After a moment of closeness, Janet softly said, "Simon, why don't you turn off those little vase live broadcasts? Things are getting more lively lately."
Recent attacks from the media and political circles on Simon's extravagant personal life and calls to curb his wealth frequently cite his princess-like upbringing of the girls in his team, with the London girl team live streaming being the most direct evidence.
Simon shook his head. "No, I won't turn it off. Otherwise, it will look like I'm guilty. Since they think my life is like a king's, I'm going to let everyone gradually get used to it."
Lately, Janet has been integrating the Westeros PR team to uniformly respond to media and political queries and attacks. The suggestion to close the live broadcast was made by the PR team to Janet. Seeing Simon's refusal, Janet did not insist and looked at her man with bright eyes. "What do we do next?"
Simon responded with a non-sequitur, "I've been reading a script lately called 'Broken Arrow.'"
Janet blinked, waiting for Simon to continue.
Simon gently pulled the woman up from the sofa, and they walked to a wall in the study where a world map had been recently hung.
"'Broken Arrow' is a special military code for the US military, meaning the accidental loss of nuclear weapons," Simon briefly explained as they reached the map. He took a marker from the shelf and drew a circle over a country in Eastern Europe. "You know, I'm not a conspiracy theorist. Many events in this world often have very simple and crude causes. Likewise, I have never let my guard down about this world. We now have $200 billion, which is the total wealth of many small countries. If I suddenly die, just the over 50% inheritance tax would be a feast for many."
Hearing Simon's explanation of 'Broken Arrow,' Janet had a vague idea. When he circled the country 'Ukraine' in Eastern Europe and continued explaining, she fully understood Simon's intentions.
The collapse of the Soviet Union turned Eastern Europe into a playground for ambitious people, speculators, and arms dealers in recent years.
Because of the Soviet collapse, Eastern European economies generally fell apart, and countries couldn't support their military scales. The massive military equipment left from the Soviet era was sold off by military members, from generals to soldiers.
In the former Soviet region, getting weapons was no longer considered business; a few loaves of bread could buy a decent high-power rifle. Armored vehicles, tanks, submarines, destroyers, and even giant aircraft carriers could be taken home as long as you paid and dared to receive them.
The most sensitive among these arms deals was undoubtedly nuclear weapons.
Simon remembered that in the early days after the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine, a Soviet member state, had over 2800 nuclear warheads. Under Western persuasion, Ukraine voluntarily chose to denuclearize, transferring all its nuclear weapons to Russia for storage or destruction from 1992 to 1996.
However, during this process, more than 250 nuclear warheads went missing!
When this news was finally disclosed after several years of delay, it shocked the world.
Investigations revealed that these nuclear warheads were secretly purchased by various countries, including Middle Eastern terrorist organizations. Therefore, Hollywood movies featuring action heroes stopping terrorists from detonating nuclear bombs are not entirely fictional. Such incidents are often tightly sealed by government authorities to avoid panic.
After Simon's explanation, Janet lightly clutched his arm, and he looked at her, asking the same question she had just asked, "Are you scared?"
A slight blush appeared on Janet's fair face, not from fear but from excitement. "No, I'm not scared."
She understood that her man intended to forge a 'Sword of Damocles' to hang over those who coveted the Westeros family's wealth.
If another assassination attempt occurred and succeeded, and it was discovered that some people planned it for the Westeros family wealth, the fine horsehair holding the 'Sword of Damocles' would snap.
Janet also realized something more. If the worst happened, she might be the one to cut that hair.
Thinking about this, Janet felt no guilt. As a young girl, she found the world too dull and even considered destroying it.
Now, perhaps this is her destiny.
Destiny! He wants to rule the world as a king. If someone covets everything he has and even harms him, she will help him destroy the world.
Simon continued, pointing to the circled Ukraine. "There are over 2800 nuclear warheads here. Most have been transferred to Russia, but at least half are still in this country. We have about two years to operate on this."
Janet pointed to Tasmania, southern Australia, where Simon has been buying land. "Then hide them here?"
"Of course not. This is also our home at the world's end, and it could be very troublesome if discovered," Simon said, his finger sliding from Eastern Europe down to vast Africa. "Here, this is a continent habitually forgotten, and compared to other continents, Africa will remain in long-term turmoil for a long time. My plan is to run a country here."
In the 90s, after the Soviet collapse, many people thought the world was moving towards peace.
This was not true.
In Africa, there was chaotic Somalia, the Rwandan genocide that killed nearly a million civilians, the ten-year Congolese Civil War with over 3 million deaths, economically collapsed Zimbabwe, the divided Sudan, the 27-year Angolan Civil War, and more.
These all happened after the so-called 'civilized world' believed the world was moving towards peace in the 90s.
Since countries can support or overthrow regimes in Africa for their interests or just influence, the Westeros system can do the same.
Janet got interested, letting go of Simon's arm and moving closer to the map. She had not paid much attention to Africa before, only knowing her family owned significant mining assets in some African countries, and her father used to hunt there with friends yearly.
Without much information, Janet quickly pointed to Central Africa. "Here, right?"
Simon nodded.
North Africa had oil interests and bordered Europe, so it was unsuitable for the Westeros system to root there. Southern Africa, particularly South Africa, was too watched by many.
So, the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania line in Central Africa was perfect. Despite abundant resources, the area was too remote and costly to engage with, especially landlocked countries. Major powers had little interest here.
