Chapter Summaries

As Iceberg Research faced a forced closeout of its GameStop short position, Lin Shicheng and Era Vanguard sold another million shares and closed most of their options. With Iceberg out and Citadel still covering, Zhao Chen ordered them to exit completely if GME rose the next day.

• Lin Shicheng learned that GME had reached $328 premarket, Iceberg had not reduced its short, and fewer than a million shares remained available to borrow.
• Zhao Chen narrowed the third stock-sale target to $350–$400, directed the first order at $380 if GME opened above $350, and ordered the $40 and $50 options strikes closed.
• Lin Shicheng began selling Era Vanguard’s third batch after GME reached $347, while Iceberg’s prime broker bought shares to cover its short position.
• Iceberg finished covering about five million shares at roughly $350, taking a loss of over $1.5 billion as GME’s short interest fell to 15%.
• Lin Shicheng completed the sale of one million shares at an average of $358 and closed all $40 and $50 options strikes, bringing total options closeouts to about two-thirds.
• Lin Shicheng told Zhao Chen that Citadel was still covering its remaining short position, and Zhao Chen said to close everything and exit if GME rose the next day.

Zhao Chen and Lin Shicheng sold Era Vanguard’s GME shares and options as the stock surged, then liquidated the remaining shares after Robinhood restricted purchases. Zhao Chen finalized compliance documentation and reflected that retail investors were likely to bear the losses as he turned toward new trades.

• Zhao Chen ordered Lin Shicheng to sell the fourth batch of GME shares and close all options as the stock rose, while DFV announced that he had sold his position.
• Lin Shicheng completed the fourth-batch sale, then Zhao Chen ordered the remaining shares sold when reports emerged that Robinhood was rejecting GME buy orders.
• After Robinhood restricted purchases, GME plunged, and Lin Shicheng sold the final shares, reporting approximately $3.8 billion in net proceeds overall.
• Zhao Chen signed the trade summary and instructed Shen Zhiyi to document that their sales used no nonpublic information and did not cause Robinhood’s restrictions.
• Zhao Chen told Su Wantang that Era Vanguard was out of GME and discussed pursuing silver, nickel, and AMC next.
• Zhao Chen began a GME campaign summary, concluding that retail investors usually stood at the peak of a short squeeze.

After GME’s trading restrictions, Zhao Chen learned that WSB investors had shifted their attention to silver and decided to exploit the short-lived surge in SLV options. He also ordered covert purchases of deliverable-grade nickel in London and Shanghai, using the silver frenzy as cover for a much larger strategy.

• Shen Zhiyi confirmed that the GME settlement funds had reached Era Vanguard’s custodial account and that its compliance records were complete.
• Chen Xi reported that WSB discussion had shifted to silver, while Lin Shicheng and Chen Xi warned that retail investors could not sustain a squeeze in the deep silver market.
• Zhao Chen decided to buy short-dated, out-of-the-money SLV call options through an offshore SPV, limiting the principal and planning to sell into a brief surge.
• Zhao Chen directed Lin Shicheng to accelerate covert purchases of deliverable-grade pure nickel plate through offshore entities in Singapore and London, targeting the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange.

Zhao Chen and his team analyzed why retail investors’ attempted silver squeeze was unlikely to defeat Wall Street’s market makers, then prepared to exploit a brief spike in liquidity premiums. Zhao left the team monitoring silver and began planning a larger move involving nickel a year later.

• Shen Zhiyi presented Zhao Chen with a compliance plan that split their leveraged SLV options positions among six offshore SPVs.
• Chen Xi explained that retail investors could not match the physical silver held by LBMA and COMEX, and that only authorized institutions could redeem large SLV holdings for metal.
• Chen Xi described how market makers could hedge options exposure and use silver’s flexible supply and deep arbitrage markets to profit if prices fell.
• Zhao Chen said his group would exploit a forty-eight-hour liquidity-premium window without helping market makers crush retail investors.
• Zhao Chen assigned Chen Xi to monitor silver hedging data, Shen Zhiyi to track SPV transfers and compliance, and Su Wantang to map nickel warehouse warrants in London and Shanghai.

