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Hardy placed the cigar in the ashtray, slipped on his slippers, and walked to the adjacent room. Irina had just finished her bath and was wearing a silk nightgown, barely covering her firm curves, with her long, slender legs exposed.

Her long hair hung loose as she blow dried it.

Hardy approached her from behind. Irina saw him in the mirror and smiled, "Did I wake you?"

"No, not really."

Hardy bent slightly, his hand tracing along her neck, slowly sliding down from the neckline.

...

The next morning.

Hardy took a private plane to San Francisco, where the San Francisco HD Security picked him up at the airport. He arrived at Giannini\'s estate to meet the California Consortium\'s leader.

Giannini\'s expression remained stern, as Hardy\'s actions were indeed detrimental to the consortium.

The California Consortium had always supported the Republican Party, a predetermined direction for their political investments. Most of the congressmen they backed were also Republicans.

Dewey\'s candidacy this time presented an excellent opportunity. Dewey, a Republican, was their natural investment choice, and his current popularity was extremely high. This year\'s election was arguably one of the most certain in presidential history.

The California Consortium, a newly risen group, had yet to build its own political forces. Supporting Dewey was an attempt to gain some advantages after Dewey came to power, thereby further elevating the consortium\'s status.

Major consortia always strive to build their political forces, pushing them to the forefront to secure benefits for the consortium. For instance, the Bush family originated from one of the top ten consortia, the Texas Consortium. The Kennedy family came from the Boston Consortium.

Many high ranking government officials, Secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense, and Energy are members or protégés of these prominent families.

Though Dewey didn\'t belong to the California Consortium, he was their chosen candidate for this election. When Dewey ascended, the California Consortium naturally expected to reap certain resources and benefits.

In the study, only Hardy and Giannini were present.

The old man looked at Hardy and sternly asked, "Hardy, I\'m waiting for your explanation."

Hardy gently spread his hands, not immediately answering Giannini but instead posing a question: "Mr. Giannini, if we invest in Dewey and he wins, what benefits will the California Consortium gain?"

"Some investment channels, a few defense contracts, and certain policies favorable to the California Consortium," Giannini replied.

Of course, Giannini was fully aware that these benefits would be quite limited.

"How many investors does Dewey have?"

Giannini hesitated.

"Many."

"Will our returns be greater than those of other consortia?"

Giannini remained silent.

The answer was obvious the California Consortium would likely receive the smallest portion of the pie in this game.

They might not even be able to place their people in Dewey\'s political team or key government departments.

Giannini frowned and said, "But investing in Dewey is the most stable choice. The odds of Dewey winning this time are very high, almost a sure thing. If you publicly invest in Johnson now, Dewey might think the California consortium has betrayed him. Not only will the consortium not gain any benefits, but it will also face his retaliation.

For the next few years, until the new president takes office, we won\'t be able to gain any advantage."

"Four years. We would waste four years of development time, while other consortiums would seize the opportunity to surpass us."

Hardy shook his head.

"No, Mr. Giannini, it\'s not that simple. I have some information obtained through discreet channels that Johnson has gained the support of a significant power."

Giannini\'s expression froze.

"A significant power? Who?"

"The Jews, founding a nation," Hardy uttered a few words.

Giannini squinted his eyes.

"Tell me more about what you know."

"I received information that next month, the Jews will announce Israel\'s independence. This is already a foregone conclusion. But that\'s not the key point. The key point is whether the Arab League member states will agree. I predict that another war will break out," Hardy said.

In fact, this wasn\'t just a prediction, it was history. On the day after Israel declared its founding, the armies of Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, all members of the Arab League, marched into Palestine and declared a state of war against Israel, leading to the outbreak of the First Arab Israeli War.

Hearing Hardy\'s words, Giannini immediately thought of many issues.

If war does break out, the Jews, who have just established their footing, would seek greater support from the United States. As the current president, Johnson is the first person they would need to win over. It is now April, and there are still more than six months until the next presidential transition.

During this half year, who knows what might happen? The newly established state might be disbanded within days. They are more concerned with immediate issues, so they would undoubtedly choose Johnson.

They would ask the U.S. to send troops, put pressure, mediate, support with weapons there would be countless things needing the president\'s involvement.

Johnson has always supported the establishment of a Jewish state. At this moment, to avoid any unforeseen complications, the Jews certainly wouldn\'t want to change presidents, fearing uncontrollable developments. What if the new president suddenly decided not to support Israel? Therefore, the financiers who control Wall Street would likely go to great lengths to ensure Johnson\'s re-election.

Giannini, realizing this, suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

No one including the ten major consortiums dare to ignore the influence of the Jews in the United States.

Giannini looked at Hardy, "Are you confident, Hardy?"

"More than 60%."

In fact, he was more than 90% confident.

Giannini looked at Hardy, his gaze completely changed. Before meeting with Hardy, Giannini had actually considered kicking Hardy out of the California consortium, as it was the opinion of most members within the consortium.