The Rwandan genocide's international neglect was due to this.
Janet chose the location and then looked back at Simon.
Simon stepped forward, holding her waist, his other hand pointing to Eastern Europe and Latin America. "After the Soviet collapse, besides many top weapons, millions of elite soldiers were forced to retire. In Latin America, countries like Colombia have had civil wars for decades, also having elite soldiers. We can recruit mercenaries from these two places. Once we confirm the African base, we can also recruit local troops. In such regions, an elite force of 10,000 with top equipment could establish a regime or become a major warlord influencing a country's politics."
Janet added, "Then, we can hide our 'Sword of Damocles' here."
Simon nodded. "Exactly."
Janet thought for a moment. "How much would it cost annually for 10,000 people?"
"Money is not an issue," Simon pointed to a small corner of the world map. "Israel's defense budget last year was only $5.3 billion, yet they can confront the entire Middle East. Such an amount is something the Westeros system can easily afford now."
Janet didn't dispute this.
If necessary, the Westeros system could indeed raise over $5 billion annually.
She also understood that money was the least of the problems for the Westeros system. The key was ensuring such a remote 'violent machine' remained loyal to the Westeros family and considering if it would provoke local or international backlash.
Simon had thought about this.
Choosing to recruit soldiers from Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Africa was to divide and balance power, preventing any ambitious person from breaking free from Westeros control after gaining power. Such events had often occurred in Africa, where Western countries' proxies often became disobedient once they grew powerful.
This was just the initial plan.
The current issue was finding trustworthy people to execute these plans.
Ultimately, the Westeros family's foundation was too shallow.
Janet also realized this, re-clutching Simon's arm and resting her head on his shoulder. "I'll go back to Melbourne soon. Our family already has mercenaries to protect overseas mines and ships. Otherwise, Dad wouldn't dare hunt in Africa often. But I never paid attention before, and the number doesn't seem much."
Simon nodded. That was what he intended.
To achieve his goals in a relatively short time, he could only rely on the Johnston family.
Before associating with him, the Johnston family was a billion-level super-wealthy family, more importantly, an old family with a century of accumulation, far exceeding ordinary people's imagination in terms of connections and resources.
Previously, Simon relied on Raymond Johnston to help form the Westeros family's intelligence team.
This time, he had to do the same.
Simon wasn't surprised about the Johnston family's mercenaries.
The world was far from peaceful as ordinary people imagined.
To keep the Johnston family's overseas mines, especially in Africa, running without being attacked by rebels or thugs, they needed armed forces. The same applied to shipping; many major shipping lanes still had pirates, and without self-defense, a ship could disappear.
"Take Jenny and the three kids with you," Simon suggested. Janet had previously been reluctant to leave, but now she agreed. Simon continued, "Also, look for a place to build a vault in Melbourne."
Janet was puzzled. "A vault? For what?"
Simon
replied, "I plan to buy gold, a lot of gold."
Recent media and political actions in North America made Simon highly vigilant. While the West might have the general concept of private property being sacred, relying on this entirely was naive. 'Plunder' is a deeply rooted instinct in all living beings. The USA could plunder others' resources globally and could plunder its own people if necessary.
Simon needed preemptive protection, including insurance against worst-case scenarios.
For the world, the most solid guarantees were a powerful military and wealth.
So, besides forging a defensive 'Sword of Damocles' for the Westeros family, Simon intended to convert surplus funds into physical gold.
There are many forms of wealth.
In Simon's view, paper currencies issued by various countries were the least reliable. Stocks, land, real estate lacked flexibility and could be easily seized by authorities.
Gold, on the other hand, was the most universally reliable wealth throughout human history.
No matter how countries devalue gold after abandoning the gold standard, it remains the 'king of currencies.' Almost all countries experience crises or unrest, and people instinctively buy gold. During international tensions, some countries rush to bring their gold back from overseas.
From ancient times to the many years ahead in Simon's memory, gold has always been the most common hedge currency.
So, Simon planned to start converting the Westeros system's surplus funds into physical gold for storage.
Janet quickly agreed to Simon's gold-buying plan, then suggested, "We could store it in Tasmania. It's our private territory. Actually, the underground bunker we built there would be perfect."
Simon said, "Melbourne is fine. Storing it in too remote a place isn't safe. We can't station a security team there permanently. If no one guards it, even the strongest fortress won't hold against determined intruders."
"In that case, we could use the 4th basement level of the Westeros Tower in Manhattan, designed as a professional vault. It can store hundreds of tons of gold," Janet said, but before Simon could object, she corrected herself. "Hmm, we can't keep it in the USA."
Simon smiled, about to continue when someone knocked on the study door.
"Hold on."
Simon raised his voice, looking at the world map marked with 'Ukraine.' He rolled it up and put it away before allowing the person in. No trace of their conversation could be left behind, only shared verbally among trusted individuals.
The door opened, revealing an A-girl.
Allison entered and instinctively glanced at the couple standing by the wall. Seeing them fully clothed and without any signs of misbehavior, she realized her mistake, lowered her eyes slightly, and softly said, "Boss, Mrs. Westeros, Miss Veronica asked me to check what you would like for dinner?"
Simon didn't mind, patting Janet's waist to let her handle dinner arrangements. He walked to the shredder in the study, watching the world map turn into tiny, irrecoverable pieces before leaving the study.
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter]