Chapter Summaries

Zhao Chen ordered Era Vanguard to build its GME position and file a 13G on January 4, framing the move as a declaration of war against Wall Street’s short sellers. He left the chapter determined to support retail investors, though he feared they might sell at eight dollars before the filing.

• Lin Shicheng asked how Era Vanguard should pace its GME purchases, and Zhao Chen ordered daily buying of five to eight percent of average volume, raising exposure from 3.7 percent to between eight and 9.9 percent over nine trading days.
• Lin Shicheng calculated that the plan required about 4.3 million additional shares and equivalent options, costing roughly fifty to sixty million dollars, and Zhao Chen approved the funding and told him to begin the next day.
• Lin Shicheng asked how Era Vanguard would respond to SEC inquiries, and Zhao Chen said it would explain that its purchases relied on public information and were lawful investment activity.
• Su Wantang warned Zhao Chen that Citron, Muddy Waters, and Melvin Capital would treat Era Vanguard as an adversary, and Zhao Chen said he would confront the short sellers on the GME battlefield.
• Zhao Chen said Era Vanguard would submit its 13G on January 4 after pushing GME above ten dollars, and he explained that he feared retail investors would surrender their shares at eight dollars before then.
• Su Wantang brewed fresh tea as GME stabilized around eight dollars, while Zhao Chen's exposure sheet marked January 4 as the beginning of the decisive battle.

Era Vanguard disclosed a 7.03% stake in GameStop, sending GME sharply higher and putting short sellers under pressure. Zhao Chen ordered further purchases up to 9.92%, while the White-Haired Old Man weighed the risks of covering the shorts.

• Era Vanguard filed a 13G disclosing that Times Pioneer Capital held about 4.9 million GameStop shares, or 7.03% of the company.
• GME opened at $11.80 and surged as trading volume spiked after the filing became public.
• Shen Zhiyi confirmed the filing and explained that Era Vanguard had nearly three percentage points of room to buy more shares.
• Zhao Chen directed Lin Shicheng to buy 5% to 8% of average daily volume until exposure reached 9.92%, adjusting the pace to the share price.
• CNBC and Bloomberg highlighted Era Vanguard's stake and its past Tesla short squeeze as GME climbed to $19 within half an hour.
• The White-Haired Old Man warned that covering the shorts could push GME above $30, while further gains could trigger margin calls.

Era Vanguard’s 13G filing fueled retail confidence in GME as DFV urged investors to keep holding, while the stock surged and short sellers remained heavily exposed. Zhao Chen explained Era Vanguard’s 7.03 percent stake and set rules for increasing its position without triggering Section 16(b) restrictions.

• Short sellers reported that Melvin Capital had bought back about two million shares but still faced roughly thirty million short, while the White-Haired Old Man warned Era Vanguard might use its remaining buying capacity during a squeeze.
• DFV posted that Era Vanguard had joined GME as a long-term holder and urged retail investors not to sell, sparking a wave of supportive posts on WallStreetBets.
• WallStreetBets users shared Era Vanguard’s past Tesla trades, compared cost bases, and rallied around the idea that retail investors and Era Vanguard were holding against Wall Street.
• GME rose to an intraday high of $22.80 and closed at $21.50, up more than 130 percent, as trading volume topped 280 million shares and short interest fell to roughly 87 percent.
• Zhao Chen told Lin Shicheng and Shen Zhiyi that Era Vanguard’s 7.03 percent stake avoided Section 16(b) restrictions and directed them to monitor exposure and keep buying toward a 9.92 percent position.

Zhao Chen and Era Vanguard continued buying GME as retail enthusiasm drove the stock sharply higher and short sellers faced mounting pressure. By the close, Era Vanguard held 7.8 percent, and Zhao Chen ordered the team to keep buying toward 9.5 percent while reserving room to respond to a short-seller counterattack.

