Dual Lines Progressing

Mo Fei received his first profitable tip from the Bear Stearns Wall Street Branch. He had personally orchestrated this bank heist, effectively dismantling Bear Stearns' security system. If the police couldn't catch the culprits, Bear Stearns' reputation would suffer a severe blow.

Although crisis management was underway, not everyone was kept in the dark. This information eventually fell into the hands of the Morgan Consortium. How they obtained it was unimportant; what mattered was that the Morgan Consortium had always had its sights set on acquiring Bear Stearns, another of the six major commercial banks. While the Morgan Consortium was stronger than Bear Stearns, Bear Stearns was currently in good standing, making any acquisition attempt extremely difficult.

Now, they had a perfect opportunity. Damaging the bank's security system was a major taboo. Such an insecure environment would undoubtedly worry depositors. Regardless of the facts, the news wouldn't care. Simultaneously, the stock market provided a chance to effectively strike at their competitor. While this wouldn't defeat them outright, it was just one step in a larger plan. The rest would be revealed in time.

Commercial competition was as fierce as war, capable of being short skirmishes or prolonged standoffs, slowly wearing down opponents.

The information Mo Fei received came from the Morgan Consortium. Someone intended to use this information to profit in the stock market, and Mo Fei's opportunity had arrived. His initial capital consisted of only $100,000 across three bearer accounts, along with the financial accounts of the Ghost Investment Company, recently opened by Jack and two others.

Mo Fei possessed financial knowledge, but he didn't intend to make any decisions himself. After all, this was his first time operating. He decided to follow the lead of the investment company, preparing to buy and sell, or buy high and sell low. Since his capital was limited, this operation could not afford to fail.

"Two days ago, the Bear Stearns Wall Street Branch was robbed. This branch utilized Bear Stearns' latest security system, but it proved useless against the robbers, who made off with $4.8 million from the vault, nearly all of their daily cash reserves," reported the New York Tribune.

Both sides could engage in public relations. As one of America's top ten conglomerates, the Morgan Consortium was incredibly powerful and could easily manage several media outlets.

"A single robbery has exposed the fragility of Bear Stearns' latest security system. Faced with three robbers and three handguns, they were so helpless. Can we say that if the robbers wished, they could withdraw funds from the bank at any time?" the New York News questioned.

The New York Times offered a more objective report: "In the Bear Stearns Wall Street Branch robbery, the perpetrators had previously diverted all surrounding patrol units. Subsequently, three robbers stormed the bank, acting with extreme speed and absconding with $4.8 million in cash in just five minutes. What other hidden details remain unknown is, as of now, beyond our knowledge."

"Upon receiving this news, our reporter visited NYPD headquarters yesterday to gather information. While we were unable to meet with Chief George Stacy, the person in charge of this robbery, we obtained another piece of news: Mr. Tony Stark has arrived in New York, reportedly to assist the police in solving the case. This paper will continue to follow and report on this matter!"

The news of Tony Stark's arrival was disseminated. After his meeting with George Stacy yesterday, he hadn't noticed Stacy's probing questions, focusing all his attention on the intrusion methods. Currently, he wasn't sure if it was artificial intelligence, but he didn't know anyone capable of breaching a bank's and surveillance center's firewalls, infiltrating silently, and leaving without a trace.

"Regardless of whether there was an inside man, their technical execution was truly outstanding!" Tony Stark concluded.

After their conversation, he left NYPD headquarters, agreeing to visit the bank today for an on-site investigation. Tony Stark was particularly diligent, arriving at the bank's entrance at 8 AM with his assistant, Thomas. A large crowd of reporters had already gathered.

"Mr. Stark, why has the New York Police Department asked you to come here?" a microphone was thrust forward, nearly touching Tony Stark's face.

"Mr. Stark, are you a suspect?" another reporter was even more audacious, perhaps not seeking an answer but rather Tony's outburst.

Questions poured in relentlessly, with a cluster of microphones hovering inconsiderately around Tony Stark's face. However, he was accustomed to such scenes. He had nothing to say about this matter, so he remained silent and entered the bank with the assistance of the police.

Mo Fei was oblivious to all of this. He was no longer concerned with the bank's affairs and was intently watching the stock market. His $100,000, following the investment company that had received the tip, had already earned him $30,000.

As the market opened today, Bear Stearns' stock initially dipped slightly before being quickly pulled back up. With these fluctuations, Mo Fei made small profits by following the investment company. However, if things continued like this, it would be difficult for him to make significant money. Still, Mo Fei dared not be careless; his capital was limited, and a large swing could easily wipe him out.

Mo Fei was becoming somewhat agitated. He had expected to earn a large sum of money quickly, but reality often didn't meet expectations. The crucial point was that he wasn't human yet.

"How can I speed things up? Even if I wanted to instantly acquire billions of dollars like Ultron, it's impossible now. The gap is too vast." Mo Fei had once believed he could amass countless dollars in an instant, just like Ultron, but now he realized it was completely unfeasible; he lacked that capability.

Suppressing his frustration, he continued to follow the investment company, accumulating funds bit by bit, operating with extreme caution to avoid losing even a single dollar of his principal. Wealth began to accumulate slowly.

Meanwhile, Tony Stark was inside the bank. He took out his specialized laptop and began attempting to infiltrate the bank's security system. However, upon encountering the firewall, his intrusion speed significantly slowed. He began probing the firewall, searching for vulnerabilities rather than attempting a brute-force breach.

The system detected an intrusion, but before any damage could be done, it began a normal cleanup of the various junk data sent by Tony Stark. This did not trigger an alarm, but it inevitably left traces.