The morning news broadcast inside a busy downtown café flickered to life, the audio cutting through the morning rush of espresso machines and clinking porcelain.
"...and checking our financial watch this morning, the national index continues to stabilize, heavily anchored by the aggressive recovery of the Meridian Group," the anchor announced, gesturing to a massive digital graphic of a soaring green stock line on the screen. "But the real story dominating the headlines for the fourth consecutive week remains the staggering rise of twenty-three-year-old Jake Rivers. Following the final consolidation report released by Golden Investments yesterday, the young tycoon's personal holding company is now valued at an unprecedented one hundred and sixteen billion marks."