• Shen Zhiyi reported that Era Vanguard held 7.03 percent of GME and could keep buying below the 9.99 percent disclosure threshold, while Lin Shicheng found that major short sellers were still largely holding their positions.
• Lin Shicheng bought GME in small orders as the stock surged, with retail momentum and WallStreetBets activity intensifying through the day.
• CNBC linked GME’s rise to Era Vanguard’s 13G filing, while a former market maker warned that further gains could trigger forced short covering.
• DFV posted that he was still holding his GME shares, prompting a flood of supportive replies on WallStreetBets.
• Lin Shicheng completed purchases of about 1.2 million shares, raising Era Vanguard’s stake to 7.8 percent as GME closed at $27.80 and short interest fell to 79 percent.
• Zhao Chen told Lin Shicheng and Shen Zhiyi to keep buying the next day, push exposure above 9.5 percent, and reserve the final portion for a short-seller counterattack.

On January 6, Zhao Chen’s team continued buying GME as retail investor enthusiasm surged and the share price climbed to $38.60. Their stake reached 8.9%, and Zhao Chen planned to raise exposure to 9.5% the next day before reserving the remaining capacity for a short-seller counterattack.

• Lin Shicheng reported that GME premarket volume and WallStreetBets activity had surged, and Zhao Chen ordered the team to keep buying within set volume limits while monitoring DFV.
• GME opened at $31.50 and climbed rapidly as retail investors bought shares; Lin Shicheng executed purchases through three offshore SPV channels.
• DFV posted a hand-drawn GME price chart on WallStreetBets, prompting users to compare the stock’s rise with Citron’s five-dollar valuation and highlight Era Vanguard, DFV, and Ryan Cohen’s positions.
• Zhao Chen told Lin Shicheng to buy the remaining planned shares during a late-session pullback below $37, and GME closed at $38.60 on record trading volume.
• Lin Shicheng reported that Era Vanguard had bought about 1.5 million shares at an average of $35.80, raising its stake from 7.8% to 8.9%, while short interest fell to 70%.
• Zhao Chen instructed the team to target 9.5% exposure the next day and keep the remaining capacity in reserve for a short-seller counterattack.

Zhao Chen’s team bought GME shares cautiously as short sellers mounted resistance around $46 and rapidly covered their positions. After GME closed at $46.30, the White-Haired Old Man ordered Melvin to accelerate its covering as a rise toward $50 threatened forced liquidation.

• Zhao Chen told Lin Shicheng to slow purchases during sharp price rises and preserve the remaining room beneath the 9.99% ownership cap.
• GME surged above $46, where short sellers placed large sell orders, while Zhao Chen’s team continued buying according to its plan.
• CNBC and a market maker reported that short sellers were covering under mounting borrowing costs, and DFV posted evidence of Melvin Capital’s shrinking position.
• GME closed at $46.30, and Zhao Chen’s team reported buying about 1.3 million shares as its ownership rose to 9.4%.
• The White-Haired Old Man learned that the remaining short positions could face forced liquidation near $50 and ordered Melvin to cover faster regardless of cost.

Iceberg Research announced a short position in GME and argued that Era Vanguard was nearly out of buying capacity, prompting retail selling and a sharp early drop in the share price. The White-Haired Old Man concluded that Iceberg was betting on retail confidence and risked being trapped in the crowded short trade.

• Iceberg Research announced a GME short position near $48 and claimed the stock was overvalued, Era Vanguard was close to its holding limit, and its buying would soon stop.
• After GME opened at $49.80, retail investors sold heavily, driving the price down to $47.20 as forum sentiment weakened.
• Zhao Chen told his team to hold off buying unless GME fell below $45, or to halve the day's purchases if it held $46.
• A market analyst argued that GME's 72% short interest made Iceberg's new position part of an overcrowded trade that could be caught in a squeeze.
• At the Explorers Club, the White-Haired Old Man said Era Vanguard would not sell its 9.4% stake and that Iceberg's position depended on retail panic, which had not yet materialized.

DFV posted a lengthy defense of GME on WallStreetBets, accusing Iceberg of trying to scare retail investors into selling so short sellers could cover cheaply. He urged investors to hold their shares and ended by calling on them to hold the line.

• DFV published a post titled “They want us to panic. We won't.” on the WallStreetBets Forum.
• DFV argued that Iceberg's short-selling report was intended to drive down GME's price and claimed that short sellers needed retail investors to sell their shares.
• DFV said Era Vanguard had reached a 9.6 percent stake and that its shares, along with those held by Ryan Cohen, DFV, and retail investors, were not for sale.
• DFV disclosed that he had bought more GME despite his holdings losing value and said his cost basis was now higher than Era Vanguard's.
• DFV urged readers to hold their shares, arguing that short sellers would struggle to cover their positions with few shares available for sale.
• The post received more than six thousand replies within ten minutes.

