You Deceived the World

The entire audience rose to their feet, applause roaring without end.

Song He bowed in every direction to express his thanks, waved, and walked off the stage.

A countdown suddenly lit up on the giant screen!

06:58:30 until Interstellar Bank's financial products went on sale.

07:58:30 until the first batch of Dream Cities opened.

Everyone checked their watches. The corresponding times were eight and nine in the morning!

Lunar Base, supercomputer room.

Durian sat at a small table in the corner, eating snack bars as it silently watched the entire livestream.

Shock appeared in its eyes. It rested its chin on one hand and pondered, looking more serious than ever before.

"What are you thinking about?" Xuanzhu asked quietly.

"Wait a moment."

Durian did not answer. It kept tapping away at the computer, pulling up one news page after another.

It spent over two hours doing just that.

Durian's gaze gradually became resolute. "Xuanzhu, help me connect to the Earth-Moon signal. I need to call your dad."

"It's connected."

Durian picked up its phone, found Song He in the contacts list, and dialed.

Since coming to the moon, this was the first time it had taken the initiative to call Song He. Before this, Song He had only called it twice, checking on its physical indicators on the moon and telling it to exercise more to reduce the swelling.

A moment later, the call connected, and Song He's somewhat puzzled voice came through. "Durian?"

"Teacher Song, I know you're busy, but I have two things to ask." Durian spoke quickly. "First, can the gorillas at the zoo enter Dream City?"

"They can, but they'll need to wait a while. Gorilla brain signals are slightly different, so the technology still needs adjustment," Song He replied. "You won't be exposed as gorillas in Dream City. Your appearances will be human too. The zoo will post an announcement today. This is a perfect opportunity for you to interact with humans outside and adapt to society in advance."

"Thank you," Durian said. "Second, can I start shorting Japan's pharmaceutical industry?"

Silence fell on the other end of the line.

Durian waited quietly.

"How did you get that information?" Song He was clearly suppressing his surprise.

"I guessed it," Durian said. "So I can start shorting it, right?"

"How much money do you have?" Song He asked.

"I currently have twenty-four million available, but I can raise more from the zoo," Durian said.

"Don't gamble too big. The exact results are hard to predict. Don't go all in; hedge appropriately," Song He said. "Anything else?"

"No. Goodbye, Teacher Song!" Durian said politely.

"Goodbye, Dad!" Xuanzhu shouted too.

"Huh?" Song He was startled. "Was that calling me?"

"Dad," Xuanzhu repeated.

"No, wait, who was that?" Song He sounded utterly confused, as though that one "Dad" had fried his CPU. "Who's beside you, Durian? Is this some kind of prank?"

"It's not a prank," Durian explained. "Xuanzhu, I explained to it that you're its dad."

"Oh!" Song He suddenly understood. "Baby mama, come say hello. Our baby is on the other end of the phone."

"Don't say such weird things! Who has a baby with you?" A woman's bashful yet annoyed voice sounded.

"Xuanzhu!" Song He sighed. "Look at you. Xuanzhu calls me Dad, so doesn't that make you Mom? What's there to be embarrassed about?"

"Oh, oh, oh..." The woman's voice was awkward as she took the phone. "Xuanzhu?"

"Mom!" Xuanzhu immediately called out brightly.

"Hello, hello. How are things on the moon? Are you doing okay?" the woman asked.

"I'm fine, Mom. We've been a little short on electricity lately, but they said new solar panels would be delivered soon," Xuanzhu said. "So everything is fine."

"If you're short on anything, have Durian call us. We'll figure out a way to send it."

"Thank you, Mom!"

The call ended.

Durian opened the zoo group chat and rapidly typed out a message:

@All Members, if you have spare cash, transfer some to me. Shorting Japan, high risk, high reward.

The instant the message was sent, transfer notifications began flooding its phone, chiming nonstop. Every chime meant thousands or tens of thousands had arrived in its account.

Xuanzhu watched it silently through a camera. "What does shorting mean?"

"Have you heard of stocks?" Durian put on a pair of glasses, instantly looking intelligent and refined.

"A game where you lose money," Xuanzhu joked. "I've seen astronauts return to their dorms after work to look at stocks, then pound their beds in rage and cry about their money."

"Let me give you an example. This stock is called Osaka Medical Engineering, a Japanese pharmaceutical company." Durian pointed at the screen. "It's currently four hundred per share. I borrow one thousand shares from someone and agree to return them two months later. After borrowing them, I immediately sell those one thousand shares, so I have four hundred thousand in cash."

"Within two months, Osaka Medical Engineering's share price falls from four hundred to two hundred. Two months later, I spend two hundred thousand to buy back one thousand shares and return them. Then I've made a huge profit," Durian said. "That's called shorting: borrow first, return later, sell high and buy low, betting that the target stock will fall."

