I, from the Celestial Empire, have parachuted into Teyvat.

Yan Anhe answered the phone, listened for a few seconds, then hung up and shrugged.

"Well, speak of the devil and he appears. It seems the arduous task of investigating the M country's intelligence agency has been entrusted to us after all."

"Cough cough cough..." Duan Chong choked on the unexpected news and couldn't connect, revealing a hint of helplessness.

"I'll try my best not to jinx it next time..."

Chapter 460 China Under Sanctions

A China Express Airlines plane landed smoothly at Magic City Airport, and Smith Bolt got off the plane carrying his briefcase.

Stepping out of the airport, Bohr straightened his fedora, looked up at the ancient civilization rushing into the new century, and let out a soft breath.

"It's truly astonishing that an ancient civilization like yours is still among the world's leading nations in development after all these years... It's a pity that you're now facing encirclement by various countries. Can you withstand this unprecedented predicament...?"

With a sigh, Bor waved and hailed a taxi, which then drove to the East River District of the Demon City.

Bohr is an investor who owns a company on a well-known financial street in country M, engaged in wealth management and venture capital businesses.

On the financial district of the United States, investment companies like Boer are as numerous as hairs on a cow, ranging in size. Boer's company belongs to the small group, and it does not accept business from large companies, but only from individual agents.

As is commonly said among investment professionals working on Financial Street, an excellent financier might be as precious as gold in the sand elsewhere, but in Financial Street of the United States, a place where capital from all over the world gathers, they are not even as valuable as sand. Therefore, in such a competitive place, a large number of investment companies on Financial Street declare bankruptcy every year. To date, Boer's investment company has been operating for five years.

Over the past five years, there has only been one secret to Boer's continued survival: going global.

Unlike other financial professionals, Bol is accustomed to going out and seeing for himself. No matter what project or investment he undertakes, Bol always likes to visit the relevant location before taking action, to witness firsthand the local market conditions, and then make a decision.

While this approach is time-consuming and can lead to missing many investment opportunities, it is precisely this cautious behavior that has allowed his company to survive the fierce competition. After all, for investors, obtaining information is of paramount importance, and firsthand experience is often far more reliable than information gathered online.

This is also the reason why Bolt came to China this time.

More than a month has passed since the Western bloc signed the sanctions against China. This is an unprecedented disaster for China, but for the financiers on Financial Street, it is an opportunity to manipulate financial rules and bleed Chinese capital dry to make huge profits.

Despite the recent emergence of a series of new technologies in China that shocked the world, international capital and financiers remain pessimistic about China's future market under the backdrop of sanctions. As a result, a large number of investment companies, led by financial giants and investment tycoons, have begun to short China.

This was like a wave, a whirlwind, sweeping across the entire financial district of the United States. Capitalists on the financial district had successfully used this tactic on many countries over the past century, and it had never failed them. This time, however, they set their sights on China, which was in dire straits.

However, unlike in the past, this time the financial giants on Financial Street found that their opponents were not so easy to deal with.

China's financial market operates independently and is not fully open to the outside world. Furthermore, China's media and information network is also independent and isolated from the global network, so the information available to the outside world is limited. All of these factors have brought great difficulties to the capitalists on Financial Street in their operations. However, even so, it does not prevent them from extending their reach into China.

Bohr belonged to the more level-headed group amidst the wave. The biggest fear in the financial industry is inaccurate information. After much deliberation and considering his own personal habits, Bohr finally decided to go to China.

In fact, Bol's journey to China was troublesome. Due to the blockade imposed on China by the Western bloc, most direct flights from the United States to China had been suspended. He had to transfer through the United States before finally landing in Shanghai.

Now, as he rides in a taxi through the streets of this ancient country, looking out at the crowds and scenery, Bor suddenly feels a little surprised.

Despite the unprecedented difficulties the country is currently facing, for some reason, the pedestrians on the streets do not show any signs of worry. Life here still looks peaceful, tranquil, and orderly, as if the sanctions do not exist.

With that in mind, Bol decided to ask the taxi driver who was driving.

