The next morning, the fax machine was already running steadily in Lin Qi's office.
What came out was a morning report from the New York Capital Markets.
[ Amazon faces concentrated short selling by institutions, Wall Street turns against it, online bookstore model may be a bubble.]
Lin Qi stood beside the machine, holding a cup of black coffee, and glanced at the report.
The wording used in the report was undeniably alarming. Analysts from several leading investment banks jointly released an industry outlook, with only one core argument: physical giants are about to make their move. Barnes & Noble, the largest bookstore chain in the United States, has already announced its full-scale entry into online retail, and another giant is also evaluating internet channels.
Wall Street is using its most proficient method to sell the market a seemingly reasonable logic: when traditional giants with thousands of stores, tens of thousands of employees, and stable relationships with publishers turn around, a Seattle- based company like Amazon, which burns through cash year after year, has no tangible assets, and relies entirely on storytelling to maintain its valuation, will be crushed to dust in an instant.
The market clearly bought into it. The story was simple, straightforward, and perfectly aligned with the common sense of ordinary investors. The capital market instantly sided with the traditional giants, and Amazon's stock price began to plummet.
Looking at the glaring sell ratings on the report, Lin Qi took a sip of coffee, a slight smile appearing on his lips.
What he likes most is when common sense starts to collectively go wrong.
Over the past few weeks, Lin Qi, through four shell companies in the Cayman Islands, commissioned three unconventional brokerages in New York to quietly buy one million shares of Amazon stock on the secondary market, like ants carrying grains of sand, despite the short-selling frenzy.
But that's not enough.
His legal team is currently making secret contacts with Amazon's early shareholders and venture capitalists who are still under the 180-day lock-up period.
Panic is the best catalyst. Some people didn't want to wait for the long lifting of restrictions, some were terrified by Barnes & Noble's media campaign, and some small private funds were eager to cash in their profits before they turned into worthless paper.
Using restricted stock forward transfer agreements and multiple layers of unrelated offshore investment vehicles, Lin Qi has swallowed up the chips that were dumped in panic over the past 24 hours.
Including this, his total investment in Seattle has reached $140 million.
With the 1997 NBA Draft fast approaching, the spotlight of American sports media had already scorched the draft backstage area in New York.
Amidst countless scouting reports and expert predictions, the core of this draft class is actually extremely pure, so pure that it's almost reduced to just one name.
Tim Duncan.
That " Stone Buddha," who spent four years at Wake Forest University and whose expression was almost imperceptible. Standing at 2.11 meters tall, with textbook-perfect fundamentals, a historic defensive IQ, and a composure far beyond his years. Teams across the league that lost every game in the regular season weren't fighting for a number one draft pick; they were fighting for the right to entrust the future of their teams for the next decade to Tim Duncan.
But after Tim Duncan, the undisputed number one draft pick, the undercurrents in the lottery zone were as turbulent as a pot of boiling soup.
The Philadelphia media was going crazy, with headlines all about Keith Van Horn. This 2.08-meter-tall white power forward, who could drive to the basket and shoot three-pointers, was dubbed "the poor man's Larry Bird Larry Bird " by the enthusiastic scouts.
In contrast, Chauncey Billups Billups from the University of Colorado is a complex asset that has all traditional scouts scratching their heads. He's physically strong like a small cannon, has developed a consistent shot, and has a clutch gene. However, his point guard instincts and playmaking rhythm are questionable to old-school scouts. Activists firmly believe he's a future All-Star point guard, while conservatives are convinced he's just a short, aggressive shooting guard.
There was also a high school student named Tracy McGrady.
This sleepy-eyed young man, barely eighteen, is seeing his name frantically climbing the draft lists of various teams. Standing at 2.03 meters tall, he possesses the coordination of a top-tier guard, with a quick first step. His "pure talent," a quality that old-school coaches both love and hate, practically overflows from the videotapes. His risk is... he's too skinny, lacking any experience playing high-intensity college basketball. No one knows whether he'll transform into the next " Iceman " George Gervin or become another draft bust who fails to live up to his potential once he enters the NBA.
As for Ron Mercer, he is widely recognized as the safest option in the country. A University of Kentucky championship hero, his athleticism is impeccable, his pull-up mid-range shot is reliable, and more importantly, he has been trained for two whole years in Rick Pitino's full-court press defense system. For any newly appointed coach who urgently needs immediate impact players to secure his position, Ron Mercer is labeled as "plug and play, no replacements allowed."
Behind each name lies a completely different direction in team building.
Meanwhile, Lin Qi was sitting in a leather chair in the Boston uniform department, holding enough chips in his hand to make the entire draft venue in New York uneasy.
The third overall pick from the Vancouver Grizzlies.
The fourth overall pick from the Denver Nuggets.
The ninth overall pick, just acquired from the Indiana Pacers.
And the Boston Celtics ' own 25th pick.
The hands ticked.
The 1997 NBA Draft is finally here.