Design

"If you listen to me, short it. What's happening now is bait, meant to lure more people into buying shares. By then, the police will probably be plenty busy." Xue Chen glanced at the stock market chart. "This is a stock price assault. As long as they dump shares on a massive scale, it'll definitely draw a large number of investors into buying. At first, the price will rise, but after a brief period of deception, the dam will burst."

"If you don't believe me, you can look into it. Quietly find out whether anyone sold off their shares before today."

"These foreigners are really going too far." After hearing this, Xie Tian could not help swearing. "What the hell are these people thinking? Can't they leave themselves any room to maneuver?"

"If they had even a shred of rationality, they wouldn't be this arrogant." Xue Chen continued, "Besides, the people behind this might not necessarily be those foreigners. Don't forget, in a place as big as Hong Kong, there are plenty of people with both money and influence."

"Now that you mention it, I remembered something. I heard that the Li Household has already prepared to move all its businesses to Canada," Chen Jiayao suddenly said.

"What did you say?" Fang Jimin was somewhat startled. The Li Household's status in Hong Kong was practically on par with the Ship King's. Logically speaking, even if Hong Kong returned to China, China would certainly treat such a major enterprise with courtesy.

"The Li Household has decided to transfer all of its industries to Canada. I've heard about it too." Qi Si nodded. "And yesterday, Yuan Xiaosan told me that the Li Household has already sold off all its assets in Canada. His family even took over part of them."

"My dad mentioned it too. He said that old man Li was getting more muddleheaded with age. What he's doing now is practically treason," Xie Tian added. "Do they really think those foreigners in Canada are good people? By the time they regret it, it'll probably be too late."

Design

August 15 arrived quickly. That day, two strange phenomena emerged. Hang Seng stock, which had previously been highly favored, was plummeting in a straight line, while Tai Lok, a so-called garbage stock according to economists, was surging wildly in an eerie fashion.

Another phenomenon followed. Investors in these two stocks were frantically selling Hang Seng shares, and Hang Seng's market value was visibly falling all the way to the floor. Although Tai Lok stock had yet to break records for the moment, its short-term performance had indeed begun tempting those who had previously pulled out.

During this period, Hang Seng stock had been falling at an astonishing rate. Even those who wanted to get out had no way of doing so; their money was trapped directly in the market. Several people had already jumped to their deaths not long ago.

Yet none of that could stop Hang Seng from falling below three hundred, a stark contrast to its peak of 4,627 points. There were even several incidents on the streets where investors rushed into stock trading offices with knives, but the police, who had long been prepared, suppressed them all.

"Tut, tut. Looking at today's trend, Hong Kong's tallest buildings are probably already packed with people." Xie Tian stood on the balcony and looked toward the endless Hong Kong Bridge in the distance. Near the center of the shoreline stood a skyscraper that pierced the clouds—the headquarters of Hang Seng Group.

"Why do you care about them? When they were making a fortune, they should have thought about what it would be like to have nothing." Fang Jimin felt nothing in particular. He had grown up in a privileged environment, and from childhood, he had been taught that even at one's greatest success, one must prepare for the worst.

"Xue Chen, what's our index at now?" Qin Zhou was watching Tai Lok stock closely alongside Xue Chen. Seeing the numbers, he was somewhat surprised that it had already reached 2,000 points. "At this rate, how high do you think it'll go?"

Xue Chen fell silent for a moment before slowly saying, "No lower than 4,000 points. Tai Lok's gains are still increasing. In less than three days, its index will probably break another thousand points. Later on, it will only rise to this level. When the time comes, we pull out. Don't get too greedy."

"Brother Xue, it looks like someone else is shorting Hang Seng too, just like us. Should we investigate?" Chen Jiayao was specifically in charge of Hang Seng stock. He had been following Xue Chen's orders and monitoring the chart.

"It should be those Bald Eagles. Since they've entered the game, we don't need to be polite either. Azhou, have someone release some news—say that an American tech company wants to acquire Tai Lok stock. Make it convincing, preferably convincing enough that they stumble across the news themselves." Xue Chen spoke blandly, without the slightest ripple in his expression.

"You're fishing?" Qin Zhou asked.

"Yeah. What we need now is exactly this kind of bait. Of course, it has to seem accidental." Xue Chen smiled.

"Okay."

Qin Zhou picked up the phone, made several calls, and gave out a few instructions. He told them to release some information and make sure Hang Seng's shareholders learned about it. He did not believe there would be no hooks behind these people.

"Huh? Someone really pulled out?" Chen Jiayao cried out again. Xue Chen looked over, then turned to Qin Zhou. "I didn't expect you to be so capable."

As time passed, some people who still had spare cash began pouring money into Tai Lok, and they were investing heavily. Tai Lok's share price soared wildly, yet these people still did not stop. It climbed all the way upward, and before long, it had surpassed Tai Lok's index, reaching more than 3,900 points. Such a trend was hard to believe.

Hang Seng's stock price was still plunging wildly, once again falling to the limit. This time, Hang Seng's investors began to panic. Then they received news that a group within Hang Seng Group itself was continuously selling Hang Seng shares. Once these actions became known, they immediately caused an extremely serious backlash.

Investors inside the stock market were also frantically discussing the matter while watching the data, and Hang Seng's market conditions were pulled down sharply in an instant. There were even reports of investors carrying gasoline barrels to the group's branch offices to demand an explanation.

But none of this affected Xue Chen in the slightest.