Tokyo, 1991: Starting as a bank clerk.

"These materials are not quite the same as the list of materials you wrote in your application, are they?"

Kenichiro Nomura's face turned pale instantly.

Chihaya Yuri walked over, glanced at the label, then looked deeper into the shelf, her voice icy:

"The books show 70 million euros worth of raw materials, but in this warehouse, the actual value is probably less than half of that."

She paused.

"Furthermore, there are customer-supplied materials. These cannot be considered your company's assets."

Nomura's Adam's apple bobbed violently, his lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a single word.

His fingers curled up at the seam of his trousers, clenching, loosening, and clenching again, as if searching for something to grasp, but he grasped nothing.

He finally understood.

These two people aren't here to go through the motions.

The air was eerily quiet.

Deep inside the warehouse, a fan hummed, making the labels rustle slightly.

The next second, Kenichiro Nomura's knees buckled, and he collapsed to his knees. His knees hit the concrete floor with a dull thud.

"I'm sorry... Section Chief Chihaya, I'm so sorry!"

His voice suddenly went hoarse, as if it had been ripped off by something.

"Business collapsed after last year. For the past two years, I've been thinking of expanding another production line and taking on more orders from Nissan. I gritted my teeth and borrowed money from consumer finance companies. But when the bubble burst, I bought equipment, expanded the warehouse, and hired more workers. In the end, everything was stuck in the cash flow problem..."

He kept his head down, his forehead almost touching the ground, his voice trembling, and his shoulders shaking.

“I’m not trying to cheat the bank, I just… I really can’t let the company go under. There are dozens of employees here, their families depend on this for their livelihood. If I were to tell the truth, Fuji Metals would have to close down today.”

Chihaya Yuri looked down at him, her expression unwavering.

In her six years teaching the financing review course, she had seen far too many people kneel before her. But when faced with the review's conclusions, sympathy could not replace judgment.

"President Nomura."

She spoke slowly and deliberately:

"You concealed your liabilities, overstated your inventory, used customer-supplied materials that didn't belong to the company as assets, and hid your liabilities. You're pushing the risk onto the banks. That's incredibly irresponsible!"

"Our loan from Mitsubishi Bank is hereby terminated!"

After Chihaya Yuri's voice fell in the warehouse, the air seemed to freeze.

Kenichiro Nomura knelt on the ground, his shoulders trembling slightly, his forehead almost touching the rust on the cement floor.

He offered no defense, nor could he utter any words of defense.

He probably mentally revisited and re-examined every single "if" scenario.

If the bubble had lasted another year, if the banks hadn't discovered his hidden debts, if that batch of special steel hadn't rusted in the warehouse...

Will the ending be different?

However, success in business cannot be achieved solely through luck.

Kiryu Yaya shook his head and was about to leave when suddenly an option popped up in front of him:

[New life options have been triggered]

Kenichiro Nomura knelt before you and Section Chief Chihaya, his forehead pressed against the cold concrete floor.

He was once a respected company president in the industrial district of Higashi-Osaka, but now he's a disgraced individual who failed in his attempt to defraud a bank of a loan.

His deception is a fact, and so is his despair. At this moment, looking at the back of this fifty-two-year-old man kneeling on the ground, you have three choices.

The options are as follows:

[Fork in the road: Silently turn and leave. The investigation is over, the conclusion has been reached. You have no obligation to say another word.]

(Reward: Bank deposit increases by €1 million, nothing happens.)

[Branch 2: She stopped and said coldly, "President Nomura, you have betrayed the bank's trust, and you have betrayed the trust of those employees. A president who ties the fate of his employees to lies has no right to say he is acting for them."]

(Reward: Bank reputation +10, Chihaya Yuri's favorability increased)

[Branch 3: Kneel down in front of him and tell him the principle that "trying to fill the hole with lies will only make the fall harder," encouraging him to regain his courage and make a comeback.]

