A Wall Street Genius's Final Investment Playbook-Chapter 281: The Invisible Hand (16)

Ha Si-heon's latest "AI Bubble Stress Test" whipped up a small storm in the market. Brexit, exploding smartphones, and the Deutsche Bank scandal—events that would be shocking even if they happened once a year—erupted like a "buy two, get one free" special.

WSB (WallStreetBets) turned into a wild festival.

— "All-in leveraged LONG on Brexit 'Leave'!! +752%!!! The Queen called begging me to accept a knighthood if I immigrate... Declined. All hail our only king, Saint Sean!"

— "Everyone laughed when I shorted Deutsche with grandma’s surgery money. Now she’s off to Santorini with her new hip, flexing in a villa. Sean is literally a god from the future!"

— "[BREAKING] Nostradamus breaks out of his grave to kneel before Saint Sean… 'Your bathroom graffiti is more accurate than my prophecy book.' Hands over his title as Oracle."

On the other hand, there were many who missed the opportunity and were now wallowing in regret.

— "I'm so jealous… why did I miss this… Next time Sean even sneezes, I’m selling my tuition and going all in. Six months off school = enough to found ten universities."

— "The signal was too subtle. Normally he goes, ‘You YOLOers, sell your house and follow me!’ but this time he just raised an eyebrow…"

— "If Pareto had shorted, I'd have slammed ALL IN. Now everyone else is cruising on yachts, and I’m watching waves reflected in my washing machine drum..."

The reason for their failure was clear: Ha Si-heon hadn’t directly incited retail traders this time. With Allergan or the China yuan war, he had given explicit signals under the name “Pareto” by shorting stocks. But this time? He did nothing. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Why?

“Because it could’ve distracted people from AI.”

These issues weren’t raised to recommend new trades, but to highlight the relative risk—to prove AI is safer. And so, only those who analyzed his words at the nanometer scale made profits. Those waiting to be spoon-fed? Missed their chance entirely.

Inevitably, the WSB crowd's debate turned toward:

"Why didn’t Ha Si-heon give us a clear signal like usual?"

— "The great sage seeks equality among all! He wouldn’t have discriminated without reason—there must be a deeper purpose!"

— "What if… this wasn’t a Black Swan after all?"

— “Well, yeah, Deutsche Bank was more of a gray duck than a black swan… And smartphones? Maybe just a slightly injured pigeon.”

A black swan is an outlier—an event that lies far outside the expected distribution and is near-impossible to predict. Once it hits, it shakes the entire world. But labeling recent events as “black swan-level”… felt a bit off. And as soon as that realization set in, the conversation veered into a new direction.

— “So Saint Sean isn’t just predicting black swans?”

— “Then he doesn’t just see outliers—he knows everything within the distribution too? Gray ducks, pigeons, sparrows… anything with wings??”

— “So his brain is a 24/7 live-streaming zoo???”

That shift was huge. Previously, he was seen as someone who could predict disasters. Now? He was seen as someone who could predict everything, disaster or not. There were skeptics, sure, but expectation far outweighed doubt.

— “This is basically an AI moon mission reservation! If Future Prophet Saint Sean is pushing this hard, there's no way it fails!”

— “Just listen to Sean explain the AI revolution. The details are insane. Feels more like he’s recalling something he’s already lived… HE'S 100% A TIME TRAVELER!”

— “Before meeting Sean: -35% return / Now: +1200%! Even my advisor agrees: Sean’s from the future!!”

And as Ha Si-heon scrolled through those reactions… he couldn’t help but feel a pang of unease. Because deep down… those absurd memes held some uncomfortable truth.

“…Is this okay?”

Sure, no one seriously believed he was a time traveler. They weren’t going to lock him in a lab for human experimentation. But still, the fact remained: He had just made predictions that defied any known algorithmic pattern. That could raise red flags. It could trigger scrutiny—maybe even insider trading investigations.

“One day, this will be a risk I need to manage.”

But not today.

“Right now, something else is more urgent.”

Ha Si-heon put down his tablet and turned to the chessboard. Now was the time to move the most important piece in the game. The U.S. government.

So, how do you get the U.S. government to invest in AI?

“Direct investment is unlikely.”

The U.S. government doesn't just go out and buy shares in specific companies. In the sacred land of capitalism, that would be seen as violating the holy principle of free market competition. Sure, in extreme crises—like the financial meltdown—they’ll sometimes intervene. But those are rare exceptions.

Most of the time, government investment takes an indirect form: Tax breaks, subsidies, massive infrastructure support, and mega-scale procurement contracts. These make the government a whale buyer. And when the government steps in, even shaky sectors become certified growth assets.

“For a bleeding-edge tech like AI, that’s the best possible outcome.”

But for this kind of government backing to be possible, one key condition must be met: AI must be designated a strategic asset. A “strategic asset” means something crucial to national security, economic sovereignty, or technological dominance. A core industry that nations will fight to control.

But so far, AI wasn’t officially in that category. The first U.S. government AI task force only launched in 2018… There was still over a year left until then. But with all the noise caused by the recent AI wars, surely the government’s stance might’ve shifted compared to before the regression?

Just in case, he decided to take a stab.

— “Rejected.”

That was the subject line of Alex’s latest email. Next AI had once again reached out to the U.S. government, offering cooperation and support. And once again, they had been flatly turned down.

— “Same reason as always. They say they’re being cautious because AI could stifle market autonomy and innovation.”

To be fair, this wasn’t their first approach. They had been extending feelers since the very foundation of Next AI—a move planned for exactly this phase.

“Of course, I never expected them to say yes.”

Still, there was a reason they kept trying: Even a record of rejection could become useful down the line.