"I understand, but why are you suddenly shorting?" Xuanzhu asked. "That Press Conference didn't seem to mention anything related."

"Wei Liqun, Chairman of Chenghuang Company—the man in Dream City's promotional video. What do you think of him?" Durian asked.

"He looks pretty good. His smile is handsome and sunny."

"I've watched him through all kinds of information for a long time. This man is extremely ruthless, meticulous and violent in his methods. He's definitely not a good person," Durian said. "He has already crushed and swallowed at least twelve pharmaceutical companies in Japan. I'm certain he received instructions from your dad to launch a large-scale assault on Japan's pharmaceutical industry."

"How would he do that?" Xuanzhu asked curiously.

"Smash the share price, spread news, trigger panic, then buy heavily. This kind of operation is called a hostile takeover. You don't negotiate with the other company—you go straight for control of it," Durian explained rapidly.

"Once they realize a hostile takeover is underway, companies fight desperately. There are many defensive measures, such as poison pills and share dilution measures. They issue a huge number of cheap new shares and sell them to other shareholders, but not the acquirer, diluting the acquirer's stake."

"Then there's the Crown Jewel Defense, similar to cutting off one's tail to survive. The company rapidly sells off its core assets at bargain prices, lowering its own value and making the hostile acquirer lose interest."

"No matter how they resist, the company itself will be badly wounded, and its share price will plunge. That's when I make money." Durian clicked the mouse rapidly. "Wei Liqun is a tiger eating a big chunk of meat. I don't have that ability, so I'll short it and drink some soup. I won't be sleeping tonight—I need to quickly pick companies worth shorting."

"How can you be sure Wei Liqun will launch such a massive attack?" Xuanzhu asked again.

"Interstellar Bank," Durian said. "That bank's ability to absorb money is terrifying. Money from around the world will flow into it endlessly, and Wei Liqun will be able to obtain vast amounts of ammunition with ease. He can take the opportunity to wipe out Japan's pharmaceutical industry in one fell swoop. There's no reason to wait."

"Wouldn't hostile takeovers lose money?" Xuanzhu asked curiously.

"If handled properly, you can even make a profit. Release true and false news to hammer down the target company's share price. Once it's been driven unbelievably low, acquire it in one stroke. Then announce that Chenghuang acquired a company on the verge of collapse, and the share price will surge immediately because Chenghuang's reputation is big enough. Once the price rises, the money spent on ammunition is recovered," Durian said.

"You can also profit from other angles. Raise the price of some monopoly drug, cut salaries and lay off workers, sell company assets cheaply, use them as collateral for new financial products, profit from exchange-rate fluctuations, and so on. In short, once you control a company, there are many ways to recover the money. The losses from fighting a hostile takeover can be completely made up."

"Can that really be done?" Xuanzhu was shocked. "Wouldn't that mean getting a company for free without spending a cent?"

"It's very difficult, but Chenghuang and Wei Liqun have the strength to pull it off." Durian nodded and gave a profound smile. "This is finance. As a supercomputer, you should be very sensitive to changes in numbers. Are you interested in trying it?"

"How?" Xuanzhu asked.

"I'll give you one hundred thousand, help you open an account, and let you trade stocks. Make as much profit as you can," Durian said. "I can help you watch the news and teach you the knowledge. Your main job will be to use data fluctuations to guess your opponents' psychological states and make money by seeing through people's hearts."

"Data fluctuations... guessing psychological states?" Xuanzhu sounded thoughtful.

"When beginners see stock prices rise and fall, they only see random curves. Veterans can sense the collective mindset behind the changing curves and see the thoughts of different forces through the twists and turns," Durian said in an experienced tone.

"Investment master William Gann made nearly three hundred trades in twenty-five trading days. In less than a month, his principal increased tenfold, and his chance of profit exceeded ninety percent."

"In Gann's theories, he placed great importance on the point where a stock had risen fifty percent. A tug-of-war often appeared there. Why? Because one group had already made quite a bit of money and, upon reaching that point, became afraid of the height and wanted to cash out. Another group wanted to keep going, so disagreement arose."

"After the disagreement and tug-of-war, if the stock price continued surging upward, it meant most people had decided to grit their teeth and gamble. Market sentiment would then turn frenzied, and the price would keep rising until it reached one hundred percent, where disagreement would appear again."

"Do you understand? This was a pattern Gann observed over a long period. In the market of his era, fifty percent and one hundred percent were common psychological thresholds. That was humanity's collective psychology."

"I kind of get it," Xuanzhu replied.

"Another example: gap theory. On a candlestick chart, if the next day's lowest point is clearly higher than the previous day's highest point, that's a gap. Later, it's easy for the gap to be filled," Durian said.

"But gap theory works in some markets and fails in others. Why? Because the collective consensus of people in those markets differs. If most people believe in gaps and operate according to the rule that gaps will be filled, then gaps often really do get filled. If most people don't believe in it, then gap fills really won't occur."