(Reward: Skill "Obsession of the Operator", which allows you to perceive the true thoughts in the mind of the operator)

Chapter 15 Nomura's Awakening

Kiryu Yaya's gaze swept over the three options, then he let out a soft sigh.

Chihaya Yuri was already preparing to turn around.

Just then, he took a step toward Kenichiro Nomura.

Chihaya Yuri noticed his movement, her eyebrows twitched slightly, and she stopped walking.

Kiryu Yaya knelt down in front of Nomura Kenichiro.

"President Nomura."

His voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet warehouse, every word was clear.

Kenichiro Nomura's shoulders trembled slightly as he slowly raised his face.

The face looked exceptionally old under the harsh fluorescent lights of the warehouse, with a few strands of gray hair clinging to his forehead, whether from sweat or the dampness of the warehouse, it was hard to tell.

His lips moved a few times, as if he wanted to say a lot, but in the end he said nothing.

At this moment, his resentment and anger clearly outweighed his guilt.

Kiryu Yaya looked into his eyes:

"You're kneeling here today, feeling like the sky has fallen, feeling like the bank has blocked your last resort, right?"

Nomura's lips moved, but he didn't make a sound.

But his eyes answered; a sting of pain, as if he had been told the truth, flashed in his cloudy eyes before dimming again.

"But think about it carefully. If we hadn't seen through it today, if Chihaya and I had just gone through the motions and stamped your application, do you think that would have saved you?"

Nomura was stunned.

Kiryu Yaya didn't give him time to think:

That's pushing you into an even deeper pit.

"How much do you owe now? Besides the 87 million from the bank, there are also consumer finance loans, probably tens of millions?"

"Okay, I'll give you 30 million today. Use this money to fill the current hole, pay the suppliers, and pay next month's salaries. And then what?"

and then.

After those three words were spoken, the warehouse fell silent for a moment.

"Can your order profits cover this new debt? Can your inventory turnover recoup funds within thirty days? Can you find buyers for your unsold specialty steel before the rainy season?"

Nomura's face gradually turned ashen.

The color drained away inch by inch, starting from the forehead, down to the cheeks, and down to the chin.

With each question Kiryu asked, the color on his face faded.

"You can't do it."

Kiryu Yaya gave him the answer:

"You should be glad that Chihaya and I saw through your accounts today. Be glad that your lies didn't work."

“Because if we lend you this money today, you won’t just owe this much tomorrow; you’ll also owe this new debt and interest. And the day after tomorrow? The day after tomorrow, it could be a number that will bankrupt you and leave you with no way to recover. At that point, you won’t even have the chance to kneel here.”

Nomura's breathing became rapid, his chest heaving violently, as if he had been pulled out of the water.

Kiryu Yaya stood up, looked down at him, and his tone finally softened slightly:

"President Nomura, I'd like to speak frankly to you from the bank's perspective."

"Banks are not charities, but they are certainly not executioners either. Our job is not to throw money at anyone in trouble, nor to shut down anyone at risk."

"Our mission is to invest money in places that can truly generate value, to get factories running, to ensure workers have food to eat, and to keep the economic lifeline of society flowing."

"But if I put money into a hole that is destined to collapse, I am not helping you, I am harming you, I am harming the bank, and I am harming society."

He raised his hand and pointed in the direction of the factory buildings outside.

The machines were still roaring there, and the sound of each press falling was like a heartbeat, muffled and rhythmic.

The workers were still engrossed in their work, their figures in blue overalls moving back and forth between the machine tools. Occasionally, someone would look up at the warehouse and then quickly look down again.

For those people in the factory, today was just another ordinary day. They knew nothing yet.

“Look back at those workers. They’ve worked for you for so many years, putting their families’ livelihoods on your shoulders. If you get this money today, hold on for three months, and then completely collapse, do you think they’ll thank you for holding on for those three months?”

"No. These three months more or less make no difference to their lives. So, President Nomura, don't use your employees as an excuse to run away from your business. Please face your company, face the market, and face yourself!"

Nomura's Adam's apple bobbed, and his eyes finally welled up with tears.