Era Vanguard’s Zhao Chen defended its 9.6 percent GameStop stake in a CNBC interview, arguing that the company’s investment was based on an unsustainable short-selling structure rather than speculation about long-term fundamentals. After the interview pushed GME higher, Zhao ordered the firm to use its remaining room to raise its stake to 9.9 percent and then stop buying.

• Lin Shicheng forwarded CNBC’s interview request to Zhao Chen, who agreed to a Wednesday video interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin under limits on questions about specific prices and position management.
• Shen Zhiyi prepared talking points, identifying questions about Era Vanguard’s stake, its 9.99 percent compliance limit, and accusations that it was engineering a short squeeze.
• During the interview, Zhao Chen explained that Era Vanguard stayed below ten percent to avoid Section 16(b) restrictions and said its investment was based on GameStop’s short interest exceeding the available float.
• Zhao Chen said short sellers faced the risk of a stampede and pledged that Era Vanguard would keep holding its shares even if GME fell back to ten dollars.
• Shen Zhiyi reported that GME had risen from $48 to $52 during the interview, and Zhao Chen ordered Era Vanguard to buy its remaining 270,000 shares of room, reach 9.9 percent, and stop.

Retail investors rallied around Zhao Chen’s declaration that Era Vanguard intended to squeeze GME’s short sellers, driving intense buying and public declarations of defiance. Lin Shicheng completed the day’s purchases at a 9.9 percent holding, while GME’s short position grew and Iceberg took losses closing part of its position.

• DFV posted Zhao Chen’s interview remarks on WallStreetBets, prompting thousands of replies urging people to buy GME and squeeze short sellers.
• WallStreetBets users voted that they were buying mainly to squeeze or punish short sellers, and a popular post declared, “Buy to squeeze. Not to profit.”
• CNBC reported record GME trading volume and described retail sentiment as euphoria, while a former market maker warned that price-insensitive buying could drive the stock higher.
• GME reached $54, and Lin Shicheng finished buying 270,000 shares at an average of $53.20, bringing the holding to 9.9 percent with about 60,000 shares of room remaining.
• GME fluctuated around $55 after hours as Zhao Chen’s words became a forum meme, while the White-Haired Old Man saw short positions rise to 57 million shares and Iceberg close part of its position at a loss.

GME surged from above $55 to $70 as options-market hedging, retail buying, and short covering drove a gamma squeeze. At the Explorers Club, two fund managers opened new short positions despite warnings that GME holders were under little pressure to sell.

• Lin Shicheng explained to Zhao Chen that concentrated call-option open interest would force market makers to buy millions of GME shares as the price rose.
• GME broke through $60 and reached $65 as trading volume surged and short interest fell from 68% to 62%; financial commentators and WallStreetBets users described the gamma squeeze.
• GME touched $70, and Elliott told the White-Haired Old Man he had shorted two million shares at $68, arguing that GME's fundamentals did not justify its price.
• A middle-aged long-short fund manager said she had shorted 1.5 million shares at $70, while the White-Haired Old Man warned that GME holders' low cost bases left them under less pressure than new short sellers.
• WallStreetBets users celebrated the arrival of new shorts and posted screenshots of additional share purchases, DFV's livestream, and Era Vanguard's filing.

GME surged as retail buying and market-maker hedging overwhelmed new short seller Elliott, whose position neared its margin-call threshold. As Elliott scrambled to raise money, the chapter left traders asking who would be the next short seller caught in the squeeze.

• WallStreetBets users celebrated Elliott’s and another fund’s new short positions, while DFV argued that short interest and the squeeze still had room to grow.
• Zhao Chen told Lin Shicheng to halve Era Vanguard’s purchases and reserve the remaining capacity as GME climbed past eighty dollars.
• Elliott’s two-million-share short position suffered growing losses as GME reached eighty-five dollars, and financial commentators warned that a rise to his margin threshold could force him to cover.
• The White-Haired Old Man called Elliott, who said he was trying to meet a margin requirement by selling other holdings but was running out of time.
• With GME near eighty-seven dollars and Elliott’s threshold at eighty-eight, WallStreetBets asked who would be the next short seller to fall.

