That’s not all. You can also freely use information that you can’t exploit in the public market. Especially if you’re on the board of directors, it’s even more valuable.”

Being on the board gives you access to non-public information.

Product launch schedules, restructuring plans, financial reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, and so on.

Legally, such information is classified as “material non-public information,” and using it for trading is considered insider trading and subject to criminal penalties.

However, through MESH, you become free from these restrictions.

Since transactions can’t be tracked, it becomes possible to trade using insider information.

“MESH operations are carried out in a rotating manner among members.”

From what I heard, it sounded like a highly sophisticated rotating savings group.

“During the operation period, you hold full decision-making power over fund execution timing and direction. You’re not obligated to report to other members, and there’s only one rule: ‘You must generate profit.’ Fail, and you’re immediately expelled.”

In reality, the chance of not making a profit was slim.

Most top-level fund managers likely had at least one board seat, and just using that insider information would be enough to secure substantial profits.

“How is the profit distributed?”

“Since it’s joint capital, monopolizing it is impossible. It’s distributed equally to all members.”

That was a bit disappointing…

But since the profits come from managing a trillion dollars, even dividing it among members would still be considerable.

Moreover, even during periods when I wasn’t directly operating, other members would continue to manage the funds, and I’d receive a steady share of those profits. In the end, it meant continuously receiving a portion of the profits generated by that trillion dollars.

“On top of that, you can receive the profits in an ‘untraceable form.’”

This meant I could create slush funds.

‘Wow…’

With this level of reward, it made sense that they would regularly gather to play risky “poker” games.

“This isn’t the end. With this system, you can even use ‘unstructured information.’”

“Unstructured information?”

“For example, do you remember right before the 9/11 attacks, when the volume of put options for certain airline stocks spiked abnormally?”

I nodded.

At the time, there were conspiracy theories suggesting that certain forces had advance knowledge of the attacks and launched massive short positions. The FBI and SEC conducted a joint investigation, but no criminal charges were ultimately filed.

“Don’t tell me…”

Ackman only gave me a mysterious smile instead of an answer.

“Before the 2003 Iraq War, stock prices in the energy and defense sectors rose in advance as well.”

Back then, there were suspicions that high-ranking officials with access to information about the impending war invested in advance. There were claims that they profited using classified government information.

Now, Ackman was hinting that the Triangle Club had been involved in those incidents.

“Of course, for you, this is still far off. Even if you join now, it would take at least three years before your turn comes around…”

“Three years…”

Even if I became a member, it meant I wouldn’t actually get to manage that trillion dollars until after 2019.

However, at that moment.

A definite way to utilize this system popped into my mind.

‘If it’s after 2019… I could use it during the COVID-19 period.’

That was… quite tempting.

Even during the pandemic, countless conspiracy theories ran rampant.

Rumors that the virus was a biological weapon, or that someone had deliberately leaked it from a lab.

But what if I predicted the pandemic and made investments with an uncanny level of accuracy? I would definitely become prey for conspiracy theorists.

Of course, I could say that I foresaw it thanks to the Delphi Institute and “predicted the black swan,” but…

‘That would backfire.’

Such an explanation would only inflict a fatal blow to my reputation.

I wouldn’t be able to avoid criticism for “knowing about a global disaster and using it to profit rather than warning people.”

A stigma of “accumulating wealth by exploiting a worldwide catastrophe despite knowing the future” would stick to me.

In my case, this ethical issue might not just stop at public shaming. I was already playing Russian roulette.

An image of “someone who disregards human life for money” would be even more fatal to me.

But with MESH?

I could make enormous profits without leaving any trace.

“What do you think?”

With rewards this extreme, it was indeed worth seriously considering joining the club.

I could understand why Ackman and White Shark were so desperate not to be kicked out.

“It seems I have enough motivation now.”

“That’s good. Then about the idea…”

“I’ll review it carefully.”

After wrapping up the conversation.

When I got home, I immediately started working on my strategy.

‘How to win at poker while revealing all your cards…?’

It was no easy challenge.

Especially if I expected organized sabotage, it would be even more difficult.

Moreover, I had another goal.

To draw the Triangle Club members into the AI war I had designed.

‘It won’t be easy…’

But I had to accomplish it.

As I immersed myself deeply in strategizing,

“Happy 2016!”

The new year had already arrived before I knew it.

The office, as well as every corner of the city, was full of festive energy.

‘A new year…’

For most people, a new year meant a new beginning and new opportunities.

But for me, it was different.

It only reminded me that the final showdown was drawing closer.

‘Only seven new years left now, huh.’

I had to find a cure within that time, no matter what.

Of course, I had made some progress so far.

The most notable achievement… Milo’s bio sample.

I couldn’t really call it an achievement just yet…

But it was definitely the most valuable asset I had at the moment.