Zhao Chen used Era Vanguard’s covert offshore structure to pair a public SLV options play with accelerated purchases of physical pure nickel. The team set out to secure more than 200,000 tonnes while Wall Street’s attention was fixed on silver.

• Su Wantang showed Zhao Chen data indicating that pure nickel warehouse warrants were concentrated among a few traders and that spot-market liquidity was limited.
• Shen Zhiyi separated Era Vanguard’s six offshore SPV accounts from Henglong Group’s operating funds and confirmed that the structure had passed compliance review.
• Zhao Chen instructed Lin Shicheng and Chen Mo to use more than $80 million to buy out-of-the-money SLV call options in New York while matching retail traders’ pace.
• Lin Shicheng reported that Era Vanguard had accumulated about 25,000 tonnes of delivery-grade pure nickel since December, and Zhao Chen ordered procurement to accelerate under cover of the silver trade.
• Chen Xi confirmed that acquiring over 200,000 tonnes would secure a major share of freely circulating deliverable nickel, and Lin Shicheng agreed to pursue the target without overlap with Henglong’s funds or information.

As retail investors turned their anger over GME into a global silver-buying frenzy, Zhao Chen and Era Vanguard prepared a concealed SLV options trade while monitoring regulatory and warehouse developments. The chapter ended with their orders ready for Monday’s market opening as the buying storm gathered strength.

• Shen Zhiyi and Su Wantang briefed Zhao Chen on the surge in physical silver purchases and online calls to buy SLV and take delivery of silver.
• Zhao Chen warned that retail shortages could not drain institutional silver inventories, while Shen Zhiyi relayed Zhang Qingxue’s warning that regulators might intervene after a sharp Monday opening.
• Su Wantang reported that attention on silver had left European industrial metals desks largely unobserved, allowing Era Vanguard’s offshore entity to check nickel warehouse receipts.
• Lin Shicheng told Zhao Chen that silver and SLV options premiums had surged and that the New York desk had prepared more than eighty million dollars for the trade.
• Zhao Chen instructed Lin Shicheng to conceal their split orders, and Lin confirmed that the orders would stay within compliance limits.

Shen Zhiyi and Zhang Qingxue arranged legal and compliance defenses for Era Vanguard’s leveraged silver options and physical nickel purchases before Asian markets opened. With the safeguards in place, Zhao Chen, Shen Zhiyi, and Su Wantang waited in New York for the market frenzy to begin.

• Zhang Qingxue warned Shen Zhiyi that the CFTC had begun real-time reviews of silver positions linked to COMEX futures.
• Shen Zhiyi explained that Era Vanguard’s six SPVs would use offshore structures, staggered option strikes, algorithmic micro-orders, and OTC hedges to limit regulatory scrutiny.
• Zhang Qingxue approved the plan and said each SPV would remain below the large-trader reporting warning threshold.
• Su Wantang reported that European entities’ nickel warehouse receipt purchases had been classified as supply-chain stockpiling and were undergoing compliance review.
• Zhao Chen thanked Zhang Qingxue, who ended the call, then waited with Shen Zhiyi and Su Wantang for Asian markets to open.

Zhao Chen and his team analyzed how investment banks could profit from retail traders’ silver-option frenzy and devised a plan to exploit the banks’ hedging purchases. As Asia trading opened and silver jumped above $28.50, Zhao Chen ordered Era Vanguard to begin buying SLV calls through six SPV accounts.

• Shen Zhiyi explained that JPMorgan Chase’s silver holdings and spread positions made its exposure more complex than retail traders believed.
• Zhao Chen described how investment banks could sell expensive calls, profit from inflated premiums, and benefit when volatility later collapsed.
• Shen Zhiyi realized Era Vanguard could buy cheap out-of-the-money options early and sell them to market makers when retail buying drove prices and volatility higher.
• Lin Shicheng reported that Asian retail orders had pushed spot silver above $28.50 and sent SLV premarket quotes surging.
• Zhao Chen ordered Lin Shicheng and Chen Mo to distribute more than $80 million across SLV calls with $25-to-$30 strikes, and the orders began filling through dark pools.