Elliott Fund’s forced liquidation sent GME higher and triggered further margin calls against short sellers, while Zhao Chen’s team tracked the accelerating squeeze. By the close, Elliott had wound up its fund, and the remaining short sellers faced further losses as GME traded around $108.

• CNBC reported that Elliott Fund had been forced to cover two million GME shares at an average price of $89, losing more than $42 million, while new short sellers entered the market.
• Zhao Chen reviewed the position and exposure data with Lin Shicheng as GME rose from a premarket price of $92 and broke through $100 shortly after the opening bell.
• CNBC and a Bloomberg analyst discussed Elliott’s liquidation and how the structure of short selling could make successive squeezes reinforce one another.
• GME reached $105, and margin calls forced the new short sellers to cover about 800,000 shares at an average price of $102.
• The White-Haired Old Man received Elliott’s message that he had closed all positions, lost $42 million, and wound up his fund, then drank his whisky alone at the Explorers Club.
• GME traded around $108 after hours as WallStreetBets users celebrated Elliott’s collapse and speculated about which short seller would be next.

Lin Shicheng monitored GME’s volatile trading day as the stock broke through $150, while Zhao Chen ordered Era Vanguard to hold its shares and options until the price exceeded $200. GME closed at $149.70 with short interest still high, and Lin prepared for the squeeze to continue the next day.

• Lin Shicheng reported GME’s rising premarket price and gamma exposure to Zhao Chen, who told him not to sell below $200.
• GME surged after the opening bell, triggered two trading halts, and broke through $150 as market makers began hedging and short sellers covered.
• Lin Shicheng told Zhao Chen that Melvin, Point72, and Citadel still held large short positions, and Zhao described their standoff as a prisoner's dilemma.
• GME closed at $149.70 on 213 million shares traded, while Era Vanguard kept its holdings and its stake edged up to 9.92 percent after options were exercised.
• Lin Shicheng saw DFV argue that the shorts had no reason to expect a pullback, then reported that market sentiment remained steady.
• Zhao Chen reaffirmed the plan to hold below $200 and told Lin Shicheng to watch Melvin’s covering activity ahead of the next trading day.

On January 19, Lin Shicheng began selling Era Vanguard’s GME shares as the stock surged past $200 and short sellers faced mounting pressure. After selling 500,000 shares at an average of $208.40, he watched GME break $220 while the SEC reportedly monitored the trading.

• Lin Shicheng told Zhao Chen to begin selling GME above $200 while leaving the options positions untouched.
• Chen Mo reported that investment banks would need to buy shares to hedge if GME held above $200, while Melvin’s prime broker failed to find a bank willing to arrange a block trade.
• Andrew Left announced on CNBC that Citron would suspend short selling in GME but did not say it had closed its position, and Zhao Chen concluded Left was waiting for the price to fall.
• GME broke $200 after the market opened, as investment banks began gamma hedging and trading volume exceeded 80 million shares within fifteen minutes.
• Lin Shicheng ordered the sale of 500,000 shares in batches, and Era Vanguard completed the sales at an average price of $208.40, leaving about 4.4 million common shares.
• GME broke $220, and news outlets reported heavy losses for short sellers and possible SEC monitoring of the trading.

Lin Shicheng watched GME climb to $224.60 as short sellers cut their positions, while Era Vanguard sold its first batch of shares. Zhao Chen predicted Left would be forced to close his position within days, and Lin prepared for another difficult day of selling.

• Lin Shicheng checked the WallStreetBets Forum, called Zhao Chen, and followed his instructions to hold off selling the second batch until the next day.
• GME rose as high as $228, short interest and major funds’ positions fell, and Lin described the short sellers’ retreat as a stampede.
• GME closed at $224.60 on 240 million shares traded, and Lin reported that Era Vanguard had sold 500,000 shares at an average of $208.
• Zhao Chen told Lin that Left was trapped and would close at the peak, likely after his prime broker forced him to liquidate.
• Shen Zhiyi told Lin that GME had appeared on Xinwen Lianbo and relayed Zhao Chen’s prediction that Left would be forced to close within days.