Inside that sample was information about Castleman’s “crazy switch.”

I just didn’t have access to that information yet.

It was like a secret locked inside a sturdy vault.

And to open that vault, I needed keys.

Those keys were medical diagnostic technology and AI technology.

In my previous life, these keys wouldn’t make their appearance until 2018.

Normally, it would mean I had to wait two more new years.

But as someone with a terminal condition, I couldn’t just wait around.

I had to somehow accelerate the emergence of those technologies scheduled for 2018.

‘Will this plan really work…’

For a moment, I felt a bit of doubt, but I quickly shook it off.

Now wasn’t the time to question my chances of success.

I had to do it.

While I strengthened my resolve, time flew by quickly.

And finally, the day of the Idea Dinner arrived.

The Idea Dinner was held in an unexpected location.

A resort called Amangiri, right in the middle of the Utah desert.

It was a top-tier secluded resort.

A place praised as “the most beautifully silent place on Earth.”

Getting there wasn’t easy, either.

I had to fly to Utah on a private jet, then transfer to a helicopter to finally arrive.

The view from the helicopter felt almost unreal.

Reddish sandstone cliffs shaped over ancient time.

Canyons layered with millions of years of sediment stretched endlessly below me.

After a 20-minute flight, the helicopter landed at the resort’s private helipad.

There, a man came to greet me.

“Welcome. I’m Bottenbly, the chairman of this gathering.”

The man who introduced himself as the chairman of the Triangle Club was a familiar face.

He was the man who had led a giant macro fund for over 20 years, shifting the tides of global capital markets.

I thought he had stepped down from the front lines, but it seemed he was still active as the chairman of this gathering.

“The dinner will start in the evening, so please enjoy the facilities and relax until then.”

In other words, I had some free time.

The chairman gave me one more piece of advice before leaving.

“If you happen to run into someone, I recommend at least saying hello. Since we rented this entire place for two days, anyone you meet will be a ‘member.’ Of course, it’s also possible you won’t bump into anyone.”

The whole huge resort was rented out, but there were only 19 people, including me.

Depending on the situation, I might not encounter anyone at all.

In fact, there was no one around right now except for a couple of staff members.

But this wasn’t good.

That evening was the Idea Dinner.

A poker game where I had to win while revealing all my cards.

Poker was both a psychological and informational battle.

However, my opponents already knew about me, while I didn’t even know who they were.

In other words, it was an unfavorable situation for me.

‘I’ll have to look around.’

To fix this, I had to meet as many of them as possible and gather information before the game.

I also needed to drop some bait here and there.

‘First… I should look for people.’

I first headed to the front desk.

The concierge greeted me with a warm smile.

“Welcome. How may I assist you?”

“Do you have a facility guide map?”

“Of course.”

She handed me a brochure.

The resort was quite large, and even excluding guest rooms, there were 12 shared spaces that guests could use.

The Triangle Club members had to be in one of those spaces.

But combing through this massive facility room by room was not wise.

Partly because I didn’t want to waste energy…

But more importantly, looking desperate to find people would put me at a disadvantage.

There’s a reason they call it a “poker face.”

The moment I looked even a little desperate, I would lose ground.

So, I asked the concierge.

“I’d like to meet up with my companions. Could you tell me where they are right now?”

As I said that, I placed my hand on the counter.

Under my palm was a crisp $100 bill, but the concierge didn’t even glance at it and replied firmly.

“I’m sorry, but our resort values guest privacy above all else. Therefore, we cannot share any information about other guests.”

It was a firm refusal.

In short, they were telling me to search every inch of this vast resort if I wanted to find someone.

Of course, I had no intention of doing that.

“Privacy of the members comes first, huh…”

“Yes, that is our strict policy. But if there’s anything else I can assist you with, please let me know.”

Well, this wasn’t really an obstacle.

I changed my question and asked again.

“I really dislike crowds. Could you tell me which facilities currently have no people at all?”

I said this as I spread the map in front of her.

“Could you please mark all the places that are completely empty right now? I’ll use it as a reference.”

By asking her to show me the empty facilities, I could deduce that the places she didn’t mention had people in them.

Since the entire resort was rented by the Triangle Club, anyone in those places had to be a member.

The concierge looked a bit troubled, but I smiled and asked again.

“I’m simply asking for recommendations on quiet spots. That doesn’t break any rules, does it?”

“...No, it does not. Currently, the empty facilities are...”

In the end, she marked each area for me.

Out of the 12 facilities, 5 were empty.

Which meant there were people in the remaining 7.

“Thank you.”

I smiled, left the $100 bill as a tip, and walked away.

Then, I checked the nearest spot on the map.

Stone Sanctuary

It was time to meet the first member.