As silver buying surged, Su Wantang worried about ordinary young investors being hurt by Wall Street and Zhao Chen explained why he wanted her to lead the Henglong Charity Foundation after the trading battles. When silver broke above $29.20, Zhao Chen ordered the team to prepare its final SPV orders.

• Su Wantang told Zhao Chen and Shen Zhiyi about young Americans spending relief money on silver coins and risky SLV options.
• Zhao Chen said retail investors were learning a painful lesson about liquidity and financial instruments, then explained that the Henglong Charity Foundation would support real industries, financial literacy, and youth innovation.
• Zhao Chen gave Su Wantang full authority over the foundation, and Shen Zhiyi offered the Legal Department's help with compliance.
• Shen Zhiyi reported that spot silver had surged past $29.20 an ounce and offshore SLV call options were causing a liquidity squeeze.
• Zhao Chen told Shen Zhiyi to contact Lin Shicheng and Chen Mo and prepare the final batch of SPV orders.

Zhao Chen directed Era Vanguard to spend $83 million on leveraged SLV out-of-the-money calls while using the silver frenzy to secretly expand its nickel holdings. The team prepared for the U.S. market open as its nickel reserves surpassed 33,000 tonnes.

• Zhao Chen ordered six SPV accounts to buy SLV calls at $25, $27, $29, and $30 strike prices through split algorithmic orders, using the full $83 million principal.
• Shen Zhiyi reported that the orders were filling while the accounts remained below reporting thresholds and triggered no CFTC alerts.
• Su Wantang reported that Lin Shicheng's procurement team had acquired another 8,000 tonnes of deliverable-grade nickel, bringing Era Vanguard's reserves to more than 33,000 tonnes.
• Zhao Chen told the trading team to take shifts before the U.S. market opened and ordered the European and Singapore procurement teams to keep buying nickel under the silver-market cover.
• Shen Zhiyi and Su Wantang urged Zhao Chen to rest, and he drew both women into his embrace while they waited for the market to open.

Silver surged toward $30 as retail investors rushed into the market, while Zhao Chen prepared Era Vanguard to profit from the frenzy. Behind the silver rally, the firm continued secretly building its pure nickel reserves for a future commodities play.

• Spot silver broke through $28.50 and $29.00, while SLV surged in premarket trading and retail buying overwhelmed brokerage systems.
• Zhao Chen warned that investment banks were selling overpriced options and told Lin Shicheng and Chen Mo not to reveal that Era Vanguard might liquidate its positions.
• Shen Zhiyi reported that Era Vanguard had secured nearly two thousand tons of pure nickel in Rotterdam and Shanghai, bringing its reserves above twenty-seven thousand tons.
• Zhao Chen described silver as a smokescreen for the nickel buildup and told Su Wantang and Shen Zhiyi to prepare for silver's assault on $30.

As retail investors poured into SLV despite Wall Street’s public warnings, Zhao Chen’s team tracked how their buying forced major institutions to hedge with silver. Era Vanguard’s call options surged in value before the US market opened, and Zhao Chen warned his traders to stay alert for a potential Wall Street selloff.

• CNBC’s analysts warned that retail investors could not squeeze the silver market, but SLV buying intensified as WallStreetBets users treated the warnings as proof that investment banks were panicking.
• Shen Zhiyi reported that record SLV call-option volume was forcing Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Citadel to buy silver for hedging, while Aunt Zhang detected similar activity in Wall Street’s hedging pools.
• Lin Shicheng told Zhao Chen that silver had passed $29.50 and Era Vanguard’s $83 million in call options had gained 150 percent, sending its six SPV accounts’ assets sharply higher.
• Zhao Chen cautioned Lin Shicheng and Chen Mo that unrealized gains could vanish and ordered them to remain ready for Wall Street’s response if silver reached $30.
• With fifty minutes left before the US cash market opened, Zhao Chen prepared to profit from the frenzy before it turned against retail investors.