Anyway—at that point in time, the U.S. government’s stance on AI was lukewarm. Yes, there were modest investments via entities like DARPA or In-Q-Tel (the CIA's venture capital arm). But nothing on a game-changing scale.

The reason?

“Because they don’t have to—yet.”

Governments declare industries as strategic assets only when they need to protect dominance or catch up. But in AI? The U.S. was miles ahead of the competition. No need for drastic measures when everything’s already working in your favor.

But for Ha Si-heon, getting AI designated as a strategic asset was critical. So… how do you persuade the U.S. to make that move?

“You set their house on fire.”

The U.S. could afford to be relaxed because of their dominance. So flip the script: Introduce a credible rival. That would be enough to trigger urgency. Fortunately, he happened to have just the right contact. He quietly opened his desk drawer and pulled out a business card. Dialed the number printed on it.

— “Hello, this is Yang Weiqing.”

He had expected an assistant to pick up—but apparently, it was the man himself. Smiling politely, Ha Si-heon began:

“It’s been a while. This is Ha Si-heon. Not sure if you remember, but we met once before—when you were still Vice Premier.”

— “…Of course, Mr. Ha.”

“Apologies for the sudden call, Ambassador. I have an important matter I’d like to discuss. Would you be willing to meet?”

Ambassador Yang Weiqing invited him to his official residence. But Ha Si-heon declined.

“Unfortunately, I can’t set foot on ‘Chinese territory’ at the moment.”

Ever since the currency war, China had placed him under an entry ban. Publicly, he was still seen as a financial saboteur who triggered market instability. Even though, behind the scenes, he had actually been the savior who cleaned up China’s shadow banking crisis. In such circumstances, of course he couldn’t just casually loiter near the Chinese embassy.

“If it’s okay with you, I’d prefer we meet in New York. And if travel’s a hassle, I’ll arrange a private jet for you.”

The location of the meeting was his choice—because this one was going to be very important. And the place he picked was 20 Club, a high-end steakhouse in New York, well-known as a discreet hangout for the wealthy and politically powerful. He booked one of its private rooms and finally came face-to-face with the Chinese ambassador again.

“So, this ‘important matter’… what is it exactly?”

The ambassador seemed visibly tense. Can't blame him. The last time he had called for an “important meeting,” they had discussed currency wars and shadow banking. Naturally, the ambassador was expecting something just as explosive. But Ha Si-heon smiled to put him at ease.

“It’s not a new issue per se—just a continuation of something we discussed before. Remember the topic of AI systems trained on real-world patient medical data?”

He had once requested access to real medical datasets from China—hard to obtain in the U.S.—and now, they needed to establish a Chinese subsidiary to push that plan forward.

“We should begin preparations soon. Would it be okay to move forward starting next month?”

The ambassador paused, thinking.

“Is the parent company for this ‘subsidiary’ going to be Next AI?”

“Nothing’s decided yet. I was hoping we could discuss that today.”

“I see.”

He thought it over a moment longer, then answered honestly.

“If I’m being candid… considering the level of attention Next AI is receiving in the U.S., it would be difficult for China to engage in a ‘joint project’ with them. That could spark unnecessary suspicions, even trigger diplomatic friction.”

“Diplomatic friction?”

“Yes—imagine how it would look if people assumed China was trying to lure away America’s AI frontrunner.”

‘Sharp.’

That was exactly what Ha Si-heon wanted to happen. He had mentioned it before—the AI war was modeled after the Cold War. There was no Soviet Union, but China made a perfectly serviceable rival. The whole point was to create a sense of urgency that would force both superpowers to dump money into tech without hesitation. And for that, he needed China to appear interested—perhaps even a little predatory—about Next AI.

That would spook the U.S. into flooding AI startups with incentives, desperate not to lose ground. That was the plan… But China was being too cautious. He needed to stage a scene where China was eyeing U.S. AI firms—but the country wasn’t ready to play the part.

‘In 2016, they were still in their “cautious diplomacy” phase. Not quite ready for confrontation.’

So even if it meant disappointing Ha Si-heon, they weren’t about to stir up international tension just to honor a prior handshake. The ambassador added:

“You’re known to invest in various startups. If you collaborate with one that’s a bit more low-profile, things could move along much faster.”

That meant, if I kept trying to push this issue toward collaboration with Next AI, the Chinese side would also deliberately stall for time. That was unacceptable, so I nodded obediently.

“I see. I wasn’t thinking clearly. Of course, I’ll try to find a solution through a different startup, not Next AI.”

“...?”

When I gave in so easily, the ambassador tilted his head in confusion.

“...That's unexpected. I thought you’d be more persistent.”

“Not at all. I never force someone down a path they’re uncomfortable with.”

There was no need to force it anyway—so why bother? After all, what I truly needed wasn’t a “real” scouting offer. It was enough to give the impression that “China wants me.” And now, we were meeting alone in a restaurant frequented by many politicians. What would happen if one of those politicians saw us and passed the word to someone in the government that “Ha Siheon met with the Chinese ambassador”?

Of course, an ordinary politician might brush off seeing me and the Chinese ambassador together as mere gossip. But I knew someone who would spread this news faster and more assertively. I had already arranged for a specific person for that exact reason.

“I can’t leave something this important to chance.”

Someone with intense interest in me. Someone who would be shocked to see me seemingly swayed by China’s overtures. And, someone who was in a position to make a direct call to a key figure in the U.S. government. Who would that person be?

“Well then, shall we get going?”

After finishing our meal, we left the private room and crossed the main hall. And at that moment...

“Sean?”

A familiar voice called out from behind, stopping me in my tracks. I turned around… and there was a familiar face. It was none other than old man Kissinger.