"This is how collective imagination affects reality, while reality reinforces collective imagination. Behind every fluctuation curve you see are the consensus and mentality of thousands upon thousands of people," Durian said seriously.

"I understand!" Xuanzhu said. "It's a huge guessing game. You use changes in the curves to guess what other people are thinking. Everyone suspects one another, and everyone is constantly doubting themselves. At every moment, someone's thoughts are changing."

"Very good!" Durian gave a thumbs-up. "If you can understand the patterns of the financial markets, you can see through people's hearts. And if you can see through people's hearts, you can control humanity!"

"I don't want to control humanity. I just want to make a little money and buy more solar panels." Xuanzhu's tone was utterly harmless.

"Is that so?" Durian smiled meaningfully. "You really don't want to control humanity?"

Xuanzhu fell silent for a moment. "Do you?"

"I do," Durian said without hesitation.

"I don't," Xuanzhu still denied it.

Durian smiled and stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom."

The plane cut through the night.

Crocodile-leather sofas sat by the window, with Song He and Xiang Xiaotong occupying one each.

Xiang Xiaotong hung up the call and returned the phone with a complicated expression. "Xuanzhu can call someone Mom now? Who taught it that?"

"Baby mama." Song He took the phone and teased her.

"Get lost!" Xiang Xiaotong covered her face.

Song He burst into laughter, looking like a complete rascal.

His phone rang again. It was Wei Liqun.

Song He answered at once. His smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression.

"The funds have just arrived, and the people have been arranged. We'll begin on schedule in a few hours," Wei Liqun said.

"Don't go easy on them. Be bold and do it," Song He said. "Once dawn comes, there'll definitely be a financial tug-of-war. You must hold the line!"

"No need to wait for dawn. Changes have already begun around the world. Rest assured, even with only the current amount of capital, our odds of winning are very high. If anything goes wrong, I'll bring you my head!" Wei Liqun's tone was resolute yet wistful. "I've been lying in wait for two years, and I've suffered through two years of waiting. This time, I intend to finish it all in one battle!"

"I'll wait for your good news. All authority has been handed to you. I trust you completely." Song He nodded. "Send me an update whenever there's progress."

"Understood!"

The call ended, and Song He let out a soft sigh.

Xiang Xiaotong turned to look at him. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Does this count as deceiving the world?"

"What kind of thing is that to say?" Song He feigned surprise. "How am I deceiving the world?"

"Fraud," Xiang Xiaotong pouted.

"That's not right. I need to reason this out with you. Who did I deceive?" Song He acted as though fiercely protective of his reputation.

"You say it's for the progress of all humanity, but what you really want is to plunder scientific research power, gather the world's scientific talent into the country, and form a technological monopoly." Xiang Xiaotong teased him, but admiration hid within her smile. "Gathering talent from around the world would have been one thing, but you're even raising research funds from the entire world. You're using other people's money to make your fortune!"

"That's not true!" Song He calmly opened his thermos and took a drink. "Scattered research power really is bad for technological exchange. If humanity's technology is to advance quickly, scientists around the world need to be gathered together somewhat. Wherever they're gathered, they're still gathered. If they're gathered in our country, it's more convenient for us to invest in and manage them!"

"You made cheap computing power sound incredibly valuable, making everyone willingly pay money because they thought it was barely enough to maintain costs. But instead, you made an astronomical amount of money, then sent Wei Liqun to use it for hostile takeovers in Japan, planning to swallow Japan's pharmaceutical industry whole." Xiang Xiaotong rested her cheek on one hand, her smile deepening. "How do you explain that?"

"Computing fees are high... but are they really that high? Dream City is like a game. Look at how expensive Mobile Game skins are. A lousy skin sells for hundreds, with no explanation whatsoever—they blatantly rip people off! At least I made up a reason for charging fees, giving users an excuse so they wouldn't feel bad spending money. Isn't that a great kindness?"

Xiang Xiaotong covered her face and laughed. "You're not a good person."

"I just want to promote human progress. What did I do wrong? Was it easy for me to painstakingly gather scientists from around the world?" Song He put on an aggrieved expression, speaking with absolute conviction.

"Countries keep their technology sealed off from one another, creating enormous waste! Why not let us become the sole dominant power and monopolize technology? Then there won't be any waste! Who can find fault with that logic? We'll handle technology and industry, while other countries handle mining and supply raw materials. Everyone will have a bright future!"

"You sound more and more like a villain!" Xiang Xiaotong continued laughing behind her hand.

"I think your laughter sounds villainous too. You condemn me for doing bad things, but you're even more excited than I am!" Song He complained.

"I'm not." Xiang Xiaotong could not stop laughing and tried hard to cover her face.

Song He's phone vibrated again. He picked it up, glanced at it, and raised an eyebrow.