Zhao Chen watched SLV and silver surge past $30 as retail buying and options hedging fueled a gamma squeeze, sending Era Vanguard’s unrealized profits above $300 million. With the rally continuing past $31, he had the market recorded and warned that the frenzy was nearing its most dangerous tipping point.

• Before the US market opened, Chen Mo and Lin Shicheng reported surging SLV volume, heavy call buying, and spot silver nearing $30.
• Zhao Chen explained to Su Wantang and Shen Zhiyi that sentiment-driven liquidity and market makers’ hedging were driving the rally beyond fundamentals.
• After the opening bell, SLV and spot silver broke through $30 and kept rising as buying volume, options activity, and Era Vanguard’s paper profits climbed.
• Zhao Chen identified the $30 strike as a key point for a gamma squeeze, while retail traders on WallStreetBets celebrated the rally as a victory.
• As silver approached $31, sell orders and profit-taking appeared, and Zhao Chen told Shen Zhiyi to record the market conditions while warning that the rally could be nearing its final madness.

Zhao Chen began gradually selling silver options into surging demand while watching for signs that buying momentum was fading. As the liquidation entered its next phase, he kept some longer-dated positions and continued the separate nickel delivery plan, leaving the team waiting for silver’s first real pullback.

• Zhao Chen ordered Chen Mo to begin phase one of the silver liquidation, and the team quietly sold deep-in-the-money calls and high-delta contracts through six separate accounts.
• Chen Mo began phase two, selling short-dated, high-volatility options as silver climbed and online traders promoted a new silver squeeze.
• After most of the second batch was sold, Zhao Chen kept the remaining longer-dated contracts while Shen Zhiyi reported that gamma-driven buying and retail demand were beginning to weaken.
• When silver surged again, Zhao Chen ordered another round of short-term position reductions, which Chen Mo completed amid frantic trading.
• Shen Zhiyi reported that nickel deliveries in Rotterdam and Shanghai had exceeded twenty-seven thousand tonnes, and Zhao Chen told her to keep the plan moving.
• After silver dipped below $31.50 and rebounded, Zhao Chen asked Chen Mo to review the final-stage execution plan as the liquidation countdown continued.

Zhao Chen’s team used silver’s rally above $32 to quietly sell most of its positions through six SPVs, while monitoring signs that buying momentum was weakening. After silver pulled back, Zhao Chen waited for one more rebound before making the final reduction, as Lin Shicheng reported further nickel deliveries.

• Silver rose above $31.70 as retail investors chased options, and Zhao Chen ordered Phase Two sales of medium- and long-dated contracts through six SPVs.
• The Research Institute’s model showed gamma beginning to decline, and Shen Zhiyi found that aggressive buying was weakening even as silver reached new highs.
• As silver broke above $32, Zhao Chen accelerated sales; Chen Mo reported that Phase Two was complete and the team held about thirty percent of its original positions.
• Zhao Chen paused sales while silver fluctuated around $32 and told Lin Shicheng to continue the planned nickel deliveries from Rotterdam and Shanghai.
• Silver fell to $31.80, and Zhao Chen decided to wait for a rebound before making the final position reduction.

Zhao Chen’s team sold most of its silver options through the six SPVs as silver broke above $32, then held back the small remaining position when buying pressure weakened. With nickel inventories rising unnoticed, Zhao Chen left the final silver liquidation for a clearer pullback.

• After silver broke above $32, Zhao Chen ordered Chen Mo to begin selling the third-phase positions through the six SPVs.
• When silver reached $32.28, Chen Mo completed the first batch, reducing the team’s positions to about eighteen percent of their original total.
• After Zhao Chen and Shen Zhiyi identified weakening aggressive buying despite new highs, Chen Mo sold half of the remaining positions, leaving less than ten percent.
• Zhao Chen kept the final portion as a market test when silver briefly recovered above $32, while Lin Shicheng reported that nickel warehouse deliveries were complete and inventories were rising.
• When silver fell below $32 and continued lower, Zhao Chen left the last small portion unsold and said the team would wait for a real pullback.

Zhao Chen completed Era Vanguard’s silver trade, closing all positions across six SPVs and securing an estimated net profit of $360 million. He archived the campaign’s records and shifted the team’s focus to industrial metals and the coming Chinese market.