As a special profession, taxi drivers come into contact with a wide range of people from all walks of life on a daily basis, and thus have a broader understanding of information.

"Driver, may I ask you something?"

The driver chuckled, "Oh, sir, your Chinese is quite good."

"Thank you. I taught myself Chinese when I was in school."

"What is it? Please ask."

"Sir, how's business lately?"

"Hey, it's nothing special."

Bor continued, "Has the sanctions not affected your life?"

"Are you referring to external sanctions? It would be a lie to say there's no impact, but not much. Prices for basic necessities like rice, oil, and salt went up for a while when the sanctions first came out, but they quickly came down, and recently they even seem to have dropped quite a bit. Take pork, for example. It used to be 10 yuan a jin (7g), but after the sanctions, it skyrocketed to 25 yuan a jin within a week. A few days ago, I went to the market, and guess what? It was already 5 yuan a jin... Anyway, to sum it up, we taxi drivers make money as long as passengers ride in our cars. China has a large population, and the number of people traveling every day is enough to support us..."

Throughout the journey, Bor experienced firsthand the eloquence of the Chinese taxi driver. Ever since the driver learned that Bor could speak Chinese, he never stopped talking. At first, Bor asked the driver questions, but later the driver started "interrogating" Bor, from which country Bor came from to where Bor lived in his hometown, and even in the end, whether Bor was married or not. Bor was covered in sweat when he got out of the car.

However, along the way, Bol also learned some information that he wanted to know, which made Bol feel a little strange.

Logically, the sanctions and restrictions imposed by Western countries on the import and export of large quantities of industrial raw materials should eventually lead to price increases for basic necessities such as rice, oil, and salt through the industrial production process, ultimately increasing the cost of living for the Chinese people and causing inflation.

But judging from the current situation, the lives of the Chinese people are not that difficult.

The current situation in China doesn't seem to be as dire as analysts on Financial Street predicted, which was on the verge of collapse...

How did China achieve this?

"interesting......"

Boer suddenly felt that his trip had not been in vain.

At the same time, Bohr looked up at the office building in front of him.

This is his destination – Huaxia Qingniao International Trade Company.

Chapter 461 Respect is not as good as obedience

In the office building elevator, Boer pressed the button for the floor where Huaxia Qingniao International Trade Company was located, and then raised his wrist to look at his watch.

It's alright, I made it just in time for the appointment.

Boer had met the executives of Qingniao International Trading Company at an international trade conference, so they had a certain relationship. He came to Qingniao International Trading Company mainly to catch up.

Of course, besides catching up with old friends, Bol also remembered his main purpose for this trip to China—to observe the current state of China's financial market and conduct research in advance for his company's subsequent actions.

Qingniao Company, which is engaged in international trade, is also a good subject of observation. Given the current situation of China being the only one among the Western countries of Blue Star, the current state of China's international trading companies will largely reflect whether China's market is stable or what its situation is.

The elevator quickly arrived at the designated floor. Bol stepped out of the elevator, and after turning the corner, he saw the logo of the Bluebird National Trading Company.

Bor's arrival quickly caught the attention of the receptionist, who stood up and asked, "Sir, who are you looking for?"

Boer took off his top hat, revealing a friendly smile, and said, "Hello, Miss, I'm looking for Mr. Wu Yuanqing, the general manager of your Bluebird Company. I'm an old friend of his."

"Please wait a moment, sir."

The receptionist picked up the internal phone on the table and dialed the general manager's office to inquire. A few seconds later, she hung up and came out from behind the front desk.

“Mr. Smith, I’ll take you to the general manager’s office. Please follow me.”

"Thank you."

Bor, carrying his briefcase, followed the receptionist into the company. As they passed through several office areas, Bor glanced at them intentionally. After seeing the employees bustling about in the office areas, Bor raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Sir, this is our general manager's office."

"Okay, thank you, Miss."

After the receptionist left, Bor knocked on the office door, which was then opened from the inside, revealing the face of a man in his forties, etched with the marks of time.

This man was none other than Wu Yuanqing, an old friend of Bo'er.

"Oh, old friend, come in, come in quickly."