Zhao Chen, Shen Zhiyi, and Su Wantang discussed how GameStop had become a symbol of retail investors challenging Wall Street, as media coverage framed the GME short squeeze as a shift in financial power. The chapter left them reviewing further analysis of the episode’s lasting impact.

• Shen Zhiyi returned to New York after completing compliance work in Chongqing and reported that the A-share liquidation review was awaiting Zhao Chen’s confirmation.
• Shen Zhiyi showed Zhao Chen a New York Times article describing the GameStop episode as an awakening of retail investors.
• Zhao Chen called GME an uprising and said retail investors had gained tools to challenge institutional investors.
• Su Wantang played a CNBC segment in which a GME investor said he would sell when the short sellers were all dead.
• Zhao Chen described GME as a stress test that showed short sellers could be crushed when short interest exceeded a critical threshold.
• Shen Zhiyi began reading Bloomberg’s analysis of GameStop as an irreversible structural shift.

Zhao Chen discussed how the GME short squeeze had made retail investors a lasting force and directed the team to study likely regulatory responses and plan a careful exit. As he walked through Central Park with Shen Zhiyi and Su Wantang, he concluded that the squeeze had already changed how investors and institutions would view one another, though GME’s short squeeze was still ongoing.

• Zhao Chen explained to Su Wantang and Shen Zhiyi that retail investors’ anger and ability to organize had made them a lasting force alongside institutions and algorithms.
• After reading Chen Xi’s GME analysis, Zhao Chen asked her to add an assessment of possible US regulatory changes involving short-interest disclosures, options reporting, and payment for order flow.
• Zhao Chen said Era Vanguard would exit GME gradually without urging investors to buy or sell, and pledged ten percent of its profits to financial literacy education through the Henglong Charity Foundation.
• Lin Shicheng told Zhao Chen that WallStreetBets traffic and DFV’s subscribers had surged as retail investor awakening became a top US trend; Zhao recorded the campaign’s interim conclusion while noting the firm still held about 4.4 million GME shares and call options.
• Walking through Central Park with Shen Zhiyi and Su Wantang, Zhao Chen heard a customer describe buying GME as a vote for retail investors and said the squeeze had already changed how institutions would approach shorting.

Lin Shicheng’s team sold a second batch of GME shares as short sellers raced to cover and the price surged. By midday, Melvin and Point72 had closed their positions, Citadel was preparing to exit, and GME had reached $302.

• Lin Shicheng and Chen Mo saw that short interest had fallen to 35% and fewer than two million GME shares were available to borrow.
• Lin Shicheng told Zhao Chen to sell one million shares above $250 in small orders and close the $25 and $30 options tranches.
• GME opened at $243, climbed above $250, and Lin Shicheng’s traders began selling shares at $262.
• Melvin Capital finished covering its remaining short position between $285 and $290, and short interest fell to 24%.
• Point72 covered its five-million-share short position between $280 and $300, while Citadel began seeking quotes to exit.
• GME touched $302 as Lin Shicheng’s team continued selling the second batch.

Lin Shicheng and Chen Mo sold another two million GME shares and closed out part of Era Vanguard’s options as Melvin and Point72 exited their short positions. The chapter ended with GME closing above $300 and the remaining short sellers facing further pressure ahead of the planned third sale batch.

• Lin Shicheng sold two million GME shares at an average price of $276 and closed out the $25 and $30 call options for returns exceeding a hundredfold.
• Lin Shicheng read DFV’s WallStreetBets post reporting that Melvin and Point72 had exited, while Citadel was still running and Iceberg remained short.
• Lin Shicheng told Zhao Chen that short interest had fallen to 18 percent, and Zhao Chen instructed him to sell a third batch of one million shares the next day and begin selling the $40 and $50 options.
• Chen Mo estimated that investment banks would need to buy at least eight million shares to hedge if GME closed above $300, while Iceberg’s potential exit could add another three to five million shares of buying.
• GME closed at $301.40, and Lin Shicheng reported that 4.4 million shares remained as Zhao Chen described Melvin’s forced exit and its five-billion-dollar loss.
• Lin Shicheng left the office knowing Era Vanguard still had a third batch to sell and that Iceberg might close out as GME approached $400.