• Zhao Chen ordered the six SPVs to sell their remaining silver positions in small orders, and the market stayed stable as they exited.
• Chen Mo confirmed that all silver-related positions across the six SPVs had been reduced to zero.
• Chen Qiming reported that an initial investment of about $83 million had produced an estimated net profit of about $360 million.
• Shen Zhiyi began archiving the trading records, fund flows, research, and compliance documents so the exit decisions could be verified later.
• Zhao Chen explained to Su Wantang that silver differed from GME and that the team had captured the strongest stretch of market sentiment before leaving.
• Zhao Chen ended active monitoring of silver and directed the team to continue nickel procurement as the industrial-metals plan advanced.

After Era Vanguard closed its silver positions for a net profit of about US$360 million, Zhao Chen led a review of the trade, its exit signals, and the safeguards needed for future operations. The chapter ended with nickel procurement continuing as a separate long-term effort and Asian market research—including consumer stocks and Bidiya—still unopened.

• Chen Mo presented the silver project’s final results: six SPVs had liquidated their positions after investing about US$83 million and earning roughly US$360 million net.
• Chen Xi and Shen Zhiyi explained how silver differed from GME and why Era Vanguard exited when buying pressure weakened despite rising prices.
• Zhang Qingxue defended retaining the six-SPV structure for segregating capital, authority, and risk, while Zhao Chen emphasized documented procedures.
• Lin Shicheng reported that nickel procurement was progressing through dispersed storage and delivery nodes, and Zhao Chen ordered the nickel operation kept entirely separate from the silver project.
• Chen Xi argued that the silver trade had tested how market sentiment diverged from industrial cycles, and Zhao Chen approved her point for the research report.
• Zhao Chen declared the silver battle over but left Asian market research unopened, including materials on Wuliangye, Shanxi Fenjiu, consumer core assets, and Bidiya.

Henglong Capital began assessing valuations, capital flows, and market sentiment in Chinese core consumer assets as the A-share market reopened after the Spring Festival. Zhao Chen left Bidiya untouched and set conditions for a possible phased exit from other consumer holdings, without making any trades.

• Chen Xi presented research showing high institutional concentration and elevated valuations in core consumer assets, while Zhao Chen instructed the team to observe the market rather than trade.
• As Wuliangye and Shanxi Fenjiu opened higher, Zhao Chen asked researchers to track valuation, capital-flow, and sentiment indicators instead of building an automatic buy-or-sell model.
• Chen Qiming reviewed Henglong's holdings with Zhao Chen, who kept Bidiya untouched and placed other consumer assets on a watchlist to study potential exit ranges.
• Zhao Chen prioritized whether future earnings growth could justify elevated valuations and told Shen Zhiyi to review disclosure requirements and trading rules in advance.
• After the market closed, Zhao Chen set a condition-based monitoring plan and approved a report recommending a phased exit contingency plan if the risk-reward ratio reached its preset range.
• Zhao Chen asked Chen Xi to create a separate file for Bidiya because it represented Henglong's industrial positioning rather than a consumer-asset valuation trade.

Henglong Capital began a gradual exit from Wuliangye and Shanxi Fenjiu, selling a first 10% of each holding while monitoring market conditions. The market remained strong, and Zhao Chen left the next reductions dependent on conditions rather than a fixed schedule.

• Zhao Chen established Henglong Capital’s detailed holdings statement as the baseline for future trades and distinguished assets by investment type.
• After reviewing elevated valuation, capital, and sentiment indicators, Zhao Chen ordered a 10% reduction in Wuliangye and Shanxi Fenjiu.
• Henglong’s trading system sold 240 Wuliangye shares and 432 Shanxi Fenjiu shares in batches with little market impact.
• Zhao Chen told the team not to alter the plan just because prices kept rising, explaining that the sales reduced risk rather than called a market top.
• Henglong updated its holdings to 2,160 Wuliangye shares and 3,888 Shanxi Fenjiu shares, while Zhao Chen said future reductions would wait for suitable conditions.