Wu Yuanqing invited Bo'er into the house. In front of the sofa, Wu Yuanqing poured Bo'er a cup of coffee and said with a somewhat embarrassed smile, "I was too busy just now, so I had to ask the front desk staff to bring you here."

"It's ok."

Boer took the coffee from Wu Yuanqing and then asked with some curiosity, "Old friend, has your company been very busy lately?"

"Yes."

Wu Yuanqing nodded and turned to point to the mountain of documents piled up on his desk.

"This period has been the busiest time for our company in the past two years."

"Why are there so many documents?"

"Hehe." Wu Yuanqing chuckled. "There's nothing we can do about it. Most of the documents from our partners in the projects we're currently working on are paper documents. It's a bit troublesome, but it should be fine once they switch to electronic data entry."

At this point, Wu Yuanqing turned to look at Boer and went straight to the point: "Old friend, you came to China this time to see the current market environment, right?"

Faced with Wu Yuanqing's frankness, Bo'er nodded immediately. There was nothing wrong with admitting the purpose of his trip to China.

As old friends who have known each other for quite some time, Wu Yuanqing naturally knew his background. Now that the entire Financial Street was stirring, it was self-evident why Boer had come to China at this time.

Wu Yuanqing continued, "Old friend, what do you think?"

Bo'er shook his head: "To be honest, before coming to China, I was indeed influenced by the wave of the Financial Street, thinking there were profits to be made and investments to be made. But after arriving in China, on the way here by taxi after getting off the plane, my previous thoughts began to waver. And now, seeing your company's scene, I'm even more uncertain... What's going on? Before coming here, I also looked through relevant news and government reports in China, and I didn't see any reports of your government introducing economic subsidy policies... Could it be that I didn't do enough research?"

Wu Yuanqing laughed twice: "Old friend, you haven't missed any key information. Our country has indeed not introduced any relevant economic subsidy policies. Your analysts on Financial Street were right. Export restrictions have indeed caused some fluctuations in our domestic market. However, our domestic market in China has quickly returned to stability. As for the reason for the recovery... old friend, you can guess who our company's main project partners are now."

"Partners?"

Bor raised an eyebrow slightly: "The major developing countries of the Southeast Asian Union?"

Wu Yuanqing shook his head.

“The Southeast Asian Union (SEA) did not participate in the sanctions imposed by the Western bloc. Our company does have projects in SEA countries, but they are not the main ones.”

"Then...the Philippines?"

Wu Yuanqing shook his head again.

"Country E?"

Wu Yuanqing shook his head for the third time.

Bohr smiled helplessly: "Nowadays, due to sanctions, Western countries have basically cut off trade with China. Excluding Western countries, not the Southeast Asian Union, not the Philippines, and not the United States, I really can't think of anywhere else on the entire planet... Old friend, you're not going to tell me that your partners aren't on the planet, are you?"

At this moment, Wu Yuanqing smiled.

"You're right, it's definitely not on Earth."

Upon hearing Wu Yuanqing's words, Bo'er was stunned.

After a good ten seconds, Bor finally realized and said, "You're making a deal with another world?"

At this point, Wu Yuanqing did not reply further, but it was no longer necessary to elaborate.

Bor took a deep breath and hurriedly stood up, saying, "I have to go back."

"Old friend, you're leaving right after getting off the plane? That's too hasty."

Facing his old friend Wu Yuanqing's slightly teasing tone, Bo Er gave a wry smile: "Although my company hasn't taken any action yet, those other companies on Financial Street that have invested heavily and started taking action are probably going to be in trouble. The financial industry is interconnected, and their downfall will inevitably lead to a storm sweeping through Financial Street. Now that things have come to this, this storm is unavoidable... I am increasingly grateful that I came to China this time. At least in this storm, I can prepare for the impact in advance and avoid heavy losses."

After saying this, Bo'er was about to leave, but Wu Yuanqing stopped him.

"You've come all this way to China, you should enjoy yourself here for a few days."

Bohr sighed, "Old friend, please stop teasing me. I'm not in the mood for traveling right now."