Hunter and Prey

Two days later, Eagle Creek Ranch.

After a precipitous drop on its first day, NLG's stock price continued to decline on the second day, briefly falling below the $15 mark before closing at $14.82, a cumulative drop of over 57% in two days. Panic gripped the market, and a mix of true and false negative news continued to circulate.

But Lin Feng has had a very peaceful two days.

He rode horses, fished, read books on his ranch, and even took time to fire two hundred rounds of ammunition at the shooting range. He didn't look like someone who had just lost over a billion dollars.

On the morning of the third day, K appeared at the study door again.

This time, his expression was much more relaxed than the previous two days.

"Boss, the data is in."

Lin Feng was sitting behind his desk, flipping through a book on Washington State corporation law. Hearing this, he looked up, closed the book, and said, "Go on."

K walked to the desk, placed a printed report in front of Lin Feng, and began his oral report, "The main short positions in NLG, after penetration, point to three hedge funds— Meriden Capital, Atlas Asset Management Company, and Blue Ridge Investment Partners."

He paused, then added, "These three companies appear to be independent of each other, with no cross-shareholdings or related-party transactions. However, their settlement operations are all entrusted to the same clearing house—a shell company registered in the Cayman Islands."

Lin Feng picked up the report, glanced at the data and charts, and nodded. "Continue."

"Furthermore, we have also conducted further verification regarding the situation with minority shareholders." K turned to the back pages of the report. "NLG currently has a total of thirty-seven registered minority shareholders, holding approximately 18% of the company's outstanding shares. Among them, twenty-three have had unusual share pledge or lending records in the past month."

How abnormal is it?

"It's so unusual that it's almost certain they lent their shares to short-selling firms," K said. "Several of them even maintained close ties with certain Wall Street institutions early on in NLG's IPO. We have reason to believe they were spies planted within NLG from the very beginning."

After listening, Lin Feng did not immediately express his opinion. He leaned back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest, his gaze fixed on a certain spot on the ceiling, as if he were thinking about something.

After a long silence, he finally asked, "Of these twenty-three people, has any of them contacted us after the incident?"

"Not a single one," K answered decisively. "Not even a single email, let alone contacting them. Of the remaining fourteen minority shareholders with no unusual records, three called to inquire about the company and expressed their willingness to cooperate with any company decisions."

Lin Feng smiled.

It was the smile of a hunter who had confirmed that his prey had fallen into his trap.

"That makes things easier," he said. "Keep those fourteen clean shareholders and tell them the company will buy back their shares at the closing price before the trading halt, with a 10% premium. Have them sign confidentiality agreements and not tell anyone."

"As for those twenty-three..." He paused, a cold glint in his eyes, "Send them a formal letter stating that the company's board of directors has decided to adjust the shareholding structure, requiring all minority shareholders to cooperate in completing the share repurchase within seven working days. The price—"

He held up two fingers. "Twelve dollars per share."

K paused for a moment. "Twelve dollars? The current market price is fourteen dollars and eighty cents. Isn't twelve dollars too low? They definitely won't accept it."

"Of course I know they won't accept it." Lin Feng picked up the pen on the table and twirled it between his fingers. "But if they still don't accept it, we'll activate the second plan—package the evidence of their collusion with short-selling institutions and send it to the SEC. We'll also copy it to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times."

He slammed the pen down on the table, making a crisp sound, "Then, what they'll lose won't just be a few dollars' difference, but their entire fortune, plus several years of free room and board in federal prison."

K was silent for a few seconds, then nodded solemnly. "Understood. I'll take care of it right away."

He turned to leave, but Lin Feng called him back.

"Wait a moment."

K turned around.

Lin Feng took a cigar from the drawer, slowly cut off the cap, lit it evenly with a lighter, took a puff, and slowly exhaled the smoke.

"Any news from Philip?" he asked.

K's expression turned subtle. "The police investigation is ongoing. The waiter has confessed to all the crimes, insisting that his motive for the murder was 'disrespect from the other person.' The case has been transferred to the district attorney's office, and indictments are expected to be filed soon."

"What about those people behind Philip? What are they up to?"

"It's very quiet," K said. "Unusually quiet. Normally, if their own people were killed, they should take some action. But right now, they've chosen silence, both in terms of public opinion and in the business world."

Lin Feng took a puff of his cigar, and the smoke slowly filled the study.

"The calm before the storm," he said. "They're waiting. Waiting for me to lose my composure, waiting for me to make a mistake."

He held the cigar between his fingers, gazing out the window through the smoke. "It's a pity they won't live to see that day."

K said nothing more, nodded slightly, and turned to leave the study.

Lin Feng sat alone at his desk, slowly smoking a cigar, his gaze falling on the pasture outside the window, which was turning yellow with autumn colors.

In the distant woods, several crows were startled and took flight, flapping their wings.

He looked away, picked up the report about minority shareholders on the table, flipped through it, and then casually tossed it into the shredder at his feet.

The machine emitted a low hum as it slowly swallowed the paper, inch by inch.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

The outside world is in turmoil, and countless people are waiting to see him fall to the bottom.

But he knew that the real hunt had only just begun.